We went into Bordeaux by bus and tram and easily found the tourist office to book a day long wine tour for tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent wandering around the old city which is quite compact enabling us to see most of the sites and have a walk over the Pont Pierre to the other side of the Garonne. It is an interesting place with many fine streets and buildings. We also managed to fit in lunch at an excellent fish restaurant recommended by the rough guide. ... read more

We were late up and the spent the morning wandering around the town. It being Monday, nearly everywhere was closed. In the afternoon we did a delightful 15 mile circular bike ride of the area, following a route provided by the campsite. We passed through Cre and Bazouges, both lovely villages on the river and then went past several imposing Chateau before returning to our starting point. We managed to find a hotel that was open in the evening for a traditional French dinner. ... read more

Since my last entry we have had the repairs carried out to the van (which took two months) and had two lovely weeks at Treago Farm our favourite campsite in Cornwall (the first week with Emma and Sam and the boys and the second week with the Atkinsons). During the Cornwall trip, the van developed a problem with the ABS breaking system and it has just spent a month in a Birmingham Fiat van dealer attempting to rectify the trouble without success. However, the garage assured us that the van was safe to drive and today we have started a three week trip to France with the aim to spend most of the time exploring the Dordogne area. We left Birmingham at mid afternoon and spent the night at The Camping and Caravan Club site at ... read more

As we were in a major wine producing area, the morning was spent visiting the local co-operative, tasting several of their wines and purchasing 20 litres to take home. Cluny is on a 100 k cycle track built on the line of an old railway between Chalone-sur-Saone and Macon. After lunch we cycled along the track for a very pleasant 10k towards Macon. The route included cycling through the 1.6km long Tunnel Du Bois Clair, which is home for a number of protected bat species and is closed in winter to protect them. On the way back the heavens opened again and we got quite wet and cold. The weather is not blessing the end of our trip! Things clear up and we spent the evening visiting Cluny, including ascending the Tower of Cheeses in ... read more

A lovely relaxing day with Dick and Angie in beautiful weather admiring the local snow covered mountains, enjoying a Filet de Perche lunch at Yvoire on lake Geneva, looking around a local garden and visiting one of their friends at his classic French Chateaux.... read more