In column through France

Yes, that was really great. My husband and I wanted to travel with our three children and their families. They each had their partner and two of them took a one-year old child with them. Of course, travelling with such a gang can quickly become very intense, so it was ideal that we each had our own motorhome. That way, there was enough comfort and privacy for each of us.

Indeed it does. We had arranged a campsite in advance where we had a lot of space. So we could put the motorhomes in a circle. In the courtyard, there was a party tent with a long table where we could eat together and enjoy ourselves. When we went to sleep, we would retreat to our motorhomes. It was perfect.

No, we were really unlucky. One of the motorhomes suddenly gave an error message just as we were about to leave. We drove back to Vanomobil with a fully loaded motorhome and had to transfer everything on the parking lot to a spare motorhome. That was a real bummer, but we were very relieved that our trip could go ahead as planned.

The first week we stayed at Camping du Tertre near Lac d'Amance in Troyes. We mainly went boating and water skiing on the lake, which was really great. After that, we spent two more days together driving in convoy and wild camping along the Loire. Wild camping is actually not allowed in France, but we chose our spots carefully and made sure that we did not cause any trouble. Then we split up. My youngest son explored the whole of Normandy and camped on the beaches with his feet in the sand. He and his girlfriend enjoyed the motorhome life more than they had initially expected. My daughter had planned another trip to England. Corona, however, threw a spanner in the works and those plans fell through. Quite a disappointment, of course. Moreover, their child needed its own bed so they drove back home. Finally, my eldest son travelled all the way to Île de Ré. They also loved the motorhome life. When they returned home, they even spent the last night camping in their driveway. When I got up, my daughter-in-law got into the habit of heating up the bottle on the gas stove when she could have easily used the microwave in their house (laughs). And my husband and I? We went to a hotel for a few days... that was good after a week of camping! (laughs)

I really enjoyed the evenings under our party tent, surrounded by our motorhomes. If you needed anything, you just walked into your motorhome to get it, we had everything close at hand. We also had lights, music and we enjoyed each other's company all evening. And all with the people you love the most. Really great fun!

We certainly would! But I think we will wait until the children are around four years old. Now they were the ideal age: you could just put them in their chairs or mobile park and you were sure they were safe. They also slept in a kind of beach tent with a little mattress and a zipped mosquito net. That way, you could see them, they were comfortable but they had nowhere to go. But next year they won't be so comfortable and then it will be less obvious. You have to keep an eye on them constantly, make sure they don't run away or put themselves in danger in any other way. Once they are a bit older, we will definitely do this kind of trip again!