We did it again....parked on a car park and awoke early to find we we penned in by a ‘vide grenier’, which means a car boot sale. I had heard the noise of doors slamming and voices and presumed that they were setting up across the road in an area by the river that had previously been roped off. However, the roped off area was being used by a classic rally car tour who were revving engines and setting off one by one. You are probably getting the impression (correctly) that we were rudely awoken. We stayed calm and had breakfast....watched the rally cars set off from our van window, identifying each model of car as they departed. My knowledge of 1960/70/80 rally cars is better than my knowledge of current cars. We had a quick walk around the car boot sale......what a load of tat!
They weren't too close to us but we had to drive through them to get out and Janice shifted the metal barriers to let us out.
The day was a bit of a nostalgia fest for me on my cycle tour of the Eurovelo Route 6 in 2013. We had a coffee stop at Rochefort-sur- Nenon which was on Le Doubs river with a weir and lined on one side by cliffs.
The weather was poor today, plenty of showers but I did a bit of tweeting and warbling as I tried to spot the Yellowhammers flying around the river. I understand that most have migrated to the Thames and can be seen around Westminster!
I was tempted to bag another two UNESCO sites today. The first was the Saline Royale at Arc et Senans. This was a large salt factory built in the period of Louis XIV. The workers were all housed at the works and it looked quite grand for a salt factory.
Of course we didn’t pay to go in. We peered in through the gates.
Back to Le Doubs we drove into Besançon and had a little detour around the smallest roads in the area. I think I frightened Janice with some of the roads , I blame google as it was sending me and I had no alternative...that’s what I told Janice. The town was the birthplace of Victor Hugo, who wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Miserables. It was also a Roman fortress too.
We eventually parked up in the city to bag our second UNESCO site and dodged showers as we walked to the Citadel. It is a major fortification, especially if seen from the river.
We fully expected to pay here but we were chuffed to find out that today was the commemoration day for the Citadel being recaptured by the French from Spanish control and as a result entry was free today. There are several museums in the complex as well as a church and the ramparts but it also includes a zoo.
Can you spot the lion? Answers on a postcard! Put an X on the lions nose to win the prize!
I liked Besançon when I previously cycled through it. I had a picture taken in a square next to a carousel ride at the time and we replicated it again, this time in light rain and without the carousel working.
Do I look six years older? No this isn’t a competition and no I don’t want answers on a postcard or by any other method. It’s a rhetorical question for me to consider and not for you to comment upon.
We decided that we didn’t want to risk being surrounded again in the morning so we have found a quiet forest glade north of the city. It was briefly sunny but now it is persisting down again. We should get a good night sleep here and I have promised Janice there will be no more rain for the foreseeable future.......she believed me!!
How are you getting on with the What3words locations? They are real. Tonight’s location does involve gravel and an overnight stay...hope we don’t get threatened....although there are wild boar in these woods!
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