Château Marquis de Vauban, Blaye

However tired you are, one thing is guaranteed during the summer months, and that is you will wake up early, and if you're lucky, some mornings you'll get to witness an absolutely stunning sunrise of vibrant orange, as we did this morning. 

With no need to rush, we are driving less, stopping at familiar places.

By lunchtime we were back at Chateau Marquis de Vauban at Blaye. Ten pounds a night which includes a free bottle of the estate wine. What's not to like?  And as a bonus some new sculptures have appeared since our last visit.

We are now in Bordeaux country. The countryside green with grapevines as far as the eye can see.

 Arriving at the chateau early we were able to bag a great spot in the shade. We've booked for one night, but already think we'll probably stay another, especially as the temperature tomorrow will be 40c. We also think Marge deserves a rest. The last time we spent two days anywhere was at the end of our visit to Morocco. We've been driving everyday, sometimes for many hours in uncomfortable heat. Time to slow down we think!

Meilhan-sur-Garonne, Lieu dit Au Jardin, France

There's something about driving through the French countryside. Picturesque villages, warm, inviting, rustic. And this morning that exactly described our drive. Sunflowers, sweet corn, beans, growing on sunbaked earth.

When would it rain again! We haven't seen any significant rain since our first day in France, over seven weeks ago. We are heading towards the coast, hoping despite the heat, the air might feel fresher. Not wanting to drive too far we made for a former campsite, now a campervan park right beside the canal Garonne. Once again we were in former cycling territory.

The last time we passed the campsite there were just two campers on it. Now it's a paid area, there were around thirty. Because of the intense heat we've not been able to walk out as much as we would have liked. But this evening once the sun was down we walked alongside the canal, aware that the sky above was darkening.

Then the trees began to sway, shedding leaves that fell fast into the still waters of the canal. It won't come too much, we thought. Well, it did.

Thunder, lighting, rain. How long have we waited? How long did the parched earth have to wait? The torrents of falling water made us think of the wildfires burning in Spain and France, hopefully some of this deluge would pass their way. Just over a week ago we were on a campsite at Los Gallardos. A few days ago the site was evacuated because of smoke drifting across from a large wildfire close by. Crazy to think we'd been in the area not that long ago. Well Marge, we're nearing the end of our trip, at least you get a good old clean after days of driving dusty roads. Tomorrow we will be back to normal. Temperatures touching 40c, and wall to wall sunshine!

Saint-Clar, 2-8 Chemin de Ronde, France

It was hot, hot, hot yesterday evening. With the exception of those with air con in their vans, the rest of us were sweating, profusely. Temperatures in this area are in the high thirties, in some areas of France, over forty. We have been driving short distances, looking for overnight stops that offer shade. By lunchtime today us and Marge were parked under trees on a former campsite in the village of  St. Clar.

And there we sat until six o'clock in the evening, when it still felt too hot to walk out.  Needing something to occupy us this afternoon we resorted to a hair trim. Angela did hers, then she did John's. We looked O.K., but what the people who normally cut our hair will think, well, they'd probably be horrified!

Eventually we decided we had to walk around the town, and it is a beautiful place. Keen to move somewhere cooler, we took a look on the internet to see where we should head tomorrow. It seems, apart from the very north coast of France everywhere is having an extreme heatwave. Despite saying we wouldn't, we've decided to head towards the Atlantic coast, staying a little off the coast to avoid the crowds and expensive campsites. Our fridge, normally full of food, is full of drinks. Goodness knows what temperatures will reach in the coming years! One thing is for sure. We know in the future we must avoid Europe in July.

A Fig tree trying to escape out of someone's garden!