Thursday. Arrived on French soil at 3.am in the morning and head down to Meyrueis. Stopped at a service station for breakfast, and lunch at an inn. Arrived in Meyrueis at about 6.00 Wonderful mountainous scenery.

Friday. Drone to the Grotte de Dargilan. (pink grotto). Very interesting. On to Millau for lunch and a grockle around the streets. Museum with dolls and glove making and Roman remains. Visited the supermarket and then back to the tent for a barbeque. The Couriers dropped by and we drank Pernod until 11.00

Saturday. Off to Abime du Bramabiau, under ground river. Picnic in a clearing in the forest. Then on to view Mount Aigoual. More butterflies and flows. Back to the campsite to swim.

Sunday. Not a great deal today. Lunch with 12 people from the campsite in the village. Selina’s new friend, Sally, walked home with the courier. Swimming and supper.

Monday. Aven Armand in the morning. A spectacular cave. Drove to Flora where we bought lunch ingredients. On the way back to Meyrueis we stopped to look over the gorge. Spectacular!

Tuesday. Went to see Vultures in the morning. We found a nest and watched with some hired binoculars. We drove onto Rodez and then back to Meyrueis on minor roads. We saw nine vultures flying. We played boules against Sally’s parents but lost 11-13. Barbeque supper.

Wednesday. We headed up North to Ebreuil. It was very hot when we arrived. There were a tabby cat and her kittens, peacocks and a river. We had lunch beside the road, a quick shop before arriving at the campsite.

Thursday. Selina made a decorated wooden box at an organised session onsite. Took her two hours. Drove to Servant for lunch in a cafe. Five courses. Selina ate something of everything. After lunch, we went to Charroux a supposed medieval town built on a circular plan. Very hot, not much supper for anyone back at the site.

Friday. Today off to see the volcanoes and some more wonderful flowers, including tint pansies, and also very tall pale blue daisy-like ones. Swallow tale butterflies were around. We stopped at Mont-Dore, a ski resort. Selina bought a dolphin on a string. Later she lost it by the lake, sobs all around. We drove back by another route and caught a bus up the Puy de Dome. wonderful views over the other volcanoes. Pizza at the campsite and played boule.

Saturday. Tremendous thunderstorm during the night. Drove to Gannat, there bought my dad a swiss army knife. On to Vichy to a supermarket to cool off from the sun. drops of rain during supper.

Sunday. Selina went off to make a T-shirt. Came back sobbing. She had caught a falling hot iron. In the afternoon to escape the heat, we went swimming in the river at Ebreuil. The river is dammed here to make a pool. It also has a sandy beach.

Monday. Today Selina made a dragon box in the morning. The afternoon was a canoe trim. at 2.30 we assembled and were taken by car to Chateauneuf-Les-Bois (can’t find this on the map, wonder if it was Chateauneuf-Les-Baines ) We waited with a girl, while they organisers went back to get her a single canoe. nice trip down the river. At a rapid, we capsized. Selina was scared, and we told her to put her feet down and stand. It was very shallow. Back to Le Pont de Manat. The nearby Château Roche looked stunning from the river. Steve and I felt tired in the evening, but Selina, recovered, was off playing.

Tuesday. Drove to Chenonceaux. The drive was uneventful. Stopped at a Le Routier for lunch. Absolute rubbish food. The new site was rather large, but the showers were good. Our tent was called Mole Villa. In bed we could hear the Son et Lumiere from Chenonceaux. Steve thought it was a noisy neighbour.

Wednesday. Visited Amboise, Château du Clos Lucé. This is Leonardo Da Vinci’s house where he died. Lunch of crepes on the grounds. There were large scale models of Leonardo’s machines built by IBM. We also visited the Château Royal. The tour was in French and difficult to follow. Wonderful tapestries. We also saw the Vouvray wine museum, complete with a tasting. as good as Champagne, but cheaper. Selina spent the evening playing with some German children.

Thursday. At Azay-le-Rideau we saw a very pretty chateau, but it did not have much inside, other than 2-3 good tapestries. At least no French guided tour. It also looked in need of a good cleaning and repairs. Picnic lunch next to the Loire. On to Château d’Ussé, but at 49F for a French guided tour, we decided no. Finally onto Villandry with its fabulous gardens. We then drove back to the campsite. Selina playing and swimming with the German children.

Friday. Off to Bléré for the market, but it did not start until the afternoon. all else fails, we grockled and consumed a few beers. After a nice lunch in the village of Chenonceaux, we toured the chateaux. Again the house was somewhat empty and HOT.

Saturday. Packed up and left for home.