Our Favorite, Fabulous France

We started liking France in 2007, our first time RVing in Europe.  We found that we were wrong in our perception - that France is an expensive country.  We discovered small markets like Lidl, Aldi, Penny and a lot more selling cheap but quality products, groceries and food.  Even the big ones like E.Leclerc, Carrefour and Auchan's prices of meat, seafood and bread are cheap too.  I, of course, am speaking from my experiences shopping in Canada, which to me now seem unbelievably expensive.

Last year, our second time RVing in Europe, we found and discovered a spot in Dunkirk where motorhomers can park legally.  It is an assigned space for motorhomers, a few stops to the sea, there is washroom facility, a water source, poissonerie (seafood shop) is not far where prices are really cheap, free wifi is available and it's free to park there as long as one wants.  One wonderful bonus is that in August, the month we were there last year, the climate was wonderful, it was mild, not hot at all.  It was heaven.

This year, is our fourth time in France and our fourth time to see the sites in Paris.  We liked that we can park right in front of the Eiffel Tower illegally but the police swarming the place did not ask us to move.  We experienced that last year, so we did it again this year.  Hah, same thing -  the police are the nicest in Paris.  We were meeting with friends so I cooked pork and chicken adobo and fried maquereau (mackerel); our friends brought rice, vegies, ice cream and 2 bottles of champagne.  We had a blast and stayed up to 12 midnight exactly. We revisited places in Paris one day when we bought a day pass for Euros6.40 per person; went to see Sacre Coeur for the first time, joined the mass of French people in the grass/grounds beside The Louvre and the giant ferris wheel, had dinner at Chinatown; rode the bus going nowhere couple of times just to see Paris from a bus, got back 'home' at midnight.

In France, they have what is called municipal camping in most towns and cities - designated camper parking where motorhomers can park for free or for a minimal amount per day (from 7-10 euros).  Our experience is that we can park anywhere there is no height barrier and stay overnight, no problem.  This year, we have not paid a cent staying in a paid camping while last year, in our 6 months rving, we paid 3 nights in a municipal camping for 8 a night.

Picture Perfect Austria

The first time we visited Austria was in 1998, we were back-packing and using mostly trains to go from one country to another.  On our way to Vienna in 1998, we were astounded by the seemingly perfect landscape of the land as we travel aboard the train.  We wonder how it is possible.

We have visited different cities since and been to this country four times now, still we are awed by Austria's beauty.  Now that we are traveling in a motorhome, we get to drive, which actually is our preference,  mostly on secondary roads allowing us to see and experience the unexplored parts, to see the majectic Alps, the scenic villages, the perfect landscape and the colorful fields and farms.