http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Chris---Anna/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Chris Anna en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:49:14 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:49:14 +0000 After a hectic six weeks we have been sticking pretty close to home recently. Our summer van trip already seems a distant memory. As soon as we arrived at Dover it was clear that summer was out and autumn was in Our lsquostaycationrsquo travels have taken us out to Kent and two more trips back up to the Peak District. Our first trip was staying with friends and completing a fantastic hi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-448547.html We have done quite a few city breaks since we have been living in London but never have we had a city break in a van. Itrsquos not really something that we have considered how do you camp in a city Our answer was found in the amazing campground we found only about 3 or 4 miles out from the centre of Vienna. Huge pitches spotless facilities and loads of trees. All this was helped by easy ac http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-430529.html Well here we are. Back where we started our trip in the Calais region. I am writing this from our camp somewhere on the Opal Coast. Irsquom not actually sure what the village is called but I do know that England isnrsquot too far away. We can see the White Cliffs of Dover standing out on the other side of the English Channel. Our final four days have been spent doing a bit of van cleaning sho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Nord-Pas-de-Calais/blog-432774.html After nearly seven weeks of travelling we were a bit undecided as where to go next. The small town of Montherme somehow ended up on our itinerary while the cycling was great all flat cycle paths for miles along the Meuse River we rode all afternoon and the camping was cheap it wasnrsquot the most exciting place and we were pretty keen to leave after only one night What to do when yours http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-432758.html Ahh Luxembourg. A tiny little country sitting between Germany Belgium and France. Until 2005 I didnrsquot even know it existed Chris has been to Luxembourg for work loads of times and for awhile there it looked like there was a chance Luxembourg was going to be home for us instead of London. Thank god for that change of plans Not that Luxembourg is a bad place not at all Just not really http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Luxembourg/Luxembourg-City/blog-432757.html Our short visit to southern Germany turned out to be a mixed bag for us on this trip. We entered via Austria and made our way past some beautiful lakes towards the town of Fussen. Like everyone else we went to the area to visit the famous Neuschwanstein Castles. This fairytale castle was apparently the inspiration for the castle at Disneyland We really enjoyed our visit to the castles but were p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Fussen/blog-432755.html The summer weather over here hasnrsquot changed. Each day we are greeted with cloudless skies and before too long the temperature has climbed up into the 30rsquos. The best place to spend the hottest part of the day is in a river or lake and luckily we have been able to do this almost everyday for the past week. Our travels through Austria took us to some interesting little campsites. The firs http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Salzburg-State/blog-432753.html BeforeTo get to our next destination we weaved in and out of countries as we followed the Alps towards Slovenia. We broke our journey up and spent a night in a camp near St Mortiz and a night near Doube in Italy. We finally drove into Austria before crossing over into Solvenia. It took two long days of driving but ask Chris what his highlight is and he will definitely say lsquoStelvio Passrsqu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/blog-428196.html After a few days exploring the Soca River we decided to head back over the mountain pass for a bit of RR at Lake Bohinj. We decided to bypass the famous Lake Bled and drive a further 20km on to stay at the Bohinj Lake which is less developed. This turned out to be a great move as Bohinj Lake definitely suited us better. We stayed at the campground at the edge of the lake and managed to get a pit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/blog-428199.html Irsquom a bit behind on the blogging as we have been pretty flat out since our day relaxing in the rain near ZermattThe rain did continue as we made our way towards the Jungfrau area. Luckily it did stop in the afternoon which is just as well as we spent nearly and hour and a half trying to find a camp ground Since we were planning on spending a few days here we decided to hunt for a really http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Grindelwald/blog-426244.html Well here we are in lovely Switzerland At the moment we are having a lazy day catching up on a bit of reading napping and blogging. Half the reason for this is because our feet are quite sore and the other half is due to the weather. We have rain and thunder today so itrsquos quite nice being wrapped up in the van while watching the rain hit the glaciers above us.We are currently staying near http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Zermatt/blog-424729.html After our dramatic change of plans we spent two days driving North towards the French Alps. This trip saw us stopping at the Verdon Gorges for a swim in the coldest water I have ever been in. It was almost glacial but felt fantastic after sitting in the van all morning. Even though it was a long drive as soon as we left the coast behind we also left the traffic and felt instantly more relaxed. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Chamonix/blog-423888.html After the Gorges du Tarn we headed west towards Provence. The motorway drive was really quite boring so the ipods were out on this stretch. Our stop off point was the Pont du Gard which is an ancient Roman aquaduct. We learnt about it in Classics at school so it was quite good to see it for real. Funnily enough it appears to be the teen hangout. There was a rock band playing and there were loads http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Saint-Tropez/blog-423767.html The trip out of the Pyrenees was a real test for Brian. Some super steep hills and mountain passes took us on a mission of a drive over the French border into Spain through Andorra and back into France again. Andorra wasnrsquot exactly a highlight boiling hot and congested. We filled up with cheap petrol looked at a few shops and ate lunch in a car park Not the best scenic tour of the coun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/blog-423764.html BeforeAfter our French Centre Parcs experience we headed off on our most boring drive yet. Down the coast to San Sebastian in Spain. We travelled on the incredibly dull motorway most of the way. By mid morning the temperature was well into the thirties again. By the afternoon we crossed over into Spain and found our way into San Sebastian. We quickly learnt two important things.1. San Sebastian http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Midi-Pyr-n-es/blog-423483.html My eyes scan the big red pin board marked lsquoLe ActivitiesrsquoldquoOh my God Chris Cancel the pedal boating the tennis and the mini golf Itrsquos nearly 830. The barrel rolling demonstration is about to beginrdquoHow exactly did we get here Surrounded by children ice creams and camp staff in red uniforms Are we inhellip a French version of HiDeHihellip orhellip worse http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Aquitaine/Bordeaux/blog-423478.html The drive out of the Loire took us through some serious agricultural land. Miles and miles of crops and villages the landscape had a golden glow due to the wheat and sunflowers. The last 50 kilometres of the drive was our favourite as the road headed into the hills and passed through hill top fortifications and walled villages. Once again surprisingly quiet roads that were a pleasure to drive. We http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Aquitaine/Dordogne/blog-419357.html Ahh the Loire Valley Finally here we are amongst the vines That makes us sound a bit like raging alcoholics but we were both looking forward to relaxing for a few days in the valley. The Loire Valley is absolutely lovely certainly my favourite area in France so far. There are miles of vineyards fruit trees sunflowers and beautiful little villages all lining the Loire River. Surprisingly enoug http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Centre/blog-419352.html BrianNotSexyButGood has done a great job of looking after us so far. We made it without incident to Dover and boarded our ferry to Calais. Packing proved to be a bit stressful but so far the only things we know we have forgotten is fly spray and our reef walking shoes. Not too bad By the time we reached the coast the sun was shining and our shoulders dropped as all thoughts of the end of th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Lower-Normandy/blog-419210.html A few photos of our recent camping trip to the New Forest in Hampshire. The weather was good so we headed for a small campsite in the forest called Matley Wood. It has no facilities except for running water so only campers with a chemical toilet can set up there. Thanks to this there were plenty of pitches available and we had a bit of room to stretch out. Best of all the site is a starting poi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Hampshire/New-Forest/blog-409488.html