Day Sixteen: Rochemaure to Bourg Saint Andeol: Nougat Central!

April 12, 2017

In the morning light, the ruin above Rochemaure had a soft golden glow. But we did not pause to admire it long, shooting off along the Via Rhona, or at least trying to. There is a bit of a barrier just out of town in the form of what they call the "Himalayan Passerelle". It is a suspension bridge that has crossed a branch of the Rhone here in some form since 1787. The current bridge retains the picturesque towers but does have very secure looking cables and metal floor boards. That makes it different from ones I saw in the actual Himalayas, where the wooden boards were also commonly missing. Still, the sway of such a bridge is unnerving, and Dodie would not let me clomp clomp on it right behind her.

We were in principle right opposite our goal of Montelimar, but as we checked one bridge after another we found them bike unfriendly. We gave in and followed the official ViaRhona route way down south to a safe bridge and then back north against the Mistral (prevailing northerly winter wind) and into town. Even going into the town the path turned to a gravel track and we decided to drag the bikes over a dike to find some pavement. Two girl runners gave us a hand doing this, and then over the course of asking us the Usual Questions offered us to stay at their place in Montelimar this night. We declined, since all we wanted to do was to find some nougat and carry on South.

We did have one other objective, and that was to find the TI and get a Montelimar stamp in our creanciales. We followed the usual circular and confusing signs and did find the door, which was locked. We peered at the posted hours and determined that they should be open. wtf. Then a lady came out and burbled something about a film that was being made inside. At first we thought she said she could only give us five minutes, and we said fine. But in truth she was saying that she would open the door in 5 (to 10) minutes, with which she locked us and another lady out.

This should not have been a big deal, but we (and the other lady) did not like the tone. When we did get in, the staffer acknowledged knowing that Montelimar in on the Voie d'Arles to Compostella, but she had no stamp. How about getting on it, we suggested. "Oh, yeah" was the non committal reply. Dodie then asked about a washroom, and was told no, but there was one about a block away. To the comment that that was pretty far, the staffer reminded Dodie that she had a bike. Dodie said this request was kind of an emergency. "Desolee" was the reply. That translates as "Sucks to be you".

A block away, the .50 euro toilet was out of service. Big surprise.

There are some things that nations do wonderfully well, and some terribly poorly. For example in the US doing a return at a Walmart is super slick. But don't try eating the bread. In France, the bread is great, but don't expect anything to be either open or working.

We find the TI can significantly influence our attitude to a place, and we rather sourly proceeded to the "Palais des Bonbons et du Nougat". This is a kind of primary coloured kid oriented homage to bon bons of all types. While we dutifully took some photos, we were too sour to buy anything or stay long.

Instead we repaired to the G. Savin shop. This is clearly the premiere nougat place in Montelimar. The location, since 1900, was part of the N7, the national route from Paris to the Med that was France's Route 66. Savin has lots of quaint graphics that depict life and nougat sales along the N7 and also selling nougat at the market in Montelimar.

In the store, we received a warm welcome from the sales lady, who offered lots of samples and explanations about the different flavours and types of nougat. The essence of nougat, or particularly Savin nougat, is a content of at least 30% almonds, or 28% almonds and 2% pistachios, and 25% lavender honey. The nougat is available in either hard or soft texture. Then they have a totally different sweet, called a Calisson. It has a kind of almond icing and a base of orange and melon jam.

I was going to ask if all this stuff was still made here, but the lady beat me to the punch by proposing that we go have a tour of the factory, which was behind the store. We trundled back there and re-secured the bikes. Then we knocked on the door, and again were warmly received. So differently from the arms length, look through a window, watch a video, approach of something like the Moana Loa macadamia factory in Hawaii. A worker here just had us stand beside him as he and two colleagues made the nougat. We got the complete and detailed explanation about how honey is heated in a copper cauldron in the creation of a syrup, and how egg white is added to that and rapidly whipped. The volume increases greatly from that, and the resulting meringue is spooned out into wooden trays. It is then rolled to compact it, covered with wood, and left to cool and harden.

We got to see this, plus the complete process of slicing, dicing, and packaging. Through it, staff would say things like - "at this point the slab is quite firm - here, push on it". To say we were thrilled to be in that tight would be an understatement.

An older man took us over from the younger one who had been guiding us, and I thought "Oh, oh, the young man spent too much time with us and this is now the boss". But no, the older man was just as friendly and patient. It really was amazing.

Savin does not look like much, but it is the premier nougat of Montelimar

Hey, these treat boxes are selling for $50 each!

Lavender and regular honey ready to go into nougat

Heated from below, the mixture is whipped

Emptying a cauldron into a wooden tray. The trays are lined with edible potato paper to prevent sticking

Discussing the fine points of cauldron cooking

One of the packaging machines. Old ones, like this, can be fixed with hardware store parts, but the newer ones need a system analyst when broken.

Some of the any labels for the Savin products

Passing back in the vicinity of the TI, we wondered why they had not mentioned that this supreme experience was available just around the corner. Then we passed through a gate they also had not mentioned and entered the old town. A market was in progress, and it looked great - so crowded and jumbled - but unfortunately it was all clothes and knick knacks, no food. A lot of the vendors could have been Algerian, and they added an exotic air to the event.

A flamboyant baker's storefront. More common is gold lettering on maroon background

Our Indian restaurant host, interested in Bike Friday. Just try explaining what "Bike Friday" means, in French.

Dodie with our 10 euro lunch specials. The naan was made in a circular pan, not a tandoor, but was still very good. Mine was a unique cheese filled version - seems a French adaptation.

Back on the trail, we followed the lovely Rhone for a while. Then rounding a corner we came to a scene that could easily have been straight from the 15th century. A chateau stood above some tightly huddled buildings, and there was no sign of anything from our century to be seen at all. We had arrived at Viviers. Noodling our way into the town, we did of course see some other centuries popping up, but the overall impression was intact.

We found the TI, and oh my, what a difference. The office was staffed by Olivier Fidenti. Here was someone knowledgeable, involved, personable, not to mention at least bi-lingual. Olivier of course had a stamp for us, and he advised us about hotels in towns down the line. In addition, on learning that we were continuing beyond Pont St Esprit he advised us that the Via Rhona guidance falls apart there. No matter, someone who has cycled it many times had prepared a guide for the area south. Olivier printed us a copy, and then went over the map of it with a yeallow marker. Now that's how to run a TI! Olivier, it turns out, is actually the economic development officer for the entire region. We could see why. He also sympathized with us about Montelimar TI, saying he had difficulties with them himself.

So thanks to Savin and Olivier we were sent out no longer sour on the region at all. Good work.

We rolled on down the Rhone, continuing to encounter numerous cyclists. This included some little kids, already very adept. And we ran in to one couple we had seen yesterday. I took time to get their story. From Antwerp, they had started at Lyon and were headed just to Arles, for a short jaunt. But the lady had cycled Antwerp to Santiago, and had some various pieces of good advice and information for us. Without spending all day chatting, it's lots of fun to learn what other cyclists on your route are up to.

Following Olivier's advice, we grabbed a hotel in Bourg Saint Andeol. Again, the entrance is off a narrow street that is more from the 1500's than anything. Quite tired from a day not long in kms but full of experience, we have not ventured out to see what the town is about. But.. we will soon enough!

Vines down here are more leafed out than at Macon. Also the prunng technique is different. There are very many ways to prune a grape.

Olivier with the ViaRhona guide he printed for us.

Families with kids like this section of the route.

Bike waits in medieval street while we check in at the Hotel Le Prieure

Current election poll results. LePen is the right wing, islamophobic, antisemitic, anti European union candidate - ie. the Trump clone. Macron is a seemingly reasonable and intelligent independent. Melanchon is the Bernie Sanders clone. Electioneering here has been extremely low key - few posters and on TV, quiet, intelligent analysts discussing things in measured tones.In under two weeks there will be a first round election among the 11 candidates. The top two will then move to the finals.

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 753 km (468 miles)

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