Off the Autoroute

Introduction to Le Tour

Once more I want to inspire you to travel - to France. I have been delighted at the lovely responses I have received to my books and have enjoyed supplying more precise suggestions to some of you personally. This book ties together our journeys in France as a cohesive tour de France.
Most of this book comprises of fresh writing but to make the tour flow I have included relevant excerpts from my four book French Travel Series. If you are unfamiliar with those books, I hope you will go on to enjoy the full story of our experiences in French regions such as Provence, Languedoc, of course Paris, and our wine touring amongst the French vineyards throughout the country. Paris I do not include in this book as I have treated that marvellous city as needing a book of its own.
If you are familiar with my French travel book series, you will be aware that I began to travel abroad somewhat later in life than most of my contemporaries. My initial forays abroad were to the south of France by coach, staying at an exceptionally fine coastal campsite near Perpignan. It would be about five years later before I had the courage to strike out under my own steam. For that first excursion into the unknown, we chose Normandy. I imply that I accomplished this extraordinary feat of making my own way to France all by myself but that is not strictly true. I had help. I used the expertise of a travel firm that specialized in hotel and travel arrangements for Normandy. They very efficiently did most of the planning for me. It would be another couple of years before I started to be more adventurous and ambitious in my travels, able to do all the planning work myself. This is something that I have really enjoyed over the years. Initially, I still wanted someone to hold my hand. All I had to do on this first trip was to get some French francs and drive the car in the right direction at the appropriate time, which was easier said than done.
This book is a compilation of stories and memories from our twenty-five years of touring France. I take you on a more or less clockwise tour of the country and it is a trip that can be reproduced over a two-week period - or just be an inspiration to savour one or two areas for a couple of weeks. Provence for instance repays a longer stay. In fact it is difficult to take your leave after a couple of weeks. It is by no means an exhaustive tour and I have areas I still wish to explore for the first time or to return to discover much more.
It is a country and people that have never disappointed, and we begin our tour in Normandy, just driving off the Cherbourg ferry.