Vivienne insisted we check out the monument to the Rosetta Stone, a tribute to Figeac’s most famous citizen, Jean-Francois Champollion, born in December 1790. If you didn’t know before, he was an outstanding Orientalist whose brilliance enabled Egyptology to make great strides. By the time he was 14 he spoke Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldean and Syrian. After his studies in Paris, at the youthful age of 19, he lectured in history at Grenoble University.

He set himself the task of deciphering a polished basalt tablet, showing three different inscriptions, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Demotic, (simplified Egyptian script), which appeared around 650BC and Greek, (all of which resemble my hand writing). It had been discovered in 1799 by members of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt near Rosetta in the northwest Nile delta from hence its name – the Rosetta Stone. The original Rosetta Stone was later sized by the English during a war. It is now in the British Museum in London.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Ancient Egyptian civilization was still a mystery since the meaning of hieroglyphics (the word means “sacred carving”), (See, I told you. Just like my hand writing.), had not yet been deciphered. In 1822, Champollion unraveled the mystery of hieroglyphics and then left for Egypt to put his theory to the test where deciphered many texts.

A huge copy of the stone was sculpted in black granite from Zimbabwe by the American conceptual artist Joseph Kossuth. This contemporary work of art is more clearly understood from the hanging gardens overlooking the square near the Figeac market place. The French translation of the inscriptions is carved on a glass plaque kept in a small neighboring courtyard. I’m sure you can Google a translation in English. (They’re still working on my writing.)

Portrait of Jean-François Champollion by Leon Cogniet (Wikipedia)

This huge replica of the stone was sculpted in black granite from Zimbabwe by the American conceptual artist Joseph Kossuth. Unfortunately we could not read Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic – simplified Egyptian – script or Greek.

The medieval town of Figeac is located on the Célé in the Lot District of France. Its prestigious past as a commercial center is evidenced by its tall sandstone town houses. It is now famous for its Saturday markets. We were excited when our friend Vivienne invited us to tag along. The market sprawls over a couple of squares and through the old town’s streets. You can find anything from fresh rabbit meat to local sausages to a large variety of wonderful cheeses, from wicker baskets to toys to clothes, from fresh garlic to preserved olives and everything in-between you can imagine. Being market junkies, we were in heaven.

All the vendors were friendly and very patient with our struggling French. Monika scored by being able to buy one black Summer Truffle for one Euro. It’s probably not the same as the Winter Truffle but it didn’t matter. By the time we sat down for a café au lait, our two shopping bags were full.

Looking for something to BBQ tonight? Look no further!

Olives galore. All one price by the scoop or kilo.

Fresh produce better than any supermarket. This is why we love open market places.

Wonderful cheeses are a French specialty, but too many to choose from.

Artists like this basket weaver sell their crafts. Wish we had room to take a few home.

Spices by the gram. Everything from oregano to Herbs du Province.

It’s time for a café au lait!

Monika had always wanted to visit the famous prehistoric Lascaux caves but they have been closed to visitors for years and during the Summer holidays, the reconstructed caves are very popular so she jumped on the idea to visit the actual prehistoric caves of Pech Merle near Cabrerets in the Lot Department of the Midi-Pyrénée.

In 1922, the prehistoric galleries were discovered by two teenage boys who informed the local Father Amedee Lemozi of Cabrerets, an amateur archaeologist.

With a group of other visitors, we climbed down deep into the interior of the cave which is a constant 12 C (53 F). Huge caverns are adorned by giant and colorful stalactites and stalagmites and on the walls of seven of the chambers we discovered black and red lifelike images of woolly mammoth, spotted horses, single colored horses, bovids, a fish, reindeer, handprints and even a couple of very stylized human figures.

The artists used ground iron ore (red) and ground manganese (black) and carbon to create their colors.

Footprints of children are preserved in what was once clay. They have been found more than half a mile underground. The oldest paintings are dated some 25,000 years BC.

This prehistoric hand print’s artist blew ground iron ore around his hand.

This is a replica of the most famous painting at one of Pech Merle’s underground walls: spotted horses and hands.

On our way to Sorges the day before, we had passed a very majestic castle called Château Jumilhac-le-Grand above the Isle river gorge. Gary wanted to return to visit what he thought was the most impressive Medieval castle he had ever seen. It was worth our trip.

The castle was first a 12th century feudal fortress that has been rebuilt and increased many times, most notably in the 17th century during the Renaissance, when new roofs were added turning it into a château. The descendents of the Marquis de Jumilhac have restored much of the castle and the terrassed French gardens. During the Summer nights, concerts are held by candle lights.

Richard the Lion Heart stayed here in route to the Crusades.

One of the towers is called the “Spinner’s Tower”. The legend is that in the only room on the second floor Louise de Hauteford was imprisoned for thirty years whilst her husband was away fighting. He wanted to avoid that she could meet her previous lover whom she had not been allowed to marry. The lover took a job as a shephard for the castle, and their sole means of communication was by hiding notes in spun wool bobbins lowered down from the window.

One of the most impressive rooms was the large kitchen full of copper wear, the hearth and a strange copper contraption we had to guess its use.

This original fortress was modified many times over the centuries.

The Château Jumilhac-le-Grand is famous for their candle lit concerts.

The roof tops all had these interesting figures depicting Alchemists and other things.

The descendents of the Marquis de Jumilhac recreated a French garden.

The Châtau de Jumilhac-le-Grand is located on Richard the Lion Heart’s Route.

One of the living rooms fire places showed an exquisitely carved mantle.

The Château’s kitchen was very impressive with all its copper kettles.

Gary is inspecting the castle kitchen’s hearth.

We had to guess what this items was used for. Apparently it’s a bathtub warmer but we never totally understood how it works.

The Temple of the Black Truffle

Our Garmin GPS sent us in a southwesterly direction on beautiful, sometimes narrow secondary roads towards our next destination we had spotted in the Lonely Planet Guide: Sorges en Périgord, the Capital of the Black Truffles.

The Truffle, a subterranean fungi, thrives on the roots of oak trees. This little mushroom is notoriously capricious and a crop can fetch as much as EU1,000 ($1328.50) per kg. Truffles are sought after by top chefs for an infinite array of gourmet dishes but black truffles are often best eaten quite simply in a plain egg omelet, shaved over buttered pasta or sliced on fresh crusty bread.

The Ecomusée de la Truffe while all in French is quite interesting. You can ask for an English text translation and the truffle hunting movies are self-explanatory.

Truffles are traditionally hunted from December through March by pigs and dogs. We learned that pigs might be slower but show more endurance as they are actually hunting for food. The owners need to be careful that they don’t eat the expensive treats. Dogs are out to please their owners and get bored after an hour.

Conveniently, we stayed overnight across the street in the free RV parking lot.

The Écomusée de la Truffe in Sorges is quite popular.

A giant truffle shingle advertises the museum.

A typical street in Sorges.

The center of Sorges is its church.

This piece of “truffle” art was displayed at a street corner.

This was a great and quiet camping site adjacent to the park and just across the street from the Truffle Museum.

This sign in the park announced very clearly what a beloved “chouchou” is not supposed to do.

Google Map

Getting a late start from St. Pardoux & Souvigny, we had intended on driving until evening. About 4PM, we came upon the town of Aubusson on the confluence of the rivers Creuse and Beauze. The town is apparently world famous for its tapestry and carpets since the 14th century, the kind one might see in a castle or “Château” as they are called in France.

We spotted an RV dump station sign so we decided to investigate. It turns out that the EU, for all its other failings, has required that EU countries install these “dump stations” for the convenience of the many RVs on the road. Virtually all European RVs, both trailers and motorhomes, do not have the 25-gallon BLACK WATER tanks common in the US. They use “Cassette Toilets” which have removable 5-gallon tanks similar to the Thetford Porta Potty we use. Thetford, www.thetford.com also makes a wide range of Cassette Toilets.

There was a large parking area with already two RV’s, a public toilet and a very clever tower to dump black water on one side and fill fresh water on the other. A simple grate is used to drain “Grey Water”. We were impressed and later quite surprised to be one of 14 RVs staying overnight. Our French neighbors were extremely friendly which has started to give us a better impression of French in general.

The next morning, a motorcyclist zoomed in, popped his helmet off and was all excited about our truck. He spoke only French but you could tell in his eyes that he knew exactly what our expedition vehicle was all about. He was a fellow Overlander who had been all over Africa and parts of the Near East. After an inspection of our living quarters and a warm handshake he flew off again.

The town of Aubusson on the confluence of the Creuse and Beauze rivers has been world famous since the 14th century for its tapestries and carpet, the kind one might see in a castle or “Château” as they are called in France.

The narrow streets of the old part of town were in walking distance of the RV parking area.

It turns out that the EU, for all its other failings, has required that EU countries install these “dump stations” for the convenience of the many RVs on the road.

The clever black water dump device had a flush button like a toilet. On the opposite side there was a fresh water fill spigot.

Virtually all European RVs use “Cassette Toilets” which have removable 5-gallon tanks similar to the Thetford Porta Potty we use.

Overnight at least 13 motorhomes had joined us. Clearly, the RV dump stations bring tourist dollars to the towns, and the number of people traveling in small and medium size motorhomes was surprising.

A famous Aubusson tapestry depicting a fable by Jean de La Fontaine. (Wikipedia)

Bart Schiks had been following our adventures for years and had been inviting us for over a year  to stop at his home in St. Pardoux on our way through France in route to Spain and Portugal. He and his partner, Nathalie, were delightful people. An Overland traveler and an avid four-wheel drive enthusiast, he had moved to the little village of St. Pardoux from Holland for the peace and tranquility.

Our visit coincided with the annual Medieval Festival in the nearby town of Souvigny. In 916 Aimard, the first known ancestor of the Bourbons, donated his Souvigny “villa” and the church devoted to Saint Peter to the abbot, Bernon of Cluny. Its priory church became a centre of pilgrimage popular in the Middle Ages and the spiritual capital of the Bourbons.

In case you wondered, the House of Bourbon is a European royal house of French origin. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs.

The festival attracts entertainers, craftsmen and tourists from all over Southern France. There are interesting food stalls including crêpes and boiling pots of tantalizing stews. Troubadours perform in the streets and artists create their specialty for all to watch.

We ended the day in a more traditional way with a great pizza at the little restaurant Tsara where Nathalie works. The next morning Bart gave us a tour of the area and his collection of 4X4 including a Unimog camper that he drove down from Holland. It has the 2.5L double carbureted 6- cylinder engine, sits and sleeps four, and it might be a steal for $7800 if you’re interested. It has both Dutch & French documents. (Bart Schiks bart.schiks@orange.fr)

The beautiful church in Souvigny became a centre of pilgrimage popular in the Middle Ages and the spiritual capital of the Bourbons.

Troubadours perform in the streets and the town takes on an air of its Medieval history.

Tantalizing kettles of stew bubble over open fires waiting for hungry visitors.

What would a French festival be without crêpes?

Artists create their specialty for all to watch.

We ended the day in a more traditional way with a great pizza at the little restaurant where Nathalie works, the Tsara (c’est très bonne).

This Unimog is for sale. Contact Bart at bart.schiks@orange.fr

Before departing, we all posed for a souvenir photo.

Leaving German speaking Erlach, we briefly stopped at French speaking Le Landeron, another cute medieval walled town. They are only 5 km (3 miles) apart but lay in different Cantons (States) where they speak a different language.

Next stop, France.

With most of the country on vacation, the chance of finding a campground with any vacancies on one of the biggest holidays in the country was slim and none. In fact, most Swiss campgrounds are not really open for one or two nighters. They are full of small and medium size travel trailers that have been converted to nearly permanent vacation homes, with ad-on screened sun rooms, snow roofs and storage sheds. There might be a tent spot, but at 60 CHF ($65.20), it’s a joke.

After scouting near the town of Erlach on Lake Biel for other possibilities, we found a large parking lot just a 5-minute walk from a nice public beach on the lake with a little bar/café, internet, clean restrooms and even showers. $10 for each 24-hour stay was a good deal, since we needed no hookups. It was a good place to spend a couple of days and enjoy the Swiss National Independence Holiday, (sort of like the 4^th of July in the US), and do some serious relaxing. The night of August 1^st was full of firework displays, bonfires, music and partying until after midnight.

The setting on Lake Biel with the snow capped Swiss Alps in the background was a postcard setting.

We hiked to the island of St. Peter (actually a peninsula) and returned to Erlach via boat.

Monika is sporting a real “Swissy” T-shirt in honor of August 1, the National Independence Day.

The medieval town of Erlach, (founded in 1274), was a grand place to celebrate the Swiss National Holiday.

How many cows drank out of THIS fountain?

Modern art in front of the village school next to the castle.

The castle tower of Erlach was founded around 1100.

The public beach of Vinelz just a 5-minute walk from our campsite/public parking area was just what we needed to relax a bit.

The clean beach and refreshing cool but not too cold water was perfect for a morning swim.

Sergio Miranda owns the little bar and café at the beach in neighboring Vinelz. He also offers showers and Wi-Fi Internet.

Google Map

Saying our last good-byes in Wiesendangen, we headed southwest towards Geneva and France. Though we were making good time on the freeway, we decided to veer off onto a country road where we came upon a very nice little town on the river Aare called Büren. It was July 30 and the town was already dressed up for the August 1 celebrations. There were three huge stacks of wood for the bond fires ready on floats in the river just below the old wooden covered bridge and the town was decorated with many flags.

Büren was an important trading center all through the middle ages. The toll bridge was first mentioned in 1284 and shortly after, the town was granted the right to hold markets. Only in the 19th century, it saw a decline as there was no major railroad being built nearby and water transportation had faded.

In the years 1940 to 1946, Büren an der Aare became the largest military holding station (6,000 people) in Switzerland for the Polish division of the 45th French army corps which had been pushed into Switzerland by the Germans. (Many towns and villages were hosting Polish soldier refugees even though food was rationed and supplies were limited.) They stayed in Büren until 1942. The center was then used for Jewish refugees, Italian military deserters and in the end, escaped Soviet forced laborers.

Monika remembers her mother talking about a young Polish man her family hosted after 1942. The nearby poly-tech university of Burgdorf was deserted because all the young Swiss were on the front and so these Polish soldiers were allowed to complete their studies while detained in Switzerland until the end of the war which saved their lives! It is not something the Swiss talk about even when they got all the flack about the Jewish gold in their banks.

After a short walk around town and a cup of coffee, we moved on.

The old covered bridge is still in use today.

Büren had their Augustfeuer (August Fire) ready for the upcoming celebrations.

River boats loaded with tourists stop frequently in Büren.

This fountain dates from 1608.

The old streets were all dressed up for the   August 1 celebrations.

One of many shingles on main street.