Journal de vacances 2002

Newspaper of holidays 2002

Saturday July 27, 2002
Departure of Rouen.
At the end of the afternoon we arrive at Chanceaux, in Gold Coast close to the sources of the Seine where we make a success of the exploit to jump to feet joined above the river in the park created by the Baron Haussman to pay homage to the Seine. This park always belongs to the town of Paris.

Chanceaux - source : molay.cheztiscali.fr

Arc et Senans - source : www.ot-arcetsenans.fr

Sunday July 28, 2002
We leave in direction the town of Dijon and the Swiss border.
In path, we make a halt with Arc and Senans.

This industrial unit, created under Louis XV, by the Ledoux architect, was intended to extract salt from the brine.
The localization of this establishment was due to the principle that "il was necessary better to transport water that the forest".
There is indeed, all around this unit the forest which was used as fuel. The brine was conveyed by a line, at the wood origin, then replaced by cast iron.
This factory was useful until about 1898. It was given up and started to be used as stone quarry. It was repurchased by the department of Doubs in 1927.
50 years of restoration returned its state to him original and were worth to him to be classified with the "world Inheritance of UNESCO" in 1996.
It shelters today, the institute Claude-Nicolas Ledoux which organizes, in particular, a permanent exposure "A the search of the ideal city".
Then we take again our path and install our tent in a camp-site at the edge of the Lake Joux, in Switzerland.

Monday July 29, 2002
Quiet day: walk, lunch and bathe around and in the lake.

Lac de Joux - source www.myvalleedejoux.ch

Tuesday July 30, 2002
We climb the Tender Mount (1 679 m), the top of which we discover a sublime landscape: the valley of Joux and the alpine range.

Mont Tendre - Source : homepage.iprolink.ch

Musée International d'horlogerie - source : www.mih.ch

Wednesday July 31, 2002
The Swiss bad weather not stopping us, we decide to go to walk us at the Lime-of-Bottoms, to visit the international museum of clock industry.

Its first interest is the building in itself, built there is about thirty years. It receipt the price "concrete" in 1977.
More than 3 000 parts are exposed and recall the history of the clock industry from the sand glass and the sundial to the atomic clock.
Are in particular exposed clocks of high precision, clocks of turn of XVIIème and XIXème century, the clock industry of the Rebirth.
A whole space is devoted to the various types of mechanisms (with weight, arise-engine, beam, quartz...). One can also discover there the history of the wrist watch, whose forms, the matters, the mechanisms did not cease being renewed during all the century.

While coming out from this building, we discovered themonumental one animated, created in 1980. It sounds and becomes animated the every fifteen minutes with a Swiss precision.

Musée International d'Horlogerie - source www.mih.ch

Dino-zoo - source www.dino-zoo.com

Thursday August 1, 2002
Time not being still with leniency, we decide to go to visit "Dino-zoo", located between Pontarlier and Besancon.
This paysagé park of 12 hectares makes us discover the prehistoric life through hundred reproductions of animals and emerged legendary characters of the bottom of the ages.

Then we plunge in the Pit of Poudrey, going back to approximately 3 million years. A son et lumière display are offered to us: it evokes the geological formation of the ground.

Gouffre de Poudrey - source : www.dino-zoo.com

Return to the Swiss camp-site, because we are invited to celebrate the national festival of the country. This festival commemorates the meeting of the first 3 cantons known as "primitive cantons" approximately 700 years ago.
This pretext enables us to have an excellent well sprinkled meal and to attend a fireworks drawn on the Lake Joux.

Lac de Jaffrey - source www.route-napoleon.com

Friday August 2, 2002
Hoping to find more sun, we decide to leave more to the south.
After having crossed Geneva, Chambéry and Grenoble, us orderlies our tent close to the Lake Laffrey, historical place of the meeting of Napoleon and the troops sent by Louis XVIII to stop it on its return of the Island of Elba.
Only, it advances towards troop and exclaims "Soldier, if he is one among you who wants to kill his General, here me is". With the cry of "Sharp the Emperor", the soldiers trample their flowers of lily, symbol of monarchy. It is the first rallying of mass which marks the return of Napoleon, for 100 days.

Saturday August 3, 2002
The weather, always a little gloomy encourages us to go to visit Grenoble. The town of Stendhal is a pleasant city, with the many malls, shaded places sheltering of the coffee terraces.

Stendhal known as of this city "what I like of Grenoble, it is that it has the aspect of a city and not of a large village, with a mountain at the end of each street".
After a walk in the city, we continue by the rise towards the Fort of the Bastille. We stop to visit the museum from the Dauphine. This regional museum of art and traditions is installed in the old convent of the Visitation of Holy Marie of In Top. Of this old convent dating from the XVIIème century, one can admire the cloister, the chapter room and the vault. This museum shelters collections which recall the history of the area through photographs, potteries, etc...
We continue our rise until the node and go down again by the cable car.

Sunday August 4, 2002
We leave to visit the Mine Image with the Mound of Aveillans. This coal mine ceased its activity in 1956. True mining work and not reconstitution, this museum recalls us the life of the "black Mouths".

La Mine Image - Source www.musee-dauphinois.fr

One can see there the various techniques of casing used (supporting of the galleries): fir tree then metal structures.
One also discovers lamp-making, part there where the minors came to seek their lamp and the fuel, the room of hung (cloakroom of the minors), etc...

Monday August 5, 2002
Ecological day in the "Center Alive Ground". This site is located close to Mure, Mens and Body.
Single site to discover how to live ecology with the daily newspaper: the dwelling (construction, insulation, heating, use of water, etc...), food, gardening.

Centre Terre Vivante - Source www.terrevivante.org

Various gardens are shown: kitchen gardens, decorative, gardens with topic (plants medicinal, plants attracting insects, Asian, etc...).
Return to the camp-site of Laffrey while passing by the bridge of Ponsonnas. This one dominates of approximately 100 m the bottom of the throats of Drac. This bridge is used in particular for the jump for the rubber band.

Rougon - source : www.provence web.fr

Tuesday August 6, 2002
The bad weather persists. We decide to go down more to the south and orderlies thus our tent in Rougon, in the Gorges of the Verdon.
This small village, counting less than 100 inhabitants, attracts all the amateurs of rafting, canyoning, kayak, canoe. It is located at approximately 12 km of Castellane.
This commune presents a tormented relief. One can observe top of this village of the vultures and some other raptors.

Wednesday August 7, 2002
After us to be bathed in the Verdon (gla, gla, gla!!!), we leave in Castellane. Nice city but a little too tourist.
We took the path which leads to Mandarom.

We set out again with the camp-site while passing by the dams Chaudanne and Castillon. The Lake Castillon, put out of water in 1947, made disappear the village from the same name.

Thursday August 8, 2002
We leave in direction Moustiers-Holy-Marie while following the throats the Verdon. We stop at the Sublime Point: view-point which dominates of 180 m the bed of the Verdon, then we engage on the road of the Peaks from where we discover impressive landscapes.

Gorges du Verdon - source : www.verdon-passion.com

Arrived at the Lake Sainte-Croix where we bathe. This artificial lake occupies a basin as vast as the Annecy Lake.

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie - source : www.guideweb.com

Then we will visit Moustiers-Holy-Marie. Amusing detail: a star shines between two mountains fixed on a 227 m length chain. The Knight of Blacas, prisoner during a crusade, made the wishes, if it escaped from it, hang to a chain close to the vault Our Lady of Beauvoir.

Friday August 9, 2002
Visit of Trigance, small moyennageux village, located at 800 m of altitude. Its castle was restored by impassioned which wanted to make a restoring hotel of it.

Ampus - source : www.mairie-ampus.fr

Saturday August 10, 2002
We leave in direction Lubéron while passing by Draguignan and Ampus.