As we were having breakfast at our parking place next to the Marne-Saone Canal this morning we saw this Great White Egret on the other side of the canal. We saw this same species of bird at Equi Terme in Tuscany on 22nd December and erroneously referred to it as a White Heron. Many thanks to Tony Marchese for putting us right as to its identity.

Our overnight parking place at Joinville is really very nice with facilities for camper vans and for boats on the Canal.

We travelled north west through St Dizier and Reims (seen here with its famous two towered Cathedral) and on to Laon where we had visited previously in April 2012 (see blog archive if you're interested).

Laon is set high on an isolated hill, with plains all around, offering magnificent views. Today however it is blowing a gale and pouring with rain and the low cloud is blotting out the views. We are parked overnight in the same car park we stayed in in April 2012.