{"id":7841,"date":"2026-07-06T09:54:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=7841"},"modified":"2026-07-06T09:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:54:24","slug":"12-macon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=7841","title":{"rendered":"12. M\u00c2CON"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were heading southward to a site a number of kilometres northeast of M\u00e2con and east of Pont-de-Vaux.\u00a0 Les Ripettes.\u00a0 Sounds fabulous, with huge pitches and good views.\u00a0 The trouble was that lots of other people – mainly Dutch – had had the same thoughts.\u00a0 As we arrived at the site entrance the proprietor was putting out a sign.\u00a0 “Complet!”\u00a0 We missed the last place by 10 minutes.\u00a0 That’s the disadvantage of our non-booking policy!\u00a0 There is another site 18 kms further east.\u00a0 We don’t know much about it.\u00a0 Will that be full too?\u00a0 We tried calling – no answer.\u00a0 Only one option.\u00a0 Let’s go and see.\u00a0 Camping Les Milipetts near Saint-Nizier-le-Bouchoux (don’t you just love the French town names?\u00a0 Imagine – Saint-Torqu\u00e9-le-Groetville!).<\/p>\n

“Park anywhere and tell us later!” was the policy here.\u00a0 Immediately adjacent to the site is a lake on the Bief de Nanciet.\u00a0 (As far as I can tell, a “Bief” is a “reach” of, or a section of a waterway.)\u00a0 Anyway, the plan d’eau improved the view!<\/p>\n

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Failing to get on the Les Ripetts site was actually a blessing in disguise.\u00a0 The Milipetts turned out to be one of our favourites!<\/p>\n

The routine for preparing for a move of area is getting more complicated.\u00a0 To be fair, mainly in a precautionary way.\u00a0 The sliding cupboard drawer (the one that fell to pieces on us in Northumberland last year is strapped into place.\u00a0 The fridge is largely emptied into a cool box and the door is taped shut (following our experience at Autun).\u00a0 And a patented system for ensuring that all my ball gowns don’t jump off the wardrobe rails and fall into a crumpled heap in the bottom of the cupboard is put into effect before every trip.\u00a0 This consists of wedging cushion-shaped parcels of bubble wrap between the top of the hangers and the ceiling.\u00a0 VERY effective.\u00a0 But did you know …<\/p>\n

Bubble wrap was originally invented in 1957 by an American mechanical engineer and a Swiss chemical engineer trying to design a textured plastic wallpaper.\u00a0 That failed.\u00a0 Then they tried selling it as greenhouse insulation but failed again.\u00a0 The product was only saved when IBM started using it to wrap its mainframe computers for shipping!\u00a0 Another useless fact!<\/p>\n

The air temperature is getting out of control.\u00a0 Ten to fourteen days of French heatwave are predicted (over 35\u00b0C).\u00a0 Some of the days over 40\u00b0 with a peak of 47\u00b0 expected…\u00a0 We need shade!\u00a0 … and a few cold beers!\u00a0 … and a swimming pool!<\/p>\n

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A unanimous vote for the best restaurant in the area by the campsite owners was for l’Echapp\u00e9e Gourmande in Saint-Amour.\u00a0 It was certainly worth the 20 minute drive further east.<\/p>\n

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… and after, I claimed the Valentine’s picture of the month.<\/p>\n

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The town boasts another of the fashionable whole wall murals.\u00a0 And don’t you just love the “Magic Eraser” function on the phone?<\/p>\n

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BEFORE\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 AFTER<\/p>\n

I didn’t like those cars anyway!\u00a0 The village church is pushing the boat out with probably the longest name of any we have seen on this trip …<\/span><\/p>\n

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… (L\u2019\u00e9glise Saint-Amateur-et-Saint-Viateur-de-Saint-Amour).\u00a0 In our extensive review of French churches I don’t think we have clocked another with more saints’ names attached.\u00a0 (Assuming Saint Amateur was a fully qualified saint!)\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Immediately behind the church is the “Prisons Royals”.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Under Louis XIV, Franche-Comt\u00e9 was a province rife with smuggling.\u00a0 The Gabelles Courts were therefore established to combat illicit trade in salt, tobacco, textiles, etc. and to hunt down smugglers.<\/p>\n

Built between 1730 and 1741 to house this court, the building comprises a courtroom, the jailer\u2019s quarters, a chapel, prison cells and dungeons.\u00a0 (Doesn’t Google have a way with words?)\u00a0 It’s only open to the public on two days in June, and we will not be here on either of them!<\/p>\n

We visited Bourg-en-Bresse one Sunday.\u00a0 A goodish distance south of base-camp.\u00a0 But of course none of our missions is ever direct.\u00a0 A hesitation at the delightfully named village of Marboz.\u00a0 To investigate the old wooden framed houses, the patisserie and, of course, the church!<\/p>\n

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Well, the visit to the baker’s was very productive, the houses looked pretty old and the church was typically magnificent!\u00a0 And COOL!<\/p>\n

In Bourg-en-Bresse while wandering aimlessly around the little alleyways in town we came across the Fontaine Bernard …<\/p>\n

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… this imposing fountain was built in 1879 on the site of the cross from the old cemetery that had occupied the location between 1755 and 1839.\u00a0 The decision to erect the fountain followed the tapping of a local spring.\u00a0 However, this substantial cast-iron structure stood dry for over 100 years due to faulty piping.\u00a0 During this time it served instead as a large flower pot!\u00a0 Research undertaken in 1990 led to the discovery of the original plans and the fountain’s subsequent restoration.\u00a0 It was put back into operation in 1992<\/p>\n

The theatre is a really impressive building and is surrounded by associated bars, restaurants and other hangers-on.<\/p>\n

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There were the compulsory old, wooden-framed, overhanging houses …<\/p>\n

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… and the equally compulsory Hotel de Ville.<\/p>\n

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The cathedral is entering the longest-church-name-competition.\u00a0 Cath\u00e9drale Notre-Dame-de-l’Annonciation de Bourg-en-Bresse. <\/em><\/strong>And wins by four letters!<\/p>\n

The weather is getting “rather warm” now as we start to move into what is being described as a “Heat Dome”.\u00a0 The skies are crystal clear and the sunsets are spectacular – as seen from our front room.<\/p>\n

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We decide that Sunday lunch should be taken back in Saint-Amour.\u00a0 Another beautiful meal.\u00a0 We hit Louhans before their market finished!<\/p>\n

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It spread through both the town’s main roads and it’s\u00a0 narrow alleyways.\u00a0 We never cease to be amazed at the total effort that goes into setting up in the early hours, trading all morning and then packing away after noon.\u00a0 And they do it all the next day in another town in the area.\u00a0 There’s a market somewhere in the vicinity on at least six days a week!<\/p>\n

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The highly decorated roof of the \u00c9glise Saint-Pierre, rises elegantly above the more lurid stall covers.\u00a0 Virtually every town we visit is clean, tidy and plastered in floral displays.\u00a0 Louhans is no exception.<\/p>\n

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In the tiny rural town of Montpont-en-Bresse, we come across another example of a decorated house.\u00a0 The four lower panels depict piles of books, while two girls upstairs are reading and a barn owl sits in the attic.<\/p>\n

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At the head of our peaceful lake …<\/p>\n

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… there was a “Salle Polyvalente” (a multi-purpose village hall).\u00a0 The first day we were camped here there was a boules competition with about 15 thousand petanquers energetically trying to blast the opposition’s boules into the next world.\u00a0 The next day the place turned into a dog show with 15 thousand yapping and barking dogs.\u00a0 Following that, the local fire brigade came to practise filling their fire engines with water from the lake.\u00a0 And finally the local council spent two days mowing the grassy areas and cutting back the vegetation all round the water’s edge.\u00a0 That looked a bit much like environmental vandalism to me.\u00a0 A case of trying to be super-tidy.\u00a0 What about the family of ragondins (coypus) we have seen swimming in the lake and playing in the long grass?<\/p>\n

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With the weather as it was, we got to use the pool most days – often with the whole area to ourselves.\u00a0 But the heat is already getting ridiculous and forecast to get even worse over the next couple of weeks with temperatures of up to 47\u00b0C predicted.\u00a0 And it looks like this everywhere in France!\u00a0 Our only option is to head north and west.\u00a0 Normandy and Brittany are projected to be slightly less oven-like.<\/p>\n

We are on the move again!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were heading southward to a site a number of kilometres northeast of M\u00e2con and east of Pont-de-Vaux.\u00a0 Les Ripettes.\u00a0 Sounds fabulous, with huge pitches and good views.\u00a0 The trouble was that lots of other people – mainly Dutch –… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-france-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7841"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7877,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions\/7877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}