Another opportunity for Dave’s jokes……we headed to Condom. Leaving Carcassonne on another cold and wet morning we were still genuinely a little concerned about the following month of camping. As if in answer to our worries the sun came out late afternoon as we arrived in Condom. My Aunt Margaret and her friends (Barbara and Mike) where staying in a house near the town for week and so my dad, Bobby, Dave and I popped by for two nights. The house was typically French but with some very grand features installed by the art loving owners. When I say grand, I also mean a little scary and having been told that a few bumps in the night had been heard I was very glad we were sleeping outside in the camper! We had a very relaxing two days and were lucky enough to be joined by the sunshine for the most part – adding to idilic French ambience! The days included consuming more delicious food (including dad’s 100% hand made cassoulet and the following day Mussels and coq au vin) , dog walking, reading the papers and planning where in earth we were gong next! Dad also kindly agreed to take a far few items off our hands for our last leg – including the roof rack which is not only very heavy (lowers miles per gallon achieved) but it also means that we should now be able to get into underground car parks making visiting cities that little bit easier. We were very well looked after and sad to have to wave goodbye knowing our time in France and with friends and family was over. It was really interesting to see as we headed slightly north as well as east the very obvious beginnings of autumn – the further we got more orange leaves we started to see. Not only was it very attractive but it also gave us the sense of a fresh adventure awaiting us in the new countries we were about to visit.

We took to the road and headed east. We plugged away some serious driving hours for the next two days and having decided to totally avoid motorways we didn’t really seem to get as far as we had hoped. I would also like to inform everyone that I finally took to the driving seat and clocked up some of my own miles! Hurrah! We stayed in some very off the track French campsites on route really only pausing for a feed and sleep before moving onwards. We did however feel the toll of the hours. Having crossed into Switzerland we arrived a near deserted campsite on the edge of town in the pouring rain – totally exhausted. Having been barked at by the owner we promptly turned on our heels and headed for the nearest and cheapest hotel no longer willing to risk a cold night with little sleep. We absolutely needed it and after a very ‘romantic’ dinner in Geneva airport we were out for the count by 20:30. Waking refreshed we headed into central Geneva and found our first underground carpark to fit us in! It was revolutionary for us – sounds ridiculous – but it was! Being able to nip in and spend a day wandering knowing we can drive straight out on to a campsite outside town for the night was brilliant. We loved the town and the very multilingual vibe and mixed beautiful buildings lined up on the lake shore. After taking in the old town and some lunch we headed for the water where there is a statue/fountain/feature of a huge jet of water streaming into the air all day and night. It was stunning and even more impressive with the sunlight creating beautiful rainbows.

We got back on the road that afternoon and headed along the left side of Lake Geneva towards Lausanne. We found a campsite on the waters edge and could not take our eyes away from the view. We were very much helped by the sun making its final summer appearance before autumn really took hold and the sunlight playing on the water and slowly transforming into the bust us set of our trip so far was for us enormously special.

The following mornings we took a walk along the lake only to be confronted with the very sporting spirit of the Swiss! It being a Saturday morning they were all out in force; hiking, rowing, jogging, cycling, rollerblading etc etc. we took in the breathtaking view for the final time and felt a pang of sadness to be leaving. This has not actually happened that often as we are always excited about the next adventure but for some reason that view across the lake had captured us.

Alas it was time to move on and we handed for Bern so far the weather was playing ball and our spirits were high as we looked forward to the capital city.

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