Summer holiday 2003
le Cap D´Agde − France


Friday, 4th July

We set out in the middle of the night around 04:00 o´clock in a dark and rainy night. What a start for a summer vacation! Our first objective is Breda. From here we intend to follow directions to Antwerp, Brussels and Namen, all the way down to Luxembourg. Having reached Luxembourg we will follow directions to Metz, Nancy, Dijon and further down south to Lyon, were we have arranged a hotel for the night. After driving for almost three hours we reach Namen at about 6:45 hr. were we take a brief stop to stretch our legs. By now it has stopped raining and the sun has come up. It is not exactly a very sunny morning, but at least it is dry again.

We reach Metz around 10:24 hr. where we have another pit stop to fill up the gas tank. So far we have covered about 450 Km. The weather has slightly improved; it is much less dreary then early this morning. As of now we will follow the turnpike road, also known as the "Route du Soleil", following directions to Lyon. Around 11:45 hr. we pass Neufchateau and head further south towards Dijon, that we reach around 14:00 hr..

We leave the turnpike road a few kilometres North of Lyon. In total we are charged € 23,80 for the stretch Metz − Lyon. The Kyryad hotel that we have booked for tonight is situated in a village named Bron. Finding it proves to be a little more difficult then anticipated. Lyon and its suburbs are interconnected by a maze of roads without a really proper set of road signs that tell you where to go.

To begin with, the sheer number of them is totally confusing. Then sometimes they are too small to be noticed in time. Sometimes they are simply not there and sometimes when you do notice them they are right in front of the turnoff and you are simply not in the position to follow them at all. Needless to say, we got lost virtually immediately. After making some inquiries, we eventually did manage to reach the hotel.

This Kyriad hotel is a fairly small hotel with fairly small yet clean rooms. The bathroom proved to be equally small, and the door could not be closed properly while using the toilet. Everything is situated on the ground floor. I don´t know whether or not I will recommend this hotel to any one I know!

Behind the hotel is a large open space. It looks like it has been used as a car parking in the past. Grass is now shooting up through cracks in the tarmac. The open space offers a clear view on a distant local airstrip, and every now and then we can see a plane or a helicopter take off. Since it has been a long and tiresome day, we do not stay up till very late this evening.