We’ve arrived at Canazei in the Italian Dolomites after spending most of the day on the road, leaving Switzerland behind and having an overnight rest stop at the Berghotel Franzenshöhe.

We’d already had our first taste of the Stelvio Pass on our way to the hotel the night before, which despite fading light was already the most fun we’d had on the road since we started our trip. Similar to previous mountain roads, the steep incline, sharp-hairpins and stunning views we’re all present and correct, but for some reason the turns and sheer drops seemed just that slightly bit more… (more)

We’ve left the car behind for a few days and travelled to the skiing village of Bettmeralp, where we’ve spent the past two days hiking between Alps and generally enjoying the fresher (but much thinner) mountain air. We’re staying in the Slalom Garne Hotel, a very modern place in keeping with it’s surroundings with all the mod-cons and extremely friendly and helpful staff.

We’ve spent a lot of time here just enjoying the near-classic Swiss Alpine views, wandering through the greenest of fields and past waterfalls, and generally absorbing the sights and sounds of our immediate locale. As a carless… (more)

We’ve just arrived at the skiing and hiking village of Bettmeralp in Switzerland, and after almost a full day of driving we’re settling into the Hotel Garni Slalom before heading out to explore our picturesque Alpine surroundings.

Our route followed a similar pattern to our previous days in the Alps, ascending and descending into one glorious mountain pass after the next. Our route to Bettmeralp took us through some barely noticeable border crossings, allowing us to take a shortcut through the Mont Blanc tunnel in Italy (for a modest fee of €32), and briefly back into France again for a… (more)

After almost a full day of driving, we’ve arrived at our overnight rest-stop at Seez. It’s been day of continuous visual amazement as we headed further into the Alps, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow when we’ll, be heading across the border into Switzerland.

We hit the road early this morning, loading up on provisions and leaving Fontaine de Vaucluse at around 10am. The familiar, twisting roads of Provence soon gave way to some classic tree-lined highways ands far as the eye could see there were fields of green and farmland all around.

The French Alps, which for a few… (more)

It’s been a busy couple of days, and we’re taking one of those rare timeouts from being tourists and enjoying a tall drink within fabulous surrounds of the Hôtel Du Poète.

It was about 400km drive yesterday from Carcassonne to our current location in Provence, via a considerable (but entirely worthwhile) detour over the Millau Viaduct and onto the Coste Rouge dolmen within the ground of the Saint Michel de Grandmont priory. We arrived in Fontaine de Vaucluse just as the light was fading, giving us just the right amount of time to head out into the village to enjoy… (more)

It’s our second day in Carcassonne, and our last before heading South East to Provence. We spent most of today wandering around within the walls of the old city, visiting the castle and walking around the battlements, stopping only for lunch and the occasional ice-cold confection.

Despite it’s medieval look and feel on the outside, you only really visit the old city for three reasons; one, you’re a tourist staying in one of the incredibly expensive, high end hotels within the city walls; two, you’re a tourist looking for a restaurant or a souvenir to buy in one of the… (more)

We’re just settling in for the night now, after spending most of the day of traveling to the medieval city of Carcassonne. We’re staying at the Citéa hotel, a basic but modern and comfortable hotel in the shadow of the fortified French town, where we’ll be spending our time tomorrow.

We arrived in the city late yesterday afternoon, after leaving Brive in the mid-morning and travelled another 300km South, just 50 kilometres shy of the Mediterranean coast; typical of the locale, the weather here has been absolutely perfect, being in the elusive “just right” category of heat.

We took an… (more)

We’ve arrived at the Mercure Hotel just outside of Brive for an overnight stop, after travelling a little over 400km south east of Le Mont St. Michel. It’s about 9pm and we’re both a little worse for wear, but looking forward to a good nights sleep before we set off for Carcassonne tomorrow in the AM.

We rose relatively early this morning, and after a quick breakfast at one of the island’s many cafes, we took another quick stroll around before we left Mont St. Michele just before the deluge of tour buses started to arrived.

Despite, spending most of… (more)

We’ve arrived at our first port of call at Le Mont Saint Michel, and after a few hours of wandering around this historic island and commune, we’re spending a little quiet time in our hotel post-dinner before heading out again to catch the scenery in all it’s floodlit glory.

It was a mostly trouble-free 470 km drive down the coast from our overnight stop in Calais, through thoroughly familiar looking countryside and over some thrillingly high bridges over the river Seine.

Stopping briefly only to grab a baguette for lunch at a serviced station (and correcting an unscheduled detour when… (more)

We’ve just set off from Dover port, bound for Dunkurk on a two-hour crossing over the English Channel. The weather is appropriate for sea faring (overcast and foggy), but the journey is mercifully short so the only thing we have to worry about is seasickness and resisting the urge to buy anything from the duty free shop out of sheer boredom.

We’ve decided to do something a little different this year; instead of jetting off to some far-flung, culturally distinct corner of the world, riding elephants and getting up at the crack of dawn to scramble through dense rainforest, we’ve… (more)