Having driven for a while we were keen to stop. We noticed the sign for an aire at Nixville Blercourt near Verdun and decided to give it a go. €6/night incl electric and water... bargain but in a farmyard. As you can see from the photo, not exactly picturesque but we were only bedding down for the night and funnily enough we both liked it for some reason.

Took in Riquewihr and Ribeauville enroute to Bergsheim a lovely old walled town dating back to the middle ages. Stayed in camping Vinobles, only 6 spaces in the back garden of a house, very quaint.

Picture of the historic houses of Equisheim. Having driven into Colmar and parked in the old quarter we decided to give it a miss. The town was not as expected, it looked more like a inner city suburb than a historic city. Went back to the camp and did a walk up to Les Trois Chateaux 3 ruins in the hills above Equisheim. Walked through vineyards and villages, lovely. Boiling hot day, was glad to get back for a cold one.

Arrived at Camping Hortensius after a somewhat adventurous drive. My fault really as I'd told the Satnav to ignore toll roads, thinking we would be taking scenic back roads and enjoying the relative peace and quiet, oh contraire! We were taken via Lille with six lane intersections, the driving was like being at the dodgems, cars were coming from all directions and the satnav kept cutting out arggh (so much for the software update before leaving). It makes me w...