Founded in
the 7thC Grey grew to prominence in the 12thC as the principal commercial port
of the self-governing state of Compte as Franche-Compte was known then.
Try as hard
as we could we were unable to find the hotel we had stayed in in 2012 and to
tell the truth, not much of the city was familiar which, for me, is unusual as
I normally have a pretty good memory for places we have been to. After
wandering around the fascinating old town we eventually popped into the incredibly
efficient and friendly tourist office (the one young lady even came to the boat
to take a picture of us and the South African flag) and emerged with a map and
brochures and had booked a walking tour for Friday, one which we were advised
was somewhat unique as the guide was allowed access into many buildings not
open to the public.
The rest of the week was spent
- panting in
the heat with 37C being recorded inside the boat on two of the days. The others
were not much cooler.
-
provisioning up at the enormous Intermarche almost across the road from the
mooring – there is also a big brico (hardware shop) in the same complex and we
came away with spare tubes for the eBikes as well as a new front tyre for mine
- helping
boaters out with electricity ‘splitters’ and extension cords for which I was
‘rewarded’ by a Hungarian group to a tasting of their homemade schnapps…
- having the
battery in my watch replaced and in the process learning that luminescent watch
faces are no longer allowed in the EU because “…the radium is unhealthy”.And cigarettes are still allowed?!
- listening
to some drumming and guitar music at a café on National Music Day, June 21st.
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| Municipal police in summer uniform. |
- on the
recommendation of the British couple who have stopped over in Gray many times
(their over-winter port is Savoyeaux) we had a delicious lunch at Le Crato which we found out subsequently
is the Trip Advisor top rated restaurant in Gray!
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| Not to say that Lynn's cooking isn't just as good! |
- cycling
around the suburbs and generally having fun.
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| We are moored on the wall top left of picture near the trees. |
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| The British restaurant adviser couple's boat |
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| Part of the city from the fortress. |
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| The stunning 16thC Town Hall |
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| Church of Our Lady of Gray in the background. |
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| 13thC Keep. |
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| The 18thC Chateau built for the Govenor |
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| We even had some commercial traffic. |
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| This was the booat which was being used as a dive platform in Epinal. |
Probably the
highlight of our visit was the tour of some of the landmarks of the city
conducted by retired teacher and volunteer Ria, a Dutch lady who settled in
Gray sixteen years previously and fell into the role by accident. At €3.40 per
person (plus whatever you feel like tipping) it is a bargain and Ria opened our
eyes to many small details that we had walked past and never even noticed like
the alcoves above house doors where statues of saints were placed before street
numbering became the norm.
A couple of notables of the tour were
- the Cathedral of Notre Dame De Gray
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| A seat for the priest who was tired of standing |
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| The heat of St Pierre Fourier is inside this piece |
- - visiting
the manuscript library of the city library (which was closed but Ria organised
us entry),
- - a
tour of the 19thC theatre,
- - and
the Gauthiot D’Ancier mansion with its revolving staircase hiding the room
where Pierre Fourier, later Saint Pierre Fourier, hid from Cardinal Richelieu’s
persecution.
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| The revolving staircase |
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| The hidden room |
Neither of the latter two sights can be viewed without a guide.
The motto of Gray is ‘Triplex Victoria Flammis’ or ‘Three
times victorious over the flames’ as the then wooden town was accidentally
burned down in 1324 and then by mercenaries in 1440 and finally by troops of the
invading French in 1479 after which the construction of buildings in wood was
banned and many of the houses in the town date from the late 15th
and early 16th century. A really fascinating place!
