TOURING FRANCE ON WHEELS
Updated: 5 days ago
My love affair with France stared when I was in my mid teens and I did a French exchange like many in the UK. I went to Paris for the first time and I was completely blown away. I remember sitting in an apartment on the Rue de Passy at an open window and delighting in drawing a stunning, typical Parisian, intricately designed and sinuous window balcony rail. I couldn't believe how beautiful the city was. I have been a helpless francophile ever since.
Last year I went to Lyon for the first time as an adult {as covered in the last series of blog posts}. This year however I decided to tour part of France by car, most stops being places I had never visited before. I went on a route that resembled a “c” shape starting in Pontoise and ending in Lyon. It was an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience. The tour consisted of 15 stops in total. Over the following series of blog posts, I will share highlights from the experience.
STOPS
1 Pontoise, Île-de-France
2 Auvers-sur-Oise, Île-de-France
3 Giverny, Normandie
4 Versailles, Île-de-France
5 Chatres, Centre-Val de Loire
6 Tours, Centre-Val de Loire
7 Angers, Pays de la Loire
8 Nantes, Pays de la Loire
9 Tocane-Saint-Apre, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
10 Brantôme, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
11 Sarlat-la-Canéda, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
12 La Roque-Gageac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
13 Beynac-et-Cazenac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
14 Lac d'Aydat, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
15 Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Tour route
From top left:
A fromagerie in Pontoise | Dinner at Le Bouclard d'Auvers in Auvers-sur-Oise | The beautiful, tiled belle époque facade of Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Guitton & Fils in the small town of Bonnières-sur-Seine neighbouring Giverny | The entrance of Versailles palace characterised by a striking contrast between its dazzling, geometric black and white floor design and its ornate facade | Me in front of the gardens of Versailles | A building with beautiful characteristic French window rails, a pattiserie and an art nouveau front door, all in Chatres | Patisserie stand at Les Halles Lyon
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