Tapp's Travels

The campsite in Chagny takes a bit of finding.  First impressions of the town are of narrow one way streets and railway bridges.  The one way streets seem to lead the wrong way and the bridges are interestingly narrow.  The site is not a favourite.  Paquier Fané. There’s no one on reception for several hours after we pitch up.  There is a message on the door to say go and pitch anywhere that’s free and report back later.  We tried out a couple of places.  Neither was ideal, but we are only here for a couple of nights.  Get real and settle down!  This isn’t going to be our forever home!

Our first trip out was to Beaune.  But on the way we decide to check on the campsite near Meursault that we had considered.  It has fabulous views over the local vineyards, but only if you rent a fixed cabin!  Virtually all the places for caravans are jammed together just inside the entrance.  Not staying here Barry!  Anyway, we can’t, cos it’s full!

The village of Meursault, on the other hand, is lovely.  A busy, gentrified place with lots of Brits supping coffees and Oranginas at La Place, the main café next to the church.  There are two more of us now – but the barman forgets our order.  We have to start again!

I don’t think any of the dozens of French churches we have visited (to make use of their natural air con) had glass chandeliers.  These looked very upmarket in the Église Saint Nicolas, if a little out of place!

In front of l’Hotel de Ville …

… there’s a statuesque fountain …

… of a lady carrying a basket of grapes and surrouded by a flock of scantily clad little people.  Their significance is unknown to me.  By the way, the name of Meursault, apparently, derives from the Latin “muris saltus”, the “mouse-leap” stream of the Ruisseau des Cloux, so named by the Roman soldiers.  Maybe!  There are other explanations – as always!  After all, the word “saltus” can mean “jump”, “leap”, “fall” or “forest!”.  I’m also pretty sure that “muris” can equally mean “rat”.  So the area might have been known as “Rat Forest”!

Down the road at Pommard, we come across the Artichoke Fountain …

Every town should have one!  Located in the church square, it has four water spouts and an impressive fluted column topped with an Empire-style, two-handled vase, crowned with a tiny, metal artichoke finial.  It’s been here for 220 years now.  But why an artichoke?  I associate them almost exclusively with Brittany although they are listed as a Mediterranean plant and are indeed grown in Provence.  But in Burgundy?  I’m not sure!  I guess a grape stuck on top of the fountain would look even more daft!  The artichoke is bad enough!

We arrived in Beaune to find one single, shady, parking spot just metres outside the pay-to-park zone.  We grabbed it!  Cheap-skates!  And anyway, as we discovered, all the closer-to-town payant spaces were already occupiée!  Walking into the old town, we came face to face with the Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune.

We wandered aimlessly up the main street …

… swinging from optician to optician.  We must have visited 247 vendors of optical eyeware since we arrived in France!  And this is where fate brought us for lunch!  Le Bouillon Galeon, under the yellow awning behind Glenda.

Another good choice made on the basis of chance availability, menu options, price, ambiance and the navigator’s instinct.

Gaspard Monge b 1764 in Beaune was an advanced mathematician.  According to Mr Google, he was generally regarded as “the inventor of descriptive geometry, the mathematical basis of technical drawing, and as the father of differential geometry”.  I guess he had all the angles covered!  Anyway, he now stands proudly in Place Monge.

There are projecting turrets on the corners of some of the medieval buildings.

The word “turret” comes from the French “touret”, a diminutive form of the word for tower.  In the Middle Ages, turrets were built into city walls and castles, where they helped provide defensive positions.  They were also useful in peacetime for keeping an eye on the neighbours!  It should be noted that if a turret stretches all the way to the ground, by definition, it becomes a tower.

The main tourist attraction in town is the Hôtel-Dieu Museum, Hospices de Beaune.  A hugely dominant building with a patterned multicoloured roof covered in glazed tiles.  It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor.  However, we didn’t get organised soon enough to get tickets and, anyway, we weren’t enthusiastic about visiting another large (if spectacular) museum with hoardes of tourists!  But here are a couple of photos from the organisation’s publicity material.

(Photo credit Dion Bok.)

It certainly looks impressive.  Next time maybe!

Before leaving town, we spent a little while on the “ramparts walk”.  That expedition was soon abandoned because only one of us could see over the wall!  This is the Lavoir Saint-Jaques, one of the sites where townsfolk of old would do their washing, as seen by one of us squinting over the ramparts!

The next day’s mission was southward to Chalon-sur-Saone.  But why take the boring, direct, main-road route when we can drive through the massive Burgundy vineyards and visit countless deserted villages with their speed bumps and excitingly narrow and constricted alleyways?  We might even find a nice place to get lunch!  We followed some promising signs which led us up several garden paths eventually leaving us searching the backstreets of Saint-Jean-de-Vaux for a phantom restaurant.  Mr Google was at a loss.  The local boulanger had “sold-out” of anything useful for a picnic but told us that just back round the corner that we had been round five times already, we would get a meal.  Toward the campsite.  The campsite that we had no clue existed!

The Guingette de St-Jean-de-Vaux.  We’ve tangled with Guingettes a number of times before – with varying degrees of culinary success.  Well, everyone from the village (apart from the baker, obviously) was here eating.  All eight of them!  Plus us now.  There was only one choice on the menu.  Eat it or leave!  We went for the option with calories and sat down.  As I recall the best part of the meal was the pudding.  Café Gourmand.  A selection of available desserts and a strong coffee.

…and yes, we are in a tent!  On the edge of the municipal campsite with three of the fifty or so pitches occupied.  Delightful place, but a bit off the beaten track.

Onward again to Chalon.  But we are still on the excitingly non-direct route so we can pause again at Givry to explore!

The imaginatively named “Rond Halle” of Givry …

Halls, in the 19th century, played a key role in the small towns and villages of Burgundy.  They served as places of commerce, exchange and sociability, hosting weekly markets or seasonal fairs.  Givry’s hall being round, stands apart.

The village church is like none other we have seen on this trip.  Also very “round-looking” with a dome supported by a circle of pillars.  Église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul.  I wonder if Peter was robbed to pay Paul.

All upper class villages need a gate (porte) with a clock (horloge).  This one has fancy glazed roof tiles.

Eventually, arriving in Chalon-sur-Saone, we had a quick inspection of the town’s campsite and were rather glad we opted not to stay there.  It’s advertised as a short walk from the city centre … but you’d need a picnic to have on the way and perhaps a deck chair!

We drove in and parked a five minute walk from the old town.  Free.  Just like you’d do in the UK.  Over the Pont Jean Richard and we were straight into the old Quarter.

Some of the upper storeys had amazing carved decorations …

The Cathédral Saint Vincent was just off to the right …

… and the other huge church, Saint Pierre, is not far away.  (There are at least 13 churches in town, plus one mosque!)

And now we are ready for a change of scene.  Let’s get out of this rather depressing campsite with it’s collection of small hedged pitches.  It’s not what we come to France for!

Tally Ho!