Ibis Issoire

... reached the Millau Bridge, super structure and amazing piece of engineering, by late afternoon. It was no way I would make the Loire by 7 pm so we reach the little town called Issoire and stay the night at Etap hotel (like formula one). Tomorrow short drive big day.

... Lemptegy, which has been quarried for the lava which is used for all sorts of things, including making cat litter! We went on a tour of the crater in a small train with a manic young guide gabbling volubly in French. At the end of the tour there was a very entertaining theme-park type experience called The Exploding Mine, which was not ...

... opportunity to make our lunch which usually consisted of a baguette filled with pate, cheese and or meat. We would stop along the way some where for lunch in a park or a Chateau. The cruising along the canals was incredible especially going through the locks. One part took us over one of the longest viaduct in Europe at a place called Briare where we stayed for the night. The first couple of days was heavy going but my knees and legs settled down that ...

... water. Nothing happens, as I expected, until I put in the token. The shower head immediately leaps to attention, and I am blasted in the face by the kind of water cannon usually reserved for major riots. I scrape myself off the far wall and grope blindly for the shower head. I wrestle the brute off its mounting and aim it at the drain. Heart pounding, I stand wondering how to free a hand to open the shower gel. Eventually ...

... t think I've ever eaten as much Mac Do's in my life. The guys then decided to take us to the beach for the day. This would have been such a fun and awesome day, if we were prepared. We had some snacks, but we didn't have our bathing suits, shorts or anything. We got about knee deep in the water, and that was about it. It was such a cute little spot though, would have been a great day if we could have grabbed our stuff. The boys played some rugby (most of them are swimmers at a ...

... together and they each have secrets that the others have to figure out. On the past episode we found out that Etiene, the police officer, is actually a stripper! And Juliette is "une triplette" and has been substituting some of her sisters into different parts of the house so it looks like Juliette is omnipresent. Next week the preview is telling us that out of the 8 people left who have yet to reveal their secrets, one is wanting a sex ...

... festival passes and other stuff like food vouchers and cash for the train (75 Euros-nice). Met Calmin. So nice to see him again. Then we went to eat at Universe with Jon. Nice to have a warm cooked meal again. Em really liked the food coupons- 6.50 Euros each and we have 32 for the week. That's a total value of 208 Euros/S$415 that we can save on eating. Hurray. Then we took the free shuttle back to the Hotel. Slept like a log till 3am for me and I am writing this. What a long 2 days.

... everything is so expensive and closes earlier than back home. We went out that night with a few of Cody's friends from school, Jonathan, Oliver, and a girl whose name we don't remember. The two guys are French but speak English so they were able to help us with our French and I think we helped them a little bit with their English.

... as well as my french is coming along it's a bit hard for us. nicole and i get along so well she is insisting i stay with her for as long as i can (yeah, she says that now...) and we are in the process of booking a little holiday away somewhere hot. we went with some friends to the big fireworks in the city (which is just near nicole's place) to celebrate the new tram, that wont ...

... 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 ...