roemin around

Well it seems that Holland is on vacation until 8th May and camp sites are all peak season rates, if they have any space at all! So we decided to reschedule our ferry from Tuesday and cross on following Sunday night to miss all the traffic and hopefully find some empty sites. We are probably too late to see the tulip fields at their best with all the warm, sunny weather in northern Europe.  C'est la vie or dat is het leven.  

We have met so many Dutch campers of our generation in France and Spain on our early summer trips to Europe, that this year we decided to go to Holland to see if there were any senior campers left there at all. That is one reason, the tulip fields are another and then we plan to head south down the Rhine valley to Germany, Lake Constance, Austria and Lichtenstein. We will be sailing from Harwich to Hook of Holland on 3rd May returning after 7 weeks for a family 60th birthday (not mine BTW) at the end of June.

All packed up and ready to go tomorrow. Leaving at 8:30 for Plymouth to catch the 16:30 ferry to Santander in Northern Spain. Looks like we are in for a few days rain (well its not Green spain for nothing) so may stop in Playa Joel till it clears up. At least it should be warmer than it is here.

Ferry booked to Santander on 9th, a few camping cheques ordered, travel guides and insurance sorted. Just need a calm sea, a bit of sun and get the Spanish phrase books out again!

Looks like we are off to Spain again this year. Plymouth to Santander on 9th May then east to the Costa Brava via the Pyrenees, Lourdes and Andora. Probably return home thru central France (Millau bridge route) diverting to Carcassonne, Tarn and Ardeche getting back by beginning of July.  

Outbound ferry is booked to Santander on 26th April to see the parts of northern Portugal and Spain that we have missed on previous trips. A few objectives are being decided and these will shape the overall holiday. 1 Catch some fish in Portugal - sea and lake 2 Visit Fatima again 3 Buy a bottle of vintage port for Christmas at Taylors in Porto 4 Climb the 1000 steps at Bom Jesus sanctuary 5 Stand on the cliffs at Cap Finistere 6 have some 'pimientos de Padron' in Padron 7 Have a lobster dinner in A Coruna on wedding anniversary 8 Make a snow ball at Feunte De 9 Wade across to Isla from Playa Joel without getting knickers wet 8) 10 Meet Mike and Margaret 11 return home thru France before the end of June to be continued ....

Off to the show on Thursday to get some ideas

Well if September lives up to its reputation then a few weeks down in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall is on the cards. But if not - then its off to Greece (minus the van of course) for a bit of late sun.

We are off to south Wales the first week in August to meet Jean and family for a few days of camping near Carmarthen. On the way back we pass Brecon so planning on stopping off to see a bit of the Jazz festival. Hope its as sunny in Brecon as it was in Abersoch back in June. But just in case, we have bought a small Sunncamp caravan awning which gives Monica a new 'back porch' to give us a bit more covered area and drying space.

We are off to see Eric Clapton in concert, for the first time, at Harewood House near Leeds. Its Glastonbury weekend too so I expect it will pour with rain :-( . We get reduced price entry to the house and gardens too so it may keep Rosemary happy - not a great Clapton fan yet.

It didn't take long! First holiday to France has been booked for 15th May in order to be away for our 40th wedding anniversary. Friends Mike and Margaret have just taken the plunge and invested in a motor home so we also intend to rendezvous with them in Brittany on their first trip abroad with Ivor their Ace Novello. We spent many holidays with our children in Brittany and the Vendee with Eurocamp, so this will an opportunity to re-visit some of those campsites again.

This year we decided to stay at home for the spring and look around for a new motorhome, then go away in the autumn. So sadly we are going to part with our Surf and replace it with another NuVenture but this time a Moniche. Its only a little bigger than the 'Twurp' so we will be able to carry on with our travels in much the same way, but with a few extra creature comforts and more power for those long slogs through the mountains in search of the sun. However, when we have it on the drive in a couple of weeks time, I am sure it will not be long before we are on a ferry again - so watch this space.

This year we plan to tour Northern Italy taking in a mixture of history, culture, scenery and of course, lounging about on the beach. Time permitting we also plan to venture briefly into Slovenia and Northern Croatia. We also need to have an overall objective and this year it is - to visit as many countries as possible in the round trip from Calais to Calais. If we include Monte Carlo, San Morino and Leichenstein then we should fit in about 11 on the return leg. That's the plan but we just have a departure date, 10th April and a provisional return date of 20th June and nothing definite in between. So anything is possible until the insurance runs out in early July. Watch this space for progress. Not that we plan to spend all our time on the Web, but Peter may find a few hours to spare on a camp site with WiFi or the occasional internet cafe.