So Sorry for the HUGE gap in updating my blog, I have realised the one thing I am truly missing while travelling.... reliable internet! It has either been non-existant or so slow you give up waiting for a page to load and go and do something else instead! So this entry will be a quick catch up! Anyway, the next step in our journey was near Le Mans, France, where we going to spend 2 weeks looking after 2 Jack Russels, 2 cats and numerous chickens while the owners, Mike & Ginny, went to the UK for a wedding. The house was a typically French dream! with barns, woods and loads of land, and an absolutely stunning kitchen with a range oven and hanging saucepans! The two dogs were delightful, especially Eric, Molly was a bit grumpy, I think Saxon was a bit scared of her!

The house - gorgeous isn't it! 

Who's the Boss ??

All too soon it was time to leave, Mike and Ginny were back and the nights were getting cold and frosty and we were in search of the sun, time to move south towards the French/Spanish border... St Jean La Luz and the beach was calling!

We booked into a small site just a short walk from the seafront and a lovely little bar.. handy eh! The weather was absolutely glorious, this is what we wanted! So, dinner at the bar and a walk/swim on the beach for Saxon..sorted!

Moules Basque et Frites

I see no Sea - Bay of Biscay

Much as we would like to have stayed here, the site was closing for the winter, so it was time to move onwards again, across the border into Spain. It was a wonderful drive, such quiet roads, the trees were turning a glorious golden yellow, and occasionally there would be a splash of fiery red amongst them. We stopped at Sierra De Oncala in Spain where they are planting specific trees just to create a spectacular panoramic view of colour on the plains in the autumn, How amazing is that!

Autumn trees from the road

Talking about autumn trees, our next stop was a haven for them! it was a free aire (parking area for motorhomes) in Spain called Hontario Del Pinar, near the the natural park in the Cañôn del Rio Lobos - Canyon of the River Wolf! The area was beautiful, sloping rocks, mountains, a superb cycle ride along the river and eagles too! and a lovely walk for Saxon as well! And more of the golden trees I so love!

Not one Cathargo... but TWO !!!

Moon, Mountain and Autumn colours


On the way out from this aire, we went to the service point to empty the loo and fill up with fresh water for the next stage of our journey, the aire is right on the edge of the village and we were delighted to see that there was a huge glass jar of local olives on one of the picnic tables with a sign telling you to help yourself to some! How thoughtful! shame we do not really like them! 


We like to have a mix of places to stay, some off grid camping, where we rely on our solar panel and gas to get by, and some campsites to top up the batteries on our laptops etc, what we do not like are the big commercial sites with huge bars and laid on entertainment, we tend to look for small privately owned sites, if they have electric hook up, that is brilliant, showers and toilets are a bonus as we have that in our motorhome, it is very well equipped. Camping Ubion had all this, and a lake where Saxon was free to run, it also had some interesting birds... Blue magpies and woodpeckers! 

Another idyllic location that we were sorry to leave, but onwards we had to go, this travelling lifestyle is addictive, and the urge to see new places is strong, next stop.. The Picos de Europa, and THAT place gets a whole blog entry to itself! 

The wanderers finally started wandering!

Funny how things all come together in the end, everything clicked into place like a jigsaw puzzle, Fernweh (the motorhome) had her niggly problems sorted, our house did get ready to go on the market.. AND we had an offer within 2 days, which we accepted! We made it for the sailing on September 10th!

France is certainly motorhome friendly, they have plenty of Aires just for motorhome stops, our first stop was on one of these Aires at La Mailleraye-sur-Seine, as the name says, it is right on the banks of the river Seine, and we had a riverside pitch!

Out came the chairs and the Normandy cider (would be rude not to!) and we sat and relaxed watching the sun glisten on the water and the usual river traffic.... well... unusual traffic!

The river is used to move freight around to keep it off the roads, it certainly made river watching very interesting, the cargo ships were so colourful.
The riverbank was beautifully maintained, very clean and tidy with walking and cycle paths all the way alongside, all this for €6 a night!

We stayed here for a couple of nights then it was time to move on, we had to be at Saint-Mars-D'Outille near Le Mans by the end of September for a house sit, and there was so much more we wanted to see !  

Camping Du Lac - Tuffé

I could fill a book with photos from this campsite, it was so pretty, we were only going to stay for two nights, but ended up staying for 6! There really is something very relaxing about being by a lake, especially on a sunny day when the water looks like glass. This place is definitely one to return to, even more so after going for a solitary walk with my camera and discovering The Château de Chéronne, they perform weddings there and it is just as picturesque as the lake.

The Gatehouse (and me messing with filters!)

Château de Chérrone

So far we are loving the adventure, so much to see, so much to do, so much to learn, the next entry will be about the housesit, 24 chickens, 2 Jack Russells and 2 cats! 

                                                                                                                              

Renamed and ready to go.... almost

A motorhome needs a name, you can't refer to your home for the next year or so as 'the bus' or 'the van' so we have been playing with names, Cathy Cathargo was too obvious, so we went for Frieda, for freedom, until J found "Fernweh", it is German for wanderlust, and as Cathargo is a German brand it fitted perfectly! So here she is,

Fernweh

We have loaded our travel clothes and necessities into Fernweh but we have a few niggly problems to sort out with her before we go anywhere, mainly a kitchen sink that leaks, an outside gas tap that fits nothing, and the whole water system needs flushing and sterilising. Once that is all sorted we are going to take the grand children away for a couple of weeks and then meet up with their mum and dad and spend some time with them too. 

After that we will start our journey for the Big Adventure!!! 

Can we ?? YES we can

Adventure before Dementia, a witty term that always raises a smile, but how many of us are actually brave enough to ‘go for it’ take that step into the unknown, set sail and see where the wind takes you ? Not me that is for sure, I am a homebody, I like the safety and familiarity of my own four walls. I like routine. I like my home comforts. I get adventure anyway, occasionally I go to Waitrose instead of Tesco! So how come I am now selling my home, my castle, my security blanket, putting a few personal possessions into storage at my daughters, and heading of into the deep dark unknown… well .. Europe.. with my partner and our dog in a motorhome!

This Blog will be about our journey. Our Journey will begin soon, first the sale of our house.... watch this space. 

Our home for howeverlong !!!!