From Somme to Seine, A Free Aire in Oissel
Zagan the motorhome is happily resting in one of the two free motorhome parking spaces alongside the River Seine in Oissel, just south of Rouen (N50.18261, E1.62918). We’ve been in France for a week today and so far we have only visited three other places which, regular blog readers will know, is not like us.
While staying in St Valery-sur-Somme for a long weekend, on Sunday the main street was closed off and a market took its place. Crowds thronged into the small square, the stalls spilling out along the boardwalk. The whole area smelt amazing, fuelled by at least three stalls selling chickens cooking on the spit and potatoes roasted in the juices. Fruit and veg was much cheaper than we saw in the supermarket the previous day, but we didn’t need any and were just happy wandering around the stalls taking in the sights.
Being Sunday the Lidl supermarket was closed, but fortunately the Intermarche was open until lunchtime. Our friends Kathryn and Alex were on their way north to join us, and as they would be on the road for five hours to get to us, it was only fair we cooked them some tea. We walked through the town heading to the supermarket and accidentally timed things perfectly. We arrived at the little train station in the town just as the engine was making its way onto the turntable to change tracks, and reattach itself to what was the back of the carriages, but would soon become the front. With much steam and tooting we watched from the edge of the turntable before carrying on our way.
Sunday evening was spent with good food (Jay cooked) and great company, making it a slow start to Monday. The grey skies, wind and rain didn’t encourage us to go anywhere, so after Kathryn and Alex headed north once more on their route back to Scotland, we curled up with a book each and let the storm rage on outside. Charlie kindly cut short his usual snuffle around after going out to do his business, and all three of us made maximum use of the electric hook-up keeping Zagan toasty warm with the electric heater and making endless hot brews with our borrowed electric kettle (thanks Mum and Dad!).
The rain stopped some time overnight and this morning the ground around us was no longer a puddle. Jay was up before seven (I was surprised there are two sevens in a day) and out for a run as part of his training. I’m really proud of all the hard work he’s putting on for the half marathon he is running in July, but with the finish line at 2,585 meters above sea-level, we may have to head up into the mountains for some altitude training soon.
This trip is a bit of a test and learn for us. As you may remember towards the end of our last trip we were a bit travelled out, which is why it took us nearly nine months to get back on the road. During that time Charlie has got older and now struggles to walk more than a hundred meters or so, and the back pain Jay used to get from driving has now developed into numb hands at times. Neither of these things are conducive to blatting around the place seeing as much as possible. So instead we have decided to take things a bit more slowly.
Today we drove for just over an hour and a half, mainly on free motorways and that felt about right. Those motorways were eerily quiet as 1 May is a national holiday here (and rather than waiting until the first Monday after the date, they hold it on the actual day). As well as empty motorways and closed supermarkets, we saw tiny villages packed with cars attending local fetes and markets, speed boat/hovercraft things (they were that quick we couldn’t tell) zipping up and down the Seine as we drove through Rouen and folks outside their houses and on street corners selling small posies of flowers. Today is known as Labour Day, a public holiday to campaign for and celebrate worker’s rights, but here in France it is also La Fête du Muguet – the festival of Lilly of the Valley.
For some reason, back in 1561 King Charles IX of France was presented with lily of the valley flowers on May 1. He liked the idea and decided on each 1 May to present the ladies of his court with lily of the valley flowers. Around 1900, men started to present a bouquet of lily of the valley flowers to women to express their affection, but these days the flowers are a more general token of appreciation between close friends and family. Jay and Charlie have been inspired by this and while I have been writing this they have been out onto the grass next to the river and picked me some daisies – I love those two.
We’ve also had a wander around Oissel and along the Seine Riverside, managing to find an open boulangerie to grab a baguette for lunch. The rest of the day will probably be spent watching joggers and dog walkers go by on the riverside path next to us as there isn’t much else going on here today.
The war memorial in Oissel made in 1921 it has been ‘re-badged’ after successive wars. Its sides show the names of French soldiers killed trying to keep Algeria, those who died defending France, and French citizens who were killed during the occupation.
Ju x
Good to see you on the road again.
Thanks Roger. 😉
I have always loved the Lily of the valley thing but never bothered to look it up to find out why – thank you for that :-)
Hi we are Tony and Janet travelling in a very similar van to yours on our way to Croatia. Originally from Derby, we now live near Cambridge. We set off from the UK on Monday in the wind only to be met with a 3hr delay at the Tunnel. After crossing we parked overnight at Cite de Europe only to find it was not open in the morning. Great start to our 8 week tour. We decided to clock a few miles up on the first day and are now enjoying the sun in Trier. We have been following you for your last 2 tours and your website was very useful on our last trip through France and Spain.
Hi guys, thanks! Have a great tour, don’t worry too much about delays, they happen (we waited 10 hours for a ferry from Tunisia once, some folks wait days). Take your time, enjoy life in the slow lane! Cheers, Jay
If you delve back into one your last trips…… can’t remember which, I made the comment…… slow down, what’s the rush….. you’ll have nothing to look forward to.
Pleased your now enjoying life at a slower pace. Keep posting. …. your blog is like a Bible for someone like me who is just starting out abroad soon.
Thanks Tony. Lots of philosophy around why we travel at all, frequency of movement etc. At the moment feels right to be going slower, rather pleasant but maybe a tad less exciting and intense? Cheers, Jay
Hiya folks. Glad you’re getting your mojo back. We’ve now made it to Greece, after a few adventures on the way. I’ve just started a blog if you wanted to follow our trip. Still learning, so bear with me. It’s daisydogtravelblog.wordpress.com. There’s a storm brewing down here, so we’re battening the hatches. Happy travelling. Claire, Niall & Daisy