Last night the hot air ballooners chose a site just across the river from us to blow up and launch their balloons, much to the excitement of everyone from Team Basil, none of whom had seen a live balloon launch before. It was a bit ironic for Sarah because she was bought a balloon flight as a birthday present in 2020 and every time she’s been given a date by Virgin Balloons the flight has been cancelled!
After I had learned to drive, every time I drove with my Dad, if he thought I was driving too fast, he would say “Timothy we’re not at Le Mans now”! He had his comeuppance once when we went on holiday to France and we happened to pass through Le Mans where I made it clear that for the short time we were in Le Mans his rebuke would not work.
On that occasion our time in Le Mans was fleeting, but today Team Basil, after stopping first at a winery local to our campsite to stock up on wine and then at LIDL to fill Basil with other comestibles, we parked up on a nice, free, new aire (48.013, 0.1993) in the centre of Le Mans.
Le Mans was settle by the Romans and the old town has (allegedly) the longest section of Roman Wall remaining in France. Since all I previously knew about Le Mans was that it held a 24 hour car race on its streets, I was bowled over by what I found in the small, but perfectly formed, old town.
As usual the old town is built on a hill, so Sarah, Skye and I slogged up loads of stairs, but when we got to the top we were greeted with a series of beautifully preserved medieval houses lining cobbled streets.
To make our visit even more exciting this Saturday was very popular for weddings in Le Mans. First couples went to the town hall to be formally married by the Mayor or his representative and then at least one couple and their guests walked through the cobble streets to the Cathedral, where they were married again.
We were actually allowed into the Romanesque Cathedral to look round while the wedding took place. As you can see from my photo, the wedding party took up such a small space in the massive Cathedral that sightseers really had no impact.
