The Bells, the Bells & following in Napoleon’s footsteps,only backwards
Our pitch last night was on the farm in St Hilaire de Brens, the farm was next door to the Church and the Cemetery with fab views towards the French Alps. We did worry about being kept awake as the bells seem to chime at every opportunity, and we were parked a stone’s throw from the Church and the bells were LOUD!
Living near to St John’s Church which chimes the hour was great training as we slept without being disturbed, but little did we realise that this Church like many rural French Churches really is the local timepiece. At 7 am the bells chimed 7 times and then about a minute later, chimed 7 again! This was the village’s alarm clock, if you missed the first 7, then it was Church’s version of hitting snooze! Time to get up and about, to tend to those animals and crops! More bizarrely about 5 mins later, the chiming started again… not 7, not 8, not 10, not 20, not 40, yep somewhere around FIFTY TIMES, I lost count after 40…. I googled why this might be, but the only possible answer was that someone in the village died or war had been declared…. If anyone has a definitive answer do let me know.
Today we were heading into the Hautes-Alpes and retracing Napoleon’s steps but backwards. in 1815 Napoleon returned from Elba with 2-3,000 men, his plan was to overthrow Louis XVIII. To avoid royalist troops he decided to reach Grenoble the long way round. His route was from Golfe Juan to Grenoble, 325 km through Alpes de Haute Provence. We joined the route from Grenoble down to Sisteron and we will follow part of the route again in the morning.
The weather is perfect, really warm and sunny, the Alpine meadows are full of flowers and happy cows. We stopped for lunch at a lay-by, but not a British lay-by that are usually rubbish strewn and suspicious looking filled bottles. A lay-by with a view and a picnic bench where we laid out our smoked salmon from our first night’s stop, charcuterie from the farm shop at last night’s stop, tomatoes, mesclun salad & a baguette. Even had a 20 minute sunbathe in the glorious sunshine.
So far we have pitched up at unserviced places, mostly farm sites that are off the beaten track, but we needed to fill up with water and empty the toilet so searching on our various apps, we realised that Sisteron has 2 car parks that offer overnight pitches for motorhome with services from 2 Euros for the night. Although not the prettiest location, we would be able to walk into the historic Sisteron with its fortified Citadel and service the motorhome. On arrival, although the car park is bordered by roads, we are underneath the city walls, looking down the valley. You pay for all the services via a parking meter, BUT the meter was not working and speaking to occupants of the other parked motorhomes, it was the meter not our inability to operate it. So we have a free space for the night but only can look longingly at the electric point and water point which need a code to activate. If the meter doesn’t work, then you can’t get a code, luckily the chemical toilet disposal point can be accessed without a code, so a huge plus.
below us
Late in the afternoon we explored Sisteron, there are dramatic rock escarpments, narrow streets with passages tunnelled between the houses. We climbed up to the Citadel but we missed the last entry time. We had a couple of drinks at a street side bar and decided to cook as we had some food that needs eating before our 4 nights in Menton. Back in 2019 we booked our hotel in Menton so we could attend the Monaco Classic in 2020 which of course was cancelled. So we have a hotel booking and we are meeting friends, Norman & Sue plus and Charlie’s brother, Jim & sister-in-law, Jane. We’ve booked the motorhome into a nearby campsite for security whilst we decamp to the hotel
More motorhome cuisine , but we will be cooking and eating indoors tonight as there is a steep drop onto the road below just a couple of feet from the door! No use of the outdoor bathroom facilities for Charlie tonight especially after the copious quantity of rose he has quaffed – not the best look landing naked in the road in the early hours 🤦♀️
RoundandAbout 