France: fun for all the family

Onward intrepid Beeden clan, all six of us, to the Dordogne area. First stop was at Les Eyzes, site of the excavation of some man’s oldest relatives about 55,000 years ago, and the first dwellings in cliffs we were to see. Excellent museum there, and gorgeous mossy waterwheel.

We stayed next at a  gitte in the midst of farmland that was like being in a storybook of idyllic pastoral life in a land that time forgot. Went a bit bonkers on the photos…!

Anyhoo, we went over that way to see Gouffe de Padirac, a great hole in the ground with an underground river and caving system that Roger had visited as a kid. A lovely trip down memory lane for Carol and Dick and it was a phenomenal experience, like moving through a film set or subterranean sculptural wonderworld.

Max liked the huge hole in the ground that took you to the cave, going in the boat on the underground river, then along the stairs, seeing crystals, stalagmites and stalagtites and stuff.

All the generations thought Rocamadour was fabulous – the village and monastery and church have been carved into the cliff there, with a chateau perched on top like a perfect cherry. Geological magic seems to have inadvertently become the theme of The Big Trip.

We had some fantastic stops on the way up to Paris: the state-of-the-art Vulcania exhibition land which incorporated impressive technology into its displays including a 4D dragon ride and virtual bird flight across the puys (volcanoes) in that area.

Then there was Chenonceau – it could not have been more quintessentially French stylishness, all luxe calm and delight – a princesses fairytale castle if ever there was one. Not just for prancing and pontificating either – it was an escape route for the Resistance Movement at one point, and a military hospital. Anya and I were also very taken with the water voles – much cuter than rats.

Versailles left us a bit cold – overpriced even for just the gardens and a miserable couple of picnic tables tucked into an obscure windy corner for our homemade lunch. None of us loved the excessive opulence at the expense of the poor masses; Anya was keen to fill in the ponds so homeless people could build houses there. But we had a fun dinner with Lima and family, with the French and Aussie kids bonding over table soccer in the hotel foyer.

So Paris – a slow dash around the main sites, boating it in the Bateaubus along the River Seine. Grand Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower – with glimpses of the Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe and Trocadero along the way. We confirmed the widely known fact that kids care little for cathedrals and less for crowds. Max loved seeing the smaller-than-imagined Eiffel Tower; equally happy to watch multiple Premier League football matches in bed at the hotel room that night.

And a helter skelter  last 24h including a magnificent champagne fuelled luncheon with Celine,  Fred, Celia and Fanny, and a frantic scramble into the Sacre Coeur to escape the chill and rain before heading to the airport.

To finish, a Dab joke.

“Max, do you think I would go mad if I fell in the river?”

“Why Dad?”

“Because I would be inSeine”!!!!!