On the road to Pau

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Today was a travelling day. We could have left everyone wondering where on earth we were and just missed this day’s blog out completely. But then you might all be worrying about our whereabouts and getting in touch with the authorities. Needless to say the day was uneventful and we made it safely to our destination.
We were sad to leave Beynac as it has left us with some wonderful memories. We assured the owner we would write a positive review on the booking website. We even had some washing done for us for free. It came back neatly folded or ironed in the bag we provided. Such luxury.
We decided to go with whatever Miss GPS planned for us. We were not going to have another nasty experience by ending up in the wrong part of the country many hours from our destination. So into the system went the latitude and longitude coordinates and away we went.
It didn’t take us long before we realised we were heading for Cahors, the town we visited yesterday. This direction didn’t quite fit with our own thinking on which direction we should be heading in. But don’t argue with Miss GPS, she rules with an iron fist and any deviation has the immediate reaction of – “Recalculating!”. For those of you with a French road map you will be interested to know we went in quite a circle using plenty of motorways and plenty of euros. From Cahors we started on the A20, A62 around Toulouse, and then the E80, turning off for Pau. Was the motorway driving worth it? Not sure but we certainly arrived stress free, plenty of fuel in the tank and perhaps 15 euros lighter. Miss GPS had us parked right outside the hotel in the time she said it would take. The delicious boot lunch certainly helped to keep the costs down.
Pau probably has lots going for it but for us it is only a transit stop before crossing into Spain tomorrow. We had a wander around a small shopping area and went into an amazing shop. Seems like a container of mixed goods had just arrived from China and it had to go. Two things we spotted – French red wine for 1 euro 95 and lager beer for 40 cents a bottle. So we went to the supermarket nearby for the equipment needed to get into these bottles and tomorrow morning will head back for the wine and beer. Now we need a beer fridge to run off the cigarette lighter. Sorry Miss GPS you will have to go.
Now that we are getting “quite good” with the French it will be the Spanish and Portuguese that will test us for a while.
No photos this time. We had a quiet day with the camera. Tomorrow through the Pyrenees might be quite different.

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Comments

[G&G]

GPS........!!
Get rid of the GPS,where is your sense of adventure and the back country roads are far more interesting with quaint villages that you would otherwise miss.AND its cheaper.Wait until you get to Spain as the distances are bigger and they need the money to balance the budget.We are still married although I am sure Gretchen would have dumped me on the odd occasion.

[G&G]

Cheap Liquor
Don't miss out on the real cheap liquor on your way back through Andorra as there is no tax.Brandy was about NZ$5 a bottle !!Also cheap diesel/petrol as again no tax.So arrive empty and fill up as you drive through and make you feel good for at least a day !!Petrol now NZ$221.9 and an article in todays paper discussing how we will get along when it hits NZ$4 !!Bring back the horse and cart.!

[Miltonrabbit]

Miss GPS
Our lovely friend who is determined to get us to the exact location is unwavering as to where she wants to go. A brief variation produces an instant "recalculating" response. We are aware of the road taxes in Spain so will be a little devious. Putting in the hotel coordinates has kept the stress levels to a minimum. As for adventure, I'm sure there's more to come. Just waiting for the drive through Portugal.