It was already quite late when we left Lomazzo. But the drive out of Lombardy, through Piemonte and across the Alps took much longer than we’d expected and this was not helped by a severe bottleneck at the entrance to the Frejus tunnel at Bardonecchia.  It was just our luck that we’d hit the busiest week in the year for returning French holiday-makers.  We thought the congestion was caused by passport or customs controls but it turned out to be just the queues at the toll booths.  56 Euros for the crossing seemed a bit steep but then this was Europe and all the technical expertise and orderliness doesn’t come cheap. With the wait, it took nearly two hours to get across.

The tunnel emerges in the Savoie in France, one of the departements of the Rhone-Alpes region.

The Rhône-Alpes borders Switzerland as well as Italy. Its Massif Central mountains and dramatic canyons carved by the Ardèche River are popular for hiking and rafting. Both the Rhone and the Saone also flow through the region and meet at Lyon.   Lyon, the regional capital, is a cultural and gastronomic hub with Renaissance and medieval buildings in its centre. 

Shortly after reaching France, it was 9.30pm and we had not found a suitable campsite on our route.  Instead, Judith found a cheap B&B near Chambery through lastminute.com which we paid for in advance.  When we finally found the place though at 11pm it was sunk in darkness and no one was there.  We rang the hotel number only to be told there must have been a mistake and they were full.  Several phone calls to lastminute.com proved a waste of time; it was far too late to start looking for campsites or other accommodation and, finally giving up at nearly 1pm we resorted to spending the night in an ‘aire’ (a temporary rest stop with toilet facilities) on the side of the motorway mostly used by lorry drivers but also desperate campervanners!  This had to rank as one of our worst nights of the journey and unfortunately Catherine was also with us so it may well have tarnished her view of campervanning for quite a long time!  In the morning, after a strong coffee from the motorway cafe, we were ready to get back on the road.

We would have liked to spend a bit of time in Lyon but we we had to get to Brittany by the 27th and fit in two visits to friends in-between and friends are more important.  First, we were headed for Blace in the Beaujolais area, about 70 kms north west of Lyon to see Blandine and Laurent who we’d been friends with when we lived in Clapham Park in the 90s. Judith and Blandine worked well together as active members of their respective PTAs and Laurent was a Master of Wine working on several projects. They bought a lovely big but run-down house in Blace with acres of vineyards and eventually moved there in the 2000s. Shortly afterwards, a major fire destroyed large parts of the house but the insurance money enabled them to rebuild it all beautifully.  They called it the ‘Chateau de l’Hestrange’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blace is situated in the Beaujolais region of the Rhone.  For some reason, Beaujolais has for a while now been out of fashion and doesn’t sell well – in fact, there had been 6 suicides amongst winegrowers in the region in the past year alone. Very wisely, Laurent has over the past few years diversified his vineyards by growing Chardonnay as well as Gamay Noir grapes and producing Cremant, Chardonnay and aged Beaujolais, all of which we tried and were quite superb.  Laurent had even approached Buckingham Palace asking if he could dedicate his 2012 Chardonnay to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and he got a letter back saying yes and ordering several cases!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent two very pleasant days with Blandine and Laurent as well as two of their grown-up children Delphine and Elzear and trusty border collie Merlot at Chateau de l’Hestrange.  The grape-picking harvest was due to start the next day, first for the Cremant and a week later for the rest of the vines and they were glad to have had a bit of rain in the last few days to give the grapes that last boost after a very hot summer.  It sounded exciting and it was tempting to stay and help with the harvest (the last time Flavio did the vendange was after the very hot summer of 1976 in Blois). But we had to move on so we promised to come back and help with next year’s harvest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the rain, Laurent had put off the start of the grape-picking by a day but on the morning of the second day, grape-pickers could be seen on the slopes adjoining l’Hestrange. A walk to take a closer look seemed a compelling thought.  There was something satisfying and timeless in the sight of this essentially quiet, almost religious activity.  The long months of pruning and tending the vines and hoping for the right weather at the right time were finally over and it was now time to gather the grapes.  It was not only an economic activity (for many winegrowers it’s not particularly profitable) – it was a preservation of a way of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really liked the countryside around Blace and Villefranche – the vine-covered undulating hills interspersed with coppices are irresistibly gentle and seductive. It was a joy just to take a walk surrounded by vines and tranquil vistas all around. We decided that of all the regions we’d seen in France we liked the Rhone, the Languedoc-Roussillon, the Loire, the Aquitaine and other wine-growing areas best – something about doing something for the love and preservation of that way of life – though there is something very relaxing about Brittany too, despite the weather!

Another thing we really liked was Merlot the dog – aren’t border collies great?  But no, we’re not getting a dog when we get back.