Hurray, Holidays!!

A somewhat less inspiring view for taiji this morning, especially as it was on the verge of raining and very overcast...

Yeah well...

The innkeeper was clearly in the best tradition of innkeepers through the ages - lots of smiles and ingratiating noises, but when I proffered €150 for the €145 bill (ouch!! Pretty expensive, given previous experiences), he asked if he should bother to get the change!! Cheeky tosser. So I left him with the €150... More like the guy at the Prancing Pony than you'd like.

Lots of motorway today, down the A75, which is toll free most of the way, apart from a section across a new bridge that saves lots of time and is very cool... So we paid up and saved time! I have to say I was glad of the easy driving.

Shiny new toll bridge :-)

Now we were truly on holidays - sun shining, temperature going up, lovely! Roads not crowded at all, although some of the driving was a bit weird... Seems like the plan is to scream past, then a few km up the road be caught up with driving very slowly - what is that about?!

HPU resting...

Thanks to the perspicacity of Mrs G, we stopped off at a Lidl as we entered the Camargue (why is it so many French placenames are so resonant for Brits? Oh yes, they've been nicked for cars!), so were able to take lunch at a small roadside oasis. Strangely, someone had actually lifted the huge concrete slab off the top of one of the tables, and dumped it between the legs. Huh? And Jen got bitten by some insect, it being the first real opportunity for that to happen, so of course it did.

Eat and be eaten!

So things were going swimmingly... Now, should we cough up the extra for the tunnel to Toulon through Marseilles?? Good plan... except that involves disobeying Mrs. Siobhan Spanky, the GPS lady, so we screw up the turn and end up actually driving through the middle of Marseilles!! Not good. Chill time. Well, partly - Missy in the car next door just wound her window up following a "*ucky wucky tiddly ucky" outburst from yours truly, more in jest than jeopardy but maybe offensive!

The Marseilles Experience

But we finally found the tunnel, and whizzed happily towards Le Pradet. Not long to go now :-). A stop at a supermarket for critical items, like something for tonight's dinner, beer, wine, that kind of thing. Then up to Collet du Pastre, where Henri is waiting for us to arrive. Looks good, and we're pleased to be here! Horrible view, rubbish location, but hey, someone has to do it.

Hooray for holidays!