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Spring Tour 2009 – Day 3: For lunch we stopped at the Grande Forge de Buffon, the integrated ironworks near Montbard, established in 1768-72 by Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707-82). The Forge can be visited from April until the end of September from 10-12am and 2-6pm. Next to the forge one can see the Canal de Bourgogne, which is 242 kilometers long and links the river Yonne with the Saône.

We didn’t want to wait until 2pm but used the break to check the air filter of our Mercedes-Benz. Occasionally on this and the previous tours the motor had problems accelerating. On the 3rd day of this tour it was worse than ever and we wouldn’t have been able to continue our trip like this
Previously I had checked all oil levels and got the better more expensive fuel but the air filter was something I hadn’t done yet. According the manual there should be a meter notifying us if it has to be replaced or not, but that specific meter didn’t exist in our model. So I found the air filter and took it out. Mercedes obviously believes that a car owner doesn’t do this, so there were no instructions in the manual and it was more difficult than necessary to get the filter out. After cleaning everything as good as possible and putting it all together again, the motor ran smoothly again and didn’t have any more problems for the rest of the trip. What a relief!

Spring Tour 2009 – Day 3: This day felt like our vacation had really started now. Instead of driving all day again, we decided to visit interesting places in the area, as we were moving south. First destination was the wash-house at the Fosse Dionne, a deep water source with a mysterious blue green color below the Sankt-Pierre church in Tonnerre.

Unfortunately the town with just 5322 inhabitants (2006) is a town in decay. Many houses are in a bad condition and on the edge of collapsing. It could be a charming French countryside town. With the Fosse Dionne, the Sankt-Pierre church high above the town (not open to the public), the Hôpital Notre-Dame and some small stores and cafes it could be popular among tourists.

On our way to Tonnerre we drove through the vineyards of the Chablis, the northernmost wine district of the Burgundy region. In April there isn’t much to see yet but it is always nice to see where some products come from.

Spring Tour 2009 – Day 2: From Bouillon it was just a short drive until we reached France. Originally we had considered stopping in Reims on our way South, but as it started raining we kept on driving. As far as we could see, the famous cathedral of Reims was also obscured with scaffolding, so we will come back another time.
Leaving Reims behind we drove through the wines fields, were Champagne comes from and soon reached Burgundy. The further we got South, the more trees and bushes were flowering already. Unfortunately this also meant that my allergies were getting stronger.

For the night we stopped in Gurgy, which is a small town north of Auxerre. Here there is a lovely camper park directly next to the Yonne river. We arrived early enough to enjoy the warm weather outside and went for a walk along the river and through the village.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 13: We started the first day of the year with a quick visit to the beach and were lucky to find some open stores to get fresh bread and some local products of the Isle of Rhé like sea salt. Once again the weather was getting worse. There was an ice-cold wind and the sun was hidden behind clouds, so there was no good reason to stay on this island much longer. We will add it to the list of places to visit again.

The route back to Holland was going through the region of the Loire valley. We have visited this area years ago and were looking forward to see it again.  First we tried the camper park in Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe, directly next to the river. It is a pretty place but everything was closed and turned off, so no floating water or electricity. I tried to use the power convert in the camper to charge my notebook, but every time I turned the converter on it blew a fuse. Without a running notebook to edit photos and watch a movie we didn’t feel like staying there and went back a few kilometers to Briollay. In Briollay it was the same situation – a remote camper park without supplies. In Chenillé-Changé it looked like we were lucky as there was a power outlet next to the camper park which was being used for flickering Christmas lights. I connected the motor home but when I plugged-in the power adapter of my MacBook Pro, it blew this adapter and the main fuse of the motor home. Also the power convert got fried beyond repair. With an empty laptop battery, a broken power adapter and a destroyed power converter,  there wasn’t much left for us to do at night, so after having a good dinner we decided to keep on driving. Two hours and 186 km later we stopped in the village Gacé, which has a simple camper park in front of the town hall.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 12: After visiting Talmont-sur-Gironde we drove via Mornac-sur-Seudre, La Tremblade and Marennes towards Rochefort, but as it continued to be foggy and uncomfortably cold, we didn’t stop in any of these cities to walk around and take pictures.  Just before La Rochelle the fog finally disappeared and made space for the sun and blue sky. That made the decision easier to go on the Isle of Rhé (Île de Ré) and find a place for New Years Eve, preferably somewhere quiet and close to the sea.
The Isle of Rhé was more densely populated than expected, and we were not the only ones visiting this day, but at the end of the road of Les Portes-en-Ré we found a small camper park just meters away from the sea. As expected it was very quiet here and only at midnight we heard some firework explosions far away, probably in La Rochelle.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 12: The day started as it ended yesterday – foggy and cold. Not far from Mortagne-sur-Gironde we visited the ancient village Talmont-sur-Gironde.

The enclosed and fortified village was founded around the Romanesque church of St Radegonde in 1284. In the summer this place must be packed with tourists but now we were almost alone walking through the tiny pedestrian-only streets between the small houses.