Le Teil

Last night after a satisfying meal of pasta, we took an evening walk further up the hill above the village. The views across the vale were magnificent. As we walked, we commented on the different varieties of wild flowers growing on the verge, some you don't see very often in England. The local flower in this area appears to be a pale mauve iris, they were everywhere, and much larger than the specimens at home. These were one of Marge's favourite flowers in her garden so seeing them seemed comforting. As we walked back to Marge, keen to get out of the wind that blew in our faces, a wildfire red of evening sky passed above us, it was both impressive and oppressive.

This morning was beautiful, bright sun, but still a determined wind. All night the wind had been buffeting Marge, and we'd hoped it would blow itself out by morning. There was a glorious view from the van towards the Alps, a little more visible than yesterday, and we could see the River Saone disappearing into the distance, like a shimmering silver ribbon.

Our 3 euro donation, safely deposited into a nearby letterbox, we set off back to the out of town shopping area on the edge of Macon to purchase camping gaz. This particular gas is very expensive in France, but after some research, we found the cheapest place to purchase a refill cylinder was at a store called Leroy Merlin, France's equivalent to B&Q. Now for some fun, 'I would like a re-charged bottle of camping gaz for my campervan, please'. Well it worked, Marge is now in possession of a full cylinder of camping gaz.

We noticed that the cherries are already ripe on some trees.

We travelled on some faster roads today, wanting to drive a little further south. We keep away from the toll roads, which means we tend to pass through quite a lot of towns and villages, which makes the journey more interesting, but with their 30 & 50 kilometre speed limits, which we totally approve of, it makes the going slow. At the city of Lyon, we joined the ring road heading south, the traffic was heavy, but the 40 kilometre speed limit kept the traffic moving freely. As we glided along, we noticed the verges were splattered with bright red poppies, a reminder of events gone by, but which should not be forgotton. Every day we see hundreds of these poppies, in fields, amongst hedgerows, and, at the side of the road, a constant reminder.

Leaving Lyon behind us, we found ourselves travelling beside the river Rhone, a wide, gentle flowing mass of water, which we followed to the town of Vienne. Just past Vienne, we stopped at the side of the road for our lunch, and were amazed to see a 24/7 vending machine for pizzas.

John would like a smaller version to put in Marge.

After lunch we passed through many many towns and villages, at one, we stopped to photograph the chateau, it appeared to be privately owned and in need of lots of repair, the stone supporting it looked a little unstable in places. We were now travelling through the Cote du Rhone area, and there was so much to see. Look at that castle, chateau, ruin, river, the alps, the grapevines, the church.......the road!!

Tonight's stopover was planned to be up a hill in the village of Aubignas. After another slog up a long winding hill for Marge, and we wiere at the aire.

But once again the wind was blowing, and much stronger now, so after some discussion we decided to avoid the 'do you think we're going to be blown over the edge' in the early hours and drive back down into the town. So tonight we are safely en-consed on a ex municipal camp site on the edge of Le Teil. We have English neighbours to one side, in a lovely new van, and French the other side. The French couple have a little Yorkshire terrier that seems very keen on us. Behind us is a road, and behind that the river Rhone.

Early evening we took a walk across the bridge to take a look at the river, the water was jostling frantically through the rapids.

After a walk around the edge of the town, we returned to Marge for our evening meal. Noticing in a garden a Holly tree covered in berries, we have seen this several times on this trip, not sure why the birds here don't eat them in winter. Despite the wind, the air was warm, ideal for drying our T shirts. Warm weather always brings out 'pop's flops' (flip flops) , as our grandson Jack calls them. Tomorrow Jack begins his GCSE's, and we wish him lots of luck.

We are now about 150 miles from Marseille.

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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.

Nuits-Saint-Georges

During last night the rain came down, hammering on the glass roof above our bed, and the wind funnelled down the river Seine, rocking Marge. Despite all this commotion, we woke late, rising at 10 am! The travelling of the three previous days had taken its toll, and I think we were both glad of a good nights rest.

As we ate a late breakfast , we watched a car being craned onto a nearby barge, and watching it set sail into the greyness, we discussed how France had changed since we have been coming here over the last few years. More rubbish, hedges, grass and flower borders in public areas not so immaculate, and more potholes on the roads.

Before setting off, we relieved Marge of her waste water, positively gushing out of this Marge, unlike old Marge who could produce only a trickle and take forever, much to the annoyance of the French all waiting behind us.

On route here, we saw some of the 'Gilet Jaune', (yellow vest) protesters. We could sympathise with their cause, having seen diesel as expensive as 1.60 euros a litre.

We stopped for lunch beside the Chateau d' Ancy le Franc, a masterpiece of Italian architect Sebastian Serlio. After lunch the weather was an improving picture, tomorrow it is suppose to settle down and become warmer. As we bowled along, surrounded by a vast expanse of lush green fields, we were reminded of yesterdays terrain, comparative with its neat, newly planted fields of seed potatoes, they looked like metres of brown corduroy cloth unfolding into the distance. Later in our journey we began to climb some steep inclines, we were now in the Burgundy region, so close to the edge of the alps. Some of the roads were quite precarious, and reminded us of our trip to Spain last year. But we were old hands at this, 'just don't look down, oh you already have!'

Tonight we are staying at Nuits Saint Georges. The aire is on the outskirts of the town, and we are sited under a horse chestnut tree. There are four other vans here, one of which is from Sweden.

After a walk to explore the town, and the vineyards on the edge, we are back in Marge ready to cook a vegetable stir fry for our evening meal, waistlines are already expanding, oh dear, so soon into our trip!

Bray Sur Seine

This morning at Beauvais, the town was still waking up when I went for an early morning walk. The watery blue sky, and the new green of the trees, framed the cathedral St. Pierre, the cathedral seeming even more impressive this morning, than in yesterday evening light. As the nearby church bells struck out the hour, a new day was beginning.

Leaving the town, we set off to skirt around the east side of Paris, passing through the Normandy countryside, flat and lush, with its familiar architecture, fruit trees, and fruit boxes stacked high at every turn.

Mid afternoon we stopped at Saint-Cyr-Sur-Morin, which was our chosen overnight stop, a charming small town with a river running through.

But after we had our lunch (the first of many salads we will eat this holiday), we realised perhaps this was not a good idea. A couple of young men arrived with a rather excitable dog, and set up shop on a picnic bench on the far side of the car park. When their first customer arrived we decided it was time to move on.

So tonight we are at an aire (along with quite a few other vans) alongside the Seine. There is a small church on the opposite bank, with a small sheep farm adjacent. Large pleasure boats are moored alongside, and barges carrying gravel from a local pit slink by, gently cutting the calm waters of the river.

After washing our smalls, and ourselves, we headed into town, deciding to treat ourselves to pizza.

Today we have driven about 130 miles, and guess what, Marge has been mastered! After a good nights rest, and a boost of confidence, we are back in the game. During today's journey, there were less sharp intakes of breath, and more calm. Tomorrow we hope to travel a similar distance.

We have been lucky with the weather since we left England, but since late this afternoon, we have experienced some heavy rain, but this Marge is water tight, so no worries there! The weather is set to improve on Sunday, so perhaps we'll be able to break out the shorts.

For now it's time for a second very large glass of Bordeaux.