Heading back into France and with our epic road trip drawing to a close, our last 2 major stops were to be ones we've both wanted to do for some time: Clare to the Palace of Versailles and me to the Normandy D-Day landing beaches. So we mapped out a route with these two on it… first stop Normandy. We set up our tent at a campsite literally one minutes' walk from Omaha beach (AWESOME!). The beach itself was pleasant enough and gave an idea of the sort of cli...

The next stint of our journey begins and we're back were we started, France, but this time it's the south we're exploring and the first stop was Perpignan. This was literally just a stopover for us and it actually reminded both of us a little of Bribie Island (for those in Darren's family who know where I'm talking about). It had a real holiday vibe about the place and we even managed to squeeze in a couple of hours on the beach which were so peaceful after the...

After picking up our brand new Peugeot and playing with all the pretty lights & buttons, we hit the road down to Orleans. Wacky hijinks ensued as I missed turn-offs, competed with angry French drivers, entered round-abouts from the wrong direction, drove on the wrong side a few times and had a complete freak-out at a toll booth to a toll road that took us miles away from where we were meant to be going! But after a night in the truck stop that is Orleans, w...

Arriving in Paris we made our way to our small but perfectly formed flat in Montmarte, passing beautiful buildings, walking up narrow cobbled streets and past the cutest little shops, bakeries and restaurants. "Oh I just can't believe I'm in Paris!" was about all I said for the first 3 days, poor Darren, but it's hard not to be blown away by this city of cities. And at 29, to be here with the one I love was a dream come true… although the fairy-tale vision I'...