Our strategic Normandy landing via Calais was a complete success, but for some strange reason, driving on the “proper” side of the road now seemed surprisingly wrong. As we drove along the countryside we were reminded of how beautiful this part of France is with its rolling green hills, beautiful cliffs and sandy beaches. We manoeuvred our way through Rouen heading towards Paris and stopped long enough to get a good impression of just how fantastic this old city is with its vast and well-preserved tudor style buildings. After watching some impressive boat racing on the river, we left thinking Rouen does not get the full traveler attention it deserves. Paris is amazing! We didn’t do a single touristy venue kind of activity this time, we just leisurely strolled through the beautiful parks, magnificent boulevards and along the Seine river for days. The sidewalk cafe’s, interesting people, unique shops and fantastic architecture are seemingly endless and we again walked for miles and miles just soaking it all in. After spending a total of over five short weeks (both trips combined) exploring Paris, we’ve decided that this is our most desirable big city of all. Heading south we stopped in Lyon which also turned out to be a very pleasant surprise with its old Roman ruins overlooking the Rhone river and beautiful ancient city below.
Moving south through the lush green wine district of Burgundy there was no shortage of vineyards, little towns and old castles sprinkled throughout the hills to admire. We stopped overnight in Avignon, a favourite spot from our last trip, and once again paid homage to the famous little bridge that leads into the equally famous walled city. From Avignon we made our way to the French Riviera and arrived in Cannes just in time for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately we just missed meeting George Clooney and Julia Roberts and we’re convinced it had everything to do with the policemen who refused to allow us to drive our motorhome along the waterfront and past the grand “red carpet” festivities. Oh well, possibly we’ll have another chance some day to meet them at the Victoria Film Festival. Onward from Nice through a high altitude breathtaking coastal drive to Monaco where we took a wrong turn and almost found ourselves trapped forever on a tiny hillside street between two rows of old and very tall buildings. Thank you to all those patient Monacon drivers for avoiding excessive use of their Vespa and “little-car” horns. Margot is still recovering. Venice is our next big destination and then northward towards Amsterdam we go as the last days of this trip are quickly ticking by. Signing off with a Happy belated Mothers Day to all our favourite Mum’s out there (especially our new ones) and an early Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads as well.

On our way to Wales we stopped in at Blackpool for a quick look at the festive and famous beachside pier area. This is where the tall “Eiffel-like” Blackpool Tower plays a role in ringing in the British New Year similarly to the dropping of the ball in Times Square.
Unfortunately we celebrated our introduction to Wales with two nasty bouts of 24 hour flu. Luckily Margot was mostly recovered from hers by the time I went down and in both cases we were lucky to find nice campgrounds to mend in. Other than our challenging flu experience, Wales was wonderful. This northern region is not only filled with picturesque rocky outcroppings populated with countless grazing sheep, it’s also filled with a rich and rugged history as well. Castles are everywhere and these fortifications were definitely designed for battle and not show. We were especially impressed with Caernarfon Castle where the Prince of Wales has traditionally been crowned since Edward II.
On our way out of Wales we stopped at an amazing World Heritage site that truly impressed us. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was built to transport canal boats across the wide and deep Llangollen gorge. It took 10 years to build this structure and when finished it was considered an engineering marvel of its time… and still is today. This area was a major Chemical production zone and moving volatile chemicals by land was too rough and dangerous so this smooth water based “high level” extension to the Llangollen canal system was the answer. Today the only dangerous goods transported across this aqueduct are tourists. We chose to walk rather than ride over it and it really was a weird sensation to be walking along this catwalk in the sky with a boat quietly sliding past apparently floating in air. We could have easily spent much more time exploring this beautiful part of the world if the clock was not ticking by so quickly.
We drove onward to Stone (this area is world-renowned for its production of fine bone china) and stopped in at the “Dunoon” ceramics company where we were treated like royalty. We were escorted into their showroom by Jane, one of the company artists, and here we met Peter a co-owner of the company. Peter took us on a personal tour of his large and impressive production facility, we were so impressed that he would make this amount of time available just for us. The two lovely ladies in the front office were wonderful ambassadors for Dunoon and they even donated a couple of Christmas collector plates to add to our collection. Needless to say we we’re as impressed with the people at Dunoon as we are with the fun, practical and quality ceramic products they produce.
In Nottingham we stopped at the oldest pub in Britain (1189) the “Olde Trip to Jerusalem” just before touching base with Robin Hood a short walk up the hill and below the castle walls. A quick stop at the fantastic Burghley House (Palace) a short distance south of Nottingham had us “wowing” to ourselves. Can’t imagine what it would be like to call a place like this home. Interestingly, the present Lord of this amazing residence lives and runs a successful business in Vancouver but still maintains his connections and duties to the old British homestead. We had a great day strolling around Cambridge and the more we explored the more impressed with the place we became. Visited the “Eagle’ pub that Watson & Crick frequented and talked over their ideas on DNA structure. Down the street is the building where Steven Hawkins received his masters degree. Like layers of an onion, the more you peel away, the more interesting the town becomes. Also Cambridge has a very vibrant downtown area and overall I have to say that it has the edge over Oxford for us.
It was nice to have an extra couple of days in London. This time around we got a chance to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and tour the inside of Westminster Abby. We ended our awesome travels in England by driving South to the “White Cliffs of Dover” and spending a final night in Canterbury, the same place we started our British Invasion.
Onward to Paris and beyond.