Chateaus and Cathedrals – A French Pilgrimage

Still struggling to keep up with the blog writing. Since I’m not sitting in a truck travelling through Africa for hours at a time I don’t have the copious amounts of time to sit and write. So many other distractions! Now leaving France* so will cover quite a few days of French adventures. [Also having real problems finding good internet recently - nearly been African standards when trying to upload photos so no photos this blog unfortunately]

 Saumur

Was picked up with no problems after getting out of the TGV train at Angers. I’ve joined some friends and their parents as they travel around Europe and it was quite a task fitting in the luggage into the people mover. Bit like a puzzle, making sure the bags fit but the convenience of having our own car to go where we want is a pleasant change from Africa. Another improvement has been the accommodation – all of the places have been incredibly researched and booked over a year ago so we’ve been staying in some pretty fantastic hotels and apartments/houses. The first night in Saumur was a great introduction to the new style of holidaying as the house was situated above the river Loire next to a chateau.

Next day we headed to a tank museum which was pretty cool. Was getting antsy since couldn’t climb onto to these behemoths of machinery but luckily found a kids section where you climb through some of them. One thing that is becoming evident is that it’s definitely not peak travel time – and there are hardly any crowds anywhere. Unfortunately quite a few attractions close over this time as we found out later – the curse of November.

 Vilandry Gardens

We re-joined the rest of the group (since amazingly not everyone was interested in tanks…) and visited this nice garden and chateau complex. Some crazy carp in the water as well as meticulously trimmed hedges and gardens were the highlights. There was also a maze which seemed very exciting until we arrived and completed the maze in about 5 seconds. You weren’t supposed to race through but enjoy the serenity of the passageways. Still don’t get it…

Chataeu d’Azay Le Rideau

This blog could have easily included 30+ photos but since I couldn’t be bothered to upload them all and one chateau begins to look like another one had to cull the photos. One of my favourite photos was this chateau – all the places we’ve visited have been very well restored and maintained.

 

(chateau reflection)

It’s just been such a change of scenery and attractions from Africa - it’s all very exciting. The rest of the group have been in Europe for nearly 2 months so have been a bit more exposed to cathedrals and castles so it’s a bit like I was with game drives at the end of Africa.

 Chateau Chambourd

Another day, another couple of chateaus. Chambourd was massive with some impressive architecture and incredible number of rooms. One of the best staircases wound like a double helix through the main keep and the warm fireplaces inside were fantastic.

 

(Chambourd with its numerous turrets)

The weather has been incredible for this time of year in Europe. Don’t want to jinx it too much but it’s making me believe more and more in global warming.

Chateau Cheverny

2nd chateau for the day and famous for its link with Tin-Tin. Don’t know enough about that comic but will watch the movie and see if I can recognise anything. Even more fascinating were the hounds that we saw being fed. Talk about madness with so many dogs fighting for food.

Le Puy-en-Velay

Next day we headed to another quaint French village and had accommodation on the edge of the old city. Unfortunately the curse of November hit and all the attractions we were excited to see were closed – some by only a day. There was a massive statue on the top of a hill you could supposedly climb into and look out the eyes/head (much like the Statue of Liberty) and another chapel perched on the top of the rock mountain. The chapel reminded me of Meteora cathedrals. Got a photo of the monastery lit up at night – had to spend a fair amount of time getting the camera to take a somewhat decent photo.

(night photo of monastery after many attempts)

Driving Day through Mountains

After 2 nights in Le Puy we continued heading towards Spain by driving through some mountain passes. One of these was used in the most recent Tour de France and it’s amazing to see the roads the cyclists had to race up. Seeing the race on the TV gives you no idea how steep the roads are. The pass we crossed was supposedly infamous this year since a French TV car took out some racers. After driving to the top of a 2nd pass we rashly decided to climb a mountain peak called Puy-Mary. Wasn’t a very long climb but I wasn’t at all prepared and with the steps being a bit tricky and slippery I was very glad to get to the top.

(view from the top)

Just as we were beginning the climb two fighter jets roared through the valley. Didn’t know what the sound was until we saw these planes banking through the pass and flying off into the distance. Shame we weren’t at the top and been above the jets – no chance of me being quick enough and getting a photo of them unfortunately.

Sarlat

I’d been fighting a bit of a cold after leaving London (always get sick when I transit through London… or maybe when I have a long flight which always seems to end up in the UK) and it eventually knocked me out in another nice village called Sarlat. Managed to visit some great places like Domme, Beynac and Rocamadour which were all a bit similar in that they were built into the side of a mountain. The most exciting was Rocamadour where we spent a fair amount of time – luckily there were funiculars that saved a lot of stair climbing.

(top of Castle at Rocamadour)

Drive to Carcassonne

Continuing on with the trend of castles and cathedrals we headed to one of the best known French villages of Carcassonne which has its old city completely enclosed in fantastic walls. Along the way we stopped at Cahores which had an impressive medieval bridge and then had lunch at Albi. Albi’s claim to fame is a combination of a cathedral and a castle – it’s a hugely fortified brick church. It has the doubly French declaration in that it is the biggest brick building in France as well as having the largest organ in France. Listened to some Bach organ music in the car after visiting here.

(Albi’s Cathedral and Ruined archway)

We arrived at our amazing accommodation - a fantastic villa just outside the walled city of Carcassonne. One of the rooms in the triple level building had views towards the castle. Problem was however the heating had been set for sub-arctic conditions and the house was like an oven. After opening doors and windows and turning some of the heaters off we managed to somewhat reduce the sweating.

Carcassonne

The problem with travelling at this time of year is a lot of the villages are fairly shut up after dark. We had to find dinner and thought we’d save eating in the walled town on the top of the hill for a later night so headed down to the city by the river. The city was in a complete grid of really dark streets – and with a bit of rain falling had quite a spooky feel. The trip advisor recommended restaurants were all shut so we wandered the streets a bit and eventually found a really up-market French restaurant situated in some old stables. Bit of a bizarre experience but the food was pretty good.

We had a full day free to wander the town of Carcassonne. Quite an amazing walled town that you can walk around very quickly. Went to the proper castle and strolled around the ramparts taking lots of photos.

 

(Walls and Gates – yet another photo folder full)

Left the castle and began my Carcassonne mission. The mission was to find the game of Carcassonne – thought it would be a great souvenir to buy the game from Carcassonne (and honestly didn’t think it would be Mission Impossible). After asking pretty much everyone in the walled section and being sent all over the town we stumbled upon a shop that was selling the game and its 6 expansions. Unfortunately the closest I got to those games was looking at them longingly through the window since the November curse had descended on that shop. It didn’t open at all that day or by 10:30 the following morning when we had to leave.

So we headed down to the river part of town and eventually (after asking at the tourist information desk) found a bookshop that sold the game. Even got to play it that night. Took this photo looking back up at the walled part of town. Some fantastic photo opportunities or vistas to paint/draw if you’re into artistic things.

(Full view of Old City of Carcassonne)

Now heading to Barcelona before ducking back into France for our final 2 nights of French accommodation this trip. [Wasted so many days waiting for decent internet - eventually given up with photos...]

The Rookie Mistake… (Abridged)

I’m sitting here trying to write this blog when I know I’ve committed the unpardonable crime of blog writing. I’ve left my updates for too long and have felt overwhelmed by how much I need to write which scared me away from writing this blog. And it was only getting worse… So to try and correct my mistake I’m going to have to quickly cover some amazing times.

Giants Playground

Can’t believe I stopped writing here and I’m now in France having to think back. Oops. The playground is actually a massive area of rocks littered around in some fantastic shapes. Unfortunately we didn’t have long to explore (even though some people got ‘lost’ on their way back) but had some rushed fun taking photos.

(playing in the playground)

Fish River Canyon

We left the invisible giants to their games and headed to one of the largest canyons in the world. Again depending on what you were measuring this canyon could compete with the Grand Canyon. Arrived in time for sunset which was very difficult to photograph since the sun set right into our eyes and camera lenses.

(facebook profile photo?)

After another ‘fun’ PFT (Plan for Tomorrow) Meeting it was decided we’d return there for some more sunset photos since it was so impressive. Was nice to see the light hitting from another angle but (and probably going to start a trend for this blog) the photos just didn’t do it justice. Certainly worth a visit if you’re in the area and the 5 day hike would have been incredible. Even had some hot springs at the end of the hike.

As our tour leader said that was our last highlight. We spent two days in a smaller truck since ours couldn’t go into South Africa. Very glad we weren’t cooped up in there for the whole 60 days. It was torture enough for that short time. Had a final meal with the group and was dropped off in an amazing city.

Cape Town

It’s not often my list of ‘Things Still To Do’ in a city is still way longer than my ‘Things I’ve Done’ but Cape Town is definitely a city that can’t be covered in 3 days. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been too. It’s definitely a place I want to return to. The food was amazing (not that I had a high requirement after the somewhat monotonous meals we’d been having) and sitting on the waterfront was fantastic.

(view from Waterfront – Table Mountain and Signal Hill on right)

The first full day I got to spend in Cape Town actually corresponded to the 1st day of a Cricket Test Match between Australia and South Africa. It was held at Newlands Cricket Ground which is one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Saw a pretty good days’ worth of cricket with Clarke getting a century. However I missed the history making 2nd day which saw 23 wickets fall in one day and Australia being fairly humiliated…

(cricket ground)

Next day had one of my ‘Top 5’ experiences for the whole trip in Africa. Some of the group were going Great White Shark Diving and thought it would be incredible. Words can’t describe how amazing it was to be so close to these massive animals. It’s difficult to explain how the shark diving works but you don’t need scuba gear and they get incredibly close. After a bit of a mix-up getting picked up we spent the day there. I didn’t get any good photos but I couldn’t implore you enough if you are visiting this area to give this a go. Just take some anti-sea sickness precautions because you are wallowing in the sea for over 3 hours.

The final day was spent in Cape Town just wandering around. Wanted to get up Table Mountain but the cable-car wasn’t working due to the wind. Spent the day doing a bit of sightseeing before returning to the hotel for a shower. Headed off to the airport (where my lounge access failed me due to a code-share with Swiss’ cheaper cousin) and boarded the night flight back to London.

London

Arrived in London City Airport after a quick stop over in Zurich to find the DLR not working… Finally got to my old London flat to catch up with friends (after a quick and much appreciated afternoon nap). The two days in London turned out to be a gastronomic delight with all my favourite restaurants being visited including nitrogen ice-cream.

Had a relaxing weekend which disappeared way too quickly and on Monday was on the Eurostar to join some friends for a European adventure.

Sand in My Shoes, Sand in My Shoes…

I’ve officially left the malaria zone of Africa and don’t think I’ve caught it (fingers crossed at the moment). But with the lack of malaria mosquitoes there’s a massive increase in the amount of sand I’ve had to wade, climb, jump and fall through.

 

Seal Colony

After the night under the stars at Spitzkoppe we added to our now fantastic smells (no water/showers at all at the camp) by visiting a huge colony of seals. Thankfully there was a strong breeze so most of the smell drifted off to sea but can’t imagine what it would be like without the wind. Got some better photos of the seals later but again took tons of pretty much the same shot.

Back to Civilisation

Another holiday within a holiday with beds, hot showers and restaurant meals. I ate so well and getting dessert was (pardon the pun) the icing on the cake. I’m finding the further south we travel the better the amenities are overall. Namibia has been pretty good and Swakopmund just felt like German Europe built on sand. Swakopmund (don’t know how many different ways I pronounced the name of the place incorrectly) is a great place to do some fantastic activities and the group split up and enjoyed the excitements on offer. Was extremely surprised by how cold it got at night – even during the day I had a jacket with me and then at night-time actually wore jeans (a 1st I think for this trip).

Sand Boarding

After surviving one of the most painful experiences of my life (trying to learn to snowboard) hoped sandboarding would be an easier endeavour. I have - since the torture of snowboarding - learnt to wakeboard and thought that would help me with stand-up boarding on sand. Unfortunately I really struggled – either due to my lack of physical activity so far on this trip or I was lost without having a rope to lean against. Was able to stand up and do a couple of turns so wasn’t a complete disaster but unfortunately it was so quick going down and so much slipping and sliding trying to get back to the top of the dune I didn’t do too many runs. And walking in snowboard boots in the sand didn’t make life easier. Had to wax the board each time but it was actually a blessing in disguise in that it gave you time to rest after the sand-slog up the dune. Still something fun to do!

Half of the group that went chose just to do lie down boarding. Certainly got more speed doing that and luckily we got to join them for the longest and steepest run called Dizzy. Lots of fun and also got to see an epic wipe-out when two girls struggled to steer while tandem boarding. Worst part was that the videographer missed the excitement of the crash. The whole trip was pretty good value in that it also included a DVD and lunch (however it was exactly the same lunch we’ve been having the last 8 weeks).

Dolphin Cruise

The next day joined a few of our group and 16 other German tourists on a dolphin cruise down in Walvis Bay. We had somehow booked on the fastest catamaran which was great as we passed all the other boats in the harbour on the race out to where some whales that had been spotted. Had to head around a point and entered the true Atlantic Ocean with quite a decent swell. Finally saw the whales (a mum and calf I was told) and tried to take some photos while staying dry from the waves crashing onto the deck. Managed to get a decent video but lots of photos of clear sky or empty water as the boat rocked or the whales submerged…

(best photo of whale – video was better)

We were very lucky to see the whales since it’s a bit out of season for them to be travelling past – but also got to see a dolphin racing the boat as we headed back to the calmer waters of the bay.

 

(dolphin)

Another cool part the cruise included was them feeding semi-trained pelicans. The pelicans would fly behind and then beside the boat and either take the fish out of the hands of the guide or catch a thrown piece.

Much like the fake lion sightings of game drives, there were plenty fake dolphin and whale sightings that turned out to be the numerous seals in the area. There are no predators (besides humans) of the seals in the surrounding ocean so there were quite a few of them (with their own unique smell again). We did see a jackal on the sand that would eat any unprotected babies and dead seals but there were still a massive number of them.

There were also some trained seals who would jump onto the boat and be patted (amazing fur they’ve got) while they were fed fish. The 2nd seal who jumped on board knew exactly where the fish was stored and kept going for the ice-cooler. Unfortunately he got a bit confused and went for the drinks one, managing to tip it over and not liking the cans and bottles he found.

(seal looking for fish and finding drinks)

Sesriem

Unfortunately the great food, entertainment (including watching my first movie this trip at a cinema) and relaxation of Swakopmund had to come to an end and we headed south towards South Africa and spent the night at Sesirem. Wasn’t a very exciting day compared to the previous ones but we did cross the Tropic of Capricorn. Need to see where that crosses the Australian east coast to get an idea of what temperature I can expect.

The next day (after surviving the relative shock of returning to our tents) we had a very early start to get to the creatively named Dune 45 to climb and see the sunrise. Started to race up the sand but realised very quickly it was a huge mistake being near the front and not being able to use the compacted sand footprints of other people. Didn’t feel too well so slowed down (lack of food and intense physical activity in the early morning not a good recipe for my body) and eventually got to the top to unfortunately see a disappointing sunrise blocked by the clouds. Still was an amazing view from the top and lots of fun running back down in the sand.

We then headed further into the desert to what is known as the soussusvlei. Couldn’t go with our truck so transferred into 4x4 vehicles. Had a bit of a race between the two cars until one of our group desperately needed to STOP the vehicle to get a photo of a sand dune that wasn’t going anywhere… Have to laugh sometimes or you might go crazy after 55+ days. Also saw a deadvlei which was even cooler with the Big Daddy sand dune (largest dune in the National Park) in the background. Tried another jumping shot and it finally worked! The tradition lives on.

(Jumping on the deadvlei)

Our long day continued but we reached our destination during sunlight hours which was the first time our leader had achieved that – usually he arrived during night time – maybe the longer sunlight hours helped us. Heading tomorrow to Fish River Canyon via a stop at something called Giant’s Playground.

Week Ahead

Sat, 5th of Nov Fish River Canyon

Sun, 6th of Nov Orange River, Noordoewer

Mon, 7th of Nov Citrusdal, South Africa

Tues, 8th of Nov Cape Town

Wed, 9th of Nov Cape Town

Thurs, 10th of Nov Cape Town

Fri, 11th of Nov Leave Cape Town (late) for London

(top of Dune 45)

(feeding pelicans)