France – Tom's Place – a sort of blog by a British resident of Albufeira

Last pictures from France

There’s no particular theme, just a few things that caught my eye. Now, I am all for using natural resources wherever possible but these are live power lines! Seen in Le Verdon.

The almost disused cranes at Le Verdon. The port is almost deserted these daya, although cruise ships do stop here for re-supply if they cannot get down the 60 miles / 100km along the river to Bordeaux. The tower was built as a water tower and apparently used as an anti-aircraft battery in World War Two.

One of the two ferries that cross the Gironde between Le Verdon (a different dock) and Royan.

The most often seen nautical activity in these parts.

The incredibly garish road markings appeared overnight in Le Verdon, along the road that leads to the ferry. I have never seen anything like this, anywhere!

And so it was down to Bordeaux for the final 36 hours before my flight back to Portugal. The train was incredibly crowded. There were more people sitting on the floor in my section that sitting on actual seats. SNCF, in its wisdom, decided that a 3 car train would suffice for a summer Saturday morning. The next train, which we passed on the way down , was six cars however.

To the Sunday morning ‘Brocante’ near the St Michel church. The bell tower is undergoing significant restoration. The scaffolding in place looks almost as impressive as the original structure, which dates from the 15th century. The tower is 114 metres (374 feet) high. When restored, it should be possible to visit it.

The market ranges from well ordered stalls selling ancient second hand books, postcards and records (black vinyl) and a lot of glassware, down to piles of stuff on mats and carpets. I have to wonder where the vendors get it from and more so to whom they sell it. OK dear, I will just pop out a buy a cannon. Or a set of cow horns, as one does.

Or, for that matter, a Second World War era rifle cleaning kit. I was tempted and did examine it. It looked complete and I did recall some of the tools from those long ago days in my schools Cadet Force. Cleaning Lee Enfield .303 weapons. Or perhaps take home a bear paw? Just what I always wanted!

Sme of you may be old enough to remember that this was how we used to buy nuts, bolts and screws. This stall had a huge box like this, probably from a store long since closed and forgotten. Note that they are sold by the dozen.

Look carefully above your head at the street signs and spot the previous names. Some have three, one pre revolutionary, one named after the heroes thereof and then later names like Rue Charles de Gaulle or Rue 8 Mai. This is one end of the well known shopping street.

After not having bought anything, a tram ride up to the rapidly changing area around the Bassins à Flot, the old docks. On the one hand there is lots of modernity.

But in areas yet untouched, flowers grow happily.

Looming large over the area is the Second World War submarine base, built by the Germans in 1941.

Every so often, you can trip over the remains of the area’s industrial past. But I was pleased to see that a lot of the old rails have been taken out of the ground and recycled as traffic barriers.

Last few days at the seaside in Soulac-sur-mer

It’s coming to the end of my visit. These are just a few images from the last few days.

There is a lot of very dense woodland around the area. Nice walks through them, but don’t sit down! To me, it seems that the biggest ants in the world live there, especially in the pine woods. Something else I have noticed over the years is the lack of birds, again especially in the pines. Hardly a wing flutters, nary a cheep is heard.

Then right in the middle, this standard issue German light machine gun post. Guarding what I wondered. There is nothing to suggest anything to be guarded. Behind it is a modern campsite.

The inexorable advance of the sea is exposing various layers of coastal defences and the traces of the railways used to bring the materials to build them. The higher ones date from the 1960’s, the lower structures nearer the sea from the 1920’s. This is to the north of the town. The 30 metre high dunes are gradually being pushed back.

The lagoons created by the tides are popular and safe places for children to play in the water.

The town has hired in a variety of equipment to suck and sweep that sand that was blow into the streets last week, to return it to the beach where it belongs. It does not take much imagination to picture the situation in 1741 which caused the original town to be evacuated and moved wholesale inland. The ancient church (Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-fin-des-Terres) which I have pictured previously was buried up as far as the clock tower before it was unburied and restored in the mid 19th-century.

Another ever present danger in the area is fire. Last summer the forest trails were closed because of the extreme fire risk. Happily this year they are not, but to the south of the town along the beach there are often very large lumps of charcoal exposed. These are the legacy of a huge fire that ravaged the area sometime in pre-history. This one was about 1.5 metres long.

Seepage of oily water can be seen in many locations. The result of natural processes under the sand and exposed where the dunes are carved by the sea.

Elsewhere are distinct layers where icy cold water drips down from little escarpments. The sand is always on the move. Every now and then some artifact from ancient or modern history will show up. Only last week a local showed up a police station with a bagful of World War Two ammunition. Probably the most well known is this 1st Century brass statue of a boar found in 1989. Always worth keeping your eyes open when walking along the beach!

And finally, as ever, the first Sunday in August saw the annual blessing of the sea by various clergy. That night was a spectacular fireworks display enjoyed by thousands. My couple of photos cannot possibly do it justice.

East of Soulac, the polders

To the east of Soulac are large areas of flat farmland, reclaimed from the sea with the help of Dutch engineers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Go out there on a bike and it’s possible to hear the sound of silence, the only noise being that of the wind. This is the area between the little village of Talais and the Gironde estuary. Huge flat fields, prairies almost, stretching far into the distance. The main crops are maize and sunflowers, although do also have cattle grazing.

Looking the other way, across the tidal mud flats towards the almost disused port of Le Verdon. Oysters are cultivated here.

On the way, I passed the little airfield outside the town. Parked there was this old Antonov AN-2 aircraft. This one is registered in Hungary and seems to used for parachuting by a French group. I found some old photos of military parachutists using it for training. Around 18,000 of these were built between 1947 and the 1980’s. Many are still in service in various far flung corners of the world.

Two not very nice days at all!

This just about sums it up! Two days of 75kph (nearly 50mph) winds, dark clouds and frequent heavy showers. The wind has whipped up the sand, which I now have in many orifices. Tourists have been hiding. Not summer at all. Yesterday I went on the bus to Montalivet, which is normally a busy tourist place with a busy market. By the time I got there, the weather had hit. Most of the market traders had already cried off.

The beach at Montalivet with some terminally insane surfers. The beach was otherwise closed.

The normally bustling streets were almost deserted.

The yellow machine was trying to put the beach back together.

The picture above shows one of the sneaky lateral waves that are a feature of the coast in this area. Just when you think it is safe, they sweep you off your feet almost from behind.

The wind was so strong that standing there, above the beach, was like being in a sand blaster. Small children were almost blown away. I was grateful to get back on the bus!

Then this morning in Soulac, there were sand drifts, to the extent that the ‘promenade’ was closed to traffic. I have seen it worse, once, but even today the sand was everwhere.

Sand was two feet (60cm) deep in a few places.

As you can see from the tree, the wind was howling!

Breakers in the distance attest to the force of the waves.

So later I cycled up to the ferry at Le Verdon and went across to Royan. Bleak and rainswept it became shortly after I arrived. The huge beach at St George de Didonne was deserted. I continued to Meschers through the woods, where at least the rain held off long enough for my picnic lunch.

Dark and horrible sky looking across the Gironde towards the Médoc.

Then it rained really hard and I got soaked. Back on the ferry, which was across a suitably rough sea.

A week in the Pointe du Médoc

First week here. Weather has been variable, with wind and rain from time to time but not cold. I have had some bike rides through the forests (they were closed last year because of the extreme fire risk) and also some walks around town. These are just a few random pictures of things that have caught my eye.

Fishing from the Banc St Nicolas at the Pointe de Grave

It was good weather for sailing . rather windy!

Soulac-sur-mer, the site of the Résidence le Signal, demolished before the sea could claim it.

When built in 1967, it was 200 metres from the sea. Just before recent demolition.

The final part of the cycle paths along the seafront have been completed.

The whole area is very bike friendly. Miles and miles of off road cycling and almost completely flat.

Local train approaching one of the level crossings.

Deep in the woods north of Soulac are the 80 year old remains of the German fortifications of World War Two. I had not seen this particular site before, it is almost completely hidden. It must have been an important site. The whole area is covered in bomb craters up to ten metres deep. I have some books at home and will try to find out more about it.

Changing the subject completely! On a sand dune, this little flower all on its own. I did see a couple more later. Reverse image search can’t identify, too much sand. Can anyone tell me what it is?

More remains. I wonder if these will be as mysterious to the archaeologists of 4023 as those of 23AD are to us?

Long before the tourists are awake. These will become beach shelters at €20 a day!

Somewhere, a small child will have been scolded for leaving this behind. The sweeper will take it.

Nearby a bird tries to tug something out of the sand the sweeper has partially uncovered.

The Basilica style church, ancient and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Périgueux amphitheatre July 2023

Any decent Roman town had its amphitheatre (stadium) and Vesunna (modern Périgueux) was no exception. First constructed in the 1st century AD during the reign of the emperor Tiberius, it held around 18,000 spectators and was one of the largest in Romanised Gaul. When the city diminished in size, its walls were incorporated into the new defences. Later in history it was gradually torn down for building materials. There is hardly a building in modern Périgueux without some Roman stonework. It was forgotten over time until 1821 when a local archeologist started excavating. The site was declared a national mounument as early as 1840. In 1875 the local council created the Jardin des Arènes on the site. Most of the remains are now buried, but among the bushes and trees arond the edge of the site are glimpses of its former glory.

Click a picture to see it in a larger size.

Visit to Périgueux 21st July 2023

Périgueux is a pleasant town of about 30,000 and is the capital of the Dordogne départment of France. I visited a long time ago and thought it was time for a day out while in Bordeaux. As with the visit to Biarrtitz, I took advantage of the ´Passe Escapade’ reduced fare. It’s about 1 hour 20 minutes journey by train, a modern bi-mode unit that runs under electric wires for about half the distance, then swirches to diesel mode.

The main reason for my journey was to revisit the Roman museum. Arrival is under the cavernous roof of this fairly small station.

In the first and second centuries AD, it was the prosperous and sprawling Roman town of Vesunna. By the third century however, recession and the threat from marauding tribes caused the citizens to retreat behind tall walls made from the demolished buildings of the lower part of the town. One of four gates still remains, in ruins, even though it only fell out of use at the start of the 20th century.

Nearby are the remains of imposing mansions built by local nobles in the early Middle Ages more or less along the line of the town wall.

This is all that remains of a once huge religious establishment, Eglise St. Etienne de la Cité. Dating from the 12th century, this was the original cathedral. Badly damaged in the religious wars of the late 16th century and again almost a century later in further internal conflicts, it lost its title to the newer church of Sainte-Front. It remained in decline until the early 20th century, when a slow process of restoration began. This continues.

This 25 metre tall tower is all that remains of a vast Roman temple. Most of the rest was plundered for building stone. The brickwork is very exact and intricate. I had the thought of the bricklayers up on a tall scaffold with a foreman down below shouting up at them to get on with it. Or else.

I cannot make out what is written high up on this block.

Most of the rest of the abandoned town was lost under gardens and orchards. It was discovered quite by accident when a project to build an apartment block found interesting ruins. Luckily, those in charge realised the significance of what they had found. Bit by bit, the remains of a large townhouse were revealed. These are now preserved in situ in the museum. Plenty more about it here.

This model shows the town as it was thought to have been in its heyday. A few remains of the amphitheatre are still visible. I have some pictures for later. The temple tower is in the middle. The town shrank to the area in between and just around. All the rest has gone.

The dining room with its wall paintings.

The centre piece of the courtyard garden. Very elegant life it must have been

Around the town are various buildings from across the ages, piled one on top of the other is some cases. This is the Mataguerre tower which is all that now remains of the defensive wall that formerly surrounded the town centre

This is a proper door, studded with very large nails.

And I stumbled upon this strangely decorated square.

And little side streets that haven’t changed for a very long time.

This building close to the museum houses the National Centre De Préhistoire. The building, if I recall correctly, dates from the 11th century. Their work is mainly concerned with the preservation of the prehistoric caves and the paintings of which there are many of course in the Dordogne.,

Pictures of the amphitheatre next.

VISIT TO BIARRITZ 20th JULY 2023

I have never been to Biarritz, so a day out was in order from my base in Bordeaux. Biarritz is about 2 hours by train from Bordeaux. I took advantage of the reduced price ‘Passe Escapade’ ticket on the regional (TER) trains. They take only about 15 minutes more than the TGV trains that share the same tracks, with no worries about seat reservations. Both were fairly long trains and only about half full going, three quarters full on the way back.

Biarritz station is 3.2 km (two miles) from the town centre, the short line to the old more central Gare du Midi having been closed in 1980. Buses connect station and town at frequent intervals, costing just €1,20 for which I paid using my contactless debit card. It’s in Euros, so no added charges! The bus journey takes about 20 minutes. If heading for the main beach, get off at Mairie Biarritz. Buses there and back were crowded, added to which the bus back to the station broke down en route. Luckily another bus was only four or five minutes behind and was able to scoop up all the passengers and deliver us in time for our trains.

It was a cool and cloudy day, but plenty of people were out and about both in the town and on the beaches. Biarritz is seen as a faded jewel of times past, once graced by royalty and stars of stage and screen. There are many old seafront properties costing a big fortune, plus several grand hotels that would probably not allow me to cross their threshold. The town as a whole is quite hilly, with steep and narrow streets, also long flights of steps down to and back up from some of the beaches.

A room here will set you back about €1,700 a night. I kid you not. I told you it would be the kind of place that would not allow me across the doorstep. There is some interesting history on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_du_Palais

The old port, well protected from the Atlantic Ocean

Le Rocher de la Vierge with a statue of the Virgin Mary on top.

The statue was erected in 1865 to commemorate the ‘miraculous’ return of a group of fishermen during a storm.

This station was opened in 1911 as Biarritz-Ville at the end of a 3.5km branch from the main line at the station of Biarritz La Négresse. The station was relatively short-lived being closed in 1980. It had been served by direct trains from Paris during the resort’s heyday, including ‘trains auto-couchettes’ – car carrying sleeper trains. The building of motorways, the introduction of TGV service along the main line, plus the local council’s covetous eyes on the land in the city centre, put an end to the route. After a few years it re-opened as an arts and cultural centre. The other station was renamed simply as Biarritz.

That is Spain in the misty distance, Hondarrabia just over the border.

Next stop, Périgueux.

Bordeaux 19th July 2023

I had to buy a new cable for the camera! Bah! Anyway, a few pictures from Bordeaux. There is a tremendous amount of building going on, particularly in the former industrial areas south-east of the main railway station Gare St Jean. The new Pont Simone Veil is being built to the east of all the existing bridges and will be a completely new crossing. Completion expected ‘in 2024’ it is already several years behind schedule. A lot more traffic will be completely removed from the city centre as a result.

The broad avenue leading to it is ready.

Shiny new corporate towers are going up everywhere.

Meanwhile, in the suburb of Bègles, the railway station sleeps almost undisturbed by the dozen or so trains that stop there every day and those that pass through. Bègles is also on a flight path into Bordeaux airport. I was pleased to see the careful cultivation of lineside vegetation.

Note the low platforms. No access for all here!

This type of unguarded crossing between platforms is common in France, even on lines where trains pass at 100kph or more. I suspect that so few people use the station that it will be closed if ever the letter of the law has to be followed.

This locomotive emerged from the nearby yard pulling a very long train of wagons loaded with sleepers (US – crossties) bound for some upgrade project somewhere.

Back in the city, one of the narrow streets almost untouched by time. Rue des Palanques. A Palanque is basically a wooden wall type fortification, similar to stockade. I don’t know enough about the history of that area to understand why it has that name.

The imposing exterior of Bordeaux St Jean railway station.

Now here is a sign I have not seen anywhere else on any railway! Attention – bees! I was on a train on the way to Biarritz and glanced out of the window. I just had time to snap the sign. Sure enough there were several beehives just off the platform.

A few words and pictures from my day out to Biarritz to follow.

Strasbourg March 2023

Lunatic cyclists and e-scooter riders! You really need your wits about you in this city. Spent a short time there, sunny days but a little cold. Very busy place. Being so close to Germany and indeed being German terroritory in comparatively recent times, the city has a distinctively germanic look and feel to it. Canals and waterways also influence the way the city appears. Very good tram system for getting around.

Sunday 9th April – remaining Strasbourg pictures added at the end.

One of the defensive towers of the old city that still stands. From the 16th century if I recall correctly.

Old and fairly new sit side by side.

Such were the punishments meted out to wrongdoers. I rather like the idea of locking thieves into a cage and being mocked by the good citizens. That would teach them nowadays…