Challenges and delights

Things are never boring on our travels. After Bellenot we headed for Seaulieu, where we stayed in a small hotel in which at night we appeared to be alone - no other guests and staff had disappeared to their homes. It was fairly basic, indeed the bath was so tiny it felt like a tin can. But the next morning we set off again for Autun, a larger town, really lovely, especially in the centre by the cathedral of St Lazare. We took advantage of an Irish pub (see photos) and an exhibition at the Musee de Rolin there, featuring a wealth of Greek and Roman artefacts and also paintings and engravings by Delacroix and Goya. We've found it frustrating though that in the most interesting little corners of French towns there's always a car or two nosying their way into pedestrian areas and historic features.

After two nights in a chambre d'hote there we embarked on the next stage. But as we set off the dizziness which I had experienced over the last week suddenly got a lot worse and I found that I couldn't walk in a straight line let alone ride a pannier-laden bike. What to do? We decided to set off on foot, with the idea of walking as far as possible to somewhere we could stay the night, in the direction of our final pick-up in a week's time at Macon. We must have walked around six or seven miles and then turned into a forest road. After a little while I decided to have another go at riding, as the road was straight, flat and deserted, and thank heavens I managed to stay upright. So for the next few miles we cycled and walked as far as Le Creusot. Indeed in some respects it was slightly easier to ride as my head stayed level, whereas walking meant my head went up and down and I felt rather groggy. Anyway we made it and stayed there for the night before cycling to Buxy, which is on the velo verte cycle path through the vineyards. We've particularly enjoyed the wild flowers by the roadside, and as we approached Buxy there was a field full of cosmos. The weather is very hot so we always arrive sweating profusely.

We're in the most delightful chambre d'hote at Buxy, with a balcony and swimming pool - only 60 euros too (again see latest photos).