Monte Carlo

Topless to

Monaco

Le Mans Cathedral in the old town

The Bridge to the Ile De Re outside La Rochelle

The Millau Bridge

Colourful Bugs on the Fs Grill from the Midi Pyrenees

Tim in that tunnel in Monaco

Just popping in to Italy

The rusty roofed Relais d'Italie in Larche

Up in the mountains somewhere in the French Alps

We were near the source of the Seine on the way back

The Pit lane at Reims Grand Prix Circuit

Champagne Vineyards above Reims

MGF with the Reims Grandstands

A Quick Pit Stop at Reims

The scene was set - the natter was to be on the 17th September but we didn't fancy a mad dash down the motorways so we set off the week prior to the natter for a more leisurely drive around France.

Setting a target of no more than 300 miles a day we headed for Dover in the early hours of sunday morning aiming for the first Sea Ferry Crossing to Boulogne. With the engines still warming up on the Ferry we tucked into our breakfast of coffee and croissants to get in the mood for twelve days Au Francais.

First stop after Boulogne was to be Le Mans where we stayed in a Campanile on the edge of the town and by the race track. Lovely location beside a lake and a man made beach full of Le Mans residents taking the sun and pretending they were beside the sea. A quick trip in to the old town followed by dinner and an early start for La Rochelle the next morning. We were staying for two nights on the Ile De Re reached by a sweeping 3 kilometre long bridge and full of white walled holiday homes with hollyhocks growing up the walls and donkeys wearing pyjamas.

A restful couple of days exploring the island before we headed further south into the Dordogne stopping at Rochamadour to view the village clinging to the cliff edges and have a look at pre historic cave paintings. A nice Auberge just outside Figeac served a fantastic evening meal - if only I knew what it actually was !.

It was then off in to the midi Pyrenees where we wanted to view and go over the Millau Bridge - at just under a kilometre it is the highest bridge in the world and if the conditions are right the clouds float gently underneath the steel suspension . When we were there it was hot and hazy and we collected an interesting array of multi coloured bugs on the Fs grill.

After crossing the bridge we turned left along the D999 aiming for Beaucaire along a varied road that took us over straight army ranges and winding mountains before finally another straight stretch took us to Nimes. Having negotiated the town by a miracle of navigation we found the Best Western on the outskirts of Beaucaire. An evening drive took us to a much older bridge - the Pont Du Gard just outside Avignon was very romantic as the sun set and the moon rose behind it's triple deck of arches.

Next stop was Monaco so we drove along tree lined avenues around Aix en Provence until we joined the autoroute that would whisk us through the South of France skirting Nice, Cannes , St Tropez through many tunnels until we dropped in to Monaco on a busy Friday afternoon. A great drive but almost doubled in Monaco itself as we struggled with the static traffic trying to find the hotel in a maze of narrow one way streets, tunnels and flyovers. Finally we made it it to the Hotel Columbus and parked the F in the underground car park. You rarely see a car parked above ground in Monaco - there just isn't the space.

A fantastic meal in an Italian restaurant on the quayside opposite massive gleaming white yachts emblazoned with modest names like "Awesome" set us up nicely for a stroll around Monte Carlo the following day and the natter at the Cafe De Paris in the evening. You can read about that part of the trip HERE

Following the natter on sunday we all went our seperate ways again after a photoshoot on the promenade by the nearby Heliport. We headed off towards Italy and the Alps in glorious sunshine, shorts and sun cream/. By the time we were in the mountains we were enveloped by cloud, cold and drizzle. Our hopes of remaining topless for the entire trip were dashed - but we did manage to go Topless to Monaco - just not all the way back.

Nonetheless with variable weather the views were still magnificent in France as we headed through the tunnel into Italy to be met by more rain. In fact both times we entered tunnels to take us into Italy it was raining on the Italian side of the border. Leaving Italy we crossed the border to Larche where we found our rusty tin roofed hotel, a throwback to 1945 !. Joining some German Motorcyclists , a lone mountain walker and a French couple we tucked in to the set meal prepared by the elderly mother of "Madame" wearing our thick jumpers to keep out the chill.

Next day we drove along winding mountain roads looking at the clouds clinging to the mountainsides below us as we negotiated the Col De Vars to reach the highest point of our trip at 2902 metres. Descending into Italy again we plunged in to the Frejus tunnel amazed at the £22 toll to go through - mind you it was extremely long and it was a sight to see the tunnel wall lights retreating to the vanishing point in darkness for miles.

A short stay in Annecy followed where we walked around the Venice of the Alps before heading for Geneva and a circumnavigation of Lac Leman taking us into Switzerland and through the lakeside towns of Montreux and Lausagne. We knew we wouldn't be thirsty though as we drove through Evian and the huge water bottling complex. Leaving Switzerland we headed for wine country and Nuits St George where we stayed in a chateau on the edge of the town. The owner was a classic car fan and had a collection of military vehicles as well as restored classics dotted around the chateau grounds. From there we drove along N Roads past the source of the Seine and on to Reims. Finding the ancient Grand Prix Circuit just a mile or so form the Novotel was an added bonus as we stopped for the obligatory pictures by the ruined grandstands. It's interesting to see that parts of the pits are now being restored and preserved although there is still complete access to the site which is still in the middle of fields with the straight still a public road and used by ordinary French Motorists who think it's still a race track - mind you I couldn't resist a little burst on the throttle myself as we drove back across the finish line.

Reims is surrounded by Champagne country and Vineyards coat the hills all around - you are lucky not to get caught behind strange looking grape picking machines trundling along the narrow lanes between millions of rows of vines - we wern't lucky and got stuck behind several !. From the champagne hills above Reims you get a fantastic view across the plains to Reims itself shimmering in the early evening haze with the inspiring cathedral at it's heart. This was our last night and we took a gentle drive back to Boulogne stopping off on a deserted beach just prior to the town before catching the Speedferry back to the maelstrom of the M25 in rush hour.