We’re going ‘flat out’ in France today across the flat lands. Through what is largely cropping areas, down long, straight, narrow roads that are often straddled by avenues of trees, and small collections of a few houses and farm buildings that they call villages. White stone in various states of repair is the building material of choice.
We soon joined the Loire River for the last part of our journey, with the river on one side and often walls of stone on the other. When we first met the river it seemed to be largely dried up with areas that looked like they had been cropped over the summer. The river was a mere trickle through its middle. This soon expanded into a beautiful river with islands of autumn coloured trees regularly punctuating its flow.
It seems that where ever there is a rock face in this country they build a house into the side of it, as once again there is a plethora of troglodyte buildings and houses. These stone walls just have windows peeking out as evidence that these walls really do have ears, and occupants. They look very cool, but it does make us wonder what these houses are like to live in. I can understand that they will keep you nice and cool in the hot summer, but are they cold in winter? With windows only on one side of the house, what about the indoor outdoor flow?
We stopped in Amboise (just a few kms from Vouvray) late in the afternoon and had a quick stroll. This is a very cool town with an elegant looking chateaux looking down on the centre of town, which has the charm of every little ‘old school’ French provincial town with its mixture of stone and half timbered houses. After all this is the chateaux district, or so it seems, there seems to be a chateaux on every street corner, and most definitely one on every bend in the river.
Which reminds us of a conversation that we overheard the other day. Waiting in a queue somewhere to go somewhere, there was a very loud English gentleman proclaiming to anyone that would listen that he “went to New Zealand a couple of years ago and there was nothing there to see. At least Australia was occupied by the British and so there are things there to see. In New Zealand there is nothing, no chateaux’s or anything. Nothing!” Hmmmm … why is it that those that have the least intelligence like to proclaim it the loudest. Perhaps we should have explained to him that he was displaying his convict roots by shouting out his affinity with the Aussies.
We left Amboise and headed to Vouvray, passing a pheasant farm on the way. Vouvray is very small, and the house that we will call home for the next few days is one of the many that has it’s backend sucked into the wall of rock behind it. Our room is on the top level, up several levels of near vertical, tight spiral stairs. Once we squeezed our way into the room, it was magic. A large room with windows looking out on the neighboring houses, a large bed and large solid looking ceiling joists over the bed. This place was built to last.
We soon joined the Loire River for the last part of our journey, with the river on one side and often walls of stone on the other. When we first met the river it seemed to be largely dried up with areas that looked like they had been cropped over the summer. The river was a mere trickle through its middle. This soon expanded into a beautiful river with islands of autumn coloured trees regularly punctuating its flow.
It seems that where ever there is a rock face in this country they build a house into the side of it, as once again there is a plethora of troglodyte buildings and houses. These stone walls just have windows peeking out as evidence that these walls really do have ears, and occupants. They look very cool, but it does make us wonder what these houses are like to live in. I can understand that they will keep you nice and cool in the hot summer, but are they cold in winter? With windows only on one side of the house, what about the indoor outdoor flow?
We stopped in Amboise (just a few kms from Vouvray) late in the afternoon and had a quick stroll. This is a very cool town with an elegant looking chateaux looking down on the centre of town, which has the charm of every little ‘old school’ French provincial town with its mixture of stone and half timbered houses. After all this is the chateaux district, or so it seems, there seems to be a chateaux on every street corner, and most definitely one on every bend in the river.
Which reminds us of a conversation that we overheard the other day. Waiting in a queue somewhere to go somewhere, there was a very loud English gentleman proclaiming to anyone that would listen that he “went to New Zealand a couple of years ago and there was nothing there to see. At least Australia was occupied by the British and so there are things there to see. In New Zealand there is nothing, no chateaux’s or anything. Nothing!” Hmmmm … why is it that those that have the least intelligence like to proclaim it the loudest. Perhaps we should have explained to him that he was displaying his convict roots by shouting out his affinity with the Aussies.
We left Amboise and headed to Vouvray, passing a pheasant farm on the way. Vouvray is very small, and the house that we will call home for the next few days is one of the many that has it’s backend sucked into the wall of rock behind it. Our room is on the top level, up several levels of near vertical, tight spiral stairs. Once we squeezed our way into the room, it was magic. A large room with windows looking out on the neighboring houses, a large bed and large solid looking ceiling joists over the bed. This place was built to last.
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