Epernay

12.05

Enough of death and destruction, it’s time for some celebration and what better place to head for than Epernay, the heart of Champagne region!  As you arrive you pass a gigantic cork welcoming you.

Hotel Moet & Chandon

Beneath the streets in hundreds of kms of subterranean cellars, more than 200 million bottles of Champagne are being aged.  Only between 160 and 220 million bottles are produced here to maintain exclusivity and price.

All the names are here, Moet & Chandon, Verve Cliquot, Mercier but also over 5000 small scale vignerons in 320 odd villages produce most of the regions liquid gold!

Staying 2km from the Centre Ville in the Municipal Camp overlooking the River Marne.

13.05

Chatted to our Aussi neighbours  (we put up our kiwi flag) then off on the bikes for a 45km round trip exploring the Vallee De La Marne.

Sometimes the dream is not matched by the reality but this day lived up to our expectations and more!  Riding in the sunshine on quiet roads with nothing but pretty villages and their endless fields of grape vines all labelled with markers that read like a Who’s Who of champagne.  Passed the Abbey in Hautvillers where Dom Perignon is buried.

A pelaton of cyclists passed us as we neared a small village called Reuil.  As we entered the village many spectators laughed and joked that we were a long way behind the pack – bastards!  Had our baquette sandwich overlooking the Marne River where there was a street garage sale taking place.  Champagne was being sold for 2 euros a glass accompanied by a grilled sausage!  Pam likes sausages!

14.05

Into Epernay Centre Ville this morning and up the Avenue de Champagne where the elite Champagne Maisons are located - Moet & Chandon, Pol Roger, Mercier, Perrier Jouet, De Castellane to name a few. 

Visited the impressive cellars of Moet & Chandon as we did many years ago, some of the bottles put down back then would be ready about now!  Their underground cellars alone  could reach Paris (144km). 

Thought about buying a jeroboam (3L bottle) of premium Dom Perignon millesime (vintage Champagne) of 1998 for NZ$4200 but decided it would clash with our baked beans for dinner!  Got a flute of the bubbles as part of the tour though which was nice.  Our guide told us that 2002 was the last good season of grapes used for the Vintage Champagne and it could be up to 40 years before it comes out of the cellars.

15.05

Decided on another bike ride today through the Cote Des Blancs, the Chardonnay growing area of Epernay.  Got 15km into the 52k ride, as far as Cramant with it’s 8.6m high Champagne bottle before the cold wind and rain forced us to turn around.  As soon as we got back to camp our neighbours Paul and Mary (Peter was missing) asked us to join them on a tour of their favorite independent Champagne House called Breton Fils.  We sampled three glasses before buying two bottles of their product (28 euros)  We were also given a tour of the caves by the hospitable owner Renauld.  He told us that he exports 1,000 bottles per year to NZ.  Back to camp where our other neighbour John from Wales asked us over to sample his favourite Champagne, a Blanc de Blancs which is made only from the Chardonnay grape.  Another great day!

Verdun

7.05

A two hour drive back to France and Amiens , only it took five hours as we cleaned the van in a wash world and stopped in a huge Carrefour hypermarket which was so interesting we stayed for 2 hours!!!  Everything you can imagine under one roof.

Purchased a small blow heater to help us on the chilly nights although pleased to say it has warmed up.  Found a camp 5k from town called Parc des Cygnes.

Have to park on the hard as the ground is still very boggy, watched a Frenchman get his van stuck up to it’s axel.  We are far too experienced to let that happen!!!


8.05

Walked a beautiful path along the River Somme for 5k into the center of Amiens.

Visited the magnificent Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral of Amiens built in 1220 to house the skull of Saint John the Baptist, which we saw!  He didn’t look so good! 

The interior houses a 17^th Century statue known as the “Ange Pleureur” or Weeping Angel. She is crying for the dead whilst leaning on a skull. The soldiers of the Somme took solice from this statue in a world that was full of turmoil.

Continued through Saint-Leu, the little Venice of the North, had a picnic in the park and then continued passed Lafleur, the famous marionette theatre (which we had never heard of).  Back the 5k home.  Buggered!

9.05


Visited Beaumont-Hamel Memorial which preserves part of the Western Front in the state it was in at fightings end. The zig zag trench patterns are clearly visible, as are the countless shell craters and the remains of barbed wire barriers.


It was here in 1916 the volunteer Royal New Foundland regiment stormed the German defences and were slaughtered.  A Caribou statue marks the place most of the men died.

We had a guided tour of the site and waked through the trenches as the soldiers had.

Had a long drive in the afternoon towards Verdun and ended in a great “Aire” in Senay about 40k from Verdun. It sits on the banks of the Meuse River.  Sausages for tea and a glass of our 2 euro bottle of wine!!!

An “Aire” is a local discounted or free facility to camp at low cost eg. this one is 7 Euro as compared to 15-20 for camps. Some, as this one provide all facilities.

10.05


Only a 50k run into Verdun and a lovely camp called “Les Breuils” only 2k from the Centre Ville.  Got a lovely pitch overlooking a large pond so got out all the furniture, put up the awning and made ourselves at home. Had a picnic and enjoyed the warm sun for the afternoon.  Strolled into town for the evening and enjoyed the atmosphere of a  pretty town on the river Meuse.  Invited for drinks by an English couple trying out their new 2012 camper van, very flash but Lefty measures up!!.



11.05

Up early as a busy day planned.  Got on the bikes and rode to the battlefields.  A 25k ride was planned but thanks to Col’s map reading it ended up at 42k!!



  The “hell of Verdun” as it’s called lasted for 10 months in 1916, 300 days and 300 nights of fighting at a total cost of 378,777 French and 333,000 German troops killed, wounded or missing.  We visited the various monuments and a park where a village called  Fleury-devant Douaumont once stood. It was taken and retaken 16 times during the conflict and was totally destroyed.  Home for lunch then back into town to ride the unmanned carriage in the tunnels of “ La Citadelle Souterraine”,  an underground bunker built by the French to house 10,000 soldiers.  For 6 euros we were enlightened with a 3D audio visual play of the war and every life in the Citadelle.  Informative in a fun way and well recommended Don and Val!

A walk around the various monuments in town, a trip to Le Clerc supermarket to be entertained by the huge selection of everything ( who thought going to a supermarket could be fun!) and back to camp for spag bol.

France Here We Come!



Leon and Sarah

Had a Burrito night and a great catch up, meeting their two little girls, Chloe and Evie

3.05

Travelled 4 hours to Dover with a stop for provisions.  Spent the night on the Dover sea front and enjoyed fish’n chips on the beach.





  4.05



 Up  and boarded the “Spirit Of France” Ferry.  Off to France, Dover to Calais -yahoooo! 88 pounds for the one and a half hour crossing.
 'Keep right'! was top of mind as we hit the motorway and headed North.  Awesome to be back in France even if it is only for a couple of hours at this stage!  We're headed for the Flanders battle fields in Belgium, in particular Ypres.

 We found a campsite named 'Jeugdstation' along the river and close to the Town Centre.  Twelve euros per night.

Ypres is known as the town of cats!  Back in the day Ypres was a Cloth City.  Legend has it  the Cloth Hall became inundated with mice, these rodents could only be eliminated with the help of a large number of cats.  Soon the mouse plague became a cat infestation. To rid themselves of the cats they threw them off the highest tower!  They also burnt all the witches in town!  So now, every year they have a “Cat Parade” complete with floats and everyone dresses up as cats and mice. They then proceed to throw toy cats from the highest buildings and have a witch burning.  We miss it by a week which is a shame as I could have got rid of Pam!!!
The town buildings have plastic cats mounted on them that “meow” as you pass.


We went exploring along one of the many bike paths along the river, over the bridge and into the Town Centre with it's magnificent Gothic style Cathedral and Museum. Ypres has become associated with Commonwealth forces who were here continuously from October 1914 - October 1918, many reminders of the profound impression the war made remain, the most potent being the Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials.

The main memorial is the Menin Gate, one of the most famous memorials in the world. It has the names of over 54,000 missing soldiers inscribed on its walls.  Hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers passed through Ypres on their way to the battlefields and it was decided that the missing should be commemorated on a memorial here.  Every night of the year at 8pm, the Last Post is sounded and wreaths are laid.  This has been happening since 1927.

05.05

Cycling is a very popular form of transport here. The region is beautifully set up for it with bike paths along all roads and canals. We biked 22kms along the bike path through the countrysde to Passchendale and to the Tyne Cot Cemetery.  With nearly 12,000 graves it is now the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in terms of burials. More than 8,000 are unidentified. This is the main memorial for the New Zealand troops.  Another emotional encounter.

6.05

Spent the morning chatting to our camp neighbours who gave us good advice on places to visit and  vanning in general.  We then biked along the river and explored the town centre. Checked out the Charcuterie and sampled the local sausages. We didn’t like them much as they were quite raw and Pam prefers an older and drier sausage!!





Tomorrow into the Somme!!






 









       

At Keith and Kirstens

The family also includes ‘Tui’ and ‘Kura’ the Labradors and ‘Mittens’ the kitten.  They live in Oxfordshire in what used to be The old Mill for the Village.  Evidently The Mill is mentioned in the Doomsday Book written in 1086!  You can walk or bike for miles in the area on tow paths and paddock walkways.  Paddocks of bright yellow Rape dot the countryside.  Lots of  catching up over great food and wine in front of the fire.  The rain persists but we’ve managed to get out and explore!  Kate Winslet lives in the Village and Johnny Depp is looking to buy in the neighbouring Village! 

30.4.12 today is fine!    Met the kayaking crew and went kayaking down the Oxford Canal, starting from Cropredy in Warwickshire.  The Canal goes all the way to Birmingham.  Numerous houseboats line the Canal which operates on a ‘lock system’.  We walked the tow path following the canal.  In the afternoon we visited our ‘old haunt’, beautiful Stratford-Upon-Avon, home of Shakespeare.  Fish ‘n chips at ‘The Black Swan’ Pub!

01.05 May Day - the rain persists.

Today we went to magnificent Compton Verney Manor in Warwickshire, an award winning art gallery and an independent charity with grounds scultured by Capability Brown.  A Collection of ‘Impressionist Paintings’ including Monet, Renoir and Sisley .  Also featured was ‘The Image of A King Collection’, the most famous being Van Dycke’s portrait of King Charles I, ‘ In Three Positons’ of 1635.

02.05

All good things come to an end and sadly we leave today.

It will be very hard to get back into Lefty after being very spoilt for the entire week.
Heading South on our way to Dover with a stop in Wiltshire to see Leon and Sarah.

Starting Out

COL AND PAMS TRAVELS IN LEFTY 2012

20.04.2012

Finally after years of talking about it, planning it, and boring people to death about it, we are embarking on our Europe Campervan adventure.

Had a great taxi service to Auckland airport thanks to Marg and John, very cheap and a good service apart from the driver talking too much!  An uneventful flight to London via Hong Kong, even managed a good amount of sleep thanks to the wonders of modern drugs. 

21.04

Arrived LHR and met by Serge, our taxi ride to Bosham, took about an hour and a half to arrive at Windward House, our B and B run by Leslie and Peter. Treated like royalty and had a wonderful stay.  Had a walk around the quaint village of Bosham, a very picturesque seaside village.

22.04

Up early and a full English breakfast to start the day!   Peter kindly dropped us off at Church Farm to pick up Lefty.

Seeing our new house was awesome.

Lefty  is a 6m long, Fiat Ducato 2.5 Turbo diesel.  In fantastic condition and decked out with everything needed including bikes,  thanks to Don and Val who we purchased him from.  It has made getting started so simple!

An interesting 5k drive to our campsite just outside of Chichester with me driving on the left hand side of the van.  Fair to say I was slightly tense!  A quick stop at Tesco for diesel and a suprise at the cost,  NZ$200 for 67 litres. The price of fuel is exorbitant. Provisions purchased and the rest of the day spent exploring the workings of Lefty and getting things ship shape, or should we say van shape!

An amazing feeling, excitement mixed with anxiety, and each day a new adventure!

23.04

Up early after a good sleep in our futon above the driving seats. It’s still a bit chilly here, 8 degrees and showery.  A moment of dismay to discover we had left all our power adaptors for the computer behind in NZ,  hope we can get something here or we are doomed!!!!!   

Guess as you’re reading this, we managed to get sorted!

Ran out of water this evening right in the middle of Pam’s shower!

Don’t worry!  I cried,  I’ll shift the van and fill up....all went well until the return journey  I got stuck in the mud after all the rain.....guess we’ll stay here for the night!  The following morning, red faced, we were towed out by the camp people!   A lesson learnt!

24.04

A three hour trip to Cardiff along the motorways to see our friend Peter who we met in Greece on Lipsi in 2006. The driving was fun until we got to about 6k from his home where it turned into single track lanes and I nearly wiped out a car coming the other way!  I was surprised to hear the tom tom using such foul language!  Then realised it was Pam !!! Finding it quite difficult judging the width of the van...more practice needed!

A great evening spent with Peter at his local pub catching up and getting rid of two bottles of Chilean wine!  Lamb shanks were awesome!

25.04

Peter took us on a tour of Cardiff with it’s magnificent castle fortified by walls adorned with zoological animals.  Another great evening with Chinese takeaways and dare I say more wine! (Suspect Peter may have a drinking problem! haha).

26.04

A walk with Hetty the labradoodle this morning getting a glimpse of the countryside and walking amongst the bluebells and bright yellow rape.

Time to leave as Peter was sick of us!  We were spoilt and looked after so well he was lucky we didn’t stay for a month. 

A two hour drive to the Midlands ( more narrow lanes and foul language) to see Keith, Kirsten, Edith and Sandy in South Newington.

Introducing " Lefty "  Our new home from 21st April 2012

She is a Fiat Ducato 2.5 Turbo Diesel and knows her way around!

She has had two trips in the last two years with

 Don and Val Megget who did so much for us to make our trip

possible.  Thank you guys!   We will look after her.


                                                      
So keep watching for regular updates of our 2012 Adventure