In France with the Iuliano Family

A road trip, so we could break it up into several stages; we found a very cheap hotel chain: Premiere Class, they're scattered all over France, you need a car since they're a bit out of the way, but we were happy with them. We stopped to sleep in Chambéry at the Best Western without being comfortable. In Vert-Saint-Denis at the Premiere Class, and in the morning we arrived fresh and lively at Eurodisney. It's an enchanting, magical place that suits every age... we opted for the "2 nights and 3 days" package, sleeping in one of their themed places: the Davy Crockett, which is the cheapest but you need a car since it's a bit out of the way, very nice, made up of bungalows with a kitchenette, where I finally cooked a plate of pasta (the ingredients brought from home) after a few days of eating only meat, potatoes and vegetables... there are loads of animals to go and see...

it's very nice and full of character, surrounded by greenery. On the way out of the parks we spent the night in Melun and in the morning, unhurried, we set off again towards the châteaux, which, believe me, are beautiful! Chambord, Chaumont, Chenonceau, the one at Amboise... it feels like living history. At Clos-Lucé we visited Leonardo da Vinci's last residence, with beautiful gardens full of reproductions of the master. To visit the châteaux we stopped in Blois, again at the same "Premiere Class" chain. On the way home we took some back roads that let us see some very pretty little towns: for example Dampierre-en-Yvelines, Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry, Auxerre. After about 600 kilometres we arrived in Annecy and believe me...

Annecy is the most beautiful city we've seen so far, I'd never leave: it's like Venice with lots of canals, painters at work and a huge boat where you can dine and take a panoramic cruise, plenty of little fountains and small restaurants along the canals, souvenir shops... lots of gelaterie... one even with 52 different flavours, clean, full of well-tended flowers... We arrived at San Giorgio di Piano at 19.37 at 26.5° after a total of 2,986 km covered in 9 days. It was the most interesting holiday of my life... I'd do it again tomorrow.