France

We drove through Geneva into France. We had moments of confusion as the GPS wanted us to go one way while the signs pointed the opposite. The main highways in France are toll roads, with toll gates at regular intervals. On one day of driving, we spent close to 30 Euros on tolls.

Annecy is a beautiful small town about an hour inside France. We did as advised and went directly to the tourist information centre. Unfortunately it was closed due to a public holliday. Eventually we succeeded in booking a suburban hotel for a reasonble price. The challenge was finding our way to it. With a GPS that should be easy, but for some reason, it regularly lost satellite reception as we were approaching an intersection. Apparently the location was on the edge of one of the GPS maps, so if you approached from Annecy, it would go into a recalculating loop and send us away form our destination when we were just kilometres away. Our hotel turned out to be very nice, and not far from town.

The next day we drove back to town and spent hours in he old town. It sits on the edge of a lake that feeds a small fast flowing river. It is very picturesque, with several bridges linking cobbled streets and medieval stone buildings. Swans swam around in the river.


We drove onto our B and B near Avignon (the heart of Provence). It was a beautiful old stone mill ( Le Moulin de Souchieres ) that had been converted to a cosy place to stay. Breakfasts were very good. It was very well fitted out, with a washing machine for guests. We bought local food and cooked dinners for ourselves in the well equiped kitchen.

Avignon has a massive old town centre surrounded an intact stone wall. Inside, it is a bit run-down with many empty shops. Despite that, it is a fascinating place to spend a day. On arrival, there was a huge potters market overflowing with colourful creations.






Using our bed and breakfast as a centrepoint, we travelled around Provence, visiting numerous spectacular villages. Each had its own distinctive character, some coloured with red ochre and others made of stone.

Driving around was however very stressful. Numerous times, I slowly approached intersections to ensure I found the correct exit. Instead of showing any patience, French drivers would overtake on any side then duck across to the opposite side in front. On one occassion, I was driving down a windy road of hairpin bends. A car actually overtook on one of these blind bends. They must have a massive road toll.

We drove through Saint Tropez and onto Nice where we handed in our hire car. Driving in Nice was a harrowing experience. I was happy to hand in the keys and get on the train to Venice.