After filling with water we set off for a long day's drive to the west coast, with a couple of contingencies in case of traffic. From Carcassonne to Toulouse there are huge field full of bright sunflowers, fantastic to see after we just missed them at their best last year. It's a pleasant, uneventful drive through the northern end of the Pyrenees, up and down long hills, then through the flatter vineyards and woodlands of Landes. Progress is good and we cr...

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. The first hour is through rural Provence before we reach the motorway near Avignon. As we approach Narbonne traffic gets busy with long hold ups as everyone heads for the coast. Once we get moving, and have a couple of breaks, we decide to shorten our journey and select a Passion a bit closer to where we are. After leaving the motorway we find ourselves in the village of Conihac which also has a Passion so we ...

The aire stayed quiet until 05:45, from when the traffic on the adjacent road gradually increased. We dropped down alongside the river for a few miles then along quiet, pretty roads, first in a rocky valley then through dense woodland with the odd small town along the way. In one of these we found a boulangerie and bought quiches for lunch which we had in a shady, forest layby. As we neared the Provence region the roads had frequent, narrow stretches through m...

As we wake we lie watching the sun creep down the mountainside lighting up the colours in the rocks and signalling another warm day to come. We use the service point before leaving, but an airlock in the water tank blows back and Ali gets a big soaking. Our drive takes us over a gorge, then down its steep sides on a road limited to 25mph in places. In the massive valley are smaller mountains and a few waterfalls. Once we leave the gorge and the high alps,...

We got up planning to leave but decided the alpine air was too good to not stick around and enjoy. N+G went off on the motorbike and we wandered into town. The road runs alongside a fast flowing stream, although in melt-water time it would be a torrent. Kayaks and rafts tumble downstream and every now and then a minibus with trailer passes by to fetch them at the end of their run. The town is a quaint muddle of narrow lanes flanked by chalet houses with...