The South beckoned us and turned out to feature a host of unique styles of buildings mixed with a fair share of culture.

Being a member of The Clan (Royal Military Tattoo Edinburgh) and a visitor to places such as The Opera in Vienna, The Vienna Boys Choir,various famous musicals and plays it wasnt long before I was immersed in artistic Impressioism in the style of Claude Monet at his home in Giverny in France.

However in order to visit we passed many villages and found one rich in artitectural variations to have our breakfast while the locals gazed at our Triumphs parked in the village square. They were not along as one Auto Electrician had for some reason called his business Route 66 and had many objects de art in his window. Having ridden Routee 66 last year on the Indian Scout I was intrigued but alas he was closed so nly photographs remain as to why.

Arriving at Giverny many of the streets were closed for a Japanese celebration of the works of Monet.

What I really enjoyed and will share with you in the photo album was the Impressionism gardens which featured hundreds of Tulips in full bloom.

Another stop was Brantone to again wander the streets of a French traditional village but one that contins something unique and beautiful.

Following narrow cobblestone lanes towards the river we soon saw Brantone Abbey. A very large and unique buiklding beside many grotto's or caves used by the Monks for meditation.

Our journey South also took us past Le Mans the site of the famous Le Mans 24hr automobile race. Our accommoation was the Classic Hotel a budget chain similiar to Formula 1 or Ibis Budget Suites. It was modern and had sufficient amenties for our overnight stop,after we visited two motorcycle shops looking and purchasing additional carrying capacity to save strain on my already fractured rear sub frame.

Spain or as they portray Sunny Spain beckoned us with forcasts of maximum temperatures of 8oC and often 0oC at the days departure time. This was accompanied by rain so it soon became a 7 layer suit up. I still have an additional 3 layers for thhose Northern visitations but wearing up to seven layers was not the Southern France & Spain I was expecting so wet and cold we arrived at our Pampolona Apartments but fortunately the motorcycles were also treated to a warm underground secure garage before we walked the streets of the new districts looking at the wide open planned apartments with many different styles and designs until the bitter winds forced anoother rereat.