Update from Irun Spain

Although only a few short days have passed since we left Paris, we have travelled via the South Coast of France, through the luxury resorts of St. Tropez, Cannes and Nice, to meet my friend Dawn and her husband Yves. We spent a day visiting with their friends and family and finding out just how different French people live than we do in Canada. The French have a joie de vivre and a great capacity for long days spent in the sun and sand and ending them with fine meals and wine. Apartments are small, amenities are different, but the limits on how many persons can be accomodated seem to be nonexistent. A good time was had by all.

Yesterday we left Nice area very early a.m. and drove via the A8 and assorted other high speed freeways to Irun Spain where Dawn and I are booked on the 0845 train to Leon our meeting spot. Jo was enroute from Madrid to Leon yesterday.

We have left the hot and dry tourist areas of the South of France which were packed with primarily French holidayers, but also Italians, Germans and Brits, and have arrived on the North Coast of Spain. The weather changed dramatically as have the hillsides and environment. We looked at each other with relief as we drove by the way signs for St. Jean pied du Port, in the rain and fog. The mountains of the Pyrenees would indeed be a challenging starting point. Let´s hope our choice of starting in Leon will prove to be a good one. Buenos dias to our friends and family...more as we get underway.