It’s Wednesday and we’re on the road again. The city of Dole, in Jura, is our next destination. We’ve never been to Jura so we’re keen to see what it has to offer. As luck would have it, it’s Market Day tomorrow and we’re hoping it’s going to be authentic and cheap. We won’t be flashing the cash otherwise.
After replenishing the fridge in the Geant Casino supermarket outside Dijon, we avail ourselves of some of their Gazole too, though the fuel price wasn’t the best we’d seen. It was simply convenient to fill up at the same location.
The Motorhome Aire in Dole was easy to find- especially when we saw a row of about 20 Motorhomes together, a tell-tale sign. Free parking, near the river and within about 3 minutes walk of the city centre. Starting walking up pedestrian streets, we reach Tourist Information, in an altogether busier area. It turns out Dole has a self-guided walking tour similar to Dijon, though this time it’s cat symbols on the pavements, not owls, which show our way.
It’s quite a meander, revealing beautiful gardens and impressive buildings, among them the Hotel Dieu, previously a hospital for the poor.
The Collegiate Church of Notre Dame dominates the skyline, and we have a direct view of this from our parking spot.
Dole is proud of its history and its famous residents from the past, notably Louis Pasteur and the writer Marcel Ayme, whose book about the “chat perche” inspired the theme of the guided tour, and there is a Food Festival this weekend. Sadly we will miss that as we’re moving on tomorrow.
Monday? No Monday morning blues for us. The overnight rain stopped soon after midnight and we’re raring to go. In fact, we’re last to leave the Camping Car Park at Seurre.
Dijon is capital of the Burgundy region, so it would be rude to miss it. There is a Motorhome Aire just outside the municipal campsite which costs a few €s less than “proper” camping. Oh yes, the Satnav sent us down a road in Seurre which had a 3.5ton weight limit- OK, but we soon saw it was also a damned narrow street, and we didn’t fancy scraping against any houses, so reverse gear was quickly engaged by Andrew…for a good 100 yards or so…scary stuff but well worth it. Back on a more suitable route- (Thanks for nowt, Satnav) Dijon was calling us.
Camping du Lac Kir was easy to find, other than a quick detour having missed the last right turn. We paid upfront for 2 nights, then chose a space in the Aire. After a quick lunch- the usual baguette and fromage combo, we cycled into the city. Mostly along the riverside but also through a bit of traffic, though there are lots of cycle/bus lanes to use.
Wow, what a place! Tourist information gave us the customary self- guided walking tour leaflet- follow the owl symbols on the pavements- and we wandered round, ogling at the magnificent buildings interspersed with medieval homes.
Notre Dame, a magnificent 13th Century church is quite a sight, with its many gargoyles and looted clock on the top. Apparently the original gargoyles were taken down after a moneylender was crushed by one. In the 19th century, 7 sculptors created replacements.
Inside the church, there is a beautiful collection of stained glass windows, including rose windows ; one depicting the origins of the universe and one apparently showing the end of time. Very deep.
Another important Dijonnaise building is the Maison Milliere, built in 1483 by a merchant of the same name. The facade is wood beamed walls and enamelled bricks. This house featured in the Gerard Depardieu film Cyrano de Bergerac.
We saw a sign for an “Exhibition Rude” which sounded interesting. It turns out Francois Rude was an eminent sculptor who was born in Dijon in 1784. His most famous work is the Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Oh well…at least there was no charge for the exhibition.
Dijon is definitely one of those places where you constantly have to look upwards- to fully take in the architecture.
The very grand Post Office is next to a most unusual Art Nouveau building with pagoda roofs- both designed in the early 20th century by the same architect , one Louis Perreau.
One part of the tour completed, we returned to the Aire, retracing our route mostly along cycle paths. We had expected rain but instead it was warm sunshine. Perfect. Tomorrow we will head back to finish our tour of the city and as Tuesday is one of Dijon’s Market Days there should be some sights and smells to enjoy in the covered market which dates back to 1875. We’re expecting a better experience than Fareham’s Monday market.
Here are some of our photos of Dijon
Tuesday, and we’re back on the bikes for the continuation of our Dijon tour. Is it wrong that I already have a new favourite church here? This one is the Cathedrale de St.Benigne….wow….maybe it’s the exceptional stained glass windows…maybe it’s the fact I can buy 2 small candles for my Euro.
Anyway, enough church talk, the market was big and bustling as we expected, though we were also shocked again by the price of food. So, no little treats for us there. However, we did have a little treat later in the form of a great lunch near the city centre.
The weather was turning a bit drizzly but we were able to seek shelter in a church- very handy. Having had a hearty lunch, I promised Andrew a cheese and wine party back at the van in the evening. Well, I’d bought a baguette and we had plenty cheese and wine to last an evening. Yip, he could hardly contain his excitement.
Having reached the Aire the weather continued to hold, so a bike ride round Lake Kir was suggested. It was a trip of 3.75 km and a delight. We even stopped off for a couple of Monacos (yes, again!) at a lakeside cafe. Perfect timing, we got back, Andrew packed the bikes on the back of the van, we went inside, and the Heavens opened! The rain continued well into the night, but we were warm and dry inside. We sat down with the maps and considered our options. Burgundy had taken more of our time than expected, but Lake Geneva was tantalisingly close, so we decide to revert to Plan A. Tomorrow, Dole was our objective. A visit to, not signing on.
OK, so after a fortnight it really is time to do some laundry. To be fair, the laundry bag is in the double floor of the van (out of sight, out of mind) and we were still OK for underwear but….the time had come. Good old Google Maps found us a 24hour “laverie” outside the Intermarche supermarket in Seurre, which coincidentally was our next stop. After finally finding a parking spot we took our IKEA bag (yes that much) of laundry and used both washing machines and the tumble dryer. A late breakfast in the van while all this was happening and soon we were freshly on our way to the Camping Car Park aire in Seurre. It costs about €11 a night, but includes electric hookup, fresh water and water dumping. Also, it has proper pitches like a campsite, so we can “legally” use the BBQ and hang the washing to air.
Ooh, look, another Hymer in the aire and it’s British! The owner, Steve, came over for a chat soon. We talked Hymers and travels. Turns out he’s been retired for 21 years…sheesh, he looked only in his early 60s…
After a walk into town, we had the promised BBQ…yummy! Late evening was spent gazing over the marina opposite. Later on we were “serenaded”, if that’s the word, by the loud screech of an owl in the tree above us…..Cripes, he certainly sounded big, though we didn’t see him. An early-ish night for us.
Next morning and we hear the distant sound of the commentator for the Seurre Triathlon which is happening today. Oh if only we’d brought our running kit, swimwear and racing bikes….oh well.
After our croissant/ pain-au-choc and strong coffee breakfast, we head out on the Voie Bleu cycle route which takes us along the riverside then into open countryside.
We both agree the landscape is reminiscent of our Dutch holiday last year, except we aren’t among hundreds of cyclists. In fact we only encounter 2 cars and no cyclists and just one canal barge.
We stop at Charnay les Chalon, where there is a beautiful church with a Bourgoyne style tiled roof. The church was not open but we could peek through the internal glass door.
Returning to Seurre, the triathlon is in full swing. We cycle along a route manned by Gendarmerie and Marshals and imagine we’re the winners. These triathlons are a doddle.
Back at camp, Andrew had wisely decided to BBQ early, and just as he finishes cooking , the rain starts, so we beat a retreat into the van. All outside furniture and the bikes are stowed away and the “welcome” rain continues into the evening. Music, reading, maybe some Rummikub- that’s the wet evening plan. Oh, and there’s a bottle of white to finish, of course!
Time to visit a big city. After an unpromising start with some confusion over where the Motorhome parking actually was, once we’re in the city “proper” all is forgiven.
As is becoming our custom we head for the tourist information office for a map of the town and a walking route to explore the historically important parts.
St. Vincent’s cathedral has enthralled me enough to splash out a Euro for a candle. The exterior is especially stunning and the church dominates a square filled with cafes and restaurants and numerous medieval buildings that are still in use today as shops, restaurants and for residential use.
The tourist office here also supplies a self-guided tour and to supplement that, we’re stopped by a local who gives us lots of recommendations etc, then as he goes on his way, he mentions that he’s a “greeter” So lovely to meet people who are so proud of where they live.
Our neighbour at this Aire is Jo, a German who sold up and hit the road 4 years ago. He pops round for a chat and he tells us a bit about where he’s been so far. Basically he chases the sun, so he’s now en route for Spain for Winter. Apparently he’s never been to the UK. But we do have sun there, honest…..
In the evening we discovered Pizza street, and we chose one of the many restaurants for dinner. I asked for a 50cl bottle of wine, the waiter then asked what wine Andrew wanted. Huh, do I look like a wine drinker or what?
We were also accosted in the street by a Frenchwoman who asked if we’d been to Beaune the other day..well, yes we had. It seems she had recognised us, and started the tourist info spiel on the area, especially Dijon, which we “must visit”. A lovely “extra” though slightly un-nerving..had she been stalking us since Beaune? Anyhow Chalon is certainly a city we’d highly recommend for a visit.
No, not the same place. This is The National version. En route, to here is Aze which has a Wine Co-operative offering degustations and sales…a worthwhile stop-off we reckon. Of course when we arrive it’s just closed for lunch, not opening again till 3pm. What to do? We find a restaurant in Aze itself where we enjoy a delicious 3 course Menu du Marche for 14 Euros each. Our waiter apparently knows Fareham. He’s a chatty guy from Mauritius (“oh, you’re not Swedish?” jokes his boss). Haha! Oh look, the wine place will be open again. Second attempt and this time we enjoy a degustation and they enjoy relieving us of many euros for the purchase of 5 cases. Enough to merit a “free” bottle which I spotted retailing at over 17 Euros.
Anyway, back to the St. Gengoux place. The road from Aze was stressful with many narrow, steep roads, thankfully they were fairly traffic free. St Gengoux has another of those brilliant free Motorhome aires that we’ve come to love- and again it’s adjacent to a cycle route. It’s all looking very positive, and the sign says “Tous commerces 500m” so off we pedal..ha, 500 m uphill it is! Feeling slightly cheated, I struggle up the hill in Andrew’s wake and finally we’re there after a seemingly shorter downhill bit. All this for a baguette.
We decide to return to town the following day for a better look around. The aire is filling up with fellow wanderers, including some proper behemoths with their smart cars in tow. Like in Givray, we’ve found a handy picnic bench where we enjoy our cold cuts and baguette.
Come morning, it’s back on the bikes and up that hill again. Armed with a map from Tourist Information, we set off on a self-guided tour of the town’s points of interest.
As we follow the map we discover a wealth of very old and fascinating buildings including the XII century church and numerous medieval houses and fortifications.
After all that walking, it’s back to the bikes. After a quick lunch, it’s flat-ish cycling along the Voie Verte to Buxy, from t’other direction this time. Again, miles and miles of vineyards provide our scenery. A 12km ride justified an ice cream at the Buxy cafe this time.
We spent 2 nights in St Gengoux and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there before heading off to Chalon sur Saone.
Givry, our last stop, was bustling. St. Gengoux was dead to the world. The route our Satnav chose to reach it was a bit convoluted, involving some sharp bends and inclines. Andrew negotiated them perfectly whilst uttering a few choice words. We quickly decided no others would brave the journey and sure enough there were only four vans overnight.
St Gengoux provided a lovely little free Aire (max. 8 Motorhomes) and, incredibly, unlimited free electricity as well as water. There was precious little shade so we made our own with the sun shade and awning.
We walked into the village, hoping to inject some Euros into the local economy but..the Pizzeria was shut…the wine degustations were shut, there was no boulangerie.
We ventured into the only shop, where we purchased a bottle of Bourgoyne Pinot Noir at €7.20…which turned out to be a delicious buy. Next day before we left, we did a quick bike ride round the village and beyond. A bit hilly for my liking, but it racked up a few more bike miles. What a perfect overnight stop away from it all….OK, there were a lot of tractors going past, but hey, it’s their work. There was not enough to do for a 2nd night stay, we headed off to more pastures new as we had been able to recharge our van’s batteries and our own!
Yup, we’re still in Burgundy..this region has really “grabbed” us, and not only because of the wonderful wines we’ve discovered. Givry was chosen because a) it’s another free Aire and b) it’s adjacent to the Voie Verte cycle route and oh, we do like a good cycle route and c) the aire has picnic benches, one of which we nab for use at lunchtime.
Its a surprisingly bustling little town and having found a space in the Aire we then found Tourist information open at the second attempt. The jeune homme working there supplied us with a token for the fresh water at the aire – €2.50 for 100 ltrs- and offered us free tastings of wine…..eek, don’t tempt us! In 32 degree heat, lunchtime degustations are a dodgy idea.
Yet again, we’re the only Brit van, but we exchange Bonjours where appropriate and it’s all quite amicable even when some vans try to squeeze in a tad too close to their neighbours. After dinner, again at “our” picnic bench, we sit watching bats skitting about through the air….what a treat! A second night is on the cards, as we want to try the cycle route, and next morning we head off to Buxy. It’s a beautiful route through vineyards, on totally traffic free paths- albeit we have to negotiate a few junctions and gates but we only encounter about three cars. Not bad. The edge of Buxy provides a cafe/bar where we each have a well- deserved Monaco. Purely to rehydrate of course.
Friday 13th brings another long drive- this time 160km. The Medieval town of Beaune provides around 70 car park spaces set aside for Motorhome parking -perfect! From the parking it was only a short walk into town, so off we set for the Tourist Information office. The Hotel de Dieu, a former hospital, was recommended for a visit as well as the Notre Dame Basilica. Following our long drive and the intense heat we were too tired for either; instead stopping for a drink and a spot of people watching before returning to the Aire.
Beaune has a real “buzz” to it even though it’s a compact town. The next day was Market Day too so we had a lot to cram into Saturday.
The Saturday market was worth a look around though prices seemed high, for example poulet roti was €17 when similar were on sale in a supermarket for €8.
While meandering through the market, we spotted the Basilica, so went in for a look especially at the tapestries dating back to the 15th Century. There was no audio guide, but Andrew helpfully provided his own, slightly cynical version of the scenes.
Hotel de Dieu did not disappoint at all, despite the hordes of tourists sharing our afternoon visit.
Hotel de Dieu is a beautiful building. The fascinating story of its foundation and subsequent use and of its self funding through farming, wine production and much more was covered by the tour audio guide.
Aires provide some brilliant examples of interesting parking; this clown parked in the roadway when there were many empty spaces. Doh! We also heard a Motorhome sideswipe another, which was inconsiderately parked in a short space- all 8m of him.
A long drive for us, this one was about 255km from our last stop at Brezolles. It looked like an easy drive on wide roads, so I asked Andrew “Do you think your nerves are up to me doing a bit of driving?” His reply was accompanied by an audible “woohoo!” so I guessed I’d picked the right moment to offer. At the next suitable layby, a quick change of driver and mirror and seat positions and we were off again. Ha, only a few minutes into “my” drive, and we were in a small village with those damed chicanes and lorries coming the other way. Hold on to your seats. I should have recorded how much I drove, I suppose, but after a few similar villages and roundabouts etc, I handed back control.
Arriving at Gurgy, the temperature had become oven-like, and we parked up in the lovely setting of the motorhome Aire alongside the river. The overnight charge was 8.60 euros, including electric hook-up.
Once hooked up we were off on our bikes for a cycle along the riverside. Approaching home, my bike’s rear tyre punctured..grrr…so I did the short walk of shame back to camp.
We had booked a table at the village restaurant for 7pm so Andrew set about replacing the inner tube, interrupted only by at least three neighbours who stopped to offer advice, or just watch, then talked about our van etc.
Dinner was superb! One of those 3 courses Menus, with 3 choices per course. Andrew couldn’t resist the andouilette starter….yeeeuk. To further aggravate the vegans, his main course was lapin in a mustard sauce, with tagliatelle…sorry Benjamin Bunny!
Our overnight here was brill, with stunning scenery and we’d highly recommend it.
Having left Normandy and our DDay 75 tour, its time to head South East and Brezolles is chosen as our first Aire in Burgundy region. It’s right on the edge of the village, and just off a busy road with lots of trucks thundering through, but hey, it’s free and has all facilities for Motorhomes.
There are 6 other vans parked up, and we choose our space next to a picnic bench before walking into the village to see what’s on offer.
Most of the shops are closed, but a boulangerie is located for tomorrow. Back at the van, we wrestle with the “no camping behaviour” rule, (which usually means no awnings to be wound out, no tables and chairs, no BBQs) opting instead for hob-cooked sausages with baguettes. Heaven forbid we would be “The Brits who insisted on using their BBQ, against the rules”. We both slept well, despite the traffic noise and the peal of bells from the nearby church. To be fair, traffic had subsided by late evening.
Oh, and what did Brezolles have to offer? The usual- a church, no doubt at least one hair salon and a couple of takeaways, but the fishing lake had dried up due to lack of rain so far this year as can be seen in the photo below.
Andrew did spot what was probably a coypu, and a kingfisher, on his walk to the boulangerie, but they had gone into hiding by the time we both walked into the village later, so we will have to take his word for it.
