There is no mist today but it is very cold until the sun comes up. We water up and say goodbye to Claudie then set off for a scenic drive in the direction of Pau. After our two long days on busy motorways before Christmas, a cross-country bimble is just wat we want. The road climbs and falls around verdant hills and soon we start to see signs for vineyards producing the speciality of Landes and Geres, Armagnac. Buildings here have their own style too;...

No one is in much hurry to move this morning. It is cold and there is a thick mist but the sun is trying to break through. Around 11:00 Nick + Grete take the motorbike and we set off for a walk into Meilhane sur Garonne, repeating the route we did last July. Gone are all the sunflowers and wheat we saw then and all the fields look shabby in their winter weeds, and summer smells have been replaced with wood-smoke from farmhouse fires. When we reach the can...

The fields are blanketed in mist when we wake but soon the sun comes up and the temperature rises steadily to 15 deg. We unpack the stockings Nick and Grete gave us last night, lovely little gifts like fig jam, truffle paste, trivia card game and traditional apple and tangerine. We have salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast then start preparing our dinner. Cooking in both vans turns out a full Christmas dinner of turkey crown with stuffing and pigs-in-...

There is a lovely sunrise but when we leave the rain has started. We stop in Ruffec for a quick shop and some fuel the head down the dual carriageway towards Bordaux. Showers give way to sunshine and by the time we stop for lunch it is 14 deg and very sunny. As a bonus the aire we stop in has a service point so we slop out before continuing south. An accident causes some queueing around Bordeaux and we have another short delay when we take the wrong exit. ...

The cattle are lowing when we wake up. It's nippy and there is a light frost when the sun rises big and orange over the Seine. A large cargo ship rumbles past as we have breakfast. This is a lovely stop and we'd love to stay longer but we have a long drive ahead and we're all ready to go at 10:15 A quick detour to refuel then we join the toll roads for most of the next 240 miles. Traffic is generally light and the scenery is beautiful with brilliant green...