Florac, France, visited July 3, 2012

Florac, in south central France, is in the Lozère department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is a small town with a population of approximately 2,000 people.
Raymond of Anduze once held the barony of Florac and is recorded as using the castle there in the 13th Century. Later, in 1363, local born Pope Urban V lent the town 300 florins for the construction of ramparts, defenses that were not unusual and offered desirable security and protection for the townspeople. These defenses remained in place until 1629 after the Treaty of Ales which insisted on the razing of fortifications as perceived "strongholds".
The Château passed through a number of feudal families before being entirely rebuilt in 1652 after the Wars of Religion.
During the French Revolution, it was turned into a "salt loft" and later was used as a prison in the 19th century. In the late 19th century, a then young Robert Louis Stevenson visited the area and featured the town in a chapter of his wry Victorian bestseller Travels through the Cevennes with a Donkey, published in 1879.
Since 1976, the castle has been the headquarters of the Cévennes National Park, who restored it and installed a permanent exhibition on the National Park.
Florac's Medieval Catholic Church was destroyed in 1561, during the Wars of Religion, and the first Protestant church was razed following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. In a rush to recapture the religious revenue stream after the revolution, two new churches were erected on the old sites - a Protestant church in 1832 followed by the Catholic Saint Martin's a year later. More pictures of this interesting town are here.

Seaplane Saturday in Tavares Florida

Postponed twice for inclement weather, the Seaplane fly-in and competition finally got under way on Saturday, May 11, 2013. The weather was excellent, slight wind, partially cloudy and pleasantly warm. About 10 seaplanes were on hand to entertain and thrill the crowd at this free event organized by the city of Tavares.
We chose to chug on over there in our little boat and watch the proceedings from Lake Dora in the company of a neighborhood acquaintance and a motley selection of their kids with their intendeds. A great way to spend a relaxed Saturday - bombing buoys with grapefruit and a precision landing exhibition. For more pictures click here.

Saint Pierre d'Albigny, France - June 25, 2012

Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, a small rural town of 3700 souls is in the Savoie department of the Rhône-Alpes region. It is 290 miles from Paris and about 420 miles from Calais. A market is held in the town each Wednesday morning.
This fairly featureless farming town still supports an Office de Tourisme, a Mairie, a rundown hotel and the obligatory church. Certainly not a place to go out of one's way for but there is a reasonable campsite down by the river with a substantial grocery store nearby. See here for a few pictures.

Annecy, France - June 23, 2012

Modern Annecy is an agglomeration of 13 small municipalities producing a total population of more than 50,000. It is the capital of the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhone-Alpes region of France and is located on the northern shore of lake Annecy.
The lake is about 9 miles long and 1/2 to 2 miles across and is fed by the river Thiou that runs through the city. The Thiou, at about 2 miles in length, is one of the shortest rivers in France. The area in the vicinity of Annecy has been occupied since at least 3,100 BCE and was home to an industrious community up through the collapse of the Roman Empire, after which the population declined precipitously.
A mild resurgence occurred in the 12th century which supported the construction of the medieval fortifications but, it wasn't until the late seventeenth century, that the city really began to prosper again. This latter comeback was fueled by the industrial revolution and enabled by the hydraulic power of the river.
In 1860, after the annexation of Savoy to France, Annecy became the capital of the new department of Haute Savoie. Annecy is host to several annual and bi-annual film festivals and, for the casual explorer, offers something for everyone.
More pictures are here.

Lons le Saunier, France - June 21, 2012

Leaving the Alsace region, we headed south into the Franche-Comté region and visited Lons le Saunier in the Jura department. In one travel guide Lons le Saunier is decribed as the sort of place you would stop by for a coffee if you were really thirsty. It is actually an old Roman salt city nowadays known as a spa city where visitors can sample the therapeutic effects of the salt water. In the heart of the Jura vineyards, Lons le Saunier is a picturesque and historic city. For our purposes, it was on the route we were following and had an adequate campsite nearby for a couple of nights R&R. We did make an incursion into town and confirmed the guide book's assessment.
Lons le Saunier is a sprawling, ill-defined town, home to about 19,000 people and seems to be struggling to develop an identity. The Place de la Liberté with its theater and Grand Cafe are the focal point of cultural and social activities. Geographically, the town is at the foot of the Jura massif and, although the River Vallière runs through it, the river has been enclosed since the 1960s due to contamination. Just one small section remains open where it is crossed by the Pont de la Guiche, the solitary bridge. See here for a few more images.

Altkirch, France - June 18, 2012

Back in the relative comfort of France our next stop was Altkirch, a little town of 5,500 or so in the southern end of the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace. The town is traditionally regarded as the capital of Sundgau - German for South Country - the name given to the part of Alsace between the Jura mountains and Switzerlandand. The city's name comes from the German Alte Kirche, or old church.
The town is on a small hill which was the site of an earlier castle destroyed in the 17th century, the remnants of which were subsequently used as landfill before the church was constructed. Although no vestige of the castle remains be seen, there are still a few remnants of the defensive ramparts that once completely encircled the town and a good part of La Vieille Porte - the old gate - still exists at one entrance to the old town. The Place de la Republique contains a few renaissance period houses as well as a substantial sculptured fountain called the Fontaine de la Vierge.
More pictures here.

Breisach am Rhein, Germany - June 17, 2012

Breisach am Rhein, a town of approximately 16,500, is on the right bank of the river Rhine in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Germany. Before 1820 the hill on which Breisach stands became an island during flood season. Johann Gottfried Tulla, a German engineer, put a stop to this when he straightened the river - actually reducing the river's length between Basle and Worms from 220 miles to 170 miles - in the space of a few years. Navigation and flooding problems were greatly alleviated along the upper reaches of the Rhine although the middle and lower Rhine suffered serious flooding thereafter. So much for unintended consequences.
The Breisach cathedral - Saint Stephansmünster - was begun in the early 13th century and, by the early 16th century, the town had become a significant stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire. In December 1638, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, aided and abetted by the French, conquered the city and attempted to establish a new territory. Bernhard died the following year and the town somehow slipped into French hands. Hmm.
The ownership changed several times more over the next 150 years finally ending up a part of Germany and the general instability of the area moved France to build its own fortress, Neuf-Brisach, on the left bank of the river. During WWII, 85% of Breisach was destroyed by Allied artillery as the Allies crossed the Rhine and Saint Stephansmünster was also heavily damaged. See more views around town here.

Neuf Brisach, France - June 16, 2012

Still in the Haut-Rhin department of the Alsace we stopped at an odd little town called Neuf Brisach, population 2,200 or so, its name taken from the town of Breisach just three miles away across the Rhine in Germany. After Breisach was lost to the Habsburgs in 1697, this fortified town was built by the French to guard the border. Louis XIV had his vaunted military engineer Vauban design the project and work started in 1698.
This turned out to be Vauban's last work - he died in 1707 and construction was actually completed by Louis de Cormontaigne. The layout represented the then current "ideal city" with a regular square grid street pattern inside an octagonal fortification.

A 4 block by 4 block area was set aside at the center for the central square. Elsewhere, individual blocks were offered for private development for expensive houses in private gardens or as properties for commercial rent. Simpler housing was provided in long tenement blocks, built inside each curtain wall, which also had the effect of shielding the better houses from the risk of cannon fire. Access was provided by large gateways in the four principal curtain walls.
The outer earthworks were deep and occupied a greater area than the city itself. Although the city suffered some damage in WWII, it still represents a very clear example of the latest in fortification work at the beginning of the eighteenth century and Neuf-Brisach was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Fortified or not, this "new" town has changed hands five times in the 300 years or so of its existence. More images here.

Eguisheim, France, June 15, 2012

Eguisheim is a tiny fairy tale town in the Haut-Rhin department of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. The Romans conquered the area, pushing out the Gaul tribe and, during their tenure, the Romans introduced the cultivation of wine. Numerous high quality wines are produced there to this day.
In the early Middle Ages, the Dukes of Alsace built a castle (11th century) around which the current settlement developed. The village is on the Alsace "Wine Route" and is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France"), both of which draw many visitors each year.
The name of the city comes from "home of Egino or Egeno," the Count of Eguisheim and the first official mention of the city dates back to 720. At the center of Eguisheim, which was fortified in 1257, are the remains of the castle that was constructed in the 13th century by the Count Eberhard.
If you ever get to this region of eastern France, do take a while and checkout this treasure. More pictures here.

Bergheim, France - June 14, 2012

Bergheim is a little town of 1800 souls in the Haut-Rhin department of the Alsace which, since the beginning of the 11th century, has been pretty much confined within a 330 yard by 550 yard walled area. The fortified walls comprise a double rampart, originally separated by a moat (now filled in and converted to gardens) and serviced via four gates. There were nine flanking towers all of which are still visible. Three of the four gates were demolished in the 19th century to make more room for carts.
Over the centuries, Bergheim has undergone several name changes since it was first built on a former Roman camp. In 465 CE it was known as Berchem, morphing to Bercheim in 1302, then Berckheim in 1510, Bercken in 1576 to eventually become Bergheim.
Ownership changes were even more frequent. In the 7th century Hagio donated the settlement to the Moyenmoutier Abbey in Lorraine. Later, Otto I gave the town to Hermann, Duke of Alsace. The Moyenmoutier Abbey regained possession in 964 aided by Gerhard, the bishop of Toul, until Duke Hermann seized it back in 978.

Under Emperor Henry II, Bergheim became the property of the bishops of Toul and, in 1132, this was confirmed by no one less than Pope Innocent II himself. In 1225, bishop Otto conferred all rights of Bergheim to Mathias, Duke of Lorraine and, in 1246, Mathias gave Bergheim to Philip Gilbeviller. On his death it passed to Hugh, Earl of Lützelstein.
By 1287, Bergheim had come into the hands of Rappolstein before falling to Albert I, King of the Romans in 1301. A few years later, Henri de Ribeaupierre gained control, surrounded the town with the fortifications (better late than never I suppose) and offered it to the Emperor Henry VII who gratefully received it in 1312.
Bergheim was finally elevated to a free city under the tutelage of Henri de Ribeaupierre . and in 1313 received the privilege to mint money and the right of levying of customs. Thirteen ownership changes in the space of 700 years - what confusion!
More pictures of this tidily organized town are here.

Thanksgiving 2012 - New Members Welcome ;o)

Today is Thanksgiving. We have fun on Thanksgiving. Here we are having fun.
Since last November, two additions have been made to the tribe, further outcome of a frighteningly fecund gene pool. The newbies appeared in the form of great grandchildren, each one the product of a different grandchild with of course, assistance from appropriate mates.
Amber, daughter of Martine, daughter of we dorks dropped Charlie back in May and Traci, wife of Matthew, son of Martine, still daughter of we dorks produced Alivia just a couple of weeks ago.
Click here for see more pictures including the new anklebiters.