Our first job today was the dreaded deed of sorting all our stuff out so we can carry it tomorrow to get the train to London after dropping the car off in Paris. It wasn't as bad as we thought once we got started and we haven't really bought much anyway. Walked into town and had a coffee and croissant before walking around and enjoying the town. Did a tour of the Moët & Chandon house and it was really interesting. They have 28km of underground tunnels, caves...

Up after a very fitful sleep by both of us. Maybe it's the thought of having to pack up getting to us. Had a lovely coffee and French pastry at a local cafe before heading off to Epernay, in Champagne Region. Again decided to miss the toll roads and had a lovely drive through rural France. Lots of military cemeteries from both WW1 & WW11. Part of the way was following the "Route of Liberty" from 1944 when the allied forces liberated France. Arrived Epernay a...

Left Freiburg after a lovely breakfast that was included in the room rate. Headed for France dodging the toll roads but Ken got a bit confused with a closed road and sent us through a tunnel that cost us 7.90 euros. Arrived in Metz and even more confusion with road closures. We finished up having a really good look through all the pedestrian shopping malls but unfortunately we were driving through them. See today's photo as that is the street that we actually man...

A day of general maintenance around the house and of course lots of eating and drinking as well as watching the tennis. The Deacon's neighbours came over for a drink on their way to the local pub. An executive decision was made after the tennis that we would make the trek to the pub. Differing opinions from Chrissie and Rick as to the length of the walk, ranging from 20 mins to 1 hr. unfortunately Rick was right ,53 mins and 2.97 MILES! A decent walk just for a d...

Miserable weather so a nice long sleep in. Went for a drive to Gourdon, a lovely medieval town and did the walking tour ourselves. Wonderful old church and tiny cobblestone streets with remnants of the city wall. Fantastic views from the top of what was the original fort. Back to L'ermitage for yet more wine and food. I can't believe how much food and drink has been consumed since we arrived here, we really must control ourselves once we get on the road or our li...