Friday 25th October

Today as you read this, if indeed you get to read this, I will be driving down through France.  We are going for the week, it being half-term.  Starting early we should arrive at Folkestone about 6 in the morning, then on to the shuttle and a short break.  We should arrive in France at 8.30 French time.

We normally head along the coast towards Rouen then turn south all the way to Bordeaux.  This time we will be going through Paris, the Peripherique, which is a sort of South Circular motorway most of the way, then down through Limoges and Brives and on to Bergerac.   It is about the same in miles, but less toll roads.  The long motorway south to Bordeaux is toll road the whole way and costs about 70 euros each way.  We have spoken to a few people who drive down and they say this is a better route, so we will see.

We can’t wait to get there, it is always the journey that is a pain.  I particularly dislike being a passenger, trapped in a seat for twelve hours; the one and a half hours flight is bad enough but at least the car seat is more comfortable.  We tend to stop every hour or so for the dogs and one of the great innovations are the French Aires, some are just picnic stops with loos, but many have nice restaurants where you can get undrinkable caffeine in tiny cups, but a break from the tedious road at least.  It will all be worth it when we get there I am sure.

So Bon Voyage….