We were sorry to leave Bordeaux which we have liked immensely but not sorry to leave our hotel which was, at best, adequate. Leaving on a Sunday morning is certainly preferable to leaving on a Monday morning and yet again Madam Garmin makes it so easy. Look forward to visiting Bordeaux again sometime.

With heavy trucks mostly banned from French roads on Sundays the motorway South across Les Landes was straightforward and quick, by some miracle it wasn’t raining either so we made excellent progress. As we were making such good time we decided to have a look in at Biarritz on the way.

We found Biarritz something of a faded beauty as these days it’s really just another beach

with some glorious old buildings but I’m afraid that its heyday is well past.

One useful thing I did learn though is that my Sanef Tolling ‘Liber-T’ tag that I have for French toll roads can also be used to pay in some car parks; it’s really convenient.

As the weather looked threatening we headed for Bayonne and our next hotel – L’Hôtel des Basses Pyrénées – where we have a large and comfortable room with trees opposite and for very much less than we were paying in Bordeaux.

For dinner we went just round the corner on the bank of the River Nive, the food was fabulous and it rained.

10 June 2018