arriving at our chosen destination Pontailler sur Soane in the afternoon. This small town was a convenient stop for us on our way to Dijon. It sits on the banks of the River Soane and when we arrived the Fete d' Oignon was in full swing. It looked like any ordinary summer village fete except in the centre ring men were competing in the 'faster peeler of onions' competition. 
As we caught this part way through we were not sure how much time was allowed but the fastest two men had both filled a washing up bowl of onions by the time the end was called and the bowls were taken away for weighing. We cant say that it made spectacular viewing but there was some entertainment value. We left the fete and walked down the main street which made up the town and decided to go for a cycle. We took the cycle route along the river and headed for a chateau at Talmay. It was a nice focus for our ride and it turned out to be a lovely building but as it was privately owned we were not able to visit it. After our cycle back we ate our supper and then headed back to the fete. The onion ring had now been transformed into a dance floor. People were dancing to old British pop CDs but nothing was going to induce me to dance to YMCA so we returned to the van and bed.
Sunday 11th August
This morning we had a short drive to the grand city of Dijon. Entering a city on a Sunday has worked well for us. We found free parking easily in the centre so only had a short walk to see the main sights. Armed with a map we walked for 2.5 hours taking in all the lovely buildings including the Palais des Ducs, Musee des Beaux Arts and Notre dame with its good luck owl stuck in a corner wall. Most of the shops were shut but I was able to buy some 'cassis moutarde'. After our tour of the centre we headed out for Lac Kir which lies on the western side of the City. It was another lovely hot day and we enjoyed eating our lunch by the lakeside and watching some people rather chaotically train three dogs how to rescue people from water (and how to tow a dog marooned on his surf board home too!
Mike also spent some time trying to fix the water pump which had suddenly stopped working until he realised that he had pulled a wire loose when trying to fix something else!
Later in the afternoon we set offotwards Orleans. We called in at McDs to catch up on some e mails and to skype Millie. it was after 10pm by the time we finished and we still had not found anywhere for the night. So in the dark we drove for another 20K until we found a suitable picnic area to stop for the night.
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