It was fantastic this morning to wake up in a bed and not until my alarm sounded at 8:30am. After a shower I then had a leisurely breakfast in a large open room with bright sunlight pouring through the glass walls. Already today was showing far greater promise than the misery of yesterdays constant rain.Before I had gone to bed the previous evening I went down to the underground car park in the hotel to see if I could resolve the problem of the faulty driver’s headlight. I managed to unscrew the casing using my multi tool pen knife. No mean feet after having drunk three glasses of wine at dinner. I discovered that the problem was simply a loose connection. This I presume the result of too many cobbled streets which had shaken the connector loose from the bulb. It was quick and simple to push it all back and have a set of working headlights again.
After breakfast I headed out into Troyes which at its centre is a maze of 16th centaury courtyards and churches. Apparently it’s shaped in the form of a champagne cork which is appropriate for this region of Champania. However many of the buildings are in a poor stat of repair with rotting wood and render falling from the walls with several of the streets having a rather shabby appearance so clearly the fact that this is the place where the most over priced wine in the world is produced has not at least recently benefited the city.
As I walked down the main parade I was rather disappointed to see very familiar shop signs, Etam, Next, Burton, Top Shop and even and M&S which to a Brit was rather reassuring. I suppose this is the result of globalization but it would be nice to see genuine French shops though the share holders of these multi nationals would probably disagree.
To me it’s a bit like travelling to Spain or Greece and then to go out in the evening looking for Pub Anglaie serving fish and chips. Why travel at all if you’re never going to see or sample the local delicacies.
In the church of St Nizier I found my first real link to the Camino a statute and altar dedicated to St Rocher. He was a pilgrim who suffered from leprosy but was cured by making the journey and was protected by an angel and had a dog who brought him fresh bread each day. Though thankfully leprosy is not one of my concerns on this pilgrimage I decided to light a candle and say a prayer hoping for a better day as I travelled to Taize.
I had hoped to find a morning communion service but there was none not even in the Cathedral of St Pierre et St Paul. The problem is that the Roman Catholic Church in France is desperately short of priests and they have to be shared around covering large areas. Maybe they can learn a thing or too from us in the C of E perhaps its time for the Roman Catholic church to think seriously about ordaining women.
After getting lost in the maze of alleyways I finally found my way back to the hotel and got underway just before 11am. The sun was shining but it was chilly and there were dark clouds in the sky. On several occasions I found my self reaching for the leaver that turns the heating on in the 7 to get some hot air in the cockpit. The roads were great and virtually clear apart from the odd lorry carrying logs moving slowly with flashing beacons on the rear. I was rather surprise the first time I over took one to discover they are twice the length of a conventional articulated lorry so I needed to take this into account when passing. Thankfully the acceleration of the 7 makes this rather simple.
After a couple of hours in the car with one short fuel stop the temperature had risen and all clouds disappeared and I stopped to put sun cream on. It was not long after that than the fields of wheat, corn and sunflowers was replaced by rows and rows of vines. I had entered Burgundy and saw signs for another great place of pilgrimage for wine buffs Chablis, which I arrived in by 1:30pm. It has to be said there is nothing like sitting in Chablis drinking Chablis over lunch. By now all the trauma of yesterday’s wet drive had vanished and my heart was singing at this great experience. Chablis unsurprisingly was full of Brits and I chatted to several outside the Bistro who also had beautifully polished classic cars park about the town.
I still had a 200km drive to Taize and a stop at Abbaye Fontenay so couldn’t linger in Chablis so reprogrammed the Sat Nav and set of the Fontenay. Sadly there was no room in the 7 for a couple of bottles. The next forty minute drive was exhilarating with clear roads in dispersed with small French villages whose residents waived or gave me an approving thumbs up as I passed through at a crawl to respect there speed limits, reminded of all those people who speed through Shrivenham as if they had to get to a fire.
Abbaye Fontenay is the oldest surviving Cistercian foundation in Frances founded by St Bernard in 1118 who was from noble birth and with his families support the order grew. Sadly there are no brothers these days and the Abbey is privately own. In the past it had been used as a working mill, the working mill wheel is still in place but in 1906 it came into the current family who carried out all the restoration and it has been beautifully restored, with immaculate lawns that our bowling club would be proud of. By now the temperature was around 29C so it was very refreshing to walk though large cool chapels, refectories with courtyards containing splashing fountains.
Again the French aren’t big on facilities at these places unlike our National Trust who cater for every whim of the English middle class. The Abbey had a toilet [note the singular] which considering the numbers that visit and the queue was inadequate. There was also advertise in a small out building café but upon inspection no cream teas or French pastries but vending machines so it was an Oragaina rather than a pot of Darjeeling. I was half tempted to get the camping stove out and make afternoon tea in the proper way to demonstrate to our French cousins how a visit to a heritage site should be concluded with tea and cake. Unfortunately the tea lesson would have to wait for another day as I still had 170km drive to get to Taize if I was to arrive by 6pm when the community welcomes new arrivals.
The final 170km was a delight with more clear roads apart from the odd tractor and the 7 performed admirably on all the lovely bends and hills. My drinking system proved its worth again and this avoided dehydration in the hot sun. With the top down and the wind blowing through your hair you don’t realize that you are actually sweating a lot so its very easy to suddenly not feel well and light headed if you have not been drinking regularly. I pulled into Taize at exactly 6pm and was welcomed by a young Dutch girl who made my day thinking I was under 25 and putting me with the young groups. When I told her I was 40 she did not believe me thinking I was just trying to get a better camping pitch in the adult section so the diet has paid off. I should add that adulthood begin at 30 in Taize. Those under 30 are considered young people and camp in a separate area. Upon inspection of the adult section I was glad I had aged 15 years as the grownups have proper showers, toilets and tables to eat our meals but more about that tomorrow as I must get my tent up before evening prayer.
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