SUNDAY 16 SEPTEMBER It was a beautiful, crisp morning. Bill and I walked to the Boulangerie to get some bread and croissants. After breakfast we cycled into Auxerre and visited some of the monuments and places of interest which were open for this day only. We lunched at a restaurant in the main square and then had a look around the town and walked back to our bikes and cycled the 6 miles home. We found a fairly good aire in the centre of town, just over the footbridge. There were no facilities, but space for a lot of vans. In the evening we sat out and snacked and drank some wine. SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER We were meeting Tom and Ruth, friends of Bill and Carole, at an Aire at Gurgy at 12 noon. We decided to do some shopping on the way. We stopped at an Intermache at Sens and did our shopping and then arrived at the aire shortly after 12. We had lunch and then cycled 7 miles down the river to Auxere. The route was a bit bumpy and at Auxere they were renovating the river front, so it was quite difficult cycling but we found the tourist info and got some useful cycling literature on the Voie verts in Burgudy. We had a look at a camp site in Auxerre, which had just closed for the winter and then cycled back to Gurgy. It was a beautiful evening and we had our meal outside and stayed out until dark. FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER It was a beautiful morning. We had a walk round Mutigny, a small village with a number of champagne producers. The village is high with fantastic views over the surrounding area. Just as we were returning to the van Babs managed to stop the bread delivery van, so we got some bread and then had Kafe und Kuchen. We then drove to Troyes and had our lunch. The city had obviously been badly damaged during the war, but a surprising number of medieval properties had survived and were in remarkable condition. We went to the Tourist Info and found there was a Knights Templar exhibition in town so we had a nice stroll through the town and went round the exhibition. Having watched a BBC series earkier in the year we knew something of the history, but it was interesting to absorb the very French take on its history. We then drove to a France Passion Champagne producer at Torvilliers. As usual it was very hard to find. We parked up and then very shortly afterwards 3 other vans arrived, so we felt we were in the right spot. THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER We had a quick visit to the farm shop and bought some cider and confiture de lait, a sweet brown milk based type of jam. We then drove to Laon, which is a medieval walled town right on top of a hill. It is a typical French medieval city with much charm. We walked round and visited the marvellous cathedral. We walked round the shops and returned to the van for lunch and then headed to an aire at Mareuil sur Ay. It was a really nice aire in the centre of a village next to the canal. Unfortunately it was full, so we set off up a steep hill to Mutigny, a champaigne village where we spent the night on a very nice aire. WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER We met Bill and Carole at the ferry terminal at Dover at 9. It was a very calm crossing and we sat and planned our route down to Burgundy. We decided to do it in 3 stages and decided to stay at a farm at a place called Sains Richaumont north of Laon and Reims and about 120 miles. We followed Bill. Horace has never travelled so fast, reaching speeds of over 70 mph! The farm sold meat, cider and milk products, which we will sample tomorrow. We camped up, had a couple of bottles of wine, a buffet meal, a long chat and off to bed. TUESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER We left Alderstead Heath and explored the route we would use when we come next time. It’s a bit fiddly, but we managed to find it. Basically, coming, we need to go M25, A23 do a U turn at the turn off indicated by TomTom and then back down the A23 towards Redhill, go past the M23 turn off and turn left down the B2031. There is a caravan sign before the turn off. We drove to the National Trust garden at Emmets Garden, about 20 miles from the site. It was a very nice location. We enjoyed a really nice lunch and I had the best scones ever. We spent a couple of hours walking round the gardens and then drove to the Black Horse Farm site near Dover ready for an early start on the ferry tomorrow, when we meet Bill and Carole. MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER Having cooled down somewhat we decided to have a day in London. Steve had mentioned that his daughter was working at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Covent Garden. Steve sent me a text confirming that Amy was working at lunchtime, so we decided to head there. The Olympic closing parade was planned for the afternoon and we decided to watch that after lunch. We had a great lunch and Amy really looked after us. We then watched the parade. There were a million people watching and the atmosphere was brilliant. We then got the tube to the Olympic Park and had a look before it was dismantled. We took some photos and had a look around the new shopping centre at Stratford. We arrived back at the van at about 7 exhausted after a brilliant day. Tomorrow is going to be relaxing, though! SUNDAY 8 SEPTEMBER We drove to Polesdon Lacy (NT), which was a lovely venue dating back to the Edwardian era. The house was really interesting and owned by the daughter of the McEwan brewing family. As usual we didn’t have too long to look around. We left early for the campsite at Alderstead Heath, which is a great campsite, but surrounded by very, very narrow roads. The Tomtom always takes us the wrong way and we had a nightmare journey. We must have gone 20 miles out of our way and at one stage had to back up and turn round when the road was blocked by parked vans. The air was blue and the driver very hot under the collar, so much for relaxing motorhoming!