vicki

Clervaux and some rest

We had a day of supposedly doing nothing in Vianden, but we did do a bike ride which was a bit strenuous for me – biking up the hills and I ended up being very fatigued.

Wednesday we went to leave Vianden and and as we were packing up I thought it was raining, but Scot said it was hailing. I said no way was it hailing, but then I realised that indeed there were really small hail pieces hitting the car. I couldn’t believe it – how strange. Anyway we hit the road and decided to back track and visit Beaufort as there was supposed to be a lovely castle there too and the area looked lovely. When we got to Beaufort though it wasn’t as we had expected and the castle was in quite a ruin so after seeing the one in Vianden it wouldn’t have seemed the same so we didn’t bother going through it. We did the 4km walk in the rainforest instead. It was lovely and peaceful but on our way back Scot again said it was hailing. I really didn’t believe it, but it wasn’t raining at all, it was hailing very small pieces and lasted only a few minutes and stopped. I have never been in a rainforest and been hailed on before!

We decided to continue on as Beaufort wasn’t quite what we had expected so drove on to Clervaux. We stopped at a small supermarket on the way as we hadn’t enough supplies and had a German man join our table as we had coffee and told us about the nature preservation work he was doing in Luxembourg preserving Arnica as it was now quite rare to find it in Luxembourg. Interesting meeting strangers like that and discovering their story in life.

We headed off into Clervaux and what a beautiful little village we decended upon. We found a camping ground – well the only one actually in Clervaux and it is a delight. Unfortunately for me, and for Scot who has to put up with me and deal with it, the strenuous exercise we did in Vianden has set off my adrenal fatigue in a big way and I am feeling very unwell, fatigued and unable to do very much. We have decided to stay in Clervaux for 5 nights to give me some rest before we head off to Netherlands in the hope that I will still be able to walk a bit when there. At the moment it is taking a huge toll on me just walking a couple of kms and I need to rest up because i am so tired. We did walk up to the abbey today and I even lit a candle and said a prayer hoping it will ease off so i/we can enjoy the rest of the holiday. Obviously buying the bikes may not have been a good idea so i will avoid hills and any really further strenuous exercise in future. I have to say though that it is nice to stay in one spot for more than a couple of days. We are camped beside the river Our which we can hear flowing at night and there is a good size swimming pool that Scot had a swim in yesterday. The temp in the pool is about 22o so not too bad really. I did get told off for wearing my jandals into the pool surrounds yesterday, which i found a bit strange.

Scot here while V is doing the laundry-yes someone has to do it- sipping mulled wine, crackers & chips and having a read.

Must admit we are getting into a lovely habit of sleeping in, having a cuppa in the morning reading then showering and walking into town-about 5 minutes- and having coffee and cake, a different one every day. I am starting to feel like a local where the café owner says ‘oh you are still here then’. I had a haircut yesterday and when I said I have a number three for the sides she shaved off the side whoops it is number 9 here but all looked good and wont need another one for a while.

I always feel I want to go for a run or bike in the morning but it is a bit cold and it is so cosy tucked up in bed and not having to get up and go to work. Oh well some decisions are difficult right?

We are deciding whether to go and eat out tonite(pizza?) which we really haven’t done or baked beans but so conscious that the cost to eat out is like buying groceries for 4 days but still feel we need to treat ourselves once in a while.

Vicki is right it is so beautiful here surrounded by hills in a valley and with the hotels here it must be busy in the height of summer which is really around the corner but still very quiet here. We may go on the train tomorrow. It stops right here and for 4 euro it goes to Luxemborg(45 minutes) and back, so even though we have been there should be cool to see the countryside and stop off for a coffee(and cake!) on one of the stops. Something different and will see some of the areas not seen by van.

Not sure what we will do Monday whether we stay one more nite somewhere on the way to N’Lands or Belgium but that is the great thing no real plans except moving along.

Our van in the camping ground from the Abbey above

An attached building being knocked down and rebuilt

Vianden

Yesterday we left Wasserbillig and continued on the road to Vianden. Such beautiful scenery but we were disappointed we hadn’t just driven a little further along the road where we would have found several much nicer camping grounds than the one we stayed at in Wasserbillig, but you just don’t know what is around the corner. We don’t have any internet or phone access on the move and are relying on getting wi-fi at camping grounds which gets expensive when you are paying a couple of euro a night, but it means we can’t find anything and have to resort to old methods of roadside signs as we drive.

Vianden is a really lovely little village down in the valley where the huge imposing castle looks over it. We had a coffee down in the village before walking up to the castle and having a look around. Very cheap to get in – only 6euro each which is so reasonable. The castle was started in about 850 but was fully built by about the 12th century. It went into a very bad state of disrepair over the centuries as it was passed from one ruler to another. By the 1900’s there was rooves missing and walls lost, so in about the 1970’s the castle was taken over by the Luxembourg government, who rebuilt it back to what the believed it had been like – from paintings and drawings done over the centuries. An amazing and impressive castle.

As we walked around the castle we witnessed an American fellow proposing to his girlfriend which was so lovely. They were from Oklahoma.

We spied a lovely looking campsite from the castle so stayed there last night and since it is so lovely and peaceful we may stay again to night and what is on the agenda for today…….Nothing but sitting and enjoying the peaceful setting. Although I have to say the little river looks almost deep enough to swim in – so if it gets warm enough we may just do that as swims have been few and far between since leaving Aus.

On the border in Luxembourg

Friday 15th: We took the bus into Luxembourg city. Another couple on the bus told us where we should get off – the older part of the city. Although the older part isn’t that old as Luxembourg city was bombed to pieces during the war. We wandered around for a bit – a bit aimlessly actually – without a real plan of where to go. We did make our way to the edge of the city perimeter where it looks over a valley. There are some very old stone wall parts left that weren’t destroyed in the war. We wanted a coffee and maybe some lunch, but there seemed to be very few cafes anywhere. Scot suggested we go into the Paris Café which did look a bit posh but we went in regardless. Then sitting there looking at the people around us and then at the menu – it was indeed a bit posh. A cup of coffee was about the equivalent of about $7. The food was exorbitant and the people all were dressed in what I would call more evening wear. We looked at each other and decided we would leave as the trip isn’t about hobnobbing especially at lunch when all we wanted was a coffee and a baguette. It felt a little weird walking out when there were so many people there, but they don’t know us and we found a little place that sold much cheaper coffee and bought a baguette down the road for a good price. We did buy some lovely little taster cakes from this patisserie whose window was so beautiful I had to have something from there…see photo above.

We walked along the top looking down at the valley and then walked down towards the river as Scot had spied a pub which turned out to be named after him (see the photo)….although he didn’t know that at the time. We had a beer there before having a look at the local Munster Abbey. We walked up out of the valley into what we thought was the modern part of the city but it turned out to be the ‘Fortitude Valley’ of Luxembourg city which didn’t appear to be a very inviting part of the town. There were strip clubs and trashy clothes joints and some quite undesirable people. We hadn’t realised at the time that it wasn’t the main part of the city at all. We decided to catch a bus back to the camping ground, but got on the bus going away from the campsite (eventually it did go in the right direction) so it took about 1.5 hours to get back when it should have taken about half an hour. I was left feeling quite disappointed with Luxembourg city itself, as it was not quite what I had expected after seeing the surrounding countryside which is immaculately kept and quite lovely. I guess it’s just another city after all.

We met some lovely people in the campground and on the bus – all pommies apart from a couple of their wives – one from Mauritius and one from Sweden. We hope to catch up with the lovely couple who live in Doncaster once we return to England and who gave us information about places to go in Sweden. Strangely enough Richard had joined an outreach mission that had started in – of all places – Wanganui!! Small world indeed.

Yesterday – we really needed to do some van maintenance and checks (making sure all screws inside the van were screwed in and tight etc) plus washing so it was a day we stayed in the camp – but that was after a 10-12km walk to buy a pump for the bikes (Di it would have been better if you had lent us your pump). My tires had been completely let down by a rogue pump a fellow camper lent us to try to pump them up so we couldn’t even bike that short distance to the shop and it wasn’t really worth taking the van. It was funny though as we walked to the adventure store we walked past major highways, train bridges, roadworks and a farmers property. We must have looked hilarious trying to walk alongside roads in the grass by motorways in what looked like the middle of nowhere. And a good thing we didn’t take the bikes – we couldn’t have ridden them anyway!

Today we drove down to Schengen (the very bottom of Luxembourg) where the famous Schengen agreement was drawn up in 1985, that as Kiwis (well Kiwaussies) we are very grateful as it allows us 3 months in each and every European country. We had a coffee there and made baguettes (again) for lunch. Every road we have travelled on going north from Schengen towards Netherlands has the Moselle river running alongside it and on the other side of the river is Germany. This region of Luxembourg is the Moselle wine region where there are vineyards everywhere and the countryside is really lovely. We stopped at a Papillion (butterfly) house after lunch. They had approx. 60 different types of butterflies – just lovely. We saw large river barges and huge lunch cruise boats travelling along the very large river. We have stopped for the night in a little place called Wasserhillig (or we think that is what it is called). We spied a camping sign so decided to stop. Strange campsite with mostly fixed little prefabs, where the toilets not only have no paper, but nowhere to put any?? I have heard in Greece you put used paper in bins, but in these loos there isn’t any and I get a feeling the signs say you can’t use any. You’d have to hope we’ll be doing snappy toms whilst here then :-). Actually inside the loos it is hilarious – the sign has been translated into English and says ‘Water ist included in the price, you can push the flushing’. Went for our first pushbike ride – yay finally, but my gears aren’t the best so will have to find a bike shop to have them altered – I am wondering if we will be able to find one in Netherlands?? On the way to the camp we stopped at a supermarket and Scot bought 500ml cans of German beer for 0.39 Eurocents each ($0.60 Aus), a six pack for 1.99 euros and Cans of Cherry beer for 0.79 eurocents each. I think he wants to stay here a long time 🙂

Tomorrow off to Diekirch on the way to Vianden where apparently there is an awesome castle we can walk up to see. It is right on the border with Germany. Then up to Clervaux or wherever we decide to stay for the night. Wild camping looks like it might be on for tomorrow.

Oh and I have to mention the dinner tonight – another magnificent meal cooked by Scot – salmon, with asparagus, broccoli, cauli with French cheese sauce with sautéed potato and mushrooms. I was so impressed I even helped with the dishes tonight.

I have to say to those who think I write all the blogs – we actually write them together which is why you hear about the magnificent meals Scot makes….haha.

In the middle of no where walking to the shop

That’s Germany on the other side of the river

Luxembourg

Yesterday we walked into town, the tyres need to be pumped up on our bikes before we can ride them 🙁 so we had to use our legs again. But that was good as it worked off the croissants with jam and brie we had for breakfast – to die for – fresh as. First stop was the local museum dedicated to the 101 Airborne Squadron who defended Bastogne against the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, and stopped the Nazis counter attacking the allies push towards Berlin. What an awesome museum, lots of memorabilia, great scenes with authentic mannequins dressed as the time and very graphic. They had a bomb shelter setup where you sat in darkness and they simulated a bombing raid all around you, with all the noises you would have expected to hear. I had to put my fingers in my ears as the noise was horrific and frightening, you could be forgiven for thinking it was real. What all those who have experienced this type of hell during any of the cities raids during world war two doesn’t bear thinking about.

Afterwards we bought some fresh baguettes and made our lunch sitting on a bench in the middle of town. We had taken our brie, tomato, ham and avocado to put in it and then sat and ate them (saves money so we can spend it on beer).

We walked the town doing a bit of shopping and I made a fool of myself trying to print a couple of photos out on a machine where I ignored the sign that (in French) said I had to wait 3 days for the photos and then had to try to explain to them that they needed to try and cancel it because I wanted them immediately….oh duh! All good in the end though.

Off this morning to Luxembourg. Its funny how you get to different parts of countries and in some parts the roads are faultless and amazing and the equivalent status of road in another part is full of pot holes and just dreadful to drive on. And we saw this in England as well as in Belgium. The highway this morning was in a dreadful state of disrepair – which I find so strange as most of the roads in Belgium are really well kept. On one part of the border where I felt one side of the road was probably in Luxembourg and the other in Belgium we passed a stretch of road not even 500m long where there were at least 12 fuel stations – probably more. I have never seen more than maybe two within a kilometre let alone that amount – how strange.

As we travelled over the border into Luxembourg there was a distinct difference in style – quite amazing. It was also strange as in Belgium it was busy, but in Luxembourg the streets were quiet. It took us a while to realise that no one was open and it looked like baguettes were off for the days lunch. Then suddenly we spotted a whole lot of people parking and going into this place, where it looked like a mini fete with food, so we decided it was a good idea to go and check it out. We pulled into the carpark and then I realised that maybe it was a school function. A lady walked past and we asked her what it was. It was a local scout fund raising luncheon and she said to come join them. We looked so conspicuous and out of place, but we toddled in anyway, paid for some food, a beer and a bubbly and ate them. I am sure people were wondering what we were doing there especially since our campervan stuck out in the carpark and we did with our language difference. But hey we were contributing to the local economy. One guy told us it was a Catholic public holiday for the second death of Christ.

We took off and found our camping ground just on the outskirts of Luxembourg City where we were directed to another local sporting fete type event near the camping ground by some other campers. We enjoyed another beer, bubbly and frites whilst having a look around. It looked like an event to get kids interested in Olympic style sports. One thing we have really noticed in our travels are two major differences from Australia is that the majority of the populations here do not have weight problems and no one is constantly on their phone. It is difficult to spot a phone even in a huge crowd.

Early to rise in the morning as we are off into Luxembourg city to have a look around for the day. Unfortunately it is too far to bike and with major highways in between us and the city biking isn’t really appropriate, so it will be the bus.

MERDE ET SACRE BLEU!

Before reading below – click on Ghent on the left hand side. I stuffed up the sequence of pages and can’t seem to rectify it.

Yesterday morning we set off from Ghent on our way to Bastogne in Wallonia (province) which is supposed to be where some of the prettiest parts are in Belgium. As we were travelling for an hour of so, we noticed a strange noise we hadn’t heard before. It was noticeable mostly when slowing down and seemed tyre related. We drove (at highway speed) for a bit before deciding we really need to check the noise – it was getting worse. We wanted to get to Namur but saw a tyre place just out of Nivelle so stopped there. We were now in the ‘Only French’ speaking part of the country and No One spoke English. The first tyre place referred us to a second tyre place (im not sure if it was just that they couldn’t understand us completely or didn’t want to). Fortunately at the second tyre place a customer spoke a little English. The manager told us the pneu (tyre) would go ‘boom’ if we didn’t get it looked at and referred us to a third tyre place back in Nivelle. We went there but again no one spoke English so we had to explain in our best French what was happening – a very difficult proposition. At the end of it all our back tyre had a massive depression (this was the one supposed to have been replaced before we bought the van) and would certainly have exploded had we kept driving. Two new tyres later and we were off to Namur. We were very lucky, shudder to think what could have happened. It was too late to find a camping ground so we did our first night of wild camping in a rest area where another camper was south of Namur.

We heard a few noisy hoons during the night which kept me awake hoping we weren’t going to get hassled. It is a learning experience, remembering not everyone who makes a noise nearby is out to get us. It is something we have to get used to, but is difficult as we don’t know the areas.

Up earlyish this morning and off driving to Bastogne. What a beautiful part of the country we travelled through today. Quite a hilly part of the country as we near Luxembourg but the van coped well (especially with new tyres). Would loved to have stopped in some areas on the way but it can be very difficult to find parks as it seems the whole town have parked their cars on the sides of the roads leaving nothing for anyone else. I am very impressed with the countryside given the negative things people have said. We think it is an incredibly lovely country. Bastogne is a small interesting little town that we will explore more of tomorrow, going to the museums etc. It is the 70th anniversary of the WWII Battle of the Bulge where the Americans liberated Belgium and the main square is named after the American General McAuliffe who, when asked to surrender by the Germans, replied ‘NUTS’ and has been revered ever since.

Belgium has more different beers than we have ever seen anywhere. I have been drinking the cherry beer which is lovely, but that’s because no one here wants to sell cider – even though Stella Artois make it here. Scot will drink any beer there is on the menu – I am sure he has gone through half the bottles in the photo in the previous blog…..lol 🙂

We have been looking for bikes on our travels as we seem to be the only ones walking anywhere in Belgium. Today we spotted some being sold at a roadside house so stopped and checked them out. Great buying considering what we have seen and the prices here are generally very high for bikes. These ones are well maintained and the lady does them up to sell. Good luck finding these makes up for the bad luck we had when Scot backed into a roadside bank when trying to do a 3 point turn and smashed up the back corner bumper. Where will we ever find a fibreglasser to fix the damage??? Thank god for duct tape – an absolute necessity in our tool kit. I keep thinking I really should be driving rather than navigating, but am not sure where we would end up?????? I don’t want to visit Siberia just yet…….lol.

Bruges

We walked into the city today from the camping ground which is a few kms and its just as well since I just had to have a Belgian waffle with cherries and cream…see photo…but I did share it. There are lovely canals with lots of greenery, just beautiful to walk along. The canals have lights just like the streets do, so that the boats have to stop. When the vehicle lights go red the bridges lift up and the lights turn green for the boats to continue on their way – a rather unusual arrangement.

You do have to watch out for bikes everywhere here and I am wondering what Netherlands will be like when there are heaps here. I still cant quite come to terms with the language though, it would be better if everyone spoke French as I had expected, but Flemish is just so weird to listen to. Most restaurants have their menu in at least 3 languages though, catering for everyone. I did find it difficult in the post office as I wanted a stamp but I couldn’t figure out which button I needed to press for my ticket to wait until called, as they only had Flemish and no French or English.

It is not cheap to drink here and most cafes/restaurants have their plat du jour – menu of the day for lunch offering 3 courses for lunch, about €20. We found a cafe with baguettes which cost about the same as Australia for lunch and coffee.

Funny I found the only thing that annoyed me was the tourists got in my way, there were lots of them. How dare they visit when we are visiting and hog the footpaths and places we want to go!!! How rude!!

We had got into the habit in England of looking in all the op/charity shops and quite enjoyed finding a bargain. In England I think we bought about 30 books as Scot was afraid we wouldn’t be able to get english books to read in Europe. So as we wander the streets I find myself looking for op shops to find a bargain. I did buy an awesome coat for £4 and a great jumper for Scot for £3, oh and a cute pair of red boots for £1.25. There arent as many in Bruges as in England.

Off to Ghent tomorrow.

First port of call Belgium

Yesterday in Folkstone was so windy we were worried today’s crossing was going to be very rough. Photos below show the rough sea…we couldn’t even walk along the water front or we could have been washed into the sea. This morning the sea was calm again so we had a great crossing. Someone did say yesterday they were surprised to see the ferries still sailing.

It is unbelievable the amount of trucks lined up at the port waiting to get onto the

ferries, they went for miles, reminded me of the trucks we saw on the roads in France years ago.

We had no sim coverage here in Belgium so we had to rely on Kate our GPS speaker to get us to a camping ground, which after some concern she was wrong we arrived. We are in Bruges for the next couple of days as I believe it is one of the nicer cities in Belgium…but Catherine, I could be very wrong. We went for a walk to find a sim for my tablet which I got but it seems I will have to pay for a new one in each country as none of the providers will cover you around Europe.

When crossing the road here you not only have to look the other way first but you have to watch out for bikes – both cycles and motorcycles – on the bikeway just before the road. I have almost been run over already by a bike.

Last days in England

Internet connectivity has been very intermittent at the camping grounds we have been staying at so posts have not been forthcoming.

Peterborough turned out to be a lovely town and we stayed on the outskirts at Ferry Meadows. What a lovely place, we wanted to stay longer. The walks in the adjacent park and lakes was so peaceful it was a delight to be there. I fed the ducks and swans and watched the hundreds of rabbits everywhere feeding on the lush green grass. We will be back here one day.

Thursday we drove to Hertford. We encountered the worst traffic jam ever on the M1 where there had been a fatal accident. We sat with the engine off quite a bit whilst waiting for it to clear (fortunate to have a toilet on board just in case..we were tempted to hire it out to any desperate souls around us☺). We didn’t get to see very much of Hertford as the next morning we caught the train to London. We arrived in the middle of a France club Toulon vs France club Cleremont rugby final (funny the colours were the same as Otago blue and yellow and Canterbury red and black) at Twickenham, but we had people to meet and places to go (much more important) so we didn’t go to the game which we would really have loved to go to…and there were tickets available too.

Had an awesome time staying with a lovely couple in Twickenham who made us very welcome. Started drinking early joining in with the pre game crowd at Barmy Arms pub, onto The Fox pub, then The Kings Arms and lastly The Sussex pub which is a real ale pub…see photo below. Scot thinks all pubs should be like The Sussex!! Beers change every day along with the ciders so there is a huge variety.

After a bit of an explore around Twickenham we went to The Sussex again to meet up with friends of friends and even met up with a fellow who had come to our wedding…amazing small world! Then off to experience a great London curry house followed by Irish coffees all round and then Brandy coffees all round. Great night…we’ll look forward to experiencing this all again with a great bunch of people when we come back next year.

Monday (bank holiday)…back on the train to Hertford, picked up the van and drove amongst the holiday people down to Canterbury. This is a university town…lots of teenagers around. Castle walls all around the city centre like York but didn’t have time to explore. Tuesday off to Dover to have the front brake pads and discs done (as advised from our service). So very glad we did as they were absolutely F**ked and I have to say it strongly as they were so bad. Hadn’t been touched for years, they were worse than down to the metal. Now we know we are safe. Doesn’t bear thinking about really when I remember the steep roads I drove down from Thirsk to York!

Anyway we think the van is now safe to continue our travels. We stayed in Folkstone last night and tonight and the winds are very high. We are staying in a camping ground over looking the sea…wind whistling all around us and nearly got blown over walking into town today. Unfortunately couldn’t go for a beach walk this morning as the waves were metres high over the sea front walkway so we had to make do with a sleep in instead!

Scots cranky I haven’t once mentioned the delicious food he has been cooking so I will have to start taking some photos to prove they have been delicious. Seafood chowder tomorrow night again and photos will follow.

Ferry tomorrow morning Dover to Callais and we are on our way to Belgium and Luxembourg…..woohoo!!

Blogs will follow once we have an international sim.

Just letting everyone know we have read all your comments which we love to get but just haven’t had the time or connectivity to respond appropriately.

Getting sorted

On Monday morning we woke to a frost and where our waste water had been dripping was a wee block of ice on the grass, so temp must have got down to well below zero. Lucky we were nice and snug in the van. Scot braved the cold and frost and went for a run. I still cant believe he got out of bed that early for exercise!! Our action plan on this morning – Chris from Kiwi Leisure arrived early and fitted a new gas valve and piping so he could test the whole gas system which is now all safe and we wont have any issues getting on any ferries. We headed off to Leeds to find an aluminium fabricator to get some aluminium angle and plate….where’s your brother when you need them….Steve???? We found this wonderful guy Richard at RJS Fabricators in Morley who saved our lives and gave us correctly cut and bent aluminium angle and plate and then lent us all the tools we needed to drill through the van wall and secure it to the inside walls. We can’t thank him enough for helping us as we had no tools and we were finding it difficult to get the right materials. He even bought out a cup of tea while we were working! We still need to water proof the new repair but the wall is now secured. That was our whole day. Back out through peak hour Leeds traffic to Harrogate. Left over seafood chowder for tea, that was so delicious.

Yesterday a cold windy wet day in Harrogate … called for a sleep in and then laundry had to be done. Really a nothing day. We went to buy a small printer as there are some documents I need hard copies of and don’t know where to try and print them. Scot thinks its hilarious that we’re in a van and we have a printer but what else does an It person travel with? I have an entire draw with cables and connectors, camera equipment, laptop, tablet, 2 phones, gps equipment and now a printer, I think thats reasonable. Scot has the wine cupboard for his guiness, black sheep ale and assorted other beers and wine etc so we’re about even :-))

Today we have the van in being thoroughly checked mechanically and they are selling us some parts to keep with us in case they’re needed. We are currently in a McDonalds – go figure…but im not eating any thing, just a coffee and warm place in the sun whilst waiting even though just being here goes against my religion! We have a weekend in London planned and then a ferry next Wednesday over to France…fingers crossed.

9pm

We are now in Skegness for the night on the east coast. We drove down this afternoon and went via Grimsby. We stopped in at Bramham which is where my Grandfather was born. Quite a cute little village. I think I found the family house…see pics below.

Funny we pulled into Skegness and drove to the first caravan park – it was 5.05pm but they had closed for the night…damn who does that!! Closes early with no number to contact after hours to get in. Thankfully we found a place to stay. Unfortunately as Scot was backing out of a dead end he drove into by mistake, he backed into a gate. Neither of us realized until we pulled into a supermarket carpark and saw the back corner of the van and suddenly a breathless kid ran up and said you hit the gate back there. I thought we must have damaged the gate and fence but he said it was ok but he wanted to let us know where the damage came from. It wasn’t a big deal just a scrape but I’m glad it was Scot and not me!

Tomorrow we’re off to Petersborough or near there. We’ve been told the brake discs and pads aren’t very good and both need to be replaced so were making an appointment with a company in Dover for just before we head off on the ferry.

Bramham - my ancestory — Bramham – my ancestory

I think this was my family home in Bramham - Bramham Hall ☺ — I think this was my family home in Bramham – Bramham Hall ☺

Double Trouble

I don’t like to post negative things on the blog but its all part of the experience. We have run Into trouble with the van after we decided we should get a habitation check (gas, electricity, appliances etc) done before we leave England as it runs out In 4 months and we didn’t want the hassle of getting one done in Scandinavia. We organised one in Harrogate. We have been told the gas can’t have been checked in 12 years as there is no test valve so we cant quite understand how it has been ticked off in the past. However this is being rectified tomorrow so the gas system can be tested fully before we head to Europe. Also had the side wall of the van pull away from the toilet and cupboards inside. We were told the side of the van could fall off if not fixed . I don’t think the weather lends itself to open air living here and I don’t fancy being caught on the loo in the open either so we are in the process of doing some fixes for this. We are confident it will all be resolved this coming week. We didn’t expect to have a problem free vehicle either as it is 15 years old and one can’t expect it to be perfect.

We still love our van and have had the best sleep in years. It got down to 2 degrees last night (and will be 1 deg tonight) and its warm as toast (or as warm as English beer…lol). Scot has been cooking up a storm. Tonight is seafood chowder….can’t wait..yumm.

The silver lining of having to stay in Harrogate are the beautiful flower gardens and old buildings. Scot is happy because he gets to try all the English beer and guess what Ruth he’s having a black sheep right now. Harrogate is such a clean non-graffitied town and obviously everyone seems to have a lot of pride in it. I adore the flowers – they are so colourful and brighten everything up. We had our first day of rain/drizzle yesterday but today is back to blue skies and sunshine …but cold only 10 degrees.

We love Whitby and would loved to have stayed longer but we’ll be back one day. We went to Cooks museum which was a little disappointing as it seemed to be a little sparse on information about Cooks actual life. Had scrumptious Whitby fish and chips and a lovely local man sat down to firstly check that we weren’t feeding the seagulls and secondly to find out where our accent was from. The abbey was amazing….this is where we got in free just because we were Kiwis. I don’t think they get many Kiwis visiting somehow but it saved us £20 which Scot spent on beer.

We are going to try for London this coming weekend all going well and will then book the ferry to France.