Le Corbusier's masterpiece seems quite a while ago, so let's see what we have been up to since......
After leaving Ronchamp (sigh!), we took the lazy route towards the hot town of Dijon, where we pitched up mid-afternoon in a campsite almost slap bang in the middle of town! In fact, it was a short 20-minute walk into the city's centre, home to some 160 thousand good souls.
We stayed two days in Dijon, which was only enough to give us a flavour of the place, but it was a lovely taster all the same, and enough time to get in 21,650 steps!
Next up was the small hill town of Vezelay with its 423 inhabitants, where we spent a night in a local municipal campsite 20 minutes walk out of town! This place turned out to be a wee gem of a stop-over, as we discovered after a pleasant walk into the village at 17:00 in 24 degrees C, where we found the hill walk up to the church, which, given the temperature and the steep incline, was somewhat arduous, but ultimately worth it. The taverna at the bottom of the hill was a "rare sight", as we say back home, and its choice of libation was equally welcoming!
Next up was the city of Bourges, about a two-hour drive west, where we had booked into another pleasant city 'centre' campsite, and after checking in, we found a suitable spot to park. This choice turned out to be another 'doozie', with its magnificent cathedral and the old town streets. Please check out the visual experience in the "Our Trip" tab on the website!
Bourges Cathedral
Next up, as we moved further west towards Brittany, we stopped in Saumur, where we found a pleasant campsite on the L'Ile D'Offard, from where we had a pleasant half-hour walk into Saumur centre along the banks of the Loire. In the centre, we found some quirky bars and enjoyable restaurants, and we visited the Chateau de Saumur, from whose elevated position we enjoyed some incredible vistas.
Chateau de Saumur
From Saumur, an in-land location, we headed further west, bypassing Nantes and alighted in the seaside town of Pornichet on the Bay of Biscay. As luck would have it, we arrived at the campsite just as a storm was moving inland from the bay. The wind was whipping up, and by 16:00, when we set off on the 25-minute walk into town, we decided to lower Iona's roof as the gusts were reaching 45 miles an hour. When we made our way to the beach, the wind and waves were working in concert to produce a spectacular 'symphony', so we returned to walk along the coast road into town! Pornichet turned out to be a small, older, market-style town with an extensive beachfront of modern concrete structures with little aesthetic value!
Consequently, we spent our time in town around the market square! In addition, for the first time since coming to France, our chosen campsite had an open restaurant, which we visited in the evening for a small libation as the sun set. Also, the camp swimming pool was still operational, but we declined to visit that facility!
Follow our route here:
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