France 2007

We spent four weeks traveling around France early in the fall of 2007. Thanks to Marina's brother Peter and his wife Barbara, we had use of 'Brian', their 23 foot motor home. While not large by American standards it proved more than challenging in the narrow streets of the medieval towns of France. We started our trip with a wonderful night at the Chateau in La Flocellière in the Loire Valley where the owner provided us with a wonderful tour of the renovated keep and other buildings that are now available as holiday rentals. We then moved on to the chateau at Chenonceau which sits astride the river Cher. The highlight of the trip was a week long barge trip in Burgundy where we were joined by Peter and Barbara as well as brother Nick and Pavel. Following the barge trip we started an all to hurried camping trip, first through the foothills of the Alps, down to the Mediterranean Sea for a couple of days in the sun and sea. A stop in Moustiers-Saint-Marie provided a wonderful introduction to the beauty of Provence. After checking out the coast it was back to Provence and more wonderful hillside towns, including Bonnieux, Ménerbes and Roussillon. Following that we made a brief stop in Orange at the only complete Roman theater in Europe before heading west over the Massif Central to the Dordogne region for a couple of days. Then it was back to Peter's house in the Vendee, via Cognac, only to head off the following day for an evening in Paris before beginning our journey home. A very long and somewhat rushed trip through some of the most amazing countryside we've ever seen.