Blogs from Europe - page 12014

When entering a new country by road, we look for those indicators that initially express that country's individuality. Most obvious was the congested traffic as we zipped from France and then ground to a crawl into Italy. 6 hours for the 200klms from Nice to Genova The traffic also comprises a much higher proportion of motor cycles whose riders exercise an apparent carte blanche with the road rules. There are plenty of pseudo Valentino Rossi amongst them and with the minimum riding age appearing to be around 12, the male Italian motor cyclist has an average life expectancy of 13. The Italians are also an extremely patriotic bunch. From seemingly every second window the national flag hangs proudly from a line, assuming of course the italian national flag is a pair of trousers, pegged to a ... read more

We spent a few days exploring the Moravian Wine Region in Sourthern Czech, mostly by cycling. Our most memorable day was our cycle through some vineyards. We decided to join the locals way of life and had our first pivo (beer) of the day at 11am! We then cycled a couple of hours and then hiked up a hill (one of these hills with about 3 false tops!), When we finaly made it to the top we had our first well deserved wine. We heard some load music on the way down, we followed our ears and ended up in the local village communtiy hall. The guy at the door was giving us two wine glasses and a book, We had no clue what was going on or what was inside the hall, So we ... read more

Fist internet access so far, but cannot publish photos and full entry. We are now at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees. Wall to wall sunshine so far. First night at a pleasant village in Normandy, then on to St Severin in Charente to stay at L'Etang, Gary and Linda's beautiful retreat. So far everything working fine on the van, which is much admired. Today, we cross the mountains into Spain.... read more

With just a few weeks to go we thought we would go out with a bang! The partying began with Lynds and her 3 best mates on a tour of Southport visiting all their old haunts. Starting at Lynds's primary school Norwood Road, then off to where the 3 of us met in Green Bank High School then where it all ended in Southport King George the V college. A right old trip down memory lane...........Cheers Girls! Next came the fairwell (and Lynds 30th Birthday not to mention) party, in Southports finest of establishments, Fleetwood Hesket cricket club, you judge for yourselves from the pictures. It was a brilliant night, caught up with family & friends, and was the pefect way to say bon voyage. As the night drew to a close, we danced & ... read more

On est enfin arrive a Bled (excusez les accents.....) Le voyage a ete merveilleux. Swiss air est excellent!!! Il y a meme des jeux videos pour les passagers. Mais l aeroport de Zurich c etait toute une surprise. Tres belle mais tres tres tres cher. 5$ pour une bouteille d eau. Notre escale etait assez longue, 3 heures, donc Lindsay a pu monter a cheval, avec Francois qui tenait la bride pour la proteger en bon chevalier servant. (voir photo ci'bas) L envolee Zurich ' Bled dans un petit avion de 50 places a ete tres bien. Nous avons survole les Alpes aux pic enneiges. Superbe!!!! Nous avons recu un accueil merveilleux a Bled. Francois et Lindsaz etaient attendus par l;association et nous par l;aubergiste de la pension MAYER (avec une pancarte CAYOUETTE comme dans ... read more