Coffee 0715 at the aire in the centre of Reims, clear blue sky and brilliant sunshine but still very cold as shown by the icicles of the motorhome parked next to us. After breakfast we serviced the Hymer, filling up with fresh water then dumping our grey water and emptying the toilet cassette. France is generally very good at providing facilities for motorhomes, Reims is a good example, the aire is within easy walking distance of the cathedral and free, which includes fresh water and the emptying facilities. We are in the middle of the city where it would be difficult to park a car yet we are able to park overnight in a secure area behind a barrier.

We head off south, guided by Google Maps, the familiar voice giving us prompts and keeping us up-to-date with any changes to road conditions. We drive in 2-hour shifts, passing interesting country making good progress. The roads in France are very varied in width and type. France has opted for private construction of many of its major highways. That means road tolls, or Peage as it appears on the signs. The cost for cars is high to our English eyes, and for motorhomes even higher, especially for us because our Hymer's plated weight is over 3,500 kg, which puts it up into the next charge class. There seems little point in paying a large amount to save a relatively short amount of time, especially when much of our pleasure comes from passing through the different rural areas.

Roadsigns point to Gevrey-Chambertain, Beaune, Nuits-St-George and Mâcon, it's like walking along the wine aisle in a supermarket, except that we are really passing these areas.

Today we make good progress and so we revise our target destination, Dijon, and head on further to Pierre de Bresse where we arrive around 1730. This turns out to be a wonderful aire, located opposite a large chateau, so we park facing it so that we can look out of the front windscreen onto it. We are the only motorhome on the aire and pass a very pleasant evening and overnight.

Summary of motorhome trip

Today

Cummulative