Gérardmer, it transpires, is pronounced "Jeremy" (or thereabouts) because the name derives from Gérard d'Alsace, who established a tower or hunting lodge or something on the banks of the Jamagne (local river); the suffix "mer" coming from an old Oil language word meaning the garden. Hence its pronunciation; conversely the nearby villages of Longemer and Retournemer take their name from "mare", the water body in old French, but which explains why their suffix is pronounced "mère".
So that is where we were this morning. I got up first and went to the bakery for a baguette and pains aux raisins, which threw me by having chocolate in them. No thanks! But the baguette was sourdough and lovely! It was a glorious morning, but very cold and very misty.
The bakery was only across the road, so when I got back the Swan Whisperer was still getting dressed, so I started to get breakfast.
This was a disaster! There was nothing wrong with the baguette or the scrambled eggs, but first I knocked the aeropress over, spilling all my coffee grounds into the sink (It could have been worse - it could have been on the floor!), and then, when I had ground a new lot, the straining lid fell off the aeropress and into my cup, taking all the grounds with it. The Swan Whisperer rescued it, but the resulting brew was so weak and (by then) a bit cold that I had to have another cup after our walk. Most unlike me - I usually only have one cup a day, and perhaps a small cup after tai chi on Wednesdays.
Anyway, after breakfast we did go for a walk, which was lovely. We didn't go all round the lake - it is 6 km all the way round, and the SW, who did it yesterday evening, said the path was very uneven and unpleasant to walk on. He also didn't really want to do it again! So we contented ourself with walking to the lake and round a bit of it before heading back to town - about 3 km in total.
Then it was time for church, which we were able to listen to on livestream from our home church, and when it was finished we headed south towards this village which is, I think, near Besançon. We stopped for lunch en route, so didn't get to this campsite until about 5. Nobody in reception, so I rang the proprietor who said to settle in and he would come and see us in due course.
He's just been - lovely man; we are to register and settle up, etc, in the morning, and have ordered our baguette and croissants for 8:30! It is a pleasant campsite - I've not taken any photos yet - but very basic, but on the banks of the Ognon - the river Onion!!! Photos of Gérardmer on Facebook.
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