Millau and snow

A very enjoyable Sunday. We left Carcassonne early and drove north-east for a coffee-time rendezvous with Sylvain, a French friend we usually meet up with every June at Le Mans. Spent a very convivial hour of catch-up and left with his caution about there being 'snow ahead' in mind as we headed towards the Millau Bridge.

The hugely impressive bridge was bathed in bright sunshine as we drove over it. But within minutes of arrival in the parking area overlooking the bridge, it started snowing hard, and the vast structure spanning the valley between two mountains suddenly disappeared totally in swirling white.

That was the pattern for much of the drive this afternoon, snow storms interspersed with clear patches. The local authorities in the Massif Central region were doing an excellent job, though, of keeping the autoroute clear. We saw several snowploughs at work in both directions.

The A75 must be the most picturesque autoroute in France: curving, climbing and diving through beautiful countryside, including passing via dramatic rock face gorges.

Our overnight stop tonight is in Bourges, a historic town where we had dinner in a quaint little restaurant that dates back to 1866.

How's the car that is the point of this trip behaving? Flawlessly, including the rather toasty heated steering wheel!