Day 14 - La Torbie, France via Monte Carlo, Monaco, to Riva Del Garda, Italy Today was a grand day. We had breakfast at the wonderful hotel we stayed at last night. I should have mentioned that this was a hotel that Napoleon stayed at when he was in the area. Napoleon had good taste clearly. The breakfast was if you can believe it, even better than the dinner the night before. We were treated to freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee for me, hot chocolate for Syd, an assortment of croissants and other breads and pastries, fresh salmon, scrambled eggs with truffle cream (real truffles sniffed out by truffle pigs), homemade jams, fresh yogurts, and I cant even remember what else, we ate like gods this morning. On top of that we were able to eat ... read more

Day #12 - Marseille to Cannes, France Wow, today we took a beautiful 90 minute drive through mountains and along the sea from Marseille to Cannes, France. If you are not familiar with Cannes, it is the host of the internationally known Cannes film festival that attracts the who's who of the entertainment world. This place really is the heart of the French Riviera. It is also where the rich and famous come to play. I knew that coming here and was expected to be looked down upon or perhaps feel uncomfortable around all the wealth and snootiness, but really it is very laid back here and very pretty. I can see why the rich have chosen this location to build their Mediterranean playground. The water is beautiful, the beaches are gorgeous, and there is so ... read more

This is the day that wont ever F****** end. It was the best of days and it was the worst of days. I should mention that this is the second time that I am typing this blog. I typed it earlier and then when I hit submit, the stupid internet funked up and I lost everything......argh...It is after 1 am and after the day I am about to tell you we had I do not need this. This blog will seemed a little rushed as I really am not in the mood to type this for the second time but here goes...again. I had spent many weeks planning this trip before we left to make sure that we could see and do as much as possible when we were here. This is meant to be a ... read more

Day #8 - Rouen, France and Mantry, France (Middle of nowhere) - Revenge of Weird Beard We woke up this morning nice and early so we could get a good start in Rouen, France. Rouen is an interesting town with a lot of history. Most recently it was one of the most devastated French cities during WWII. Nearly 50% of the city was bombed and the city was completely on fire in 1940 for a period of 48 hours because the German army would not allow fire crews to put out the fires. You can see much of the effects of this fire and the bombings still today, many buildings are black with soot and fire damage. The most impressive building in town is the Rouen Cathedral. It was built in the 15th century with many ... read more

Day #6 - Brugges and Gent, Belgium After following a bad day it is always nice to come back with a good one, and today was a good one. No trip is without mishaps I am sure, especially one of this magnitude and complexity. We were able to get our minor issues out of the way early today, I think you will laugh at this one. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I am an inexperienced drive with a standard transmission, which is seemingly all you can rent here. I ahve been pretty good with it so far but today I had some issues. Upon leaving the hotel this morning to drive into old town Brugge, I needed to back my car out of the parking stall. This seemingly easy task was a painstaking process ... read more