We left Germany and headed through France towards Spain. On the trip we stopped in the village of Hauterives, south of Lyon, to see the Palace built by Ferdinand Cheval. For 34 years he worked on this structure alone. Cheval was a postman who spent most of this free time on his project which he completed in 1912. He built a tomb in the palace but was refused in his request to be buried there.

Southern France is covered with war memorials just like the north. This memorial to the soldiers of the two world wars is right behind the Palace.

I took a photo of Jeannine and Jessica in front of our hotel in Barcelona, Spain on the morning of Wednesday, July 2nd.

We drove along the coast back towards France and stopped on the beach in the small town of Calella. Here the beach is empty at 8:30am.

The girls changed into their swim suits and inside of two hours it was standing room only.

We passed many ruins and old castles along the road.

We stopped in Figueres to see the Salvador Dali museum.

Stopped to get a photo when we crossed back into France along the coast.

And walked back to get a photo in front of the sign for Spain.

The roads were full of hair pin turns and switchbacks but the scenery was nice. Soon after we drove back to the toll roads: less scenery but much faster.

Pulled over in a rest stop near the town of Caissargues, France. There was a free museum there so we went to go see it.

Seems when they were building the toll road, Autoroute A54, they dug right into the remains of a Stone Age village and its adjacent burial ground. This woman was buried with simple jewelry and buried aproximately five thousand years ago. There were exhibits showing how they found her and the rest of the village.

We reached our hotel in a small town near Pisa late and the next morning we were up to go see the Tower of Pisa.

Driving past Rome we stop at the mouth of the Tiber river to visit the ruins of the old Roman town, Ostia Antica.

Right across from the ruins of Ostia Antica is the medieval castle, Castello di Giulio.

Jeannine takes a photo of Pee Wee visiting Rome.

We have our picture taken in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius behind us on Friday, July 4th.

Our guide, Luigi, bringing us down one of the streets in Pompeii. We didn't really need a guide but he knew many details about the ruins, things like why those four stones were crossing the road and how to tell which buildings were businesses and which were houses.

Notice the bricks are identical in style to the ones in Ostia Antica. We spent three hours touring Pompeii in the heat and humidity, went to dinner, and finished the day on the beach where I forgot to take photos.

Saturday morning we leave our hotel in Terracina, half way between Rome and Naples, and visit Rome before starting the long drive home.

We drove through Switzerland on the way home. 853 miles after leaving our hotel, 14 and a half hours, we were back in Otterberg. On Monday the van would be shipped and the rest of the week would be taken up with packing the house. Our European adventures have come to an end.