Baume-les-Dames

From the village of Laissey we followed le Doubs river to Baume-les-Dames, passing some stunning scenery on the way.  At Le Saut de Gamache we caught a glimpse of  le Doubs winding its way through the mountains, villages and farmland of this region. 

Baume-les-Dames, a town of nearly 6000 residents, takes its name from the many surrounding caves in the valley of  le Doubs and the nuns of the abbey founded here in the 7th century. It was the abbey that gave rise to the city. 

The nuns of the abbey were exclusively from noble families, and thus became very wealthy over time, enabling it to build the current abbey church. This sumptuous church was closed after only 60 years due to the French Revolution. Today it houses a most interesting art exhibition. 

We were fascinated last evening when no fewer than 5 trains carrying at least 400 Peugeot cars each passed through the village of Laissey. The birth place of Peugeot is just a few km up the river where there is still a large production plant. 





Hilton smelling the flowers on a warmish day!

The beautiful Plain tree has been pruned and tendered over the years, but it was interesting  to see that nature had  still imposed itself on the parking sign placement! 

 

And, this is what we found in a tourist document that was outlining some of the cultural idiosyncrasies of Baume-les-Dames! One local treat we weren’t tempted to experience!

Chantilly

Today we visited the Domaine de Chantilly, something completely unplanned when we set off this morning. 

We woke to the sight and sounds of the canal barges plying their trade along the River Oise. We were fascinated as to the bevy of swans cruising around in front of us as the barges passed - they took know notice, just bobbed up and down a few times in the wake of the barge. 

We found our way to the local tourist office where a delightful young woman was able to share many aspects of the surrounding towns. Our target was Senlis but instead we were taken by what was in offer at Chantilly.  The Château seemed the best option. 

We arrived at the Domaine de Chantilly just as the rain began to settle in, but not deterred we set off to visit the second best French art collection after the Louvre. 

Once in the Château we took a tour of the apartments that were the living quarters of the last Duke of Aumale (his last 23 years of his life were spent in exile in England), the son of King Louis-Philippe. 

The Duke was a great art collector with over 500 paintings throughout the galleries. The great artists of Italy, France and the Netherlands are represented here in great numbers. 

We later walked over to the The Cour des Chenils - the Great Stables. The building itself is considered a master piece of architecture. It housed horses and hounds for the princes of Chantilly to satisfy their task for the hunt. Today a team of horses and riders put on an equestrian shows twice a week. Today we were able to see a dressage demonstration as part of the preparation for the more formal show. 

The famous Chantilly race track is adjacent to the stables. 

Four hours later,  and we were still exploring different aspects of the Château, and a little leg weary too!  We thought we had better make tracks for our over night St Cry sur Morin.  

Other photos:

London - A Splash of Culture

Both recovered quite well after the big day yesterday. But still not a fan of the long haul flight - but these things have to be done! 

So, with no excuses for not getting out and about, we decided to venture forth and head into central London. Our first stop was to be the Polish Cultureal Centre to view the display of  history of the Polish armed forces. Alas, bad information, other displays but not what we were looking for. 

Jumped on a bus and headed for the Tate Britain gallery. Spent a couple of hours browsing the exhibitions, with particular interest in the Pre-Raphaelites. 

After the cultural fix we took a wander along Milbank and Vauxhall. 

From here we made our way through Belgravia and down to Knightsbridge. 

Around Wellington Arch, the Australian Memorial and Hyde Park  corner before joining the crowds at  Harrod’s to look at the things we wouldn’t be buying. Just plain ordinary tyre-kickers!

At this stage we began feeling our age and decided we had pushed our luck  a little so we headed for home. 

Later we went out for another pleasant evening meal with Jim before returning to catch some more sleep. 

Watch out for a flying pot plant.

L S Lowry’s “The Pond”

Love these small stories within  the overall paintings. 




Can you work this out? There is supposed to be a pro-slavery element to this painting!