Neither of us are feeling so good this morning, both slightly upset tummies, possibly a result of the fridge playing up. There is more thunder and rain and it's hot and oppressive. Intending to head north, we have to somehow get around or through Lyon. We explore all sorts of options, programming Snoopy 'til his chips hurt and we've bickered. Every route is a compromise between time and distance and in the end we opt for the default, assuming the through-traf...

Much cooler this morning, cloudy and the thunder still rumbles now and then. We get out and fix the rear light but changing the brake light bulb entails removing and dismantling the entire light cluster. Not long after it's all back together the thunder gets louder, there are a few flashes of lightning and some big raindrops. Within ten minutes it's raining lightly but steadily. Undeterred we put on waterproofs and go into the 'commercial centre', which consis...

We are awake at first light, in time to see the sky change colour and the sun climb out of bed behind the Alps. Ali sits out on the step, photographing every nuance, and idly remembering when we collected Mary*Lou that Paul warned us the step-well could be a hazard. Strange how the mind drifts. This morning the valley is grey with early mist and the river is a silvery ribbon. As Silvie told us last night, you can never tire of this view in all its moods. Ami...

We tidy up while it is still a cool 24C, say farewell to the owner, whose name we never did learn, and set off towards the Rhone valley. The road seems much less winding and narrow now we are in a fresher state of mind. Valvigneres is still tiny and the next town St Thome, perched on a mound, is so small that blink and you'd miss it. We reach the main D68 heading north through numerous towns on the west side of the Rhone. We stop briefly in a couple of them n...

A beautiful morning when we wake. The owner comes to work and Ali goes to ask if we can stay another night. As long as you like is his reply. He tells us he does not like working on Sunday but he has a large shipment to prepare for Tuesday when a truck will take 30 pallets to Montelimar to be carried by barge to Paris. He has 3 or 4 of these consignments a year. We set off with Ali's bike on the way towards Gras. The road climbs to 336m giving a fantastic ...