Took most of Saturday to recover from the Citroen C-Crosser launch near the Pyrenees in France on Thursday/Friday. And no, it wasn’t because I had indulged.

Thursday happened to be the longest day of the year, an occasion that prompts widespread street partying and blaring music in many towns in France.

My suspicions about what was to come were first aroused when, on entering my hotel room, I found not the usual complementary chocolate on my pillow but a pair of ear plugs.

After the evening meal – and an interesting chat with Citroen UK MD Xavier Duchemin (see the June 29 issue of AM) – we walked back to the hotel through streets packed with people having a good time.

Obviously, it would have been rude not to join in.

However, with an early start the next morning and a long drive, I was back in the hotel room at a reasonable time. Unfortunately my room overlooked the main street and was plumb in the middle of two competing PA systems.

It’s fair to say that hip hop and country are not forms of music that mix well at one in the morning. They mix even less well at 3am!

Still, the drive on Friday through some amazing mountainous scenery in the Pyrenees more than made up for the lack of sleep.

* You can read my showroom report on the C-Crosser, Citroen’s new SUV, in the July 13 issue of AM.