Year three. Every cloud..........

Silver lining

Mama and Daddy had great plans for our final year of travelling. Poland they said. Hungary they said. Italy they said. Truffles Mama said. Bad driving Daddy said. Uncle Giorgio I said. Mama and Daddy made plans and plans and more plans. Mama rushed though July. She rented flats and accountants and Daddy had Nona serviced and I made important telephone calls on Mama's old mobile phone whilst marching round the field. And after a month in old blighty we were ready to leave. We said all of our goodbyes.  And then it started to go wrong.
First of all I got a hernia. It didn't hurt and I wanted them to leave it alone but Mama took me to see a man who looked like Blippi who said we needed to sort it out. So we did that and it nearly killed my parents but I was fine and so we said goodbye again.  Then Nona broke and no one could fix her.  It took weeks to find the right garage who said they didn't know what was so difficult about fixing her.  So we said goodbye again and drove to Dover.  On the way we stopped in a service area for lunch and when we got back to the van someone had driven into the side of her and broken off her wing mirror and cracked her windscreen.  Naughty, naughty, naughty.  Daddy mended the wing mirror and Mama rang the insurance to find out about mending the windscreen and they said 21 days.  So Mama said buzz off or something similar and we left.  So here we are, complete with cracked windscreen. 

At last French Soil or Sand

 We had a lovely trip through France.  And the weather just got better and better.        

First signs of soleil

 We stopped in some fabulous aires at Nonancourt and La Ferte St. Auban.

Me in a wood

But our favourite was at Lac St Pardoux where there was mist and heather and big crayfish in the lake.

Lac St Pardoux

We met a group of teenage girls there who kept screaming everytime they saw me and calling me mon chou chou.  Mama thought it was very funny but I thought it was a bit odd.  Especially after the sixth time.

The view

 Mama said that they would take me to an insect museum because I like them.  We drove for ages up windy roads with no one else on and turned up at someone's house in a place called Nedde.  It was strange but great.

Insects

My photograph of Fungus

 The museum was in the most beautiful countryside.

Oh the light.  The light.

Cite de Insects

Mama asked if we could sleep outside the museum and they said sure.  Pas de probleme.

The road

Then we headed for a campsite because we were a little bit smelly.   So we stopped at Camping Ventoux which was a fabulous campsite with swimming pool and walnut trees.

Oops the scrumped walnuts.

Mama got well into scrumping and then got shouted out by the campsite owners. We had a lovely walk.  Well it set out to be lovely but 4 hours later it wasnt so lovely.

10km walk

We visited the caves at Padirac and went on a boat underground.

Nick nac Padirac

 Then we drove to Cordes sur Ciel which was very beautiful but it didn't half rain.  It rained so hard it rained in.

Cordes Sur Ciel

 And then onto Mama's old home in Capestang where we had a lovely time with my Tatie Laurence and Uncle Peter and I put some money on a horse.  Number 4 and it won! We slept right by the canal.

Another Silver Lining

And we had a splendid  time with my Tatie Suzy and Tonton David and my Tatie Judy.  But not as splendid a time as Mummy and Daddy judging my their heads the next morning.  So I thought I would drag them round the Dinosaur Park at Meze.

Another old dinosaur

 And we had a great evening in the sun by the sea at the Aire in Marseillan.   And you know, because of all our problems in leaving England, we got to spend more time with my lovely Aunties and Uncles.  I had a brilliant time with my Aunty Jayne and Aunty Liping who looked after me after my operation.  I got to go back and see my darling Nana and Granddad Flipflip several times.  I got to finally meet my Aunty Nicole and I spent a wonderful few days with my Uncle Marcus who taught me how to say all kinds of naughty things.

Marseillan Plage

And now we are in Spain and everyone is pleased to see me.  So you see.  Every cloud.............