Van life road trip to Brittany France!
Hello friends from all over the world! I have packed up my van again for a trip across France! Destination Brittany!
Go with the flow!
I haven't really prepared anything for this trip except that I have fully loaded my VW camper for several weeks! My goal was to try to drive as far as possible and then see what I can do in that area! I usually avoid long journeys as I am on my own and my old van (30 years old) is not the most comfortable car for long distance travel!
The day of departure I was already later than I would have liked because i kept putting extra stuff in my van. And once I was on my way I also realized that I had forgotten my passport. That also happened to me during my trip to Normandy, eventually I didn't need him but I feel just more comfortable traveling with my passport wit me!
Finally left an hour and a half later than planned!
My first goal was to cross the boarder of France without taking a break! So I took hightway A27 to Breda, drove past Antwerp and crossed the boarder at Lille! There I immediately took a wrong turn and ended up in a traffic jam in the direction of Lille center! I went back to the first exit and there I actually met a hitchhiker who I took with me for a while! She was going to the south of France but unfortunately she didn't have a driver's license! If she had one I would probably drive with here to there because driving together is so much easier!
Because of this "little detour" I had not had any rest and that was quite tiring! At the dropping her off I have driven aboute 350 km, I was done with it for that day. The ride was also tiring because I had huge rain showers along the way. So I decided to look for a place to sleep and i ended up in Amiens!
Amiens France!
Ater having driven exactly 400km I was parked in a parking lot in the city of Amiens! Right in the center under a nice row of trees! I took a little walk through the center that evening and decided to stay a day longer! The next day I did some exploring in the city of Amiens!
In the city center the largest Gothic cathedral in France is located! Of course I visited it with full admiration! What a huge building that is and those windows are impressive and very colorful! The old city center has many nice views towards the cathedral and in the different streets in the center are many beautifully colored houses!
The city is also located along the River Somme and you will notice that too! Small canals everywhere where you go and many pubs have a terrace near the water! You can also take a nice boat trip between the floating gardens of Amiens, called Hortillonages! That's a really beautiful green part of the city!
I didn't go for a boat ride by myself but I got back to the center and visit museum de Picardie, the most important museum of Amiens and its surroundings!
I'm glad I did because it's a very beautiful building! The collection was also impressive! From excavations from six hundred thousand years ago from all over the Amiens region to paintings of some famous Dutch painters, everything can be found here! The Amiens region has a very rich history!
Mont st. Michel!
The next day I had the goal to reach Mont St. Michel, which is also exactly on the border where Normandy turns into Brittany, another 375 km ride. That had to be doable! I had picked out a parking space far from the most touristic spots! And what a view that was! I didn't expect the island to be this big! Now I understand that it is a tourist attraction! I was glad that I had stopped here and not in the official parking at the island! You can take a nice walk along the beach or when it is low tide you can walk very far over the immense plain! And you can probably walk all the way to the island itself! But I advise you not to do that on your own! You really need a guide for that! After seeing this from a distance could not resist to bring a visit to the island it self! But i personal regret that I did that! It was way to busy for me! So many people there on that little island!
But i probably will go back here some day! I think this place would ba awesome in autumn colors! Close to st. Michel island there where no free camping spots for camper vans! And i already spent 15 euro's just to park close by the island! So that evening i decided to drive further to a town called Saint-Cast-le-Guildo! But that's for the next stories!
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