Onto a new chapter! For the first time in nearly 18 months of van living, we take our little 1996 VW Campervan abroad, taking the ferry from Dover and straight into the pretty villages and countryside of France.
Over the next few months, join us as we’ll be exploring France briefly as we drive through (we could have spent a lot more time here!) on our way across the Pyrenees to Spain and Portugal in search of that late Winter and early Spring sunshine.
In this video we make first contact with the European mainland, adjusting to driving on the opposite side of the road, beam deflector stickers (who knew this was a thing..) and expensive toll roads. We also fall in love with the free aires available in France (why UK, why is there nothing like this!) as well as exploring the pretty village of Hautvillers near Reims, the birthplace of Champagne, and discover the monk Dom Pérignon and what he had to play in its creation. Did he invent it? Is it a highly embellished piece of history for publicity, or total truth? And more importantly, did we try any Champagne?!
This is the start of our European journey and we can’t wait to share it with you, in our own haphazard way! Thanks for supporting us, we really appreciate it, and if you’re new here and like what you see or are just interested in how 2 guys live and travel together in a tiny van, Subscribe to our channel (it’s totally free!) to see more, and give the video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. The notification bell will keep you updated with our uploads too.
You can watch our previous journeys on our profile page right from the start, or check out our playlists for past travel series.
Thanks for watching, and do leave any thoughts or advice in the comments!
Dan & Stephen
#vanlife #france #camper #travel #champagne
Chapters:
00:00 – 00:35 – Intro
00:36 – 02:25 – Exciting Times! Waiting to Board
02:26 – 04:47 – Dover to Calais Ferry
04:48 – 05:48 – Beam Deflector Stickers? What, how?
05:49 – 09:59 – Driving worries, funny eyes and screaming passengers
10:00 – 10:36 – France’s Toll Roads. How much?!
10:37 – 13:07 – Free Aires + French Bread, Cheese & Wine
13:08 – 15:16 – First Morning in France
15:17 – 18:02 – Hautvillers, Dom Perignon & Birthplace of Champagne
18:03 – 19:54 – Bottle of Bubbly and Settling Down