Le Grand Départ

Good afternoon, friends, Romans, citizens of the Asylum.

In a little over six weeks we leave on the big vacance de jour. Cats will be rounded up, the car will be serviced, and the camera battery will be charged.

Again, instead of flying, we will be driving through France, to another country. But this time we are driving south and east to meet up with another orchid tour, spending a week on that, then driving through France, over the Pyrenees into Spain for the eclipse on August 12th.

Our route will take us from Dover to the Channel Tunnel, then onto Amiens.

Day two will take us from Amiens to Chalon-sur-Saône, where we will stay for a day or two. Before driving to Essoyes, where again we will stay for a day or two.

Next leg will take us to St Julien de Chivry, where once more we will stay, sample the food, wine and culture. And then onto the final layover at Villefranche-sur-Saône.

And then drive to Lyon Airport to meet with the tour, before travelling into he Alps for some orchid action for a week.

Once the tour is over, we have a short leg to Freissinières, where we stay for a night, and then on to Arles, where we will soak up yet more food, wine and culture.

Next up is Beziers, where I have been before, but only for a couple of hours, so we will stay a couple of nights, and might go out and about to familiar places.

Then across the mountains into Spain for a couple of nights in Burgos, during which time we hope to see the eclipse.

We then have three days to drive back to Calais, which is ambitious.

Some might like to study maps of the route of our own Le Tour! We even checked the other Le Tour's calandar to make sure we don't get too close. Not that I'd mind, but one year we will go to see Le Tour, but not this year.

Anyway, hope you find this interesting.

And exciting.