France - 8th to 15th October 2007 (1st Leg GR1)

Bonjour from GR1! This is the land of the Celtic Gauls who occupied France from 1500BC. Caesar arrived here in 52BC and in the 15 th century England controlled Paris until Joan of Arc rallied the French troops. We experienced France as chic with a certain je ne sais quoi! We've also found that the French are not as unfriendly as everyone made them out to be. They've been paying quite a lot of attention to the vehicle and are very inquisitive about where and how far we've come.

Our first day was spent along the beautiful Cote d'Azur from Nice, the Riviera 's Capital to Cannes , Antebes and St Tropez with their yachts and opulence. We however spent the night along some pretty lake bush-camping just inland from St Raphael. The majestic Provence beckoned and we headed inland to France 's Grand Canyon called 'du Verdon' and 'Lac de Ste-Croix' - not missing the usual kid's education that seemed to take hours! After spending the night at a campsite along the road to Aups, we were again in awe of the emerald lake and beautiful colours as autumn transformed the mountains. We had climbed about 1000 metres and Provence 's countryside with their stone villages like Moustiers Ste Marie en route had us praising France 's beauty. So much so that we only did 130km for the day and did the bush-camping thing at Riez, surrounded by oak and walnut trees -The 11 th of October we travelled west and had our first taste of a French croissant in Apt - fresh and delicious. My fan belt then had also had enough and needed replacing along with a minor service when we arrived in Avignon . A snazzy huge mall swallowed the rest of our day and we couldn't resist the lure of Chinese food - so much for French gastronomy! We decided to slow the pace a bit and spent 3 nights at Camping Bagatelle with beautiful views of Avignon 's fabled 12 th century Pont St - Benezet and palace of the Popes, which was the papal seat of power in the 14 th century during Rome 's turmoil. The next day we had a quick look at the 13 th century village, Villeneuve-Les-Avignon containing Saint Andre Fort and Philippe le Bel tower which offered great views of Avignon's old stone ramparts and the Rhone valley. That evening we indulged in Provence cuisine in the old town. The next day, to further satisfy our taste buds we went north to a chocolate factory at Chateauneuf-de-Pape to savour rather expensive praline chocs - unfortunately it was just a taste as couldn't really indulge!! As luck would have it, an authentic medieval fare was held right next to our campsite with lots to see and Dane could not resist challenging the last person with a sword. Disappointingly, we did not find 'Die Meisie van Avignon'.

Getting a wee bit lost in Montpellier the next day, we were lucky enough to be invited for dinner by a French couple at their home. On the menu was pumpkin soup and a braai of pork chops done the French way just with provence herbs. Jade was very happy as they had a 10 year old daughter! Thanks Natalie and Family for a great evening that culminated with us drinking copious amounts of wine and martini's and watching SA thrash Argentina on a big screen at Place de la Comedie (a large square). Montpellier is another great walled French city and the kids were also lucky to see a free circus on Place Royale du Peyrou. After spending the night in Tipperdee outside their home, we were off to via Sete to Carcassonne - with its 'La Cite', a large medieval twin walled town with 52 towers. A photographer's paradise, this UNESCO site, also thrilled us with a tour of a haunted house. I don't know who was more scared, the kids or us! That evening we spent a lovely time in car park savouring French wine, Austrian meats and Belgian chocolates with 2 Brazilian sisters, a German and Danish couple. The company however was the highlight. We made an early start the next day as we had to meet some friends from South Africa in Spain . So R250 later for autostrade costs, we were across the Pyrenees and into Spain on the 16 th of October, happy with the knowledge that we'll return later to travel up the west side of France .

Regards, GR1

FRANCE - 21 to 28 November 2007 (2nd Leg GR1)

Bonjour from GR1! It's great letting a bit of Gaelic flair seep into our souls again. No border controls yet and we immediately felt at home being familiar with Frances road and other systems. The distinctive architecture and serene old world feel was palpable. We had a lot to cover and headed north past Toulouse and through the rural countryside, spending the night in a free camper stop at Sarlat-la-Caneda, right next to an eerie ancient graveyard - to the kids horror! We elected to miss Bordeaux and rather experience the Dordogne region with its renowned prehistoric sites in the Vezere Valley . What a beautiful countryside peppered with ancient villages.

Our first site was the Grottes du Roc de Caselle, with realistic reconstructions of prehistoric mans life and his environment - complete with animals and sound effects. The afternoon, we visited the UNESCO site at Grotte de Font de Gaume. The polychrome paintings (mixtures of iron and manganese oxide) and engravings were discovered in 1901 and is the only such cave open to the public in the world- with original art. The Palaeolithic bestiary represents bison, mammoth, reindeer and dates back 14000 years. Interestingly, it is a style similar to what was used during the renaissance, with incredible detail and 3-D perspectives. So much for the evolution of art! All this took up most of the day and we could only make it to a similar overnight stop in tiny Lanouaille after driving through beautiful Montignac.

Determined, we covered the next 300km north to the gorgeous Loire Valley via Limoges for a taste of the lavish lifestyles of the French aristocracy- this is rural chateaux country, another UNESCO heritage site. We spent the night in Blois at B&B Hotels- our first hotel stay in Europe ! We thoroughly revelled in the pristine white sheets with air conditioning while Tippadee endured the 0 degrees. The next morning we first had a taste of a French indoor Saturday market in a village Chailles, with meticulously made goodies. Of course there were cheeses, pates, jams, etc, but the highlight was the different wines we tasted- even from the Bordeaux region. Well warmed, we tackled Chateau de Chambord, constructed from 1519 by King Francois I. Initially a hunting lodge, this grand design is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci- especially the double helix staircase and renaissance styled terrace. It looked like an extravagant medieval stronghold with towers, different wings, moats and had 282 fireplaces in 462 rooms! Despite blue skies it must have been close to 1 degree in this tufa palace and as the sun set we headed east to Orleans and a gas stop on the highway to Paris .

The next day we visited Versailles , the finest and most accomplished achievement of 17 th century French art. Initially Louis XIII hunting lodge, his son Louis XIV (the sun king), transformed it into a showpiece and moved his court here. This magnificent palace and gardens (still decorated with furniture in the reception rooms, king and queen's apartments and hall of mirrors) was the kingdoms seat of power until 1789 when the revolution started.

Seemingly impossible to top this, we hit Paris at night. Awesome. Guided by the illuminated Eiffel tower, we drove down the famous Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomph and around the world's largest traffic roundabout, with the kids screaming with delight! Somehow our spirits guided us to our 3 night stay at camping du Bois de Boulogne . The next few days were for buses , metros and sights- a whole day for the fine Louvre museum (initially a 13 th century palace) and its glass grande pyramid leading to thousands of collections of paintings and sculptures from different eras and countries. Jade had to comment that da Vincis Mona Lisa was rather small, after seeing other incredible works the size of Tippadee! We also had to revisit the sights that we saw at night for the mandatory photo stops and walk the city and feel its vibe. Firstly, the Ile de la Cite which was Paris first settlement in the 3 rd century B.C. with great architecture, notably the French-gothic 1163 Notre Dame Cathedral and the prison during the reign of terror, the Conciergerie. The kids were happy to learn that the Church revised its position on Joan of Arc with a statue of the liberator in the cathedral, and that no hunchback resided there! But their highlight was the views from the top of the 1889 Eiffel tower.

The cherry though was a night out at the Moulin Rouge- 2hrs of non stop action, costumes, colour and a fair dose of the female form that had us on the edge of our seats sipping French champagne! Unfortunately, we had to leave romantic Paris the next day and drag ourselves north for a ferry to the U.K. Our last night in France was spent in the car park of Dunkirks ferry terminal and due to ferry hassles; we sailed from Calais the next morning.

Merci France , for many great memories and au revoir .