We've had a couple days of not making much distance, but it's no good continually travelling. Today we'll get back on track heading for Pradelles.
St-Eloy-les-Mines is shrouded with light, early morning mist when we leave and take the D2144 towards Clermont Ferrand. We're heading into a region of extinct volcanoes and the roads follow long, long climbs and descents.
Once we pass Clermont Ferrand we start to see the conical hills and pinnacles of volcanic rock. Many of the summits and pinnacles have some sort of tower or chateau or church built on them but it's all in silhouette. Without the haze it would be even more impressive.
When we pull into a service area for lunch we are intrigued by a man banging a wine bottle on a tree. He goes to the picnic table and attacks it with a fork handle. They've brought a picnic but no corkscrew. Ali takes ours over to them before he does himself some harm. We are offered a glass of wine but decline, and they get on with their picnic while we have our sandwiches.
It's a sunny afternoon as we continue south with the temperature reaching 17C in places. Then there are more long gradients towards Le Puy en Velay.
There are far fewer trees here, it's mostly rolling plateau of dark, wet soil tinged green with new growth. Numerous signs advertise the famous Puy lentils produced here and it occurs to us we don't know how they grow; is it like pea pods? barley heads, seed capsules? we'll have to find out.
We reach Pradelles and find the aire we stayed in on our first grand tour in 2014. Our intention was to go down into the town 1km away as it looked quite attractive when we came through before. But once we are parked we realise that despite the sun, the temperature is only 7C and it's blowing force 4-5, so we stay in and watch the poor couple whose fairly new Hymer is being winched onto a breakdown truck.
A sign we are at higher altiude; Ali's blow-up globe has grown and jammed in the cupboard.

CD of the day: Tina Turner - Foreign Affair
Dinner: Pork chops, apple, onion and mash