With our coast-to-coast Odyssey completed, and a week spent relaxing in the sunshine of St Tropez, we needed to get MoneyPenny back to base in the UK. There are a number of routes we could take but this time we decided to return via Dijon and Paris.
St Tropez to Dijon looked 'do-able' from the comfort of our kitchen when planning this journey. A bit over six hours was going to be a decent day of driving (mainly on motorways). However, it would be a new destination for us and we could explore Burgundy a little. What we couldn't foresee, was that it would be a day of extreme heat warnings and travel through 40 degree Celsius outdoor temperatures. The newly fixed air-conditioning did well until the outside air temperature hit the high 30s and tipped 40 degrees, cutting in and out until it cooled. It didn't help that the traffic was bad and before we knew it the 'six-hour drive' became a ten-hour one! On arrival, the Hostellerie Chapeau Rouge had valet parking and we could walk everywhere from there and enjoy a nice alfresco meal. Dijon is more than just mustard and wine. The Musee de Beaux Arts is incredible! The collection takes you from the Middle Ages to the present and is housed in the former palace of the Duke of Burgundy. The buildings in Dijon are beautiful, the Basilica is stunning, the covered market is full of fresh produce and the self-guided 'Owl Walk' is a lot of fun.
The extreme heat quickly changed to storms, rain and the end of summer. Whilst it only takes a few hours to get to our next stop in Paris, the last part of the drive through the city to get to our hotel in Montmarte was a bit stressful. If you are looking for a nice, reasonably priced hotel that has private parking for your classic car (Yes!) then the Hotel des Arts Montmarte is a great option. Of course, Paris is a beautiful city and a great way to cap off a month in France. We sipped champagne on a Bateaux Mouche, wandered around Le Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, browsed in the Saint-Ouen Flea Markets, ate lunch at the Eiffel Tower, shopped in the Galleries Lafayette and visited our favourite mouse for a fun day at Paris Disneyland.
The drive from Paris to Le Shuttle in Calais is around 3.5 hours and we have unloaded MoneyPenny and parked her at our storage facility in the UK. Watch out for some nerdy fun facts about the France road trip which will include fuel consumption etc in a separate blog post for car-nerd readers. It's raining in England (of course!) and we have a week here before flying back home. I'll be blogging about the Beaulieu Auto-Jumble coming up this weekend and of course we will HAVE to visit the car museum. Let me know if you'll be there!
However, my big surprise is that we have swapped cars for this next short UK adventure. What does Mr F do when he sells his business?? He has a very bad addiction to classic cars. Of course he immediately buys another DB7 - this one being right-hand drive AND manual. She is beautiful to drive and I think I might take her over. More on this to come!!
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