In every trip there is a point where you just need to slow down. For these two kiwis it was after a few days of driving and nights of staying in hotels, packing and unpacking the car, shuffling dogs and figuring out where the next meal is going to be. On this trip that place was Troyes in the heart of the Champagne -Ardenne region.

It is located on the Seine river about 150 km southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses (mainly of the 16th century) survive in the old town. Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa. (Thanks to Wikipedia for that information).

We stayed in Hotel St Jean in the old part of the city which was, as mentioned above, all narrow lanes and half timbered buildings. Daisy and Poppie loved walking around the narrow streets – despite the somewhat chilly temperature – and cheesey winter coats.

Taking Daisy for a walk is always an experience. She’s deaf and losing her eyesight, so smell is her main way of experiencing what is around her. This means a walk is usually a series of short trots between long pauses to smell things. Smells that can take minutes to digest and understand. No amount of tugging on her harness will move her until she has extracted that last waft of the aroma. Often that means our patience runs out and she gets picked up and carried – much to her disgust.

Anyway, for Troyes we thought we’d post Daisy’s view of the town rather than ours.