Au Revoir France (A Retrospective)

Today we said au revoir to France (at least for this trip). It's been a mostly fabulous 10 days, so here's my retrospective on the positives (+) and negatives (-) of our drive through France:

1. Paris
+ Gorgeous city, so much to see and do.
- We didn't have enough time! Only two days in Paris is definitely not enough.

2. The Loire Valley
+ Our introduction to regional France could not have been better, with impressive chateaux and villages that haven't changed in hundreds of years.
- We started the camping part of our trip!

3. Blois
+ One of those fantastic towns with winding cobblestone alleys set along the beautiful Loire River.
- Too much dog poo.

4. Tours
+ A bigger and more exciting version of Blois. It retained its 'olde worlde' charm while the student population makes for a great nightlife.
- Driving through this town and finding parking was a total nightmare. See below post for Josh's version of French parking (although mild by local standards).


5. Pauillac
+ Wine tasting! Vineyards as far as the eye can see with some very interesting winery tours, which end in indulging in the local vine (and they're very generous with their 'tastings').
- Working out how to pronounce the damn name! Three vowels in a row blows my mind. It's Pweeyak, by the way.

6. Moissac
+ Looks pretty from a distance.
- Doesn't look pretty up close.

7. Toulouse
+ Bigger than Moissac.
- Bigger version of Moissac.

Next stop Andorra and then on to sunny Barcelona!