Back in Europe

Tuesday September 16, 2014

We are back in mainland Europe. To be precise we are in walking distance of Bruges in Belgium. We have been here many times before, but it's a place that is always a pleasure to visit and spend some time in. Although it is mid September, clearly other people think the same, as there are many tourists visiting. It's expensive eating and drinking here, but I think that may reflect what to expect as we move on to Germany in a few days. We paid £35 for a bowl of mussels, bread and a plate of chips, which we shared, plus 2 beers.

Reflecting on the past few months we are really happy with the great summer we have enjoyed. We are so lucky to have been able to spend so much time with Kate, Paul and Amelia. It is quite amazing that since we came back to the UK in May, and leaving again in September, we have seen Amelia walking, and now running. And every day she seems to pick up new words. She can even say multi syllable words like "caravan". I'm not joking – she really can say "GraGra and GaGa's caravan"! 

Amelia actually said "Granddad" one day, which was disappointing that she was learning so fast, but it was back to GraGra again soon. She knows most of the words for colours, but at the moment nearly everything is blue! But we have no doubt she will soon know that Peppa Pig is pink. We are learning too. Peppa's brother is George; her teacher is Mrs. Antelope; and her friends are Danny Dog, Emily Elephant (Mike's favourite), and Susie Cat – we think that's right – please correct if not. . . .

And some of the time with Kate, Paul and Amelia, and meeting up with other family, has nicely coincided with enjoying places and events in the UK: Cowes Week; visits to Mottisfont House near Romsey 





and a couple of National Trust sites in Devon; 

the Tall Ships race start in Falmouth; a trip on the ferry from Padstow to Rock; a walk on the cliffs near Bedruthan Steps, while looking at a very rough and stormy sea over the August Bank Holiday.




On the subject of some of these places, we were asked before retirement what we planned to do, and Mike's practiced answer was "to visit old and new places in Europe and similarly in the UK". And that is what we have done in the UK this summer – perhaps not as adventurous as we had thought – but there was no need, as there was so much to do anyway. Gail lived in Cornwall for 50 years, and Mike as an emmet for only 40! But neither of us had ever been to Bedruthan Steps, or crossed the River Camel to Rock.

It suddenly occurred to us the other day that we might be too late to achieve our goal of seeing old and new places in the UK. If there is a "Yes" vote in Scotland, then we have another country to visit, and the UK becomes smaller. It makes you think – in the last few days we have driven into France, crossed the border into Belgium, drifted into Holland, back into Belgium, and tomorrow will probably drive into Holland again, and out into Germany without once showing our passports. Wonder if it will be as easy if Scotland is independent. . .
And by the way – why do we get so much immigration hassle when we fly, but not when we drive, or travel by Eurostar? Answers on a postcard please!

 

Back in UK . . .

For some reason – could be Word, or Google Blogger, or me – this post kept overwriting others. So sorry if you have read it before. . .

 
For three months now, we have been back in a world where WiFi access is easy and free– that is not in France and Spain – so I have had no real excuse to not catch up on stuff without worrying about the cost!
I can't really blame the lack of WiFi for neglecting the blog. It was the sun's fault! Very lazy and relaxing life... Ironically I have now left my phone in the car and it's a bit early to go out and get it, so I'll type this as a draft and send later!
We had the occasional WiFi in Spanish bars and paid for internet boosters but 100MB about covered a FaceTime call to Kate.

They had cheap WiFi on our main site in Spain for just 30 euros a month, but it was poor quality, so I did it once.

We didn't travel around Spain as much as we expected as we found a great site half way between Valencia and Alicante right on a beach with clean sand as far as you could see in both directions.

But of course we took trips to various towns and cities, including a few overnight hotel stops.

The site was very uncrowded even at Easter and May Day holiday when there were a lot of Spanish around. And only 14 euros a day! We planned to stay for 7 days and ended up being there for 72 days!

The car was a pain – and still was in the UK until late July. We had to get recovered (fortunately without the caravan) and then the car needed a new driveshaft; the front number plate half fell off (Halfords!) and I got pulled over by gendarmes. Fortunately no "on the spot fine". Then we started to get an intermittent engine performance issue - took a chance and managed to get back to the UK. Then the aircon packed in a week before leaving Spain. Got it regassed but still not fixed. That week and 2 days of driving back were a little uncomfortable and noisy with windows open, but that was not a problem once closer to the UK, although the improving UK weather eventually tested us again.
Finally the computer display faded and went out. It's not a big display, so again was not a big deal but it would have been nicer to have it.
To cut a long and boring story short, all jobs on the car were eventually fixed over a few months – including a further major engine job. Don't ask how much! Let's just say we will be in the caravan a while longer. . .

We made it back to a site near Southampton, next door to a caravan service centre where they serviced the caravan for the first time. As Gail had said, our list of "warranty items" was not long, and might be put down to wear and tear, and generally the caravan's first year has been reliable, certainly where you want it to be - behind the car, and on a site.

Once we got back to the UK it was a busy time, sorting out a storage unit in Southampton to transfer stuff from the Derby storage unit; emptying the caravan into the unit so they could service it; and of course catching up with Kate, Paul, and Amelia. I am now "GraGra", Gail was "GrauGrau" which has already evolved to "GaGa", which we both love, but we have been corrected by Kate that we must repeat back to Amelia "Grandad" and "Granny". Quite right!

Since May we have been moving around to various caravan sites around Southampton and the New Forest, for a few weeks at a time. Just yesterday we returned from a 2 week visit to the Isle of Wight which is deserving of its own blog post one day! Once again all very relaxing and lazy!

We are now back in Southampton for a few more days before heading down to Cornwall for a few weeks, via a stop on Dartmoor. The really good weather has gone, but it's not so bad even now, and we are really looking forward to our first visit to Falmouth in 2 years.