BobsJoy

Time to set off for home which means heading north. Bob checked the map and found that there was a straight route, on good roads, all the way without having to use any motorways. We didn’t stop for any sightseeing on the way just a quick break for lunch. We have been along the same route before or certainly several sections of it as we recognized places and buildings as we passed them. A very pleasant drive with the countryside and buildings changing from the white stones of the Loire to the half-timbered buildings of the Normandy / Calvados region. The fruit trees are absolutely dripping with fruit, it really must be an excellent harvest this year. It turned into quite a nice day with blue sky nearly all the way as we passed through, or ... read more

Tourist day today. This is when our scooter really comes in so useful. A quick check of our map and off we went East along the south side of the Loire for 10 kms and then a right turn up to Fontevraud and L’Abbaye Royale. What an excellent choice for a visit. The guide literature describes it as ‘one of the largest monastic cities from the Middle Ages’ and it is certainly much more than one would expect to find in a normal abbey or chateau. It was founded in 1101 as a community of religious men and women to became a monastic city consisting of 4 priories, 3 for the nuns and another for the men. It enjoyed royal protection throughout its history and Eleanor of Aquitaine, husband Henry ll of England, and their son, ... read more

The sun seems to have vanished. Not been there at all today just hidden behind very heavy cloud and some rain. A pity, as we have been enjoying having it hanging around but weather forecast does predict an end to the gorgeous blue skies of the last few days. Today we start our slow return home, by heading northwards in stages, with first stop near Limoges. We drove cross-country across the pretty, pastoral, Midi-Pyrenees countryside just to the west side of the Massif Central. Cows everywhere, most a pretty burned gingerbread colour. This area is the Millevaches park region, but though we counted, we only got up to 987 so think some have gone missing somewhere. A pleasant drive which crossed back over the Dordgogne and Vezere rivers and then the Vienne through the Corrreze region ... read more

Another glorious bright blue-sky day accompanied by a red hot sun. Hot enough for me to put suntan lotion on my shoulders before we set off on the scooter. We decided to wander a little way along the Dordogne valley, though we have ‘done’ all this area before it is still such a beautiful area especially on a beautiful day. We headed for Vitrac and then across the bridge and up to lovely medieval Domme. Was not impressed when riding up the winding road to the hilltop town to have a white van man so close behind I thought I was sitting on his bonnet. Certainly hot enough. Quite relieved when we came to a road where cars (and vans) were banned so we took it ! That is the beauty of a scooter, we can ... read more

We set off on the scooter, quite early, to visit the Grotte de Rouffignac. The river valley was shrouded in mist and looked quite spooky but as we drove up and away from the river we left the chilly mist behind and had a lovely ride through the rolling countryside. It was about 20 km but an easy run and we got to the cave before it opened. This was deliberate as we didn’t want to be told, the same as the previous day at Font de Gaume, that all tickets for the day were sold. Not a problem at Rouffignac we discovered as there is no pre-booking. These caves are a real treasure to visit as they contain prehistoric cave drawings and engravings. About 150 animals are drawn in all, on the walls and ... read more