The month of June was spent in France.
I woke up at 2:00 AM and flew out of Portland, Maine a few hours later. Due to a flight rescheduling our layover at JFK was about 10 hours. We had a nice flight to Nice, got through immigration & customs, got our car and started the road trip.
We picked up fresh fruit and vegetables and stopped at the French equivalent to a super Walmart to get more food and a cooler which doubled as a seat. While doing our best to avoid highways we saw a few sights and even toured one of the best preserved Roman coliseums that is still used not for gladiators but concerts.
After many, many narrow winding mountain roads we finally made it to our first camping site on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean. From getting up to going to bed a full 37 hours had elapsed. The start of our French trip was epic and I venture to say I WILL NEVER do anything that exhausting again in my life!
Our game plan was camp for a few days, stay at a hotel and then camp some more. We ended using our tent (yes we packed a tent) at three different camp grounds. For a few days we "glamped" in a modern two story canvas tent and stayed at four pretty nice hotels. The most relaxing time was the four days spent with a friend and her elderly mother who didn't speak English.
You know your are off the beaten path when a few people you meet disclose they have never met an American. I'm not even going to try to explain what we saw. Besides the amazing geology, I was absolutely blown away with all the monuments, streets, etc... commemorating the various wars in France. The French people haven't forgotten the World Wars. They may not remember what America did in the "Great War" but they absolutely remember what America did in World War II and are still grateful.
