Hotel Henri II
A good nights sleep at the Hotel Henri II and an excellent breakfast. A buffet style service, offered plenty of of good quality choice. I filled a bowl with mixed fresh fruit and added a variety of nuts and seeds. I couldn’t resist the assortment of French bread and croissants to which I added 4 types of cheese and ham. When the cheese board contains 15 varieties only taking 4 seemed quite abstemious. I also placed two types of jam on my plate, orange from Provence and pear with spice, from a selection of more than 20 varieties.
At the end of the meal I knew I wouldn’t need lunch.
Beaune to Grenoble
We had very little charge left on the car and we needed supplies for when we arrived in La Colle so we decided to drive to the Beaune LeClerc, charge up and get our essentials for the next couple of days. €200 later we set off south. On our way to Lyon we couldn’t decided whether to take the A6 south and then continue along the A8. This way is very fast if there are no hold ups. I worried that on Saturday morning in July this route could end up a disaster. Maggi and I tossed around the idea of whether to go via Grenoble and through the Alps or follow the Rhine south.
We ended up choosing the mountainous route thanks to a little prodding from Adam as well. This route that took us towards and through Grenoble and then on to Sisteeron provides some magnificent views for the traveller, but it is very tiring for the driver. Maggi took over the driving at Grenoble and drove on to Sisteron. I replaced her at Sisteron and we then arrived back at La Colle at 7:15 pm. From leaving our hotel at 9:15 we had been on the road for 8 hours.
In the mountains
The journey through the mountains had a times been spectacular which makes you think how lucky we are to be able to experience such wonders of nature. On the other hand flying down from London doesn’t provide much of a spiritual experience, but it’s a lot less tiring and expensive.
The house
All was well when we entered our property. The pool looked good. The agapanthus had bloomed, None of the plants looked like they had died because of a lack of watering so Maggi was happy. The repair work that I had organised with AXA had taken place the week before last and had finished the previous Friday as well done and I will be in contact with the firm on Monday.
Maggi assembled our dinner of salad, cheese and pate all bought earlier today and we ate it while watching the first game of the last 16, Canada v Morocco. Morocco won 3-0.