Saturday 25th July 2026

It was hotter than hell last night, but by Morning it was fresh and cool.

And as we slept poorly in the wee small hours, we laid abed until half seven, which gave us half an hour to get up and be ready for breakfast at eight.

We made it at ten past, and dined well on fresh bread, salted fresh butter and local preserves. And fruit. And yogurt. And fresh coffee.

So, what to do with the day?

We had visited Essoyes the day before, which is what caught my eye when looking for a place to stay.

We had noticed a sign pointing to Parc naturel régional de la Forêt d’Orient, so we went there.

An easy half hour drive though sleepy villages, then into rolling farmland with acres of sunflowers going to seed, and patches of woodland, that soon merged into the national park

We found the "house of the park", and found a woodland walk which wound its way through beech woodland for about a kilometre. Not much saw, but we saw and heard Middle Spotted woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Marsh tits, and hear many more species beside.

At a woodland pool, a sign advised us to point our cameras towards the water.

I obeyed, and was rewarded in seeing dozens of frogs and toads, all covered in duckweed. We stayed for twenty minutes trying to spot them.

We drove on to a second woodland walk, but falled trees made it tricky to follow, and i gave up after a while, and instead chased damselflies, snapping on old female.

A short drive further on was a lake, where a beach had been created, so we bought and ate ice creams while we watched folks frolic in the water, though a Hummingbird hawk moth stole our attention.

We drove slowly back to the hotel through more sleepy villages and farms, past reservoirs held back by levees, then down into Bar.

We went to the supermarket over the road for supplies to see us through the day, then back to the room for the final race stage of Le Tour.

Two and a half hours passed as the riders climbed mountain after mountain, and I struggled to stay awake as I watched.

To escape the heat and humidity of the room, we went to the bar below to drink ice cold beers and watch the world go by, and say bonsoir to all who came to drink too.

Friday 24th July 2026

Due to a cock up, we had to travel 120 miles back north for our next hotel.

But it would mean the chance to visit Troyes and its cathedral.

We dozed until half seven, then both had showers before getting dressed and going down for breakfast.

The workers who stay at the hotel had long gone, so it was just us and the cyclists who were eating at eight to half past.

Although the choice was limited, and the state of the bacon would make any Dane angry, I had some fruit, bread and lots of coffee.

And then load the car, check it over one last time. Hand the keys in at reception, climb in the car and drive to the end of the road, then onwards to the motorway, turning north towards Troyes, Paris and Lille.

It was a very quiet morning on the roads, so was an enjoyable cruise at seventy over the high ground, past where we were to spend the next two nights and into Troyes.

Again.

We parked again at the Cathedral parking house, though this time cross the river, and above the roofs I could see the bell tower of the cathedral.

There she is.

It was half eleven by the time we entered, and all was going well until quarter to twelve when we were told we had to vacate the Sanctuary as Mass was about to be held at middy.

I rush a few shots at what look to be the oldest glass, I guess being 13th century, and we leave the Nave as the bell stuck twelve.

Jools wasn't feeling to sharp, so lunch was out, so we walked back to the car and drive back south to where our next hotel was.

We paid the two Euro fee, leave the garage, and on the surface we find it was just a thirty minute drive to Bar-Sur-Seine, where our hotel was next to the railway station.

Be still my beating heart.

The plan was to go to the next services for a drink, a bite to eat and fill up, only to find half of Europe beat us to it, and the place was rammed.

We tried to fill up, but the guy at the pumps took some fifteen minutes to work out how to get fuel out. So, once he left, we got a pump and was soon full of motion lotion and fighting our way through the abandoned cars back to the motorway.

Twelve miles further on, we turn off, and drive down a wooded valley to the village.

We found the hotel, though couldn't check in until three.

So we drive to Essoyes, where Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived and worked, as he loved the light.

Village after village was full of Champagne warehouses, and the hillsides full of green laden vines.

By the river in Essoyes, we find a place to park, and due to the heat walk a small circle either side of the river, then take a seat at the restaurant at a table under a parasol.

We order lunch, including a bottle of the local champagne, as why not?

And it was a dry crisp brew, and I savoured every last drop with rare steak and some local cheeses for dessert.

We drove to our hotel in the village of Bar.

Bar-sur-Seine. That is.

Checked in and went to our room, and after ten minutes of shouting at the TV, managed to find the on switch so I could watch the last 100km of Le Tour, as the riders battled up Alpe d'Huez.

It was amazing stuff. And being in France kinda made it better.

Kinda.

We ate in the hotel, a bloody burger each, and me a huge glass of Leffe Ruby, which was very good indeed.

I took part in the quiz, but jumped in too quick and was very wrong indeed.

And that was that, the 5th day of the road trip.

Thursday 23rd July 2026

Dateline: Chalon-sur-Saône.

A few weeks back we chose a whole series of hotels, with dates back to back to take us through to the eclipse, an a route so that we would have two or three hours each day to travel.

As I aid yesterday, that failed as we got this and the next hotel the wrong way round, so on Friday morning we head back north for 90 miles for our next stay, just south of Troyes.

But for Wednesday and Thursday, we will be in Burgundy.

I know the Duke of Burgundy. Or one of them. Several of them.

We woke up at seven in our "mean" hotel room. We got up, washed and dressed, then went down for breakfast. Al this stretched the time to quarter to nine.

Somehow.

For the day we thought we would explore the town of Chalon-sur-Saône, so set course for the city centre, and went to find a parking garage.

There were parking garages at several locations, but the signs vanished as you drew close, until we stumbled on the entrance for Le Hotel de Ville, through an arch, round two 90 degree bends and down a steep slope.

Made it.

Up in the lift to the level below ground level, that last level you have to climb the steps, not the first time this trip we have found this.

And out into the main square, where behind us was the impressive frontage of the Catholic church.

I programmed Maps for the cathedral, and we set off down the mediaeval alleyways, where cafes, bars and restaurants were setting up for the day.

We would not go short for ice cream, it seemed.

A ten minute walk and we came to the square with the cathedral rising on the other side, and to my left, an oompah trio struck up an impossibly French tune.

I would post the video I took, but I double hit the start button so have 0.5 of a second.

Shame.

Inside the cathedral it was cool and calm. Other than the major renovation work going on, but there was enough to see that wasn't off limits.

The cathedral cat come to say "bonjour", and we rubbed his chin.

I took shots, then we left.

It seems there was an arts festival on, with street theatre on almost every street and certainly in every square. That explained why folks were carrying folding chairs, and the oompah band.

It was going to get hot. And crowded.

Two of our less favourite things.

In the middle of the river, there is an island, all huge civic buildings and a street of more bars, brasseries and restaurants, just about to open.

We walked back down the street, bought cans of cold drink and walked back over the bridge, where there was double the amount of people, and more arriving.

We decided to leave after visiting the Catholic church. I went in, took shots, and was back out in ten minutes.

Shall we?

We shall.

Down the steps and into the lift, we paid our €2.40, went back to the car and drove the heck out of Dodge.

The plan was to visit a forest, a 12km drive out along the river, but when we arrived, it was most like a woody park, so we didn't stop.

After half an hour of aimless driving, I checked out the tourist map and saw a vineyard near the village of Boxy, which is how we came to be sitting on the pavement beside a fairly busy road, drinking local beer and enjoying the menu de jour.

On the other side of the road was a tower, wine has to be defended, of course.

Lunch was:

A selection of cold meats and fresh bread.

Duck breast with jus, and vegetables including noyal de brocolis. Broccoli made into a kind of jelly. It was delicious.

Strawberry flan.

It was only €17, and was delcious.

We drove back to the hotel to escape the heat of the afternoon and for me to watch the last 105km of Le Tour, though with commentary in French, which was a bit confusing.

Once that ended, we went to the supermarche for some snacks, then back to the hotel for an ice cold beer.

Monday 20th July 2026

With travel comes the pain of the cat round up.

The cats can't stay home and look after themselves, so this means trapping them one by one, only once the first has been nabbed, its wailings alert the others.

And the closing of doors and windows mean they know there's something up.

We try to act normal, though we do lay in to half five, get up and feed them.

Poppy is the hardest, so has to be first, when she decides to come in for breakfast.

Which she does at half seven. So while she eats, we close the doors and windows, then try to coral her upstairs to the bathroom as all the doors up there are closed too.

She is spooked, and dives in the small bedroom, so we close the door and will but her in the box later.

Cleo was asleep on the bed, so she is taken to the bathroom and the door closed. Neither of them meow, so Mulder and Scully are unaware.

At eight we begin the boxing: Mulder first, then Scully. They are both 16, so not as quick as they used to be, but they do wriggle and their claws scratch.

Poppy is hiding under the bed, and stays out of reach. So we have to give her the chance of escape to entice her out before the escape route is closed. She gives in.

Cleo seemed to know what was coming, and gave herself up.

That all done, the last of the packing was done, so that 95% of the jobs done.

Jools took the cats to the cattery, and I washed up and was pretty much all ready when se came back after an incident free trip, other than the tub of kitty kibbles was spilt in the car.

That was cleared up. We have a brew and breakfast, before loading the car.

It was ten, and so was only a fifteen minute run to The Tunnel, we checked in, got in line to go round the one way system to the two immigration posts, through those and then just ten minutes in the waiting area before we were allowed round to drive onto the train.

The Tunnel is functional, no romance of travel. As each carriage is filled with three or four cars, the doors behind are closed until the train is loaded. There's an announcement in three languages, and the train moved off.

Thirty five minutes we pull into Calais, where less than five minutes after stopping, we drive off and straight onto the motorway heading south.

It is warm, sunny intervals, but not hot. Just nice for driving.

We had a two mile drive to Armiens, so cruised down to the toll plaza at Boulogne, then just head south on traffic with just light traffic.

Our hotel is on the edge of the city, in a newly built area, so around it is a building site. But we found it OK, parked so checked in.

Phew.

After a lay down, we go back to the ground floor and look for the bar.

The bar is just another counter along from reception, but they have both draught and bottles.

I have a bottle of the dark, and very malty and full of sediment it is, and very tasty.

So that fired up our appetite, so we walk over to the bistro.

There is only a few choices, but the lamb and goat burger sounded interesting. Less so when it arrived, as the goat part was a wedge of cheese, but it was good.

There was even time for some cheese and a glass of vin rouge to round the meal off.

Back in the room, weariness overcame me, and even with the time difference, we were in bed before nine.

Wednesday 22nd July 2026

Time to head further south.

I suppose, at this moment, I should point out we have messed up the hotels, and so face a long leg on Tuesday, then double back 90 minutes on Friday, before leapfrogging further south on Sunday.

Mistakes happen, I guess.

So, we sleep in to nearly half six, get dressed and go down for breakfast, which was slightly disappointing again, though the coffee pretty good.

Back to the room to pack, the load the car in two runs, so that by quarter to eight, we were ready to go.

Also, the ladies in the mobile phone shop sold us a roaming pay as you go cim that was only suitable for the UK, so that in less than a day, apparently, we had burned through £50 worth of data.

Mainly on Maps and Merlin.

This we were to discover through the day when neither of our phones would make or receive calls, or access the internet and Maps, which was pretty important.

We made our way through the city, and back onto the motorway, turning south. It was cool and cloudy, though it would get warmer and sunnier later, and temperatures would reach 31.

Not much to report really. Once through the tolls, the traffic was light, so we made our way 100 miles east to Reims, then turn south through the vine-laden wine region of Champagne. I saw the hill from which, at dusk some twenty months ago, I looked upon the Grande Cru grapes, now we sped past.

We were going this way, rather than vial the Paris ringroad because of the Paris ringroad, in decades past, this would be jammed with traffic at all hours, so we thought going east and then south would be quieter, and meant we could call in at Troyes for lunch and a wander, maybe look round the cathedral.

Driving into a new city is a worrying time, though Troyes is a small city, and at eleven or just gone, it was quiet enough.

We found the parking house near the cathedral, and went down and down until we found a space that others had left enough room either side to get the car into. It felt like we were halfway to the centre of the earth.

Up in the lift, and out into the bright sunshine, with the cathedral towering above us.

We walk round it, each side having grand doors, but all locked, until we came to the west end, a small wicket door was open.

Our excuse for this was the at the church seemed almost square, so hard to judge which side was which.

Inside it was fairly plain, with pews though, which is always nice.

A few memorials on the walls, though there were many alabaster panels of saints, some which were painted.

I photographed the glass with the big lens, though most panels were not as old as appeared, though looked spectacular.

In half an hour I was done, it was midday and thoughts turned to lunch.

The city is a maze of mediaeval lanes, alleyways, all lined with timber-framed houses, some alleys so narrow that the roofs of buildings either side toughed to make a tunnel.

There were dozens of places offering lunch, we chose one named after St Jean, though they didn't do BBQ.

Too soon?

We choose one and order a sharing charcuterie board, followed by a main course. I had a salad.

And while we ate and drank we watched the world go by, mainly American tourists.

It really was most splendid.

And this news just in:

The large churchy building beside the car park called "Cathedral", is not the actual cathedral.

Which means, as I screwed up the hotel bookings, we can go back to the city on Friday.

But back to Wednesday.

We left the city and headed south, the motorway now busier, and climbing to over 1400 feet. The cool morning had been replaced with a hot and humid afternoon, which peaked in early evening at 32 degrees.

We cruised at 70 for the most part, and enjoyed the drive, even as the traffic grew heavier.

We turned off and into our next stop, the city of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Our hotel was on the main road into the city, another Ibis, but this an older building, all tired inside.

We checked in and were given a small room, though as everything we needed, except space. Obviously.

For the evening, we drove over the intersection to a BBQ chain place, which sounded like it would be good, but wasn't. Even the 1664 was almost flat.

At least it was only a two minute drive back to the hotel, where we would stare at the ceiling until we grew tired.

Tuesday 21st July 2026

Amiens, France.

We woke after close to ten hours sleep.

Ten.

Hours.

Life seemed better. And there was breakfast that was going to be prepared for us, with no washing up afterwards.

That's living alright.

Outside it looked warm already. Time would tell.

We went down for breakfast, there was fruit, bready stuff, croissants, coffee, Nutella. All the major food groups.

We filled our boots, by which time it was just after eight. And the cathedral opened at half seven.

We walked outside to the car, and in the shade of the hotel it was lovely and cool, but wouldn't stay that way for long.

We programmed a parking house nearby, I fired up the horses in the car, and we lurched off towards the city centre.

For a Monday morning, traffic was light, so we cruised carefully into the centre, turning down a side road, then down the ramp to the underground parking house.

Whether we would find our way back again after our visit and lunch would be another matter.

We had seen the cathedral, the largest by volume in France, apparently., on the way into the centre. To say it towered over the surrounding area would be something of an understatement.

But once we parked, walked up the the street level, and at the next junction we looked to the left and there was the roof of the cathedral.

We'd go that way.

Five minutes later, after walking down an alley paved with white marble, we came to the south-west corner of the church.

Entrance by the south door, a sign seemed to be suggesting.

We walked along the southside, and there was an open door. We went in.

Inside was a space at least as large as St Paul's in London, but untouched by puritans or time, A Baroque pulpit, covered in gold leaf caught the eye.

I took a shot, and a guy came over to engage me in conversation. As my French is below middle school standard, and his English was little better, but he seemed to be suggesting that I was taking my photos wrong.

I said thanks, tried to explain the hand-held night-shooting mode, but went over his head.

He came back, and showed me a video of his work. Not sure if he was trying to get me to employ him to take shots.

I explained I had some 50,000 pictures of churches, and I really did know what what I was doing.

When he came back a third time, I guess I became rude. As ride as you can be in fractured Franglais.

He walked off.

Phew.

I went round snapping the scenes, chapels and details, then switched to the big lens for more details and the stained glass windows.

Meanwhile, at nine, Mass began, and the cathedral was filled with the harmonised voices of the choir, then the benediction read out.

Amen.

Amiens, and the Valley of the Somme, was the centre of the First World War battle of the same name, so the cathedral has memorials to nations and battalions that sacrificed themselves in the defence of the city and area.

There is little evidence of the war now, other than the occasional memorial, the city is rebuilt and vibrant.

We walked back outside, into the bright sunshine, and temperatures were some ten degrees higher than went we entered.

Next on the list were the "floating gardens" of Les Hortillonnages. Of which we had no idea what they were, but was high on the top rated attractions in the city.

We walked down from the butte that the cathedral straddles, and came across a small stream, running in the lea of the cathedral. On the other was a row of houses with shops in their ground floors, and behind all had identical metal spiral staircases.

The road in front was filled with fast food joints, discotheques, and other shops, all closed at half eleven, though some stayed open until 05:00.

On the left a road opened up, and there over the main road was the Somme river, also lined with restaurants, bars, and shops. The maps app said to carry on, so we did.

We crossed the river beside another main road, then the way was down a steep curving road to the riverbanks. On the side was a brasserie, where we called in for a cold drink. And then a beer.

We went back out and down to the riverbank, walking along hoping to see an entrance. We did find it, but turns out the public part doesn't open until one, and it was too hot to wait.

We explored further along, where there was a mixture of houses, summer houses and allotments, all on small islands separated with by ditches or minor stretches of the river.

It was all very nice, and peaceful despite being only a short walk from the city centre. But all private.

We sat and watched the wildlife: dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and birds, while a couple of boats chugged by.

Thoughts turned to lunch, so we walked back towards the cathedral, stopping for a drink at the same brasserie, then along the river where we took a shaded table at a café, and ordered pork something. Which came with a very thin carrot, some kind of root vegetable (half of) and a sauce.

It was so pleasant sitting and eating watching the world go by, we had dessert and a coffee.

Back to the cathedral to take shots of the statues and triple doors at the west end, by which time it was hot indeed, so we made our way back to the parking garage, paid the fee and drove back to street level.

Our journey back to the hotel wasn't helped by a failure of the net, and the road the hotel is on is so new the car's sat nav didn't have it listed. However, nearby was Rue de Christ, which we remembered the name of, so programmed that in, which got us withing a mile of the hotel, at which point the internet came back and we found our way back.

Before going to the room, we went over the road to the corner store to buy beer, mile, sandwiches and crips, so we would not go down to eat.

And finally up the the air conditioned coolness of the room, where i cracked open the family sized bottle of Le Chouffe as I reviewed my shots from the day.

Sunday 19th July 2026

And so to our last full day in England for about a month.

Being a Sunday that meant phys, of course. But it would have been easy not to do it, but we did.

Jools slept through the alarm, as did I, of course, so we rose at six, then did our stuff and drank coffee before leaving the house at five to seven.

As there was a swimming gala on, again, the pool was closed, so there was just three cars in the car park. We joined them, went in and up the stairs to the gym and di our session.

Another hot and humid session, and another thirty five minutes done.

As we will be in either France or Spain the next few weeks, we decided to go to Chaplin's for breakfast, so down Castle Hill and the Castle into town, parking behind the church, and being at their door as it opened at eight.

We had the usual, mine with added fried bread.

It was too much, really, but we wouldn't eat again until the evening.

Back home along Townwall Street and up Jubilee Way, both of which had no traffic at all, though a P&O ferry was just disgorging traffic, so we powered up the hill just in time.

We both have showers, then the last washing down so that we have lots of clothes for the trip. We sit and listen to Huey on the radio, until it was midday and time for Le Tour.

The Tour would reach the Alps by the end of the day, until then there was a punishing course of 180km up and down, ever-increasingly steeper hills.

On the sharp bend before the final climb, Jonas Vingegaard misjudged the corner, hit a kerb and went down on his shoulder breaking his collarbone. Just as his team were mustering for an assault on the hill and launching Jonas to possibly win.

We'll never know.

Supper was Caprese and salad, as we try to use up all the fresh food in the fridge.

And then to the World Cup Final: Spain v Argentina, which started out well, then Argentina retreated into their back third and encouraged Spain to try to score.

Again the referee was over-lenient, and failed to book Argentine players for fouls.

Fernández was sent off for a second yellow, which should have been a red in its own right, and then it was a matter of whether Spain could score.

It went to extra time, and in the first minute of the second period, Ferran Torres volleyed in to win the game and cup.

At the end, Argentine players threw punches as Spain celebrated.

Best team won.