I had all day in Charlieu, so I decided to get the quick job out of the way first and cash some travellers’ cheques before going for a tour of the town.  I should have known better!  It appears that Crédit Lyonnais and Banque Nationale de Paris aren’t banks really - they don’t do cash, and they certainly don’t do traveller’s cheques.  After a bit of desultory consultation behind the counter, they finally agreed that the Crédit Agricole might deal with stuff like that. So off I set again.

It was getting to be quite a lengthy process already. With all three banks, I first had to get past the front door.  You ring a bell and they peer at you for a bit to see if they will agree to have you in there with them and then eventually they release the door.  You then have to go through a complicated system of queuing that involves never knowing whether there is one queue for all the counter positions, or if you are in fact queuing for one in particular.  It appears that the French fluidly do either or both, whichever seems to give them an individual advantage, so you can suddenly lose 20 minutes of queuing by being outflanked by a determined housewife who glares at you if you dare to make any protest.  I finally got to the front of the queue for the Crédit Agricole and the girl looked at me as though I had two heads.  Obviously, working in a bank in the centre of one of France’s premier tourist resorts, she had never heard of travellers’ cheques, let alone had to cash one.  The supervisor was duly called. She consulted the computer and announced to an impressed counter staff  that they could in fact exchange them.  I handed in the cheques and my european driving licence (which I had used to buy the cheques in the first place) and she got half-way through the menus in the computer before announcing that she could only cash the cheques if I had my passport!  It was a long way back to the hotel and back again and the sun was rising fast (42 degrees forecast for today).  I finally got my money by 10.30 and vowed that I would never bother with travellers’ cheques again.  I could have got my money in seconds from any cash point in town just by using my debit card.  You live and learn!

I decided to cool off by visiting the famous Abbey in Charlieu (built progressively between 845 AD and the French Revolution, when they apparently did their best to knock it all down again).

I started wandering around, but was soon shepherded by the official guide who added me to her group and took us to a number of places behind locked doors that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It was a beautiful building with lots of charming mediaeval touches - very photogenic and I took a lot of pictures. I’m actually a bit concerned.  I’m only half-way through the holidays and I’ve taken nearly 400 pictures already.  I may soon run out of flash cards.  Good job I brought the computer with me.  

By the time the tour was over, I was gasping and rushed off to the nearest bar for a read of the local paper and a large iced Perrier, (I am drinking gallons of the stuff.  It’s a measure of how hot it is.  I’d normally be sipping beer or Pastis). I decided that I would have a small lunch, because I am beginning to feel the effects of all these three-course wonders.  I found a bar that did snacks and was just about to order an omelette when I saw that they did steak frites.  I was just thinking yesterday that I hadn’t had a steak frites this holiday and it would be nice, so it seemed like a good idea for a quick lunch.   I don’t think I have ever seen such a big steak on such a big pile of chips, and it came with a full side-salad as well (and a “quart de vin”).   By the time I had finished, I could hardly move!

I went back to the room, had a cold shower and a bottle of Perrier out of the fridge and lay down to finish my last English book, (‘The Summons’ by John Grisham).  A pleasant way to avoid the worst heat of the day.

I popped out again at about 5pm and had a Perrier in a local bar (what else!) before doing what will probably be my last walk round the town before setting off to Roanne in the morning.  The sky is clouding over!  I wonder what that will mean for tomorrow?

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