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A year of adventures and still going strong

Retirement certainly suits us and we have had a fantastic time during our ‘out of Europe’ ninety days, making the most of seeing family and friends (old and new).

We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in Istanbul, celebrated a very special ladies 80th with a trip to Dieppe, travelled to Cork and Tewkesbury to visit newly made MoHo friends and saw our grandson off on his first day of school.

Our weeks back have been hectic and lots of fun, just how we like it!

Now it’s time to head off again and a new blog.

Hope you enjoy following us on our third adventure in our beautiful motorhome Bettine, which we truly miss when not travelling.

You can get our updates via email by clicking on one of the blog posts below and entering your email address and a comment.

About Us

For anyone who’s new to our site, a little bit about us.

We are Ian and Angie, aged 57 and 56 respectively and a year ago we checked out of the rat race, rented our house out, bought a motorhome and decided to travel for as long as we are able.

It had been our goal to retire at 55 and see as much of the world as we can while we are fit and able to, or in more practical terms, until the money runs out 😉.

Unfortunately, Brexit dealt us with a blow as our plans to tour extensively around Europe were cut to three months at a time, 90 days in and 90 days out.

We have very kind parents who we stay with when between travels, and have changed our plans to include non motorhome adventures outside of Europe. Our first of these being eight weeks in Cape Verde over last winter, sandwiched between two tours of Europe including visits to Spain, France, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Italy and Belgium.

We love our life and look forward to many more adventures.

Our blog diary

To view our blog at its best and see our photos click on the first link in CAPS below.

We would love to hear from you via comments and if you’d like to see posts as they appear, scroll down once in the blog, to the Leave a Reply section and add your email address and comments.

  • Heading home
    Sometimes things don’t always go to plan and we have always known that we may have to cut trips short if needed at home. As my dad was taken poorly and my mum needed our support, we changed our crossing, for the earliest we could, and headed for Bilbao. It was our first time on a ferry in Bettine, and a 28 hour crossing. We had everything crossed for a quiet, calm trip. We have had a great five weeks away and look forward to our next adventures. Adios til next time!
  • Isla Christina 🇪🇸
    With the weather not being good for a few days we decided to head for Spain. Through our lovely motorhome community we were recommended a site in Isla Christina. As we are out of season in most of the places we visit, which are in the non touristy areas, our expectations are set accordingly. Pools are not open, bars sporadic, but we are generally greeted by welcoming reception staff and lots of fellow travellers, and Camp Giralda hit the spot! Day one was rained off, but day two we decided to put the on dreaded raincoats and explore! The beachContinue reading “Isla Christina 🇪🇸”
  • Cascais and Sintra 🇵🇹
    Cascais had been recommended to us by some friends who had recently been, so we headed there next. The weather wasn’t great on arrival but we took a walk out to the Guincho beach which is famous for the Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, being filmed there. The ocean was wild with huge waves rolling in! The next morning we cycled along the beach hugging ‘ocean road’, to the centre of Cascais. An absolutely stunning cycle all the way in. Cascais is a lovely town, inhabited by some of the rich and famous (Ronaldo has property here), andContinue reading “Cascais and Sintra 🇵🇹”
  • Porto 🇵🇹
    After visiting Lisbon during our first tour felt we had to visit the second largest city in Portugal on this one. Sites are few and far between in this area, so we only really had a couple of options – both of which didn’t have great reviews, so we picked the one with easiest access to the city and hoped! On arrival we were shown to our pitch and recommended lunch in the restaurant next door. The site was quite run down so we were very surprised when we walked into Casa Helena. A daily menu of 3 courses, allContinue reading “Porto 🇵🇹”
  • Last day in the Douro 🇵🇹
    Lamego ‘is a delightful town set amidst the vineyard-covered hills of the Alto Douro region’, and from Pinhao the route was along part of the N222 which has been voted one of the best drives in the world. During our short time along it, it definitely lived up to its reputation. The campsite at Lamego was high on a hilltop with views over the city and we were given an amazing pitch with its own patio! Lamego has origins back to Roman times and the first king of Portugal was said to have been crowned there in 1139. Lamego enjoyedContinue reading “Last day in the Douro 🇵🇹”
  • Douro valley – day two 🇵🇹
    We said goodbye to Anna the next morning and headed to our next stop, Pinhao. It was only a 20 minute drive away but as it was to a coveted spot on the river, we had to get there early, and again the scenery on route was stunning. ‘Pinhão is one of the most well-known places to visit in the Douro region. The wine town of Pinhão is surrounded by vineyards that produce the world’s best Port wine’ We managed to secure a space right on the river with again, fabulous views! There are a few ways to see theContinue reading “Douro valley – day two 🇵🇹”
  • Day one in the Douro Valley
    We had heard so much about the beauty of this area, we felt we had to visit, so headed for our first stop in the valley at Sabrosa. The route was interesting at times, through dense fog and across very high viaducts! Not a favourite with Ian. The drive into the valley was steep and narrow – a challenge but worth it for the amazing views! We were greeted by Anna at Quinta dos Espinheiros and parked up with a million dollar view out of our bedroom window! The vineyard supplies grapes to the region and has a small productionContinue reading “Day one in the Douro Valley”
  • Santiago de Compestela 🇪🇸
    We had met a few people on our last Spanish tour who were on the Camino de Santiago, and were intrigued by it, so decided we had to visit on this trip. ‘The Camino de Santiago or, The way of St James, is a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, a city in Galicia. It is believed that the body of the apostle Saint James was buried in the cathedral there’ The walk is typically 744km from France across Spain, via Pamplona, Burgos and Leon. This route takes 30 days, and at an average of 24km per day, its notContinue reading “Santiago de Compestela 🇪🇸”
  • Ribadeo
    We moved further along the northern coast to Ribadeo which borders Asturias and Galicia. There are a lack of campsites in this part of Spain with full facilities, lots of place to park but not many with electricity which is what we needed after a few days ‘off grid’ in Bettine. Our campsite was in a beautiful location with sea views, however we had rain and mist most of our visit so didn’t get to see it at its best. We did venture into Ribadeo, a 6km walk, across the Puente de los Santos bridge which spans 612 metres overContinue reading “Ribadeo”
  • Exploring Asturias
    Northern Spain, past Bilbao, was an area we hadn’t visited in Bettine, so we were looking forward to heading to Asturias to meet up with Ian’s parents for a couple of days. We stayed in a municipal site in Nava and our first excursion was to Tazones, a beautiful little fishing village on the coast. We drove to Gijon the next day and hiked up Santa Catalina hill, to the sculpture, Elogio del horizonte, which had great panoramic views of the city. Just off the Plaza Mayor, we stopped for lunch and a glass of wine. Gijon sits on theContinue reading “Exploring Asturias”
  • Hola d’Espana
    With the weather deteriorating in France it was time to head towards the sunshine. We’ve tried not to visit a place twice, however we couldn’t miss an opportunity to spend a day in San Sebastián. Spain is renowned for its excellent tapas but the small plates of food, generally on sticks, known as pintxos are a speciality here. We spent a wonderful day pintxos bar hopping, trying out as many of them as we could. We were not disappointed by any. Delicious plates of all sorts of food, washed down with a glass of local white wine, all extremely reasonablyContinue reading “Hola d’Espana”
  • Sarlat & more…
    Sarlat La Caneda was recommended to us by some friends so we headed there next. A well preserved 14th century medieval town, described as one of the most famous in the Dordogne region, and one of the most attractive. Before exploring the washing had to be done, life on the road has its mundane parts too! Thankfully a sunny day. Feeling energetic we decided to cycle to La Roque Gargeac the next day. A rather hilly 20km via Vitrac to get there but was worth it. We found a beautiful village set in the rock, on the banks of theContinue reading “Sarlat & more…”
  • Montignac
    We headed from Le Mans to the Dordogne and stopped at Montignac-Lascaux. This 14th century village is in a beautiful setting on the Vézère River, perfect for kayaking apparently, but we didn’t partake this time 😉. We walked the town, and followed a tourist map to see the highlights and get the best views. A little cycle was next, all uphill, to the Lascaux caves, which is Montignac’s most famous feature. We had an excellent tour guide and the experience was really enlightening. The caves were found in 1941 by a local man and house hundreds of cave art paintingsContinue reading “Montignac”
  • Le Mans
    As only a little drive from Paris, Le Mans had to be our next stop, such an iconic place. The medieval city sits high above the new town with its crowning glory being the stunning St Julien cathedral. It has an amazing amount of stained glass windows which stream light throughout the building. Our photos could not do it justice. The city’s first bishop was Saint Julian of Le Mans, who lived there around the middle of the 3rd century. The cobbled streets are lined with timber framed buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. The city is the birthplaceContinue reading “Le Mans”
  • Louvre and Latin Quarter
    After a day sat outside Bettine, watching the amazing spectacle of the Queens funeral, we were ready for a full final day of sightseeing. Glad to say trains had returned to normal so our trip into the city was without stress! First stop, Louvre, for the photos you have to take when in Paris 😉 We walked along the Seine, past Musee D’orsay, along to Pont Neuf. Some stunning views en-route. We love to wander through the streets of a city without too much of a plan and the Latin Quarter was a great place to do this. The oldestContinue reading “Louvre and Latin Quarter”
  • Montmarte & Waterlilies
    “Paris has many souls: one per arrondissement, Montmartre is perhaps the best known, the one that makes people dream, the most bohemian one” We had another interesting journey into the city, our metro line wasn’t working so, yet again, we weaved our way around the tram system to Pigalle and walked up the steep hill to the artist village of Montmarte. We followed a walking tour from GPSmyCity (found this to be a great app), meandering through all the iconic sites, soaking up the atmosphere. One of the highlights was The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris – Sacré-Cœur.Continue reading “Montmarte & Waterlilies”
  • Bonjour Paris
    We chose Paris as our first stop. We have both spent time here but not together seeing the sights. We picked a site a thirty minute train ride outside Paris, and set off into the city. What an adventure we had! The trains were not running to plan and we spent over an hour negotiating the Paris train network before finally reaching the city. All character building stuff 😉. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower then, making the most of the sunny afternoon, we strolled along the Seine, walked down the beautifully tree lined Champs-Élysées, admired the rich andContinue reading “Bonjour Paris”
  • And Away….
    Feeling very excited as we wait for our train. Heading off for nearly twelve weeks without too much of a plan. We had a lovely send off thanks to our wonderful families. A last meal with our hosts, Shirley and David, who without their support our travels would not be possible. Followed by a stop at Aunty Jane’s for a send off glass of wine and a shepherds pie. Always a fabulous way to start our trip! Au revoir l’angleterre 🇬🇧
  • Off to the weighbridge
    Time to check we are within our weight limits. Part of the packing challenge is to make sure we are within the legal limits set, we risk fines and insurance being invalid if we are overweight. Always a nerve wracking time – but thankfully all good and with kg’s to spare! Might just add a few more clothes 😉.
  • Prepping
    Four days to go and frantically trying to pack only the necessities which is proving a challenge. As we’ve done a couple of tours now it’s not so daunting but choosing what to take to wear always is . We catch the train on 16th from Folkestone to Calais. Heading southwards without any real plan. Can’t wait to be on the road again.
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