In around 1850, Ferdinand Cheval, a postman in the small French town of Hauterives, picked up a stone. He thought that it was so beautiful that he carried it around with him in his pocket. Later he decided to collect more stones and to build something with them. For the next 33 years he collected stones on his daily rounds, as a postman. He built with these stones after work. He built with them after dark, by the light of his oil lamp. With no great design in m...

Marcollin Kite Festival

All going swimmingly to plan (not there’s any plan, bar getting to Cannes, all in one piece). More or less, followed the Sâone river south to Lyon and then followed the Rhône river south to Vienne (not to be confused with Vienna). Actually, and rather surprisingly, it was a rather chilly and drizzly day - apparently, tomorrow should heat up again. Vienne, sitting on the shores of the big river, is a very attractive place. It is, apparently, the fourth larg...

Had a reasonably good Vietnamese meal in Autun last night. This morning we set off early and were hit straight away by a brutal climb on cold legs. After that, the ride was a good one. A lot cooler than of late and with wind in a favourable direction. The terrain was hilly and the roads were small and quiet. The last 20 or so miles was on a good cycle track. The scenery was now dominated by the vineyards of the Burgoyne (Burgundy) wine region. The vendage (grape...

Slight problem last night - forgot to take with us the code to get back into the hotel after hours. The place was all in darkness when we arrived back at about 11. Whilst I was contemplating how to solve this little problem, Jackie spotted a returning guest and managed to tail-gate her way in. After breakfast, looking out over the valley, we watched a few pilgrims start off on their walk. The trail seemed well marked and we walked the first hundred or so metres ...