Keen to discover some of France's lesser-known attractions, Susie Kelly and her husband Terry embarked with their two dogs on a 10,000 kilometre journey, where they encountered exploding gherkins, killer waves, chilli-flavoured chocolates, sinister submarines, and pitchforks grown in fields. They crossed the historic paths of Charlemagne, Vauban and William the Bastard, and the battlefields of two world wars, and were bewitched by Bayeux's tapestry. Bovine-friendly courses Camarguaises and a transhumance provided entertainment; distressed birds required assistance, and hospitality was offered by characters kind, charming and quirky. The camper van's exhaust falling off into the road on the first day, and one of the dogs persistently trying to eat the vehicle and its contents, did nothing to spoil their magical voyage along the Brittany, Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, the mountains of the Pyrenees and Alps, the length of the Rhine, the borders of north-eastern France, and the Channel. This cornucopia of sights, sensations, legends and history is a must-read that will enchant Francophiles and armchair travellers everywhere.

Author Biography

Susie Kelly emigrated from London to Kenya with her parents at the age of seven, and endured a convent education until she was expelled for refusing to devote her Saturday mornings to making doll's clothes, as she preferred to go horse riding. In 1975 she returned to live in England with a husband and two small children. Since then she has acquired a second and much better husband, a fine son-in-law and four gorgeous grandchildren - Catherine, Jamie, Jasmine and Leonie. Home is an ancient farmhouse, in the process of renovation, in southwest France, shared with a menagerie of goats, horses, dogs, cats, parrots and fish. She is the author of two books Best Foot Forward and Two Steps Backward, both published by Bantam Books.