Wandering Footsteps: Wandering the World One Step at a Time » A travel journal following a family on their overland trip around the world.

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  • Welcome to Wandering Footsteps, the travel journal of a nomadic family on an overland trip around the world. With thirty years of travel experience, a round-the-world trip already under our belt, a newly-converted bus, and a new baby in tow, this journey is bound to be interesting! Join us in our global wanderings - we've saved an extra seat just for you!

    - Brittany, Bruno, and Phoenix

Posted in Europe,Western EuropeTags: ,

Bruno and I had loads of tourism plans to break up the monotony and work of our three months in France. We didn’t do a single one of them. Instead, we did something entirely un-nomadic: we fostered a community.

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  • Rcs - Family and friends are the elixir of life and you stir it up.ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - You’re funny! Am I stirring things up yet here in Canada? 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Micheline - Coucou. Nous venons de nous quitter et je voulais juste te confirmer qu’en effet les expériences vécues avec des gens valent certainement l’investissement en temps ou autre opportunité perdue, que cela coûte.
    Bonne route et plein de bisous à toi et tes parentsReplyCancel

    • Brittany - J’aurais pas pu mieux exprimer ce sentiment. Vous me manquez deja!!ReplyCancel

Posted in Europe,Western EuropeTags:

I am soooooooo ready to leave France now. I know I don’t have a right to complain, since my regular life is luxuriously free of work and responsibility. Maybe that’s why I can no longer manage the life we’ve been leading these past 2.5 months. I’ve gone soft. I can’t handle it. I just want to jump in Totoyaya and take off toward the horizon!

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  • Lisa - Whew…I was tired just reading about all the work you & Bruno have done in the last few weeks….exhausting for sure. The good news i’m sure will be that soon you’ll be relaxing by the ocean in Shediac. Have a safe flight & see you next week… xoxoReplyCancel

    • Brittany - Sorry it took me a few days to reply, but, well, I’ve been busy! 🙂 I just spent almost 2,000 words writing my next blog post about France, which, thankfully, is entirely unrelated to work!

      See you in a few days!ReplyCancel

  • Elizabeth S. - Wow, I am impressed but exhausted just reading about all the work you and Bruno have done during your time in France! Can’t blame you for wanting to return to your life of relative peace and tranquility. Darn, sure could use your energy and organizational skills in our home:)ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - I can always count on my mom for a bit of pity. Thanks, I feel more energized already! And, of course, I’ll still bring my helpful hat to Canada this summer – just please don’t plan an impromptu move or we’ll be hiring a moving company! 🙂ReplyCancel

Posted in Europe,Western EuropeTags:

After spending the past few months living in the south of France, I have acquired quite a repertoire of hilariously uncomfortable cultural moments. From linguistic misunderstandings to greeting insecurities, from culinary faux-pas to political foot-in-mouth statements, it’s safe to say that even in France a Canadian will experience culture shock!

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  • Diane - Hi there, great post — you’ve covered so much! I’ve been here 4.5 years and the bise, the announcing yourself with a ‘bonjour’ and everything else you wrote about is totally relatable and I’ve written about all of my misteps with all of those things too. Can’t believe this is the first time I’m finding your blog. Enjoyed the read!!ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - Thanks Diane, glad you found my blog too! I’d definitely be interested in reading about your adventures with French culture too – do you have a blog? Can you add any hilarious or challenging cultural experiences that I didn’t mention in my post? I’d love to hear about more!
      Thanks for saying hello! 🙂ReplyCancel

Posted in Europe,Western EuropeTags: ,

“Just don’t make me get my truck driver’s license,” said Bruno every time we daydreamed about our future Totoyata-replacing overland vehicle. If I’d known exactly what the process of getting that infernal truck driver’s license actually involved in France, I’d have listened to him.

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  • Daniel Nartey - I want to learn truck driving in France.ReplyCancel

  • David Lee - I have a USA cdl class A
    What do I need to do to aquire a french truck drivers license???
    Dual citizenship. USA/FranceReplyCancel

  • LandCruising - Could you tell what kind of miles per gallon you were getting g with your landcruiser and what you think you can get with with the new vehicle you will be getting?ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - Hi! Well, I can tell you what kind of kilometers per litre we get with our Toyota, but I’m not sure about miles per gallon! 🙂 We use 12-13 liters per 100km, depending on the type of driving. We would LOVE to have another vehicle with this type of consumption, but that might be difficult. We’ll try to limit things to a vehicle that does about 20l per 100km. Hope we can find it!ReplyCancel

  • Nikos&Georgia - CONGRATULATIONS BRUNO (& Britanny for the emotional support)!!!

    Go Go Go!! And get the best vehicle that we will accommodate your dreams and aspirations! We went through this process when we sold the little Suzuki and bought the Toyota Campervan that we drive now. We know exactly how you feel! The truck driving license tests made things more challenging but we guess you are much stronger and more dedicated for the next step! Cant wait for the building process!!

    All the best

    Nikos&GeorgiaReplyCancel

  • Brittany - Since you know Bruno, you know this was NOT easy for him! Thanks for your wonderful words of encouragement and admiration. Where to find the truck, now, indeed? (As well as where to find the rightful heir of Totoyaya?!?)ReplyCancel

  • angie - FAntastic. Just sat and read this out to Phil. We can only admire and congratulate Bruno on his efforts and successes.
    Now, where to find that truck………???ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - Since you know Bruno, you know this was NOT easy for him! Thanks for your wonderful words of encouragement and admiration. Where to find the truck, now, indeed? (As well as where to find the rightful heir of Totoyaya?!?)ReplyCancel

Posted in Europe,Western EuropeTags:

Since Bruno and I have been staying put for a while, it seems as good a time as any to introduce you all to our neighbourhood. In this photo-heavy post, I describe the features of our house, immediate neighborhood, and town. Welcome to the Mediterranean Coast of France!

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  • Elizabeth S. - Oh how your photos and descriptions capture your neighborhood so well. I recognized almost everything. Such a wonderful part of France e to explore!ReplyCancel

    • Brittany - Thanks, mom! It’s true that you now know this neighborhood pretty darn well… dare I say it’s sort of like a second home for you? It SURE is becoming one for me!!ReplyCancel