Final Days in Flanders

Roubaix is not an obvious destination for a visitor to France. Its part of the metropolitan area of Lille but a city in its own right of almost 100,000 people. Its very much a former industrial city that is trying to cope with post industrial decline and is now one of the poorest cities in France. In the 19th century it was a major centre for the textile industry but like many places this industry has vanished leaving little in the way of prosperity for the current population. So why go there you might be thinking? 

It all started with an article I read in the Guardian several months before our trip about an art gallery and museum that was housed in an art deco building that used to be a swimming pool. 'La Piscine' was described as an absolute gem and the few pictures I'd seen online were intriguing. 

I'd booked a hotel in the centre of Roubaix with secure parking and we arrived mid afternoon, parked up, checked in and after a brief freshen up headed straight to the museum.

La Piscine – André Diligent Art and Industrial Museum (to give it its full name) was opened in 2001. It was originally a municipal swimming pool, built in 1927, that closed in the 1980's. An imaginative conversion has repurposed the building as a museum and retained the beautiful art deco architectural features. The main gallery has retained part of the pool and the showers and changing rooms the whole being bathed with light from the stain glass windows. 

La Piscine

Its a really beautiful building to be inside and the old building has been connected to a more modern extension to house a small but impressive collection of late 19th century to mid 20th century art, sculture and textiles.

Some of the art at La Piscine

We immersed ourselves in the art for a good couple of hours before wandering through the streets of Roubaix back to our hotel. The industrial heritage of the city has left reminders of a more prosperous past and the most notable example of this the Hotel de Ville - a large and rather grand building in the main city square.

We feasted on delicious flammekueche that evening - a pizza like speciality of the Alsace region. It doesn't have a tomato but has a very thin crispy base topped with crème fraîche or white cheese, lardons and onions. 

It was a fleeting visit to Roubaix but the visit to the museum had been one of the highlights of the trip.

For our last night we were staying in Flanders but heading across the border to Ghent in Belgium. We had first visited Ghent back in 2018 when the city was having its annual summer music and arts festival which takes over the whole of the centre. I wrote about our visit in a blog post: The Last Leg

This time the city was quieter but not quiet. Its only an hours drive from Roubaix to Ghent and by mid morning we'd arrived, parked up in a residential street just outside the centre but close to our accommodation to make checking in later a bit easier. We walked into the centre in about 15 minutes travelling by canals lined with old and new buildings, past bars and cafes, until we arrived at Saint Bavo's Cathedral, the home of Van Eyck's religious masterpiece the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. I viewed this last time we visited and was quite shocked to find that admission to the part of the cathedral where it is now on display had risen to 16 euros. Rather than spend 32 euros to see a painting we just wandered through the streets enjoying the hustle and bustle. We came across Graffitistraat - or Graffiti Alley - a narrow lane that's been taken over by graffiti artists.

The street is a riot of colour. After walking up and down cobbled streets, passing the old castle and along canal sides lined with old houses and warehouses, now repurposed as shops, hotels and restaurants we stopped for a sit down and a hot chocolate.

Gravensteen, the castle in Ghent

Mrs B enjoying a Belgian hot chocolate

houses on Kranlei, Ghent

Once revived and in a spur of a moment decision, we decided to take a boat trip from Korenlei, one of the historic quays in the heart of the city. This turned out to be an inspired decision. 

Waiting for a boat tour at Korenlei

Boarding an electric boat with other tourists we were given a tour of the canals and waterside views of the historic buildings with a commentary from our boatman (in three languages) who was knowledgeable but also very, very funny. It was a mash up of an hour of history, boating and stand up comedy and great value. 

Boatman...or stand up comedian?

Lunchtime had arrived and we had one important choice to make. Brussells or Liege? My preference is for a brussels waffle (they are a bit less sweet and seem crispier) but I'd happily demolish a liege waffle if pushed. We headed for the appripriately named Waffle House on Graslei, the historic quayside lined with old buildings and skipping any savoury options went straight for the sweet waffles. Mrs B went for a cherries and cream topping, I opted for ice cream, fresh cream and chocolate sauce. It was delicious!

We still had some time left before we could check in to our Airbnb and returned to continue our wanderings around the old city of Ghent. We walked out along one of the canals that led away from the centre towards the Rabot, a watergate at the end of the Lieve canal. Meandering back through quiet side streets we returned to the busy centre. Weekend revellers were already thronging the streets and there was a lively buzz, with a few stag and hen parties on boats drinking fizz. Ghent has a large student population too and the city has a reputation for letting its hair down and whilst it was evident a lot of alcohol was being consumed everyone seemed good natured. 

The Lieve

By mid afternoon we were able to check in to our accomodation, so we trekked back to the street where we'd parked our car and using the self check in instructions let ourselves in to a large 2nd floor apartment with a bedroom dominated by a large four poster bed. Walking on cobbled streets is quite tiring so it was a relief to be able to sit down, chill out and rest our legs for a while. Fortified by a hot drink we then ventured out again to look for somewhere to have an evening meal. 

The last time we visited Ghent we stumbled across a cheap and cheerful reestaurant that served spaghetti in a number of permutations. I googled the name and found they were still open although in larger and newer premises close to the heart of the city. We thought we'd give it a try again as our memories of our previous visit were good- of inexpensive and simple food cooked well. I'm pleased to say they haven't messed things up - keeping to a winning formula of serving plates of spaghetti with various options and as you would expect in Belgium a good selection of beers. As spaghetti can be a messy meal choice for any diner they supply bibs to ensure you can leave not looking as though you've participated in some weird art project and ended up covered in bolognese sauce.

Spaghetti ready....

After a day of pounding pavements the food and drink ticked all the boxes and I even left room for a ice cream afterwards. Walking back after our meal we came across a square where a pop up bar, seating and a stage had been set up and a trio were playing some gypsy punk tunes on base, fiddle and guitar. That evening Belgium were playing in a Euro 2024 group game, so the streets were heaving with people out to a) have a good time and/or b) watch the football. As we were quite tired we left the revellers to it and walked back to our apartment for, by Ghent standards, an early night. 

The next day we had a return shuttle trip booked for late afternoon so that gave time for us to have one quick walk back into Ghent before we left the city and drove the short distance to the popular and attractive seaside town of De Haan on the Belgian coast. It was a lovely sunny day and we arrived to find a seaside town full of day trippers enjoying the sun, sea and sand. De Hann is an attractive seaside town. The seafront has a long promenade above a sandy beach, lined with pieces of public art.

The seafront and beach at De Haan

Behind the seafront and the attractive apartments that lined the promenade was a small town with some interesting art deco style buildings.

De Haan

I called in at a patisserie and treated myself to a last sweet confection which involved meringue, cream and strawberries and, when I finally came to eat it was predictably messy. 

After a sandwich at a cafe by the seafront we walked a bit further along the promenade before making tracks and heading to the shuttle for our return crossing. I had forgotten that French supermarkets close on Sunday afternoons so plans to stock up on cheese and wine were somewhat thwarted but fortunaly we did find a small Belgian supermarket open just along the coast and I was able to grab some beer and a piece of Vieux Bruge (a gouda like cheese) to slip in the cool bag.

So ended another fabulous trip though France. It remains a country I love for its culture, food and heritage, but, like the UK, it is a country undergoing political change. Whilst we were there a snap election had been called by Macron and I saw posters of would be parliamentarians lining the streets of many of the places we visited. What struck me as an observer was that almost all the candidates appeared to be white, male and middle aged. I haven't a clue how well represented women or people from minority backgrounds are in the French parliament (National Assembly) but certainly the profile of candidates I saw advertising themselves didn't seem to reflect the demographics of the country. Its clear too that far right populism is making inroads in French politics, tapping into the resentments of people who feel their problems (which are real) can be solved by blaming migrants. Its sad to see Europe (and parts of the UK) falling prey to this surge in right wing populism. Its also ironic that at the time of our visit the world was remembering D Day and honouring the brave men and women who sacrificed so much to keep Europe free of facism - which as sure as night follows day is a consequence of the populist ideas being spouted in France and other parts of Europe.

We returned to the UK with our own election in its last days, and at least at home, the majority look to be rejecting the far right's siren call. 

I will return to France in the future because there's still more to discover and I hope I find a society that is more at ease with itself, challenges simplistic solutions to complex problems and retains a spirit of tolerance. In the mean time I have some beer to drink and some wine to sample which should keep me going for a few months.

Sancerre Showers

For most of our trip so far the weather had been generally settled and warm but by the time we arrived in our last place in the Loire things had become unsettled weatherwise and the the forecast was for some heavy showers punctuated by spells of sunshine. Our next accomodation was an old cottage attached to the owners home in a hamlet just outside the village of Vinon. I messaged the owners to let them know we planned on arriving late afternoon. Driving south we made our way to the city of Bourges.

The landscaped changed as we crossed the Loire. After getting used to a landcsape of big skies and far horizons, trees now dominated, punctuated by villages in a terrain that undulated gently. Bourges is not a large city and should have been easy to navigate, but I managed to take a wrong turn when we got close to the centre, and eventually ended up in a car park about 10 minutes walk away from the historic centre. One benefit was the parking was free. After walking past an exhibition/conference centre we found ourselves in a small park behind the cathedral. We'd planned ahead and Mrs B had made us a picnic. A shaded bench seemed as good as spot as any to have lunch. After filled croissants purchased from the boulangerie that morning we set off to look around the heart of the old city. Naturally as it was right by us, the cathedral seemed a good place to start. Borges cathedral, dedicated to St Etienne, is another grand gothic church - there are plenty in the Loire Valley - but unlike most gothic cathedrals this one has no transept  but five naves than run the whole length of the cathedral. 

The nave of Bourges Cathedral

Stained glass, Bourges Cathedral

Construction started in the 13th century and as well as wonderful high vaulted ceilings, the cathedral has some beautiful mediaeval stained glass and, unexpectedly, a clock. 

Astronomical clock, Bourges, cathedral

This is an astronomical clock that was designed and installed in 1424 - its the oldest clock of its type in France and one of the oldest in the world.

After visiting the cathedral we wandered out into the streets of old Bourges - a mixture of timbered and stone buildings and cobbled streets. We eventually found a cafe and ordered sone cold drinks as the rain had held off but it was a very sticky sort of day. Unfortunately one of these cold drinks is likely to have caused a bit of a problem - of which more later.

Bourges

Before leaving the city we walked into part of the The Archbishop's Palace, housing a small museum. The museums in Bourges are undergoing a major renovation so in the House of Museums the city has gathered together a small collection of art and items - located on two floors a ground floor mainly devoted to art works and on a mezzanine. The mezzanine had a themed exhibition on sport which seemed very appropriate as France is hosting the 2024 Olympic games but my eye was drawn to a lovely piece of 16th century art, a painting called the Outdoor Concert, by an anonmynous Italian artist.

Our time in Bourges had come to an end and we headed towards our next base through rolling hills, stopping to pick up some food at a supermarket on the way. 

It was very pleasant to be driving through landscape with some hills and late afternoon we arrived at our accomodation, a rustic annex to the owners home. It was very pretty and located next to a stream that ran right next to the living area window. It was quite dark and slightly chilly inside and the kitchen had dozens of chamber pots hanging from the ceiling - a very quirky touch. 

The showers that had been promised started as we arrived and the air was heavy with the promise of thunder. 

Our base near Vinon

Having met our hosts we unpacked the car and settled in. After cooking a simple meal and after the rain had stopped I took a wander along the lane alongside fields of cereal crops and up a slight hill until I reached a small wayside cross. The undulating landscape looked very tranquil.

The rural landscape near Vinon

I returned to the house just as the first heavy drops of rained started and we settled in for the evening. That night we had a tremendous thunderstorm. Thunder claps came every few minutes and the night time sky was lit by enormous flashes of lightning.

Unfortunately Mrs B was feeling somewhat delicate the following morning. We think it might have been a spot of food poisoning and may have been caused by the iced drink she had the previous afternoon in Bourges. She couldn't keep any food down and didn't want to eat anything and spent most of the day sleeping. 

I had a couple of short solo explorations whilst Mrs B rested and recovered, starting with a walk alongside the Loire Lateral canal from the nearby village of Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre. The morning was still humid, cloudy but dry although my legs got very wet walking along the canalside path which was lined with long grass. A haven for moths and butterflies but the thigh high grass was still very wet and it was impossible to avoid brushing up against it resulting in a gradual but thorough soaking from about the knees down. From the canal there were views of Sancerre sitting on the hill above.

The Loire Lateral Canal

I returned to check up on Mrs B - who was still feeling poorly - then had some lunch and after another shower drove the short distance to the hilltop village of Sancerre. This area is best known for its wine - particularly its white wine. All around the village there are vinyards and dozens of wine makers. There are also goats cheese makers centred on the village of Chavignol just a few miles from Sancerre. Getting supplies for a cheese and wine party is a doddle in this part of the world.

I parked in Sancerre and walked through the quiet but attractive streets, some decorated with brightly coloured umbrellas to the central square. Because it sits on a hill the village provides panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and the grape vines growing in neat rows on the slopes are revealed. In the village there are plenty of wine sellers offering a wide range of vintages. Sancerre wine isn't cheap but I treated myself to a bottle to add to my growing collection taking up more space in the boot of the car. 

Sancerre

After a good wander through Sancerre, which was much quieter than I anticipated, I returned to the car and drove through some of the surrounding countryside, stopping to take in the views. The weather was changeable, bright sunshine one minute, then cloudy the next and every so oftern a few drops of rain would fall before petering out. 

A distant view of Sancerre

After my solo explorations of the Sancerre countryside I returned to our accomodation to find that Mrs B had perked up a little bit, but was still not up to eating so I made myself a meal and we had a quiet evening before packing up our bags. We were leaving early the following morning because it was time to leave the Loire and head north. Before returning home we had a couple of nights booked in Flanders, the first in France and the second in Belgium and the drive to our first stop was an estimated 5 hours - so an early start was needed.

Chenonceau and Chambord

After our stay in Villandry we had booked a few days in an Airbnb in a village called Oucques La Nouvelle, a little away from the tourist hot spots of the Loire valley. On the way to Oucques we visited one of the chateau that would definitely be classed as a tourist hot spot: Chenonceau.

Chenonceau is considered to be one of the prettiest of the Loire Valley chateau. It sits on the river Cher and was first built as a renaissance style palace in 1512. Its history, collections and archiectural development are credited to five wealthly and powerful women, Catherine Briconnet, Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medici,  Louise Dupin and Madame Pelouze. 

As well as entry to the interior of the chateau the admission ticket provides visitors access to the formal gardens, riverside walks, a 17th century farm, an old wine cellar, an apocathery and collection of old scientific instruments - and a donkey park.

The weather forecast predicted showers but we arrived in dry weather and before visiting the inside of the chateau we walked around the formal gardens. These, like those we saw at Villandry, were gardens with gravel and low box hedges and bedding plants all in geometric patterns. To be honest I found this a bit sterile

The formal gardens

Chenonceau selfie

Before it got too crowded we headed inside and followed a route from room to room and floor to floor. As a royal residence it was appropriately opulent, but what was unexpected is the collection of art. There are paintings by Rubens, Tintoretto, Murillo and large tapestries with incredibly detailed designs. As well as the art there are bedchambers and, most notably, the long gallery built by Catherine de Medici which spans the River Cher.

The Long Gallery

Part of the way around the tour we went out of the Long Gallery and walked along the riverside path to get a better view of the exterior. This feature, added in 1556-59 is unusual in that it spans the entire width of the river, supported by four full arches, and reminded me a little of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence or closer to home, the Pulteney Bridge in Bath.

The 'extension' added in 1559

Once we had finished our tour of the inside we started to look at the other parts of the estate. In a long outbuilding (that also housed a cafe) was the estate wine cellar and two exhibitions. One shows a collection of old scientific intruments and another is a rather beautiful apocathery built by Catherine De Medici. 

The wine cellar

The apocathery

After a bite to eat we walked through the 17th century farm taking refuge  from a sudden, but thankfully short lived downpour and then the vegetable garden where I gave some fuss to the resident cat. We finished our visit with a walk to the donkey park. I'm not sure quite why Chenonceau has a donkey park but as I like donkeys it was fun to go and say hello to the small group and give one of them a good scratch behind the ear before the rain returned and they took shelter and we dashed back to the car.

We had a bit of time to spare before we could check into our accomodation. Heading north across the Loire we made a brief detour to the town of Amboise. This town has a chateau set on a hill above the main street and is most famous as the place where Leonardo da Vinci spent his final years as a guest of the king, Francis l. He moved in with his baggage and three paintings, one of which was the Mona Lisa. We walked up the main street of Amboise and up a steep flight of steps to see a panoramic view of the town before circling back down. I had time to nip into a patisserie before we left to buy a pitaschio millefeuille. 

Amboise

Having stayed in rustic accomodation in Villandry, our Airbnb in Oucques was a complete contrast. An outbuilding of the owners home had been converted into a 2 bedroomed home, and had electric window shutters, superfast wifi, a fully equipped kitchen with top of the range appliances and a comfy king sized bed. All sat in a large garden. We settled in enjoying the space and modern coveniences.

The next morning I made a trip to the boulangerie, just a 3 minute walk from our temporary home and came back with croissants and a pain au raisin for Mrs B - which made for a lovely breakfast. We decided to take a break from chateau and instead headed off with our stomachs full of pastry and coffee to see the nearby town of Vendôme. The landscape had changed in character. This was clearly farming country and very flat with vast fields of cereal and other crops stretching away into the distance, pierced by clumps of woodland and arrow straight roads.  

One of the things we'd learnt about French towns was that shop keepers hours were a little unpredictable. In Vendôme there had clearly been a unilateral decision not to open on a Monday. When we walked through the town it was very quiet and apart from a couple of bars, a pharmacist and a bookshop everything else was closed. As a consequence there were very few people around and it was very quiet. This wasn't immediately apparent when we arrived. Parking near the base of a cliff we started to explore by climbing up a steep lane to a small park with flower beds and trees. This was the site of the chateau that has now vanished - apart from a solitary tower and ramparts that overlook the town. It was a good a vantage point to see the town but only when we descended did we discover a distinct lack of Monday morning hustle and bustle. Walking through the almost empty streets we turned a corner to find the frontage of an unexpectedly impressive gothic church - all flying buttresses and ornate stone carvings. 

Vendôme has a river running through it - the River Loir. This isn't a spelling mistake. There's a river Loir and Loire. The Loir is a much smaller river and the town has some pretty landscaped gardens and grand houses that overlook the river. I'm sure there's more to see in the town but with nothing much open we concluded that we should find a supermarket and get some ingredients to make lunch back at our accomodation.  

Vendôme's gothic church

The Loir

After lunch we ventured out again - this time to the city of Blois - which sits right on the banks of the Loire. More by accident than design we ended up parking right by the cathedral. We had a quick look inside before walking through to some gardens that overlook the river and the old city. 

From there we walked downhill, with no particular destination in mind, through streets lined with timber framed and stone buildings. Blois is another city that has historic and royal connections and its most prominent building is a large renaissance era chateau, once the home of the French king Louis XII. 

One of the timbered houses in Blois

Blois chateau

Having decided to have a day off from visiting chateau we skipped a visit and took shelter from a sudden shower under a row of trees in the Place du Château - a central square lined with grand houses on one side and views out to the Loire on the other. One of the houses was a little curious. Called the House of Magic it was a visitor attraction all about the art of illusion - but what made it remarkable were the animatronic dragon heads appearing out of the windows. Watching this spectacle made for an amusing diversion whilst we waited for the shower to pass.

After a day off from visiting chateau we resumed our Loire valley chateau explorations the following morning by visiting the 'big daddy' of royal homes: Chambord. Built as a royal hunting lodge between 1519 and 1547 Chambord is massive. It has 400 rooms, a fireplace for every day of the year and sits in an estate of woods and a game reserve with deer and wild boar surrounded by a 20 mile long wall.

Chambord

The spiral staircase

A royal bedroom

The building itself has a central keep surrounded by an outer wall and buildings that lead into a courtyard. The stand out architectural feature is a double spiral stone staircase right in the centre that leads to various floors with different suites of apartments. Around the edge of the keep are single spiral staircases and the whole building is a complete maze of corridors and rooms. We opted for the self guided tour and worked our way from top to bottom. It was a true rabbit warren of a building - with so many corridors and hidden rooms. It was relatively sparesly furnished - in keeping with how it was used in its early days. The royalty that built Chambord only used it on a temporary basis so most furniture was designed to be folded up or taken apart to be moved on to the next royal residence as the king and courtiers moved on. 

After a marathon session of visiting all the rooms - with some back tracking and detours - we popped back out into the courtyard. After another 'sandwich' - i.e. a whole filled baguette, it was time to walk into the grounds starting with a riverside walk. The river that flows past Chambord is the Cosson and a combined foot and cycle path leads away from the chateau, hugging the bank of the river. We passed by marshland and then woodland before reaching a bridge from which there was a distant view of Chambord. Returning on the opposite bank we spotted dozens of dragonflies and from the adjoining woodland there was birdsong and the chirruping of crickets in the grass. After the crowds of the chateau this was very peaceful.

We arrived back at the chateau and to finish our visit had a quick tour around the formal gardens. These were underwhelming compared to other gardens we had seen and it had become very warm and so we concluded our visit seeking cool in the car with the air con doing its job.

Before returning to our Airbnb we made short drive further south to the edge of the town of Bracieux. The reason for this: a chocolate maker, Chocolaterie Max Vauché. The chocolate production takes place in a small low rise building linked to a shop. They provide tours but we decided just to have a look around the shop and possibly purchase a treat or two. It was lovely and cool inside and we were the only customers - so the staff offered us samples. They make many different types of chocolate and its very good quality so we were happy to nibble on the plentiful supply of samples before I treated Mrs B to some chocolate to take away. Whilst Mrs B was browsing I had a look at an exhibition of chocolate scultures in the adjoining room to the shop - which included a life size chocolate car!

Mrs B - a woman on a mission...

Chocolate sculpture...

With our supply of chocolate kept in a cool place we set off back to our accommodation and prepared to pack up once more. We were moving on again the next morning, headed towards our last stop in the Loire Valley a village just outside the hilltop town of Sancerre, famous for vinyards and cheesemakers.