Animals in the fort

Today had us on the road for another couple of hours so we decided to hit it early. Breaking the drive up a bit, we travelled 120km from Remiremont to Besançon then onto a couple of remote picturesque towns before hitting Arbois & the Jura region.

Remiremont is a large regional town but apparently absent in habitation. I jest, however there was only one restaurant open and this is for a town that is home to 8,500 people – it felt very strange, almost deserted. The saving grace was that the piazza restaurant we were able to find (following a 20min drive to locate any resemblance of an open shop) was that they served the culinary delight of a frogs leg pizza. Thats right friends, the almost impossible delicacy of the hopping amphibian sacrificed in their hundreds to make my meal. mmmmmmmmm frogs legs – guess what they taste like? chicken! tick another must-do off the list! Time to hit the beds and make an early run to our next destination.

Besancon was the first stop for our next long driving leg. The capital of the mountainous Franche-Comté region featured heavily on cycling tours because of its complex and windy roads. I wanted to stop here to take in the scenery but was quickly surprised. A large citadel towers over the old town which is where we made a b-line to. It became apparent that the old town contained many detailed and beautiful houses, parks and squares. The road, barely wide enough to even accomodate one car, became steep and windy upon reaching the outer walls of the imposing citadel. This citadel featured heavily in the Franco-prussian war of 1870-71 and was captured by the Germans in WW2. Durring the renascence there was even territorial ownership by Spain and Austria.

Car parked, bags packed, entrance reached. 35€ to enter? well bugger me, but my family is worth it… I suppose! Upon handing over a small fortune we kept ascending to the next perimeter of the citadel wall. This place was HUGE!! and upon entering the inner fort it now became apparent why i paid so much – there was an entire zoo here. Not a small zoo, but a big zoo. Lions & tigers, reptiles, birds, monkeys, a noturnal section and Kangaroos! yes my meat pie eating, VB drinking, thong wearing friends – Kangaroos in the middle of Europe and on top of a fort. We really enjoyed our brief stop in Benancon & wish we could have spent the entire day…. maybe next time.

Back in the car and onto Arbois, but before we arrived there we needed to see a few places. Ornans & Lods are two river side towns that are both breathtakingly beautiful. Our 20min stop at both did not do them justice but on a journey like ours some sacrifices need to be made.

Our final stop for the day was Arbois. Home to Louis Pasteur, and some fantastic food. You know you’re in the alpine region when they start to serve fondu on the menu. Arbois is another lovely river side town and would host just one evening after the hotel had contacted us to inform that our second night could no longer be completed for various reasons – I am over it now. In any way, we had an amazing meal full of regional specialities and some nice local wine to accompany it.

We finished off the evening at our hotel with some crazy Germans. A group from Düsseldorf were on a motorbike tour down to the south of france and welcomed us to join them in drink and some broken conversation. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and after a few bottles of wine and beer later it was time to pass out.

The next few days we go in search for accommodation and to hit another couple of must-do locations on our trip, Baume-le-messieurs & Chateau Challon.

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