Hi Folks,
Ive been away for the last week or so having a family holiday in Toulon, (South coast of France) and thought id like to catalogue my pictures etc and decided i may as well make a topic of it since it may tempt other folks to try the place out as well

So heres a kind of Pictorial guide to our week in Toulon:

My appologies to non ADSL users but there are LOTS of pictures.. 60+ at approx 150K each as i wanted to retain some high quality. Percervere, they will load.... one day

My First view of a Boeing 737 close up....


And my first view from the sky.... unnerving


Leaving the Uk airspace:


Arriving at Nice (Southern coast of France) 2hrs later:


Petrucci kindly collected us and took us to his parents house where we had arranged to stay the week




Unfortunately, 1 night there made it very clear that at 30+ degrees, we couldnt possibly sleep and had to turn down the
kind offer and book into an airconditioned hotel.. well, there goes another £1K


Oh well... unpack and head for the water


Toulon Port:




And of course do what i love best.. eat


Talking of food, heres a shocker, after far too many beers i tried a French kebab.. VERY different from ours, ZERO grease
And they eat them in teh daytime. very odd. but very nice too!



Was going to get a bus, and discovered that being unable to read or speak French was going to become a chore...
"Le Beach" doesnt cut it with the locals
I soon discovered its Le Plaga" (Or close)


Finally made the beach.... WOW!!





My first experience of water other than Blackpool... fook.. its incredibly clean!


Heres my daughter Catherine making maximum use of ping pong paddles by using em to row out to sea...


Next day we went to the bit id personally been looking forward too.... The Mountains! Simply breathtaking..
The pics dont do the view justice!!





Back to teh port the next day and onto some boat rides to tour the islands and the naval base










That was a great day for me as im fascinated by warships and submarines etc.... properly cool day


We simply had to call into a McDonalds to see if things are the same 2500miles away and of course they are..
However, we couldnt help reciting stupid lines from "Pulp Fiction" when we spotted the "Royale with Cheese"
"Hmmm.. That sure is a tasttttyyyy burger"



Petrucci suggested if we wanted to swim and sunbathe, then we had to visit the "Porquerolles island's"
So onto the boat we go..


Strange countryside walk to start with. Alongside a real working Vineyard... I resisted the temptation to be a true brit and thieve some grapes


Which suddenly becomes almost paradise..


Stus first time in the sea... theres fish ranging from 1" to 12" swimming around you here... simply breathtaking...
I spent a lot of time with a mask and snorkel enjoying the fish and rock crabs..


Spent the entire day there and left late in the evening... beautifull low sun views




We spent the rest of the holiday pretty much touring and sunbathing. This was my first ever time abroad and first ever holiday and with hindsight, choosing a non English speaking country as my first trip was perhaps a little excessively challenging, but i enjoyed the culture change and the way it allowed me to test the peoples ability and willingness to help a lost brit who couldnt speak or understand French... 99% of folks passed with flying colours, they are all very pleasant and helpfull indeed!!

Folk who know me know i was woried about the temperatures out there as i have a thyroid problem and dont deal with hjeat very well here as it causes me to sweat and become very lethergic, but it seems the lack of humidity out there makes it perfect for me, i was more comfortable at 35degrees there than i am at 25 here

So.. to finish up, here are my last series of pics:

Time to start looking at going home... Ready to leave the hotel


Now another challenge... a Train to Nice from Toulon... a 2hr ride..


Wow.. you have to try this to believe it.. the train is virtually silent and travels at up to 180mph!! Its also VERY comfortable and to cap it all, its cheap....


We made it to teh Airport with plenty of time


And i guess that's that.... we flew home and got back around 2am this morning

So now onto the thanks....
Thanks must go to:

Petrucci and Florence for being the stars they are and looking after me and my family in France and for being very good friend's... love you both.. hope to see you again soon.


Thanks to our beach waiter who kept me topped up with beers and kindly relieved me of many many Euros whilst also entertaining me with his pulling escapades with every women who entered the bar...


And finally of course thanks to Nicole.. For agreeing to be my wife on Sunday Evening



Love you babes...

And there you go... a step by step account of my cool week.
I recomend the place highly as it must surely be one of teh most beautifull places on earth?





Ooppsss....
I nearly forgot i made two picture promises to PF members:

Markk.. Heres some bikes as requested..







And Rs Craig... heres the French birds you wanted pic's of!