Laon to Beaune

We went to see the old part of Laon before heading south.

The present Laon Cathedral dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries, an early example of the Gothic style that originated in Northern France. The former cathedral was burned out and damaged during the communal insurrection in 1112. The present reconstruction began about 1160 and was finished by 1174.

The west front, then with three porches, the centre one surmounted by a fine rose window 1210, ranks next to that of Notre Dame de Paris in the purity of its Gothic style. Because of the use of white stone in the interior, however, the luminosity is remarkably greater than at Notre-Dame. The cathedral has stained glass of the 13th century and a chancel screen of the 18th century. Although the cathedral suffered some damage during the French Revolution and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it escaped both World Wars unharmed.

We stopped at a random village called Bar Sur Seine for some lunch to have a break from the motorway. It was an old town and full of interesting old houses. It was like a ghost town as it was 1pm and everything had closed down for their 2 hour siesta. Thankfully the bakery was open and we bought some delightful things and took them down to the river to eat.

I thought Mike had been exaggerating when he described what the older toilets were like in France but found out he wasn't!

Fontenay abbey was the next stop. This is a former Cistercian abbey near Montbard and was founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, and built in the Romanesque style. It is one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Of the original complex comprising church, dormitory, cloister, chapter house, caldarium, refectory, dovecote and forge, all remain intact except the refectory and are well maintained. The Abbey of Fontenay, along with other Cistercian abbeys, forms a connecting link between Romanesque and Gothic architectures. Mike is teaching us all about the different styles of architecture.

The abbey was the most complete example of a medieval abbey we had seen and it helped to give us a greater understanding of the magnitude of the many other ruined abbeys we had seen in the UK.

But how on earth did they manage to build something of this size in the twelfth century is anyone's guess?

The monks dormitory.

Chapter house.

Cloisters

It had an amazing reconstructed forge. Apparently this was the first example of a metal working factory in Europe.

This water wheel was working, powered by the water from behind and it powered a massive hydraulic hammer.

Back on the road for the final leg of our journey to Beaune. Mike took us on a quick tour of this amazing medieval village called Semur- en - Auxios.

Neuf Castle from the window as we sped past.

We finally arrived at our destination of Beaune camping ground. It is fully booked but the sites are large and each is defined by a highway hedge to give privacy so it doesn't seem crowded. It is full of grey nomads. We put up our new home away from home and it is excellent. Easy to put up and looks almost new. Plenty of room.

For tea we went to the little restaurant and enjoyed a salad. Well we did. Mike enjoyed snails!