With the weather deteriorating in France it was time to head towards the sunshine.

We’ve tried not to visit a place twice, however we couldn’t miss an opportunity to spend a day in San Sebastián.

Spain is renowned for its excellent tapas but the small plates of food, generally on sticks, known as pintxos are a speciality here.

We spent a wonderful day pintxos bar hopping, trying out as many of them as we could. We were not disappointed by any. Delicious plates of all sorts of food, washed down with a glass of local white wine, all extremely reasonably priced.

We finished the day with a couple of glasses of local vermouth. A good day had by all!

Sarlat La Caneda was recommended to us by some friends so we headed there next.

A well preserved 14th century medieval town, described as one of the most famous in the Dordogne region, and one of the most attractive.

Before exploring the washing had to be done, life on the road has its mundane parts too! Thankfully a sunny day.

Feeling energetic we decided to cycle to La Roque Gargeac the next day. A rather hilly 20km via Vitrac to get there but was worth it.

We found a beautiful village set in the rock, on the banks of the Dordogne river.

We cycled through the French countryside, full of walnut trees and saw many stunning French houses.

Cycling really is a great way to see so much more of a place. (I had to keep reminding myself of that as the cycle back was equally as hilly and challenging!)

We toured Sarlat the next day, on foot, and the market was in full swing. A thriving square with all things local. Cheese, foie gras, duck, walnuts and much much more.

We followed the recommended tour from the tourist information office.

It led us to street after street of medieval buildings, which were built for the wealthy merchants who lived in this busy market town, whose history dates back to the 9th century.

We had lunch in a cafe and tried the local gateau au noix, a rather scrummy caramel walnut tart!

The weather was a mix of sunshine and showers so we found a comfy sheltered spot and drank rose and watched the world go by!

We headed from Le Mans to the Dordogne and stopped at Montignac-Lascaux.

This 14th century village is in a beautiful setting on the Vézère River, perfect for kayaking apparently, but we didn’t partake this time 😉.

We walked the town, and followed a tourist map to see the highlights and get the best views.

A little cycle was next, all uphill, to the Lascaux caves, which is Montignac’s most famous feature.

We had an excellent tour guide and the experience was really enlightening. The caves were found in 1941 by a local man and house hundreds of cave art paintings over 21,000 years old!

The caves have been closed to the public as the million or so people that visited when it was open had a detrimental effect on its environment (producing damaging calcite) so an exact replica was built, which is what we toured.

The reconstructed cave took six years to paint. Montignac is the home of the most famous cave artists today who carry out this work for many other sites.

The paintings are all of animals of the day (bison, deer, bear, cow, horse, goat), they are detailed, large (one of the bulls is 5m long) and are artistic works in their own right. Little is known about why they were painted or what some of the symbolism means, all of which adds to the experience.

No photos were allowed in the caves so to see you’ll have to visit. For a meagre €14 per person it’s money well spent!

We enjoyed the evening frequenting a few bars, of which there are many, and sampled the duck for dinner.

We decided to stay another night to have some time to chill and also watch a local derby rugby match, Montignac vs Perigueux. Was a great game, the home side won, and the crowd were a little feisty at times.

The French are passionate about their rugby!

As only a little drive from Paris, Le Mans had to be our next stop, such an iconic place.

The medieval city sits high above the new town with its crowning glory being the stunning St Julien cathedral.

It has an amazing amount of stained glass windows which stream light throughout the building. Our photos could not do it justice. The city’s first bishop was Saint Julian of Le Mans, who lived there around the middle of the 3rd century.

The cobbled streets are lined with timber framed buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. The city is the birthplace of the Henry II, first Plantagenet King of England.

Steeped in history, we were glad we visited.

Next stop, the 24 Hour Le Mans Museum and Circuit. Only a short twenty minute drive outside of the town.

The museum is filled with interesting facts about the race, it’s history and houses many of the cars that took part from all era’s.

We were lucky enough to see some Porsche racing on the track and take in all the well photographed views of one of the most famous race tracks in the world.

Le Mans is definitely one to visit!

After a day sat outside Bettine, watching the amazing spectacle of the Queens funeral, we were ready for a full final day of sightseeing.

Glad to say trains had returned to normal so our trip into the city was without stress!

First stop, Louvre, for the photos you have to take when in Paris 😉

We walked along the Seine, past Musee D’orsay, along to Pont Neuf. Some stunning views en-route.

We love to wander through the streets of a city without too much of a plan and the Latin Quarter was a great place to do this.

The oldest district in Paris, it is home to the Sorbonne university and many, many bookshops and of course, the under repair, Notre Dame Cathedral.

It was sad to see Notre Dame in its current state.

Shakespeare & Company is ‘arguably the most famous independent bookstore in the world’, a meeting place for writers for over 70 years. Hemingway, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald have frequented it’s rooms.

We sat in a cafe, on a beautiful square, close to Hemingway’s apartment, with the sun shining and a carafe of Brouilly, watching the world go by.

We ate cheese & a freshly baked baguette washed down with a glass of red on the banks of the Seine.

Our last stop was the beautiful Galeries Lafayette which is a spectacle in its own right. It also has an amazing rooftop terrace where we took in our final views of this amazing city!

“Paris has many souls: one per arrondissement, Montmartre is perhaps the best known, the one that makes people dream, the most bohemian one”

We had another interesting journey into the city, our metro line wasn’t working so, yet again, we weaved our way around the tram system to Pigalle and walked up the steep hill to the artist village of Montmarte.

We followed a walking tour from GPSmyCity (found this to be a great app), meandering through all the iconic sites, soaking up the atmosphere.

One of the highlights was The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris – Sacré-Cœur. Beautiful inside and out, it’s the second highest point in Paris, was completed in 1914 and the second most visited church after Notre Dame Cathedral.

We ascended the 297 steps to the top to get an amazing view of the city!

We visited the famous cafes, artist haunts, watched street artists perform and of course drank wine!

We loved the vibe here, Montmartre certainly is full of charm!

Our next stop was the Musée de l’Orangerie to see Monet’s Water Lilies. We had no idea of the scale of them and sitting in the gallery surrounded by his most famous works was certainly a ‘must do’ experience!

We chose Paris as our first stop. We have both spent time here but not together seeing the sights.

We picked a site a thirty minute train ride outside Paris, and set off into the city. What an adventure we had! The trains were not running to plan and we spent over an hour negotiating the Paris train network before finally reaching the city. All character building stuff 😉.

Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower then, making the most of the sunny afternoon, we strolled along the Seine, walked down the beautifully tree lined Champs-Élysées, admired the rich and smartly dressed on the Rue de Rivoli, and passed the Place de la Concorde.

We found an excellent authentic French cuisine restaurant for dinner, Bistrot Victories, well earned after a 10km walk. Food and wine were delicious and waiters were very entertaining.

Finished off the evening with a stroll to the opera house and randomly passed the home of the Emily in Paris marketing agency. A program we both loved in lockdown!

A great first day in Paris!

Feeling very excited as we wait for our train. Heading off for nearly twelve weeks without too much of a plan.

We had a lovely send off thanks to our wonderful families. A last meal with our hosts, Shirley and David, who without their support our travels would not be possible.

Followed by a stop at Aunty Jane’s for a send off glass of wine and a shepherds pie.

Always a fabulous way to start our trip!

Au revoir l’angleterre 🇬🇧

Time to check we are within our weight limits. Part of the packing challenge is to make sure we are within the legal limits set, we risk fines and insurance being invalid if we are overweight.

Always a nerve wracking time – but thankfully all good and with kg’s to spare!

Might just add a few more clothes 😉.

Four days to go and frantically trying to pack only the necessities which is proving a challenge.

As we’ve done a couple of tours now it’s not so daunting but choosing what to take to wear always is .

We catch the train on 16th from Folkestone to Calais. Heading southwards without any real plan. Can’t wait to be on the road again.