Travel Journalism
Travel article published in Weekend Supplement of Natal Witness.
Author Chris Ellis
A BARN IN NORMANDY
Chris Ellis, our intrepid foreign correspondent, has been in the depths of rural France.
Now here’s what you do. You drive down to Durbs and catch the 4.30 pm flight to Joeys or you can catch the vomit comet from Oribi, which is a slightly longer flight.
You then catch the over night flight from Joeys to Paris. On arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport you exit and go down to the lower ground parking lot to pick up your hire car. It is cheaper to arrange this beforehand with your travel agent and also get an international driving license.
The next bit sounds a bit scary but it is not really. You drive your hire care out onto the main A1 autoroute and wing it down to the West of France. You don’t need to go into Paris at all as the airport is about 25 kilometres north of Paris and you keep on national roads all the way. Just one thing though. Drive on the right hand side of the road as to do otherwise confuses the oncoming traffic.
After three hours you reach Normandy where you turn off at Lisieux and then drive down to the hamlet of La Chapelle Hareng. Easy. You are about to arrive at one of the last places of true tranquillity on this busy planet. There, deep in rural Normandy, you will find La Baronierre owned by Hervé and Christine. On their small farm you will find a converted barn.
It is fashionable in Europe to convert barns into accommodation. Not for Hervé and Christine. They found a barn in a field and then, brick by brick and labeled beam by labeled beam, they took it apart and then rebuilt it on their farm. It is now a three bed roomed “gite”, which is what the French call a holiday cottage for rental in the countryside.
It now sits in a park like setting overlooking a lake stocked with koi carp. All, though, is not tranquillity as two grey herons have taken to circling overhead and poaching the carp. On seeing the herons, the family golden retriever, Natasha, is sent out to furiously bark at them. The only other intruder might be the occasional wild boar but these are very shy so you can leave the elephant gun at home.
You may be asked to feed the geese down at the lake. This is also not as easy as it sounds as there is also a duck, called Jenny, who is a prolific breeder (she’s a French duck) and usually has four or five ducklings. She has to be fed separately as the geese, who operate in phalanxes like Roman legions, rush the food and have to beaten off in rear guard actions.
The walks in the country lanes around the farm abound with bird life in the hedgerows and a feeling of temps perdu for a world of peace that often now eludes us. Natasha will come along for the walk with you and go off to chase rabbits and you will lose her. You then return, disconsolately wondering how you are going to explain that you have lost the family dog, only to find that she is already back at home, happily panting on the verandah.
At the end of a stressful day in the quiet of the countryside all is not lost, as Christine creates home cooked dinners on the farm patio. The food is delicious and the iced French champagne goes down to the soft cooing sounds of the doves (and the guests) in the trees nearby (not the guests).
It’s tough but I am confident you can do it.
For further details on La Baronniere : http://www.labaronniere.connectfree.co.uk/
Or e mail : labaronniere@wanadoo.fr
Chris Ellis, our intrepid foreign correspondent, has been in the depths of rural France.
Now here’s what you do. You drive down to Durbs and catch the 4.30 pm flight to Joeys or you can catch the vomit comet from Oribi, which is a slightly longer flight.
You then catch the over night flight from Joeys to Paris. On arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport you exit and go down to the lower ground parking lot to pick up your hire car. It is cheaper to arrange this beforehand with your travel agent and also get an international driving license.
The next bit sounds a bit scary but it is not really. You drive your hire care out onto the main A1 autoroute and wing it down to the West of France. You don’t need to go into Paris at all as the airport is about 25 kilometres north of Paris and you keep on national roads all the way. Just one thing though. Drive on the right hand side of the road as to do otherwise confuses the oncoming traffic.
After three hours you reach Normandy where you turn off at Lisieux and then drive down to the hamlet of La Chapelle Hareng. Easy. You are about to arrive at one of the last places of true tranquillity on this busy planet. There, deep in rural Normandy, you will find La Baronierre owned by Hervé and Christine. On their small farm you will find a converted barn.
It is fashionable in Europe to convert barns into accommodation. Not for Hervé and Christine. They found a barn in a field and then, brick by brick and labeled beam by labeled beam, they took it apart and then rebuilt it on their farm. It is now a three bed roomed “gite”, which is what the French call a holiday cottage for rental in the countryside.
It now sits in a park like setting overlooking a lake stocked with koi carp. All, though, is not tranquillity as two grey herons have taken to circling overhead and poaching the carp. On seeing the herons, the family golden retriever, Natasha, is sent out to furiously bark at them. The only other intruder might be the occasional wild boar but these are very shy so you can leave the elephant gun at home.
You may be asked to feed the geese down at the lake. This is also not as easy as it sounds as there is also a duck, called Jenny, who is a prolific breeder (she’s a French duck) and usually has four or five ducklings. She has to be fed separately as the geese, who operate in phalanxes like Roman legions, rush the food and have to beaten off in rear guard actions.
The walks in the country lanes around the farm abound with bird life in the hedgerows and a feeling of temps perdu for a world of peace that often now eludes us. Natasha will come along for the walk with you and go off to chase rabbits and you will lose her. You then return, disconsolately wondering how you are going to explain that you have lost the family dog, only to find that she is already back at home, happily panting on the verandah.
At the end of a stressful day in the quiet of the countryside all is not lost, as Christine creates home cooked dinners on the farm patio. The food is delicious and the iced French champagne goes down to the soft cooing sounds of the doves (and the guests) in the trees nearby (not the guests).
It’s tough but I am confident you can do it.
For further details on La Baronniere : http://www.labaronniere.connectfree.co.uk/
Or e mail : labaronniere@wanadoo.fr
posted by Chris Ellis @ 3:39 am
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home