Patrick seemed sad to see us go this morning, as we were packing up Reg and getting to fill him with water, Patrick held the key to the drinking water tap and said he was going to the other side of the site.  When we eventually tracked him down, his hose was not of the appropriate fitting.  Now I know from bitter experience that it is sometimes possible to disgrace yourself through the mispronouncation of simple words.  I used to work for a company that had its Lyon base on Rue Pierre Baizet, I failed to convince every taxi driver that I had not used the word baiser ( look it up !) on this occasion I wanted to tell Patrick that had I had. a hose pipe he could connect to fill Reg up, but it was with schoolboy anticipation I said ” Patrick, J’ai une pipe”. I seemed to get away without getting myself into hot water and we duly headed off from the gorges towards the seaside.  

Messrs tom toms, as instructed directed us any from the autoroutes and péages and we passed though the beautiful villages of Provence, passed the vineyards and the chateaus… However, all of this beauty was wasted on me since I am terrified  by the practice of ” priorite a droit” still apparently practiced in some small french villages.  In these circumstances, cars emerging from tiny side roads have the right of way even though you are on the main carriageway, the only indication that such practices are not in place is an orange diamond ( without a line through it). 

After an hour, I decided to tell Tom and Tom to use the péage ( money no object for my sanity) and immediately knocked 2 hours off the arrival time, and arrived in the beautiful city of Cannes at teatime, just in time to lie by the pool, watching the sun drop lower in the sky over the pine forested hills.  To his disgust, George ( at the moment we are throwing in the occasional Georgio to get him used to his Italian name) was not allowed at the pool side so he remained guarding Reg, and by guarding I mean lying next to him and occasionally peeing on his wheels.  As the Suns Rays began to warm me up, all I could hear  was ” ooh, le chien this and le chien that as he flirted with all and sundry at the campsite…that’s my training that is !

The sounds of frogs amongst the long grass between the pine trees are currently my lullaby, and will be soundtrack that sends me to sleep tonight, before exploring tomorrow.