March 2014 - Here we go again....

Once again the Bertrams are heading North to escape the NZ winter.  This time we are going earlier than in the past, starting in early June and returning late August.

Since our last trip in this blog we have spent most of the time divided between our places in Auckland and Onemana.  A 10 day trip to South Australia in July 2013 was our only excursion of note.

This time, as we will be travelling in the high season, we have booked the entire trip ahead of time which is a first for us as we like to adjust the trip when we come across things of interest.  I hope the proposed schedule does not limit us too much.

THE PLAN:
The trip starts with a few days in Kent, a flight down to Rome where we pick up a car, 4 days in southern Italy before taking a ferry to Dubrovnik.

We were thinking of spending time in Greece, but decided that the distances were too much so will head north with a couple of weeks in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.  Then it's on the road through the Dolomites to a couple of days in our favourite hotel in Trento.  The next week will take us through Switzerland and down to the south coast in Provence.

10 days in Provence, then a 3 day road trip up to the Loire east of Tours, 2 weeks in Brittany, 1 week in Normandy and a quick visit to Giverny (Monet's gardens) will round out the trip.

All in all it will take us through mainly new territory for us with a few visits to places we've in the past.  Roll on June!