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Val Thorens: Our Winter Home

Val Thorens: Our Winter Home | After three weeks and more than 2,000 kilometres we finally arrived in Val Thorens.

After three weeks, three castles, three days of protests, three pounds of cheese and more than 2,000 kilometres we finally arrived in Val Thorens.

Today marks one month since we arrived in our home for the winter season. We arrived about five days earlier than we expected, thanks in part to the bad weather in Chamonix and the ugly industrial city of Albertville. While in the 1992 Olympic…

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Bienvenue dans les Alpes

Bienvenue dans les Alpes | The Alps are home to dramatic glaciers, snow-capped peaks, picture perfect villages.

The Alps are home to dramatic glaciers, snow-capped peaks, picture perfect villages and delicious cheese.

We arrived in the city of Chambéry, a gateway to the French Alps, just after 6 p.m. We started the day at nine in the morning and should have arrived around 1 p.m. But thanks to the yellow vest protestor’s highway road blocks, it took much longer. It was easily the most stressful part of of…

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A day in Auvergne

A day in Auvergne | In the middle of France, Auvergne is home to fertile green pastures and more than 80 dormant volcanoes.

In the middle of France, Auvergne is home to fertile green pastures and more than 80 dormant volcanoes.

The summit of the chain of volcanoes is Puy de Dôme, standing at 1,465 metres. There are numerous routes that vary in difficulty to reach the summit. However, since we only had a day in Auvergne, we decided to wimp out and take the quick easy way up the volcano. The Panoramique des Domes, a…

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Rocamadour: A "Lot" to Love

Rocamadour: A "Lot" to Love | On an immense cliff overlooking a gorge, sits the beautiful medieval stone-clad houses and semi-troglodyte sanctuaries of Rocamadour.

On an immense cliff overlooking a gorge, sits the beautiful medieval stone-clad houses and semi-troglodyte sanctuaries of Rocamadour.

We set out for Rocamadour on the narrow and winding Dordogne roads, leaving behind the beautiful village of Collonges-la-Rouge. Along the way we passed quaint pastures, sleepy villages and steep cliffs.

Today, Rocamadour might be famous for its…

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Collonges-la-Rouge: The Most Beautiful Village in France

Collonges-la-Rouge: The Most Beautiful Village in France | Collonges-la-Rouge is nestled in the foothills of the Corrèze department next to chestnut groves,

A dark and sombre mood had followed us for the rest of the day after visiting Oradour-sur-Glane. Luckily Margaux knew just the place to lift our spirits.

A dark and sombre mood had followed us for the rest of the day after visiting Oradour-sur-Glane. Luckily Margaux knew just the place to lift our spirits.

This isn’t some sensationalist title I’m making up. The title of this post is…

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Oradour-sur-Glane: A Martyred Village

Oradour-sur-Glane: A Martyred Village | Oradour-sur-Glane is unique. It shoulders a painful and dark history.

Oradour-sur-Glane is unique. It shoulders a painful and dark history that was the site of the worst Nazi massacre of civilians carried out on French soil.

Oradour-sur-Glane is one of Margaux’s favourite places in France. It sounds odd. I will be the first to admit that. When she first told me about the massacre and the village, I questioned how one could like a place with such a macabre…

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Angers: Stay for the Jazz

Angers: Stay for the Jazz | Angers is a happy-go-lucky city despite its negative sounding name.

  Angers is a happy-go-lucky city despite its negative sounding name. The city supports a thriving cafe culture, booming music scene, affordable shopping and there are plenty of great places to eat.

Before we arrived in Angers, pronounced ahnzhe, we spent the night and part of the day in Brière Regional Natural Park. At the core of the park is the wetlands, the second largest in France. There are…

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Bretagne: Short but Sweet

Bretagne: Short but Sweet | Bretagne is different from the rest of France. It has its own language, music, and food and drink.

  Bretagne (Brittany) is different from the rest of France. Brittany has its own language, its own music, and of course its own food and drink.

We were famished after finishing our tour of Mont-Saint-Michel. Margaux told me she knew a good spot to get some of the best oysters in all of France. So we packed up Nanuk, put on some nostalgic tunes and hit the road for Bretagne. After only an hour on…

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Wizarding World of Mont-Saint-Michel

Wizarding World of Mont-Saint-Michel | There was no debate as to where our first stop in our journey would be.

  For two days Margaux and I organized our entire lives into our trusty van, Nanuk. After 10 weeks of work on the van we were finally ready to hit the road, and start living the Van Life.

The first time I saw Mont-Saint-Michel, was in 2013 while watching the Tour de France. I remember being awe struck by the Harry Potter-esque island. Right then and there, I told myself I would visit the Mont…

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Traditional French River Travel

Traditional French River Travel | All about a traditional fishing boat found on the Loire called a toue cabanée.

The first time Margaux took me down to the Loire we saw an antique looking wooden boat docked along the bank of the river. Margaux told me it was a toue cabanée, a traditional boat found on the Loire. We stopped to take some pictures and when we got home I started to learn more about these peculiar boats.

The Loire was the main trade route for transporting goods at a time when bridges were…

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Lyon: Love at first sight

Lyon: Love at first sight | Lyon is a real gem. It is a treasure trove of culture, architecture, gastronomy, sport and art.

Lyon is a real gem. It is a treasure trove of culture, architecture, gastronomy, sport and art.

It was late Friday evening when Margaux, her parents and me hopped into the car and we set out for France’s second largest city. Speeding along the motorway under the low autumn sun we passed by harvested fields and rolling hills. As the sun set, we began to ascend the Massif Central, where the road…

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Nanuk's Maiden Voyage

Nanuk's Maiden Voyage | It was an impromptu trip. We spent our first night in Nanuk drifting off to sleep listening to the sounds of eagles, monkeys and pelicans.

It was an impromptu trip. We spent our first night in Nanuk drifting off to sleep listening to the sounds of eagles, monkeys and pelicans.

Earlier, Margaux spent her entire day cleaning the van while I was at work. When I left for the day there were countless number of tools from power saws to adjustable spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers and everything in between. Joining the fray with the…

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Van Rebuild: Week 8 & 9

Van Rebuild: Week 8 & 9 | After finishing construction on Nanuk, we spent the past two weeks dressing the van up.

Everything has fallen into place. After finishing construction on Nanuk, we spent the past two weeks dressing up the van.

We haven’t devoted a lot of time to working on Nanuk, but we haven’t needed to. The only thing left to do are the “soft finishes.” Over the past two weeks, my dad and Margaux’s grandparents came for separate visits. We also took Nanuk on an impromptu maiden voyage to ZooParc…

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Van Rebuild: Week 7

Nanuk is almost finished

We are so close! Just about all the construction tasks regarding the van rebuild are nearly done. We can see the finish line.

The bed is done, the plumbing is done, the electrical is done, the floor is done, the roof is done there’s really not a lot left. Everything is coming together. There won’t be a video this week because we want the finished product to be a surprise.

On the bed we got rid of…

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Van Rebuild: Week 6

Van Rebuild: Week 6 | Sometimes you just have one of those days, where things don't go your way, know matter how much you try to fix things.

Sometimes you just have one of those days, where things don’t go your way, know matter how much you try to fix things.

Unfortunately for us we had a few days like that this past week. All we could do was move on and keep working away at the van. Nothing major happened. There were just a lot of little mistakes made that added up, which we had to constantly fix. To calm down we listened to our…

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Inside the Mind of a Genius

Inside the Mind of a Genius

Leonardo da Vinci was a genius.

Towards the end of June, just two weeks after arriving in France Margaux and I took a weekend trip to the island of Noirmoutier. While on the road I found out that the genius, Leonardo da Vinci lived in France and we could visit the château he lived in.

Since then I have wanted to go. Well last week Margaux and I finally got a day off of work together and jumped at…

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Van Rebuild: Week 5 | Using the momentum from week four, we carried on into this week. Using the momentum from week four, we carried on into this week. After installing the lights, last week, we decided that they didn’t provide enough light.