Inter Hotel Clim Oc Villeneuve les Beziers

... making very slow headway indeed. Brian was still not feeling 100% and complaining quite a lot. When I looked back at him I saw he was drenched in sweat and very pale. So out to the road and to Carcassone we bee-lined, and the nearest hotel were checked into. Super early (before noon) I was able to do laundry and catch up on internet things.

There was also an amazing medival city high up on a hill that we went for a little walk through ...

... such a huge amount of confidence to travel around Asia. I know that Spain is a little more tame than Asia, but I know that now I can be alone and I will be okay. I had never been truly on my own and I was really scared about it, but now, I embrace the opportunity. I believe everyone should travel alone, male or female, just to see what it's like. This just may be the most liberating experience of my life...so far.

... aboard that greatly decreased the rolling of the boat, but this still wasn’t enough to keep two of the guests from getting sea sick. The Captain gave them some motion sickness medicine and had them come up to the bridge where they could clearly see out of the yacht. This helped Nickie, but not Noel who threw up before going to her room to sleep. I spent the afternoon and evening with our other guest’s ...

So I'm going to nix Portugal from my plans. I started getting a bad feeling when I called them the other day in order to confirm my arrival and they had no idea who I was. Maybe I spoke too fast, but they seemed really confused by my arrival. I sent an email to the guy and he seemed really mad that my dates kept changing and he told me it wasn't worth their time if I came less ...

Well, finally - after a false start setting out to pick up friends from Pau airport a day early! - first night: moored up alongside the Canal du Midi, just south of Beziers. Some very noisy ducks for company... Bit of a gloomy one weather-wise. Rained last night, but forecast suggests brightening up gradually as day goes on. Slowing our departure from ...

... it feels like the beginning of every vacation but I know that it's not. I have to take it one day at a time and see what happens. I already have a lot of fun plans ahead of me, though. I will be eating dinner at my sister's house tonight, where my little nephews, Leo and Valentin, are very eager to see me. I found notes on my pillows when I got to my Dad's from them, saying that ...

... bah d'accord. Et quand dois-je y être?
Bah dans 4 jours!
Ahhhhh, me dis-je intérieurement, mais non!!! Ok, donc on voit tout ça lundi.
A bientôt!"

Bon, super, je viens d'apprendre que je pars mardi en Hollande pour 4 mois et je n'ai qu'une journée pour tout organiser.

Super, bon bah sur ce, on va aller à la plage, peut-être est-ce une mauvaise blague et que il n'y aura plus rien ce soir ;)

All good things have to end and we said good bye to Graeme and Rita. After having a swim and moping around Sam said - thats it - lets go out, so off went.

The first stop was St Guiliem le desert which is a lovely little town north of Herepian. We then went on to Cirque de Navacalles which is ...

... afternoon siesta was called upon. That evening we all had supper in our hostel and watched multiple football matches on telly, there were some fairly dramatic goings on as it was the penultimate game of the season with not much decided in La Liga. After the football we sampled a small bit of the Barcelona night life which was nice, but you could tell things were really geared up for
tourists compared with Madrid.


The following day, after an ample ...

... if not quite as elegant perhaps. It was after all the original Hotel de Ville. As we sipped our drinks on the patio I watched a football game through the entrance of the casino on a large screen but I only gave half my attention to it. My curiosity was aroused more by the constant flow of people passing by with limb injuries. After the third wheelchair had wheeled into the casino I thought it must be fate because of Anne's situation. But in the street were men on crutches ...