French weekends should really be Sunday/Monday! For a nation of bread-munchers, you'd think it would be easy to get a loaf of bread on a Monday. But oh no............decided first to go around the corner to the local Tabac for lunch, only to find they're closed and gone on holiday for two weeks. Across the road the boulangerie is shut.....never mind we'll go to Chailac for something.....all closed. Prissac......all closed. Belabre, closed. Two hours later finall...

Quiet drive back to John's....not! The weather is definitely changing with a cool breeze and drizzly rain, followed by torrential downpours. Came across another accident - car slid off road in heavy rain. Next we were stopped by another motorist alerting us to a wandering cow on the road. Then stopped by a Gendarme as the road we wanted to go down was closed for a cycle race - bloody cyclists! Took his suggested detour only to come across the actual race a bit ...

A leisurely drive back from Albertville through the lower foothills of the Alps. Skirted Lyon and headed for St Etienne, arriving mid-afternoon. Didn't see much to attract our attention, so carried on to Clermont Ferrand again. Very hot and still no sign of rain. Had an early dinner at the potato restaurant (baked spuds are the theme) that was next door to where we stayed last time. Very nice dinner and some real meat too!

Bern is a bit less crowded this morning, but like Innsbruck, there are delivery trucks everywhere, in front of everything you want to photograph. Anyway, had a wander through the city streets and a look through Loeb's (sort of a Swiss Kirkacaldies). We'd been able to leave the car in the hotel carpark and used the tram to get around.....pretty good value too. Had a drink and a cake in a little tea-shop.....still damned expensive at NZD$50! Carryi...

Thought we'd better get a shot of the bridge (well what's left of it) at Avignon before leaving. According to the guide book, they didn't dance on it at all as the song says, but underneath it. Following advice from the book we headed for the village of St Remy-en-Provence - still no sign of lavender and the damn town was choked with people for their fete, so we didin't stop. Hunger finally got the better of us and we stopped at a roadside boulangerie to get ...