First day of the drive

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Geo: 47.5267, 5.10649

June 6th is 68 years to the day that my Dad crossed the Channel. He crossed it to land on D Day whereas we crossed it for a short holiday over to Italy via France. Having been up from 5.45am for the 8am crossing we felt we earned the cooked breakfast in the Brasserie. We do not meander through France but hit the motorway straight away and stop for a picnic lunch at one of the many Aires on route. We had brought ham pate and tomatoes etc with us and bought a fresh stick of bread at the petrol station on the motorway. The sun beat down so perfect short stop. We arrived at Is-Sur-Tille at about 4pm having pre booked a night stay at the Auberge Cote Riviere, which as its name suggests is on the river. One of the first things I love about a trip to France is that first biere once we have stopped. We sat in the attractive garden of the hotel and soon demolished them. Our room was on the 3rd floor reached by lift at least. A pretty double room and bathroom with separate loo but no fridge or air con. At dinner in the restaurant we gave in to the 44 euro menu and had pate de foie or raw seabass in herbs; veal or magret de canard; choice of cheeses and then a berry pavlova washed down with a couple of bottles of wine- very nice but I am sure a smaller a la carte meal would have sufficed! In the morning after a comfortable night's sleep we had the breakfast in the hotel. This comprised kiwi fruit, yoghurt, orange juice, tea, and the usual breads and jams- all for 10 euros.

Back on the road we headed south east towards Italy stopping for a last picnic in France at the Aire Passy Mont Blanc. This is a lovely spot with a view of the mountains but has no garage or shops etc , just picnic tables. Why people stop there and eat sandwiches out of the boot I shall never know. I always take table cloth and a full picnic out of the basket. Do things in style if you can!

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Comments

[David]

Enjoy. We are!