Today we leave Burgundy and head for the Loire Valley and Orleans (http://www.tourisme-orleans.com/en/orl eans-jeanne-d-arc/12-orleans-jeanne-d-a rc.html). A definite change in scenery becomes apparent as we head across the Loire Valley - (http://www.westernfrancetouristboard.c om/loire.html) a broad flat landscape, with the main use being livestock instead of grapes. A couple of coffee stops are needed to break the journey and keep from falling asleep. sp...

Today we head down to Dijon, the capital of the Burgundy region. Attempted to do the trip using backroads to travel thru small villages. No go. The route we mapped out took us into the high country where it was starting to snow quite heavily, so we had to backtrack to the main Autoroute. Temps are still freezing (-1 to 3 degrees, even in the middle of the day). Even traveling through the low flat valley areas of Alsace and down into Burgundy, there us still...

Woke up this morning to the coldest temperatures yet, -4 degrees. The car was covered in snow and ice, and the roadway was slippery as hell. Spent 1/2 an hour trying to clear the ice from the windows (a most painful experience - snow is C-O-L-D!!!!!). Finally got the windows clear enough to start driving and head for France. Quite a nerva wracking experience. Dense fog, snow covered roads, and ice made for a very slow trip out of the alps. Wasn't long befor...

Today we say goodbye to Switzerland and say hello to Germany. We woke to an absolutely glorious day - clear skies, bright sunshine, crisp cold air. It promised to be one of our better driving days. As we climbed higher away from Lucerne towards Basel (and the border), the roads became enveloped in thick fog, and there was evidence of thick snow falls on the slopes. Soon we were nearing Basel and the border crossing. We felt for sure that the German crossing gu...

Woke up this morning to find that the weather had closed in on us. The lake and mountains were covered in fog and it was raining. Rather than drive around on the icy roads, we decided to take a train ride to Zurich (about 60km away). Everything you have heard about European train travel is true - modern, clean and efficient. Although we weren't on one of the Very Fast Trains, we were soon gliding across the snow covered landscape towards Zurich (and 78 e...