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  • Foxtraveler

France and Tuscany

A 44-day adventure by Foxtraveler Read more
  • Avignon, France

    August 24, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    What a city. It surely shows the rich history it has, as once a dominant place in a catholic state. The whole historic center is surrounded by a medieval wall. Inside you are welcomed by the palace of the popes, a cathedral and the ruined bridge of Avignon. It was really hot though, so we took it slow. This city is a must see if you're in the area (at much colder days if possible).Read more

  • Pont du Gard

    August 25, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Today, we decided to take this roadtrip to a whole new level. A three hour canoe ride on the river, with oh, so beautiful view. We booked our canoe a day advance, as we didn't want the whole 'no more visitors today' story to repeat.

    The day was pretty hot and swimming in the river was just perfect! We didn't actually stoped at Pont du Gard, as we're not that much into museums, instead paddling our way through the bridge on a calm river was our plan all along. One of the best things we did on this roadtrip for sure!

    Oh yeah, on the way back, we stopped at the Haribo museum(we still don't know why it's in Uzes), skipped the museum part and went directly to the candy. I mean, who could resist those yummy gummy bears and yes, we're going on a diet as soon as we come back :)
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  • Week #4

    August 27, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    It lasted about 4 weeks for us to get used to live like french do, eat until 2 and then chill until 7 (when all the restaurants opens again) and here we are, almost at the end of our journey around France. Time really goes by so fast when you're having fun!
    I'm not sure that pool is something tipically local, but we could easly got used to it 😉

    This week was all about taking it easy, enjoying the food and embracing provence hot sun. Although we love it here, we're ready to move forward and explore new things at our last France stop in Nice.
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  • Home exchange, house #6

    August 28, 2016 in France ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    So, today we're one month away from home and I can't think of better place to crown this trip with than staying in Cote d'Azur. If you want to feel like million bucks, this is the place to be. We are staying between Cannes and Nice in a lovely little house in secluded neighbourhood with pool and everything, thanks to Charlotte and Jean Paul who welcomed us with open arms(your place is really great btw!).

    We haven't spent much time here yet, but what we did is that we discovered the best stocked store ever. I mean, all that seafood, cakes and cheese! To die for! Who would want to eat out if you have anything you can think of(and more) right here in your local shop?

    Oh yeah, we did manage to jump in the wavy sea, it was warm and salty, as expected. Sun was shining, the wind was blowing, but the beach was pretty crowdy, so later in the evening we decided to cool off in the pool instead. Pretty great day one, I wonder what's to come 😊
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  • Nice

    August 29, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Nice is nice. But also very lively, vibrant city. We came just moments before it got dark. From busy 'LA beachy type' of city where people are running, walking, exercising on the sidewalks, to the bustling city, where sleep is apparently not on the menu, as there is so much going on.

    We took a stroll down the Promenade de Anglais towards old harbour, sea breeze was just what we needed and the view was nice too. Promenade is very long and it's facing the sea all the way. Even though the attack happened here on this place only one month ago, we weren't feeling afraid or felt any uncomfortable vibes. City lives on, as it should.

    We watched street dancers, musicians and colorful fountains. On the way back to the car, we spotted tons of restaurants and hotels. It seemed like it's very important where you eat, like you give certain statement by eating at the most expensive restaurant. This massive turism of 'show me the money' type isn't really our thing, but for the night or two, we would be okay even here. At least the view is nice ;)
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  • Cannes

    August 30, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    It's our last day in France. What better way than spend it in glamorous Cannes. No kidding, we could really spend it all (a bit pricey for sure). Rather than that, we decided to spend our money on shrimps and cheese later at the local store, but we did stoped for coffee. Instead of shopping(it seemed like that's the main activity there), we walked to the castle on the hill which offered us a beautiul view over the port. It must be spectacular at night, when you can see all the lights from from the boats.

    Everything in Cannes is big or long - sandy beaches, yachts, streets of fashion stores, cafes, casinos and of course seaview hotels. You can also spot a really expensive car here and there. I imagine, there's lots of people in the city when there's film or yacht festival(we were here just a week too soon).

    Cannes is definitely a feast for the eyes, if you're into glamorous yachts, expensive fast cars and designer fashion clothes and shoes.

    Our trip in France ends here, in Villeneuve-Loubet, with stunning after-sunset sky and delicious homemade sea food dinner. Santé!
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  • Monaco

    August 31, 2016 in Monaco ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Off to Italy! Bye France it was great and hope to see you soon. On the way we had to see Monaco. What a city! Highrise modern buildings yachts and the Rock with the palace on it. Very fancy and really stunning.Read more

  • Cinque Terre

    August 31, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    A must see UNESCO protected villages. Colorful with amazing views all around. The road to here is a killer though and I mean literally as we almost got hit by a speeding car on a steep narrow road. I advise the train or the boat to see the amazing villages.Read more

  • Home exchange, house #7

    August 31, 2016 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    It's our first exchange in Italy and our last on this roadtrip. It's also our first exchange where we're not completely alone in the house. As it turned out, that's not such a bad thing - Anne and Nicola greeted us with home made pizza, fresh vegetables from the garden and tuscan wine (Grazie!). What a treat! Even though there are some lingo barriers, we understand each other just fine :) We had a really long drive and a bit of a headache yesterday, so today we slept in(we finally got a little bigger bed, so that helped aswell) and chilled by the lake in the afternoon. We're excited to discover some more of tuscany tomorrow.Read more

  • Lago di Bilancino

    September 1, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    It's our first day in Tuscany and a hot one too, so we decided to take a dip in the lake Bilancino and chill. The lake is just 25 years old but it is placed when once in the far past a bigger lake used to. The water was warm, and we were just one of the few people on the beach. Lovely.Read more

  • Vicchio village fest

    September 1, 2016 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    On our way back from the beach(it felt so beachy by the lake) we decided to stop for dinner in local restaurant, so our first pick was most-rated-tripadvisor restaurant/store, which sells local goods such as olive oil, pasta, prosciutto, tartufata and cheese. The dinner was sadly closed, but at least we got the beautiful view over Vecchio bridge.

    We said we'll try our luck in the center of town and boy we hit the jackpot. It's apparently the beginning of local festival with music and everything! Sort of farm market meets fair kinda vibe. There were calves in a barn, pigeons in a cage, old tractor machines displayed and down the street was some sort of garage sale going on, where kids were selling their old toys and clothes.

    Ok, we were going by pretty fast until we discovered our place, food court. And the best of all, they served only local products! What a treat. When our stomachs were happy, we strolled around a while longer(as it turned out this fair is not small, at all) and ofcourse we had to buy ourselves a little treat-local salami and sheep cheese. Victory!
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  • Week #5

    September 1, 2016 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    We're on a roll. 5 weeks! Together, in a car. And we didn't killed each other. Yep, must be true love 😉 Jokes aside, we expirienced so much already that some of the places we visited seems like ancient history. Luckily we keep it all here on our blog ☺

    Roads we travelled were amazing, breath taking, sometimes spiral and difficult, but all together made our roadtrip fun.

    Our last stop, under the Tuscan sun, just began and we're hungry for more(italian food in particulary)! Bring it on, Italy!
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  • Chianti drive

    September 2, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    The heart of Tuscany as some say. Rolling hills with wineyards, olive trees and castles(or what is left of them). What an amazing sights. Wow. Just wow. We really had to stop every few kilometers just to take in the views. From here comes the original Chianti wine, if you were wondering :) For real classic type of wine look for the black rooster sticker on the bottle. You're welcome :)

    For anybody who wants to explore and see the real Tuscany, just take the S222 road from Florence to Siena (possibly make the circle as al the roads are very scenic). Prepare to be amazed.
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  • Siena, Italy

    September 2, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Well this is the first bigger town in Tuscany and we are already convinced. You can really feel the renesanse in the air. The architecture is stunning and so are the streets inside the wall with all that cute shops. It was hard not to spend everything here. Thor was once again in the center of attention as kids and random couples wanted to pet him. I bet he felt like a star :)

    It's funny, that Siena with big Duomo and Piazza is so large, contrary to small villages we passed by today, but somehow has this Tuscany vibe. You can spot this town miles away, as orange-brown color gives it away. Impressive.
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  • San Gimignano

    September 3, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Another day in stunning Tuscany. The sights just don't stop to amaze us. And the views... San Gimignano is a unique medival town you spot from miles away as It has this special towery city skyline. It is very beautiful inside too. With narrow streets shops and markets. Belissimo.Read more

  • Volterra

    September 3, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The spectacular city on a hill overlooking the country. The panoramic views are amazing! The movie Twillight was also filmed here. It is hard to decide which town in Tuscany is prettier.

  • Florence

    September 4, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Everything seems big and magnificent, art is literally on every corner. There's amazing bridge with houses called Ponte Vechio, where are now expensive jewelry stores. If you want to make a statement that's probably the place. Go big or go home right:) Florence are definitely beautiful and a must see city, even though they don't give that tipical Tuscany vibe. They offer a lot - great walks, views, museums and places to eat. It is a little bit too big and crowdy for us, but we really enjoyed it!Read more

  • Pisa tower

    September 5, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Who doesn't know the leaning tower of Pisa? Funny how one man's mistake in 11th century lead to world famous attraction. Beside the leaning bell tower(that you can actually visit!) there are also cathedral and baptistry on the square. Amazing sights. And let me tell you, it looks bigger in person😉Read more

  • Lucca

    September 5, 2016 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Old city surrounded by the walls, which are now pedestrian promenades. We took a walk through the cobbled streets and discovered Lucca is not as small as we first assumed. Aparently this is a very old city, with big churches, towers and squares. Not to mention all the stores and cafés. Lovely.Read more

  • Week #6 - Home sweet home

    September 8, 2016 in Slovenia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    It's been six weeks since we sat in our car and started our roadtrip. 10000 km and 42 days later we're back home. Today is our first day back home and let me tell you, nothing beats your own bed and couch! Thor agrees, as he slept till 11😁 Home sweet home! And it's such a pleasure to come home to a clean apartment (thanks for setting up fresh bedding for us Raquel!).

    I'm sure we'll feel post-travel depression soon, as the trip was really AMAZING! We didn't watch tv a single day, I think that explains a lot 😊 We did a circle around France, but we could easily stay there and explore for another month or two, there's so much more to see! And for you miss Italy, we'll be definitely seeing you some more!

    There wasn't just nature and places that we loved. We also stayed at 7 different great houses and met a lot of nice people! (Thanks for having us! And thanks for the wine-we have it enough for the whole year! But when I think again, it will be perfect for our cheese and wine party tomorrow😋) Home exchange really gave us that something more that we never experienced before. We loved it! 🏠

    I know it's been only a day, but can't help to think any other question than 'Where to next?' 😉
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    Trip end
    September 8, 2016