This is the part of the trip that I have been looking forward to the most (and we saved it to the very end). I have always wanted to ride down a lonely road in the French countryside with my family then roll into a little village for lunch. Perfect! And on top of that we've had +34 temps every day and have been hanging out with Tim, Debbie, Shannon and Mira again-a month after sailing with them in Croatia. I really wasn't sure how the kids would do with the d...

There's a classic scene in the movie European Vacation where the family is stuck driving around a roundabout and every time they go around, the Dad points and says "hey kids look, Big Ben." I've pulled this one on the kids a few times. They've now caught on and will stand in the middle of a crowded street and point to an old sacred church, look at me and yell "hey Dad, look its Big Ben!" The crown then turns to an embarrassed father some finding it humorous, s...

A sea side surfers town, hot sun, great food and wine and a deck that is half of the size of our apartment have made this four day stop in Biarritz a bit of a haven.We have spent many hours relaxing and people watching...of particular interest to the kids is the French custom of overweight,older women to sit topless on the beach while smoking and looking at their phones. The best thing about hanging around a town and having an open agenda is that you get time f...

The French have a way of saying that it is not the locations that you visit but the people that you share it with.... ..That has been the sum of our experience to date. We've just finished a week of staying with our French friends in their houses. It is such a treat as a tourist to have the opportunity to reconnect with friends, see the time since the last visit disappear and remember why they have forged such special memories in our lives.... We have been luc...

Camping in the trees We spent the last two nights staying in a treehouse in a campground built up on the property of a mansion in the Loire valley. French campgrounds seem to be run like summer camp. This campground has a number of canvas tents and small cabins for rent, a pool with a waterside and lazy river, a spa, store, restaurant, bar, and kids camp activities during the day. We constantly see people walking by with baguettes or take out pizza boxes. At...