'France 2001'
An account of our time spent there....

Here you will find a collection of photographs and short anecdotes of our three week tour around France in our beloved VW Camper 'The Duke'.
We set off on the evening of June 19th to catch the Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth to Caen (Northern France). It was to be an overnight crossing so we booked a cabin in order to get a good nights sleep before the long journey to follow. What a good idea it was, it has to be the best way to cross the channel and arrive on the French side fully refreshed and ready for anything and we even got breakfast in bed!. Arriving at 6.45am local time we managed to make Lyon by evening which surprised us as we never thought we would get this far in one day and had allowed two days for this. This was not by taking the fastest route but avoiding all autoroutes and just cruising down the scenenic way. The Bus performed superbly not a hint of a problem.

The Puy de Dome.

Next day as we now had a 'spare day' so to speak we decided to visit a Volcano (extinct of course) which didn't seem too far away......So off we set heading for Clermont Ferrand in the Massif Central. Here can be found the Puy De Dome which towers above a high plateau at the centre of the Chaine des Puys. What a drive up it was, a steady 12% gradient spiralling around the mount. It took a good fifteen minutes of 2nd & 3rd gear to accomplish this and although the engine was getting a bit hot by the top it was still going strong.

Going back down was really scary as the brakes where smoking! the only consolation being that even the cars where having the same problems. After a ten minute cool down at the base we set off again, heading for St Symphorien Sur Coise, where we were to spend the next few days with friends of ours.

St Symphorien Sur Coise.
	This is the Duke Basking in the sunshine with St Symphorien Village & Church in the background

The atmosphere in the French villages is fantastic. It was great to see our friends again and their hospitality is always so overwhelming. We are just intergrated into their family for the duration of our stay as if we were related. Their house, seen here, is also well thought out. Living on the level you can see here and having the same floor space again below for ancillary equipment and garage etc. What a great concept. Pictured here is my wife Kelly and our 16 mnth old daughter Bryony.

Lyon.

We stayed here for 4 days in order to enjoy the 'Fete de St Jean', a festival not dissimilair to our Bonfire night but for different historical reasons obviously. During this time we visited the second capital of France 'Lyon'. Whilst there we saw the Basilisque which is situated on a hill overlooking the city. We also saw the Catherdral St Jean, even though we were asked to leave before we had a chance to see all of it as it was closing for lunch! We ate at a small Bistro, sitting outside on the cobbles and where serenaded by two violinist, very surreal! Pictured here is the gold statue which adorns the tower of the Basilique.

	The Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere a mock Byzantine creation built in the late 19th Century
Kelly In Lyon with Old Lyon in the background		Me in Lyon on the Bridge over the river Saone

We left our friends on the Monday and headed further south. We where in no rush so decided on the scenic route once again. Travelling south below Lyon towards Grenoble. From here we entered the scenic region of Vercors, very beautiful. This was a key base for the French resistance in WWII. Pictured here is the Alps mountain range and in the center is the famous Mont Blanc if you can manage to pick it out. Incidently the mirror got in the way in this one!!!

The Gorges Du Verdon.

Carrying on south we wanted to visit the Gorges Du Verdon (more on that later) and as time was getting on we decided to camp up for the night leaving us a clear day for the gorges. What a sight to wake up to when looking out of the bus, a welcoming sunrise above the surrounding mountains. Anyway we where all packed and back on the road by 9.00am which was quite a feat we thought. The aim today was to visit the Gorges and then get to the south coast.

The park extends east to west from Saint-André-les-Alpes to Vinon-sur-Verdon and north to south from Saint-Jurs to Régusse. It is organized around the gorges of Verdon and five dammed lakes, created by the French National Electricity Utility (EDF) from 1949 to 1974 on the stream's lower and middle runs. Located in a zone between Provence and the Alps, its territory benefits from an exceptionally high percentage of sunny days.

The approach to the Gorges provides a fantastic view. The gorges are reknowned to be one of the most dramatic natural sights in Europe. If you've ever been to Cheddar Gorge it makes it look like a small crack! The river Verdon is dark green in colour and flows through a deeply cut valley between cone-shaped peaks.

The Gorge reaches depths of some 700m (2,297ft) in places. There is a plentyful supply of dramatic view points along the route allowing the scenery to be enjoyed without the risk of running off the road as they are very narrow, twisting and steep.

As you can imagine the views are breathtaking and these photos don't really do it justice.

Pictured on the right is the Pont de l'Artuby. This bridge is crossed enroute around the gorge and provides a breathtaking view of the Gorge 250m(820ft) below.

After spending quite a time here we needed to press on in order to reach our destination at a reasonable hour. So continuing with out southward theme we headed towards Frejus, again avoiding any major roads. This involved winding through the mountains and gradually losing altitude as we approached the coast. Having not had an itinery, we couldn't book a site in advance so needed to find somewhere. We knew that most of the beaches to the east of Cannes are not sandy so decided to head west from here. Arriving in a small village called Les Issambres, about 7-10Km from Frejus we came across a campsite close to a nice looking beach.

The South of France.
	The site was called Paradise des Campeurs and really lived up to its name. They have a policy of not taking bookings so there is always a good chance of getting a pitch and there is no time restrictions on your length of stay.We stayed on this site for over a week as it had so much to offer for us. Taking days on the beach or day trips out was easy from this idyllic location.

Monaco & Monte-Carlo.
	One of our must days out was a trip to Monaco & Monte Carlo. We travelled along the coast road for this journey which allowed us to take in such places as Frejus, Cannes, Antibes and Nice before arriving in Monaco.

Of course we were visiting there shortly after the Grand Prix so just had to travel the route. Tyre tracks where much in evidence throughout the route and we even managed to start off from M Schumachers grid position. Not quite as fast a start as they accomplish though! Pictured right here is the starting positions.

Finally it was off to the Casino in Monte-Carlo to win our fortune. Unfortunatly they wanted £5 just to get in even before you started gambling and also the dress code is quite strict so we didn't bother and just had a cool ice-cream instead. After all it was 35 Degrees.

Before Leaving we thought we would check out the property prices ready for when we win the Lottery. Found this nice little apartment, two bedrooms, kitchen, living room and toilet/bathroom. It sounded ideal, then we looked at the price..... a mere 9,000,000 francs (£900,000 in real money) . Think we would give this area a miss even after winning the lottery as you would'nt get much change out of your windfall.

St.Tropez.
This is about a close as we got to StTropez. Driving and parking there are a nightmare and the best beaches are all outside of the town anyway. We decided to give it a miss and leave it for the rich, famous and ill informed.

Arles Amphitheatre.
	After leaving this camp site we worked our way back northwards/westwards to take in the different areas on the return route. We stopped off at Arles on the Rhone. The outstanding feature here is the Roman Amphitheatre. This is one of the best preserved monuments of Roman Provence.

Here can be seen the entrance to the grand amphitheatre. Each arch is supported by Doric and Corinthian columns. In summer the 20000 seat arena fills to watch regular bull fights that are held here. The atmosphere this ancient building provides is outstanding, you can actually imagine the Roman Gladiators etc strolling around the place. Well worth a visit and the entry fee is nominal.

The rest of our time was spent travelling back up to the north coast via Pointiers. Pretty uneventfull, certainly no problems with the camper, didn't even have to blow up a tyre or fill the windscren washer bottle. Drove just like a new one. Of course filled up gradually with bottled wines along the way amassing some 60 different varieties at a fraction of the Uk cost. Will spend the rest of the year enjoying these and planning our next trip, maybe France and into Spain next time, dunno yet though. Hope you have enjoyed this trip with us around a section of France, please email me with any comments or suggestions.