Viva La France!

After spending the summer in the UK we were ready for a change of scenery and some different food. English food choices seemed to focus on pub fare, Indian Curry and Pizza and after 6 months it was time for cuisine. Departing from Dover, we saw the famed white cliffs.

We crossed via the ferry into

Looks like a tough place to live.

Calais, France.  Calais is the last jumping off point for immigrants desperately trying to get to England. Travelers have set up a camp just outside the port called "The Jungle" which sadly seems to becoming permanent with entrepreneurs opening  24 hour restaurants, cell phone charging stations and money changers.
People warned us to use a different route but as we were traveling in the "wrong" direction, we weren't worried.We caught a glimpse from the highway.






Dieppe, a French seaside town was out first stop. France is very hospitable to motor home travelers offering low cost parking with handy amenities.  Dieppe featured seaside camping for motor homes and we were looking forward to an evening on the French coast.

Apparently everyone else likes the French coast as well...

Dieppe made up for the scenery with an amazing outdoor food and flower market.

So glad we came to France!

We stumbled upon this private chateau that was also a rehabilitation zoo. Beautiful grounds and a great collection of free range creatures including these adorable monkeys.

Great 'stache!

PARIS! Melanie was excited for her first visit to the city. It was worth the death defying traffic to get a photo that everyone else who visits Paris also takes.

A classic...

The first afternoon, Justin was pointing out landmarks as 

we walked along. And this conversation happened: 

Justin "Look at that.." 

Melanie, seeing the only French word she understands Boulangerie, exclaims "Oooh a bakery!"  

Moment of pained silence then "No, in the background...the Eiffel tower."

Melanie still thinking about the bakery"nice..." 

   

We attempted to visit the Louvre. Luckily it was off season so the wait to enter was only 2.5 hours...So we contented ourselves with some classic photos

This is a fun photo. 2,000 Asian photographers cannot be wrong...

The only line longer than the Louvre was outside Louis Vuitton....People know they can buy online right??

Paris features some beautiful views.

Having enough of city living for a while, we toured the Loire Valley and a few vineyards.

Even the cows look elegant.

 A very nice vineyard using the 500 year old limestone caves for wine storage and cooling.

View from inside the cavern

While we didn't have great weather, the views along the river and the small towns were beautiful.

Small city along the Loire.

Vineyard after harvest with the leaves turning for Fall.

One vintner gave us directions to an excellent fromagerie (cheese maker) a few kilometers away. We tasted several types of aged goat cheese and bought them all.  Thanks for the cheese ladies!

Even French goats wear scarves.

Turning to Lake Geneva, we visited Evian, the town with the famed spring.

Yep, it really tastes better here....

Everyone likes Evian spring water.....

Annacy is an old Roman city along Lake Geneva. Water forms the backbone of the city and makes it a pleasant place to stroll around.

Old part of town with canals made by the lake. 

View of Lake Geneva from the waterfront park.

As we mentioned, the weather wasn't cooperative so our view of the much anticipated French Alps was limited to the lower 500 feet. Feeling slightly thwarted, we consulted our Italy tour guide (thanks Angie!) and turned to the  Italian Mediterranean for some sun and clear skies. Last view of France, Monte Carlo and the visiting cruise ships.

Au revoir France!

Next update from the coast of Italy! 

Life in the slow lane

At the end of the summer we rented a canal boat, Beatrice. Even though we had zero canal boat experience, they gave us a 10 minute lesson and off we went!

The boat engineer saying something about an engine...
I'm sure Justin was paying attention

Beatrice is a 47 foot boat- one of the smaller versions and is driven by an inboard diesel engine with tiller. Its kind of like driving a school bus, from the back... without brakes.

Justin at the tiller

The two week cruise took us through the Tardebigge Locks (30 locks over 2.2 miles) into the Avon River. This is the longest flight of locks in the UK and we undertook them on Day 1. Talk about Baptism by fire...

 Beatrice took a few lumps Day 1 as the
locks are about 4 inches wider than the boat.

The Locks have to be cranked opened and pushed closed by, hand making for pretty physical day on the water. A few locks intersect with roads. Can you believe the let us stop traffic?!?

Pushing the gates open

It's considered good form to make sure a car isn't crossing
the bridge before hitting the up button.

The canals gave a lovely view of the English countryside and some wildlife.

Anyone with a dog will recognize this expression...

We caught glimpses of many lovely country houses.

We stopped for a few days at Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's home town. His house still stands as does the farm where his wife lived. Stratford has a beautiful waterfront.

The Bard's childhood home

In the back garden

Anne Hathaway's farm is still a working farm with typical animals, organic fruits and herb gardens. 

The museum/farm is one of the better that we visited.

Justin makes nice with the goats

The owl demonstration gets a little close and his wings brushed Melanie's face. 

Guess who wants a donkey for Christmas??

Back on the boat, we floated along the Edstone Aqueduct- almost 500 feet long that passes over grazing fields and modern roads. It feels little odd to be floating overland. Looking down over the tiller.

The sheep never saw us coming...

And the view from the road....

The locks on the Avon River fit 2 boats and we were happy to make friends with two Australians, Ian and Jock. They were also kind enough to explain the rules of Rugby to us during the Ozzy/Argentina match. True to form we rooted for Argentina so Australia won.

Jock and Justin pilot along the Avon River.

The crews enjoying a well earned brew. 

After a beautiful and relaxing two weeks. We turned south toward Canterbury and France.