Travelling Adventures in Europe long before mass tourism.....! I remember a time (like many of you, without doubt) not so long ago, when a voyage was an adventure. In the space of a couple of days, within Europe, we changed systems, languages, currency, standards of living, among many other things. I recall when even a trip to France was fraught with problems, difficulties, amusing situations, dangerous situations. Starting with the very vehicle we were using, which then were not really up to scratch for such voyages. Their reliability was limited, if you were coming from UK, the steering wheel was (and still is) on the wrong side of everything (roads, petrol pumps, motorway payment booths etc). Sometimes one wondered whether the petrol was the same and the guaranteed breakdowns meant that we (reluctantly) made contact with the indigenous natives, always to be considered as dubious, suspect and not entirely trustworthy, from the fact that the spare parts required woul...

French Style! With Friends and Family like this – who needs enemies? Sometimes one wonders what purpose friends and family are supposed to serve. It's a daily occurrence, problems with both of them. This particular case is rapidly coming to a head, after 10 years or so of bickering, biting and blathering! 10 years of permanently changing relations, a couple of week's friendship with this one – but not the other one, and then – all change! Trying to keep up with all these "friendly" and "not so friendly" changes is a full time job, with overtime! The story is an all too common one, at least in France , where the Laws controlling Inheritance are complicated, deformable by individuals (generally to their own benefit) and long! Maybe it's the same everywhere, I wouldn't know, but certainly being a "Beneficiary" in France is a long way from being a holiday, or anything else pleasant! The biggest problem is that when these ...