France - day 8

Diana, Matthew, Rachel and Ross paddling down the Ardeche. For me, being by or on the river is what makes this holiday different to other holidays.

Got down safely this year without capsizing, and I have to take my hat off to Diana and Rachel who both did it despite being very nervous. They too did it without falling in, so a clean sheet for the whole group, even Ross who went trough the Point D'Arc rapid backwards (not on purpose).

To give a feel for the power of the water in these rapids, there was a double kayak of the same construction as the ones we are using folded in half around a rock!

Pizza from the Takeaway van for dinner tonight. They do pizzas with creme fresh as well as the more traditional tomato. I have to confess I thought this sounded awfu but under pressure from Matthew I ordered one, and I have to admit I was wrong. It was very nice indeed. Apparantly this guy sells 50+ pizzas a night. To keep the maths simple, lets say €10 a piece, that's €500 a night, €3000 a week assuming he does a 6 day week. Even after deductions for ingredients, I can see that he is doing pretty well for himself.

My masculinity has been seriously challenged this holiday. I've played darts twice and been beaten both times. Once by Rachel and this evening by Diana. Oh, the shame .....