After a few false starts, here we go: Hydro, this is for you!

One of the great pleasures about travelling is that you sometimes meet lovely people who are interesting, interested and are an example of contained capability and plain good fun.

Last night we spent the evening reminiscing and putting the world to rights, with informed comments and clever arguments, expert opinions and clear common sense that can only be expressed by senior people who are experienced and knowledgeable about this world. Its a pity that nobody else was listening...Ha!

I suspect that all our good advice and experience will go unheard, as it does.

But, Hydro and S***e, thanks for dinner. I enjoyed it immensely.

So this post is about being a beach bum, going places meeting people and seeing things, but remember Europe is a cold place, wet and windy and here at the moment suffering from an infestation of 'Moustique Tigre'

I have not posted since the Monserrat, mainly because the weather has been bad with snow and storms. It was so bad I missed out going to Andorra and just drove up into France for a couple of days.

But now heading east, south of Toulouse, there was fresh snow on the Pyrenees in the region I had previously been through. I wonder just what time of year you can visit these parts without getting snowed-in!

But now I have arrived in SW France and for lunch we have 'moules et Frites" at the 'Sea Side'. In reality the restaurant was empty.

But since last year they have added about 20ft of boardwalk to the promenade at the port, no doubt funded by the EU and paid for by the UK taxpayer. Get working, you Brits are paying for this!