Not the greatest start to the day; we went to leave our hotel in Auxerre and realised that breakfast had not been included in the room price.  Paying 9 euros 50 each for croissants worse than you get in most UK supermarkets was a bit galling!  However, after a trip to a Carrefour to buy lunch for later, we were soon on the road south-east!

The journey today was lovely again.  Brilliant clear motorways (apart from a brief jam just before Switzerland for some road works), beautiful and varied scenery and perfect weather!  We stopped at a great service station for lunch – the French do these so much better than us! – with a big, green open space for picnics.  Sitting in the dappled shade, we munched another fresh baguette, along with some butter and “Vache Qui Rit” that we’d, erm, rescued from the breakfast buffet before we left (I felt considerably less guilty about this after discovering how much we had to pay for it!!).

After another 100 miles over the Jura mountains, through some lengthy tunnels, crossing amazing viaducts and with some of the most stunning views we’ve seen, we arrived at the Swiss border and bought our “vignette” (a sticker you attach to your windscreen instead of paying tolls on the roads, and quite frankly a snip at around £30, considering we spent over that in tolls on French motorways just today).  Then we descended into Geneva, where we quite quickly found our hotel.  It’s just a Budget Ibis here, as hotels in Geneva were rather expensive, but it’s perfectly comfortable and has a tram stop right outside.  We also get a travel card thrown in for free and it’s only a 10 minute or so ride to the centre of town.

We decided to explore, as we won’t have much time tomorrow (we’re going to CERN!).  Having taken the tram to the train station, we pottered down towards the lake.  The water there is unbelievably clear and offers beautiful views of the mountains, which rise around it.  Unfortunately, the whole of the water front was taken up by a huge fair, with flashing lights and loud music.  However, we did manage to find a table by the lake where we had the most expensive beer (and shared pizza) we’ve ever had.  It was worth it for the view though!

Wandering back to the tram by the river, we watched fish swimming in the pure water and ducks diving for food, as the sun set over the city.  We also had a sneaky peak in the window of an estate agent and couldn’t quite believe the prices (see photos – bare in mind that CHF are 1.32 to the pound!).

All in all, we’ve taken rather a liking to Geneva and wish we had more time (and money!) to spend here.  It’s much more eclectic and multi-cultural than either of us expected and seems to have had influences from many different places.  There also seems an awful lot of fascinating things to do!  Oh well, we’ll just have to come back!

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Today started off as it did yesterday, with a lovely breakfast at the Rose Bud B&B in Honfleur.  As well as the delicious items on offer yesterday, I opted for a boiled egg and we were also treated to some tasty nutmeg flavoured rice pudding – yum!  After we packed up our things, I went to collect the car, checked the oil and water and we set off on our travels once more.

We left Honfleur on the back roads and soon joined a main motorway to make our way to Auxerre.  We made good progress and, apart from briefly getting lost in the expansive tunnel network under Paris, we emerged out the other side and soon after stopped for some food.  We had a typically French influenced lunch of fresh baguette, cheese and fresh fruit.

Lois then took over the driving for a while, which gave me more of a chance to enjoy the scenery that was passing us by as we travelled south east.  The motorways were lovely and clear, making for a speedy and relaxing journey.

We arrived in Auxerre and were directed around to the rear of the hotel, where a lockable private garage awaited the MR2.  She better not get used to all this luxury!  The very friendly hotel receptionist helped us in with our bags and later provided us with a map and some basic directions to explore the town with.  The hotel itself is not as small and quirky as The Rose Bud, but is perfectly comfortable and in a great spot, just a short walk from the centre of Auxerre.

We wandered around the town, taking in the beautiful sights, which included a nice little church, lovely winding streets and of course the majestic Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d’Auxerre.  After that, we decided that a beer was in order, so found a nice little bar and sat and enjoyed a cold Leffe.  Then we went to explore the riverside, before making our way back up to the hotel, via a small convenience store to pick up some food and drink for a hotel room picnic.

It was nice to have a relaxing evening in (with some random French TV!), thinking about all that we’ve done so far and all that is still to come!

We have just under 400KM to travel tomorrow to Geneva, which will bring with it new adventures and things to seek out!

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We’d been looking forward to breakfast in the garden since it had been suggested yesterday evening.  It started off wonderfully, with typically delicious fresh croissants, baguette, fruit and chocolate brownies.  Unfortunately, 10 minutes in, the heavens opened and there was a mad dash to rush everything inside!  This was hardly a chore though, as the shuttered dining room, with views of the garden, was just as lovely.

After a lazy morning in our hotel room (I think being on holiday had finally hit us and it was nice to avoid the rain – it was beautiful by the time we left!), we pottered back into Honfleur, this time via Tourist Information to pick up a local map.  Tom had been desperate to buy some fresh seafood on the harbour, but had been distracted yesterday by the boat trip on offer, so we headed there first, only to find that all the stalls had shut for lunch!

Instead we visited the Boudin Museum, which contained a really interesting collection of paintings, drawings and random artefacts.  Boudin was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement and it was fascinating to see how his quite precise early style softened throughout his working life.  The views from the upper levels of the museum were also well worth the 7 euros entry fee!

After a break in a cider bar (where Tom drank delicious local cider out of a bowl!), we set off up the slightly daunting hill towards the Chapelle De La Grace, with more stunning views promised.  The walk up the tree lined road was actually not that tough, and the panoramic views across the Seine estuary from the top were definitely worth getting a little bit out of puff for! The chapel was also very pretty.  We chose a different route back down, which offered more amazing scenery, this time looking out over Honfleur.  A friendly English bloke stopped to take our photo and to chat.  He had an apartment up near the chapel (which he rented out) and travelled over from Chichester once a week to clean, as they’d struggled to find a good local cleaner!!  It seemed a little extreme to us and goodness knows how much he had to charge in rent for the place to subsidise his trips over!

Back down in Honfleur, Tom invested in some cider to take to our next stop, then we found another lovely restaurant by the harbour so that he could finally enjoy an ENORMOUS Assiette de Fruits de Mer.  He was provided with various tools for extracting the crustaceans, but it still took him over half an hour to devour them all 🙂  I think I’ll stick with salad and chips!

After that, we headed back to the B&B via the supermarket, where we picked up some yummy looking fruit, scrummy macaroons and some of my favourite french cheese for lunch tomorrow.  In the morning we’ll be packing up and driving to Auxerre, where the adventure continues…

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