Have you ever had to stay up until that time, when, it’s just not late enough, nor early enough to get some sleep? I am not complaining, but keeping my eyes open until we were sat on a 02:50 am bus ride is not fun. Fortunately, it was a straight through 8 hour bus ride to Lyon from Luxembourg. We could have caught the train, rented a car, or even got a flight, but it’s just not practical on a shoestring budget and the bla-bla car lift was a long way off from where we needed to be. The bus was full, yet quiet as we settled down for the much-needed shuteye, only stirring momentarily in Dijon some five hours later, and another couple of hours later arriving in Lyon.

The worst part of this particular journey was the transfer waiting time in Lyon, 3 hours waiting for our connecting bus to Tulle. Carrying backpacks is not practical for gallivanting around the city in the midday heat after an early start, so bus / train station seating was our option.

The afternoon ride across France from Lyon in the east, to Tulle in the west, was framed with beautiful countryside and flat, yet rolling hills, not mountains, just the meandering roads of the French countryside to keep us company. Arriving in Tulle at the toll road gate at 20:15 we had been on the go for 18 hours and had a short wait while our host, Michel, to come to pick us up and take us to our accommodation for the next couple of weeks, where we were volunteering.