Au Revoir Uzerche and a Troublesome Journey (Sally) - July 20th


Rained in the night and soaked the washing we had put out to dry. Typical. First time it rained during the night in the three weeks I have been here. It rained briefly one morning during my first week. We have left the washing on an airier. Will dry quickly inside. Will probably have to wash it again when we are next out here, in August.

Croissants and bread from boulangerie. Had to have a croissant.

Final bit of covering furniture ready for our departure.

Bags packed, car loaded. Looks like a wine cellar.


Turned off the electricity and the water.

Said our goodbyes to our neighbours - Natalie, Pierette and Bernadette. We didn’t see Annette this trip, hope she is o.k

It is a shame we had to leave today because Uzerche has its annual car show and brocante. Andy said it was quite the spectacle last year.

The journey as far as Versailles was uneventful. Aaaaaaargh, Andy had set the satnav, as usual, to go via Versailles, this is to avoid the notorious Paris perepherique. Unfortunately, this time it took us to the centre of Versailles instead and getting out was a nightmare. The road we needed was closed and the satnav didn’t seem to know this...bugger. This added time to our journey. On a positive note, we did get to see the Palace of Versailles. It looked tres busy. As you would expect in July.

After this things seemed to get from bad to worse. As I have said the road we needed was closed, and she was taking us in circles. I say she because the satnav has a female voice. Then when we hit Paris, the ruddy roads seemed closed there. I don’t know if the roads are all being repaired at the same time, or the authorities closed them for some other reason, but it was bloody frustrating and Andy did an excellent job of driving. Yes, we ended up on the perepherique. Some would say “at least you didn’t go around the Arc de Triumph”! True.

Useful/useless fact - all car insurance is null and void on the Arc de Triumph and everyone takes equal responsibility. So, if someone crashes into your car, you may be truly blameless, but here you are equally liable.

Arrived at the Calais hotel. Alas, the restaurant was fully booked. A coach party had arrived, so no steak & frites for us. We did, however, go to a nearby shopping centre which has many eateries. The centre seemed shiny & new with set areas for clothing, food etc. A bit like Milton Keynes, but newer and shinier. We popped into Carrefour to get Andy some beer. He said it is more expensive than the Carrefour near Uzerche. Brits and their booze, I suspect, are their main targets.

And so to bed. We left the window open and the room seemed cooler than last time we came.

Home tomorrow.

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