May 5th, 2008 - A serrated mountain

Meandering south from Cordona it wasn't long before we began to get glimpses of a strange raggedy mountain range. The multi-talented co-pilot took a few pictures for later study. More miles, more raggedy mountain and more mystery. Finally, it dawned on us - the strange looking mountain was our target for the afternoon, the Montserrat Monastery - Montserrat = serrated mountain, duh!
One way or another, the monastery is quite a trip. Early writings suggest that activities began here around 880 CE and there are numerous rumors and fairy tales of lights, voices, and abundant miracles along with a black Madonna purportedly carved by the apostle Luke. When carbon dating indicated that the carved Madonna was produced around 1200, like the Shroud of Turin it suddenly became off limits to further study. All that aside, some reclusive stay-at-homes saw an opportunity to opt-out of worldly worries, form a monastery and profit from the ensuing stream of pilgrims. Hence was born the grotto, the monastery, a few shrines and finally the Montserrat basilica.
Over the following centuries, the monks have improved their cash-flow with the addition of a funicular railway, later augmented by a cable car, to increase the flow of punters to their restaurants and gift shops built around the monastery. Access by road is via a white knuckle, five mile drive, rising 4,000 feet around endless tree covered hairpin bends and terminating in a stiff parking fee at the top. Nice work if you can get it. See here for some of the views.

St Augustine, Florida

Having got most of the loose and broken items replaced or reattached to the new coach we bravely took off on the first leg of the shakedown tour. Curious, isn't it, that shakedown has such a sinister alternate meaning - hopefully this will not turn out to be an omen. First stop - St Augustine in northeast Florida.
On the north side of town there is, what may be, the oldest attraction in America perversely known as the Fountain of Youth. Supposedly, at this very spot, the Spaniard, Ponce de Leon, arrived in 1513 to claim possession for the Spanish King and La Florida was born. It was within the boundaries of the current park property that the oldest continuously occupied European settlement within the continental United States was formed - St. Augustine, or at least so it says in the promotional propaganda.
Anyway, we were little hesitant to shell out for some foul smelling sulfurous spring water and finally skipped the park altogether when we saw this fine lady sneaking out after sampling the Fountain of Youth. Just goes to show how deceptive these things can be.
With that settled, we wandered around town in the 95 degree heat, enjoying the awesome humidity and wishing we were dead. Overall, the city has done a pretty good job of tarting itself up for tourists - check it out and see what you think.

May 5th, 2008 - Spanish Paradors

Nothing to do with bull fights, not even another manifestation of the humble umbrella, Paradors are state owned and operated hotels. Founded in 1928, by order of King Alphonso XIII, there are currently 93 such establishments in a nationwide chain. From the beginning they were meant to provide upscale accommodations set at appropriate distance intervals around the country. The timing was perhaps a little inauspicious as the country was rapidly descending into religion fueled anarchy culminating in an exciting three year civil war in 1936. Even at that, Paradors probably provided great vantage points from which to watch the ravages as the country set about slaughtering its own with the generous, if furtive help, of the rest of Europe and the Russians.
But, why would anyone want to stay in a state owned hotel you might ask? Simple - the Paradors are medieval castles, Moorish fortresses, ancient monasteries, pleasing palaces and stately manor houses, all excellently spruced up with taxpayers money. Although one might suspect that the original scheme was simply a clever ruse to get these historic treasures off the governments budget, the plan does seem to be working with the system being both affordable and well used. The first one that we stumbled over was in Cardona shortly after we entered Spain and is a ninth century fortress - more numbing information here.

May 4th, 2008 - Andorra la Vella, Andorra

Andorra la Vella - Andorra the Old - is the capital of the co-principality of Andorra. Prior to the political liberation of this tiny nation in the 1990s, the capital city of Andorra la Vella was about it for Andorra. The rest of the country was sparsely populated and extremely rustic. The constitutional changes of 1993 galvanized the country, which has quickly become a vigorous player in tourism with 2 million visitors each year, a magnet for upscale duty free shoppers and a great place to live if you are in a burdensome tax bracket. Better yet, Andorra boasts the highest personal longevity of any country in the world, with an average life span of 83.5 years. Must be doing something right! See more pictures of this incongruous little burg right here.

May 4th, 2008, Over the top...

The smallest state in the USA is Rhode Island. At 1,045 square miles however, Rhode Island is more than 2-1/2 times the size of Andorra, a tiny landlocked country between France and Spain, high in the eastern Pyrenees. The population of Andorra in turn, is less than that of the Northern Mariana Islands and indigenous Andorrans apparently are a minority in their own country, being outnumbered by the Spanish, the French and even the English expatriates.
Folk lore has it, that Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in the 8th century, in return for their fighting against the Moors, who were trying to invade France from Spain. A skeptic might believe that the provision of a buffer zone against subsequent attacks might have been a more likely motive, but that might be cynical. Anyway, for the next brief 500 years, the ownership of Andorra followed the fortunes of various incestuous royal marriages and political intrigues finally degenerating to a point where hostilites were imminent. Thus it was, that in 1278 the conflict was resolved by sharing the principality between a Spanish bishop and a French count.
Amazingly, for the next 700 years, the 70,000 Andorrans were kept in relative serfdom by the Church in Spain and a French administration that generally had bigger fish to fry. All that changed however, with the development of the European Economic Union. Andorra finally threw off the medieval shackles of the external "princes" and joined the 20th century. Tourism now accounts for 80% of the gross national product and practically every money making enterprise in the country seems to have been built in the last fifteen years. Click here to see more. The annual gross national product of Andorra is now up to three days of Wal-mart sales.

May 3rd, 2008, Toulouse - what a treat

Neither of us were particularly looking forward to Toulouse. The campsite was not attractive, Toulouse is a BIG city - the fourth largest in France at 1.1 million people in the metro area - and surely, it would be all modern high rises in tune with Aerobus and the French Space Agency. In fact, we were almost looking for an excuse to give it a pass when, on a May Saturday morning, we found a parking spot in a residential area not too far from the old town. What fools we can be.
Toulouse, originating in Roman times, flourished throughout the middle ages but slowly sank into liberal apathy during the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming a backwater and completely missing the industrial revolution. In part, thanks to the ensuing absence of socio-economic baggage weighing on other post industrial northern European cities, and in part due to the thirty year father-son mayoral reign of the dynamic Baudis dynasty, Toulouse has consistently been the fastest growing metropolis in France since WWII. This year, 2008, the Socialists regained control of this, the only solvent large city in France, and will likely soon fix that!
Lots of gorgeous sights in the old town, click here for a sample.

May 2nd, 2008, Montauban

Montauban is a mid-sized city with a population a little over 50,000 and is the capital of the département of Tarn-et-Garonne in southwest France. In 1144 Montauban was situated on the river Tarn by the Count of Toulouse, 30 miles to the south, who had decided to create a bastide as a defense against both English and French royal power. Generally regarded as the first such bastide, Montauban became a model for the layout of other medieval new towns.
The city was significantly damaged during the Hundred Years War and again, during the 16th an 17th centuries when, as a principal bastion of Protestantism in southwest France, it found itself on the losing side in the Wars of Religion. Its fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries and currently Montauban operates as an agricultural market with diversified industrial activities including electrical, aeronautical, lighting equipment, furniture, and food processing especially of dairy goods. Click here for some sights around town.

May 2nd, 2008 - Caussade, small town France

Weaving along the N20 toward our goal for the day we came to the small town of Caussade and promptly called timeout for lunch. Caussade is in the Tarn-et-Garonne department of the Midi-Pyrenees region - Midi-Pyrenees, that's exciting, there must be mountains in our future!
Caussade, with a population of just a few thousand, has a tiny old town which is being aggressively rebuilt, a tired old church, an historic house and that's about it. For a closer look, click here.

May 1st, 2008 - Cahors, the Wicked City

Cahors, along with Sodom, is vilified in Dantes Inferno as a wicked place. The Church had declared Cahors as a sinful place at the time of the religious wars, because bankers in the city were charging interest on loans - imagine that, a banker charging interest! In the Church's doctrine, all interest was usury and usury was a sin.
The Cahors area has been inhabited since Celtic times, when the easily defended udder shaped loop in the Lot river was first settled. Since its economic peak in the Middle Ages the city of 20,000 has slowly declined and today relies increasingly on tourism. Jacques Duèze was born in Cahors in 1249 and he went on to become Pope John XXII, one of the Avignon Popes. The city has a mediaeval quarter and a fortified bridge, the latter claimed to be one of the most photographed sites in France. Click here to see more.

Lazydays, Hazy days...

"Oh my, what a cutie!" I heard my little bride cry.
Sadly, she was not talking about this little fellah on the right, found lounging around in a Lazydays' waiting room. Rather, with laser-like focus, she was heading out into the swamp where she had espied her sparkly new coach. Today, ten days later, the coach load of parts shipped by Monaco has been more or less assembled into a working RV by the unhurried hands of the Lazydays blacksmiths. Such a fulfilling experience - a perfect manifestation of the monkeys and typewriters approach. Good job, one supposes, that not much else is going on. In the middle of last week, 75 technicians were laid off, the huge RV display area is all but deserted and Rally Park has probably 40 of the 300 plus spaces occupied. Tough times in Seffner City.
For more of this moving experience, click here.

Rocamadour - Fantasy Pilgrim Village

The weather, which thus far had been unseasonably cool with rain several times each day, had every indication of worsening. The frustrations of no Internet and nothing but foreign language radio stations, had reduced weather forecasting to the traditional wet finger in the air followed by a knowing nod. Based on this divination, we decided to leave the Loire valley, and skip both Poitiers and Limoge on our flight south. 200 miles later found us in Rocamadour with the weather little changed. So much for the occult!
If nothing else, Rocamadour in Occitan, a commune of southwestern France in the canton of Gramat, arrondissement of Gourdon, department of Lot, in the diocese of Cahors and the former province of Quercy, has a grand administrative title. That wasn't the half of it, however. Rocamadour is a tiny village of about 650 people that is part carved into and part attached to, an almost sheer 400 foot high cliff face overlooking the Alzou river, a tributary of the Dordogne. Since the 12th century this location has been the focus of religious attention and wishful thinking, including numerous alleged miracles elevating it to major pilgrim status and a stop on the way to that holy of holies, Santiago de Compostella in northern Spain.
The most significant structure in the village proper, is the pilgrimage church of Notre Dame containing the cult image of a wooden Black Madonna reputed to have been carved by Saint Amator himself. Notre Dame is the largest building in the picture at right while the church of Saint Michel, favored by the Benedictine community, is the smaller building to its left. Two other churches, St Sauveur and, beneath it, the subterranean St Amadour, are also built in close proximity. The chateau on top of the cliff was built in the middle ages to defend this religious hodge-podge. For those with a penchant for investing in the incredible, a visit to the Grotto of Miracles might be in order. Check the walking tour

Saumur - last stop on the Loire

Saumur is a mid-sized town - about 30,000 folk - and like Tours, the old town is built on a narrow strip of land between the Loire and, in this case, the Thouet rivers. There is a large island in the Loire at this point, which is heavily built up and is used by both of the town's bridges as a stepping stone across the river.
The town has a military background being home to the Cadre Noir, The National School of Horsemanship, the Officer School for Armored Forces and the Musee des Blindes, the largest collection of armored vehicles in the world. Saumur was also vigorously involved in the closing year of WWII in Europe and was the first recipient of the Tallboy Bomb, designed by the extraordinary engineer Barnes Wallis. Worth a quick look if you have any nerd blood in your veins whatsoever!
But, I digress. We didn't visit any of the above but instead, roamed around gaping at the chateau and other excellent edifices. To see more of Saumur, follow this link.

DANGER - Troglodytes!

Continuing our sojourn down the Loire valley with no particular agenda, we suddenly spied what looked like chimneys rising from the top of a cliff. "Aliens!", we cried, and promptly swerved off the road to investigate. Nothing so mundane – troglodytes, it turned out, were responsible for these curious features.

Troglodytes? n.

1. 1. A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves, dens, or holes.
   2. A person considered to be reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish.
2. 1. An anthropoid ape, such as a gorilla or chimpanzee.
   2. An animal that lives underground, as an ant or a worm.

Upon further investigation, it appears that word troglodyte is quite broadly applied and is used to refer to anything, even people, that live underground. For centuries, troglodyte dwellers have cut caves into the limestone cliffs to produce secure, low cost and durable homes and then simply lived in them. The limestone walling the Loire valley in this region, known as tufa, is particularly suitable for this activity. Other uses of the caves include mushroom growing, wine storage and, latterly, some have been converted to restaurants and second homes. The group we visited produced wine and the wily proprietors promptly perpetrated a bait and switch routine and sold us a rather expensive bottle of the stuff. Cunning old troglodyte! For further revelations, click here.

Tours - the City

Continuing along the route of the River Loire, we came to Tours. Built on the site of a Roman town and already a center for Christianity by the 4th century, Tours became the French capital in 1461, by decree of Louis XI. Later, under Henri IV, the capital left Tours for Paris and the city went into gentile decline. In the 20th century, WWII inflicted considerable damage on the city, after which most of the money left and the town degenerated to a slum filled with crumbling masonry. Fortunately, in the late fifties, an energetic and purposeful Mayor, in the person of Jean Royce came along, and over the next four decades, organized the renovation of the city to its present splendor – good job Jean! Tours also has a large university population and that too, has improved the city’s vitality. Checkout the slideshow

Amboise, another Loire Treasure

Amboise is the fourth or fifth European campground we have stayed in that is located on an island in the middle of river. About an equal number of other sites have been situated on river banks. In the case of Amboise, L'Ile d'Or is about 1-1/4 miles long and a fifth of a mile wide at the center, and the land primarily consists of recreation space and the campground. One supposes that all of these situations are prone to serious and dangerous flooding and are thus reserved for non-essential and easily evacuated use. Certainly they provide attractive and quiet retreats.

The Chateau d’Amboise is one of the more historically significant buildings in France, perhaps even in Europe. Louis XI lived there, Charles VIII was born there and also died there, Francois I was raised there as were all ten children of Catherine de Medici. In 1560, the failed Huguenot plot against Francois II was mounted there and Leonardo da Vinci is buried in the Chapel of St Hubert built on the ramparts. The original entry tower, the Tour des Minimes, houses a spiral ramp large enough for horsemen to ride up to make deliveries. The entire historic area has been splendidly restored and makes for a high quality visit. We had a nice walkabout, click here for more pictures.

Blois - continuing down the Loire

For generations, Blois was the principal royal residence of France until Henri IV moved the court to Paris in 1598. Nowadays, it is a well-kept historic town successfully blended with a bustling community – truly a relaxing and pleasurable place to visit.
In general, the terrain around the 120-mile stretch of the Loire that we are following is flat farmland. Flood control has been accomplished by a 20-foot high levee built on each side of the river and, subsequently, a road has been built along each levee. Numerous masonry farmhouses and outbuildings that existed long before the levees are still extant, many almost buried by the levees. It is odd to see chimneys, bedroom windows and barn attics flash by that appear to be growing out of the grass verges not twenty feet from the road. Access to these establishments and to miles of cycling lanes – the prior road system – is by frequent, death-defying ramps, cut in the side of the levee. We did not venture down.
The Royal Château de Blois was the residence of several French kings, it is also where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to drive the English from Orléans. Today, the château is owned by the town of Blois. For more, click here.

Beaugency - cruising the Loire Valley

Orleans and Blois, both on the River Loire, are about 35 miles apart and Beaugency, also on the river, is about halfway between. Until recent times, the 11th century Beaugency bridge was the only crossing along this entire stretch of the river. This made Beaugency of such strategic importance, that the town and the bridge were captured four times by the English during the Hundred Years War and were finally recaptured by none other than Joan of Arc in 1429.
Much earlier, in 1152, in the Romanesque Notre Dame abbey church, the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII was annulled freeing Eleanor to marry the future Henry II of England. Scandalous, eh?
For more old ruins, click here.

Orleans - Capital of the Loire Valley

Orleans and Joan of Arc seem to be inseparable. This city, on the banks of the River Loire, reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day in which the same day repeats and repeats. Wholly rooted in the past, Orleans seems to sleep walk from one Joan d'Arc festival to the next.
Joan was born in 1412 to fairly well-off farmer parents, Jacques and Isabelle d'Arc in Donremy, a village of a couple of hundred souls in eastern France. See their home at right. A rough outline of her life and beyond is as follows: 1424, at age 12, the voices and visions begin, although she never revealed this to anyone until 1429 when it became politically expedient to do so; 1429, lobbied the Dauphin and others in Chinon to let her have at the English siege installations at Orleans; May 1429 routed the English at Orleans and hung out there for a couple of months; subsequent successes were lesser, stymied by various political intrigues and jealousies; captured by the English at Compiegne in 1430, apparently betrayed by French courtiers; first quarter of 1431 a scurrilous trial was orchestrated by the English, resulting in the famous bonfire; twenty-four years later in 1455, the court decision was reversed declaring Joan innocent and promoting her to martyr status - not much help to Joan as it turned out; four and a half centuries later, in 1909, she was beatified; finally, she was canonized to sainthood in 1920. Ain't politics great? For more details of Joan's short life, click here.
In reality, apart from the initial siege busting, there is not much connecting Joan to Orleans, which is an interesting city in its own right. To see some pictures around town, click here.

Chartres

Well, easy days can sometimes get harder. After a luscious lunch by the canal in Verneuil we set off on the D939 road to Chartres. By the time we were installed in the campground it was still only 4 o'clock, the sun was shining, sunset was at 9:45 pm and so we hooked Heidi to the 3 amp supply, grabbed the bikes and cycled the three miles into town.
Chartre is a mid-sized city, about 40,000 population, 55 miles or so southwest of Paris. It has a Cathedral, promoting it to a city, and is described as "a hill town" due to a raised area about 100 feet in height that provides a natural foundation for the old city fortifications. The River Eure runs through the town which is located at the eastern end of the Loire Valley region. See Slideshow

Verneuil-Sur-Avre - lunch

What a lazy day this turned out to be. Following elevenses in Chandai, we stopped again a little later for lunch, this time in Verneuil-Sur-Avre, a larger town of about 6,000. In the meantime we had progressed a little, having entered the Eure department of Lower Normandy and had also reached the end of the N26 highway.
Over the centuries, Verneuil has seen its share of warfare and ownership changes from the time the stronghold was developed in 1120 by Henri 1st (the son of William the Conqueror). During the 100 years war it briefly fell into English possession and suffered its most recent hostilities in WWII when the church of Saint Jean (shown at right) was bombed in 1944. The main square, Place de Madeline, is rich with 17th and 18th century buildings including many inevitable half-timbered houses. There are several pedestrianized streets that are similarly endowed. For more pictures, click here.