Destination Orange - Day 5

Another early start after breakfast. Firstly across to the market in Orange and then off northwards on the A7.

We had bought some mushroom pizza and apricot flan at the market so we could stop whenever.

A coffee stop after about 100 miles in a new services and then towards Lyon and into solid traffic. I re-programmed TomTom and we were then taken on a massive loop via Bourg en Bresse and then through the centre of Chalons sur Saone! Thanks TomTom. The extra 60 miles is one thing but the latter was terrible.

On the way we passed a restaurant that might do a lot of chicken!

Crossing the Saone near Tournus, a few miles short of Chalons en Champagne.

Tournus

Vines outside Beaune

We eventually arrived in Beaune just before 4pm. Our lunch stop was somewhere east of Lyon.

We had time to book in and then walk into town. The Hotel Bellevue is nice but the wifi doesn't work and isn't as near the centre as I had anticipated. The staff however were excellent. And the "small world" feel continued when the manager said he used to work in Oldham, where I lived and where my brother was born.

We found the Hotel Dieu, but with greater skill than at Pont du Gard they have managed to make it invisible to anyone that doesn't want to spend a small fortune to get in. Oh well we tried.

We had booked the hotel restaurant for 8pm and walked back slowly after a beer and a cake!

Tomorrow is the last full day in France. We are going to Epernay. We want to arrive in time to get to visit one of the champagne houses. It looks from the Rough Guide that Castellane is open longer, but Möet and Chandon and also Mercier are nearby.