'THOSE FRENCHIES': (France, St Jeannet)

So, I've always held a romantic notion of motoring through Provence, and chancing upon one of those charming impromptu, word-of-mouth, picnic-esque restaurants set up under the shade of an old oak or an olive grove. Such a place would serve local vintage wine, illegal cheeses and rich pates, and would be accompanied by ample servings of gallic shrugs and nonchalance. "Sacre bleu"!

Well, in the nape of St Jeannet, the imposing and beautiful precipice above our good friends home, we chanced upon visiting the local Church for what was their village 'Saints day'. Festivities included parading an effigy of John the Baptist through the street, a 'May-pole dance', and 'aperitifs' in the square of small bites and local wines. It is amazing how cold the French can be to visitors, until you show a little effort, perhaps attempt some pigeon French - then they are amongst the warmest people going. We were invited to sample the fare and mingle with the whole village. A friendly woman asked what we were doing for lunch - we were half thinking the hors d'oeurves had done us well. We ended up invited to the home of the local vignoble, who had supplied the village with wine. There, on their family run vineyard, amongst the vines, beneath the tree of our romantic ideals, sat the patriarch of a huge French family, surrounded by 9 of his 13 children, laughing grandchildren running and scheming, and a table laden with wild boar, unlabelled wines, fresh olives, and strong cheese. The grandfather even shared with us a bottle of their finest wine, stored in a nearby cave, the location of which was only known to him and his eldest son who was succeeding the family trade. Best wine we've ever tasted for sure. They spoke no English, but the conversation seemed to flow nicely all afternoon. Sounds like another cheesy classic moment from Kris - it was.


Taking you back slightly, on arrival, we were keen to not come empty handed. However, we had followed our guests directly from the village. As it happened, we had a bottle of wine in the boot of our car. We 'ummed and ahhed' over which was more embarrassing - coming empty handed, or dumping a bottle of mid-range South African plonk on the table. We opted for the latter….a tad warm but appreciated nevertheless. This was such a highlight for us. We hope that we'l go again some day with our favouritist frenchy buddies, Oskar and Mackenzie (actually, they're Swedish and American, but who's counting?). We'll let O&M choose the wine to bring!

BEAUTIFUL FRANCE

So we haven't hit the beaches like we normally do, instead we've been exploring all the medival villages near Oskar and Mack's place. Our faves after little La Gaude are St Jeannet and Tourettes-sur-Loup...where we met some lovely people already. We even got to know the local vineyard owner and their family at the village's annual fete for Saint John the Baptist. They invited us to theirs for the most wonderful meal under the trees in their garden. It's great being in such a beautiful place. It's hard to describe, everything is just ever so quintessential. La tee dah.

HAUTE PROVENCE + LACS

Our desire to go wine tasting and picnicing combined Kris' need to conquer the Gorge du Verdon from the water meant we headed to Haute Provence for a few days of camping, kayaking and fun. Leaving behind the luxury of Chez Schonette, we slept our first night in the car on Lac du Crois because all the campsites were full! It was hot and I was annoyed with the mozzies, but we managed to get a few hours kip before our early water excursions up the gorge...which proved to be a vigourous workout, but well worth it! The smells of wild herbs and crystal clear water flowing over mini waterfalls was priceless. Then we headed into stormy skies north to Digne-Les-Bains across the recently shorn fields of lavender, where we camped overnight just outside the quiet, but slightly boring town of Digne. Then we headed to Lac du Castellane, stopping along the way to go on a crazy hike to see some ridiculous remnants of fossils, before we found a quiet place to camp on a nearby organic goat farm...the following day we drove towards St Tropez, making it to St Maxim before giving up as the traffic was horrendous! Swimming in the sea at sunset staring across to St Trop was enough for me!

SET OF KEYS: (France)

I was walking up the road in the beautiful village of La Gaude, and was overcome by a lightness in my step and a feeling of well-being, a long way from the endless tasks that are part of life at home and enjoying the southern French sunshine. I heard the jingling of two sets of keys in my pocket, one to our fabulous car, and the other to a gorgeous little French villa (kindly lent to us by our fabulous friends Oskar & Mackenzie). I realise that we have it good right now, really good…and it makes me feel very grateful for everything we have.

SETS OF KEYS: (La Gaude, France)

I was walking up the road in the beautiful village of La Gaude, and was overcome by a lightness in my step and a feeling of well-being, a long way from the endless tasks that are part of life at home and enjoying the southern French sunshine. I heard the jingling of two sets of keys in my pocket, one to our fabulous car, and the other to a gorgeous little French villa (kindly lent to us by our fabulous friends Oskar & Mackenzie). I realise that we have it good right now, really good…and it makes me feel very grateful for everything we have.

BACK TO FRANCE IN MADNESS

Let me start by saying we have a very beloved TomTom, the result of my best friend having to spend 3 hours in a car with us driving her to Gatwick...let's just say I think most couples suffer with map-reading and following directions. So thanks again Mackenzie, for your most generous lovely gift. Continuing on, we thought we'd head to Milan from Como, then over to Turin and on into France...you know, avoid the traffic along the Italian Riviera and the borderlands of Ventimiglia and whatnot. So Tommy tells us it's going to take about 5 hours, only an hour longer than the motorway route. We hit Milan, have the most outrageously expensive orange juice and coffee on the piazza...I think it was 12 Euros for a mini glass of OJ, makes me sick just thinking about it. Then we went quickly to Turin, slowly climbing up, and up, going through tunnels...no biggie. Then we hit a small pass and a fair bit of traffic at Briancon in France, which is a really pretty medieval town that's a ski resort in the wintertime. It was about 5 by then, so we'd already driven 5 hours and Tommy was saying it'd be just about 2 and a half more. So we cruised and cruised through some lovely valleys along Napolean's Route...the landscape had an isolated beauty about it. It was getting dark, our gas tank was nearly in the red and we hadn't seen a petrol station in about 15 miles. The road had become suddenly unmarked and we saw a little log cabin with a sign that said Haute 2000 next to it. We stopped to find the most delicious smelling joints of meat being roasted in this tiny family restaurant. The waitress told us we were already at 2000 metres, going over the highest mountain pass in all of Europe! We asked her how far away the first petrol station on the other side would be and she said about 15-20K. We went back to car, emptied the emergency canister into the tank and set off. IT WAS CRAZY. No lights, no road markings or signs and hairpin turns every few hundreds metres! I was talking Kris through the turns using the sat nav! 'Sharp right coming up...then a wide left.' Madness! I actually screamed once because we nearly went off a cliff. Anyway, I'm typing this now, so we did survive. But I definitely want a T-shirt emblazoned with 'I survived the D64 in the dark!'

MOUNTAIN PASSES: (France)

It's 9pm, we're due on the Cote D'Azur at a reasonable time before the our friends Glen & Shalene are going to bed - they have the keys to the lovely villa we'll be staying in. Between us is the highest pass in Europe. I feel like we've been quite unkind to our car of late…do we turn back and find a camp site, or attempt a further 1000 meter climb, in the dark, on our 5 litre spare can of petrol (at 13.8 litres/100km) with 40 km to the nearest petrol station? Well, an Englishman's word is his word…and we'd told our friends we'd be there. N wasn't at all anxious throughout.

MOUNTAIN PASSES: (Italy to France)

It's 9pm, we're due on the Cote D'Azur at a reasonable time before the our friends Glynn & Shalene are going to bed - they have the keys to the lovely villa we'll be staying in. Between us is the highest pass in Europe. I feel like we've been quite unkind to our car of late…do we turn back and find a camp site, or attempt a further 1000 meter climb, in the dark, on our 5 litre spare can of petrol (at 13.8 litres/100km) with 40 km to the nearest petrol station? Well, an Englishman's word is his word…and we'd told our friends we'd be there. N wasn't at all anxious throughout!

HITTING THE LAKES IN ITALY

Como & Lugano were just gorgeous...the water was clear, cold and a much needed refreshment after getting very baked in the car. On our first night, we got the treat of a phenomenal thunder storm, complete with streaky lightning - all watched from inside a cute little mountaintop restaurant. I must say though, their pasta was rubbish...I make a much better marinara. But hey, we were starving so it hit the spot and the show from up top was great. We did the essential cruise around the lake, hopping on and off at the different villages. And we popped in on George Clooney at his villa in Cernobbio too...you know, the usual stuff. Hehe. But we're following the sun, so it's time to head back to France and hit the Rrrr-rrr-riviera while it's still high season.

SCOOBY DOO MOMENT: (Lake Como, Italy)

At midnight, in the rain, still bubbling with the excitement of having a beautiful camera to play with, I decided that a walled cemetery / morsoleum would make the perfect spot for a little 'photo essay' darling! With Neeks on Guard, I broke in and snapped away. I'm an absolute genius. With the full auto mode and a killer lens, everyone's a genius.

THINGS-TO-DO LIST: (Swiss Alps)

Cruising through the the Swiss Alps, listening to Opera, and sipping on a cool rose, we threw our list above our heads and moved on into what we'd been craving for a long time.

SCOOBY DOO MOMENT: (Lake Como, Italy)

At midnight, in the rain, still bubbling with the excitement of having a beautiful camera to play with, I decided that a walled cemetery / morsoleum would make the perfect spot for a little 'photo essay' darling! With Neeks on Guard, I broke in and snapped away. I'm an absolute genius. With the full auto mode and a killer lens, everyone's a genius.

CROSSING THE ALPS

So we camped in the Bernese Oberland, next to the lake in Brienz - about half an hour past Interlocken. We woke up early, packed up and headed towards the Grimselpass...the sun was already geting hot and the sky was that perfect shade of bright blue. We cranked Puccini up and drank in the atmosphere, wind in our faces, chests vibrating from the bass...feeling absolutely miniscule beneath the towering peaks above! What more could you want? How about a beer and a picnic in the sun by a glacial lake at the top!? Tick that box. How about another mahu-sif-fat Furkapass that takes you up to where the Glacier of the Rhone is? Tick that box. How about crossing into Italian Switzerland at sunset and finding yet another fantastic place to set up camp in a valley next to a river called Acquarossa? Tick tick tick. All I can say is it was a day we'll never forget.

THINGS TO-DO LIST: (Alps, Switzerland)

Cruising through the the Swiss Alps, listening to Opera, and sipping on a cool rose, we threw our list above our heads and moved on into what we'd been craving for a long time.

VISITING THE ROTHENBUHLERS

Today was a bit rainy, so while we were hoping to get up and out to see the capital city a bit more, instead we slept in. Then we wandered into town to meet Tina and Torfinn for lunch in at the Markthall. Tina is super busy planning a conference in Thun next week for a bunch of researchers from across the globe, but somehow she got to take the afternoon off. After some great Asian food, we met Simon and he drove us up into the Emmental to visit a cheese maker before going to Hasle Ruegsau to see the rest of The Rothenbuhlers - it was great to see them again after 5 whole years since Tina and I went interailing together! How quickly the time flies by...tomorrow we are heading into the Bernese Oberland for a bit of camping in the Alps. And the forecast says sun, so wish us luck. More to come...

AHH! THE ROMANCE: ( Dunkerque to Paris)

I reckon most romantic things in life aren't that practical, but all the trade-off's are somehow worth the extra hassle (that's what I tell the young wife anyhoo - my main selling point!). Our old car looks sweet, but quirks are showing up pretty much on a daily basis (the metaphor remains). Yesterday the horn decided not to work (no metaphor intended), today it's working again. Barely 10 mins onto the European continent, pumped up with the excitement of starting our trip, so long in the planning, and ferocious noises begin to come from the engine (I'll concede some similarity). We accepted the kindness of a French local who led us to a garage where we slept in the car on the forecourt for the night waiting for it to open, not driving to a guest house for fear that the car would blow up! All ended well as it was merely the ventilation. However, the foretaste of things to come, and the 'triumphal entry' into Paris, to the accompaniment of a loud farting noise coming from the car cabin, hardly conjured up the anticipated romance an old sports car in gay Paris was meant to. We are left with a sense of foreboding.

SWISSIE LAND

On Saturday we drove from Paris to Bern and got some beautiful hot weather so we could have the top down the whole way. At one point, I had been driving a little while and the car was bumping quite a lot...so I asked Kris if he thought it was the road, but clearly it wasn't. Turns out the tire was about to pop, so luckily the boy knows how to change a tire and we were able to get back on the road again pretty quickly.

The French borderlands with Switzerland are really gorgeous and we got our first glimpse of the Alps rising up in the distance. It was 1 August, which is the national birthday for Switzerland...so after a delish dinner with Tina and Simon and then walked into the center of town to watch the fireworks display. And then on Sunday we went to my friend Anja's house for a garden party...which was great, even though it got rained out a bit later on. Then Toonie took us through Bern to go to the local microbrewery which overlooks the river and city and we had a great dinner (I was dying to have spatlzi!) and taster flight of some great beers. More to come...