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Hall Family July 1976 Golfe Juan


All of us here: shell-shocked and happy, having driven from New Delhi to Golfe Juan.
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We drove from New Delhi to the Punjab where we visited the Golden Temple and from there we drove through Pakistan where dad got gout in his big toe and mom had to take over driving for a spell. From there we drove through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan to Kabul.
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From Kabul we drove through Afghanistan, crossed into Iran and drove to Tehran. And from there we went to the Caspian Sea. We drove back to Tehran and then into Turkey to the Black Sea where we took a ferry to Istanbul sleeping on the deck. We saw dolphins. In Istanbul we saw the Blue Mosque and Haga Sophia. From Istanbul we drove on to Greece and Thessaloniki and then into what was then Yugoslavia.
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We drove to Belgrade and I thought of Natasha and Jelena Pejic as we did so. Then on we went to Zagreb and to Trieste where I listened to Bob Marley "Natty Dread" for the first time. Then on into Italy. In Italy we saw a friend of the Twins, Marco, in Tuscany. From Genoa we crossed into France and went to Granny and Grandpa's flat in Golfe Juan where, finally, we could rest up.
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John and Nola's boat "Autumn Venture" was moored in Antibes and they sailed us to Monaco where we swam in deep water and then we sailed with them to Cannes to see the fireworks from the sea.
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In this picture you see us fresh out of the VW Combi. Cool drinks are being prepared. Two sets of grandparents are making soothing sounds and asking us how we were. We were umming and ahhing and not saying much. We had just arrived and our heads were too full and heavy with all that we had seen and experienced, and for me at least, it felt difficult to even look at the camera. Dad's eyes close too. Mom's look bright but her smile is enigmatic. Chris smiles too. The three of us in a line behind mom and dad.
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This was a hiatus. Dad didn't have a job in the UK, neither did mom and that's where we would be in a few weeks, in Brighton.
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