Pruzilly

An early start this morning, we set off just before 10 am, with pants and socks drying on the dashboard, no traditional furry dice for us!

Marge's first refill of fuel today, since setting off from England. She's a thirsty thing, and needed 85 euros of diesel to replenish her.

The earlier part of today's journey, took us across country, through fields of wheat, a carpet of green dancing in the wind. Above birds of prey hovered, ready to dive down at the sight of a tasty morsel. Passing a nearby church, the swallows had taken up residence above the windows, some of them flew skittishly back and forth across Marge. This morning, we also saw our third stork in two days, a large graceful bird, dominating the skies.

Leaving the countryside we headed towards the city of Macon, following the road alongside the river Saone, which runs from Bresse in the east to the Beaujolais hills in the south. Passing through the city, the roads were quiet, and we were glad we'd come through on a Sunday. Today's drive has seen Marge and her driver in unison, we're all confident now.

Tonight's stop is amongst the Beaujolais grapevines. We are high in the hills, after another 'look at the view' drive involving some very precarious narrow roads and tight switchback bends to negotiate. In the distance we can see the outline of the alps, Mont Blanc is just 108 miles away, and is supposed to be visible from here on a clear day. We are now just into the Rhone-Alps region, and pretty stunning it is.

After lunch, we took a walk up through the grapevines. Despite the warm sun, the wind had a chill to it. We were suprised at just how different the vines looked at this time of year, to when we see them in September. They are now cut back to almost nothing, amazing to think in a few months time they will be bearing bunches of plump grapes for the next batch of Beaujolais wine.

Wildlife was a plenty. A buzzard flew out from nowhere across in front of us, as large vibrant yellow daisies danced in the wind. Many of the wild orchids had gone over, but there were still a few to see. Alongside the path as we walked back, a tortoiseshell butterfly basked in the afternoon sun. It is so peaceful here, one of France's secret places.

When we arrived at lunchtime, we were the only van here, but now another English van has arrived, this is only the second English vehicle we have seen since arriving in France.

Before we leave in the morning, we will leave the 3 euro donation requested for the town, as there are no shops, bars or restaurants in the village. The idea of the motorhome aires, are to encourage spending in the town or village. If the weather is clear we may even see Mont Blanc.