The weather was starting to warm up, so it was time to pack our bags and head for the hills. I took some keys and contact details over to Vasily in the Capitainerie and let him know our plans, so that the batteries could be installed before we get back later in the week. After I returned to the boat, I noticed that the little orange weed-eater was again doing towing duties, moving a work barge from one side of the port to the other. A very handly little machine.

So around 1000h, we hit the road, linking up with the A39 Motorway at Dole, then heading south through Bourg-en-Bresse, then to the east of Lyon to link up with the A43 to Chambéry. At Bourg-en-Bresse, we stopped at the service centre which is easily identified by the "Big Chook", the symbol of Bourg-en-Bresse (which is famous for its chicken industry).

We kept to back roads as much as possible to enjoy the scenery, since we weren't really in any hurry (especially as the car's air-conditioning is now working properly). We entered a tunnel on the A43 just before Chambéry, and emerged back into the light to face a panorama full of mountains. We let Google Maps guide us to our IBIS Budget hotel (we now use the iPhone and Google Maps as our GPS, because the FreeMobile coverage and data allowance is copious and the maps are more up-to-date than the 2009 maps in the Renault GPS). After arriving, we relaxed and sampled the mountain views from the hotel carpark.

The IBIS Budget rooms are not extravagent; indeed they are quite small (I think they call them "compact"). But they are clean, well-equipped and COOL!  One side effect of living on the barge is that we are not worried about small rooms; indeed we find them rather cosy, just like on the barge. So we are more than happy with them.

And our sample of two (Choissey and Chambéry) has shown that the proprietors are very friendly (often family-operated). Today, Rita got talking with the lady at the desk and she gave us good tips of where to go during our few days in Chambéry, and where we might eat tonight. She recommended Le Local, and so we went there to find it packed, but with a spare table for us. The food was excellent, even if one of the waiters kept forgetting about us - his colleagues made up for that.