Blogs from Cluny, Burgundy, France, Europe

Why is it that some time during a holiday you decide it is time to start heading home? You get to a point when you have done everything you want to do and you cannot think of what to do next . We had been heading north for a while and were in that position where we had five more days to fill and could not really think of anything to do . That is one of the problems of being in an area that we had investigated over many years so there was little that we had not seen. We could have filled our time with another chateau or another tiny village . Even a bigger city or backtracking on what we had missed . Instead we decided that it would be cheaper and easier ... read more

Hmm, getting down to the end point of the tour. Today we head off to Cluny to visit anothe Abbeye and a horse stud (ABC). Morning sailing again so we have a lazy morning doing stuff like eating and talking. Then comes lunch and away we go. Tonight we have the Captains formal dinner - oh dear, out comes the same shirt for me, worn last night in the chefs table dinner as well. Packed light.... We drive through some of the prettier country we have seen to a horse stud where we get to wander around the grounds then into the stables where different varieties are shown. Big boys here, and some were a tad excited to see us as well. Then a demonstration of how they teach the horses how to do their dressage ... read more

The Eurotunnel never ceases to amaze me. It is a wonderful feat of engineering and a standard bearer for how two countries can work together and achieve something special. I remember watching a live television broadcast in 1990 when the two tunnels finally met in the middle and the engineers could breathe a sigh of relief that all their planning had worked. One of the huge cutters that sliced its way through the chalk and clay deep under the seabed was then turned 90° and entombed forever in the walls and the other cutters completed the tunnels. It was not until 1997 that fare paying passengers began using the Chunnel. There are actually three tunnels; two for the trains and one that would be used for evacuation purposes in the event of an emergency. It has ... read more