A little food shopping before we left Pamplona was the first challenge of today. Finding a supermercado would provide us with the makings of a picnic lunch and we headed off on this quest, needing to ask for directions from a couple of early shoppers whose gestures and animated Spanish did the trick. Then time for a return to the old town part of Pamplona for a visit to the huge cathedral and to walk the route the bulls take when they run through the streets to the massive bullring. Pilgrims were everywhere, entering through the old city gate and climbing through the streets, following the distinctive markers set into the roads. Pilgrims are offered special rates for just about everything, especially entry to the cathedrals, food, and accommodation. Perhaps they have already paid large sums ... read more

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 ... read more

We woke to a foggy morning but the sun soon came through and it looked like another perfect day for adventure and exploration. While we are staying in this area we want to visit the pre-historic cave art. The lady at the local tourist office informed us that ticket sales are limited to 200 a day and can only be purchased at the site. So we had two plans today. Visit the ticket office and purchase tickets that best suited us then visit either Rocamadour or Cahors. On our way to the caves, which we had been told were the best because they were authentic, we stopped by the Dordogne River for a boot breakfast. It was idyllic. The river was flowing a little quicker than yesterday probably as a result of last night’s rain. On ... read more

After a good sleep last night and having achieved success with our first day of driving we set off with confidence to a local supermarket for lots of supplies. We achieved this task without any hassle. It was now for our exciting trip to Beynac in the Dordogne Region. That combination was to be critical as the day unfolded. From the previous day’s experience the GPS likes motorways and we want to see the country so we attempted to fool it. We entered a place name on the way to Beynac but a long way from motorways. All was going well until we realised it was taking a long time to get no where. So we bit the bullet and entered Beynac into the system. We were immediately taken to a motorway and we were soon ... read more

It’s been cloudy today but no hint of the expected rain, perhaps later or even tomorrow morning when we are going to the station to catch the Rhonexpress to pick up the car. We decided to have breakfast in today and for 4 euros 80 for as much as you could eat it was worth it. There is a group of high school students staying here (about 13-14 year olds) and their manners were left at home. They raced in to the dining area and lined up at the buffet as though we were invisible but once they were seated they became human again. Another easy day today. We think we are still getting over the Tour of Turkey and the early start on Anzac Day. We still had some bus tickets left so with careful ... read more