Try-out for a pilgrimage, part two

Bouillon - Auxerre

 One of the gates of the castle of Bouillon

 View from the castle 

Our second day begins warm and sunny. The sun is on the right side of the castle for us, so we have a much better view of it than the day before. It is still very quiet when we walk along the river to find a place for breakfast. To my surprise most café's are closed. I had expected all of France to be like Paris, people having a coffee and a croissant for breakfast on one of the many sidewalk café's before going to work. But they are closed, and waiters are busy cleaning tables and organising chairs. We can only get breakfast in the few hotels. After that we walk around, than go up to the castle by car and decide on the spur of the moment to go in and join the other tourists. Here too it is still quiet at this early hour. The castle is most impressive, large, but apparently not much is left of the oldest, most original part. The main bulk of the castle was added later. It offers splendid views over the river on both sides, as the ridge it is built on is very narrow. A strategic point indeed. We watch part of the falcon show, but then leave Bouillon, as it is late already and we have to get to Auxerre on time.

Once we have passed Sedan, we take minor roads. The land is wide and undulating, villages sheltering in the folds of the hills, church spires revealing where they are situated. We see many old churches, for apparently we follow a touristic route, a woodland, abbey and historic churches route. And a most enjoyable route it is. Nobody seems awake in those villages, but most churches and public places are decorated with bright red pelargoniums in tubs. So somebody must be busy tending them. Also we see porcelain blue irises everywhere, which contrast beautifully with the pale golden stone of the walls.

 The church of Cheveuges and the neighbouring farm with irises

 below: Chehery

 Characteristic small towns with the market place covered by a red-tiled roof on wooden pillars, historic churches with roman windows, covered places along rivers and rivulets where the women used to do their laundry, it is all there. As well as the remains of old abbeys. 

 Chemery, church and market hall

 Chemery

 We drive to one, via a narrow country lane off the main road, situated in beautiful fields full of wild flowers  surrounded by shady woodland. Chartreuse is now privately owned, the owners aiming to restore it as well as possible to its former glory. It must have been very large when still used as an abbey, and the position is idyllic.

Chartreuse 

  

We buy provisions in Vouziers, a rather bigger town with many shops and a large and hot square in front of the Mairie. We enjoy the sandwiches with thick cut ham and the cherries just outside Vouziers, with a view of the land. We struggle through Chalons-en- Champagne, a bigger town than we expected, and then emerge on wide plains which seem rather boring. Most of it is farmland. We travel south. In contrast to Holland we hardly see any church spires or towers on the horizon. This land, the area of the Marne, has seen fierce and awful battles during the first world war. On the highest point there is a large monument, an Ossuarium, sitting squarely on a flat plateau overlooking the former battlefields. The soil around it is rutted, as if it still bears the scars of the trenches. A large part of the land is still used by the army and forbidden territory. The soil seems rather white and stony. This Monument, the Ossuary of Navarin,  contains the bones of thousands of unknown soldiers. And it is juts one of many osuaries and graveyards. It seems such an awful waste, the waste of young lives, of the futures of so many, and for what? We are not so far from Verdun. It is a very sad place and not one where I would like to stay for long.

In Arcis-sur-Aube, a pleasant and charming town on the river Aube, we stop for a stroll and a drink in a café opposite an imposing church. 

Arcis-sur-Aube

Fortified we take the circular road round Troyes and continue towards Auxerre. Just outside Auxerre we find our destination, a converted watermill, now a hotel and restaurant. Our satnav guides us along tiny and narrow winding country lanes to this place in its rural setting, avoiding Auxerre. After a long travelling day we can't resist the nice restaurant, apparently well-known. Not cheap, but in fact we have no choice as it is late and there is no other restaurant within our reach. So we enjoy the evening as well as the nice accommodation.