Hello France!

Our first view of France!

Does it get any more French than this? It is 9pm at night, it is still sunny and warm, and a cute young French girl is serving us wine and good food?

Relaxing to quiche, pasta, and wine.. It is a tough life.....

Thirty six hours into the trip and so far so good....

When the plane arrived in London they opened the door and it was an unbelievable 98 degrees out and humid!!!

Before I got off I asked the flight attendant twice if she was sure this was England. I felt for sure the pilot got lost and we had landed in Africa or some tropical isle.....

That night we went out with one of my oldest friends Aubrey Finburgh and his son Jeremy. I only see them once or twice a year but it always feels like family...:) great people!

The following morning I was sleeping soundly only to be awaken by extremely loud thunder, lightening, and rain..

Not to be daunted by a little English weather I got up, had breakfast with my friends and prepared to hit the road..

By then the weather cleared up...

The first day of a big adventure we are always a bit nervous and prone to mistakes.....

I got on my motorcycle, hit the starter and panic set in as it would not start!!

I silently checked everything twice.... Finally to my personal embarrassment I realized I had left it in gear and this bike won't start in gear. Problem solved and I am ready to ride....,,,,

My riding partner showed his years of motorcycling expertise by just gearing up, hopping on his motorcycle, starting it right up, then ride 3 feet and comes to a screeching halt!!

Everyone in the street that came to see us off had this worried look on their faces which quickly erupted into laughter when we all saw that my ace motorcycle riding buddy forgot to take the chain and lock off his front wheel!,,,

At least my embarrassment was private and not shared with half the world once the story spreads!!!      

Once we got going the weather was cooperating.. Much cooler than the day before and if cloudy at least dry...of course once you are thankful for something it is bound to change! A half hour later the sky's opened up and we were drenched to the bone!!

After we made it to Dover , the weather improved and we  had a nice ferry ride over to France and spent the afternoon riding through French country side until we reached Boulogne for the night. A nice medium size city....

This evening we found a delightful outside cafe along the river going through town. We ate and drank wine until 9:30 at night. Luckily we could walk back to the hotel......

I did notice one custom in France already that I heartily approve of.... Seems like none of the young women here wear bras... Very free spirited. Our waitress was a cute young French girl that had no problem showing us everything she had.

Then a young couple walked by our table, the boy friend had his arm around his girl friend's neck, down her shirt and resting on her bare breast. No one looked or thought twice about it.. A very liberated society. We could learn a few things from them...