Fortune favours the brave...or should that read mad.

Left St.Chamond at 6.00 am after checking traffic was moving on autoroute and to avoid any congestion at Saint Etienne. Good plan as sailed past there and south of Lyon with only a couple of winter flourishes. It was only when we hit the high ground in the Auvergne on the way to Thiers that the winter weather kicked in with a vengeance...at one stage we were down to 30km/hr on a white road with no idea of lanes,with snow banked up on both sides, in the dark, alone with only a blizzard for company...was genuinely scared  though couldn't let Pauline know...she was nervously humming next to me in a non- too assuringly way. I actually got to the point where I thought I could not continue when we suddenly could see the road and eventually caught up with four other brave souls who were as mad as we were and stuck tight to them ...at least we were not alone! As dawn broke we all eventually caught up with a snow plough the other side of Thiers that allowed us and others we had caught up with to continue our journey in what were now great conditions to what we had just experienced..

It was pretty much plain sailing after that with the weather improving the further north we got...however when we did hit some heavy snow at Chatereaux  it was like 'bring it on' after what we had experienced! Arriving home in Barrou at 11.30 was a great feeling as we genuinely thought at one point that we might never make it!

More of what came before tomorrow.

Wish we weren't here...

Trying to make our way back from a visit to Provence but mother nature has other plans...

We are currently 'holed up' in a 'Camponile' in St.Chamond just outside Saint Etienne...

Judging by this car in the carpark some have had it worse than others!

Sancerre road-trip part 6...waterway to go!

Before heading back to Southern Touraine we decided to make the 45 minute drive up to the Pont-canal in Briare -something we, Pauline and I, had only seen in photographs. Mike and Liz had been before but were happy to revisit.

The canal bridge crosses the Loire river connecting the Briare canal to the canal Latéral à la Loire..

There are walkways either side of the waterway which are 662mtrs long - it had actually been the longest steel canal aqueduct in the world up until 2003 when one at over 900mtrs was built over the river Elbe in Germany. 

It is interesting to stand and look over the waterway onto the mighty Loire river.

We walked the length of the bridge and were pleased to see the sun making an appearance as we reached the other side.

We were sure you must be able to cross to the other side somewhere but not by a bridge over it so we continued or walk to find you can actually go underneath it via a tunnel ...

...with what looked like sluice gates - couldn't quite understand what they would be used for.

         You can choose to take the steep steps or a more gentler footpath at either side of the tunnel..

Both ends are decorated with ornamental columns reminiscent of those you would find decorating the bridges of Paris. It is perhaps these and the steelwork that have many people associating its design with Gustave Eiffel  who in fact was only responsible for the stone abutments and piers supporting the steelwork.

The design itself was actually by engineers Léonce-Abel Mazoyer and Charles Sigault.

Looking back towards Briare.

Sancerre road-trip - signs of the times

When we visited L'Aronde Sancerroise in Sancerre for some wine-tasting our hostess explained that she had to be very flexible with regards to the services she offered her clients. This meant  she had to be prepared  to change her plans at the drop of a hat - and the signs on the door...but she was prepared for every eventuality.

Sancerre road-trip part 5...following a label

During our wine tastings of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé wines Pauline had decided that the best wine she had actually tasted was the one we had had with our meal the night before in the 'Tavern du Connéctable'

Restocking after our visit

We all agreed that yes it had been very good so she went back and asked the proprietor where it was from. He told us it was from an independent producer of  Pouilly Fumé 'Claude Michet' across the Loire just outside Saint-Andelain - but it would be difficult to find. Undaunted, we headed over the river to seek him out.

After a bit of driving around we eventually found him with the help of one of the 'locals' in 'Les Berthiers' just outside Saint-Anderlain.

We were lead into the 'cave', which consisted of a spotless, modern bottling line, by Claude's mother, who was quite charming and insisted as it was nearing lunchtime, she should feed us with some snack biscuits and a good couple of glasses as an aperitif .

We were glad we went as she made the experience even more enjoyable. We left with a couple of cases each.

Church on Sunday...Sancerre

Sancerre's Notre Dame church is there because of the efforts of the then local parish priest (1658 -1652) Father Gourru who purchased land near the old church of St. John using his own money to start the building  of a new church. The first stone was laid in February 1652 but sadly Father Gourru died in August of the same year. This lead to the project being halted and it was not until 94 years later in 1754 that construction resumed ,thanks to the generosity of a benefactor. It was eventually completed using some of the older church's materials in 1777.

The church has a wide central nave plus plus two side aisles, all with vaulted ceilings... 

...leading to an attractive choir and altar within the apse.

One of the side aisles leads to a chapel dedicated to Saint Vincent...

...and the second to the 'Blessed Virgin'

As you would expect, there is a fine carved pulpit.

Where's Joan,,,,

During the French Revolution the church was sold and used for as place for parties and celebrations - of the non-religious type before eventually being returned to its ecclesiastical duties.

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Sancerre road-trip part 4...now for some wine tasting

We woke up in Sancerre to another grey November day but were brightened by the prospect of some wine tasting. We decided not to have the over expensive breakfast in the hotel but chose instead to head up to the 'salon de the' in the square that we had spotted the night before.

Good choice!

In the cold light of day the village took on a rather different look  and you could imagine it on a busy summer's day.

We had a very educational wine tasting experience at L'Aronde Sancerroise where Madam let us know the important impact that the terroir (soil/earth) of the valleys around the village made to the different wines produced from their vines. Then we got to taste wines from the different areas - even one from an area with predominately silex - something we are very familiar with in Southern Touraine. The wine was actually called 'Silex' - we had to buy some.

We did a little more exploring of the village but were too late in the season to take advantage of the views village's highest point - the top of 'La Tour des Fiefs'

This is the road leading down to the tourist office and some great views down on to the Loire river..

After another tasting in the village we headed of to a favourite producer of Mike and Liz -'Henri Bourgeois' in the nearby village of Chavignol  - which is also famous for its goat's cheese.

They have a modern tasting room where you are looked after by a very charming hostess...

who has lots of wine to offer you.

Interestingly the company also have a vineyard in New Zealand which Mike and Liz sought out on a recent visit - though it did prove a little difficult to find.

There's that terroir again

Then it was of to the fromagerie to buy some of their  famous 'Crottins'...

 We were spoilt for choice!

Sancerre road-trip part 3...to the heart of the matter.

After Aubigny-sur-Nére we headed up to Sancerre where we had booked an overnight stay. The approach to the town is fabulous with stunning views - another place we will have to come back to in summer to do the views justice,

 We were staying at 'Le Clos Saint  Martin' which proved a good choice.We arrived just in time for a quick change before heading out for something to eat...

There is a 'Michelin star' restaurant in the village - La Tour - but we decided against it choosing one of the few other available restaurants (most were closed) - the 'Taverne du Connéctable'. It was a good choice as it seemed popular with the locals so we had a good ambiance.  The food was good and we washed it down with a lovely Pouilly Fumé. On the way back to the hotel we passed by 'La Tour' which didn't appear to be very busy. 

We also walked some of the quaint little streets checking out some places to do some wine tasting the following day.

Sancerre road-trip part 2...the Scottish connection

The second stop on our Sancerre trip was at Aubigny-sur-Nére - this was a bit of a pilgrimage for me as the
town has a very strong Scottish connection which you can read about here.

The connection becomes apparent as soon as you enter the town...you are met by a hairy Scottish piper in the middle of the roundabout.

It is then reinforced by the Scottish castle in the centre of town. It is here because The town was given to Scot John Stuart of Darnly who helped Charles VII defeat the English during the Hundred years' war. The king was short of funds so he gave the town as a reward instead - why this particular town I don't know.

The town is very pretty and it is difficult to imagine that the town was devastated in 1512 by a major fire which meant it almost had to be fully rebuilt/

There is a further British connection with the inclusion of a red telephone box in town.

The town's streets are filled with the sound of bagpipes every year with their annual celebration of their Scottish connection which includes a march past of their very own pipe band in full highland dress...they actually have their own Tartan.

Just outside of town is the very Scottish looking 'Chateau de la Verrerie' which was built by the Stuarts and was where Mary Queen of Scots was betrothed to Francoise I