After crossing back into France we spent some time in the Rhône Alps region, enjoying the scenery and the sunshine. The valleys were often misty but when we climbed up into the mountains it was clear, with blue skies, warm sunshine and spectacular views of jagged snowy peaks in the distance.
The nights, however, were as cold as you'd expect, and we found our stock of propane got depleted very quickly just keeping the van warm enough to stop the pipework from freezing. Fortunately it's easy to find places selling LPG in France. We're very glad we've got the refillable bottle here rather than having to use expensive Camping Gaz.
At the pretty little town of Nantua we spent the night right next to the lake, and the view from our 'bedroom' window was quite fantastic.
Then we headed up into the Alps on the French / Swiss border and visited the ski resorts of Morzine and Avoriaz, which Richard remembered from a skiing holiday many years ago. Some things looked familiar, but obviously without the snow and the skiers the area was quite different.
Suddenly we seemed to be surrounded by Brits. We could hear English voices in the shops, see British vehicles on the streets; one day Stella counted 30 British registered cars before she gave up counting. We're not sure what they were all doing there but it was weird for us – we've hardly seen any other Brits since the end of August. The resorts were gearing themselves up to the Winter season but weren't quite ready yet; Avoriaz seemed to be being completely rebuilt, the streets were full of dust, trucks and builders, it didn't look possible that it would be ready for Christmas.
We took the opportunity to walk on what are usually ski runs and admire the waterfalls and the other more unusual water features, which show that it gets pretty chilly at night in this area.
Next we paid a brief visit to the lovely town of Annecy, where we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out. The main specialities of this region (Savoy) are all cheese based and we shared a fabulous, bubbling fondue which was delicious and very boozy. We were quite inspired to dig out our own fondue set when we get home, though we're not sure we'd find the right combination of cheeses (and wine) to make an authentic one.
We then made a practical trip to Mâcon to get some work done on the van. Nothing serious, but we'd been getting letters at home telling us that Fiat were recalling Ducato vans to fit new spare wheel brackets. We found a friendly Fiat garage and while he was fixing the bracket we went and had well overdue haircuts. Not the best haircuts we've ever had, but we look less like people who live in a hedge now! Next was Lyon, which was surprisingly good (we didn't know what to expect as neither of us had been here before). The Basilica de Notre Dame overlooking the town is magnificent, and we loved the streets of the old town which were packed with crooked mediaeval and renaissance houses, quirky shops (more antiquarian book shops than the whole of Britain), lots of restaurants vying with each other to be the most authentic, and a busker with a 15th century hat, a hurdy-gurdy and bells on his legs.
For the last week we've been enjoying the gorgeous Provence region. Richard remembered it fondly from childhood Summer holidays and was keen to show it off to Stella, who had never visited the area. Even though it isn't Summer and the lavender isn't in bloom it is still a beautiful area, and we've been lucky with the weather, enjoying clear skies and sunshine. Some of the vines still have orange leaves clinging on, and the pretty towns with their Roman remains and medieval centres are peaceful and interesting to stroll around.
We're almost down to the Mediterranean coast now and have enjoyed wandering around the walled city of Avignon with it's impressive 'Popes' Palace' and our first French Christmas market, the mixture of Roman and medieval remains in Arles and the almost intact Roman amphitheatre and temple at Nîmes. Today we had a wonderful walk in the woods around Pont du Gard, the fantastic Roman aquaduct that used to carry fresh water to ancient Nîmes.
The Wine Blog Bit
Of course since we're in the Rhône valley we've also been visiting a few wineries for a 'petit degustation', well it would be rude not to!
We started off at Mâcon where we stopped at a winery which fortunately had places for motorhomes to park for the night so we could taste a range of their lovely white wines. They ranged from pale, light and fresh (to have with plain steamed fish according to the lady who gave us the tastings), to dark yellow, strongly flavoured and more complex (to have with salmon and herby sauces). Considering that we usually drink red wine, we enjoyed them very much.
As we followed the Rhône south we passed a sign announcing that we'd entered the Côtes du Rhône wine region, and suddenly the road was surrounded by vines. We soon found ourselves spotting road signs to villages whose names were familiar from wine labels – Valréas, Rasteau, Châteauneuf du Pape. The press has recently reported on how keen interest from rich Chinese buyers has pushed up the price of the top Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. I'm not sure if they also have a taste for Côtes du Rhône or if it's just that we (us, but also Britain generally) aren't as rich as we once were, but even at 'factory gate prices' a lot of these are definitely special occasion wines.
Before we left Britain we'd noticed wines from the adjacent Côtes de Ventoux area were starting to appear. There is of course a huge choice here, and the quality has been reliably good, very similar to the lighter, fruitier Côtes du Rhône. It'll be interesting to see if the hike in price of Côtes du Rhône gives their Ventoux neighbours a chance to under cut them and increase their exports. I hope so, as we're going to have to leave the Gigondas to the plutocrats.
The Patisserie Blog Bit
Not long after we met, we got reminiscing about fabulous pastries we had known. Richard was getting nostalgic about a long thin almond pastry made in a wood oven by a patissier near Buis les Barronies, and Stella was mourning the passing of a French cake shop in central Cardiff that used to sell something very similar. We realised we were both hunting for the same thing – the Provencal Sacristain.
A quick search online found an American blogger also nostalgic about the same pastry, and saying it was only available in Provence. That was the clue we needed. As soon as we got far enough south to smell the lavender (at this time of year, only the gift shops of course) we started looking out for sacristains. So far we've tried about ten ... make that twelve.
The man who made the Sacristains that Richard remembered is unlikely to still be in business. He was quite elderly at the time, probably twenty five years ago, very overweight and a heavy smoker. He worked at a huge wood fired oven, producing an endless stream and a huge variety of bread loaves and pastries. He was always leaning over the pastries with a cigarette in his mouth, but somehow we never found ash in our tarts.
The Sacristain we both remembered was a long strip of puff pastry twisted around a layer of almond flavoured custard. The top was sugary and caramelised, covered in flaked almonds. Around here we've found quite a lot of variation, many very good but not exactly what we remember. Some are covered in meringue and shatter when you cut them, some are filled with custard that isn't almondy, others have no custard, one even tasted of coconut. The best we've had so far was the first one we tried, from a patisserie in Nyon, with a filling of almond paste and a generous frosting of caramel and flaked almonds.
We are currently in Remoulins, parked next a field containing a couple of lovely donkeys.We have a few more days left in France and then we're heading into Spain again; chasing the sun and maybe catching up with those geese that passed us in Poland.
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