The final leg, returning through France

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Seems odd starting this blog back in Porlock and part of me has thought why bother...but I need to get it down on paper, as one of the pleasures is reading it back months later, so here we go!

The border back into the South of France was surprisingly a check point with a good amount of checking, but luckily not us!

It was an early start to the day as we were going to spend the day in Monaco. Luckily we had found a coach garage which we could use but not overnight, so we had a few hours to explore. The drive in was interesting as it took us straight onto the F1 circuit and to our suprise the barrier's were going up?!? As it turned out the season starts here some 6 weeks before the F1 arrives. It was interesting to see it all being put together and our walk around the harbour and upto The Casino included us trying to spot the circuit. There is a beautiful garden at the entrance into the casino, and whilst you need to pay to go into the casino, Cafe Paris is right outside for our pitstop. We got talking to a Belgian girl whose friend lives in Monaco and she gave us some insights into this unique place. We departed after a lovely hour chatting away and she made her way back to her friends boat in the harbour for lunch, didn't manage to get an invite though!!

The campsite we had chosen was a great find, back in France and on the coast. The sun was shining, washing was done and a great Cork Forest at the back of the campsite where Poppy could run free and she loved it as did we. We cycled into Antibes, cycling is so easy as Europe supplies cycle tracks in abundance, off road and safe so cycling becomes really enjoyable. Antibes another South of France Harbour towns has the obligatory million pound boats moored up at this time of year, it has a busy cafe culture and we had a lovely lunch before returning to the campsite. We extended our stay here, home was calling but when the sun is out why rush!

We had (well me really) one more stop St Tropez! We found a great beachside Aire and the plan was to cycle into St Tropez BUT on our way in we passed a cyclist who had been knocked off by a car?!? It was a busy road so that plan went out of the window. We stayed near the Aire but strong winds arrived and pushed us on! The highlight of this stop was a nightly visit by a family of boar all friendly just checking out any food scraps.

We headed North which took us up and through the Luberon National Park, what a stunner and quite unexpected. We were heading to Provence and the land of the Lavender, not quite as pretty as it would have been in the summer. We found another good Aire at Goult which we found out to be a lovely hilltop village and great walk. Also having the benefit of being on one of France's (Greenways) cycle paths, an old railway track took us through lovely agricultural lands full of Lavender, apples and vines.

We took short hops heading north stopping in Beau villages (villages officially designated beautiful) enjoying waterfalls and rivers for Poppy to swim. And then surprisingly to us our weather radar showed Snow and not just a little but a ton of the stuff, and we couldn't out run it! Feeling optimistic we headed to an Aire with electric thinking having hookup would be advisable! The snow wasn't as heavy as we anticipated so got back on the road and headed off the main road to another Beau village and then watched the snow fall for the next 13hours. We left early in the morning and just made it back to the Motorway, it was another 2 days before we finally cleared it. The highlight of the drive up was crossing the Viaduc De Millau the tallest bridge at 343m in height (road height) and also renowned for its design, which was considered impossible to construct on its inception and now considered one of the greatest engineering achievements.

We made our way through into the Loire and the home of Chateau's, our stop for a couple of nights was Chambord and what a stunner it is known for its helix staircase which was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. It made sure that the king never met with the servants on the stairs. The stairs are illuminated by a light set on the highest point of the castle which was another brilliant idea from Leonardo da Vinci. Also surrounded by a moat and canal with a huge parkland to walk around we enjoyed venturing off into the 13,600 acre estate woods. A large area in the centre closed to the public also gives sanctuary to breeding birds of prey Osprey, 6 pairs, Short-toed eagle, 3 pairs, Booted eagle, 2 pairs, Goshawk, 4 pairs and Honey buzzard. sadly not seem by us. After an enjoyable couple of night's we made our last stop at Dieppe and our boarding for the ferry back to the UK. We hadn't known what to expect but what a little gem Dieppe is, a lovely beach on one side and the other a industrial and pleasure harbour is framed with old style houses and shops and a good selection of eateries to enjoy so for our last lunch that is just what did and enjoyed Moules-Frites in the sunshine.

So as quickly as it started, the end is just as abrubt, we set off with the intention of driving all the way to Turkey and enjoying just some of its extraordinary sites, the weather didn't always play ball but we had it a lot better than some of the other travelers on the road. The warmth and hospitality of the Turkish people to complete strangers will stay with us forever! But now it's time to go home recharge and get planning our next adventures, who knows where will go next?!? OK so we have some idea but you'll just have to wait a bit as there will no more overseas foreays in the Motorhome in 2022.



Thank you for coming on this journey with us and for all the support, comments and love that has steered us through the inevitable downtimes of this trip, chow and take care one and all.



Much love Karen, Graeme and Poppy ❤️

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