Update covering Fri 4 to Sunday 13 September

At Le Muy (near Frejus), Cote d'Azur
Journey from Provence to Alsace
At Colmar (Alsace)

Friday 4 September 2009


Today we moved further South and East in Provence, from Bonnieux in the Luberon to Le Muy, just inland from the Mediterranean coast near Frejus. Le Muy is an undistinguished place that we chose for its location as we want to visit the Gorges du Verdon to the North and the coast to the South between Cannes and Le Lavandou. Le Muy is also right next to the RN7 main road from Aix-en-Provence to Cannes and the A8 autoroute covering the same ground. North of these major routes the roads tend to be narrower and twistier as the terrain becomes more hilly and so they are harder work with our full outfit, including the towed Smart.

We decided to avoid the rather narrow and twisting road through Loumarin to the South of Bonnieux - after driving it yesterday in the Smart we decided that although it would be feasible for us in the motorhome with Smart in tow, we would prefer to drive the extra distance involved in leaving Bonnieux the same way we approached it (to the North) and routing via Cavaillon. This would have been fine had we not made two navigational errors, both requiring complex turning manoevres to get back on the right road. But we made good progress and at Aix we decided to abandon our resolve not to use autoroutes and take the A8 all the way from Aix to Le Muy, nearly 80 miles of blissfully relaxed driving. This certainly convinced us that staying clear of autoroutes carries a big penalty in terms of driving workload - N and D roads can be very hard work, especially when they are busy through-routes and when they pass through town centres, as they often do!

At the Le Muy exit "peage" we were classed as Category 2 and charged 13.20 euros - we felt the time gain and reduced hassle factor were well worth this cost. We may well change our strategy and use some sections of autoroute on our Northbound journey.

Camping Le Sellig could have been tricky to find had we not spotted a sign for it; it is very close to the autoroute exit in fact but has a slightly complicated approach via the RN7 sliproad towards Le Muy. As luck would have it we were there within a few minutes of leaving the autoroute. We chose this site from the ACSI guide (we can't find any other recommendation for it) having rejected several sites in the locality that are in the Caravan Club Europe book on grounds of their excessive prices - given that it is no longer "high season" in France, sites charging over 40 euros, and in one case over 50 euros a night, for two people in a motorhome with electric hook-up, simply have to be joking.

We got a friendly welcome at Le Sellig and a large pitch:



even if it was a bit strangely situated with tricky access between the boules court and a large static "mobile home" (why are these called mobile when they are never going to move?). The site caters mainly for static accommodation, mostly bungalows, and has only 31 touring pitches. When we had set ourselves up and walked around the site, we soon realised we were the only campers; about 18 static properties were occupied but the campsite seemed oddly dead. It has a nice pool and we went for a swim soon after arriving - we were the only people in the pool though a few were lying on sunbeds. R discovered that they have chargeable wi-fi that works from our pitch, even inside the motorhome, so we bought 5 hours of online time for 5 euros. Our first impressions of Le Sellig are rather mixed - we will say more about this when we have been here longer.

We were both tired after today's journey, even though it was only 125 miles, so after our swim we had an early supper and early night.


Saturday 5 September 2009

One of the main reasons for coming further south-east in Provence was to visit the Gorges du Verdon. We decided to make this a priority and do it today. The weather has become even better again after the few cloudy intervals of the last week or so; this morning there wasn't a cloud to be seen! It is also getting hotter again, although less so than the hottest days we experienced in August - today the temperature peaked at about 32C.

We set off northwards from Le Muy via Draguignan, refuelling the Smart just before reaching the town. Traversing Draguignan, a medium-size town, was a nightmare because of very heavy traffic, lack of signposting (again) and the presence of a Saturday market. It took us about 30 minutes to do a mile and a half (it would literally have been quicker to walk); this was a London or Paris rush-hour level and speed of traffic! We ended up on a road we had not intended to use but decided to stick with it, making for Aups and from there to the western end of the gorges. There was a Saturday market at Aups as well so it was slow-going again through the town, but it is a smaller place and looked pleasant.

We took nearly 100 photos of the Gorges du Verdon and the Lac de Sainte Croix. This is without doubt one of the great landscape features in Europe and is better described in images rather than words. So we have included a selection of our pictures here, but it may also be useful to give some advice about the best route for exploring the gorges by car.

We continued northwards on the D957 from Aups for 23Km, turning right onto the D19 towards Aiguines; we did not use the "short-cut" D519 11Km north of Aups which confusingly becomes the D19 as well earlier than you would expect (another masterpiece of illogical road numbering so common in France). The "main" D19 through Aiguines turns into the D71 (we think) as it traverses the spectacular section above the gorges on the left bank of the Verdon known as the "Corniche Sublime"

Aiguines is a pretty village at the western end of this superb road and enjoys good views of the Lac Ste.Croix:



We continued all the way along the D71 to Comps-sur-Artuby, stopping briefly at the Balcons de la Mescia for ice creams. The Relais des Balcons not only charged 7 euros for two Magnum Classics (not exactly "glaces artisanale") but then had the temerity to try to charge M 30c for using the loo! She used it all right but didn't pay. At Comps we took the D995 heading north to Pont-de-Soleils, crossing the Verdon and turning left onto the D952 along the river's right bank. At this point the road runs right by the river and although it was fast running a number of people were swimming and others sunbathing on the pebble beaches:



In general the area was not crowded for a Saturday with perfect weather, and all the roads we used had quite light traffic; we imagine this would be very different in the high season.

After passing the famous "Point Sublime" viewpoint, just as we approached La Palud-sur-Verdon, we turned left onto the D23 signposted as the Routes des Cretes. This is the most spectacular road in the Gorges du Verdon - it forms a loop and emerges on the D952 again at La Palud, only a short distance west of its starting point. But you must do it this way around (clockwise) as there is a section in the middle that is one-way (no entry is permitted from the other side of the section); this is in the middle of the loop and as far as we could see there was nothing to signify it at the junction with the D952 should you try to drive it in the other direction. What can we say about this road? Well, if you think the Corniche Sublime on the left bank is good, just wait until you get here! The road does require care - most motorists respond to this although there are inevitably a few idiots who imagine themselves to be rally drivers and typically don't even know the width of their cars! Some even drive with one hand. As for the motorcyclists - we'd better not say too much for fear of becoming abusive; a tiny minority rides responsibly while the vast majority are a serious hazard to themselves and everyone else who might get in their way.

As for motorhomes, well we wouldn't take ours anywhere near the Gorges du Verdon but even if the Corniche Sublime and D952 are attempted by some "camping-caristes" (we encountered several), taking one on the D23 would be sheer lunacy.

Most of our pictures were taken from the D23 using one of the numerous viewpoints where you can get a car off the road; doing this would be a nightmare if the road was busier, as in the high season.

Selected photos - Gorges du Verdon:



We saw Egyptian vultures circling above the gorges and this magnificent eagle:



We also spotted these climbers who had just traversed an enormous overhang:



One other point about this route: doing the left (south) bank Corniche Sublime followed by the right (north) bank D952/D23 puts you on the "inside" of the road (away from the drops!) for most of the time. The Corniche Sublime, seen here from the D952 on the opposite bank of the Verdon, has some impressive rock tunnels:



Stopping on the D23 loop road is challenging because the parking spaces are tiny, but the main D952 has plenty of larger pull-ins:



After the D23 the rest of the D952 towards Moustiers-Ste-Marie, while still spectacular is a bit of an anti-climax. We drove through Moustiers and used the small hilltop road running south-west to Ste-Croix-de-Verdon, giving fine views of the Lac de Sainte Croix:



We briefly visited the pleasant lakeside beach at Ste-Croix:



There is a big "aire de service" here for "camping-cars" and it was absolutely full.

We made our way back to Le Muy and the campsite, routing via Lorgues to avoid Draguignan, after a fabulous day.


Sunday 6 September 2009

Today we drove via St Aygulf and the coast road:



to St.Tropez where we took the easy option and parked in a well-signposted underground car park. We strolled through the modern centre of the town and then around the port ogling the fabulous yachts and other displays of wealth beyond most people's dreams - Ferraris, Porsches and the like were numerous enough to make a mere Mercedes seem as mundane as a Mondeo. BMWs of all varieties were just commonplace.

The millionaire's favourite yacht builder seemed to be Riva who had a sales promotion in front of a quay full of their boats which went up in size and price as you moved from left to right along the line. Smart young men and women clad in white were ready to answer your questions; we do wonder how many boats in this category are actually sold like this - to someone strolling along the quay and suddenly considering a purchase. Yet the white-clad salespeople were showing folk around the boats and most of these potential clients looked the part at least - clad in designer wear with gold lame handbags and the like. Perhaps this is how it happens - "oh darling, isn't that boat just fabulous - I simply must have one right now!"

R considered expressing an interest in this little number (about to dock after a "test drive" for a possible client) which would make quite a replacement for the canal narrowboat we sold last year! He was deterred by the probability that his strictly non-designer apparel would give the game away right at the outset:



Amusingly one of Riva's perspex signs had blown into the water and sunk, so they whistled up this diver to retrieve it:



We consumed a very small beer and a glass of coca-cola at a street bar for a total of 9 euros and R bought an ice-cream for 5 euros:



Then we walked around the old part of the town which was delightful and gave at least a hint of what St.Tropez must have been like when it was essentially a fishing village and before Bardot made it famous. We are told by those who know more than we do about these things that it is a shadow of what it was in its heyday, but we liked St.Tropez in spite of the ostentatious displays of wealth and the consequently silly prices of quite ordinary things.

St.Tropez:



We drove on along the coast, passing Ramatuelle, stopping briefly at Cavalaire-sur-Mer where the beach was surprisingly crowded:



We continued along the coast all the way to Bormes-les-Mimosas where we turned inland and made our way northwards over the mountains using the fabulous little roads across the Col de Babaou and the Col des Fourches; incredibly narrow and twisting routes through these forested hills. The initial climb up from the coast provided fabulous views of the landscape in the late-afternoon light:



This route took us neatly to the RN7 and so back to Le Muy. This had been a more enjoyable visit to the Cote d'Azur than we had expected.


Monday 7 September 2009

Ten years ago we visited a perfume factory at Grasse, just north of Cannes. Grasse is widely acknowledged to be the centre of the French perfume industry; indeed the capital of perfume in France. The factory was that of Fragonard who make perfume bases for several renowned brands. It isn't well-known that Fragonard also make their own perfumes for retail sale; these are available only at the factory shop in Grasse or by mail order. We discovered Fragonard in 1999 when R was working at Sophia Antipolis between Grasse and Cannes. We visited the factory at the earliest opportunity, buying far more than we intended! But the range of perfumes is superb and very good value in comparison with shop prices for anything of equivalent quality, whether bought in France or the UK. All Fragonard perfumes are packaged in aluminium bottles to improve the length of time for which they may be kept without deterioration.

This time the visit was even better than in 1999 - you more or less have to do a factory tour, but that is interesting in any case and we thought they had improved it. There are tours in several different languages so ours was in English and our guide was excellent. Naturally you finish your tour at the shop, but there is a very good system whereby your guide helps you sample as many of the perfumes as you wish; if you then want to buy she makes a note of your proposed purchases against your name and the items will be waiting for you at the cash desk in just a few minutes. Also there are significant price reductions for buying five or more perfumes - they must be of the same size but can be mixed types; the best deal is obtained by buying five of the largest size (120ml) but, better still, you are allowed to club together with others in your tour party to make up the 5 minimum and get the lowest price; indeed the guide encourages you to do just that. M wanted two different perfumes; three other ladies in our party wanted to buy a 120ml bottle each so M got her two at the 5 item price. R also bought some toilet water "pour hommes" and we bought perfumed soaps in presentation sets for various family members and friends. So the bill was quite impressive but Fragonard is anything but a rip-off. As long as you can get to Grasse - we imagine shipping costs would make the mail-order option unattractive.

Parking at Fragonard was interesting too - the car park is very small and was clearly full when we arrived. A man in charge of parking turned a car away immediately in front of us, but when he saw the Smart he persuaded us to get it into a tiny space between a car and a tree where there was insufficient length for a normal car but just enough for the Smart. This was quite a performance, R being egged on in voluble French by this Fragonard parking attendant who demonstrated a considerable capacity for optimism, but whose judgement of the situation was flawless - the Smart fitted perfectly. The whole incident was highly amusing too and if filmed it would have made a great Smart commercial. They had got the parking well organised too, for when we came out there was a car behind the Smart blocking it in (one of many cars blocking others) but the same man had kept the keys for all the blocking cars and moved the one behind the Smart swiftly to let us out!

Fragonard:



Filtration:



Distillation:



Bottling:



We should have called it a day after Fragonard and used the autoroute back to Le Muy but R decided to drive into Cannes and along the Croisette with the roof down (of course); actually that bit wasn't too bad although the traffic in Cannes was fairly heavy as you would expect and as bad-mannered as we have come to expect having driven here several times before. Our larger mistake was to take the coast road from Cannes past the red-rock "Calanches" to St.Raphael and Frejus:



The traffic on this section of coast road was heavier than we ever remember it being, even in the height of summer and culminated in near-gridlock in St.Raphael and Frejus (practically the same place as they adjoin each other). It was another snail-like crawl, inching along, spending more time stationary than moving. After more than an hour (to do less than 3 miles) we escaped at last onto the main road back to Le Muy. What surprised us was how different this had been from yesterday's drive (on a Sunday) along the next section of coast beyond Frejus. So we had a great morning visiting Fragonard followed by a tiring, frustrating and unrewarding afternoon. A swim in the pool helped restore us.

We promised to say a bit more about Camping Sellig. The pool is its best feature - out of season at least it is very nice. The site also has wi-fi (it worked in our motorhome) reasonably priced at 5 euros for 5 hours (can be used in any number of sessions until you reach the 5 hours total). But the site is so dominated by static bungalows and "mobilhomes" that touring camping really feels like an afterthought (we were the only touring unit there). It also suffers from excessive "end-of-season-itis" with the cafe closed and the bar open only briefly in the evening. Today the reception didn't open in the morning as it was supposed to (10.00 - 12.00) - the lady simply didn't turn up. She was in the office when we got back from our excursions (it is also open 3pm - 6pm) and said she would be there tomorrow morning so we would be able to pay and also get out through the barrier! Yesterday the toilets were cleaned so thoroughly that we suspected we might be witnessing the Last Clean of the Year! Sure enough, this morning, three of the five loos were locked and "out-of-service". The site can also be quite noisy as it is located right next to a large paper-recycling plant with heavy lorry traffic close by, some of it at night; typically it woke us around 6am each morning. For all that, Camping Sellig isn't such a bad site and it was not expensive at 14 euros a night including electricity. But we don't think we'll use it again.


Tuesday 8 September 2009

Today, in effect, we started our journey home although we still have 15 days of holiday to go. We left Camping Sellig at 11.15 and made an abortive attempt to refuel the motorhome at the large filling station almost opposite the campsite exit onto the RN7. This involved turning right towards Le Muy, driving about a mile to a roundabout and then driving back the way we had come to access the filling station on that side of the road. The whole exercise was abortive because the filling station was unmanned and relied on "automate" pumps with payment by card. But these pumps had an interesting feature in that they required a bank card containing a photo ID and then used a camera image of the presenter's face to compare with the face on the card. As there is no photo ID on British credit cards (at least not on ours) the transaction failed with the display of a message (in French of course) explaining what had happened. We have not encountered this new additional security feature anywhere else in France; indeed we had no idea that French "cartes bancaires" now have photo IDs on them. If this system spreads widely it will make the use of "automate" pumps in France impossible for foreigners and since about 80% of French pumps seem to be automatic it will become difficult to obtain fuel. Of course, this could be part of a grand scheme to introduce internationally compatible photo IDs on cards throughout the EU but we doubt it, and even then Britain would probably insist on being different. This seems to be another example of a difference between rhetoric and reality when it comes to foreign tourism in France. Let's hope the pumps at Le Muy are just part of a trial.

We were thus destined to buy fuel on an autoroute (near Orange) at a price premium of about 15% as we had decided to use autoroutes all the way to our destination just north of Lyon. This was a France Passion stopover site - a vineyard in the Beaujolais region, the Cave St.Cyr near the village of Anse. This is listed in the 2009 FP Guide as having a restaurant, and a phone number is given, but when we called them yesterday they explained that they don't have a conventional restaurant but will prepare for you a plate of charcuterie and cheese to accompany your own meal. This seemed fine so we confirmed that we would arrive this afternoon. The autoroute journey was very easy and much less tiring than using N and D roads - indeed it would have been impossible to get to Anse at a reasonable time today without the autoroutes. Again the tolls were much more reasonable than we had originally anticipated - at every "peage" we were charged at Category (Classe) 2. We judged it well worth the cost for the benefit of a fast and relaxed journey of about 270 miles. Apart from some traffic on the urbanised (and free) section of road through Lyon we maintained a steady speed of between 50 and 60mph, meaning that almost everything overtook us including lorries. But we arrived at the Cave St.Cyr just after 5.30pm, finding it easily thanks to good directions in the FP guide.

At the vineyard the grape harvest ("vendange") was in full swing - it's quite unusual for FP vineyards to be available during harvesting activity but the Cave St.Cyr has a big sign saying "Bienvenu pendant la vendange" and this applies not only to those wishing to taste and buy wine but also to France Passion invitees. There was already one motorhome parked on an area behind the buildings of the "Cave" when we arrived; this area was large enough for at least six motorhomes:



A third one arrived shortly after us and there was plenty of room for the Smart and its trailer. All around us the "vendange" continued until late in the evening. In the yard, right by the motorhomes, a grape sifting operation was taking place, semi-mechanised but relying on people separating out leaves etc. from the grapes themselves:



Amongst the vines a small army of people was hand-picking grapes - we saw no sign of mechanised picking here:



The weather was still magnificent and the temperature almost as warm as in Provence. From the motorhome we had a superb view to the west across a sea of vines towards distant hills:



We explored the property and concluded that this France Passion site would take a lot of beating - it is fabulous! On the other side of the wine-making plant there is a smart tasting area and shop in a conservatory-like extension with tables inside and also outside on a terrace with that same view of the western hills. There is a customer loo that is also smart and spotlessly clean; if you're camping this is available 24 hours a day. While on the subject of facilities this place has everything - fresh drinking water just across the yard to refill your motorhome's tank, rubbish disposal and, wonder of wonders, free electric hookup! Once the "vendange" activity stopped (about 9pm) it was utterly peaceful.

We tasted almost all the wines on offer and bought seven bottles (4 white, 3 red, Beajolais) as they were very good and reasonably priced - the white "fut de chene" is especially good. Six of these were packed for us in a carton and one (white) we bought ready-chilled for drinking now. There is an argument that if you buy this much wine it makes the FP stopover expensive, but this ignores the fact that you have the wine! For us it's no hardship to buy good wine at fair prices (certainly less than in a shop or supermarket). We also bought the charcuterie and cheese plates and rather than take them back to the motorhome, we consumed them sitting outside on that terrace as the sun was setting:



This food was also good value at 7 euros each including a carafe of wine, and it proved to be quite enough for our supper. The welcome here, as with the other FP sites we visited, could not have been more friendly.


Wednesday 9 September 2009

We are convinced of the value of using the autoroutes, as we indicated yesterday. Unless you can be bothered to turn off and find a filling station (we can't) the fuel prices have a premium of about 15% above the prices on ordinary roads (similar to motorway fuel prices in Britain). At the moment the cheapest fuel we have seen (usually from supermarket stations) is just under 1 euro a litre for ordinary diesel (gazole) while the gazole price on the autoroutes has varied between 1.14 and 1.18 euros. Shell, BP and Total are almost always the most expensive; Avia is cheaper; Esso fluctuates across the range. Even with higher fuel costs augmenting the tolls, we find using French autoroutes worthwhile - a result we didn't expect when we set out on this trip.

Today's journey was just 90 miles, firstly via the villages of Pommiers and Limas on the southern outskirts of Villefranche-sur-Saone to join the "Autoroute du Soleil" northwards to Beaune, and finally a short drive along the D974 to the village of Premeaux Prissey. The D974 forms part of the "Route des Grands Crus", so named because it either traverses or passes nearby so many of the great names of Burgundy ("Bourgogne"): Aloxe Corton, Savigny, Nuits St.George, Vosne Romanee, Gevrey Chambertin... Premeaux Prissey is not one of the great names but does have a Chateau - the Chateau Premeaux - that makes and sells wine, using, like all Burgundy wines, the single grape variety Pinot Noir. It is also a France Passion site and was today's destination. As we didn't stop for lunch en-route we were there by 1.30pm. The chateau was very easy to find, being signposted in the village; it is relatively small but pretty, and lies in grounds consisting mainly of a large grass area with trees. The owner was enjoying a picnic lunch with his family under one of the trees; he indicated that we could park where we liked on the grass to the south-west of the house:



We were soon enjoying our own picnic lunch beside the motorhome. Later we visited the "cave", received another friendly welcome and tasted more wines - this time from Burgundy of course. We bought six bottles again but four of these (two white and two red - Hautes Cotes de Nuits) are to drink while still on holiday and two much more expensive (a 2006 Gevrey Chambertin and a 2007 Pommard - 18 and 20 euros respectively!) are to take home. It is certainly true that almost all Burgundy is now seriously over-priced in relation to international and even French competition, but this is especially the case with the better known names. So these two bottles were an extravagance but are for keeping - they will drink well in a few years time and should keep over 10 years without risk (of course we had the advantage of tasting them before buying). On several occasions this holiday, when we have bought wine we have also bought engraved glasses, a pleasant and inexpensive souvenir - we did so here and at the Cave St Cyr. This is another good FP location - it didn't have the range of facilities of the Cave St.Cyr but we liked it very much and would recommend it too.

We unloaded the Smart, lowered the roof and set off for a tour of the area north and west of Premeaux Prissey using small rural roads; the countryside nearby is delightful - not spectacular but very pretty. The weather remained fine and sunny with the temperature still in the mid-twenties. We found a big Leclerc supermarket on the northern outskirts of Beaune and stocked up on food and "household" supplies. This supermarket was brand new and is probably the best we have ever visited in France. Our purchases included filleted sardines and mackerel which made an excellent evening barbecue. We slept well again as the location is tranquil except for the occasional TGV on the nearby main-line railway - close enough to hear, certainly, but these trains didn't keep us awake.


Thursday 10 September 2009

We breakfasted earlier than usual and left Premeaux Prissey just after 9.30 as we have about 180 miles to cover today to Colmar in Alsace, using the A36 autoroute via Besancon and Belfort to Mulhouse (near the border with Switzerland), and then the A35 northwards to Colmar. We stopped for a picnic lunch en-route at a quiet "aire" somewhere between Belfort and Mulhouse; we also filled the motorhome's tank with diesel paying the cheapest autoroute price we could find (1.14 euros per litre). We found Camping de l'Ill very easily, again because of good directions in the Caravan Club guide (whereas the ACSI guide information included no directions at all!). We arrived just before 3pm. We walked round this very nice site beside the River Ill and eventually chose a pitch from the many that were available - our's was shaded by trees with just a little sun filtering through and had nice views towards the river:



The site has good, clean sanitation facilities in four separate blocks and all pitches intended for caravans or motorhomes have electric hook-ups. The only disadvantage we could find with Camping de l'Ill was the noise from the nearby A35 autoroute, but we found we soon adapted to it and could keep it in the background; it didn't keep us awake at night.

Camping de l'Ill also has a good restaurant serving a simple menu of dishes providing decent value for money. We had dinner there and found that the portions are enormous for both starters and main courses. The food was good but there was too much of it!


Friday 11 September 2009

We awoke to a cloudy overcast and a distinct chill in the air! Is this the end of summer and the beginning of autumn?

After our usual breakfast we walked into Colmar - from our pitch on the campsite we estimated this to be about a two mile walk each way. We spent most of the day exploring the old part of this interesting and pretty town. It has many beautiful buildings but we were slightly disappointed that some of the pedestrianised areas mixed lovely old buildings and their archictecture with modern shop fronts in close juxtaposition, giving too strong an impression of walking through a typical shopping centre and suppressing somewhat our enjoyment of the medieval structures above. As we explored more widely though, we warmed to Colmar, and the southern half of the old city around the Tanners' Quarter, the Koifhus (Old Customs House), the Place de L'Ancienne Douane and the Place du Marche aux Fruits is splendid:

Colmar:



The Unterlinden Museum:



St.Martin's Church:



The Pfister House:



We were slightly disappointed by the area known as Little Venice - its limited stretches of water seem to serve as an excuse to raise restaurant prices and run over-priced excursions in small, flat-bottomed boats!



Restaurants seemed very expensive throughout the old part of Colmar and we limited ourselves to modest drinks at a pavement cafe before walking the two miles back to Camping de l'Ill and having a very late picnic lunch.

On the way back we visited another Leclerc and did more food shopping - this was smaller than the one we used at Beaune but also very good. We think that Leclerc may get our award for the best French supermarket. The store at Colmar is also very conveniently placed for Camping de l'Ill.

The sun had shown its face again during the afternoon and the day warmed up sufficiently for us to take off our fleeces; back at the campsite we even changed into shorts again. But it cooled down rapidly as the sun set so a change back to trousers and fleeces accompanied the usual barbecue. It was more or less dark by 8pm.

There is no internet access at Camping de l'Ill. There's supposed to be but the lady at Reception says "il ne marche pas"! So we've no idea of the news, no idea of the weather forecast and there is no chance of posting this blog update until we move on. We are told that the tourist office in Colmar has Wi-Fi and we know there is a McDonalds nearby but we don't want to take the time to visit an access point away from the campsite.


Saturday 12 September 2009

Autumn is definitely here! It was only 18C inside the motorhome when we woke up and colder (16?) outside. But a thin cloud cover had disappeared entirely by 10am; the sky was a cloudless blue but the nip in the air persisted and the temperature stayed at about 18C. At home in Cumbria we would consider this one of our warmer days, especially for mid-September, but 2 months living with daily maximum temperatures above 30 does condition you to warmth. No doubt we will adapt in the other direction - eventually!

We set out in the Smart to drive part of the Alsace "Route des Vins" starting at Colmar and driving a section of this famous, signposted itinerary through the vineyards and "wine villages" to the north-west. The first place which tempted us to stop and walk around was the small village of Niedermorschwihr; this is not a famous tourist destination and is mercifully devoid of crowds - we were almost alone as we strolled round. We parked without difficulty and without charge. Niedermorschwihr is a lovely village and it served as an excellent introduction to the colourful architecture so dramatically featured throughout this region:



At this stage we were still surrounded by vineyards but soon the road climbed into the Voges and left the vines behind for a while. We continued through the hill town of Les Trois Epis and then descended again via Orbey to Kayserberg which gets its name from the Romans who called the mountain behind the town "Caesar's Mountain". We nearly didn't stop here as all the parking was "payant" at 2 euros but fortunately we changed our minds, parked, paid and then strolled around. We were pleased we had bothered - Kayserberg, with its castle on the hill, is lovely:



and although there were many visitors it didn't seen crowded. It is the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965) and the house where he was born is now a museum of relevant memorabilia:



By now it was lunchtime and the many restaurants were doing a roaring trade - almost all outside tables were occupied throughout the town. There were a few left and we considered having lunch but decided that the picnic we had packed in the Smart would suffice. So once agin we just strolled around, soaking up the atmosphere and admiring the splendid buildings. We visited the church and paid our 20 cents to illuminate the renowned altarpiece by the sculptor Hans Bongart of Colmar which is dated 1518 and in which wooden bas-reliefs describe the Passion and surround a depiction of the Crucifixion while the predella shows Christ and the Apostles:



It is a remarkable work of art; this is so, we think, whatever your religious views may be.

It was but a short drive through vine-covered slopes to our next stop at Riquewihr, one of the biggest "tourist magnets" on the entire Alsatian "Route du Vin"; this was a very different proposition from the first two villages we had explored. Immediate clues to this difference were the very large coach park on the village outskirts and the procession of coaches approaching Riqewihr from the main road, disgorging many hundreds of visitors an hour into the narrow streets. Though not before they had walked by the temporary "bier keller" set up at the entrance to the village from the coach park; this also served robust food in the Alsace / German tradition and was complemented by a very loud one-man band bashing out everything from rock to oompah!

Once past this hazard things improved a little. We were also pleased to have avoided paying for parking here - not an easy matter as everywhere was supposed to be "payant". Riquewihr would be gorgeous without the crowds. Yes, of course, we know we were part of the crowds, but that doesn't alter the fact that this volume of visitors inevitably changes the experience of visiting for the worse. Somehow we managed to get acceptable photos of Riquewihr in spite of the number of people, but it took an awful lot of patience:



Every other building seemed to be a shop selling goods aimed at tourists across a wide quality spectrum but generally with inflated prices. We spent nothing at all at Riqewihr other than the time for a fairly comprehensive exploration.

By now it was approaching 3pm, we had still not had lunch and we were hungry. We found a nice picnic table surrounded by vines about a kilometre outside Riquewihr and had a late lunch there. M observed that the vines in Alsace grow higher than those in other French wine regions we have visited; those in Burgundy and in the South are more bushy whereas the Alsatian vines are tall and slim!



Our last stop today was at Ribeauville a few kilometres north of Riquewihr. It is another famous destination and tourist hotspot, but was much less crowded than Riquewihr, mainly because it does not seem to be a calling place for coach tours. We suspect that Riquewihr has deliberately cornered the tour bus trade by building an enormous parking area for them; this is undoubtedly good for the economy of the town but for us it almost destroyed the environment, and that must be so for nearly half of the year. It was much more pleasant walking around Ribeauville:



Interestingly we spent nothing in Riquewihr but at Ribeauville we bought a set of six aperitif glasses engraved with a pair of storks, the stork ("cigogne") being the symbol of Alsace. There are many storks nests atop buildings in Alsace - we spotted this one at Ribeauville:



M was lucky enough to see a stork in flight above the River L'Ill by the campsite at Colmar.


Sunday 13 September 2009

We decided it was time to explore some of the hill country of the Vosges and so we set out in the Smart to Munster (20Km west of Colmar) and turned left (south-west) on the D10 via Sondernach, the D27 and the Col du Platzerwasel (the conjunction of French and German words in Alsace is fascinating) to Le Markstein - not so much a town as a hill-top gathering place for walkers, cylists and motorcyclists, particularly the latter; today there were hundreds parked here and we wondered if there might be some sort of rally going on. The roads were also busy with motorbikes, some ridden well but sadly too many ridden by prats.

The countryside is quite different from the mountains in the centre and south of France; the hills are wooded with large areas of open pasture often grazed by big yet pretty cattle with horns; some of the cows have bells. It is very like Switzerland and in the more wooded parts it resembles the Black Forest in Germany, not far away to the east. There are numerous walking trails, most of them waymarked and some with names - these walks look delightful and relatively easy. Many people were out walking, some in families, others in large rambling parties. The views are stunning in all directions:



At Le Markstein we continued in a south-easterly direction on the D431 towards the Grand Ballon, at 1421 metres the highest point in the Vosges. This was of nostalgic interest to R as he cycled this road (in the opposite direction, ascending from Cernay) in 1961 at the age of 17, while on a cycling tour of Alsace and Switzerland. He remembered some of the road:



and found it hard to imagine cycling all that way uphill!

The road passes below the summit of the Grand Ballon; we parked at the top of the Col and walked up a rocky path to the summit:



The path ascended via a monument commemorating "Les Diables Bleus" and skirted the base of a large radar dome:



from where we walked across to the cairn:



View from the summit of the Grand Ballon:



We returned to the road by a different path. R was pleased to see a fair number of proper cyclists as well as the armies of motorised ones. There were also extraordinary machines of various sorts, based on motorbikes but looking more like small cars - a huge motorbike with a sidecar as wide as a car, hybrids of motorbikes and quad bikes, three-wheelers in various configurations.

Both the restaurants / cafes at the Grand Ballon looked unattractive so we resigned ourselves to another late lunch - fortunately we had brought a picnic with us again. We found a pleasant seat with a good view somewhere on the way down to Cernay and ate our bread, cheese and fruit.

Further down this road we stopped at the memorial site known as Hartmannswillerkopf, better known to the French soldiers who fought here in the First World War as "Le Vieil Armand":



This was one of the focal points of the fighting in the Vosges - the French and Germans fought hard over this strategic ridge and the battles were especially bloody in 1915 when the summit changed hands no less than eight times! The memorial consists of a National Cemetery with 1256 individual tombs marked with crosses and a mausoleum where an ossuary contains the remains of more than 12000 unknown soldiers. With the fighting in the Vosges in the Second World War, more than 30000 combatants died upon these hills. There is a brutal simplicity in the horizontal lines of this monument to man's stupidity which serves to make its structure match the magnificence of its mountain setting.

Back in the valley among the vineyards again we decided to follow the southern section of the Route du Vin back to Colmar. We drove through Guebwiller, Soultzmatt and Osenbach to Gueberschwihr where we stopped to explore because we liked the look of the place; we had a good walk round it. Continuing northwards on a delightful but very narrow road through Voegtlinshoffen (we both had difficulty pronouncing this - what do the French make of it?) we reached Eguisheim on the south-western outskirts of Colmar. This is another picture-postcard wine village where another piece of creative (Smart?) parking avoided all the "payant" parks and spaces! Strolling round Eguisheim was a nice way to end another lovely day. But the village has such a maze of tiny, narrow streets that we got seriously lost at one point and couldn't work out how or where to exit the old pedestrianised quarter to get back to the car! We eventually realised that one of the streets we had been following described a complete circle and this had reversed our sense of direction; we were relieved to find the Smart!

Eguisheim is beautiful and was not crowded:




A word about Camping de l'Ill - this is a nice site with rather limited and basic facilities. It is prettily situated beside the river. Most of the site has marked pitches bounded by small bushes but there is a large area closer to the river that has no marked pitches and is more suitable for tents. The site was not busy at this time and the restaurant had limited opening. We suspect that in the high season this site could get crowded and the sanitary facilities (which are clean but basic) could become over-stretched. Some people may also find the motorway noise intrusive. We paid just over 18 euros a night here, including electricity, in September.

Tomorrow we move on to Obernai, about 25Km west of Strasbourg. From Obernai we intend to visit Strasbourg and explore some of the more northern parts of Alsace before the last part of our journey home via our friends near Rouen.

Cheers:

France Passion (again), especially the Cave St.Cyr, near Anse in the Beaujolais.

The Autoroutes - easy driving and better value than we expected. We have paid Category (Classe) 2 tolls throughout.

The Gorges du Verdon and especially the D23 loop road (Route des Cretes)

Fragonard "Parfumerie" at Grasse

St Tropez - nicer than we expected (but as expensive as we expected).

In Alsace: Colmar and the villages of Kayserberg, Ribeauville and Eguisheim.

Storks in Alsace - it's good to see them apparently doing so well.


Boos:

The traffic on the Mediterranean coast, especially around St.Raphael-Frejus. Combined with generally aggressive and plain bad driving, motoring on this coast road is no pleasure.

Markets that completely block the through routes in towns.

The volume of coach tour visits to Riquewihr in Alsace.