244 DEAR DIARY, DAY EIGHT…

Dear Diary,

Today I leapt up and went straight back to bed as I felt lousy; Lisa did the same.  I think a combination of long drives, eating late and the odd glass of vino at midnight had caught up with us.

We eventually dragged our carcasses out of bed, got ready and went to explore Séte.  What a beautiful place it is.  We visited the street markets selling delicious meats, fruits and cheeses, then headed to the main indoor market, which sold all manner of seafood, not just your common or garden fish and crustaceans either; I’m sure I saw a baby kraken hanging from a hook on one of the stalls.

We decided we needed to see more of the city, so we took a boat trip along the city's waterways and out into the Mediterranean. The commentary was in French, but I managed to download the English audio after faffing around with an app for 20 minutes, just in time to learn that Sète has a deep-water harbour and that Roman Abramovich’s mega-yacht was in town recently to top up on unleaded.  Riveting stuff, like.

We decided to make use of the BBQ and found a butcher to load up on meat.  We couldn’t find salad or buns, so we went full caveman.  Chicken skewers, beef skewers, burgers, and some mystery-meat sausage.  All cooked on the roof terrace, and eaten alfresco as the sun started to set. 

Glorious.

Then the lads went out to watch England in an Irish bar surrounded by yanks whooping and hollering two seconds after us.  Initially, I thought they were taking the p**s and was all set to improve international relations by giving the backwards cap-wearing helmets a mouthful, but then I realised they were watching on a screen on the other side of the pub on a delay!  It was really funny, then, hearing them react after the three of us had just gone mad.

It was then back to the air-conditioned bubble of the room and more Still Game in bed, planning tomorrow's epic drive from Séte to Lourdes, then on to San Sebastián and our 8th country of the trip…I think.  The days and countries are starting to melt into each other.

Yours,

Rob