Hotel Regina Le Puy-en Velay

Left St Eloy fairly early and lunched at a motorway aire (with free electricity to cool the fridge, and services for the van's wastes) at La Fayette. On to Le Puy with fantastic volcanic mounds with statues and churches atop.

Coubon a small village with the site 7m above the Loire (unexpectedly this far south), but showing signs of having been 2m underwater in the winter.

... ervoor zag het er zwart van het volk. Na onze steak/friet ging t plots veel beter! Hans vondt uit hoe ie bochtjes kon draaien en dus gingen we hoogerop! Op de terugweg werd ik wagenziek vermits we 1000 en 1 bochten moesten nemen en Hans elke bocht aansneed als een vers stuk Emmental kaas! Ik was dus wagenziek, en Hans heeft momenteel last van nek, schouder(s), zitvlak.. en ga zo maar door. Maar al bij al zijn we t er over eens! Les Estables! T was zeker de moeite waard ! =) xx

... are only allowed to put on sales at certain times of the year.] I went back to the hotel at about 1:00, and DH had just gotten there. So we went back out to find a bistro for lunch (Bistro des Arts). We shared a lovely salad and chicken entree. Then we went back to the hotel so DH could get out of his suit. From there we took a taxi up to the Basilica, *way* up the hill. Oh, was ...

... and got ready for dinner. DH got his suit on, and I wore a pretty pink chiffon dress, perfect for Valentine's Day. The restaurant (Les Trois Domes) was on the top of our hotel and you could look out over the city and the Rhone river. It was breathtaking. The gazillion course meal was great. We had a really nice time. We felt very fortunate to spend our Valentine's Day in such a special way. :)

... them into shops and restaurants, and i'm still loving the food. i love how everyone just shuts down at lunch for two hours and enjoys the break, although a bit of a pain when the smaller shops shut. oh, and i've discovered the joy of vin chaud, warmed wine served with orange or lemon and sugar or honey. luckily the french don't drink like the australians (i'm sure it's not just me!).

... everyone arrived at the same time. So from his place we got observe a castle on top of a rocky mountain overviewing the deep vallee down... great! We were slightly exhaust but we spent the evening, chatting, playing music and having a great social moment. Then the food was on the table... several pizzas and some spaghetti plus local wine. It was all so tasty! It went like till somehow late and then we all went away to sleep.

... but it is the home of Michelin tyres. It's a gorgeous city and I love walking down different little alleyways each time and seeing the different shops (some craftsmen with the tools of the trade). I went to a big park yesterday and walked around and found a perfect spot to eat my bagette, cheese and nutella. So I set up my sarong on the ground, took off my shoes and ...

Ouf 8 jours ca passe vite et c'est fatigant. Autant j'avais hâte de terminer les vendanges g déja hâte de recommencer. Petit arrêt aLyon, ou c'est moi cette fois qui fait visiter. Puis hop j'ai la confirmation de pouvoir faire les vendanges a nouveau. En Alsace. Youppi. Bon je vais aller faire un petit tour a Dreux avant de revoir du raisin.

Ca doit faire une semaine que je suis à Lyon, bien que ce soit une grande ville l'atmosphère est loin d'être celle de Paris. J'ai pu visiter en vélo et heureusement sinon je n'aurais pas eu la force de marcher pour 2 jours.J'ai vu une super vieille église très jolie et une basilique toute en mosaique a l'intérieur, assez fou dans la tête pour faire ca et c'est grand en plus, bof faut pas essayer de ...

... by it, and crawled up to it. It feels as if I sat silently in the sand, with my arms around my knees, and watched it for hours on end. One evening, after dinner, the father of the two boys had been a scouts leader, and took his sons and I for a hike. The sun was setting and we scampered through the thorny bushes in our shorts and sandals. The sky was purple, red and dark blue, after sunset when we arrived back at the campsite. I didn't know it at the time, but my ...