On the Road Again!

Flickr photo album I've uploaded a few pix to the flickr "set".

Another early start after breakfast. Firstly across to the market in Orange and then off northwards on the A7. We had bought some mushroom pizza and apricot flan at the market so we could stop whenever. A coffee stop after about 100 miles in a new services and then towards Lyon and into solid traffic. I re-programmed TomTom and we were then taken on a massive loop via Bourg en Bresse and then through the centre of Chalons sur Saone! Thanks TomTom. The extra 60 miles is one thing but the latter was terrible. On the way we passed a restaurant that might do a lot of chicken! Crossing the Saone near Tournus, a few miles short of Chalons en Champagne. Tournus Vines outside Beaune We eventually arrived in Beaune just before 4pm. Our lunch stop was somewhere east of Lyon. We had time to book in and then walk into town. The Hotel Bellevue is nice but the wifi doesn't work and isn't as near the centre as I had anticipated. The staff however were excellent. And the "small world...

Day 4. Sunny. The plan today was to do the Roman theatre and the other roman sites in Orange. So after breakfast we were out just after 9.30am for the short walk round to the theatre. The main wall facade can only be seen in photographs as France 2 TV station has lined the entire wall with portababins to house the crew and entertainers at the many concerts, both opera and musical that take place during the summer. The €9 entry fee gets the free audioguide and entry into the theatre and also to the museum across the road. We spent a good few hours going from one audioguide spot to the next as it took us up rows and rows of steps to the top. The main wall is the original as is the upper where it is built into the hillside, but much of the seating was replaced by the Victorians as it had been looted over the 1500 years since the Roman empire had failed. The job has been done very well as it looked to fit right in. In fast, only the first three rows are Roman originals. In the "caves...

Unusually for us we were packed and the car was loaded well before the "off". The night before I had spent some time checking the route for today and loading all the itinerary files on to the TomTom. As my maps are fully up to date we will use the Rider again. With the optional car kit it works very well. The DFDS ferry is the 1200 from Dover and to avoid hold ups our expected departure time from home was 1000, we arrived Dover and were checked in by 1010! After a Costa Coffee in the quayside building we were loaded and by 1145 ensconced in the forward lounge,with its conservatory windows, so we can watch the sea whizz past on the two hour crossing to Dunkerque. Kindles fully charged to see off the journey!! The crossing went okay and we were off at 1520 local time into France. Judging by the wet in the fields they have had the same rain as us! I planned a slight detour on the way to avoid the toll A26 motorway.  This took us down the A25 to Lille and the to Douai and Cambrai...

New blog for this trip to France . Seemed like a good idea!!   Later changed to:  http://devalltravel.blogspot.com/search/label/orange

The plan so far is: Day 1 - Home to St Quentin in Picardy Day 2 - St Q to Dijon Day 3 - Dijon to Orange Day 4 - Orange Day 5 - Orange to Epernay Day 6 - Epernay Day 7 - Epernay to Home. Not a bad trip up and down the east side of France.

Why not? We wanted a trip to France where we might get a chance to see the sun.  Last year we "did" lower Normandy and to he honest the weather was superb most of the time. At one point near Disney Europe we had 40 deg. on the temperature gauge in the CC. Previous years in northern France haven't always been that marvelous. So we decided it should be Provence this year. Provence is quite a long way, so maybe just the top?  Orange looks to have a few Roman antiquities and Avignon is nearby. So Destination Orange is born. The method of travel will be the Peugeot 207CC, Again.