Road Trip 3 - Day 1

Destination : Bégur - a little town north of Barcelona.
Reason : Cath and Max's wedding (and a week added on cos we both needed a holiday).
Method of transport : My Peugeot 206.
Route : Straight down the middle of France and up the east side on the way back up.

Day 1 - Brussels - Aumont Aubrac - approx 10hrs drive.

Setting off at about 10am, I had no idea what was ahead, and for the first time in my life, I was (just about) OK with that!
I knew we had 2 days to get down to Bégur and that the estimated number of kms was 1300. The rest was undefined, undecided and totally up us.

I think that by the time we crossed Paris, I had a fair idea of the amount of driving I was actually faced with and while being relieved at having the hardest part of the journey behind me, I was realising it was a lot longer than I had first thought.

Taking the national roads down through the middle of France, thus avoiding the ridiculously expensive tolls, we bypassed some stunning wine regions and a few famous water towns too.

We pushed through until we got past Clermont-Ferrand - This was my objective for the day. The night was spent in Aumont Aubrac, in a little 2 star bar/resto/hotel opposite the cheap and really nice place we were hoping for but that had no rooms.
Arriving too late for dinner, we sat on the hotel porch drinking a couple of beers to unwind.



(I know most of you won't give a rat's about this kind of post, but it'll be nice to read this again a couple of years down the line. If you feel like reading Simon's account of all this... go here! - and if you happened to be at the wedding, feel free to share your impressions.)