Arn't holidays rubbish. You just get used to being a free man, unshackled from the daily grind, then you find yourself back again ... all over .. back to work and typing this pish.
Well, here it is. Not as good as last years holiday, but better than a week in benidorm.
Got on bike. Autocom decided not to work. Rushed into hut for spare. Flung it into topbox ..will fix it later. Silence till Newcastle. Now some may say this was a good start, but with a singing voice like mine, and a captive audience, its a shame.
Bastid at dock put us on the boat last.
Arriving at Ijmuden, set sat nav to first stop .. Amiens. Bloody thing kept cutting off, so I used 'the force' and noticed I must be rusty as we passed by the Stad de France, a hundred miles off-course.
This year we were on the Hotel Ibis tour. We had the book and we were gonna use it.
Amiens > Blois > Angers, three identical rooms. Along the green lines on the michelin map through the Loire Valley. I didnt think it was overly scenic so took no pics.
From Angers down to Cap Feret, still never got aroused by the scenery. Some nice bits, but maybe Ive been spoiled living in Scotland.
Found a nice pier in Arcachon though.
From then it was onto our Gite, west of Bordeaux, just outside a village called Montignac.
A bit of a let-down here as well.
A musty creepy cottage, a mile from town. Good thing was, it sat in its own huge field, surrounded by walnut groves and it had a pool ........................ full of bugs and slime.
Got settled in, and started how we meant to continue.
My little driveway.
Hammocks are brilliant. One of the few shots I can publish, as we were drunk and bollock naked most of the time ........ well I was anyway. I could get right into this 'naturism' thing. Im tempted to show you my 'naked wheely shot', but might get into trouble.
Louise discovered, quite by chance, that when topless sunbathing, the breast tissues absorb and retain enough sunlight, to provide lighting when the sun goes down. This has lowered her carbon footprint by a good amount and is good for the environment.
Sobering up for a day, we travelled to the prettiest village in France.
St Circ Du Popie. It certainly lived up to its reputation.
Along the Lot valley provided some nice roads under overhanging cliffs.
After a couple of days, our wine stock was running low.
I went to the supermarket to get further supplies. It was 7.30ish. I walked in and noticed that it was quiet. Got to the back of the huge shop ... and all the lights went out. Total blackness. I shouted, but got no reply.
Feeling my way to the front of the shop, I found the doors locked.
That night I gorged myself with all the food and drink I could manage, and thought of Louise, alone in the creepy cottage, wondering where I was.
That last line was a lie.
I hammered at the door and managed to get the attention of the two women who had locked the shop and were getting in their car.
The were a bit bemused, but would not sell me wine.
We left our cottage a day early in search of a clean posh hotel.
On our way, we visited Oradour Sur Glane.
Found another BMW in a town which seemingly had lovely shoes for sale.
Onto Nevers,Posh hotel. Troyes Ibis, Reims Ibis, where we planned to spend two nights, but were flung oot after the first night, so we escaped to Charleroi. Dont go there. Its a dump and populated with ugly people. And the shoe shops were horrible according to Louise.
Next night Breda, in Holland. Lovely place.
And then to the boat.
An uneventful but nice holiday. 3500 miles. I dont think I would do the west of France again.
Never even got many good pics ............. except this one.
Im going to send it to Altberg boots for their latest ad campaign.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Well, here it is. Not as good as last years holiday, but better than a week in benidorm.
Got on bike. Autocom decided not to work. Rushed into hut for spare. Flung it into topbox ..will fix it later. Silence till Newcastle. Now some may say this was a good start, but with a singing voice like mine, and a captive audience, its a shame.
Bastid at dock put us on the boat last.
Arriving at Ijmuden, set sat nav to first stop .. Amiens. Bloody thing kept cutting off, so I used 'the force' and noticed I must be rusty as we passed by the Stad de France, a hundred miles off-course.
This year we were on the Hotel Ibis tour. We had the book and we were gonna use it.
Amiens > Blois > Angers, three identical rooms. Along the green lines on the michelin map through the Loire Valley. I didnt think it was overly scenic so took no pics.
From Angers down to Cap Feret, still never got aroused by the scenery. Some nice bits, but maybe Ive been spoiled living in Scotland.
Found a nice pier in Arcachon though.
From then it was onto our Gite, west of Bordeaux, just outside a village called Montignac.
A bit of a let-down here as well.
A musty creepy cottage, a mile from town. Good thing was, it sat in its own huge field, surrounded by walnut groves and it had a pool ........................ full of bugs and slime.
Got settled in, and started how we meant to continue.
My little driveway.
Hammocks are brilliant. One of the few shots I can publish, as we were drunk and bollock naked most of the time ........ well I was anyway. I could get right into this 'naturism' thing. Im tempted to show you my 'naked wheely shot', but might get into trouble.
Louise discovered, quite by chance, that when topless sunbathing, the breast tissues absorb and retain enough sunlight, to provide lighting when the sun goes down. This has lowered her carbon footprint by a good amount and is good for the environment.
Sobering up for a day, we travelled to the prettiest village in France.
St Circ Du Popie. It certainly lived up to its reputation.
Along the Lot valley provided some nice roads under overhanging cliffs.
After a couple of days, our wine stock was running low.
I went to the supermarket to get further supplies. It was 7.30ish. I walked in and noticed that it was quiet. Got to the back of the huge shop ... and all the lights went out. Total blackness. I shouted, but got no reply.
Feeling my way to the front of the shop, I found the doors locked.
That night I gorged myself with all the food and drink I could manage, and thought of Louise, alone in the creepy cottage, wondering where I was.
That last line was a lie.
I hammered at the door and managed to get the attention of the two women who had locked the shop and were getting in their car.
The were a bit bemused, but would not sell me wine.
We left our cottage a day early in search of a clean posh hotel.
On our way, we visited Oradour Sur Glane.
Found another BMW in a town which seemingly had lovely shoes for sale.
Onto Nevers,Posh hotel. Troyes Ibis, Reims Ibis, where we planned to spend two nights, but were flung oot after the first night, so we escaped to Charleroi. Dont go there. Its a dump and populated with ugly people. And the shoe shops were horrible according to Louise.
Next night Breda, in Holland. Lovely place.
And then to the boat.
An uneventful but nice holiday. 3500 miles. I dont think I would do the west of France again.
Never even got many good pics ............. except this one.
Im going to send it to Altberg boots for their latest ad campaign.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Biggest letdown though has to be the lack of a "Louise with something on her head" shots. Still, you've probably not downloaded that 2GB card yet. 
