The Queen and her Castle

On Monday morning, we had a nice breakfast and a bit of relax before deciding to rejoin the masses living outside the chateau grounds. Thought about making an offer to buy the place to clean it up and make a bob or two but changed my mind after reading how the last dynasty that had lived there over several centuries had perished in the Revolution. No photos of them in the public rooms either.

View over Perigny

We took the option of staying in the chateau. We had a room on the second floor with a nice view over the countryside. During our stroll around the chateau grounds, we found it to be a bit like parts of France in general we have seen this visit. Great initial public views from the front gates and driveway, well presented reception and restaurant areas but out the back the place could do with some TLC. We wandered past the pool, tennis courts and horse stables in the grounds and past the rubbish dump on the edge of the woods. And Yvonne wanted to get stuck into parts of the gardens

Can this lad really be 60?

During our visit this year we will celebrate Yvonne’s birthday, Randall’s birthday and our wedding anniversary. The last week in July saw Randall reach 59+ and so we took time out from our heavy gite schedule to spend a day quietly celebrating the event. For a variety of reasons we decided to take a good Sunday lunch at a chateau near Poitiers. Chateau de Perigny. A good choice as they had several good menus, some great wines, modern cooking and presentation combined with fine, but not overdone, table service. The chateau dining room had a great ambience which went well with the usual overcast day. We had a nice quiet celebration.

Le Tricheur off for a ride out of town

So now Le Tour is over for another year. Farce or sport? Given the politics involved it may be hard for the truth to emerge but the race is in trouble. A poll in the daily sports newspaper said 58% of French readers were not interested in the tour. I understand there is serious rivalry between the French bike racing association and the International Cycling Union with Le tour organisors not happy that the union did not do its job properly to exclude Rasmussen before the tour started. Some say that other races or at least the international cycling union want July to organize their own race and to take the tour from France. Some say the French had their worst individual result ever because they are the only ones sure to be clean from drugs. Some want the tour to be run on national team lines. As I write this the sports Minister is meeting with players to set political direction for next year. Maybe we will have to come back next year to see it all again!!

But if you want to see it, you can get close to the action and there is a buzz about the place as the race swings into action for another day.

Angouleme Stage Winner

Some two weeks later and after hearing much discussion on the TV coverage about how difficult it was for Christophe Moreau, the French champion, to carry the day and how courageous Vinikourov was to overcome a range of troubles to win 2 stages with panache, the race is a bit of a mess. Much wringing of hands, heaps of discussion and analysis, and we are left wondering what could happen next. Regardless of the troubles, there was still some magic left and so, as we were staying only a few kilometers from Angouleme and another stage finish, we spent another few hours one afternoon watching another finish. A four man breakway made it to the end, a French stage victory followed and the masses headed off happy. Yvonne is still wondering why we walked 7 kms in the sun (yes sun) to stand and watch the race for just a few minutes, but for me it is fascinating to see the race circus coming into town, the distribution of trinkets, the locals hanging out of the front doors and the caravans and bikes of the “camp followers” from all over the world. For a bike race!

As it happened, we rested out weary bones in the centre of Angouleme, in a bar just outside the hotel where Sandy Casar (stage winner) and his team were staying. So we had a great view when he turned up at the hotel after the usual winner drug testing. The team and suppoters clapped as he emerged from the car. He looked quite buggered as Yvonne, your loyal blog photographer, caught the moment. The centre of town was quite active, with team buses etc parked all over the place and patrons from the many restaurants spilling over into the small streets. Locals and visitors were all absorbing the atmosphere of a summer evening (at last).

Sarah's new hero (at least for one day)

We then headed off to get a spot just near the starting line, the riders lined up and then they were gone. The locals enjoyed the notoriety showcasing a range of local market happenings and gatherings around the drinking holes.

Start Villiers Cotterlots

Next morning we drove over to Villers-Cotterlots where we could walk into town and find the start enclosure. We found this more interesting as we watched the team buses arrive and then the media scrambles to get interviews and pictures of the perceived key riders. Yvonne struggled over the fence to get photos of riders, their names are somewhat incidental, whilst Sarah and Randall found a high spot from where they could look over quite a large part of the enclosure.

Two Drug Free Riders

Compiegne was quite well organized as you would expect and we had little trouble getting a reasonable spot about 300 metres from the finish. Randall, as usual, was putting the pressure on to get there early and so after checking out the finish line situation, we had plenty of time to wander up town and get ourselves lunch. We were expecting to see most tabacs and brasseries showing the day’s progress on TV. But no, it seems that it is still more important to focus on lunch or whatever. So “Non monsieur, on met en marche le TV ici a deux heures et demi, après le dejeuner”.

So we walked back to the finish line after lunch, secured our spot, checked out progress via the big screen from time to time, got involved in the pre arrival caravan procession which finished about 1 hour before the peloton arrived. You hear a growing crescendo of noise as they arrive and then in about 30 seconds you are part of history. We see the maillot jaune go to the front about 350 metres out and then it is just the whirr of bikes and colour. There is much jostling for a position to see the podium presentations, hanging around to see the riders get themselves onto the team buses and then a walk to get the car and off home.

Le Tour or La Farce

Over the last three weeks, like millions the world over, we have been following Le tour. Moving from being keen enough to get accommodation where we can see a stage finish and a start the following day to one of just being amazed at yet another drug scandal. At Jaulzy, we were just a few kilometers from the route. The town was well decked out as you would expect, but not too crowded. Plenty of tour groupies around like this duo.

Surprise lunch

One Friday we decided to take a walk up over the hill behind us towards Pierrefonds, a small village with a big chateau rebuilt by Napoleon III and designed by Viollet-Le-Duc. In the event, we ran out of puff and just had to stop for at least a coffee at a nice looking auberge. Once inside (and for once our timing was right), we just had to stay for lunch. The service was friendly, all local people and it was one of those surprises that brings you back to the reality of why we are here.

Just to be completer finishers for a change we jumped into the car on the following Sunday afternoon and drove over to the nice auberge, parked the car and then finished our walk to Pierrefonds and back. Big mistake!!! Pierrefonds looks better when you drive through and we failed in our aim to find a nice restaurant for Yvonne's birthday lunch. To top it off, the sky dumped half of the Atlantic ocean during our return walk. Weather is now a major news item everyday and we are promised rain storms for the remainder of the week.

We can hardly wait for Le Tour to come to Compiegne.

Picardie

We just had to return to Villers-Bretonneux and check out some of the WWI cemeteries. Whilst we have been to the Australian memorial plusiers fois, mostly for ceremonies in the 1980s, we had never really checked the site out nor climbed the tower to find the view. So another tick in the box.

We also visited memorials around Albert. They are interesting but what a waste of lives. Leadership incompetance and power hungry politicians just do not go away. The weather was reasonable for a change as was the lunch at Le Kangarou restaurant in V-B.

Tourist activities

We have checked out Compiegne and Soissons. They are quiet country towns and it is quite interesting to watch the locals interacting. We have also travelled over to Reims and Epernay just for the day to visit the champagne caves of Moet and Chandon. Just to make sure that we have checked out all the shops during the current summer sales, we took the train into Paris and les grands magasins for the day. Sarah had seen the key sites of Paris before so was more interested in where the rich and famous do their shopping and taking in the cafe scene. Randall spent a couple of hours with a coffee or two.

As usual, Paris at this time of the year is full of tourists struggling with their maps and emerging from the metro trying to agree which way to go.

More on Jaulzy

The gite is based on your typical living downstairs, bedrooms upstairs configuration. Downstairs there is one double bedroom with ensuite (and another closet with washing machine of course), a comfortable lounge area, dining area and an adequate kitchen. Upstairs there is a double bedroom, another bed in the attic area and a kids bedroom. There is also a mezzanine reading area. Toilet in a closet and a dwarf shower.

So we like the gite itself for its spaciousness but the location is not for us.

Relics from other days in our area

This area of France looks fairly depressed economically to us and with the grey weather and lack of a local cafe to while away the time, we are having to be more innovative to amuse ourselves than we would like. Up behind us and as the land flattens out into great plains of wheat etc, we find quite a few reinders of either or both world wars. Now used by locals for rubbish, or storage or youth hideaways or whatever. Not great places for us tourists.

Jaulzy Gite

Managed to get this published after a bit of mucking around with internet cafes etc. I always do things the hard way these days and I do not get any younger. Well here we are in rainy downtown Jaulzy. Just toprove me wrong in assuming that an address of rue d'Eglise is not in the centre of town and on the square with the coffee places, we are certainly located next to the church but no services now in the two weeks we have been here. Probably not used since 16 th century. No houses within 50 metres, no traffic so dead quiet at night. The Gite itself is quite good if a little under-maintained. So we continually learn just a little bit more each time. Slow learners.