motorbike ride

Sunday May 8th

On the day of La Fete de la Victoire when French people celebrate victory over the Germans and the end of WWII with a ceremony around the monument aux morts , Grazi�la and Phil our organizers decided to gather about 24 people for a motorbike ride in the departement of Charente.
The departement of Charente is a paradise for motorbike rides. You ride in the heart of the countryside and the vineyards , surrounded by a rich and varied heritage.
After a stop at the petrol station we met our group who was having a coffee at Phil's shop in front of the beautiful " Halles" ( market place ) in Cozes . So at 9 o'clock sharp we left Cozes for Angoul�me. We passed Pons, Archiac, Chateauneuf sur Charente, Ruffec and eventually reached our destination which was the beautiful village of Verteuil. This magnificent village is situated between Angloul�me and Ruffec, a few kilometres from Ruffec.
So after about 140 kilometres we reached our destination and stopped for an ap�ritif along the river Charente. Phil had prepared a Cognac Schweppes ( local ap�ritif)to share with the group because he just passed his motorbike driving test. We enjoyed relaxing along the Charente river watching the slow and quiet stream flowing ... an old lavoir in perfect condition ( public wash-house) drew our attention.
Then after a while we decided to walk to the mill and buy some food for an improvised picnic. Around the mill there were people selling local foods and organic clothing items for example rillons charentais , organic cotton towels .....
We were all looking forward to a nice lunch composed of sausages cooked on a barbecue but after negociating with a man in charge of the special event in the village Phil came back very disappointed saying that we were too many people !!! The young lady who was selling sausages must have been very disappointed as well when she saw us leaving for another place for lunch.
So we decided to go to the flower show which took place in the garden of the Chateau . On that day the beautiful gardens (usually closed for the public) hosted lots of horticulturists.More and more people are keen gardeners that is the reason why flower shows have become so popular in France .
The Chateau de Verteuil is a beautiful private chateau which belongs to the Comte Sixte de la Rochefoucault. The castle, furnished and inhabited, remained family property of the family of La Rochefoucauld, belonged to Anne de La Rochefoucault who married the Marquis of Amodio, until her death in 1980.
De la Rochefoucault is one of the most famous families of French nobility whose origins go back to the 13th century.
After lunch composed of curry sausages, auroch dry meat a local specialty or assiettes de salaison (organic dry meat, salami .... ) we had time to linger a while and see the beautiful flower displays and as the gardens of the chateau were open to the public we had the chance to get closer to the magnificent chateau .

Then around 2.30 back to the car park , we hit the road again to visit the abbay of Nanteuil en Vall�e which was really of interest. Phil had planned a guided tour in advance with one of the authority of the village ( adjoint au maire / deputy mayor ) who was in charge of the guided tour as well.
Nanteuil is a village constructed on a myriad of canals. It has a religious and architectural heritage which attracts visitors. Our guide says that Nanteuil is on the way of Compostela
( there are several ways and this one is not the most popular ) she added that lots of Dutch pelgrims walk through the village every year thanks to a guide which mentions the village of Nanteuil.
The 12th century Benedictine abbey is not in good condition but you can see the structure of the ancient building. This was a very large abbey surrounded with original buildings still remaining in good condition. We visited " la tour au tr�sor" According to the legend the monks kept their valuable possessions inside the square tower.
The whole property is owned by the " D R A C " ( Direction r�gionale des affaires culturelles)which is a public organization for the heritage conservation.
Our guide says that a team of archaeologists are going to do some excavations soon and according to her they will collect unvaluable data which will enable us to learn more about the past.
Then after the visit as it was very hot we decided to have a cold drink in the heart of the village. This kind of villages are often characterized by a nice caf� with terrasse just in the centre of the village. We all enjoyed a cold drink before hitting the road again for Charente Maritime.
Then back to the motorbikes we rode on the N10 for a while struggling against the strong wind.
After reaching Angoul�me the group split up . We really enjoyed the motorbike rally and hope to get together again in a near future.