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Category: France

  • Carcassonne Day One : Ryanair Flight from London Stansted to Carcassonne

    Carcassonne Day One : Ryanair Flight from London Stansted to Carcassonne

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    Our dining treat whilst waiting for the flight was a £4.99 Boots meal deal and this was rather agreeable…. Anyway, I’m not sure that even my two loyal blog readers are much interested in that, but there we go. My blog, I can bore whoever I like.

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    We arrived at the gate before the previous flight had even left, this is the departure to Memmingen which it occurred to me that I haven’t visited before. Incidentally, don’t Ryanair have a lot of vans?

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    There we go, the departure board changed and we’re ready for the off.

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    We paid £15 each for this flight, so it’d be hard to complain too much, and indeed I didn’t find anything to complain about anyway. Not that I go looking for things to complain about I’d better add there. The efficiency from Ryanair is impressive, they’ve got passengers waiting to board the flight before the passengers from the inbound flight have left the aircraft and it certainly works for them in terms of the timings. It means that passengers have to stand and wait, which is sub-optimal for those who mobility issues, but I’ll give them their mark for their planning proficiency.

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    I had plenty of time to take photos of the aircraft. Liam was excited that the cockpit had a window that opened. It then emerged that he hadn’t flown overseas since we went to Malta the week before Covid caused so many problems. He needs to get out more as well it seems….

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    And a photo of the aforementioned window.

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    I’m too tight to pay for a specific seat on board, but I was surprised and delighted to get 10A, a window seat, without paying. Liam also got fortunate, he got 4A or something similar. After boarding, Liam messaged to say they had a planning issue with a customer with a disability, but they resolved it promptly, meaning that we departed on time. The crew were efficient and from I saw worked hard.

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    I was in prime position to spot if the engine fell out. I’m pleased to say that it didn’t.

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    The flight went quickly, not least because I fell asleep for most of it. I’ve visited Carcassonne before, but it was pre-blog (a bit like before cameras, it’s a dark age for me) and I also used my camera to take most of the photos and so Google hasn’t carefully logged them all for me. I do worry slightly when I forget so much about a past trip.

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    Liam disembarking…. It’s a building which feels more constructed for functionality rather than design appeal.

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    The aircraft was clean, well maintained and is registration EI-DWV, a 16 year old Boeing 737 which must be one of the older ones in their fleet. My record on recording these things is a bit patchy, but I don’t think I’ve been on this aircraft before.

    Back to the flight, this was an pretty impeccable offering from Ryanair at a price that was bordering on the ridiculous. I might have worked for BA in the past and my affinity is with them, but this Ryanair effort was well managed, efficient and respectful to the passengers. The opportunity that they give people to travel at affordable rates really is notable.

    As for the airport, other than for the odd situation with insufficient toilets in the arrival area (there’s more in departures) which caused some queues, it was all ordered and logical taking us under 20 minutes to get from the aircraft to the front of the terminal building. We weren’t delayed by not having EU passports, the border control desk was just dealing with this flight which I think was the last of the day, so everyone was in the same queue and it was fast moving. All in all, one of those flights where there’s nothing much of note to write, which is really for the best as it means that everyone went well.

  • Carcassonne Day One : Stansted Wetherspoons – The Windmill

    Carcassonne Day One : Stansted Wetherspoons – The Windmill

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    As there’s limited public seating in the airside part of Stansted, it wasn’t clear where else we would wait for our flight other than at the Wetherspoons at Stansted Airport, the Windmill. I’ve written about this venue before, but it’s well managed, the staff are engaging, it’s efficient and the environment is clean. It’s expensive, but that’s hardly going to surprise anyone. Liam and I had already enjoyed an extensive breakfast of a packet of crisps and a beer, so we didn’t need to have a fine dining meal. I’m sure (well, I’m not, I’m not always very observant) that they’ve extended the Windmill again, as we were seated in a wing that I hadn’t even noticed before. Incidentally, I remember the previous Wetherspoon outlet at Stansted which had around 18 tables, whereas they must now have over 100 tables across the two floors.

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    I like high seating and I was enjoying watching whether people coming in would go for high or low seating, and the majority went for higher seating. That’s how I spend my time now, with riveting polling such as that. I definitely need to get out more.

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    I went to the bar to order as they were playing a rather mean prank on customers and pretending on the app that they only had Greene King beers. I was momentarily excited to see that they had Theakstons Old Peculier, but the helpful staff member said that it had sold out within two hours and it had surprised them. I mean, I can hardly wonder why that beer sold out when the delights of Greene King IPA was on….. Anyway, they had Gold from Exmoor Ales and so I had half of that, it was a not unagreeable creamy, smooth and light beer. It also went well with the five decaff coffees that I had, such are the joys of unlimited coffee.

    There are other food and beverage options at the airport which aren’t really any more expensive than Wetherspoons, but their beer and coffee options are more extensive and better value. I might try the Camden Bar and Kitchen at some point which has a few craft beer options and although isn’t linked to the Camden Brewery, as it’s operated by SSP, it does sell their beers.

  • Carcassonne Day One : Breakfast of Champions

    Carcassonne Day One : Breakfast of Champions

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    Stansted Airport long ago gave up with any attempt of having seating in their main departures section of the terminal, unless sitting on the floor is in the management’s action plan for customers. However, a short walk to the airport’s bus station terminal leads to a positive smorgasbord of seating options, so we rushed there positively giddy with excitement for the trip. I accept that a breakfast, or perhaps brunch is more appropriate, of King Queen Knave and Adnams Ghostship crisps might not feel premium, but adventures that start with a Pressure Drop beer at least have a positive beginning. Also, the prices in the terminal were far too indulgent for Liam and I, so this was a much more practical thrifty option. Also sitting in the bus station lets me dream of travel, seeing such glorious destinations on the departing coaches which included Braintree, Harlow and Luton. Does travel get any more decadent than that? I don’t think so.

  • Carcassonne Day One : Getting to Stansted Airport

    Carcassonne Day One : Getting to Stansted Airport

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    I don’t get much chance to get away at the moment, so there will be a small deluge of excited posts about a weekend away which can surprise and delight my two loyal blog readers. Thanks to Susanne for driving Liam and I to Stansted Airport for the adventure, with the added excitement for me of being a passenger in a left-hand drive car so I could pretend momentarily that I was driving. As I mentioned, I don’t get out much and this is all I can muster for this blog to liven up the drive to the airport. One thing about living nearer to Stansted Airport is that it feels much more convenient, although less so for Liam who had driven all the way from Norwich already.

    Stansted Airport doesn’t allow for free drop-off any more as they can excitedly collect money from drivers who want convenience, but it does allow you to park for up to an hour in the medium stay car park without charge and then get a free shuttle to the terminal. As usual, I couldn’t risk being late at the airport, so we arrived nearly four hours before the flight, which to me is cutting it fine. Anyway, I digress. Hopefully I’ll be able to write this weekend up before getting distracted and taking nine months to complete it.

  • Narbonne – Eglise Notre-Dame de Lamourguier (and Narbo Via Museum)

    Narbonne – Eglise Notre-Dame de Lamourguier (and Narbo Via Museum)

    This is Eglise Notre-Dame de Lamourguier in Narbonne, a beautiful thirteenth century Gothic church. I visited in 2017, not just because it looked an interesting church, but because it housed nearly 2,000 blocks from the Roman period. They had been used in the construction of the city walls in the sixteenth century and when in the 1860s the walls were taken down, they clearly didn’t know what to do, so they dumped them all in the church. And there they remained until very recently, although fortunately, I saw them in situ.

    When I visited I tried the door and it was shut. I assumed that I had misunderstood the opening times or that they were perhaps a little fluid, so I meandered off, probably slightly grumpy. A staff member then rushed out of the door and said something random in French (it probably wasn’t random to her), which transpired to be her telling me she had forgotten to unlock the doors and had wondered why the museum was quiet. Fortunately, I banged about on the door because I’m slightly clumsy, so she heard me. Very friendly welcome incidentally, I was given a sheet in English telling me what to look out for.

    I accept that this looks like some arrangement that I’ve set up, stacking up thousands of pieces of Roman stone in an historic building.

    Perhaps at first it looked like it might all fall down, but it was in fact all quite safe. Or, at least, I didn’t knock anything over. So, here are some photos of the stone and it’s pretty clear to me now that I’ve forgotten to take a photo of the information sheet, so I have no bloody idea what half of this is. Or indeed any of it. But I know I spent well over an hour looking for the stones the curators thought were of particularly importance.

    I thought that this was quite magical, especially as I was the only person meandering their way around the museum, which was primarily I suspect because the staff member had forgotten to open it.

    One sad thing though, and as usual, I’ve found something to moan about. I visited here in 2017 and I’ve discovered that they’ve moved all this to a brand new museum designed by Foster & Partners. The museum isn’t quite yet open and having looked at the plans that have been published, I completely hate the new building.

    This looks hideous to me, creating a sense of distance between the stones and the visitor, and instead getting them to use a screen to no doubt find out more. They’re stacking up these items up so they can’t been engaged with and it looks like an Amazon warehouse, bright, but not really conducive to a useful visitor experience. If that means you can see the objects up close like at the National Railway Museum stores, then that is quite marvellous, but in the image above the barrier that forces visitors several feet away from the stones is visible. The plan is to split the nearly 2,000 stones that were in the church so they heap a load in a wall which has no relevance to anything, and put hundreds of others of them in a reserve store. A great deal of bloody use they’ll be there.

    This is the other design image. Well, what a lovely cafe the museum will have. Who needs heritage when you can have a lovely cafe?

    I’ve spent a little time trying to find out what the reaction of other people in the locality is, as I tend to have an instant dislike to museums where they put technology ahead of the thing they’re meant to be displaying. I haven’t found much, but what I have found is pretty negative about the presentation of the stones and one person has said they’ve shoved them all behind wire mesh. Anyway, since the museum isn’t open yet and I haven’t visited it in its new location anyway, perhaps it’s all lovely and better than I expected.

    But, I still love how the stones were presented in the Eglise Notre-Dame de Lamourguier, making it one of the most memorable museums that I’ve visited.

  • France – Olive Crisps

    France – Olive Crisps

    It’s difficult to deny that French cuisine is one of the best of the world when they produce such culinary excellence as this…. Part of the Tapas Collection released a few years ago, this was the best of the range. Not that this was hard, as there was only one other to my knowledge, which was pesto. I need to get out more….

  • Narbonne – Narbonne Cathedral (Finished Bit)

    Not all of the Narbonne Cathedral is finished (the unfinished bit) and the above photo shows what there actually is. What would have just been the choir area was built, but the crossing area where the tower would have been and the rest of the nave weren’t finished.

    This is what the cathedral looks like inside, all rather crammed in compared to what the original plans would have envisaged. The choir area has been pushed back to a small area at the rear and what is effectively the nave has been constructed in the space that’s been freed up. The proportions are now of course entirely wrong, as the height is way too high for the floor space, although that doesn’t take away from just how impressive this building feels.

    I can’t help thinking of just how irritating it must have been for the architects to see their designs never quite completed.

  • Narbonne – Hotel F1 Narbonne Sud

    Hotel F1 is the cheapest brand of hotels in the Accor chain and they’re mostly, but not entirely, located in France following some rebranding of many of these locations as Ibis Budget. The remaining Hotel F1 locations are normally just outside of town centres and they’re keenly priced with plenty of car parking (not that this element matters to me).

    The rooms are similar to Ibis Budget hotels, but they have shared bathrooms. As shared bathrooms go though, these are some of the best as it’s clear which ones are in use and there are also so many that there isn’t usually any wait. The rooms, like Ibis Budget, have bunk beds and are relatively small in size.

    Hotels in France are usually expensive, so these locations offer a much affordable option. This particular hotel in Narbonne cost around £28 per night, as opposed to the nearly £100 per night accommodation options in the town centre. This hotel was clean and well presented, with the staff members being helpful and friendly. It’s all rather basic, but it’s well managed so that it’s still sufficiently comfortable. There’s also free wi-fi offered at the hotel, and it was surprisingly fast.

    The breakfast costs around £2.50 and allows for unlimited bread, jams, cereals, orange juice and coffees. It might be one of the most basic breakfasts offered by Accor hotels, but the price means that it’s still excellent value for money.

    The F1 hotels routinely get poor reviews, so perhaps they’re not managing expectations particularly well. This hotel is 20th out of 21 accommodation options on TripAdvisor for the town, and I sometime wonder what people actually expect.

  • Narbonne – Narbonne Cathedral (Unfinished Bit)

    I’ve told a lot of people how much I was fascinated by Narbonne Cathedral following my visit there in 2017. It’s really intriguing as it’s a cathedral which was never finished, with only the choir section having been completed. So what is left is the first part of the nave and the choir area, with the nave section having never been roofed.

    The unfinished nature of the structure gives an indication of how buildings like this were constructed, and it almost feels like being on a medieval building site. Where the rear of the nave would have been is now built on, but the central nave area has remained as it would have looked in the thirteenth century.

    The cathedral was never completed for numerous reasons, partly funding but also it would have meant moving the city walls and this would have been an expensive and time-consuming exercise. The cathedral itself was also one of the largest which was being built, so it would have been a huge commitment to see it through to the end.

    The unfinished elements are also visible from the side of the cathedral.

    This is the bit of the cathedral that was finished, which was effectively only the choir area. Today though the interior has been reconfigured to try and make the whole cathedral fit inside the space that they have. I’m unsure why the first section of the nave area was never finished, as this could have been done relatively cheaply since the walls were already up, but perhaps there was just never the need.

  • Chambery Walk

    Just photos on this post, this was a walk from Chambery railway station to the north-west of the city. It’s about three miles and was surprisingly pleasant, as the areas either side of the river are quite industrial. The river, with its impressively clear water, is La Leysse which is an Alpine river which crosses the region before ending up in Lake Bourget.

    Next time I visit the region though there are proper mountain walks to be completed!