Somewhere in France

We were up at 3.30am (groan!) and left by 4.15am to drive back home to England. Just before we crossed the border from Switzerland into France we stopped to refuel and grab a coffee, as we were being strict about ‘not mixing with other people’ when stopping whilst travelling through France so did this while still in Switzerland

We had a couple of other stops at the picnic sites along the way which were great. At the first one we were the only people there, and at the other two stops there were only 2 other cars and you could easily avoid mixing with anyone. There are usually 2 or 3 toilets next to where you park the car at these stops, so it is easy to go to the toilet without mixing with anyone as you don’t have to go into a services centre to access the toilets. They are also cleaner than those disgusting services toilets as most people prefer to go the services with their full range of facilities rather than these small picnic stops. I had made breakfast and lunch and packed drinks so no need to buy food anywhere. Gavin refuelled the car at the garages where you pay at the pump, so again no contact with anyone else. So it has been a good journey with absolutely no contact with anyone else, which is good as it means we we don’t have to quarantine as we have complied strictly with the rules as set out by the UK government.

Luke and Meriel left Switzerland an hour after us but passed us along the way as they had minimal stops, as unlike us they didn't have to stop to give Xena a break.

The weather has been so changeable on the journey. At one point we had blue skies on the left hand side of the motorway and clouds with rain falling on the right! At the Eurotunnel there is a drive through facility for them to check the passport and scan Xena's chip, so again we did not have to get out the car they could open the back and access Xena.

We finally got home after 11 hours of driving. We unpacked and took Xena for a quick walk. We are both feeling very tired!

The extra was taken yesterday evening. After the rain earlier in the day the sun came out and then as the sun was setting we got a cloud inversion over the village as can be seen here. Note the horse in the foreground - this is the area in front of our chalet apartment building and the previous night when I took Xena out for a wee before she went to sleep, I did not know the horse was there and it was very dark, so imagine my surprise when we bumped into this horse in the dark!