So far, Boulogne, Hardelot, le Touquet (Paris-plage) then on to Arras, Cambrai, then down the motorway to Reims (a visit round Taittinger), then Epernay, then Troyes (gorgeous). More on that later, when I’ve uploaded the photos.

I’ve just spent two days at the Camping du Lac at Dijon without actually visiting either the lake or Dijon (I got bogged down in a series of good books and barely left the campsite except occasionally to get utterly, utterly lost in Dijon’s syteme sens-unique. Including spending some time facing in the wrong direction on a one way street being honked at by French drivers waiting patiently for me to sort myself out and get out of their way.)

Now I’m in Switzerland planning to do Alp-y things for the next few days before heading down slowly to the Med. Then I’ll come back up via the Prynees and Brittany before picking P up at Dinard and heading over to Normandy and Paris.

I’m not really talking to many people, spending a lot of time alone in my tent or my car in silence. Which is OK. I’m wondering if it might have been better to do the big trip by rail and hostel rather than tent and car, because that way I’d have met more people to talk to. The campings are mostly full of elderly Germans who show no sign of wanting to talk. I expect if I’d chosen to do that, I’d be moaning about the lack of personal space and being squashed all the time. And this is a road trip after all! (Flickr keyword vadrouille)