France - 27 to 28 Sept 2007 (1st visit GR2 & GR3)

Bonjour (Hello) to all

We arrived in France, with the knowledge that we were to return to Milan, Italy in five days time to collect the Conti Tracs generously sponsored by Continental Tyres in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This was to be a quick visit (for now), with loads of kilometres to cover.

Once the western boundary of Europe, today France (the largest country in Western Europe) stands firmly at the crossroads: between England and Italy, Belgium and Spain, North Africa and Scandinavia. Of course, this is exactly how the French have always regarded their country - at the very centre of things.

Leaving Imperia, Italy, we crossed the border into France - no actual crossing and no passport checks. We guess we have the European Community and the Schengen to thank for this. What changed was the greeting at a toll gate as we entered - 'Bonjour'. The weather was bad. It was overcast, rainy and windy. It was then decided to bypass the Riviera, until our return and head for Marseille. Having learnt our lesson in Italy, we avoided the 'autostrade' and opted for the more scenic coastal, secondary roads - much to our delight as once again we were photo snapping our way along a stunning coastline.

The cosmopolitan and much maligned port of Marseille wasn't, as we discovered, in the least bit prettified for the benefit of tourists. Although our time here was short, the city did; however, seem to be a vibrant and interesting place to explore. We managed to squeeze in a visit to the Rugby Stadium, though, but as no game tickets could be sourced for future matches and since no players could be found, we headed south to the city of Montpellier. This was where we were determined to meet up with 'The Bokke'.

Lunel was a small town on the outskirts of Montpellier, where we spent the night, as the sun had already set before we could reach our destination. The next morning was the twins birthdays - the sun was shining; the sky was blue and it was to be a good day. A celebration breakfast was in Montpellier, at a fast-food outlet called 'Quick'. A 'Burger and Chips' never disappoints. The rest of the morning was spent tracking down the 'Bokke'.

Our first stop was Stada De Musson - the venue for the clash between USA and SA, on the 30 th September (Vanita's birthday). Tickets were purchased by Dean and Vanita who were thrilled at the opportunity to be able to experience a live World Cup match while in France. Unfortunately, none of the players were around, but we managed to find the location of the stadium where they were to have their last training session. We arrived in a 'huff and a puff', just to be told that we missed them by about 2 hours. Still eager to meet up with the guys, we moved on to their hotel in the centre of town. Disappointment greeted us again, as none of the players or coaches could be found. We were, however, informed that some of the team might be found in the nearby shopping mall. As you might have guessed, the mall was our next stop. Finally, our perseverance paid off and we met up with some of the players like Ricky January, JP Petersen, Bryan Habana, Andre Pretorius - to mention but a few. Photos were taken; hands were shook and best of luck conveyed. Our mission in Montpellier, for now, was done and we were off to Andorra, only to return in 2 days time for the 'BIG GAME'.

France - 30 Sept to 3 Oct 2007 (2nd visit GR2 & 3)

We left Andorra rather chilled, but filled with anticipation - what did the French Riviera have in store for us? We arrived back in France, welcomed by blue skies and sunshine. The weather was not at all as overcast, nor as rainy, as when we left a few days earlier. We had three days in which to reach Milan and opted this time for the scenic route.

Our first stop, though, was Montpellier - again!! It was Vanita's birthday and Dean and her were to watch the SA/USA rugby pool game of the world cup. As we had already spent an evening in Montpellier, we headed straight for the known campsite and arrived there at around four o'clock. We had just enough time to eat, shower and Dean and Vanita had enough time to 'get in the mood'. Deidre and Eddie agreed to baby-sit and spent the evening, with the kids, enjoying Montpellier 's Centre Historique that has at it's heart, the Place de la Comedie, an enormous pedestrian square.

Approaching the stadium, we were delighted to see thousands of Springbok fans and fellow South Africans (kitted out in their Springbok regalia) optimistic about the game; enjoying beers, boere wors rolls, baguettes and each other. The evening for Dean and Vanita was one of excitement, joy and pride as SA won their pool game. The game was fantastic; having an atmosphere of pure electricity with some great tries been scored by Brian Habana. Vanita could not contain her feelings of amazement and on more than one occasion stated that her experience at the game was a highlight of the trip thus far. In the meantime, the rest of the group were enjoying their evening and even got a glimpse of the game on a 'Big Screen' on the square.

The next morning, still basking in the Springbok victory, we headed for the Carmargue, hoping to see hordes of wild horses with flowing manes, but instead, we were greeted by open fields, swamps and NO horses (not much too really write home about). Our first town along the French Riviera - Cannes, here we set up camp for two nights. We decided to spend one day visiting four stunning towns along the Riviera.

Our first town, Cannes, is renowned for its many festivals and cultural activities, but the harbour, the beachside promenade and the sun-worshipers on the beach, provided enough natural beauty to make our time there worth it. We were flabbergasted at the size of many of the yachts sitting in the Vieux Port and later climbed a hill just west of the Port, Le Suquet, which afforded us magnificent views of the city, as well as a visit to the Muse'e de la Castre. On the road to Nice we were pleasantly surprised by the quaint town of Antibes. We all agreed that Antibes was our town of choice with its beautiful beaches, a market in the centre of a town, narrow cobble-stoned streets lined with trendy shops and outdoor restaurants, all of this surrounded by a high medieval stone wall. What a find!!

Next, was Nice and Nice was ' nice ', ha ha! Nice is known as the capital of the Riviera, however, the beaches were not fantastic, but the city does have some fine museums. Unfortunately, most of our time here was spent in the van as parking turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. We managed to visit the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicholas, crowned by six onion-shaped domes and returned to our vehicle only to receive a parking fine - we were not amused. After driving past the Muse'e Archeologique and the Muse'e Matisse and as no 'legal' parking could be found, we decided on a late lunch and a walk along the promenade. We gobbled up our Schwarmas', enjoying great views.

The sun, unfortunately, was now setting and we realised that we needed to head on towards the glitzy Monaco, a sovereign state whose territory only covers 1.95 sq km. We reached Monaco just as night fell and drove around navigating our way through narrow roads lined with boutique stores and plush apartments. We paused outside the Ferrari Store for just a brief moment and also felt quite chuffed at the fact that we were driving on the roads where the F1 Grand Prix is staged. We then searched for and found a view point that overlooked Monaco with its dazzling lights. We enjoyed a warm cup of coffee in the crisp night air before heading back to Cannes.

France - 5 to 7 October 2007 (3rd visit GR2 & 3)

After collecting our Conti sponsored tyres in Milan, we headed for Spain. The road to Spain was breath-taking. As we've driven the coastal road before, we opted for a drive through the French Alps and once again experienced the chills that come with altitude. This, however, did not distract from the beauty of autumn, as we gazed upon country side after country side that was covered with different shades of orange. We squeezed in a visit to the city of Avignon as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of 'Die meisie van Avignon' - it was not to be our lucky day!! After three days we finally entered Spain and drove the road to Barcelona with smiles on our faces.

France - 14 to 19 October 2007 (4th visit GR2 & 3)

The Spanish city of San Sebastian is about 15km south of the French border and after a short drive we crossed the border at Iruin, and then drove north to Bordeaux. It was already the 14 October and we were to be in Ireland by the 22 October 2007. Yes, time was not our friend.

Bordeaux, was our first port of call, known for its neoclassical architecture, wide avenues (and they are wide) and well-tended public parks. We spent the morning driving along these wide avenues, photographing and admiring the architecture of this beautiful city that included the Cathedrale St Andre'. We spent a lot of time, and also enjoyed a late breakfast, at the most prominent feature of esplanade des Quinconces, a vast square with a towering fountain-monument to the Girondins, a group of deputies executed during the French Revolution. After soaking in some sun and enjoying the fresh produce market along the river, we took to the road again, driving through the world famous Bordeaux vineyards. There are over 5000 chateaux that produce the regions' highly regarded wines, which are mainly reds. Unfortunately, it happened to be a Sunday and thus, NO wine tasting for us. Yes, it was Sunday, and the 'Bokke' were playing Argentina later that evening - we needed to find a venue for the game later. We spent the evening in the town of Poitiers, enjoyed our victory in a local pub and slept in a car park on the motorway en-route to Tours and then Paris - nothing new, hey?

We arrived in Paris and our campsite late Monday evening. We had but 3 days to enjoy this wonderful city. That evening, we opted to divide our 3 days into - A day for Paris, A day for Business and A day for Disney.

On Tuesday we were, finally, to absorb the sights and sounds of Paris. Our first sight as you probably guessed, was the Eiffel Tower, built in 1889. Next, we visited the Arc De Triomphe and then took a leisurely walk down the famous Champs-Elyse'es, a 2km avenue that has been taken over by fast-food restaurants and overpriced café's, to the Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were guillotined. Later we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Louvre (closed on Tuesdays - can you believe our luck) and Paris' cathedral, Notre Dame. Our day of sightseeing ended where it all started, at the Eiffel Tower - we could not leave Paris without an evening visit to the Tower with all its many lights alit. By now, it was already around 10pm and kids and adults alike were 'nakked' - we headed back to camp, arriving there three hours later - that, however, is another story!!!

On Wednesday, after plotting all the co-ordinates into our GPS, we headed of to the SA Embassy and the French Football Association. Once again we were well accepted and graciously hosted - photographs were taken and Eddie's ball was signed. A very productive day, however, these two activities did take us the whole day. It was excellent driving through the streets of Paris though, being spoilt every so often with views of the Eiffel Tower, magnificent avenues and cosy street café's. That night, we spent an enjoyable evening with Neil and Caitlin, a couple we met in San Sebastian, and tried to warm ourselves with a few bottles of French wine and snacks. The 4 litres of Sangria, however, were ineffective in protecting us from the evening chill - we were freezing!!!

Thursday, was a day for the long-awaited Disneyland. That day we were all children and enjoyed attractions like; Adventureland, Frontierland, Mainstreet USA, Fantasyland and Discoveryland. This was a real playground for all ages and all attractions and rides were fantastic. Disneyland was expensive, but well worth the cost and the wait. The hours seem to fly by and when the park closed at 5:30pm, we were all terribly disappointed and now, we are looking forward to LA and Orlando in the USA.

That evening we opted to continue our drive to Boulogne, where we were to catch our ferry to Dover the next day and spent that evening on the motorway, again!!