Summer 2018 France+ Page 2
Page 1:Amsterdam to Paris Page 2:Paris to Barcelona
We picked up Taylor's sister Karen at Paris CDG airport. Because of the size of the Hymer, I waited outside the airport until Taylor texted me that Karen had cleared Customs. Then we drove back to the Bois du Boulogne, which is clear the other side of Paris.
The first evening we went into Paris, traveling by Metro from Pte. Maillot to the Tuileries stop. En route we had the full Paris experience, from a homeless mattress in a pedestrian tunnel with the owner urinating nearby (taking a break from panhandling) to a stroll through the Tuileries Gardens through the Louvre to the St. Germain de Pres area, where we ate in a little bistro, Chalet Gregoire.
The next day we went on a stroll through the St Michel area, eating in another small bistro at lunch before hitting Notre dame and walking along the Seine.
The following day, upon driving out of Paris, we stopped at the Arc de Triomphe the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and Versailles, before stopping at Chartres to visit the Cathedral.
We stopped the night at Chateaudun, which was in the midst of a medieval festival!
We then dropped down to the Loire, travelling along the river from Beaugency past Chambord to rest in Amboise for the night.
Next Morning we visited Chenonceau, then toured south with a stop at the Village of the Martyrs in Ouradour sur Glane then driving south to spend the night at an aire in Martizay, before venturing to Montignac, where we toured the town and, of course, Lascaux II.
From Montignac we headed down to the Dordogne River where we stayed at a perennial favourite aire at Port d'Envaux, enjoying a great meal of magret and taking a canoe trip the following morning.
Next day we had lunch at Auberge du Colombier, just north of Domme and headed south to a riverside aire at St Antonin Noble Val, a very quaint medieval village.
From there we traveled the back roads through Albi and Lastours to Carcassonne.
After Carcassonne we headed to Spain via the coast highway south of Perpignan, staying the night overlooking the Mediterranean at Cerbere.
After a gruelling drive along the coast, we rested up at Camping El Masnou on the outskirts of Barcelona (an easy train ride in).
And after a couple of days in Barcelona, we dropped Karen off at the airport to fly back to Toronto, while Taylor, myself and Odin headed for the Pyrenees.
Page 1:Amsterdam to Paris Page 2:Paris to Barcelona