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There is a soft sunrise this morning, lighting up the trees across the valley.
We need LPG today so look up where it's available en route before setting off towards Meilhan sur Garonne.
The roads away from St Meard-de-Gurcon take us through some beautiful valleys and over hills of vineyards where the vines have all put on their autumn cloaks. We've seen vineyards bare in winter, lush green in spring and laden with fruit in summer, but never seen row upon row glowing yellow and russet in the watery sunshine.
At Pineuilh we fill the LPG and continue on a route which backtracks on our journey last year. At Duras we stop beside the chateau and discover a free aire beneath its towering walls and note it as a future stopover.
We skirt around Marmande to start the final few miles along the Garonne valley when Ali spots a familiar van lurking beside the canal. We pull in at the next layby and within minutes the van approches, flashes us out and we are once again travelling in convoy with Nick and Grete. Within five minutes we are pulling into our arranged rendezvous point, Maison Labeau, where we spent last Christmas.
Owner, Claudie, is at first surprised to see us again, and then gives us a lovely welcome. She apologises that we cannot park where we did at Christmas as the field is being seeded and the tractor is working but anywhere else is fine. Then it's a guided tour of her vegetable garden, still productive even in November.
We spend the afternoon and evening with Nick and Grete catching up on travels then have our traditional first evening together dinner of fish pie which we enjoy with a bottle of bubbly.
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