It’s been a bit of a whirlwind these last few days, but we are currently in Saulzais, geographic centre of France, and feeling pretty knackered.

In order to meet our commitment to the company buying our van (for much less than it’s worth, let me add, emotional attachments aside, we needed to race to get a lot of stuff done in a very few days. Leaving Bari, our Italian port of arrival, we headed north, doing some 600km on Italian roads that were good / mediocre and expensive. I’d like to propose that toll roads undergoing major renovations don’t charge you, accepting that the driving experience is less than promised. Surely these guys can’t get you to pay in advance for roads not yet built …?

So it’s been around 500km a day, apart from Monday which we spent closing bank accounts etc followed by a short trip to Niki’s niece, Susi, in Stauffen. I feel we have spent so much time there already that I’m waiting to be greeted by locals wondering why they haven’t seen me for the past few days!

Another long drive brought us down to Saulzais – thanks to Scott, Marthe-Sophie & family for giving us the run of the house while they are still away working. We’ve made real use of the space, designating our household stuff (23 cubic metres, Help!) as ‘New Zealand’, or ‘Angola via New Zealand in December’, or ‘Angola to New Zealand in July’. The ‘throw away’ pile is remarkably small, no doubt the consequence of Niki having the power to veto any of my decisions…

The circular route also allowed us to catch up with some friends in Berne, although not nearly as many as we would have liked. Thanks to Dave, Regi & Maya for dinner. Dave also collected all our post this past year and kept scanning required documents that would reach us a) too late b) at a time we had too much wine or were too relaxed to care c) when we had no printer access, and so didn’t care. None of that takes anything away from the constant effort Dave made – very much appreciated.

Also – if you have to travel in a 22,000km circle, to begin and end in Switzerland is simply amazing. We recognise just how much we loved the country, quirks and all, and driving through some of the world’s most stunning scenery just brought home to us how we will miss the country.

So, one day’s packing behind us, 4 more to go. Our last packers, bless them, were all from South America, and used their three word professional English vocabulary to great effect, labelling everything either ‘Books / Clotes / Kitchen’ so it’s been interesting to find tennis racquets, bike pump and sleeping bags in a box with no clothing at all. It makes each box like a little Christmas present!

It’s been a very busy couple of days, and that’s a limited excuse for not keeping up with posts, but Life does get in the way.

First Up: This will be our last post for the next 4 months as we return to New Zealand. We’ve got the opportunity to return and sort out some family things that are overdue, and which require us to be there. We’ll be flying to Auckland next Thursday, and, with a bit of luck, we’ll be back in Europe and on the road in the first week in March.

Second: Niki’s had interviews with two schools and, clever girl, got offers from both. As a result we’ll be off to Angola in the new school year, July. That gives us a fixed window to work with … Morocco is still on the cards! Because of the multiple interview schedule we’ve slowed down this past week in order to have Niki focus on these rather than on navigation. We would not have like the resetting of our GPS to reflect schools rather than campsites.

Third: We’ve had a great few days on what was essentially a detour round to St Malo while we made travel arrangements etc. What a great detour it’s been. Mont St Michel was great, St Malo was as enjoyable as before, and, as we’ve skipped toll roads, the drive today has taken us along some secondary roads that really allow you to capture the sense of countryside.

We are currently parked on a forestry road on the way to Versailles. While driving, and a bit spur-of-the-moment, we stopped in Domfront (another town I bet Marthe-Sophie has not visited). Delightful, and provided some context for a book I’m currently reading, The Forge of Christendom by Tom Holland. He writes of the terror spread in the 10^th C as the power of the Frankish kings diminished and the centre could not hold. The consequence was that anyone bloodthirsty and wealthy enough built, very rapidly, a small fortification (motte or donjon), staffed it with armoured thugs, then raped, pillaged and extorted the countryside. Doing this successfully meant more money, more armoured thugs (cnights, or knights) etc in a cycle of brutality. The conclusion of the process was an overlord class supported by church and legal system, and a pauper, serf class, herded into villages like pork ready for the slaughter. Looking at the fortified buildings of the chateau, and following its construction history, from wooden fortification to stone, to walls capable of withstanding the new gunpowder technology, one should be cognisant of the terror instilled in the local population, whose history will never, unfortunately, be told.

The Chapel of Saint-Julian was completely unexpected. Built in 1924 in Byzantine style, the church works. The church structure is supported by large semi-circular concrete arches and, lacking supporting columns, creates a great sense of space and proportion. Even the mural of Christ in the rounded nave is in keeping with the theme, even though created in 1928 – hmmm, a lesson for some would-be restorers or innovators, such as my mural friend in Denmark.

Tomorrow we are off to Versailles, but I’m unsure if I’ll be posting from after today. If not – well, hope to see you back in March. For us, 4 months has flown by and we are nowhere close to feeling like we want this to end …