A morning of chores was followed by a meal at ‘Les Dammes
Barrau’, a restaurant just a few metres from the campsite entrance. The reviews
for the restaurant were very good and it certainly lived up to them. They only
offer a ‘menu du jour’ on weekday lunchtimes but, with three courses for €14,
it was incredibly good value and delicious. It was popular and the service wasn’t
the quickest but we weren’t in a hurry and it was great to have a meal at
French speed.
The campsite provide a village walk leaflet (in French) that gives a route for an
interesting, short walk around Gennes. We walked straight from the restaurant
and immediately joined the route. It turned out that Gennes was a Roman town
and, although there is little in the way of extant remains, there is a Roman
amphitheatre just outside the village. Archaeologist have also found a thermal
spring and evidence of a nymphaeum and there must be much more to find in the
area. A 5,000 capacity amphitheatre must have had a reasonable sized town
nearby. The walk took us past interesting architecture, strong springs, a watermill
site and the amphitheatre. The last stop on the route was the church of St.
Eusebe, set on a hill above the village. Although the church is no longer in
use, it has a tower that can be climbed and gives a lovely view of the village,
campsite and the Loire.
Photos: The Church of St. Veterin that dates from the 9th century and whose porch, known as a ‘chattering box’, was used by local busybodies exchanged gossip and parish business was discussed; An intriguing house, possibly an old tithe barn judging by the slit windows on the side wall – an early ‘barn conversion’?; The Gennes amphitheatre; View from St. Eusebe church tower – Cara (our motorhome) is bottom centre.
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