The early morning was beautiful, clear and cool. Elder John walked up the strip looking for tobacco and sundries, but nothing beyond hotels. Younger John did some taiji by the river's edge, before the sun came round. Swifts took advantage of the morning's batch of insects, executing some spectacular stunts over the swift flowing water. Lovely.
After breakfast we strolled over to the park and sat on a shady bench, watching the French equivalent of the Wallace Arnold and Saga set queue for the boat trips. These start with a rousing speech from the tour guide, and a show of hands for the onboard group photo, which is obviously available for purchase on return!! Marvellous. We contemplated renting a canoe to execute a photobomb but that would have required boating skills generally lacking, as well as a kitty extension.
Elder John proposed an ice cream, which was wisely taken on a cafe's shady terrace, and thus reserved a table for lunch in what turned out to be a very busy spot. And with the right kind of bread...
A bit of souvenir shopping, then Elder John offered to buy us a beer, which ended up back at the hotel. Dinner the and the staff were wise to the cheese plate manoeuvre - they brought pre-loaded plates! Excellent duck main though.
After dinner we wandered over to the park where the weekly pétanque tournament was in progress. Great atmosphere and fascinating to watch.
Younger John and Pip wandered up and around the ramparts, finding a memorial to the three people killed in 1957 when the rock face collapsed. It took 3 months to recover the bodies and 2 years to open the national route again!
Bed time - another (likely futile!) attempt to leave at 9 planned for omorrow...
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