The tollways so far have been quite expensive, so after a quick comparison on the Tom Tom (and there only being a couple of minutes difference) we opted to avoid the toll ways to St Claud.

Our Tom Tom (currently set on Tom the Australian) has so far been quite good to us, accurately directing us to where we need to be. 'He' can't however, pick up on roadworks! Mind you, after a few detours through an industrial area, he had us back on track.

St Claud is a small village outside a slightly larger village called Confolens. This area had great significance for the French resistance during WWII.

The significance for us however, was to attend a 60th birthday party for Swanny's cousin Barry.

We had accommodation booked at a bed & breakfast called Manoir La Bettoulle. After pulling in a little late, our hostess Penny directed us through a gates and checked us in to our rooms. She had given us two lovely rooms next to each other, as she had assumed that the twin room for Karen and Michelle was for two children!

Our rooms were upstairs and beautifully furnished with doors opening onto a wide balcony stretching the entire length of the manoir. The view was of the large swimming pool and well maintained grounds. We were all so impressed with the property, with all of us thinking it was worth much more than what we were paying!

After getting settled, our tummies were rumbling and we enquired about places to go for dinner. The two first suggestions were closed which reduced our options down to one! A businessman's hotel with an attached restaurant. I was about a 20 minute drive from la bettoulle. It was a nice restaurant with a traditionally French menu. Fois Gras and Escargot have become a regular sight on the menus here.

The food was good but nothing to write home about. The bill came and was surprisingly low, but rather than question whether an error had been made, we quickly paid up and headed straight for the car - not unlike the Ikea ad..."Start the car!! Start the car!! Woohoo!!"