Day 07 - Sunday 30th April

Today's cooked breakfast at the B&B was pain perdu which consists of French bread toasted and soaked in egg. As we were finishing our breakfast, an English couple came downstairs for breakfast. He has just retired and they have driven from the UK and are heading to Majorca for a few months. The other guests, a French couple, came downstairs as we were leaving the dining room.

Today we will be driving to Bordeaux to join the Scenic river cruise. The forecast for Bordeaux was for heavy rain this afternoon.

David helped us downstairs with our bags at about 11am. Wendy and David gave us a warm farewell and, after programming our route on the TomTom, we set off at about 11:15am.

Initially we drove along local roads - most of which were numbered D followed by a numeral. Eventually we got to the A89 motorway. Once again, there was a toll booth at the entrance to the motorway.

By the time, we'd got to the motorway, we'd passed through some light showers. As we progressed towards Bordeaux, the rain got heavier. Several times it was so heavy it was hard to see.

We stopped for lunch at about 1pm at a roadside service centre. As I struggled to tell the lady behind the counter what we wanted, she eventually asked me if I speak English. It was much easier after that.

Avis had told us that we should fill up with petrol before returning the car because their fee for petrol is high compared with petrol stations. So we used the TomTom to locate a couple of petrol stations close to Bordeaux.

Perhaps because it was a Sunday, the petrol stations had no staff. It was self serve. You had to insert a credit card before filling the tank but it rejected our MasterCard and Visa cards. Eventually we gave up and headed towards the Avis depot.

We'd booked to return the car to Avis at the Bordeaux railway station, Gare St Jean. As we drove past the station, there was no sign of Avis and so we managed to park the car and walked into the railway station to ask for directions at the information desk. He directed us to the other side of the station through the pedestrian tunnel under the railway tracks.

The girl at the Avis desk gave a map on which she marked the route we had to follow. Back in our car, we tried to navigate following her advice but one of the streets was one-way. We tried one of the nearby side-streets wondering how we would ever find it.

Halfway along this narrow back alley, we looked up and saw an Avis sign. This turned out to be the right place where we had to return the car. It was nowhere near the place she told us to go. When we drove in, a man walked up to us and asked us if our name was Byrne.

This was a miracle. We had no idea where we were going and we somehow managed to stumble on the right place. There was no talent in this. Just pure luck. We were very relieved.

The Avis man told us that we would be charged for a full tank of petrol even though it was still two thirds full. By this time we were beyond arguing. He organised a taxi to take us to the wharf to meet our Scenic Diamond boat.

As we approach the boat at about 3:30pm, two men came running to take our bags on board for us. As we walked down the ramp and into the boat we were met at the entrance by about 10 of the ship's crew lined up in their uniforms. The captain was first to greet us. He shook my hand and welcomed us to the cruise.

It was a very warm welcome. We hadn't been expecting this. Suzy told me later that she'd been overwhelmed by our welcome. After all the hassles with returning the car to Avis, it was such a wonderful change to receive such a friendly welcome. She said that she almost burst into tears.

One staff member showed us to our room and explained some of the features in the room. Soon afterwards, our butler, Bora, came to our room and gave us a detailed explanation of everything in the room. Bora is a big burly man from Serbia.

Everyone was required to attend a safety briefing on the open top deck at 5:30pm. Before and after this we took advantage of the large lounge area.

Dinner was a buffet. Apparently this is the only night we'd be having a buffet because every other night would be a-la-carte. They were no menus tonight - just lots of choice.

Day 06 - Saturday 29th April

Breakfast was in the B&B dining room again at 8:30am. Once again, David and Wendy gave us valuable advice about what to do today. Because today is Saturday, there is a market in the centre of town. Wendy has booked two tickets for us to go to Lascaux to see the reproduction of the cave paintings late this afternoon.

It was a bright and sunny day. My app said it was 2C and Wendy said the overnight minimum was -2C. Later in the day, it is forecast to get up to about 19C.

We set off for the markets at about 10am. It was only a few blocks away. Apparently the market has a good reputation - partly because it's quite big and partly because of the pleasant setting in this beautiful town.

There were already a lot of people there - mostly locals I suspect but there were tourists too including one other Australian couple we came across.

Although I saw at least one tour group, most of the people were couples or families. Quite a few people had brought their dog along.

Most of the vendors spoke some English and so it was generally easy enough to ask questions and have a reasonable conversation.

Suzy stopped early on to look at belts. They were stretchy and attractive. She bought one and I even bought one too. It's not often that I buy something at a market.

She stopped to look at other items such as scarves, jewelry, T-shits, bibs, aperitifs, leather wear and wine. There were also stalls selling produce and meat. The large strawberries were impressive. One stall was cooking paella in large circular trays.

There were a few other highlights that weren't necessarily related to the market day.

One highlight was a patisserie that had beautiful displays in the shop window and in the display counters inside the shop. These included cakes, slices, biscuits, bread and croissants. The individual cakes and slices were works of art. They looked inviting and delicious.

Another highlight was the nougat shop (Real Chocolat). The owner was quite a character - very friendly and helpful. He gave us numerous samples to try before we bought a few. He was happy to pose for photos. He was quite an entertainer. No doubt he ran a very successful business attracting tourists and locals.

The third highlight was fascinating. At the end of the main plaza, there was a little man dressed in a fluoro vest who was dashing back and forwards looking after people crossing the road at the pedestrian crossing and elsewhere nearby. He was directing cars to stop and pretending to write down number plates. Tourists like us were lining up to take photos of him.

After walking along the main streets, we reached the square in the ancient part of the town and we then wound our way back through the crowds towards our B&B. It was about 12 noon by that time.

Originally I'd planned to stay for only a short time at the market and then head back to the B&B leaving Suzy to shop in peace. However I actually enjoyed this market. Normally I find markets boring. This one was different. I'm glad that I went.

While having coffee back at the B&B, Suzy decided that she liked her new belt so much that she went back to buy another one.

This afternoon, we would be visiting several towns and tourist spots in the Dordogne region near Sarlat. The TomTom took us across country via narrow roads and gravel roads.

We stopped at Saint-Leon-Sur-Vezere for lunch at a cafe near the river and a narrow metal road bridge. I enjoyed my fish and chips sitting in the sunshine admiring the view of the river and trees.

Next we drove to La Roque Saint Christophe which is a series of Troglodyte caves in the side of a cliff overlooking the river. It was a rushed visit because were running out of time to get to Lascaux in time.

The deadline to get to Lascaux was 4pm. It was quite a challenge - partly because of the narrow roads, but also because we got stuck behind several construction vehicles. When we came across a slow-moving truck, we turned around and got the TomTom to find an alternative route.

The TomTom led us to parking area P2 at Lascaux (the furthest car park) which turned out to be 4 minutes from the museum. Anyway, we just made it in time.

Lascaux is a very new and modern museum. Inside the museum, they've built a recreation of a cave that was discovered in 1940. The cave and the artwork on the walls in the cave date back to the ice age 20000 years ago.

The original cave was closed to the public some years ago because the visits were causing damage to the cave and the artwork. Instead they built an accurate reproduction of the cave in the museum. Apparently they used high-tech photography and other techniques to faithfully recreate the cave in every detail.

The tour started with a one hour inspection of the reproduction cave. Then you were free to wander through other exhibits in the museum displays outside the reproduction cave. By this time we were very tired and we didn't see all the exhibits.

We were back at the B&B at 6:15pm and we set off again at 7:15 to walk into the centre of Sarlat to find somewhere for dinner. We decided to follow David and Wendy's recommendation to go to a restaurant called Glacier which is in the ancient plaza. It was warm enough to sit outside so we could watch the passing parade of people.

We also went with David and Wendy's recommendations for food. Suzy had the Thai beef salad and I had the  veal chop.We shared a pitcher of red wine and Suzy tried a couple of aperitifs. After the meal we chatted to an American couple who'd been at the museum this afternoon.

It was a beautiful sunny evening. At this time of the year, the sun doesn't set until almost 9pm. However, by this time the crowds were thinning.

Day 05 - Friday 28th April

Breakfast at the B&B was in the dining room at 8:30am. There was a good selection of cereal, fruit, bread and croissants. David cooked scrambled eggs, Wendy and David gave us further advice on the sites to visit near Sarlat.

The first task was to buy some petrol. Although the service station was only a few blocks away, we managed to get lost getting there.

Their approach to payment at the service station is different from what we are used to at home. The man in front of us filled his car with petrol and then got back in his car and drove off. Initially I was somewhat surprised until I saw that he drove a short distance to a booth where you pay.

Our first destination was the town of Beynac which is an ancient town built on the side of the hill next to the Dordogne River.

It was confusing in the town because they were doing roadwork on the road next to the river. We found a parking area in a side street only to find out later that there was another parking area next to the river.

By this time, the 11am river cruise had departed and so we booked for the 12pm cruise. In the meantime, we went for a walk up the hill through the town to admire the stone buildings, cobblestone streets and the magnificent view down to the river and over the green countryside and farmlands.

The river cruise took us past the town, under a stone bridge and along the river so we could look at two other castles near the river. The tour guide spoke mainly in French but gave some of his commentary in English. The tour took almost an hour.

For lunch, we found a cute little restaurant on the side street on the way back to where we'd parked the car. It was called La Petite Tonnelle. Downstairs it was built into the side of the hill - like a cave. It had quaint atmosphere - very French.

The lady at the next table had ordered the fish meal. It looked so good that we both ordered it too. It was beautifully presented and delicious.

The next destination was Castelnaud which is one of the castles that our river cruise guide had pointed out earlier. This is a large castle that is very popular with tourists (French and international). They showcase the military clothes and weapons of the era.

The castle is well organised. You go go up one set of spiral stonework stairs from one level to the next and then down another set of spiral stairs. Suzy was quite stiff later after climbing up and down the stairs.

It was worth it. Suzy concluded that it was the best castle that she had ever been to anywhere in the world.

Next we drove to La Roque Gageac. This is another beautiful town on the banks of the Dordogne River. They say it is one of the five beautiful towns in this region and you can see why it gets this reputation. It consists of a series of quaint shops along the road next to the river. It is well maintained and well presented.

Suzy went from shop to shop while I walked the length of the street taking photos of the river and the shops. There was plenty to photograph in such an exceptionally beautiful town.

The final destination for the afternoon was Domme. This is a town that's at the top of the hill and so has a wonderful view of the Dordogne River and the valley. We walked through the ancient cobblestone streets before reaching the park overlooking the river.

We bought an ice cream and sat on a park bench admiring the view and the setting.

Back in Sarlat, we walked into town and had dinner at a restaurant called L'Instant Delice. This was in a narrow cobblestone street and proved to be a good choice. There weren't many customers there when we went in but it soon filled up. Most of the customers were French rather than tourists - which is a good sign.

It was a delicious meal in an authentically French setting. This is the sort of experience for which you travel all the way to the other side of the world.

Day 04 -Thursday 27th April

When I turned on my laptop and other devices, it seemed that the Orange Airbox WiFi device had already used all of the 2GB we'd purchased with the device. I tried various ways to top it up without success. It did not seem to want to accept my Australian MasterCard. We concluded that we'd have to top it up at the Orange shop when we got to Sarlat.

Breakfast started at 8:30am in the dining room downstairs in the chateau and we were there soon after that. Patrick met us when we came downstairs but we were the only people at the breakfast table.

It was a very nice breakfast in a beautiful room overlooking the Loire. We enjoyed the croissants and other breads, jams, fruit, coffee and boiled eggs.

Suzy went for a brief walk out the back of the chateau to admire the view of the Loire. It was another very cold morning - just above freezing point.

Patrick helped us get our bags downstairs and into the car and we set off bound for Sarlat just before 10am. Last night, I'd looked up the route to Sarlat on Google maps and it had said we should take the A20 for most of the trip there.

The built-in satnav that came with the hire car guided us through various local and rural roads. I was getting nervous that it wasn't taking us in the right direction when we came to toll gates for the motorway.

My confidence evaporated when the route it wanted us to take was blocked and the only option we had was to take a motorway that headed due west rather than south. After about 20km on this motorway, it directed us off the motorway where we paid the toll.

The in-car satnav wanted to get us back on the same motorway in the opposite direction to which we has just come. I stopped in the carpark just beyond the toll gates so we could do some planning.

I found a large sign with a map of France that convinced me that we weren't going the right way. In fact we'd done a big sweep around the area we'd started from and hadn't got very far at all.

We pulled out our own TomTom to investigate how to get to the destination we wanted. The TomTom seemed to indicate that the A20 was closed for roadwork and so if we'd followed the in-car satnav we wouldn't have got anywhere.

So we decided to give up on the in-car satnav. Mind you, we couldn't find a way to turn it off and so it kept giving us bad advice until we found a mute button.

The TomTom took us through various local roads through farmlands, under farm sprinkler systems, along narrow village streets until it got us back onto the A20 motorway. From there, it was plain sailing on a high quality motorway that had a 130km/h speed limit for most of the way.

By this time, we'd wasted more than an hour because of the road closure and the poor advice from the in-car satnav. I guess we should have been using the TomTom all along. Perhaps the TomTom has more up-to-date information.

Along the A20, we contended with plenty of trucks and aggressive drivers in cars but it was an easier drive than yesterday when were leaving Paris. The scenery was better too.

The weather was very changeable - going from bright sunshine to clouds to showers. At one stage the rain turned into sleet. With the wind and our 130km/h speed, it seemed as though the sleet was attacking us - like machine gun fire hitting the car.

At about 1:30pm we stopped at one of the roadside stopovers for lunch. When we got out of the car, it felt even colder than when we'd left this morning.

At the end of the A20 we turned onto another motorway that headed west before going along a series of local roads that took us to our B&B in Sarlat.

When we knocked on the front door, it was eventually answered by a woman who had a shocked expression on her face. When we introduced ourselves, she said she had no booking from anyone today. She and her husband invited us in while they checked their records.

Suzy showed them an email trail that dated back to the original booking in June last year and the deposit that we'd paid for the room. Wendy and David were very embarrassed because it was the first time they'd made such a mistake in the eight years that they'd been running the B&B.

They said it wouldn't be a problem because all the rooms were free tonight. They would have to reallocate another guest who had booked our room on Saturday night.

We walked into the village to the Orange shop while they got our room ready.

The visit to the Orange shop was a hassle. They told us that the SIM we'd purchased at Paris airport couldn't be recharged and we'd have to buy a new SIM that could be recharged. We also bought a recharge top-up while we were there. She also put our address as being Sarlat rather than Sydney - she thought that part of the reason I couldn't update was because I didn't have a French address.

It took about half an hour to sort it out. No wonder I had so much trouble trying to do it this morning online.

The HR people at the Orange shop at Sarlat seem to have an interesting recruiting policy. They only seem to hire knowledgeable, enthusiastic, tall, slim, attractive, young, brunette females.

David helped us get our bags upstairs and they'd opened a bottle of red wine for us to enjoy. We had a pleasant chat with them until a thunderstorm struck and they had to scurry off to sort out problems.

We took their advice and walked into town to have dinner at the Bistrot next to the cathedral in the ancient part of the town. Along the way we admired the cobblestone streets and old buildings before reaching the central plaza and the cathedral.

It was a very pleasant meal with a delightful wine from the Loire valley.

Day 03 - Wednesday 26th April

Our body clocks have probably adjusted to the new time zone because we had a good sleep overnight. We went downstairs for breakfast in the hotel soon after 8am.

I went outside to take a few photos before breakfast. It was just as well that I wore my coat because it was very cold outside, My app said it was only 1C and the forecast maximum was only 12C.

It was a very nice breakfast with plenty of choice. I asked the chef for a couple of poached eggs.

Today we would be driving to the Loire Valley and our first task was to pick up the Avis car that we'd booked. The Avis depot was at the airports terminal 2. So we caught the shuttle tram again - this time in the opposite direction.

Although the booking had listed a Citroen vehicle, the car they supplied us with was a Toyota Aurion hybrid. It came with a built-in satnav. It uses normal petrol rather than deisel. As usual in Europe, it uses 95 octane petrol (SP95).

We took our time to check out all the features in the car and to program the satnav. When we were ready to go, it took us several attempts to find the right route out of the airport. Then we had to find our way along the motorways out of Paris region.

The traffic was fairly heavy - partly because it was a week day morning and partly because there had been some breakdowns and accidents. It was a little easier once we got out of the Paris region. There were a few showers along the way.

We reached our B&B before lunchtime. Chateau de Colliers is a delightful mansion on the banks of the Loire River near a town called Muides Sur Loire. The manager, Patrick, was waiting for us in the courtyard when we arrived. He helped us get our bags upstairs to our room.

This afternoon we planned to go to Chambord Chateau which is located close to our B&B. So we left straight away to maximise our time there.

It is a very impressive castle on a huge estate of land. After paying for our admission to the site, the first task was to have some lunch. Many of the food places were closed but we found a stall in the plaza area that cooked a couple of crepes for us. We sat in the plaza to each our lunch. It was still cold but at least we in the sun.

We walked around to the back of the chateau and then went inside to look around walking from one level to the next using the large staircase.

In one of the rooms, they were running a video that gave a history of the chateau. As we walked through the building, we came across quite a few school groups.

On the top level, you get a good view of the grounds of the estate. In most places, it was quite windy which made it feel even colder. The history video had said that one of the queens had refused to live there because it was so cold.

At about 4pm, we stopped for a hot chocolate in their cafe. Soon after it started to rain and we sought shelter in the souvenir shop. We had intended to spend time admiring the gardens but decided to head straight back to the car because of the rain.

Back the B&B, it spent some time taking photos of the various rooms. It has many lounge areas, a dining room and lots of antique furniture. Then I took photos of the exterior included the Loire River.

Patrick had booked a table for 8pm for us at the restaurant in the village. We walked there and back - 750m each way. It was cold on the walk and I wished that I had worn my gloves. Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable meal.

Day 02 - Tuesday 25th April

We both slept quite well and we were ready for breakfast. By the time we’d finished breakfast, it was 10am Sydney time on Anzac Day but it was probably still Monday using local time.

The Qatar staff during the fight were very good. It was like being in a high-class restaurant. They were friendly and helpful. I guess they put their best people in first class.

When we landed in Doha, it was dawn and the sun was rising above the clouds and in the foreground we saw dozens of small fishing boats returning to shore with their catches.

The terminal at Doha is very new, ultra modern and very busy. Almost all the planes were from Qatar Airways.

When we got into the terminal, Suzy asked one of the staff for directions and he offered us a lift in his golf cart to the security area. It was a funny feeling being driven along the walkway as everybody else was on foot. Just as well we took up his offer because it was a long way to security.

For some reason, there is a large inflatable yellow toy in the middle of the terminal building.

Next we tried to find the first class lounge. We walked in various directions trying to understand the signs and getting poor advice from people we asked. Eventually we got there and we were impressed with the venue - vast spaces and huge ceiling heights.

It would have been nice to spend more time there but we only had 30 minutes before having to go to the gate for the next flight to Paris.

It was another A380 aircraft and we had the same seats in the top desk at the front of the plane. It looked identical to the plane that brought us from Sydney to Doha.

After take off, they served us another breakfast. I wasn't feeling hungry and so I only had a light meal. Then we settled back to watch movies before going to the lounge bar for a coffee.

It was cold when we landed in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. We were lucky that there was no long queue for customs. It was a relief when our bags appeared on the carousel because you never know for sure if your bags are going to be transferred successfully from one plane to another.

Next we had to find the shuttle that would take us to our hotel. The shuttle was a tram with standing room only. This is probably quite practical because its only a short trip and you need to be able to get your bags on and off easily. The shuttle is a tram and must be quite new because it looks very modern.

The Pullman Hotel is close to the shuttle stop at Roissypole which is part of the airport region. It was somewhat of an effort to drag our heavy bags across the cobblestone paving near the hotel.

Our hotel room was very comfortable - as would expect for a high class international hotel chain. We had a good view of the nearby airport.

Out task for this afternoon was to go to the Orange shop in Aeroville to buy a WiFi device to use on our holiday in Europe.. Areoville is a shopping centre in the airport region.

The hotel reception had told us there was a free bus that would take us from the shuttle stop to the shopping centre but we had a lot of trouble finding it. In the end we got on a different bus and paid 2 euros for the trip. It took about 10 minutes to get there.

Luckily we found someone at the Orange shop who spoke English. Initially he suggested that we just buy a SIM for one of our Australian WiFi devices but he couldn't get it to work. So we went back to my plan A which was the Orange Airbox Traveller 4G which seemed ideal from the research that I'd done online back in Sydney.

On the way back, we managed to find the courtesy bus to take us back to our hotel.

We had dinner in the hotel's restaurant. I enjoyed my burger and a bottle of Loire valley wine. We were ready for bed after a long trip from Sydney via Doha.

Day 01 - Monday 24th April

While we are away, Steph and Mick are staying at our place to look after Milo. Naturally they’ve brought Herbie with them and so Milo will have a great time playing with Herbie.

Although our flight with Qatar Airways wasn’t due to take off until 9:25pm, we wanted to get to the airport in plenty of time and to have dinner in the lounge before our flight. So Steph and Mick drove us to the airport in our Peugeot at 5:30pm.

Part of the reason for leaving early was to allow for peak hour traffic. It turned out that we needn’t have worried because we had a good run.

We booked the flight last year using Qantas Frequent Flyer points. The only flight we could get was with Qatar and the only option with them was – believe it or not – first class.

It meant that we used a lot of points but thought it would be worth it for the experience. We’d never flown with Qatar before and we’d never flown first class before with any airline.

As you would expect, there was no queue in the first class check-in counter and the man behind the counter was very friendly and helpful.

Customs have an automatic system now where you insert your passport into a machine to get through the barrier. It didn’t work for me and a customs official redirected me to a traditional line. Apparently what their camera saw didn’t match the photo in my passport – probably because of my glasses.

The man at the check-in had told us we could use the Qantas first class lounge. It was very nice - a sit-down restaurant meal at a table overlooking the airport. The restaurant was run by Sofitel and so the food and service were excellent.

Our plane was an Airbus A380. First class is at the front of the top deck which you get to by a separate air bridge.

We’d booked window seats for each of us – one behind the other. There are only eight seats in first class – two rows of four seats – one at each window and two in the middle.

There is plenty of leg room. Each seat has its own screen which is much bigger than any other screen I’ve seen on a plane – probably 27 inches.

I was just as impressed with the size of the table they pull out at dinner time. It was bigger than you get at many cafes. What’s more, it’s a table for two because there’s a seat in front of the TV and so Suzy joined me at the same table for dinner.

The food was excellent and well presented. Suzy had a Shiraz wine as usual whereas I tried a cab-sav from Chile.

When we got on board, they had given us pyjamas to wear on the flight. Suzy changed into hers straight away whereas I waited until after dinner. They were very comfortable.

That leads me to one of the (two) most surprising aspects of the flight, namely the toilets – or as one of the other passengers commented later they’d be better described as change rooms because they are so big.

The “change rooms” are probably about 3.5m by 2m. Along one wall, there is a long vanity unit. Along the opposite wall, there is a long leather bench with individual seating. When you lift up one of these seats, you find the toilet.

The other remarkable feature is the lounge bar which is located behind the business class area. It has a wide selection of liqueurs and other drinks. Suzy had a Cointreau and I had a port. We sat and chatted on the leather benches with another couple from first class.

Incidentally, when we walked through business class to and from the bar lounge, the business class area looked crowded in comparison with first class.

By the time we got back to our seats, the staff had converted them into beds. By this time it was midnight Sydney time and so we were ready for a sleep.