I must apologise to our regular followers for not posting advanced information regarding our latest road-trip which I had promised to do, but things developed more quickly than expected. There is a change in the format of this years trip. I am delighted to include for the first time, a passenger, a long time friend that worked with me in the 1980’s, Caroline Lewis. Neither of us are sure how this is going to work, but it will be fun and we have agreed an exit strategy if it doesn’t work.
We are already on the road with slightly more luggage than Bridget is used too, but no jerry cans or the 40 litres of extra fuel Bridget usually carries. We left the UK on Wednesday 21st June and having negotiated the English Channel drove down to our first overnight stop, Rouen, in France. We left behind rain showers and enjoyed sunshine and reasonable temperatures for our first day.
From Rouen, day two was spent dodging some short, but heavy storms and driving to Limoges. It was originally founded around 10BC. During the 12th century it produced enamels which were exported throughout the Christian world. In 1765, during the industrial revolution, the discovery of a deposit of kaolin in the Saint Yrieix la Perche region gave rise to the Limoges porcelain industry that it is known for today. It has a University and a very active student population.
Friday, 23rd June, we moved on to our first new country, for both Bridget and myself, Andorra. Andorra is a UN recognised, independent country believed to have originally been created by Charlemagne. We stayed in Andorra la Vella, the capital, and highest capital city in Europe at 3356 feet. This meant that Bridget had to work very hard climbing the mountains, in 31C heat, after covering just on one thousand miles in the previous three days.
More next week, when we intend to travel the French Riviera, Monaco and into Italy.