Angouleme.....

It's Thursday ("all day" I'm reliably informed from the next room!). I went into Angouleme yesterday, which is an amazing town to have a snoop around, very old and very French.

I've put some pictures up there too, of Wendy's cottage where I stayed the other night, the show room to all things twee and cottagey ! Oh, and a fantastic mural in Angouleme too, painted by some famous cartoonist, I've forgotten his name, but I'm sure you can tell by the style ? The mural is so good that you can hardly see where the real building starts and the mural stops ?

The martell building was so iconic that I had to take a photograph. It's been amazing passing through a region with such famous places and brands dotted about.

The sun's shining but it's SO cold outside ! The winter is really on the way now and wood fires are being lit... The smells coming from chimneys on the approach to towns and villages are really nice at this time of year, especially around mid day as the aroma of burnt oak combines with French farmhouse cuisine in the crisp air ! It's very distinctive and reminds me of winters in Brittany. Which reminds me, I really should get pedalling, I've a long way to go today...

I also visited Decathlon again yesterday for yet another knee support, I'm really getting through them but the new ones do work so much better...

In true athletic style I sat up drinking red wine again last night till the early hours, before retiring to the haunted attic. I figured that being drunk would make it less scary. I was really brave, switched off the lights and jumped into bed ... Just as I was drifting off there was a tap tap tap on the wall ! I nearly jumped out of my skin, sitting bolt upright and grappling for the bedside lamp ! Now sweating a bit, heart pounding and trying to remain calm. "There's no such thing as ghosts, and zee dead Germans are not going to get you!" I remind myself !

Then the tapping returns... but this time it's happening in conjunction with my bedroom door opening to a gentle breeze, and the penny drops. The tapping isn't tapping but simply the creeking of the old door hindges ! But where's that breeze coming from !? Gradually I drop off again ... with the light on !

Dont be put off by all those blue skies, it's bloody freezing ! I think I'll be wearing all my clothes today as I set off further north ...

I've had a some very gererous donations over the last couple of days, which has really lifted my spirits and spurred me on, thank you very much !

If you're reading this and you're one of the kind people who are going to be putting me up then please note I'm one day ahead of schedule now, which is quite something as I thought I'd be a couple of days behind by now ? Please text if you need to contact me.

So, thanks for reading and please keep donating, I'm still well off my target but feel sure I can get there .. And get to Roscoff too !