The day starts well enough with weak sun and clouds. We watch the sparrows flitting in and out of the long grass in front of us. Before they land, they all stop and hover a few seconds then plunge into the cover. A few fishermen are out on the banks, and the canal and lock house look good. We service the vans, say goodbye to Nick and Grete and go our separate ways. First stop for us is fuel at the nearby supermarket. There is a laundromat here too with a hu...

Parked as we were we didn't need to close the front curtains so we wake to a lovely sunrise and watch rabbits running about. We also see a couple of green woodpeckers and various finches, plus of course the beautiful deer. Today we have a 150 mile drive but a good bit of it is either dead straight main roads [wake me up when you see a corner coming] and dual carriageway past Orleans, Le Mans and Rennes. At 16:00 we cross the canal du Rance, turn in by the lock...

This morning there are a few showers and it is cooler but brightens mid morning. Nick stays with the vans while the others go for a look around St Fargeau before heading off. As we leave town a line of classic American cars passes by. Soon after we start off the showers return making the journey fairly uninteresting until our lunch stop in Briare. We drive over the narrow bridge crossing the canal and find another group of American cars. They are on a weeken...

Although we planned an early start none of us get moving very quickly this morning. Ali and Grete pop across to Leclerc for a few things then we drive there to refuel at €1.18. There is another surprise when we get cash from an ATM @ €1.23 [Trump has just pulled out of 2015 Paris climate agreement] so fuel down, euro up, nice work Donald! We have a 30 mile ride to another place we visited last year, Chantier Guedelon, where a medieval castle is being buil...

Last night's 'storm' came to nothing but this morning is fresh and cool. We discover the service point is free so make use of it before setting off to Auxerre. Yet another pretty cross country ride including the drive through Avallon, which looks really interesting with its chateau and warm stone buildings. There are two camperstops so it has gone down as one to do another time. We reach Auxerre and park in the riverside car park just in time for lunch then h...