We're here. Very tired but lovely to see Pete & Ros.

Looking forward to a bit of sun before Christmas, we booked a few days in a beachside hotel but the first day was rainy! We were entertained by the Russians filling all of the hotels here. We couldn't believe how rude they were to the staff, and got used to sticking out our elbows to prevent them pushing in. I caught a nasty cold which I'm convinced was a Russian one. I think the funniest was watching a portly gentleman attempting press-ups when his stomach stuck...

On Remembrance Day we flew out to Keflavik and transferred to the Northern Lights hotel on the outskirts of Reykjavik. A lovely hotel but if we went again we'd choose somewhere in the town centre, as there would be more choice of restaurants. On the first day it was sunny but cold, we walked to Perlan, from where there are fabulous views over the town. Day two we had booked to go Whale watching, but it was blowing a gale (the snow was driving horizontally too) s...

Just had a fairly mediocre meal with a large bill as our last one. Deauville (should it be D'oh!ville)? is rather posh, with rather smart apartment blocks and two marinas. Dog muck everywhere, including the beach. What a shame. We're back in jeans and jackets, it's trying to rain.....getting us used to English weather.

Leaving the Loire this morning we decided to do a quick detour via a vinyard to buy another box of wine. we followed a winding road until we arrived in a pretty garden with a cottage opposite farm buildings. Madame answered the door and asked us to follow her to the cellar, which turned out to be her mother's house, deep in the woods, with a turreted manor house and cluster of pretty gites. A golden labrador wound herself round our legs while we tried the wines, ...