Epinal - Luxeuil-les-Bain

It again rained overnight and was quite cool but we were about earlier today than the past few lazy days!

Stopped off at Epinal to spend some time around this ancient town. Being the chief town of the Vosges Department it was worth the visit.  

 

A town that was heavily bombed during WWII, Epinal had made great attempts to reconstruct the city that reflected its past well. The Moselle River runs through this part of France offering a centre piece for the area. 

Moselle and colourful waterfront apartments. 

All the flags of the Euro16 countries lining the Moselle. 

We visited the city museum which outlined much of its history from Roman times, through the Middle Ages and up to present times. Although this was totally in French it was nevertheless interesting to see the displays showing this historical continuum.

Model of 17th century Epinal.

Many canon balls on display evidence of many past conflicts.

We wandered around the old fortifications noting that the town  in the Middle Ages had two fortifications - one on the island in the Moselle and the other on the east bank.

Part of the 13th century fortifications. 

More of the ruins.

The town Cathedral and the main square reflected more of this history. 

Centreville, now .... 

 ..... then!

We also visited a quite unique art gallery at the famous  Musee d'Images, part of the Festival des Imaginales with some very different art - some we found difficult to comprehend - not knowing of the artist, Nazanin Pouyandeh, but nevertheless, thought provoking.

Later in the afternoon we drove south through part of the Visges National Park to  Luxeuil-les-Bain where we had planned to spend the night. The heavily wooded first of the Vosges area is in stark contrast to much of the flat cropping area of the Pay-du-Calais. 

And our over night in Luxeuil-les-Bain, the old Roman town, Luxovium.

All parked up ready to do "The Hokey Pokey"!

Lorraine

Much more rain overnight just when we thought that it had all stopped. The already swollen river had spilled over its banks even more this morning. Some of the locals came out to have a good look at the levels. Time to move on!

Two older locals checking the height of the river.

But in this weather we weren't in a hurry to get going. Plenty of jobs to get done (?) and coffees to be had so it was in the middle of the afternoon that we set out for Epinal, the chief town of the Vosges.

Jobs to be done! Can you spot the secret person and what they are up to.

Fortunately the sun had come out late and it was a very scenic drive though the hills until we arrived at the Moselle and the east canal where we planned to spend the night. 

Very scenic and hilly.

More mixed farming too.

With crops that are drowning.

This village, Thaon-les-Vosges, just north of Epinal, is a pleasant satellite town with great amenities and a pleasant place to spend the evening.

Thaon-les-Vosges community centre. 

And parks and gardens.

Rain

A day of rain! Not an early start either - in fact it was nearly midday before we eventually decided to move on down the road  - having to reach Mulhouse by Friday. You can't rush these things!

We left the Marne River Valley after a beautiful drive through the forest before crossing over into the Department of the Vosges. 

A large viaduct through the valley,

Neufchateau was our destination - or just a little short of there, the village Rebeuville. We parked  next to the river which was bursting its banks in places due to the amount of rain that has fallen in the past few days. All seems to be safe now with the rain having eased this afternoon. 

River in flood. 

Took a wander around this village that seems to be a residential area for the larger city of Neufchateau. 

Riding lessons in Rebeuville.

Lots of old homes have been renewed.

But some others just waiting to be loved.

This seems to be the pattern in many old French villages.

Real Champagne

The weather has turned again - cooler and overcast with scattered showers. We needed to move off from the very peaceful and pictureque Mareuil-sur-Ay. 

We found that the very ordinary frontage view of the wine merchants establishment often hides a very sophisticated and elaborate set of cellars and tasting rooms.

Still traveling through Champagne country and couldn't help thinking how all this came about! A quick Google and voila! It was one gigantic mistake - and then it took the Brits to solve the big problem for the French. The grapes grown in the champagne district failed to fully ferment, leaving some sugars in the mix when bottling. This would then continue the fermentation when the temperature increased in the spring time causing many bottle explosions in the cellars. The French meant to be making a still wine and didn't like the bubbles, it took the aristocratic Brits to make this a fashionable drink. Because of this the Brits discovered how to make their bottles much stonger than the French bottles - a different glass making process - resulting in a stronger and thicker bottle, thus stopping the bottle explosion while the fermentation continued in the bottle. And the rest is history - well, nearly, there were a few other problems but you can read that for yourself.

For a while we followed the Marne River down and relished in just how much rain there has been of late - the Marne was flooding and flowing very rapidly. We had met some Aussies a day ago who were in a canal boat and they spoke of the troubles they had on flooded parts of the Marne.

Well ordered and pristine villages throughout this Champage district.

We had a stop at Chalons-en-Champage for a look around the town. Obviously quite a wealthy town with very clean streets and buildings that had been kept in good condition. The cathedral and a few timber framed houses gave it a sense of age but essentially it was a modern town.  

Chalons-en-Champagne 

French style merchant's house and twelfth century church.

We later drove on to the very pretty lakes side of St Marie-du-lac-Nuisement. Lots of activities here around the lake but also very quiet and peaceful. 

Mareuil-sur-Ay

Such a delightful location to spend time here at Mareuil-sur-Ay. Without much thought we decided to spend a leisurely Sunday here by the canal.

The canal is used for many activities. A passing parade this morning - boating, fishing, horse riders, cyclists, picnicking joggers and roller-bladers.

Spent some time chatting with a couple of Brits- turned out that they live in a village close to where our friend Fran lives. A very small world. 

We dodged showers throughout the day with much sunshine in between. The village is surrounded by vineyards and many champagne merchants in the village. But Sunday is really a family day here and very little commercial activity in the town at all - except for the boulangerie/patisserie  which opened for a couple hours this morning - to provide the French with their daily need for baquette/croissant!

Wine cellar - not open today!

Very leisurely and enjoyable day!

An old wine merchants house - note the carving of Bacchus above the door

The Marie - town hall.

Champagne Country

Not the most peaceful of nights. Around 11-ish great roars from bars sounded across the city and then  the constant noise of car-horns blasting to all hours into the night! France has just defeated Rumania in the biggest gig on the continent - Euro2016. 

Off to the market early this morning in Soissons to get a few items before we headed towards Epernay.

Saturday market tucked in around the cathedral - probably been held here for the past thousand years.

Crops and .... 

...... dead or alive!

Rained on and off throughout the drive, with quite heavy downfalls in places. Lovely countryside again - acreages of broad bean crops along with traditional cerial crops too. 

Saw the first of the vineyards as we approached Epernay. Small towns looking much more manicured complimenting the image of the vineyard cellar-doors  dotted all through the villages. A very smart area compared to the rustic charm of the area around the Aisne River valley. 

Champagne country.

 

Made our way to the canal  in the village of Mareuil-sur-Ay where we spent the afternoon and evening. 

Mareuil-sur-Ay - in the rain with canal and marina in the background.

Soissons

We are very fortunate with some of the overnight areas we stay in around France. This morning's view which greeted us made for a very pleasant start to the day and a delightful backdrop to breakfast.  

Pont l'Eveque - just a beautiful morning.  

We left Pont l'Eveque late morning for our drive to Soissons, through scenic Picardian farmland - more lush crops again - even some expansive potato crops across the countryside. 

Wheat crop and rogue poppies in the background.

We climbed a little passing many French and German war cemeteries - what a waste of young men! 

Four young Germans buried under each cross. Such a sad waste!

We were now entering the Aisne Valley - the scene of bitter battles during WWI. Shortly arriving at the pictureque  village of Vic-sur-Aisne. Skilfully parked the van  - where vans dare not go! Spent time wandering around the village, noting the marked difference of the architecture and building materials - more French and less Flemish in influence.

Village of Vic-sur-Aisne.

Originally Vic-sur-Aisne was a Roman village along the Roman road linking Soissons with Noyon. The "ford" here made for easier crossing of the Aisne at this point along the river. The chateau has existed since the eighth century - originally a wooden structure on stone foundations. 

Donjon Chateau in Vic-sur-Aisne.

Gate house and rose!

In the twelfth century the towers were built of stone. Religious wars later damaged the chateau and the rebuilds commenced in the early 1600s. It became the residence of cardinals and abbots until the revolution when it was sold off. During the WWI it came under control of the French army. Since WWII it has been sold off to a civil organisation and is now open to the public.

What are you doing there, Hilton!

Donjon Chateau and the Marie (Town Hall) on the right.

Some interesting little shops around the village. 

Soon after lunch we arrived in Soissons, another great location for parking. Aire de camping. Parked  on the bank of the Aisne River not far from the "centre ville". Joined a little later by a French couple and a German couple.

Hilton again with the Aisnes in the background. 

We set out on a walking trip around Soissons, a city ravaged by war 100 years ago - 80% of the town was destroyed in this time. 

The Battle of the Aisne took place at three different stages during WW1. It was right at the forefront of the German line from Belgium to the Swiss border.  The huge loss of lives just in this area alone was horrendous. 

Today, however, the city has redeveloped many of the main historical buildings of pre-WWI. The gothic cathedral was partly destroyed by artillery during WWI but has since been reconstructed - even minus the second tower on the main facade which was never completed in the 800 years the building has existed!

Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons 

Gothic interior

A little bit of window shopping saw our trip around the city come to an end. Back down to the Aisne for a Friday night celebration!