🙂 Living the dream…bucket list stuff!
🙁 Shoestring budget!
Farewell, so long for now England: 185Km to Dover Calais +84Km
We headed off from the UK in great anticipation for our European Camper van trip in Zebedy, a tiny Fiat that we had picked up from someone who was going to scrap it. We had given it a service and we were ready to go. We drove the 185Kms to Harwich for our ferry to Hoek van Holland.
- The Netherlands: 85Km to Amsterdam
We took the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland. On arrival in the morning we drove the 85Km to Amsterdam. We immediately got a parking fine of One Hundred Guilders on on windscreen as we were not familiar with the ‘No Parking’ rules 🙁 . We did not let that flatten our mood and set off to do our sight seeing! It was amazing to visit Anne Frank’s House – the book had made such an impact on me when I read it and to see it in person gave me goosebumps. We then headed into a coffee shop called the Bulldog where Jacques bought som legal marijuana – interesting that they sold Durban poison! LOL! I have never smoked so I tried a cake which left me reeling – disgusting and never ever again! We had wanted to visit some galleries but they were prohibitively expensive so we had to give them a miss as we had already exceeded our daily budget, not to mention the fine. So we opted for the Sex Museum instead as it was cheaper and not something one sees every day … what a shocker! I saw and heard things that I never even knew existed (I am still traumatised that there is such a thing as a Snuff Film?!?! …… we had censorship in South Africa at that time so this was a real eye opener!! Yikes. That evening we strolled around the Red Light District and a scantily clothed lady of the night stepped out of her doorway and played with Trent! We were followed by a very dodgy looking bloke and I told him to back away from us. What a place. So many cyclists. The thick, sweet smell of marijuana everywhere. Shocking for me to see Sex on Sale so blatantly. A little daunting. Photos of course were taken on film in those days and we were not allowed to take photos in the Red Light District or at the Bulldog…but this is what we did take.
2. Belgium – 250Km to Bruge + 255Km to Ghent + 100Km to Brussels
The next day we headed to Bruges – absolutely stunning and picture postcard perfect however even a hot chocolate cost a fortune – worth every cent …but not a daily option! We headed to a corner shop and bought bread and cheese which was to be our staple diet for the duration of the trip!
We drove on to Ghent to visit my friend Giselle from the United days. We enjoyed a lovely catch up with her. The following day we drove to Brussels where we caught up with family friends of Jacques parents and enjoyed a lovely meal with them.
3. Luxembourg – 212Km
We took the diversion to Luxembourg just so that we could tick it off as we are unlikely ever to go back! Cannot even find a photo for proof of our visit! LOL.
4. France: 200km to Reims + 110Km to EuroDisney + 50Km to Paris Central
We left the comforts of Belgium and The Netherlands behind us … it had been fairly easy to read newspapers, road signs and to understand the people as the languages are so similar to Afrikaans. We were so excited to cross the border into France and headed straight to the champagne region! We did a tour of Moet & Chandon and met a lovely couple who were from Zimbabwe but were doing a final roadtrip of Europe before heading to New Zealand to settle down there. We bought some cheap plonk and made some bread rolls and enjoyed a picnic overlooking the vineyards in the sunshine … joyous…
The next day we headed to Paris – SO exciting! Trent was beside himself as we had promised to take him to Euro Disney – this of course blew our budget again but we had a very happy boy!
The next day was spent sightseeing n Paris. It was AMAZING to go up the Eiffel Tower – BUCKET LIST! We did splash out and go to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa with our own eyes – fantastic – plus so many other Master’s work…what a treat. LOVE this City – what a vibe – just strolling around taking in all the sights and the steer musician sounds – unforgettable – it certainly is the City of Love!
4. Switzerland: Bern 670Km + Lausanne 110Km + Vevey, Montreaux 60Km + Geneva 65Km
We tried unsuccessfully to get a visa to Italy in Paris which was a cause for concern as our game plan was to travel to Brindisi and then head over to the Greek Islands for the rest of the summer, island hopping…a fellow traveller suggested that we head to Switzerland as it was easier to obtain visas for South Africans in Europe there. We took 3 days to drive the 600km stopping en route to enjoy the French countryside and buying cheap plonk and cheese. Very relaxing and a lot cheaper than the Cities so we could claw back some of our overspend. We finally arrived in Bern and were saddened to see lonely Bears in a concrete pit – the symbol of Bern … which put me right off it. 🙁 We tried again to apply for Italian and Greek visas and these were declined again. 🙁
Since we were unexpectedly in the beautiful country of Switzerland we decided to drive to Lake Geneva…. first stop Lausanne… we fell in love – what a stunning location on the shores of the lake…we parked our campervan feeling blissful. There was a small square with small motorised bikes and a train which Trent just loved.
We spent 2 weeks in this beautiful part of the world. Every morning we would see paragliders meet up and head off, and then about an hour later we would see them coming in to land…so we strolled over to say hi. They kindly invited us to go with them and have a go!! We were delighted. We took a funicular up the mountain, had our briefings and were rearing to go!
A couple went first but they had switched for the first time with the lady taking the controls…in a horrific turn of events, the lines twisted and they dropped out of the air and onto wooden avalanche defenders…their screams echoed throughout the alps… it was awful. About two hours later a helicopter managed to airlift them to a hospital but by now the funicular had closed and the only way down was to paraglide…my nerves…. fortunately my pilot was the very sexy, French Pierre and I held my breath and went for it… and it was AMAZING! The sun had started to set and the pinks, and purples and orange hues sparkling on the lake below was a stunning sight to behold… the landing, which you have to do at a run was not as scary as I had anticipated. We headed over to the friends home and were told that the couple would be OK however, they would be in hospital for months to come making a recovery – quite sobering. We enjoyed a lovely meal of mussels and then they invited us to come and stay with them in their home. We were so grateful as it meant we could wash our clothes and sort ourselves out.
We were invited to a beach party on the shores of Lake Geneva… but we were not prepared for the fact that it was a nudist get together! Oh well…when in Rome (or Laussanne…) lol. I have never stood up so quickly water skiing – naked is scary as you could quite easily have an unexpected enema! 🙂 I had also not been aware that one’s pubic hairs go grey when you get old!! LOL. What a blast!! The next day we went to a fair and bumped into some of the people at the party and of course it has to be said …. we didn’t recognise them with their clothes on! 🙂
On another occasion we were invited to an ex Aussie’s Swiss mountain log cabin – simply stunning. What an interesting man with a tragic story. He had fought (against his will) in the Vietnamese War…he has PTSD from one mission where their platoon had infiltrated a village based on intelligence received…the Villagers sent out two little girls aged between 5-8years old fully bombed up and the soldiers were forced to shoot them. Dreadful. He lied on his own with his dark memories. Very tough.
On a brighter note, the weekly wine festivals on weekends are fantastic! Locals dress up on leatherhausen and play local music and everyone samples local wines – brilliant fun!
Trent and I had fun rollerblading at our peril on the pavements!
On another evening we were invited to Pierre’s self built wooden log cabin – AMAZING. We enjoyed our very first raclette ever- DIVINE. Essential to be eaten with cold dry wine apparently! 🙂
We drove all along the shores of Lake Geneva to Montreaux and Vevey and enjoyed sight seeing. Charlie Chapman lived in the Manoir de Ban in Vevey. A statue by the lake commemorates the 25 years he spent here.
Former President Paul Kruger of South Africa made Villa Kruger famous by using it as his primary residence in the year 1904 and it is in his honour that the Villa is named Villa Kruger.
What a pleasure to have spent so much time enjoying this part of paradise…
A final amazing experience which is somewhat embarrassing as we were so naive and unworldly…An elderly American gentleman had seen us in the campervan and invited us for tea at his Chateaux on the Lake the next day. We gratefully accepted his kind invitation and arrived promptly at 15h00 as per our invitation. We were welcomed by a Butler who directed us into a stunning, high ceilinged room with magnificent oils and carpets where we were handed champagne flutes and canapés – quite unexpected! We felt rather under dressed! The gentleman joined us and extremely interested to hear that we were from South Africa. He told us that he spent 6 months of the year in Hawaii and 6 months of the year in this Chateaux. We then moved into another room where a luncheon was served – the Butler lifted silver cloches to reveal the most delicious food served with very fine wine. We were blown away. After the meal we went into the Drawing Room and enjoyed Port. He then proceeded to bring out all these letters with Royal Wax Seals… it transpired that he was the cousin of Wallis Simpson (who of course resulted in the abdication of King Edward VIII!!!)!! Just amazing – and we did not know any of this history beforehand – he allowed us to read the letters exchanged between the two of them. WOW. We think it was this Chateaux. He gave me his Business card – how I wish I had kept it…. I did have it on our return but over the years must have been mislaid.
It was time to bid our new friends farewell and to head onwards. We thought that we would give the visa thing one more go in Nice… so off we went with a stop in Geneva just so that we could tick that box! After a quick shop purchased lunch and a funfair ride we headed onwards.
We were taking it easy over several days of leisurely driving looking forward to crossing the border to France as Switzerland is more costly…. suddenly Zebbedy got the judders and we only just managed to pull into a petrol station…. the mechanic kindly took a look and via rough translation we discovered that the alternator amongst other things had gone! He presented a bill which amounted to £1,000. This would mean an immediate end to our trip and we would have to get the vehicle back which would also cost a fortune! DISASTER. I stood by the car and wept. At that point another vehicle pulled in and put petrol in. The chap walked over and asked me why I was so upset. I told him and thanked him for his concern thinking nothing more of it as he drove off. I went back into the garage to discuss options with the mechanic who had a huge smile on his face. The driver of the vehicle who had expressed concern had settled the bill in full for us and left a business card with his name indicating that he was a Vicar. When we returned to the UK I tried to trace him via the business card to repay him but the number did not exist…Angel in human disguise?! Wow.
5. Monte Carlo! 700Km
Two days later Zebedy was firing on all cylinders and off we went to continue our adventure! Next stop Monte Carlo – AMAZING! Jacques was delighted as they give you free cigarettes in the Casino (bug bear was how much they cost us every day grrrrr). I looked after Trent and wandered the wealthy streets wondering what it felt like to love here…the views from above were stunning.
Back to France: Nice -20Km – Cannes 33Km – St Tropez 85Km –
That was fun…next stop was Nice – to try one final time for a visa to Italy! The coastal drive was stunning. Our hopes were dashed a final time in Nice. Plan B was to hug the coast and travel through Spain and Portugal and back via France to the UK … Italy and Greece would wait have to wait for another day… We were surprised by the rocky beach in Nice but found a spot and enjoyed the sunshine with ice creams …. this was the life!
Next stop was Cannes – we felt a bit like movie stars ourselves 🙂 More chilling on the beach.
We cruised down to St Tropez for more chilling in the sun.
6. Spain: Barcelona 625Km + Gibraltar 1,231Km + Seville 258Km
We hugged the coast and took a slow drive through France and nervously crossed the border to Spain as we did not have a visa … but as we had been assured, no one did any checks …!! HOLA Spain! Barcelona was amazing! We loved beachside vibe, the Gaudi architecture, the Olympic Village, the beach front, the food, the sangria, the laid back feel and mostly how CHEAP it all was! Hoorah. What a great City. I just didn’t take many photos as we couldn’t afford film!!
7. Gibraltar
We spent two weeks meandering along the coast enjoying beaches and cheap sangria and sea food … just divine. We jumped across to Gibraltar o no photos! 🙁 We drove to Seville where we recorder 50C! HOT! I got in to drive and sat on a wasp and got stung 10x on my buttocks – ouch!
8. Portugal: From Seville 200Km + Lagos 91Km + 276Km Lisbon + Porto 310Km
Wow … Portugal … SO laid back ..NO English .. unspoilt and beautiful – what an amazing country. Seafood, friendly locals, chilled…could have stayed forever. Faro .. lovely…Lagos…divine… This is the famed Algarve! We found this amazing lagoon that we fell in love with and stayed a week! The locals loved us and just wanted to feed Trent seafood – which meant that we benefited! 🙂 On the downside. we did attempt to go to a Bullfight … It was DISGUSTING. They bring out old horses which are used by Matadors as bait and are gored by angry bulls being tormented .. then the poor bull is savaged – we had to leave. It is beyond me that this cruelty is still permitted in this day and age?!
Then we found Vila Nova de Milfontes – PARADISE! Every day here was so special! No one anywhere – just us…Divine.
After hugging this spectacular coast all the way we arrived in Lisbon, a fun and lively City where we managed to cash in much needed Travellers Cheques – and when in Lisbon you are near to Porto – so only one thing to do but to travel and go PORT Tasting! DIVINE.
Back to Spain: Pamplona 1,000Km + San Sebastian Donastia 85Km
We continued to hug the coast and travelled via Santiago de Compostela , Santander and Bilbao (all just amazing!!) until we arrived in Pamplona just in time for the annual Running of the Bulls!
Wow – Spain suddenly became Antipodean – overrun with Aussies. Kiwis and SAFFAS! All their to participate in the crazy annual slaughter of bulls. Crazy stuff. But very vibrant with the excitement palpable in the air. The event has its origins in the old practice of transporting bulls from the fields outside the city, where they were bred, to the bullring, where they would be killed in the evening. During this “run”, local youths would jump among them in a display of bravado.
We left the exhilaration of this crazy festival and headed to San Sebastian Donostella – amazing cathedral but they would not allow photography.
Back to France: 240Km to Bordeaux + 200Km to La Rochelle + 350Km Mont Saint Michel + 468Km to Calais
We were soon back in France and wine country … just love France…more delicious cheese and plonk!
We continued our journey towards Calais … with a magnificent stop in La Rochelle which proved to be a little too expensive for us – we will be back!
Our journey continued to Mont Saint Michel. Stunning.
London, United Kingdom: 255Km
Finally … our long drive back to London in the UK where our lovely friends Andy and Trudie put us up until we were back on our feet … What fun and great life lesson how to survive on a shoestring budget!
