With passion & wit, Bernard Levin describes his travels on foot through the beautiful countryside of south-eastern France. He follows in the mighty footsteps of the great Carthaginian enemy of Rome, Hannibal, who made the expedition with an army & elephants nearly two millennia before. From the Camargue via the Rhone Valley, across the Alps & into Italy during August snowstorms, he comments on the social & historical importance of the landscapes he passes through, taking detours to the table of chef Jacques Pic at Valence & the Arles region immortalised by Van Gogh. The journey would not have been complete without enjoying the hospitality of the Moussets
- the fifth generation of their family to produce wine at Chateauneuf-du-Pape, before turning eastwards, to face the greater challenge of the Alps.