Wednesday, 5th July. We managed to sleep in the bed last night by slowly winding it down manually with a small Allen key and wearing an oven glove. But in the morning, trying to get it back up, even with me standing underneath pushing, it took quite a while. We wandered into Freiburg Im Breisgau […]
Sunday 2nd July A duck waddled over to say goodbye before we left the campsite at 9:45am. After only 5 minutes driving, the alarm started doing its thing. But thankfully, after only 10 minutes, we were surrounded by beautiful scenery. At 10:20am we stopped to fill up on diesel and then crept back on to
Sunday 25th June. At 9:30 am we arrived in Bari Port. Our Greek tragedy finally over. We’d managed to get about five or six hours sleep while the ship cruised very smoothly across the Ionian and Adriatic seas. But my day didn’t start well. I got stuck in a lift with a super-sized German man.
Thursday 22nd June Stuck in Greece and waiting, waiting, waiting. Wash bedding √. Yoga √ . Empty toilet √. Read motorhome manual again √. Wash floor √. Check route through Italy √. Check bank accounts √. Sort photos √. Update blog √. Answer emails √. Research next campsites in Italy √. Etc √. Etc √.
Monday 19th June With the temperature already hovering on 25C, we left Camping Delphi around 9:30am, drove down the hill towards Atria and then started the winding, wiggly road north. The GPS told us that the 220-kilometre journey would take us 3 hours 37 minutes, but we knew it would be longer than that for
Saturday 17th June With a fresh loaf of bread, warm from the campsite kitchen, we headed west along the top coast of the Peloponnese. Thunder was rumbling when we woke up and it was forecast to be a damp squib of a day, but it was sunny as we set off at 10:00am. The motorway
Thursday 15th June The alarm went off at an early hour. Eurgh. The sun had already risen, but was still low on the horizon and definitely worth another photo. At 8:15 am we got our ‘rolling tortoise’ back on the road and headed to Epidavros; the ancient ruins on land, not the ones underwater. By
Tuesday 13th June, We needed to find somewhere that sold food that wasn’t already on a plate. We found a Lidl, with a little help from our friends, almost in the centre of Nafplio. It still surprises me that a bit of food shopping can be so enjoyable when travelling like this and I can’t
Saturday, 10th June. At 9.30am we left the Lakonikos Gulf behind us and drive up through Sparti to Mystras. This was on our list of historic sites to be seen on our tour of Greece. We didn’t know, or research it well enough, to realise that it is set on the side of very steep
Wednesday 7th June. Having seen very little in the way of attractive architecture all the way down from Igoumenitsa, it was lovely to finally see interesting little square houses. Mostly they were small, constructed with shaped rocks and terracotta roofs and there were some larger houses built much the same, but often with a square,
Sunday 4th June Rodney’s birthday morning involved 3½ hours of the wiggliest driving so far. I was only the passenger/navigator, and I was exhausted!! It was 1:00 pm by the time we arrived at Camping Kalogria near Stoupa. We picked a pitch under the shade of eucalyptus trees, a bit close to the road, but
Friday 2nd June. This morning’s bathroom entertainment was a bit of …. nothing? Someone must have forgotten to turn it on, which weirdly felt a bit disappointing. “Enough”, we said, ”let’s move east, across to Koroni and see if their bathrooms have a better selection of music!” Soon after leaving Finiwhatsit, Reggie was climbing up
Wednesday 31st May. Wandering around Methoni Castle for at least two hours was our next ‘looking-around-corners’ stop. It was a fabulous castle and it needed that long to cover the whole area; although I do believe we did miss some corners. Then the prawn salad lunch at Modon Restaurant in Methoni was delicious; best meal
Sunday 28th May. We woke up to a fresh sunny day, which after yesterday’s huge storm, was quite a relief. Down the coast we pulled off the main road at Kalo Nero. and enjoyed ice teas in The Blue Cafe. Sitting beside the stony beach Rodney and Cliff Richards would be happy because the sky
Thursday 25th May. After a very busy morning on the computer (more on that much later) we lazed away the afternoon on the beach and by the pool, before another good dinner in the restaurant with Sue and. Mike. Friday 26th May Activity is required for old bodies. So at 9:45am the four of us
Monday 22nd May. We slept long and deep like bears in hibernation. Indecision confused us at the beginning of the day but finally we made a decision to stay a second night at Camping Kariotes. Then the second decision of the day was to get the bikes off the back and go for a ride,
Friday 19th May. We woke up to a sunny day in our tiny trulli. That lifted our spirits. No looking for something around corners today. No driving. We just stopped. Saturday 20th May. At 9:15am we farewelled Giuliana in the garden of Trulli Dai Conte and prepped Reggie for moving again. We filled him up
Wednesday 17th May It rained all night, but it did stop at breakfast time and the sun peaked out then, beyond all expectation, it stayed out for most of the day! We started the day driving west to Gravina-In-Puglia, in search of a bridge that James Bond jumped off, in the movie ‘No Time To
Sunday 14th May. It rained most of the night and then most of the day at the beach resort of Riccione on the soggy Rimini coast. So the main topic of conversation over breakfast was of course….. the dreadful weather. We even thought about heading back to England to dry out !! The campsite swimming
We’re gonna give it another go, another tour out across Europe in Reggie. Hopefully this year we’ll also return to the UK in Reggie, although I feel like I just tempted fate typing those words. So fingers and toes are fully crossed. Tuesday 9th May. We drove from Kettering in Northamptonshire down to Folkestone in
Back to UK for more travels in Reggie, with a very important side trip to Canada to fnd a huge ‘bunch of Hansens’ that we never knew about until 2021. It turns out that we have a much bigger family than we ever imagined. Three days after flying from Sydney to England, Rodney and I
I didn’t have time to type a blog when we were in Canada; we were too busy going “oooh” and “aaah” and “wow”. Very soon after Rodney and I had arrived in England, we flew out again with big brother Neil. I had discovered Hansen relatives in and around Calgary, so we had a darn
Do a little happy dance…….like a butterfly on a summer day. Sunday 3rd July 2022 This was a day where our lives turned around from frustration to relief. A day we could only dream of nine days before. No sleepless night. No rush to wake up. No rush to get up. A late breakfast. Check
Has anyone ever been to everywhere in the world? No, it couldn’t be possible. Wednesday 29th 2022 Today we woke up making plans and then spent the whole morning changing and adjusting those plans. We had problems contacting the taxi service in Dover to organise collecting us from Dunkirk. We checked out a route to
There is comfort in the kind faces and words of strangers Monday 27th June 2022 Around 7:30am, after another fitful night, I lost the plot and phoned the RAC. Rodney had to take over the call because I was going round in circles with yet another operator. He had to go through the whole story
Movement is important, especially when it’s not happening Sunday 26th June 2022 We’re still in the hotel, we still have no rental car and we’ve not had a single message, phone call, or response to our emails from the RAC. I guess we were foolish to expect anything more. Needing to get out of the
Full-blown discombobulation is never good for the soul. Friday 24th June 2022 Mr and Mrs Thoroughly Glum had a very sleepless night. It wasn’t just our worries about our tricky position, but there was an awful bad-egg style smell that woke us both up at 3am. It was still lingering when we got up in
Sometimes it’s hard not to think about home. Thursday 23rd June 2022 We overslept until 8am, but at least we woke up to a blue-sky morning. At 9:45am we drove round to the bicycle repair shop and were very pleased to find our bikes were finally ready. We strapped them on to Reggie, paid, thanked
Sometimes the more you ponder, the more there is no real answer Tuesday 21st June 2022 Today we had more cunning plans that didn’t happen. We farewelled our nice pitch under the trees, after we had hit one of said oak trees. There are many things in life worth avoiding and one of them is
Don’t get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny Sunday 19th June 2022 Leaving Avignon was tricky. All roads led to low bridges. Bridges too low for Reggie to get under. We ended up travelling around the city walls and then south. A quick fuel stop calmed
Try not to make the same mistakes twice or you’ll never get around to all of them Friday 17th June 2022 In an attempt to sleep without air-conditioning, we left all of the windows and hatches wide open and I laid my wet scarf across my shoulders. I woke up early to the sounds of
Try not to make the same mistakes twice or you’ll never get around to all of them Tuesday 14th June 2022 Awning in, washing lines down, tarpaulin up, quick breakfast, lock-down, etc., etc., etc. Then we drove along to pick up Lindy who was having problems checking out of her apartment. We finally got her
Where does inspiration live when you’re in a hurry? Saturday 11th June 2022 After leaving the boat, Lindy Rodney and I headed straight to a large supermarket near Agde to refill Reggie’s now depleted fridge and cupboards and also to get out of the heat and into somewhere air-conditioned for a while. Then we drove
Enjoy the space between where you are and where you are going Sunday 5th June 2022 All seven of us woke up and started moving around the boat at various times on our first morning. Some were still sleepy, and others had been up for hours. I was one of the former, but we did
It is best to know what you are looking for before you look for it. Wednesday 1st June 2022 I started the day doing something small that I have never done before and probably never will again. I made a paper crane and flew it out of our bedroom window. It didn’t exactly fly away
Time that you enjoyed wasting was not wasted at all Monday 30th May 2022 Tomorrow arrived as expected, so now it is Monday, the last one of the month and important things happened on this day. Later this week we’ll be in France, but for now we’ve got the last bit of Spain to conquer.
Ten years ago we were motorhome novices, but now we feel like seasoned veterans…..most of the time……. Saturday 28th May 2022 I do enjoy sitting with maps in my lap planning which road to take next. Our plans for next week are set in stone, so we only had to plan for the weekend. The
“Toilets only for the use of Costumers” a sign seen outside a toilet next to a restaurant in Spain Wednesday 25th May 2022 “Let’s get moving, there’s more corners to look around”, said Rodney. So we left Pineda de Mar and drove north through Blanes, looking for a garden to visit. I followed Google maps,
If you never make a plan nothing can ever go wrong Monday 23rd May 2022 We cycled into Peniscola for the very last time to check out market day and then farewelled Nicky and David, not knowing when, or where, we will get to see them again. Back at Reggie, we strapped the bikes on
If valencia oranges come from Valencia and seville oranges come from Seville, where do navel oranges come from? Wednesday 18th May 2022 I started the day early with another yoga session with the sparrows. One sparrow in particular was very inquisitive, hopping about around me, but he flew off when I did the eagle pose!
‘Hither and Thither’….nobody seems to go there anymore. But we did. Monday 16th May 2022 Reggie was filled with water, and waste tanks were emptied again before we headed out of Camping Albarracin and motored south-west towards the Mediterranean Sea. It should be about a 200kms drive to the coast. And it was. We arrived
Travel is no longer just a mindset or a dream; it’s happening again ! Saturday 14th May 2022 We followed a Belgian Duster SUV car towing a Weltbummier caravan out of the Zaragoza campsite; sorry, the names just tickled me. It was a very easy pleasant drive on an almost empty road south to Teruel.
Our time is now spent on the grey pages. We therefore add colour. Friday 13th May 2022 It’s Friday 13th. Are we being foolish tackling public transport into a large unknown city? Or am I just being overly superstitious? We found the bus stop for a No.41 going in the correct direction to the city
See a little more, learn a little more, expand our knowledge a little more and maybe that will make us better people…….just a little bit more Thursday 12th May 2022 While watching all the bikers packing up and leaving, we could feel Reggie tremble with the noise and vibration of their machines. And then everything
We didn’t waste time, we used it. Wednesday May 11th Leaving Pamplona turned out to be a bit tricky. Yesterday, on the bikes, we couldn’t find our way in. Today we couldn’t find our way out! All roads, every road, led to Pamplona. At one point we found ourselves heading to France!! It took us
When does a hill become a mountain? Monday 9th May 2022 The day started with a mist hanging around the valley, but by 10:10am, having packed up, done the shopping and got on the road, the sky had cleared to a cloudless, vibrant blue. A winding road led us out of St Jean Pied de
Even after all these years, motorhome travelling is still a work in progress. Saturday 7th May 2022 A €5.90 toll and another €5.90 toll got us “down south’, almost out of France and into Spain. For most of the journey on the péage, the scenery was rather dull, flat, with seemingly continuous pine plantations. Plus,
So here we go, travelling from over here to over there. Not sure yet where over there is, but at the end of this jaunt in Reggie I guess we’ll find out. Wednesday 4th May 2022 We had breakfast guests again and then the two of us set off on our new bicycles for the
It’s all about positive thinking Monday 2nd May 2022 Setting off from Julia and Kevin’s house we encountered a little light rain. “That’s not on” we said. We only want dry weather, thankyou. Ah well it’s mainly a driving day. It had stopped by the time we reached Luçon where we walked into the biggest
On our to do list for today – laughing, smiling, talking, eating, sleeping. Saturday 30th May 2022 A lovely sunny day spent with old friends. After a load of washing was pegged on the line, it was nice to be putting on some lighter, more summery clothes for a change. We then hit the market