ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE TOUR–NIGHT THREE, OUR ARRIVAL AT FONTEVRAULT

Eleanor of Aquitaine Tour, Penman

I pick up the story on Wednesday, June 8th, in early evening. After a delightful afternoon in Le Mans, a wonderful place for communing with our Angevin ghosts, we headed for Fontevrault Abbey; by the way, I use the older spelling instead of the more modern Fontevraud for consistency, as this is what I’ve used since Here Be Dragons. But we were to encounter an unexpected obstacle on the way.

As we approached the Pont de Varennes sur Loire, the bridge spanning the River Loire, it became apparent at once that we had a problem. This was a very narrow bridge and there was no way our large tour bus would be able to stay in its own lane. There was no other route to Fontevrault, though. I’ve always been in awe at the driving skills of those who handle these huge buses; it sometimes seems as if they are trying to get that camel through the needle’s eye, and amazingly enough, they usually do. I’ve encountered tour buses on Welsh mountain roads with my heart in my mouth. Once I saw two behemoth buses trying to squeeze around each other on Aberglasyn Pass; it was like a mating dance of dinosaurs. So I’ve had experience with big buses and narrow roads. But I was not prepared for what happened next.

Fortunately, traffic was very light and once the bridge was clear of other cars, our intrepid guide, J.D., got out to lead us to the promised land, and Janus, our equally intrepid bus driver, began to edge out onto the bridge. It was then that we learned France has its fair share of crazy drivers, for a woman drove onto the other end of the bridge and headed right for us. Now if she failed to notice a six ton bus, she must have had a seeing-eye dog as her co-pilot. But on she came. Meanwhile, several other death-defying drivers seemed about to follow her out onto the bridge. J.D. ran over to her car, explaining politely that she really had to back up since we couldn’t. She was having none of that, though. I wouldn’t have objected had J.D. commandeered her car and backed it up himself, but I guess he didn’t want to see the inside of a French jail. So Janus took up the gauntlet Crazy Lady had thrown down and we began to creep across the bridge, with J.D. doing his best to keep our tour from ending up in the Loire. Thanks to Janus’s remarkable driving skills — and maybe a little help from Eleanor — we managed to squeeze by Crazy Lady’s car without making contact, and the other kamikaze drivers had thought better of it and backed up. As for me, I can only marvel that some people can apparently drive without ever activating their brains. Forget that old cliché about ignoring the elephant in the living room. From now on, I’ll be thinking of the bus on the bridge.

When we reached Fontevrault, Janus must have sworn under his breath at sight of the village. In the Middle Ages, village streets were not designed to accommodate modern tour buses. Janus had to maneuver us along streets that reminded me of a scene in Prince of Darkness, where Justin is caught in an alley that was a sword’s length in width. It was not quite that bad in Fontevrault, but Janus needed nerves of steel and eyes in the back of his head. Eventually we made it to the abbey and J.D. had to ask for admittance at the gate, just as he would have done in the Middle Ages. Well, aside from using an inter-com, of course.

The Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud is one of my favorite hotels, located in the abbey lazar house, or leper hospital. The last time I stayed there, I loved the intimacy, for hotel guests had the free run of the abbey after the other tourists were kicked out. So I felt as if I were coming home — only this turned out to be a home in which the cupboards were bare. The hotel’s restaurant is renowned for its cuisine, and I’d anticipated our group having dinner there. I was truly taken aback when we learned they were fully booked and could accommodate only five people. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I was one of the five, but we assumed the rest of our group would be able to get dinner in the restaurants in Fontevrault. We were wrong.

While the Lucky Five were enjoying a wonderful dinner, our friends were wandering the village in search of sustenance. Some of them were able to get into the last seating at the Plantagenet, but the other restaurants in Fontevrault were closed. It wasn’t that late, but once you are out in the French countryside, you soon find that village life is not like the Las Vegas Strip. Our flock couldn’t have had a better shepherd than J.D. and he arranged for Janus to drive fifteen of the group to Saumur, which is about 20 minutes away. Saumur is not a village like Fontevrault, has a population of over 25,000. But apparently they are larks, not owls, for all of their restaurants were closed by the time our group arrived. Well, there was one place still open, a McDonalds, so they could stave off starvation. But on the way back, they took a wrong turn; the roads in rural France are almost as pitch-black as mountain roads in Wales. They soon found themselves at a dead end, on a very narrow road, with ditches on each side of the bus. Janus is an excellent driver and got everyone safely back to our hotel, but the next time he is asked to leave Hungary for a job in France, he may well head for the hills, and who could blame him?

I’d never encountered a problem like this at the hotel, but I was there in the off-season. This was June and there just wasn’t room at the inn. Nor could we have made reservations in advance, not knowing when we’d be arriving. Their attitude did seem somewhat rigid to me, though, for they must have known that the local restaurants were closing. Couldn’t something have been done for thirty-nine hungry pilgrims? We’d have been happy with fruit and cheese and bread! Had Eleanor and her entourage arrived at the abbey in the middle of the night, they’d never have been turned away. So there is a drawback to democracy, after all. I’d still go back to the Abbaye Royale. Only if I came again in high season, I think I’d be sure to pack some snacks.

Next day we will be visiting Eleanor’s capital city, Poitiers, then after a stop at a winery, we will return to Fontevrault for a night tour of the abbey.

July 14, 2011

31 thoughts on “ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE TOUR–NIGHT THREE, OUR ARRIVAL AT FONTEVRAULT”

  1. I detect a bonus! Since this tale of adventure just completes Day Three, we still have four more days (and SKP accounts) to go. I will add that I was one of the lucky ones who followed the enterprising Maloneys to dinner at the Plantagenet. As, I have said elsewhere, you could always count on them.

  2. Wonderful telling Sharon, spot on, and that aerial shot of the Abbey is fabulous!

  3. Poor Janus! I guess as I was sitting directly behind him I could hear the expletives he was not just thinking but very much saying. His command of English wasn’t great but he was great at swear words:)
    We gave Janus a rousing round of applause after he got us safely back to the Abbey after our visit to the golden arches and the unplanned night time tour of the winery.
    We had a sometimes exasperating, long and tiring night, but on that bus it was commented more than once Sharon that we were glad that you got a place in the restaurant.

  4. What a story! The crazy driver incident almost read like something from a Stephanie Plum novel–only Stephanie would have been that crazy lady. 😉

  5. What adventures you must have had! The tales of insane drivers and odd closing hours reminds me of Israel, actually – many drivers are crazy, and in some towns and cities, they actually close the shops between 14:00-16:00.
    Today, King John I of England expelled Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.

  7. While I appreciate your respect and kindness toward your guide and driver, something smells rotten in la France. The tour agency should have prepared them and your planned stops (hotels and restaurants) much better.

  8. I was one of the lucky 15 who ended up going on an unplanned food excursion to Saumur. At the time we were really hungry and a little cranky but looking back on that evening, I can’t help but laugh.
    I must add that prior to going to the Golden Arches, we had found a pizza place and stocked up on Vegetarian and Margarita pizzas….mmm, good!
    Thank you again Sharon for a storybook retelling of our adventures in France! I particularly like your reference to the crazy car lady! It was hilarious to see her face when we kept on going. She looked like she was going to have a fit! Serves her right for not waiting for us to get by! Thank goodness the bus didn’t scratch her car because I think she would have had all of us thrown in jail and then what hope would we have had of being fed let alone continue our trip of a lifetime. 🙂

  9. On this date in 1377, Richard II was crowned King of England, at age 10. Sadly for him, he peaked at age 14, and it was all downhill from there.
    Emilie, I am so glad you liked the blog. I think the Saumur veterans deserve some sort of award for bravery above and beyond the call of duty, for that drive back really sounded hair-raising.

  11. I agree with Sandy – why didn’t the tour agency have this all checked out? Did they not know the itinerary? Really shoddy organization. I can understand the rigid attitude of the hotel – maybe a few people without a reservation is fine, but 30? No. Glad everything ended up well – but if I go on a tour like that, I’m bringing extra food with me! (I have hypoglycemia and get shakes if I get too hungry)

  12. Cindy, I don’t agree with you. I think the travel agency did good job; there are always things bound to go wrong on a tour. They couldn’t make advance reservations because they couldn’t be sure when we’d be arriving at Fontevrault, and the hotel understandably couldn’t accept an open-ended reservation of anywhere from 7-9 PM. I do think the hotel’s attitude was somewhat rigid, as we were not a tour just passing through. We were hotel guests for three nights there; moreover, I noticed some empty tables in the restaurant that evening. I would still go back in a heartbeat, though, as I love being in Eleanor’s abbey.

  13. Indeed, Sharon, and although you have tried to fill in for me, you have missed the fact that Pope Innocent III, John’s enemy and then feudal overlord died today.

  15. Today, the Battle of Castillon took place, where the French defeated the English, with the English commander, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford dead on the field. He was also the father of Eleanor Talbot, whom had supposedly married Edward IV.

  16. Today, Godfrey of Bouillon, Protector of the Holy Sepulchre died, and Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews from England.

  18. I hope Janus got an extra tip from you all at the end of this trip ‘-) Sometimes the things we don’t realize make a trip successful, like an excellent – and willing – driver.
    Joan,
    Stephanie Plum would’ve also been chased by a crazy bail jumper and, of course, would’ve had to stop at the local donut shop for nourishement ‘-)

  19. Today is the 17th of Tamuz, a fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple, as well as the destruction of the Twin Tablets of the Ten Commandments, and the erection of an idol in the Temple.
    Also, the Great Fire of Rome began today, and the 9 day reign of Jane I Grey of England was ended.

  20. Today/Tomorrow, Alexander of Macedon was born, and Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March and Duke Richard of York’s grandfather and origin for his claim to the throne died.

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  22. Our stay at Fontrevault was for me the highlight of the trip. I can’t even begin to describe my emotions on seeing the burial effigies of Henry, Eleanor, Richard and Isabelle. It was a very peaceful place and I would definitely go back there. I was one of the lucky ones who got to dine at the Plantagenet Restaurant. (I have to add that the food was fantastic. I’ve never had a bad meal in France, even in the tiny villages). Unfortunately, not many of our group did. Some came in and were seated and were then completely ignored, I guess because they didn’t want to serve them at the late hour (8:30!). They ended up trudging back to the hotel without dinner. One of the problems with the tour company was that it took longer to get places than they planned, so consequently we arrived many times later than expected. I think it happened because we were off the beaten path and went places the average tourist to France doesn’t go, so the tour company probably wasn’t familiar with many of the places on the itinerary.

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