Le Mont Saint Michel

We spent 2 lovely days close to Le Mont Saint Michel. We set off early in the morning to go for a photo shoot at the monastery. Fortunately they let us line up on the road so that we could take our photo and then we quickly moved on.

We spent the day driving along the coast to St Malo and through the quaint little villages. Very rural and lush and green. Lots of mobile homes on the road and camped in the carparks designated for them. It seems the best way to travel through Europe rather than tow a caravan - the roads are far too narrow and the buildings are too close to the road.

Pictures from Paris

Proof that we made it to Paris

Paris

Our campsite was in the centre of Paris so we were all very anxious about driving through the traffic in Paris. We set off early in the day so that we would not be driving through peak hour traffic. The trip through Paris seemed to last forever and the traffic was horrendous with merging traffic everywhere. Much to our relief we eventually made it to our campsite alongside the river Seine.

The next morning some of the guys went to the Paris Military Collectors sheds and when they returned mid afternoon we caught a bus with the 2 couples from NZ and set off to explore the sights of Paris. We had a long walk from the bus stop to the Arc de Triumphe and Eiffel Tower which are far more impressive in reality than in the movies. Paris is a very busy city with lots of beautiful buildings and interesting things to look at.

We were amazed at the parking skills of the drivers - they seem to park with just centimetres to spare between the vehicles. Most of the vehicles are small and there are a lot of motorbikes and scooters.

It had been suggested that we might go and have a picture shoot at the Arc early the next morning but after watching the traffic going around the roundabout with 12 exits it became the furtherest thing from our mind.

Sherman Tank

Sherman Tank

Pictures from Paris

Ward Le France & Inter Semi

Paris Military Club

Dragon Wagon

Paris Military Collectors Group

We were invited by the Paris Military Collectors Group to have a look at their vehicles stored in some large sheds loaned to them by the Defence Department. Henri, who is known to many in Oz and who went on the 2005 trip to Alice Springs, escorted us through the Paris traffic to their sheds.

There was a large variety of vehicles ranging from Dragon Wagons down to pushbikes and they were very impressive. They also had Sherman tanks, one with a new old stock engine.

Their club members meet there regularly to carry out work on their own vehicles as well as the club vehicles. They were very hospitable to us and made us feel very welcome. We were treated to lunch and drinks.

It was a magnificent collection and we were all very envious.

Jim