Provence 28th of September - 5th of October 24

Saturday 28th of September

An early start!

Ugh! I did not appreciate the alarm going off at 2.30am this morning. I just wanted to turn over and go back to sleep! We were showered, dressed and ready for the off by 3.30am, as Google Maps had informed me it would take three hours to get to Folkestone. As usual, a lot of the roads were closed.

We set off, taking the A14, the M11, the M25 and then the M20. The traffic was light and we made it to the Shuttle terminal by 6am. It was a cold morning, and the temperature went down to 3.5c at one point. Keith was wearing shorts!

When we checked in, we were given the option of taking an earlier train which we accepted. However, when the ticket printed out, we were on the one we had booked! After a quick visit to use the facilities, we had a coffee and a pastry in the car, and one of the staff knocked on the window to say we could make our way to passport control.

Luckily, we weren't pulled over for a security check and soon passed through both the UK and French passport controls. We were told to take Lane 1 and wait, so I had a little nap!

Keith said that we actually made it onto an earlier train, and as soon as we were parked up, I put my seat back and slept for the entire crossing. I love the motion of the train!

Sunny France

In Calais, the sun was shining and the temperature had risen. We took the autoroute towards Reims and stopped at the first aire we came to for petrol and coffee. There were Brits everywhere as this was the first stop where you could get refreshments and fuel since Calais. One family had lost a mobile telephone and asked us if we'd seen it as they'd been sitting where we were. We helped them look, but I'm not sure if they ever found it.

The journey continued on the quiet A26, and Keith was delighted to spot buzzards sitting on the fence. We still have no idea why they sit there! On both sides of the autoroute, the countryside stretched away to the horizon, and we saw ranks of wind turbines, turning slowly in the breeze.

Before we turned off the autoroute, we stopped for lunch at a busy aire. We had several options for food, but in the end, we picked sandwiches, a bag of crisps and water. There were a lot of Belgians on the road, a smattering of Germans and some Dutch, all of us heading south to cling onto the summer for a little while longer!

At Troyes, we turned off the autoroute and took the D444 to Tonnerre. It was a quiet road, passing through densely wooded sections and pretty villages full of gorgeous houses. The sun was shining after the earlier showers and we enjoyed looking at the scenery.

The road to nowhere

Trish, unable to contain herself any longer, took us off the D444 and onto a road so small it didn't feature on our map (we'd had to splash out on another French map as we'd mislaid the one at home). We didn't see another vehicle, but I was dreading meeting a huge tractor because of the narrow road! There were no hedgerows, so we could see for miles over the gently rolling Burgundian landscape.

After this little detour through the empty French countryside, we turned onto the D944 and were soon in the town of Tonnerre, our home for the night. I had stayed here back in 1980 with my parents when we were on our way back from Spain, but I didn't recognise the town at all. Trish redeemed herself and took us straight to the door of our Airbnb, but we had to park opposite. The house was on a quiet residential street of very old buildings, most of them crumbling, with old wooden shutters.

The hosts had messaged us with the code, which Sophie tried to put in several times, to no avail. It was 3pm, and we would have appreciated being able to get into the house and freshen up. It was only when I had a good look at the message that I saw the code was available "for the duration of our visit", i.e. 4pm this afternoon until midday tomorrow.

We decided to head for Chablis, a short distance away and a village I'd been keen to visit ever since I started enjoying wine. We drove along quiet roads, seeing fields of wizened sunflowers, their heads drooping, and hillsides covered in vines. Signs started appearing advertising Chablis producers and a lovely word - Dégustation!

Wine shopping!

Trish took us to the outskirts of Chablis where I was able to photograph Sophie with the sign:

We parked in the centre of Chablis and walked to a bar where we were able to sit in the sun. The good people of Chablis were dressed for Autumn in padded coats and trousers, but we were still clinging onto summer by our fingernails!

Keith enjoyed a Grimbergen beer while Sophie and I ordered glasses of Chablis. The waiter served the wine in tiny glasses, even smaller than our 125ml measures at home. Sophie wasn't keen as she said it was acidic, but it had to be done!

We sat and enjoyed the sunshine, but when it disappeared behind clouds, and the wind blew, it was a little chilly! A group of young British men came along, and we think they were on an upmarket stag do, as they were very posh indeed!

After we'd finished our drinks and paid the reasonable 11 euro bill, we popped into a pharmacy opposite so Keith could buy a pair of reading glasses. The ones he'd bought the other day had fallen into pieces in the car as he'd got them out to study the map!

Keith then returned to the car while Sophie and I visited the shops.

"Return the sausages!"

We found a delightful shop selling wine and local produce and bought a bottle of wine each. Sophie spotted a white from Tonnerre (I didn't know the town produced wine!) and I bought a Petit Chablis from old vines. We also chose a box of savoury biscuits and a jar of Dijon mustard with basil.

The town was delightful and the buildings were made of gorgeous local stone. Maybe, next time, we'll stop here! We headed back to Tonnerre and this time the code worked perfectly and we were able to park right outside the house. We were very pleased with the Airbnb - there are three bedrooms (one on the ground floor), two shower rooms, a large open-plan kitchen/diner/living room, and a tiny outside terrace.

Huge bathroom!

One of the bedrooms

We unloaded some of the bags from the car and showered. I had already booked a table at a local restaurant called Le Chat Qui Reve (The Dreaming Cat) for 7.30pm. It was a five-minute walk away and we were surprised at how quiet the town was. Walking along the silent streets, we noticed that it appeared a little run-down with some of the houses in a state of dilapidation. Looming over the town was a huge church and a flowing river rushed through the middle of the streets.

An old carpet shop?

Unusual dishes!

We think that the woman who owned the restaurant was Eastern European originally as lots of different dishes were featured on the menu. This was brought out on a large blackboard and she went through every dish with the diners. She was explaining the dishes to an American couple when we arrived.

We chose aperitifs - a strong Polish beer for Keith, and two glasses of fizz for Sophie and me. She then brought over the blackboard and explained everything in French. We managed to understand most of it and made our choices - a charcuterie board to share, beef goulash for Keith and a chicken dish "served with lots of onions" for Sophie and me. She spoke clearly, which was an enormous help! There were no vegetarian dishes on the menu and during the time we were there, a lot of diners ordered the snails.

I chose a bottle of Petit Chablis for Soph and me to drink while Keith stuck to beer. There had only been two tables occupied when we arrived, but gradually the restaurant filled up until the place was full. The diners were mostly French older couples and there was a lovely atmosphere.

The charcuterie board was delicious, served with crusty bread (no butter as usual), little gherkins, tomatoes and a pickled silverskin onion. Our mains were equally delicious and both dishes were served with rice. Of vegetables, there were none...

We all managed to squeeze in a pear and apple crumble for pud and paid the bill, which was about 140 euros. By now, we were all shattered, and we walked back through the silent streets, looking up at lit windows and wondering about the people who lived in the houses. It wasn't late, but the town had a very sleepy air about it!

After trying to get Netflix on the television for half an hour we gave up and retired to bed. It had been a very long day!