Pumpkins, Cathedrals and a bit of winter sun - Autumn 2024

Pumpkins, Cathedrals and a bit of winter sun.

Setting off on the third attempt to do this trip, a month later than planned, meant the start was mixed with both excitement and a bit of trepidation; were we really going to be leaving for this adventure through France and Spain? Thankfully we were and with an overnight in Rang du Fliers we had an early finish for the driving on day one; this was hopefully the longest day of travel, as we have tried to plot a route that involves short distances and lots of things to see, including a slow meander down through France to take in a few places we have visited before, and also some new towns and cities. This year has definitely been about trying to discover more of France, and it has already paid dividends with our summer trip. 

 

The sun was shining as we left Calais, not a normal experience for us, however, this made the scenery look beautiful and after a hectic, stressful few months we all visibly relaxed. The most delicious baguette and  pastries eaten for breakfast, we knew this was just what we needed. Pi’s pain au raisin was enormous! A great start.

First stop, Evreux a quick dash in the cathedral and lunch by the river before moving on to Chartres, a city we have visited before to see the spectatcular light show in summer. It has many things to see including street art and huge murals and a fascinating little house and garden covered in mosaics, not on our list this time, but well worth checking out Maison Picassiette.

Chartres Cathedral

The cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site and is known for its beautiful stained glass windows. It never fails to impress. The famous labyrinth at the entrance was covered with chairs, as it was on our last visit, so we attempted to see the copy in the garden, unfortunately this was also sealed off, as it is now closed for the winter. Still it was worth the overnight stop.

                                                                    

Hotel de Groslot, Orleans

Our next morning had us heading to Orléans, a brief visit many years ago made us vow to come back, and this time made us vow to come back again! It feels like a very clean city, with stunning buildings, not least the cathedral. This time we discovered the fabulous Hotel de Groslot, a neo-Renaissance mansion built for the Groslot family. 

It was completely free to visit and you see six roooms. It once hosted Charles IX, Henry IV and Catherine de Medicis. The fireplace depicts the life of St. Joan of Arc, given we were in Orléans, it is one of many images of her in the city. 

The pumpkins display outside was brilliant and it was what drew us over to the building in the first place, unaware of what it was. With only a few hours here after lunch, we are hoping to see more on our way back home. A quick walk down the main road brought us in to a great coffee shop Bungalow Republik; this allowed mum’s tired legs to recover enough to get her back to Daisyvan.

It was really atmospheric arriving in Chateauroux for the evening, a fog had descended and the chateau was lit up pink. France really celebrates and raises awareness for Breast Cancer research in October, many towns have pink ribbons and pink flowers everywhere. It is such a great way to highlight this horrible disease! Being so close to All Saints Day meant everywhere had amazing displays of chrysanthemums; the flowers are traditionally placed on gravestones for loved ones and is alleged to have started in 1919 as people were encouraged to place flowers on the graves of soldiers who had died in World War I. The display with the pumpkins in Orleans was one of the best we’d ever seen.

We took a walk around the old town and found an ancient gate to a prison, the prefecture and a fantastic church also all lit up. The old town in the fog was fabulous, but we had an early start to get to Castelnaudray the next evening, so we had to cut our wandering short. 

After a quick car park picnic in the sunshine we were really getting into the holiday spirit, unfortunately, it was a rude awakening on reaching our destination for the night. Castelnaudray wasn’t as picturesque as our last stop and the area we were staying in wasn’t so great. It is right on the Canal du Midi and has a basin with some locks, we were hoping it was going to be really lovely, however there wasn’t anything to hold our interest, so we set off to start the Spanish part of the trip. Next stop Cadaques.