Southern France: November 12-16, 2006

We had extended our stays at pretty much everywhere we had visited, so were starting to feel a little pushed for time. So from Rome we decided to cover a decent amount of ground and drive to Southern France in a day. But covering that much ground and trying to keep up with the rest of the speeding Italian traffic proved too much for our old Scottish lassy of a vehicle. Just 20 odd k's from Antibes (where we had organised to couch surf again) we pulled up into the highway service area to see smoke coming out of our back right wheel. After letting it cool down we decided to push on nice and slowly. We made it to Antibes where our helpful couchsurfing host (Bernard) helped us get the car to the mechanic on what turned out to be the final thread of its brake pad. It took longer and cost more to fix than we had anticipated. But hey, on the coast of Southern France was a pretty damn good place to be stranded. The Mediterranean waters only change a couple of degrees Celsius in temperature from summer to winter. So the warm waters keep the air warm even in the middle of November. Warm enough for us to lounge on the beach.

Zoe and our gracious Couchsurfing Host, Bernard, at breakfast in his garden

Once again couch surfing was a god send for us. Not only did Bernard help us with our car problems, he also showed us around the beautiful country towns in the neighbouring mountains. He generously let us stay in his spare apartment not far from the beach.

We also took a day trip to Cannes, where the International Film Festival is held, and a boat trip across to the islands from Cannes for some hiking and yet more amazing French food picnicking. Unfortunately Zoe overdosed on cheese.