Bonjour!

Well, we left Paris this morning and took most of the day to drive only a few hundred km's down the road. We have driven along many of the backroads through lots of villages, which are absolutley stunning. And we finally saw some castles, which I have really been looking forward to. Tonight we are staying in a small village called Mesland, which is just north of Tours, and the campground is like some sort of children's wonderland. They have an amazing leisure pool with hydroslides, an indoor heated pool, playgrounds, sports equipment, minigolf, etc etc, only its raining here so the only thing they've enjoyed is the indoor heated pool! Which leaves me the challenge of trying to wash and dry clothes, togs, towels when we are only here for one night and its pouring down with rain! Here's hoping for sunshine tomorrow.

Speaking of rain, yes we have been reading on the internet about the rain in Christchurch. Sounds awful! And snow too apparently! The kids will be devastated if we miss a good snowfall!

Thank you all for your posts. To answer some questions, yes that IS a real snake Stefan is holding in Singapore. Its a python, and he had a choice of 2 that he could hold.
Yes, I have bought myself a new watch, one with a clasp that won't undo so easily! I have also had to buy yet another pair of new sunglasses! I brought a new pair with me, and spent the first few days wearing them all the time as it was so sunny. However the metal "decoration" on the side of the glasses reacted with my skin and left big sores on the sides of my face where it had been touching my skin! Healed quickly though!

And living in a campervan is having its challenges! 6 of us in here, and only one person at a time can move through the passage! Its modern and comfortable enough - just no where near big enough for 6 people! I miss my 190 sqm house!

Tomorrow we are off to Bordeaux, then Zaragoza the following day, and Valencia the day after that. We are looking forward to Valencia as we will be there for 5 days and able to have some "down" time, which the kids really need at the moment. They are all a bit tired and grumpy! And yes, now that we have internet access, they can email their friends in the next day or so!