Last stop - Mesnil Jumieges (Nathanial)

After Paris we went back to one of the Aires where we started our adventure. We were here last November and said then that it would be great to come back in the hotter season. It's a great adventure park for the lads which meant we could finish on a real high for them, plus I managed to work on my sun tan some more.

Tom was gutted he couldn't go on the super high ropes with Alfie, the junior ropes would just have to do

Alfie really was in the tree tops

He didn't stop playing for days

Tom, getting into the swing of things

and days

He went on this at least ten times

And let's not forget the Lego

Alfie wasn't too interested in the rides so we decided to have a day out, just me and him. We rode to a near by village and found a great Abbey to explore. We rode through the most beautiful rural France and Alfie was on top form, he's always better on his own. Of all the places we have explored over the last ten months living in a van, I think this was our best day.

A great day out, just me and Alf

Paris (Nathanial)

After getting the brakes fixed, we traveled through Germany for a week, stopping off at a few 'lidos' on the way. the heat was intense which for some reason I wasn't expecting here. 

We then reached our last major city, Paris. This is a stark reminder for me that we are very nearly home, which I'm dreading. I really don't want this adventure to end. 

But first lets enjoy Paris. After getting used to city driving again and the campsite not being where it should be, we finally found our way and settled in. For some reason I really wanted the lads to see the Eiffel tower. Before we even set off last year I wanted to show them this crazy structure.

This is the biggest pylon I've ever seen Dad!

After catching a bus from the campsite and jumping on the 'underground' we were in the centre of Paris. We decided to walk through the city rather than catch trains everywhere. I'm glad we did, we had a great walk by the Seine.

                               It's actually very similar to Blackpool tower

We were smiling, but it was very chilly this high up

A view from the top

          

After lots of queuing we had the next day in the Louvre; we actually needed about three, it's huge. We walked through Napoleon's apartments along with the Egyptian artefacts and of course the renaissance section with that painting in it.

The Tardis, better known as the Louvre

For any art lovers, this is the place to be. Apart from the famous one, there are hundreds of amazing paintings in here. The Egyptian section was fantastic with an actual Mummy, it took Tom some time to get his head round how they mummified people. Not pleasant. 

After all the sightseeing we found a little cafe with tables on the street, we thought we would treat ourselves and not bother with a pic-nic today. It was great sitting there in this lovely city, drinking French coffee and eating some posh food, just watching the world pass by. It was great sitting there without the normal everyday life stress, but I did have the nagging feeling it was coming to an end.