Tuesday 12th – Friday 15th July Bugey region, France
It’s time to sing the praises of Simon,
our indispensible TomTom navigator…he’s saved our skin on endless occasions
while asking for nothing in return apart from an occasional plug-in to the
cigarette lighter! What did we do before GPS navigators? Imagine if you gave one of those to Captain
Cook? …or David Livingstone? Even when we stuff up and make our many
mistakes he forgives us and battles to figure out and politely advise the
necessary corrective action…there was a little competition at one stage as
Brenton retrieved “Cathie” their Irish speaking Tom Tom that he had in his
bag….when she emerged there was a little competition with our “Simon”, but we
found that they actually can speak the same instructions and directions at the
same time…..
Well, the week of fun with our Darwin
companions continued as we travelled towards the Bugey region, famous for its
gorges, rivers and, guess what, more uplifted tectonic activity! Highlights included dinner at their fav
restaurant “L’Ermit” in Rambert-en-Bugey, and a trip in the rain and fog, to
the mountainous village of Les Pizieres where we stumbled across The Boomerang
restaurant where another Brenton has been holed-up for 20 years serving BBQ’s,
bush-peppered meats and, of course, pavlova to the locals. The theme is Australian, but the kangaroo
that lived there for 15 years has long gone…hmm…was he on the menu once?
We said farewell to our friends the day
after Bastille Day, dropping them at Saint Exupery airport in Lyon. The next
day JnJ set off once again through the Jura (this time on the French side) to
Neuchatel and to see friends in Bern and Luscherz. The glacial lakes in the mountainous
part of the Burgundy region of France are spectacular and popular for camping
and families. There were all sorts of boating activities, and the weather was
sunny but cooler which didn’t deter the many eager people swimming. The region is obviously more appealing to
those who don’t wish to do battle on the Italian coast this time of year…and we
can understand why!!
