Away we go

Leaving home at a few minutes to six am is a rare experience, but it got us clear of the rush hour traffic and well on our way to Folkestone. (roughly 350 miles travelled). Then through the Channel tunnel and into France via Calais and on to Abbeville, where we had booked an overnight stop.

We didn't make it quite so early next morning, and reached Rouen in the middle of the rush hour. Predictably, we took a wrong turn where the road suddenly branched into three lanes with traffic hurling onwards at a rate of knots and it was too late to take evasive action. The sat nav man took over - I think he sounds just like Daniel Craig, but dh thinks it's a computer voice, which doesn't say much for Daniel Craig - and took us on our way south, always south to Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Orleans.

After having the peage to ourselves, after Orlean, the traffic was heavy, and the inevitable pile-up occurred - you can just see one of the crashed cars in the picture. A car and caravan had overturned and crashed into the barrier, and taken a second car with them. Though their holiday was probably shot, no one seemed hurt. Imagine trying to phone on a mobile, in French, with cars piling up around ...shivers.

Vierzon and Chateauroux. Limoges and Brive, and we're starting to get tired of the endless rolling vistas of trees and hillsides. By the 400 mile mark, we're near our destination and stop at the Intermarche for a few basic supplies to see us over the weekend. We end up spending around 60 euros and plod on. The sky is blue, the sun is hot - around 25 degrees, and we get to the mill, step inside and switch on the lights. Nothing. A power cut. No doubt some thunderstorm has flipped the power supply. Then we remember the freezer...disaster. A vomit-inducing swill of de-frosted ice and hints of what was once a tune pizza and various other things swirling in the bottom of the old chest freezer. Ah, the joys of vacations...