Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.31st.Dec. Where does the time go. Can't believe another year has passed already. It's good to look back over previous New Year celebrations and remember the times and the people. So many no longer with us. Come to think of it most of them are a bit of a blur!! Last year with Geert and Maria though seems like 5 minutes ago. It's just the two of us this year, and the dogs of course. We spent the day in Elche today, not terribly exciting. The church was shut, lots of shops open and nowhere to park, never seen so many cars. We liked the town though, lots of trees in the park, very pretty. Lunched on cold pizza and cake. It's been much cooler today, no sunbathing, but still bright and warm enough to wander Elche coatless. Got back to find the dogs eating the earth in the flower pots. Is that normal?? They seem fine, we're feeding them well and there don't seem to be showing any ill effects. (Not sure about the plants though!) Very odd. Well, happy new year everyone, this time next week we will be on the move again so might have more to report. I think I might pour myself a little Scotch as it's a special occasion. Fishcakes for dinner.

Thought you might like a picture.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 28th. Dec. Glad to say I've got through another Christmas with a minimum of fuss. This is the way to do it. Very quietly, slowly, eating and drinking good stuff in moderation. No indigestion, no hangovers. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?? We had a great Christmas day, exchanged a few small gifts, spoke to family and friends and relaxed with good food and a little booze, (not Janet). The day was a little misty and cool so there was no lunch by the pool but it was warm enough for a long walk in the afternoon. The weather warmed up on Wednesday and Thursday and we put in some tan time. Anyone who knows me will probably be aware that I'm not a great fan of Christmas, mainly because I don't think it was ever meant to start at the end of October!! This year was different, it should be like this every year. Looking forward to new year now. Time to feed the dogs and poop scoop. By for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.24th. Dec. Christmas eve. I've just come in from my afternoon laying by the pool in the warm sunshine. We have shopped for the last 3 days - why? I hear you ask!! I haven't a clue, there are only two of us and the shops are only closed for one day!! I'm keeping the gate securely locked, I'm wondering if Janet is expecting 20 or 30 people to turn up for dinner tomorrow!! If they do they won't go hungry that's for sure. Tomorrow the shops are shut so we can have the day off. We put a video on Facebook today, brave Jan actually took a (very) brief dip in the pool. Although the sun has been shining and the air temperature is around 70, the pool is 57. Even the dogs thought she'd gone mad. Anyway, that's about as exciting as it gets around here at the moment. A merry Christmas and a happy new year to all who read the blog. I promise to try and make it more interesting in the new year.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.19th. Dec. Hi you blogwatchers. Pretty dull stuff eh. Yesterday was a big day. The sun shone, Mr. Manley gave me the day off and our dental appointments awaited at 6.30pm. I took a coffee, my Kindle and the usual entourage of 3 poodles and sat by the pool in the warm sun. Not a cloud in the sky, took off my sweatshirt and enjoyed. Jan came out to show off her new Christmas dress. " Very nice, a little warm for a sunny day" said I. Big mistake!! Jan went in to change into something more summery and joined me by the pool. Within half an hour the clouds had rolled over and the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees. She normally has to put sun cream on to get that sort of result. I suppose it's the time of year. We went out to lunch as we had dental stuff scheduled for later. Last night we swapped early Christmas presents. Poor Jan has had another tooth removed and suffered severe pain, she doesn't handle pain too well. I had a filling which was relatively painless. The real damage was done to the bank of Woodward when the bill was presented!! Now that hurt!! Still, hopefully we can look forward to a few months of good dental health now. This time tomorrow it will be just Jan and I, (and the dogs of course) John and Pat will be on their way home. Good luck to them, the weather forecast is dire. Sun's just warming up here, think I'll have a coffee by the pool and wait for Jan to come out in her swimsuit and make it rain. Bye for now!

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 14th. Dec. While we've been here waiting for dental treatment we've been helping out pruning the olive trees, although I'm not sure how much help I've really been, I'm afraid of killing them off. I suppose I've never managed to kill off my roses yet so probably it's OK. I'm not let loose with the chainsaw though. Probably just as well!! I had my first appointment with the dentist on Wednesday and to my surprise a pretty hygienist non too gently cleaned and scaled my teeth. Didn't see that coming, got to improve my Spanish. Anyway, I'm €50 lighter but my teeth are sparkling. The filling gets done on 18th. same time as Jan's extraction. We are going to be here until the new year. Jan has persuaded Pat and John that they should visit the family in England for Christmas. They have been in Spain for 15 years and never been back to England together since. We have volunteered to mind the dogs and keep an eye on things while they're away. Three standard poodle bitches, how difficult can that be!! Anyway, it's nice to be able to help out. Hope they've got some warm cloths in storage, looks like they might need them. Weather here is warm for a few hours during the day but disappointingly cold at night still. Might be ready for Morocco when they get back.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 10th. Dec. Well, we paid our first visit to the dentist this morning and with John's help, (as an interpreter), we established that Jan has another split tooth, no wonder she's in so much pain. This seems to be an unfortunate side effect of the infusion she has once a year for her osteoporosis, we sere warned that it might cause dental problems. She has to take an 8 day course of antibiotics before the treatment can commence. Hopefully it will not be a saga the like of last summer. She doesn't deserve this sort of discomfort. I have to have a filling replaced also. Looks like we will be buying dental treatment for each other this Christmas. Still, every cloud has a silver lining! Today I was able to help John out with pruning the olive trees, hopefully I won't do too much damage, I prune my roses and haven't killed them off yet!! Might as well help out, although the weather is pleasant we can't lay by the pool sunbathing. So here we are, looks unlikely we'll make it to Morocco this side of the new year, still, mustn't complain, I have to keep reminding myself, I could be in England, driving a bus, in the cold, with no heater!! How I love Monday mornings. Well, it's time for my first beer of the day, of the week come to think of it. Bye for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sunday, 9th. Dec. Friday we had the day off, took the last of the olives to the press and went shopping. Visited Mercadona, Chinese bargain basement and wasted time looking for stuff. Seems to be a popular pastime here. A daily visit to Mercadona is a must. Saturday was a beautifully sunny day, warm, and we spent it doing very little. Went out for Chinese in Guardamar in the evening. Boy the nights are nippy over here. Today Jan revealed that she is suffering from toothache, something I'd suspected for a day or two and so we have had to postpone our departure until we can see a dentist. It's probably a good idea as I have a missing filling so perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone. Let's hope that this tooth problem doesn't turn into a saga the like of the one in the summer. Poor old Jan's feeling rotten, it's not just the toothache but the guilt she feels that we can't move on. Got to say, if you're stuck in Spain with a problem like this, there aren't many places I'd rather be, or people we'd rather be with. Looks like John might get some help pruning the olive trees.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 6th. Dec. Well I apologised already for life being a bit dull. We've been picking olives all week and yesterday took another load to the press. Looks like we may finish today, certainly tomorrow. The weather has been cold here. It's been windy and a little cloudy and Jan is still fighting off a cold, not the best weather for it! Still we're cheered considerably when we see on the news that England has snow and the grandchildren are having snowball fights at school. The news on the insurance situation is good, I rang the other day and my insurers e-mailed me a green card for travel in Morocco, free of charge. I'm very impressed. Looks like we're running out of excused not to go to Morocco. Our only hope is that there's a heatwave in the Costa del Sol. Still, it's just another adventure isn't it? Got to figure out our next destination soon as it looks as if we'll be on the move in the next few days. Maybe Granada. (If it's not snowing.)

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 2nd. Dec. Well that's November gone then. We're back at Finca Buenos Suenos, arrived Thurs afternoon after offering to help gather in the rest of the olive harvest. We were in Cartagena, filling up with gas and figured as we were half way there already we'd offer our services. Did an hour Thurs. and all day Fr. We have very accommodating employers who have taken the weekend off for eating, drinking and making merry. Back to work tomorrow. We all went to the press with 500 Kgs of olives yesterday and watched them go through their transformation into oil. Fascinating. Made us very hungry so went to a restaurant for leisurely and enjoyable lunch on the seafront. It looks as if we have another few days to get the picking finished then it will be time to make a serious move towards the Costa del Sol to find somewhere to spend Christmas, weather permitting. I've just realised that my insurance doesn't cover me for Morocco so I'll have to fix that if we decide to go over. Hoping the weather will be good this side. It's been distinctly chilly this week, although today has been brilliantly clear and sunny. There's a cold wind blowing still, though the forecast is for it to warm up in a day or so. We went to a market this morning and had our firs churros since arriving in Spain. Very nice, walking through the market munching churros, so good Jan had to go back for more. John drove us up into the mountains afterwards, it's beautiful up there, those who stick to the coast and the beach really miss out. It's good to see a bit of the country with people who know their way around, adds a new dimension. So that's about it for now, sorry if it's a bit dull but we're enjoying it.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs 29th.Nov. Spent an eventful night at Velez Rubio. It was cold, then the wind got up. You forget how the temperature drops in the mountains at this time of year. There were some horrendous gusts of wind which rocked the van on its springs, giving Janet the scares and something new to worry about. In the morning we took our time and had a leisurely breakfast before setting off for a walk around the town. It's a charming place, typically Spanish with narrow streets and alleys all seemingly leading to the church square. The church is beautiful, although, sadly closed except for services. We've found this a lot in Spain, and as everyone knows,Jan is quite partial to a walk around a church and a quick prayer. Anyway we took our leave of Velez Rubio and headed for Villrico on the coast in search of free camping and warmer weather. Found the former, not the latter. Another cold and windy night has taken its toll on our gas supply and to our annoyance it looks like the nearest place to refill is in Cartagena so it looks like we have to backtrack about 120 ks.Ah well, it's not a day for relaxing on the beach, we'll leave that to the hardy Dutch and Germans. Bye for now. This has been done on the phone so may be a bit scruffy.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 27th. Nov. Yesterday we left the safety and comfort of the campsite in Bolnuevo in search of somewhere we could indulge in a little wild (free) camping, with the water tanks full and the toilet empty we were ready!! Needed a little shopping first, Jan has decided it's time to start eating healthily again and that means salad!! Whooppee my favourite. Spotted some civilisation and headed towards it and hopefully shops. After ten minutes of squeezing through ridiculously crowded, narrow streets we abandoned the search and got out of town, knowing we would find somewhere more user friendly up the road. ie somewhere to park. Took ourselves along the coast and found parking about 3ks east of Calnegre. A friendly Irishman named Mick (can you believe it?) said there was a small shop in the village so we set off to walk, the excercise is good for us!! On arrival at said shop, nothing green was to be seen, no salad then. Ended up having fried mash, belly pork, eggs and beans, now that's got to be better than salad hasn't it? Didn't have much of a day at Calnegre, very grey, showers and so vanbound. Rained most of the night but happy to report that John's roof repairs are of the highest quality. Spoke to them last night and the olive harvest is not finished. Tempted to head back and help but it's a long way. Then John said they might drive down and meet us at the weekend. Not so far then. Today we drove to Lorca, thought it might be worth a visit as the weather was iffy. The drive was a real treat, along the N322, through mountainous, wild scenery, barely a car to be seen, Jan saw a shepherd with a flock of sheep and goats, clinging to the side of a hill. Lorca was a strange mixture of old and new. The two are too often built onto each other, very strange!! Heaven knows what the Italians would make of it. Gothic churches semi detached by blocks of shops or even houses. Still I suppose it works for them. Probably not worth the trip. Left Lorca and headed through the mountains for Velez Rubio, a small, pretty town with a free aire/sosta, a rare find. There are two other English vans parked here, they're travelling together. Friendly enough but no-one's offered me a beer yet. It's cooler up here but the sun's shining now. Think we might have a look around the town tomorrow and head back for the coast. I've spotted an electric point around the back of the toilets so I'm waiting for dark to see if I can get a bit of free power. That will be a result!! Salad for dinner tonight, I'm afraid we found a Mercadona. Good news though is that I've replenished the wine and whisky supplies. Cheers.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 25th. Nov. Saturday was another warm sunny day. We took sunbeds to the beach and Jan actually got in the sea and had a swim. Didn't last long, just long enough for me to video it. See Facebook. By about 3pm the warmth is going out of the sun but hey - it's better than the rain and wind in England. While Jan watched Come Dancing I went to a local bar and saw Villa play out a pretty dull draw with Arsenal, a good result, it's tough though with the Baggies winning away and sitting 4th in the league. Room for improvement.This morning Jan had the great idea of walking into Mazarron for the Sunday market, just 5Ks. each way!! Still it was a nice morning for a walk, by the time we got back we were whacked. Still it feels like it did us good. I invested €5 in wifi and put some stuff on Facebook, tried Skyping the Smigiels but once again the result was disappointing. Unless I can get a really good connection the frustration is maddening. Better to phone I think. Problem is, I can't get a sufficiently good connection from the phone to upload pictures. I suppose this is just something we have to live with. You can see how good our life is, that this is all we have to complain about. Biggest problem we have is that life is so pleasant and easy going that the blog is full of not very much. For that I apolgise. Dinner time now, suppose I'd better get a beer.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri.23rd.Nov. Mazarron is a lovely town. The beaches are plentiful and clean, even at this time of year. The Italians could learn a lesson here. Spent 2 nights on the street here and felt safe and had no problem. Today we moved on a few Ks to Bolnuevo where we are on a site. In need of topping up batteries, washing and TLC. This wild camping is cheap but it's good to have life's little comforts. Roast dinner tonight and it's on the table. Weather has been brilliant last few days, this is what we came for. Met German couple last night who are headed for Morocco. Steve and Judy are not now coming in January so we may cross the water. All depends on the weather. Watch this space. Dinner time.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.21st.Nov. Can't believe it's 21st. already. Yesterday we thought we would check out the free parng at Tomas Maestre on La Manga and move on to Cartagena. Couldn't find the free parking and the sun came out. Returned to our parking place, set up on beach and wasted a day in the sun. What a life we lead. It is eerie there at night. We ere surrounded by maybe 10 high rise blocks of flats and there were no We are now lights on on any of them. Clearly they are unoccupied at this time of year. It is strange to see thse flats in darkness.. During the evening we were joined by 2 Swedish vans and a Dutch couple turned up in the morning. Having spoken to these people I'm convinced that we are the only people who waste money on campsites. Today we said goodbye to our new friends and made for Cartagena. It was pretty enough and we saw the amphitheatr and other Roman remains from the castle on the hill. It also afforded us a great view of our old friend the Arcadia which sails out of Southampton. We left Cartagena and drove to Mazarron, a pretty town, where we had been told we would find free camping. Don't know where. We are parked in a stret next to the beach on the west side of the town but couldn't find an aire or its equivilent. Never mind, we're happy hereand dinner's cooking.That'sall for now. Time for a beer.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 19th. Nov. Monday again. Some weeks I'm just so happy to see Monday morning and remind myself that I don't have to go to work. This morning we awoke by the sea shore, to bright sunshine and after a leisurely breakfast, decided to spend the day by the beach. Drove to La Manga, found a deserted car park by a deserted beach and got the chairs out. The sea was blue, the sky clear and the sun warm. We had to reassure each other that it is November. Things got better when we took coffee and doughnuts for elevenses. Sometimes it's worth reminding yourself how lucky we are. Sam's birthday today, 13 - happy birthday Sam!! Sun's going down now and we're getting ready for dinner, listening to the waves rolling in on the rocks. This is so much better than the rain!! More of the same tomorrow please. If there are any Southampton fans reading this, well done, hope Villa can beat Man Utd. soon. Getting a bit fed up this season. Match of the day is getting hard to bear. Enough to drive you to drink.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 18th. Nov. We're wild camping tonight, just south of Torrevieja on the Mar Menor, at a village called Los Urritieas. The Mar Menor is a large lagoon which in the summer is about 5 degrees warmer than the Med, and very popular for water sports and similar activities. The main activity going on here at the moment is driving around the car park to observe the occupants of the big white camper van. We're parked at the water's edge and Jan is cooking dinner. The weather, once more has been inclement, showery rain and overcast but pleasantly warm. We've started our journey west now and hopefully will see some improvement, although the forecast isn't brilliant. Said goodbye to Rob and Sheila today when we left the site at Catral, doubt we'll see them again in Spain as they're heading in the opposite direction towards France and home. Maybe we'll see them when we visit Tony in Kidderminster. No Skyping today, no wifi so looks like dinner and Come Dancing results for me. Best open some wine I think!!

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 16th. Nov. Well, yesterday after a busy morning washing van and picking olives we left Finca Buenos Suenos and our good friends John and Pat after 8 relaxing and enjoyable days. Can't believe it's gone so quickly. Can't believe, either, after waiting all this time to visit, we never got into the pool or spent an hour or two sunbathing. Nevertheless, we needed to move on and booked onto the Marjal site in Catral where we set to getting the laundry sorted out. Re-acquainted ourselves with Rob and Sheila and had a couple of pints in the bar at happy hour. Played boule with them this afternoon, got well beaten. I can't make my mind up about this place, it's an enormous site with modern facilities and very well used, many English long - term campers here but it feels a little like an upmarket gypsy encampment. We won't be staying long, it's time to get some more travelling in. The day today was disappointing again, overcast but not raining, got the washing dry - just, forecast for the weekend not too good. Out to dinner tonight with John and Pat then tomorrow I think we will head out.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.14th. Nov. The sun came out today. We had heavy rain overnight and I was concerned about the weak spot behind the drivers seat which has caused us so many problems in the past. We took advantage of the sunshine and John fixed it big time. I have great confidence that it will no longer be a problem. This afternoon we picked olives, cleared 3 trees around the pool. Still too wet to get into the field but maybe tomorrow. Rob and Sheila rang yesterday, they are not having a great time at the moment, they were in Benidorm, in the rain. We recommended they come out to Catral, where there is a new campsite with all mod cons and spoil themselves for a few days. I think we'll spend some time with them over there tomorrow, might book on there for a couple of days to catch up on washing etc. There are tumble driers there, think we might need them. It's time to move on from Finca Buenos Sueno and let John and Pat get back to normality. We will return!! It's been a blast. Time for dinner.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues.13th. Nov. Oh boy. Monday morning we had a deluge of rain. Thought it would never stop. It had rained most of the night, we're certainly putting John's repair to the test!! Around lunch time left to take latest useless webcam back to shop and whilst there John and Pat realised that the latest i-pad 3 was on special offer, they've had their eye on them for a while so it was too good to miss. After making the purchase we took it for a ride in the car to Alicante and around, the rain had stopped and we found somewhere on the seafront for lunch. It's such a shame the weather is so inclement, it would be nice just to sit around in the sun and chill. Never mind, we amused ourselves by observing John's efforts to set up the new i-pad!! Why are these things so complicated? Is it deliberate? Seems to me that such a clever piece of kit should be capable of guiding you through the basic setup in a user friendly manner!! Anyway it's Tues. morning now and it seems that there's still some way to go. We went out for Chinese for dinner last night and when we got home the sky was clear and bright with stars, a good omen. At 8am it began to pour again and has been raining on and off since. Apparently, this weather is along the entire Mediterranean coast. We used to go out on the boat and John always played a tape with the song Always Take the Weather With you. We seem to have done it this time, wrong sort of weather though. Feeling sorry for John as the olives are ready for harvest but it is too wet to get into the fields. Maybe if we take the rain to the Costa del Sol it will dry out here. May be worth a try.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 11th.Nov. Jan's hairdo went well. Got the leak sorted thanks to John and I changed the wheel for the spare so now need to get the puncture repaired. Did a little shopping and on Friday night John cooked paella for us. Best I've ever eaten, well done John. Bought a new webcam on Thursday, rigged it up to the laptop, wouldn't work. Took it back and and got refund. Saturday, bought another, rigged it up, same problem. Lost internet connection, laptop started misbehaving, driving me crazy, about to throw laptop in bin. Turned it off, re-started it, connected up old webcam, everything worked perfectly!! Jan had long Skype session with Julie, no interruptions, what's it all about? Hoping to get some quality skyping done today. We'll see! Yesterday, the sun shone, we went to the market at Santa Pola and walked along the marina. It was good to be out in shirtsleeves again. Out to dinner in the evening, lovely day. Cloudy today, looks like rain. Fingers crossed.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Friday 9th. Nov. Wednesday was a long day. The San Isidro I was headed for turned out to be the wrong one. There are about 12 in the atlas and it's an easy mistake to make. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Before that we discovered Albacete where we knew we could fill up with LPG as we'd found a garage on the internet. Of course, when we got there no LPG was found. With my blundering Spanish I got directions to another place at the other end of town which sold it. After my customary squeeze through the narrowest streets in town we arrived at the garage, filled up and headed out to the nearest centro commercial for coffee and shopping. Shortly after that we discovered my mistake, put GPS co-ordinates into satnav and headed for John and Pat's finca. Arrived at the spot directed to by satnav girl and discovered we were miles away. Beautiful spot though, just west of a place called Moixant, can recommend visiting the area if you need to be lost. No signal on phone, very remote. To cut a long story short we put in another 120Ks and arrived at our destination, very relieved and tired. The traditional Spanglish welcome of a hug and a large whisky did much to restore me. It had rained for much of the day and we were relieved to have the driving done for a day or two. I think our hosts were beginning to think we weren't coming. Dinner was delicious, slept like a log. Thursday John offered to fix the leak(s) on the van and we spent the morning removing old filler from the seams. The weather at the moment is very unSpanish, grey skies and the occasional spot of rain. We were awoken at 5 this morning to the sound of raindrops on the roof. Panic stations as I had to cover the empty seams before water poured in. The rain came to nothing but gave us a scare. This morning Jan's off to hairdresser, hopefully we can waterproof the van. Found a screw in the front nearside tyre yesterday so that's something else to fix. It's a good job we're at a place where all this stuff can be attended to.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tue.6th.Nov. Left Aranquez behind this morning. Not without a little difficulty. Satnav girl is a bit doze yin the mornings. We swooped on Lids and Jan did her best to empty it. Lucky I was there to restrain her. It took a while to load up and then we set course for Consuegra, Don Quijote country. Thru sun shone and the fabulous La March plains put on a show for us. One minute you're thinking how flat and dull it is and the next you're gazing across an unbelievable vista of hills and canyons as far as the eye can see. The colours are unique and the light superb. We arrived in Consuegra, took lunch and walked up the hill to take a closer look at the 12 windmills. No sign of the knight or Ranch Panza. Wonderful views though. Not much else to see so we took off in the direction of Albacete and our date with Pat and John. Spending the night in a small town called Mineral, on a piece of land on the edge of town. Spoke to Rob and Shield today. Sorry to hear that they had their van broken into while the were in Carrefours at Benicasim yesterday. Lost laptop,binoculars and much more. Makes us very aware of the importance of care and security. The thieves are out there. Well, put in lots of miles today. Time for a Scottish reward.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 5th. Nov. The rain stopped last night. Hooray~!! Spoke to Ian last night and he complained that it’s rained for days and has been constantly grey. Makes us feel better. The sun shone today and we walked into Aranquez. It has been a perfect Autumn day of the type you long for in England. The sun shone from a clear blue sky and we walked through a vast park of stunning beauty, full of red squirrels, peacocks and all manner of ducks and geese. There is an amazing mix of statues, fountains and monuments. The trees are turning golden and orange and you could be forgiven for thinking that you were actually in England. I’ll put some pics on Facebook. We walked to the palace, an enormous edifice set in wonderful grounds. Disappointed that it’s closed on Mondays so couldn’t explore inside. Still we’re getting over the Palazza Real in Madrid, so we’ll get over it. Had lunch out and we had our first doughnuts since leaving England. We really are quite virtuous these days!! Aranquez doesn’t rate a mention in the the Lonely Planet guide which is a shame because I’d recommend it, especially on a day like today.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun.5th.Nov. Yesterday after patching up the van with tape we headed for Toledo. Rained most of the morning and we arrived at a campsite called El Greco. They wanted €30 per night. Greedy lot. Walked around the site and found it empty. No wonder!! Asked a policeman and were directed to big carpark where we spent the night. Walked around beautiful Toledo for 4 hours. All the hills seem to be up!! Glad we visited though. A picturesque town, not to be missed. We have to leave this morning. Still raining, but must find a site to do washing and get straight. Aranquez here we come.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sat.3rd.Nov. Enjoyed another good day in Madrid yesterday. Spent hours browsing the Prado museum. Tough on the feet, especially with my broken toe which doesn't see to be getting better, even after nearly 4weeks. We spent the evening watching a film as we can't pickup TV here. Jan cooked, I can't keep feeding her out. Anyway, her food is better. This morning we had a nasty shock. It had rained heavily all night and water is leaking in through the roof at the rear of the van. Bloody nuisance!! Her mattress and duet are wet and we're waiting for the rain to stop so I can get up and make a temporary repair. We were planning to move on to Toledo today but I think I may have to formulate a plan B. Wish us luck.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 1st. Nov. My birthday! What a lucky man I am, last year it was Rome, today, Madrid. Wonder where we’ll be next year. We spent the morning viewing the Royal Palace, a fabulous building full of wonderful opulent rooms, furnished with amazing antiques and decorated with ceilings painted by the old masters. We forget that the Spanish history is as rich and varied as our own and their royal family really knew how to look after themselves. I was told off for taking pictures and had a sulk. The audio guide was helpful and Jan was in her element surrounded by old things, including me. The weather was kinder today although still cool and we were glad we wore coats and warm clothing. Lunch was taken and we set off for the Bernabau stadium for a look and a little shopping. The rest of the afternoon disappeared and our plan to visit the Prado went with it. That will have to be tomorrow. We wandered around La Latina, a lively part of town famous for its bars and restaurants and had dinner around 7. The waiters found it odd that people could want to eat so early! Enjoyed a superb meal, reasonably priced, and complimentary liqueur in a biscuit cup. Headed for home around 9 and flopped out after a 12 hour day. Will need to take half a day off tomorrow. Spoke to Paul on phone and he has clean bill of health after a nasty scare. Great birthday gift. Timefor whisky.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 31st. Oct. Big day today, Madrid. The rain stopped eventually last night and this morning dawned bright and sunny. We set off for the Metro and the big city. We found the tour bus ticket office and for the princely sum of €12 each got 2 day tickets for the 2 tours that circle the city, hop on hop off service. What value!! We sat on top of the open top bus for nearly 2 hours, getting our bearings and picking out preferred spots to visit at leisure tomorrow. We lunched on calamaris sandwiches, a first, delicious. We had dressed for cool weather and it wasn’t enough. Nothing had prepared us for the cold autumnal weather but we will dress accordingly tomorrow. We were pleased we had taken our flasks of coffee. The sights and architecture of Madrid are very pleasing, the trees are turning golden and the wide streets and parks are easy on the eye. We spent some time looking for a restaurant, recommended in the Lonely Planet guide to Spain, on the Plaza Mayor, for my birthday dinner tomorrow, only to find that it wasn’t there any more!! Exactly the same thing happened to us in Rome last year. Still, it isn’t going to be difficult to find a good place to eat here. Full report to follow. Loving Madrid but it’s tired us out today so it’s time to relax, have dinner and prepare for another full day tomorrow.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 29th. Oct. Yesterday, Sunday, we awoke to brilliantly clear blue skies, the like of which you only see in the mountains. Unfortunately, the van was covered in frost, and it was freezing. I had to get out of bed at 6 am and put the electric fire on. As the morning went on, the day became sunny and warm. We took a walk along a rough track down to the lakeside. It was a memorable walk and although down a steep hill, thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately the path ran out and we had to go back but by then it was lunch time so it was probably just as well. The afternoon was warm enough to sit out and enjoy the sun. Flies still a nuisance but learning to live with them. Killed about 20, new personal best!! Evening turned cool again, we were glad of the hook up and put the fire on. Another frost overnight, just like England. After some housework we set off for Cuenca. The journey was a real pleasure, over the rolling plains and stunning countryside of Castilla La Mancha. The roads were quiet and well maintained, a treat to drive. We arrived in Cuenca around 2pm and had fun driving around the centre, getting stuck in one way systems and getting into narrow streets we had no right being in. A girl at the local Repsol petrol station told us we could park overnight in a car park at the top of the old town. We are now thousands of feet above sea level, overlooking a magical historical town, perched on the edge of 2 gorges. Our views are spectacular and the lights of the town are just coming on. It’s magical, we’re so lucky. We had a drink in a nearby restaurant and the food looked so good we’re going back to eat in a minute. My phone is out of credit and the only Tabac is shut so I can’t get online to post this tonight. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Tues. Dined in local cafe, had local delicacies, game pate, pork cubes in tomato and peppers and lamb chops. Was OK, at least it was local cuisine. Couple of glasses of Tempranillo washed it down. Poor Jan had some ‘cheesecake’ which was a bit odd. Spent quiet night, cold again though and awoke to cloudy skies. After sorting out the phones we left Cuenca and headed for Madrid. The journey was painless, and quick, the scenery was fine although constant rain spoiled the views. We are currently on a campsite about 8ks outside the city listening to rain banging on the roof. I think we will stay in the warm and the dry for the rest of the day and head into Madrid early tomorrow when the forecast is good. Can’t get over how cool it is. Hope the weather is warmer further south. Big day tomorrow, looking forward to the big city. To all our American friends, stay safe, you too Ruth.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 6th. Oct. Well, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. The bus we planned to get didn’t turn up and as we’d planned to leave Valencia this afternoon it really didn’t leave us enough time to make our second visit. We’ve been wild camping for several days and the batteries were beginning to look a little low. The sunshine has been in short supply and we really need to hook up. I found a site at a farm not far from a town called Chiva, on the road to Requena. The farm is owned by a German biker and is aptly named Biker Farm. We are parked in an olive grove, overlooking pretty views of the hills, the only people here, being constantly buzzed by a million flies. Shame, it’s a great spot, with all the facilities we need. We thought we might spend the weekend here but if the flies are this bad tomorrow we’ll head out. We’ve decided to head for Madrid so have said goodbye to the coast for a while. Looking forward to seeing some real Spain in the next few days. Sat.27th. Oct. Left behind Biker Farm with its flies and noisy alsation dogs. The views couldn’t make up for the discomfort caused by both. Set off for an ACSI site, found on the internet at Villargordo del Cabriel, an idyllic spot by a lake, high up in the hills past Requena. The journey took us through mountainous and wooded countryside, on the A3 motorway and at last it felt like we were seeing some of the picturesque Spain which we had mostly missed on our way down the coast. We left the motorway in search of coffee and found a roadside restaurant which oozed character and smelled of wood fires. The coffee was excellent, as it has been everywhere in Spain. The Italians make great fuss about their coffee but Spanish is better.(and cheaper) I just wish they could find some bigger cups!! We drove into the town of Utiel and located a supermarket where we stocked up on essentials, Scotch at €4.79 a bottle being just one!! Arrived at our campsite around 1pm and got settled onto an enormous pitch with all the services. The whole place has a great feel to it and the sun shone warmly, even our flies seemed to have followed us here. There are cabins here, several of which are occupied by groups of weekending, gregarious Spaniards of differing ages having a noisy good time. The clocks go back tonight so we’re expecting them to have an extra hour of partying. Got some washing done, and settled in for a night of TV. Still working this far from home. Come dancing again. Deep joy!! There is a chill in the air up here that we haven’t felt on the coast, I believe we’ve driven up towards the cooler weather. I think it’s a good idea to do Cuenca, Madrid and Toledo now and head south again before winter sets in, we don’t like the cold. It’s strange but Jan’s hip has started to ache at the first sign of cold weather. Will walk it off tomorrow. Time for a drink.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 6th. Oct. Well, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. The bus we planned to get didn’t turn up and as we’d planned to leave Valencia this afternoon it really didn’t leave us enough time to make our second visit. We’ve been wild camping for several days and the batteries were beginning to look a little low. The sunshine has been in short supply and we really need to hook up. I found a site at a farm not far from a town called Chiva, on the road to Requena. The farm is owned by a German biker and is aptly named Biker Farm. We are parked in an olive grove, overlooking pretty views of the hills, the only people here, being constantly buzzed by a million flies. Shame, it’s a great spot, with all the facilities we need. We thought we might spend the weekend here but if the flies are this bad tomorrow we’ll head out. We’ve decided to head for Madrid so have said goodbye to the coast for a while. Looking forward to seeing some real Spain in the next few days.

Kevnjan's new adventure

Thurs. 25th. Oct. Wow. We drove past the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencieas, yesterday on our way to El Saler where we finally managed to find a spot for the night. Today we got the bus into Valencia and got close up and personal with the sights. It is a collection of ultra modern, fantastically original buildings, designed by various architects for the exhibition of all that’s best in arts and science in Spain and the rest of the world. Each building is enormous and unique, I’m still trying to figure out how the enormous curved roof over the Palau de Artes does not come crashing down on the building below!! I think I’m probably not the only one. Astonishing!! Pictures on facebook. We had a walk around the whole estate, which is enormous, with gardens to match and decided to visit the Oceanography. Each place charges an exorbitant entrance fee and our choice was the most expensive. €55.80 for the two of us, no concessions. I have to say, it was a full day, we saw a dolphin show which was entertaining, clever little critters!! Amazing creatures, far cleverer that most of us I think. The other exhibits were brilliant, cleverly designed and well presented. We took lots of pictures and saw lots of fish, and other seafood!! I mean sealife!! Jan saw sea horses for the first time and was captivated. The weather could have been kinder, the rain kept off for most of the day but by the time we left it was pouring with rain and still is. Must go back into the city tomorrow to see the old town, I could spend hours, or even days more where we were today but could run out of money. Walked for miles, think we might try the tour bus tomorrow. Dinner time.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.24th.Oct. Forgot to mention while we were in Pensicola that their favourite joke is to swap around the s and the i. Could almost be English humour. Not much humour here tonight. Spent most of the day driving down to Valencia to discover a dearth of campsite. We were looking forward to a few nights with hook up and all comforts but are on an aired with no electricity, about 6 - 7 ks outside the city. Strange that such a popular destination is so poorly served. Still there's a bus stop right aoutside and we're looking forward to a new adventure tomorrow. In the meantime I have steaks to barbecue and Tempranillo to drink. Buenos noches mis amigos.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 23rd. Oct. Drove to San Carles de la Repete as advertised. A classy well to do town with a large marina and clearly very well off. The waterfront and beaches are beautifully presented and it’s by far the most attractive place on the Ebro Delta. Sadly, all the boats are laid up for winter and we didn’t get our boat trip. Not a flamingo in sight, but I’m glad we took the trouble to visit the town, had a good walk around and had lunch on the promenade. After lunch, headed south for Benicarlo and on to Pensicola, doing a little shopping on the way. Parked on the sea front at Pensicola and spent the night there. The weather has started to behave itself again, back in the 70s and we had the afternoon on the beach, even got in the sea for a swim. This is the life. Last night we walked into town and treated ourselves to dinner out as we’d missed out the night before. Mussels, and mixed shellfish for two, wonderful. It’s nice to treat yourselves now and again. Excellent food, good value, great company. Today, we walked up to the old town, a walled fortress on a promontory, high up overlooking the sea. It was worth the climb and €2.50 each got us into the 14th. century castle for a look around. Jan was in her element, she loves old buildings and old things, I’m surprised sometimes that she hasn’t traded me in for something older. We got back to the van around 1pm and took our lunch onto the beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon. I can highly recommend this lifestyle, had another swim, the sea’s still quite warm. Jan was doing a chicken curry for dinner and we realised we were short of rice. No shops open for miles so Jan thought it would be a good idea to go to a bar/restaurant and order a portion of rice to take away. Good excuse for a beer, I thought. The man in the bar didn’t quite understand and presented us with a whole packet of rice, uncooked, obviously. They really are so helpful, pity though, Jan had to cook her own rice. As we got back to the van, we noticed that all our camping neighbours had disappeared, bad sign!! Found a polite note from the local police inviting us to move on. Bit of a nuisance that. Still, found some free parking, about 500 yards away, where all our neighbours were already encamped. The views aren’t so good but at least we won’t get fined or moved on. Just finished the curry. Rice was great!! So was the curry. Time to watch a film and take wine. Moving day tomorrow, think we may make Valencia, depends on the weather, if it’s fine we may have to find another beach. Happy days.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Monday, 22nd. Oct. Arrived in Ebro Delta on Saturday afternoon and found free camping by a restaurant near town of Poble nou de Delta. The sky was full of storm clouds and mosquitoes. The whole area is a vast wetland consisting of paddy fields and marshland. We met up with Rob and Sheila again and had a beer in the bar. The rains came down and we spent the rest of the day in the van. On Sunday we took a long walk and saw some amazing bird life, what we enjoyed most though was a procession of crayfish across the car park, clearly they were heading for a new home. If you approached them they reared up and threatened you with their pincers. A pretty brave display from creatures not more than 3 or 4 inches long. Further along Jan spotted a snake in the road, only about 6 inches long, a viper I think, very distinct grey markings, you could hardly see it against the grey of the tarmac. We put several pictures of our ad venture on Facebook plus our videos since leaving England. We had a reasonable wifi connection from the restaurant but not good enough to skype. The four of us planned to eat dinner there on Sunday night but contrary to their published closing time on 11pm, we discovered that the restaurant closed at 6pm last night. We don’t seem to be getting much luck with eating out so far. Jan knocked up a spag bol and we invited our friends to dinner at our house. Today I think we will go to San Carles de la Repete to see if we can get a boat ride around the coast to view the flamingos and other sights on offer. Afterwards I think we will head south, away from the delta and the mosquitoes which are really unpleasant. The sun’s shining and we feel lucky. Bye for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri.18th. Oct. Cambrils was highly recommended by the guy in the tourist information office but hasn't come up to expectations. Yesterday we explored the town and walked for miles. Found it nondescript and the shops expensive. It seems that the further south we ga the higher the prices. The weather has broken and it rained most of the night. Washed the van today, first time since leaving England. I'm going to miss some of those flies!! We've got clean washing, clean van and it's time to move on. Heading for the Euro delta tomorrow, a national wildlife park. Looking forward to that. Will report in a day or two. Time for wine.

kKevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.17th. Oct. Yesterday we went back to Tarragona town, there was a market on and we can'tresist a market. We went with our new friends Rob Sheila from Hallowed way. I called at the tourist office to find the nearest supplier for LPG. It's not widely available in Spain and we were pleasantly surprised to find there is a garage about 15 ks away which has it. We filled up,did some shopping and booked onto a site in Cambrils, just below Salou . The sun came out and we headed for the beach for a swim. Disappointed in how dirty the beach is. Watched England draw with Poland. Was it the longest game in the whole world? Washing day tomorrow.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.15th. Oct. Campsite closed yesterday so pitched up on waste ground by beach along ith assorted Dutch, German and English freeloaders. The weather was perfect and the sea warm. Spent the day doing not much. Spoke to mum on phone in the morning and Smigiels in the afternoon. These are the places where you meet people who can wise you up as to the best places to go, where to free camp and get the best deals. Tomorrow I think we may have to think about finding some LPG. Gettin a bit short. It looks as though we may have to travel some way. I think we need a book with this information in it. Our new English friends have one, I think I'll have to order it online. Got o go now because I'm waffling.

Kevnan’s new adventure. Sat. 13th. Oct. Left Sitges around 10am. Weather dull and damp, would have liked to look around the town but unfortunately I had a job walking. I didn’t mention that during the night in Barcelona I somehow managed to miss the ladder, getting down from my bunk and damage a toe, next to the big one on my right foot. It’s severely bruised and maybe broken and I have taped in to my big toe with duct tape in the hope that it will get better!! Anyway, we moved on, driving down the coast to Tarragona. We are on a site called Las Palmeras, about 3 miles out of town, right on the beach, on Friday we stuck around the beach, had a swim, sunbathed and rested my toe. About 6pm the clouds gathered and I thought we were in for a bad storm, put all our stuff away and waited for it. We got rain in torrents but surprisingly no real thunderstorm. This morning began a little overcast and improved as we headed into Tarragona on the bus. It’s an attractive old Roman town with an amphitheatre and other archaeological remains dotted about, and a very pretty seafront. We wandered around, despite the painful toe and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a typically Spanish Saturday morning and afternoon. We found a Medieval market around the cathedral, in honour of some saint’s day or other. Same old stuff, had a kebab for lunch. Sadly, the cathedral was closed so I couldn’t improve my score for the week!! We were glad to hear that Biscuit the cat has returned home, 11weeks after leaving, having been left in our care, Julie and the girls are very happy. Well, it’s dinner time and I have to take some Scottish medicine for my toe, we still have English TV, courtesy of the satellite dish, so having watched the football last night, I’m obliged to let Jan have Strictly Come Dancing tonight. Bit of a double edged sword then!! Discovered a spot where several Germans and Dutch are wild camping, just along the coast, we will have to join them tomorrow as this site is closing for the winter. Hope all our readers are well, more soon.

Kevnjan’s new adventure. Thurs. 11th. Oct. So – we left the safety and security of our site at Blanes on Tues. Morning and headed for the shops, Lidls was first to appear and we shopped for all the necessities, whisky, wine, food and after a few more miles, Carrefourres, for the luxuries, fish, air freshener, rubber gloves!! We had every intention of finding a spot by the beach to wild camp for a night or two. The big snag with that is that there is a railway line which seems to run the entire length of the coastling, cutting off the road from the beach, we found a similar situation along much of the Adriatic coast in Italy. The bridges are too low to get the van under and those stretches of beach which are accessible have no parking. Anyway, after a few abortive sorties into totally unsuitable narrow towns and villages we happened upon Santa Susanna. A quiet stretch of road ran parallel to the railway line and a small bridge gave us pedestrian access to the beach. As it was around 2pm. We figured it was as good as we were likely to get, a bonus was that the parking meters are closed for winter. We spent the afternoon on the beach, surprise, after a lunch of delicious prawns and ryvita. The evening was odd, we were clearly a tourist attraction for the locals who kept driving past in their cars and scooters to have a good look. One guy, on a particularly noisy scooter made the trip 10 – 15 times, he gave up around midnight, about the same time as the trains!! It was a very hot night and we could have done with the air conditioning but not on the batteries, so we opened the skylights and sweated it out. Oh how we suffer!! After some research on the internet I found a car park suitable for vans, in Barcelona, it was recommended by fellow travellers and we thought for €18 per day it would fit the bill. We felt it would be better than booking onto a site and travelling in by train. We arrived at 9.30am, without in incident and discovered that the fee for 24 hours was €30. We paid up and tried not to grumble too much. The car park was secure and had all the amenities we needed, (albeit, a little primitive.) Got the tram into the city and looked around for the open topped tour buses. This is always our first job as it gives you a sense of the layout of the city and helps you decide what to see later. We were horrified to see queues of hundreds of people waiting for the buses. It’s no exaggeration to say that each bus was full and there were plenty of them, and the queues were just getting longer. An executive decision was made not to waste our day in Barcelona queuing for buses. We discovered that the regular buses were on strike!! This happened to us in Florence!! We walked from Plaza Catalunya to the Gothic quarter, admired the old cathedral and surroundings and realised that it was lunch time already. I think I like Barcelona, it’s full of impressive, stylish buildings and pleasant open spaces and plazas, the people are pleasant and friendly but it’s so crowded. Everywhere you go there are crowds and it puts me off a bit. After lunch we headed for the must see Sagres Familia, the spectacular cathedral started in the late 19th century which is still unfinished. This made 2 cathedrals in one day, a new personal best for me!! To make matters worse we had to queue for nearly an hour to get in and then pay an admission fee of €14 each. I must say, I was impressed, not to say staggered by the astonishing workmanship and art embodied in every part of the building, and it’s still 20 or 30 years away from being finished. It was worth every cent and I’ll willingly pay again to see it when it’s finished. That’s if I’m still around of course. We did a lot of walking around Barcelona but enjoyed it immensely. We rounded off the day by walking back to Las Ramblas for a wander around, couldn’t find the bloke that robbed my brother a few years ago though!! We sat in a square, just off the Ramblas and ordered drinks and food. The street entertainers kept us amused, though not nearly as much as the waiter!! We ordered prawns and noodles to start and leg of kid with roast vegetables for main. About half an hour later we were presented with paella!! I suppose it’s just the custom that you order what you want and you get what they think you’d like!! We agreed to take the paella but drew the line when they tried to overcharge us. Nothing nasty, just a mistake. Looking forward to my kid sometime though. Back to the van and a nice whisky. Spoke to Brian, they’ve sold the house and should now be clear to buy their camper. Good luck. Today we left Barcelona, couldn’t face the crowds for a second day. Now in Sitges, parked on the seafront, weather not so good, we had thunderstorms last night and looks like we might get more today. Still warm though and we’ve just been in the sea. Time for a cup of tea.

Kevnjan’s new adventure. Mon. 8th. Oct. I can’t believe I haven’t posted a blog since Wednesday last week. I have to say that it has been pretty uneventful here. The sun has shone and as a result we have been inactive, sloths have had more activity than us!! We’ve walked, swum a lot and got plenty of rays, apart from eating and drinking it’s been really quite dull, just as we like it. Even the drinking has been low key, a couple of times I’ve had a beer and Jan a fizzy water, in some sleazy bar, overlooking the sea but apart from that it’s been cartons of vino tinto at €1.20 a litre, perfectly drinkable if, like me most of your taste buds are sunburned. We had a little phone fun today as mine refused to give me internet access after a top-up. The man at orange and I had an interesting conversation in Spanglish which thankfully resulted in the restoration of said internet. There was a market on the seafront today and we attended. Jan has been wanting an ankle chain for a while and we found her a silver one with dolphins on it. A couple of other items which she’d been wanting were also there so we had a good and successful shop. I love markets!! So, we are leaving here tomorrow, having been beach bums for the week, hopefully will find somewhere to wild camp for a day or two, you know how I hate spending money on sites. Slowly heading towards Barcelona but if the sun stays out it will have to wait for a cloudy day.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 3rd. Oct. Another perfect day. We went to the beach and just relaxed, the sea is cool but pleasant and we spent lots of time swimming. Our investment in fold up sun beds is paying off now, we are saving €14 a day on renting. I posted yesterday's blog on the phone and was really pleased that it worked, there are times when the laptop isn't convenient. I think I'm in serious danger of learning all the tricks of the phone. Better late than never. More of the same tomorrow, weather permitting.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues.2nd.Oct. Left our friends in San Pere Pescado and headed for Cadaques, the home of the late Salvador Dale. It was a hairy drive over mountainous roads, but worth the effort. We were rewarded with a beautiful, unspoiled white town with blue seas and great charm. It's easy to understand what Dali saw in it. Sadly, we could find nowhere to park overnight and had to make the trip back over the mountains and spend the night wild camping in Figueres . An executive decision was made, in view of the splendid weather, to head down the coast an waste some more time on the beach. We are now in Planes, the day is fine and we are about to eat dinner. Ruud and Bear, if you read this please email me as I've mislead your address.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun.30th. Sept. After a day of constant rain, thunder and lightening yesterday, today has been pleasantly warm and sunny, spent it laying by the pool, relaxing. Ruud and Beat took us to the supermarket yesterday and we got soaked, but we replenished the flagging whisky supplys, most important!! Today is our 31st. wedding anniversary and we celebrated by the pool with a large beer and a larger helado, Jan's first since arriving in Spain. Moving day tomorrow, heading for Cadaques. Bit of sight seeing.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri, 28th. Sept. Hello again. Sorry, not really keeping things going on a daily basis at the moment. Not much to report. You really don't want to hear about the weather, (which is cloudy, though warmish.) We are expecting a massive thunderstorm soon, perhaps after that we can get some more blue skies. It's the same all over Spain at the moment. Yesterday we went to Figueres, got a lift in with Ruud and Bea and got the bus back. We got our phones sorted out and can now communicate more easily. The town is nothing special although we'd have liked to see the Dali museum. Problem was that after 1.30pm the next bus was 6.30, too late. Maybe we'll have to go back. Today, we took a long walk along the beach, the sun tried hard but didn't quite make it. After lunch we laid by the pool until it started raining then had a siesta. Pretty dull huh!! Tonight we are going to dinner at a nearby tapas bar with the neighbours, looking forward to that, it will give Jan a night off cooking. She needs a break, we spent an hour yesterday preparing baby octopus for cooking and got covered in ink. Spent an hour today washing the ink out of Jan's clothes. It was delicious, I think though that it's something Jan won't be cooking again. Full report on the tapas manana.

Kevnjan's big adventure (Part2)

Thurs.27th. Sept. We've made friends with our next door neighbours, Ruud and Bea, a Dutch couple about our age. The Dutch always speak such good English!! My Dutch is improving slowly, at least now I know the Dutch word for Kevin is Bob. Well I thought it was until Bea admitted that she hadn't heard when Jan introduced me as Kevin. Anyway, we spent the evening in their company at the music night in the bar the other night and shared a few beers. Good company. Yesterday we went into the town and inspected the market, usual old rubbish but much cheaper than Italy. It's been very noticeable that the prices here are cheaper than Italy, the grafitti is almost non existant and the streets less strewn with litter. And yet, there's something about Italy that's irresistable. The weather is a little cooler today and there's more cloud about, the forecast could be better. Think we'll have a trip into Figueres on the bus. Will report later.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 24th. Sept. At last, we spent a few hours on the beach and some time in the sea. The weather was perfect, sun shining and the strong wind from last night had disappeared. We had intended taking a long walk along the beach to the river and along the river to the town. The lure of the sand and sea trumped the excercise!! We can take that when the sun's not shining! After a leisurely lunch we found our way to the swimming pool, where we wasted away the afternoon. It's taken a little while but I think we're almost back in the old routine. After such a tough day we lit the barbecue and had a delicious dinner. I'm now rewarding myself with a nice large scotch. Try not to feel too sorry for us.

Kevnjan'sbig adventure (Part 2)

Sunday, 24th. Sept. This was going to be it. Woke late, ten to nine. Cloudy morning, it doesn't get light here until 7.45 - 8am. Watched match of the day, recorded Sat. night, big mistake, if I'd realised that Saints had beaten Villa 4-1 I'd have deleted it!! Still, I know now that Liverpool lost at home to United, so I have company. Tough eh! Sam. We headed for the beach, a 300 metre walk which was actually 1k. Dragged the sun beds along. Sun went in on arrival and wind got up. Braved it for 2 hours then headed back to site. Sun came out!! Spent the afternoon by the pool and told ourselves how lucky we are. Skyped Paul and Barb. We are available to Skype if anyone wants to talk. Wind got up this evening but the sun shone, it was wonderfully warm and Jan made a steak and kidney pie which we ate outside. More cheap chilled Spanish wine. Life's good, we're getting back in the old routine.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sat 22nd. Sept. Went for it today, arrived in Spain this afternoon and found a campsite at St. Pere Pescadore, near Girona on the Costa Brava. It's a great relief to be here at last, the sun came out as we arrived and it was beautifully warm. We sorted out our pitch and hooked up, the van sighed a big sigh of relief and we promised it a week off. We've been without a hook up for 5 days and had enough 240v power for TV and all our needs, the Janvan has looked after us very well, I might have to clean her again soon!! We have the full array of English channels here, much to my surprise, so it's match of the day for me tonight. Checked out the swimming pool this afternoon, and enjoyed our first swim since last year - thanks English weather!! Tomorrow we'll check out the beach. That's it for now, I'm done for the day, just got enough energy to consume a glass of 99 cent Spanish red. Not half bad.

Kevnjan's big advernture. (Part 2)

Fri. 21st. Sept. Made good progress today, 195 miles, spending night on an aire in Millau, home of the amazing bridge which hangs from the sky across the valley, miles high. Weather dull and cloudy, walked up into the town in search of Wifi, not found. Looking forward to crossing the bridge tomorrow, should be in Spain, this time tomorrow.

Kevnjan's big adventure. (Part 2)

. Tues. 18th. Sept. This is it. Crossed the channel and drove down from Calais, spending the night on an aire, somewhere out in the wilds, the name of which escapes me. I’m beginning to think it may have been more prudent to cross from Portsmouth but everyone knows I’m too mean to pay. Anyway we have plenty of time. It’s just great that the adventure has re-started at last. Hope the good weather in Spain waits for us. No internet connection until we get to Spain so this will have to go on hold. Wed. 19th Sept. Happy birthday Ian and Jean. Not much to report today. A lot of driving, made the mistake for the second day in a row and took toll road - very expensive, I think we’ll give them the swerve for the next few days. Located an aire at Beaugency, by the river and on arrival around 5pm found it full. Fortunately another English couple were there before us and they knew of another nearby and guided us to it. It’s amazing how these places fill up at this time of year. Shopped at Auchan and bought a litre of Grants for €14, couldn’t resist. Must make it last longer this trip!! Still getting English TV. Not sure how long that will last. More miles tomorrow. Thurs. 20th. Sept. Woken by church bells at 7am, after a quiet night, asked sat nav girl to give us a route without tolls. Very pretty, but slow down to Vierzon. No problem, we’ve. got months. After stops for coffee, lunch and siesta, arrived at an aire by the river at St. Pourcain sur Allier, an attractive spot, almost full of vans, about 50 or 60. We found a spot which was being reserved for friends, by a French couple. Had a few words and found an alternative spot, fortunately for them!! So here we are, Jan’s about to serve dinner and we’re up to date, more telly

Kevnjan's big adventure. (part 2)

Fri. 14th. Sept. Well, hello again all you blogspotters. We just booked the ferry and on Tuesday we will depart these shores for the next stage of our big adventure, down through France, heading for Spain and Portugal. The plan is to spend the winter in Spain, hopefully enjoying the warm weather, before going into Portugal around March. Of course, if the weather is bad, there's always Morocco!! We're hoping to put some photos on the blog this time, just got to figure out how. After a long, damp and sometimes difficult summer in England the lure of Mediterranean sunshine is impossible to resist. I probably won't post anything further until we have left the country so watch this space. Wish us luck.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sun. 29th.Apr. Rained all night after raining all day yesterday. This morning the rain stopped around noon. This is probably the last blog as tomorrow night we will be without internet and I plan to have a break when we get back to England. To all of you who have followed our big adventure, I hope you haven't been too bored by it. I've enjoyed posting it and look forward to resuming on our next trip. All being well that will be at the beginning of September when we head for France, Spain and Portugal. This has been the trip of a lifetime and we've had a wonderful time and met some wonderful people. Thanks to you all. Just hope the next trip will be a little drier!! Time for a glass of something. Cheers.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sat. 28th. Apr. Wurtzburg was gorgeous, an attractive medieval town with striking old buildings and bags of charm and character. We visited the town hall where there was a display showing the disastrous effects of the allied bombing at the end of the 2nd world war in April, 1945. It is astonishing that the town has been restored to such a high standard and it’s to be hoped that nothing like it ever happens again. We visited the library where we were able to get free Wifi and managed to get some online stuff done. Reluctantly we had to move on in the afternoon as we still had much driving to do. The biggest disappointment has been the German weather. We hoped to see more sunshine, but it wasn’t to be, nevertheless we have really enjoyed our brief acquaintance with Germany and will be back for more I think. On Thursday night we stayed on an aire on the autobahn and slept surprisingly well. Friday was a travelling day. We started around 8.30am and with a couple of breaks for coffee, lunch and a stretch did some comfortable miles. By around 5pm we parked up, again on an aire, this time in Belgium having put behind us around 450Ks. We’d made a decision to get to an ACSI site at Guiens, about a 40 minute drive from Calais, on Saturday and get some washing and cleaning done before crossing the channel. The day dawned grey and misty after a wet night and we drove the 230 Ks. in miserable conditions. Still, we’re here now, it’s pouring with rain and the pitch is muddy but we’re warm and comfortable and after moving to another pitch, have TV. Just watched Saints secure promotion to Premiership, so well done them. Just hope Villa hang on to be there with them next season. So there it is, Calais is within reach and the English weather has crossed the channel to welcome us. Happy days.

Mon. 23rd. Apr. Kevnjan’s big adventure. Finally got our banking business sorted out and faxed, thanks to our friend Ute in the office at the camp site. Prepared for departure to Kelheim and Gunter and Anita. A long but pleasant drive, interrupted by a break for lunch of ham and gorgonzola sandwich on the most delicious brown bread, followed. The roads in Germany are excellent, and free as far as I can tell. We arrived at the house at around 3pm and were greeted by Gunter and Anita like VIPs. It was good to see them again and we felt so welcome. After a coffee and some delicious home made black forest gateau we rested for an hour before dinner. Dinner was stewed pork, dumplings, peas and salad, typical Bavarian fare we were told. It was very special!! It was washed down with two bottles of beer and some orange juice for Jan. After dinner we were invited to visit their daughter and family, just a hop and a skip along the field at the back of the house. We had a charming and entertaining hour with three delightful children and their parents who made us feel so welcome in their lovely home. I must learn some German and return so I can converse with the kids who are already speaking good English. Later Gunter introduced me to some Bavarian single malt whisky, a pleasant surprise, good enough to pass for a Scotch. Very moreish. Must try and acquire a bottle to bring home. A lovely afternoon and evening ended around 9.30 when it was clear that we were all weary. Tomorrow promises to be a great day. Tues. 24th. Apr. Breakfast at 8am. Gunter had been out bright and early and bought fresh bread. We had boiled eggs, bread and honey, from Gunter’s own bees!! He is a man of many talents. And so to Regensburg to do a little sight seeing. It’s an historic old town on the banks of the Danube and full of strikingly attractive old Bavarian buildings. Like everywhere else we have seen in Germany Regensburg is easy on the eye and user friendly, the old town is virtually traffic free and full of character. There was a 4 piece brass band in the main square playing Mozart and Bach to a very high standard, I could have listened to them for hours. The cathedral is a towering Gothic monument with acres of stained glass windows and vaulted roof, dating back to the 13th. century. A stone bridge, said to have been built at the same time spans the Danube but I suspect it has had some serious structural alterations since then. We took coffee in the oldest coffee house in the town, dating back to 1686, directly opposite the Rathaus – town hall!! After a little shopping, lunch was taken in a pleasant Bierhaus by the river, where we experienced some typical Bavarian food, beef, cooked with onion and mushroom in a cream sauce served with home made pasta. Very good. Jan ordered a side of sauerkraut half of which she brought home for later. It was washed down with Bavarian beer, very agreeable!! This was Gunter and Anita’s treat, we have been spoilt once again by good and generous friends. I hope that one of these days we will have an opportunity to reciprocate. This evening we enjoyed a new and unusual experience. This lovely couple have a shower which incorporates a steam room with music and coloured lights, with seating for two. It’s a bit like a hot wet disco. What luxury!! Needless to say Jan wants one for 46 South East Crescent. Why not – it’s time the bathroom was updated!! We will find it difficult to move on tomorrow but we have over 1000Ks to get to Calais and we don’t want to be driving for hours every day. Getting close now. Can’t post this tonight because Gunter’s internet connection is not good. Will have to find a Macdonalds tomorrow with free Wifi. Gute nacht. Wed. 25th. Apr. Alan’s birthday. Many happy returns Alan. Had another delicious breakfast with Gunter and Anita. Got the van ready and left about 9.30am taking with us two jars of honey and, some special vinegar, and a wooden fruit bowl, (made by Gunter). We take away also, special memories of two days spent in the company of good friends. We plan to meet in Spain early next year. And so we hit the road, heading north west towards Calais. The roads here make driving so easy and before we knew it we’d put nearly 200Ks behind us and at around 1o’clock stopped for the day at a pretty village called Randsacker, on the River Main about 5Ks south of Wurtzburg. We took a long walk along the river, enjoying the birds and the views. About the only disappointing thing so far in Germany is that we can’t get free Wifi without a German mobile telephone number and we need to just do a few jobs on line. Tomorrow we will go into Wurtzburg and see if we can find an internet cafe. Saw the weather forecast for south of England for the next few days. Drought? Doesn’t look like it from here. Having serious doubts about going back!! (Only kidding).

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Kevnjan’s big adventure. Fri. 20th. Apr. Well, we left Italy today, around 12.30pm, entered Austria and said a fond farewell. We’ll miss Italy, it’s been wonderful, although for the last 2 days everyone has spoken German and it seemed as though we’d already left. We left behind our internet connection as well so it may be a day or so until we can post this. What a journey we’ve had today. Decided to get through Austria and into Germany where people are more camper van friendly. It cost us €16 to get through Austria!! We weren’t going to give them any more. The scenery, though, has been wonderful and we wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I think the best was between Bolzano and Campolasta, on a secondary road which satnav lady selected for us. She wasn’t to know that the pass was closed because of snow and the views were superb. Shame we had to turn back to Bolzano to find an alternative route!! So here we are, on a car park in a pretty German village called Flintsbach with the rain falling and a beef stew on the cooker. Well on the way home now, goodbye Italy and thanks, we’ll miss you. Time for wine. Sat. 21st. Apr. It stopped raining and we had a good night’s sleep. Poor Jan can’t cope with the noise the rain makes on the roof. Set satnav girl the task of finding us an ACSI campsite nearby and she came up trumps with place at Bad Feilnbach, a pretty Bavarian village in the shadow of snow capped mountains, with lush meadows, pretty houses and a shop which sells delicious ice cream, which Jan swears is better than the Italian variety!! As the man who owns the shop is Italian, I suppose we should have known it would be good. The sun came out this morning and we set up camp, put out the chairs and made coffee. It was warm enough to change into shorts, the big mistake was when Jan applied some sun cream. Over came the clouds!! I told her – but would she listen?? Anyway, we put long trousers back on and back came the sun. I spent much of the afternoon trying to do some pretty basic banking stuff on line but the Santander hardware was determined to thwart me. Three phone calls to England resulted in me being timed out when the staff went home for the weekend at 4pm. Am I aggravated?? You could say that. I have paid €9 for 2 hours internet access so I hope I can publish this with a minimum of fuss. Wish me luck. More in a day or two. We like Germany. Gunter’s on Monday.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Thurs. 19th. Apr. It rained most of last night but cleared up by the morning. We took off for Bolzano around 9.30 and went the scenic route. It's a short journey, about 50 Ks. We had coffee in a bar in a small village on the way and encountered some of the local characters. A bit like the old days in the Bevois Castle!! Arrived in Bolzano and drove around the city looking for somewhere to park, hopeless, height restrictions everywhere and had to leave town and park on a lorry park, about 3 or 4 Ks.. out of town. Took the bus in and jumped on the cable car to Oberbozen / Soprabolzano, take your pick, Austrian or Italian. Anyway, it's a pretty village, high up in the mountains with views of the ski slopes all around. This is the South Tyrol and we feel that already we are out of Italy and into Austria, although the truth is Austria is still about 70 Ks away. Bolzano is quaint and smart but unlike any Italian city we've ever seen. After all this time learning Italian it came as a bit of a shock that just about everyone here seems to speak German. We are so glad that we stopped off here though, it's a gem of a place and I guess lots of people just drive past it on the Auto strada. Shame. Tomorrow we continue north and may be in Austria this time tomorrow. Pastures new!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Wed. 18th. Apr. The sun played games with us this morning. Hide and seek. We made a decision to pack up and move on up the lake. First we had to walk back to Bardolino and visit Jan's favourite shop to buy a few bits for friends. Took off around 1pm and headed up the lake, looking for free parking for the night. Not a chance!! That's what I dislike about lakes, everywhere else in Italy you can find sostas with basic facilities, no charge. The people around the lake have no concept of free!! Hence we are on a car park at Trento for the night. Left the lake behind, beautiful as it was, goodbye Garda - hello mountains. And so the journey north has begun. A leisurely drive through Austria, Germany and France awaits. Looking forward to it. Another adventure begins. A whisky I think!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Tues.17th. Apr. The internet connection here is a nightmare. If you can get a connection at all it is so slow you age visibly waiting for stuff to happen, I'm almost grey as a result!! Today, as you may have noticed is Tuesday, meaning that I missed out yesterday for the above reason. We had a good day yesterday, walked into the attractive town of Bardolino, about 2 ks. along the luongolago, this, after doing the washing and hanging it out to dry with a silent prayer. Bardolino is a typical pretty lakeside town with lots of souvenir shops an lovely views, Jan did some shopping and we made it back to the van before the rain came. In fact, it didn't rain yesterday, so the washing got dry. Today, we woke to some blue sky. It still looked threatening but it was good to see the sun shining. We sat out and had coffee, had to take off jumpers and decided to explore Garda. More pretty views and souvenir shops, had a coffee and walked back, the clouds were rolling back and the sun was getting hotter. By lunch time we were sunbathing and Jan was demanding to take her new sunbed down to the lakeside and donned her swimsuit. So there it is, she's now complaining her legs are tingling through too much sun. She didn't get her swimsuit wet, the water was a little cold for that but we've had a lovely day, it's now 6.30pm and everyone is outside in shirtsleeves, barbecuing and happy. We need more of this, we'd planned to move on tomorrow but another day like today may tempt us to stay. Now got to try and upload some pictures to Facebook. I have a feeling that I may have a shaggy white beard by then.

Sun. 15th. Apr. Julie's birthday, happy birthday Julie. Jan took a walk alone in the morning in the rain. She thoroughly enjoyed it, couldn't get lost as she walked along the Luongolago there and back to Bardolino. She reported that it is very nice, must see it tomorrow. We had our own bike race here with what seemed like hundreds of riders, the route went through the campsite and onto the waterfront, lots of very wet muddy men and women on what looked like mountain bikes. In the afternoon during a lull in the rain we walked along the Luongolago to Garda. Extremely pretty, must take the camera tomorrow. Skyping was a nightmare, bad internet connections again. Glad of the TV today, weather kept us trapped indoors for most of it, I did, however, put the awning up when the rain stopped, temporarily, and barbecued some chops. Forecast a little better for tomorrow, washing day. Again already!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sat. 14th. Apr. Managed to visit and enjoy the old city of Vicenza without getting too wet. It's a lovely town, full of attractive and historic old pallazi and buildings designed and built by Paladio in the 16th. century. He's the guy who took his ideas from the Romans and Greeks and brought them up to date. The English and just about everyone else in the world then copied his ideas and designs. Bath is a good example. We spent a pleasant enough 3 hours walking around but there wasn't enough to keep us out in the rain. Moved on, Jan made an executive decision to head for Lake Garda and hope for good weather. It's beautiful here, between the towns of Bardolino and Garda on a site called La Rocca Camp. It has everything and is an ACSI site so reasonably priced at €16 per night. We have a view of the lake through the trees and there is a long lakeside walk which Jan is exploring at the moment. It's Sunday morning, 12.17pm and it hasn't stopped raining since we arrived, at the moment it is pouring. Looking forward to Jan's report!! More tonight.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Fri. 13th. Apr. Took our time this morning over breakfast, planned to look over the cathedral and the Palazzo di Raggione. The moment we stepped out of the van the first spot of rain fell. We were dressed for it and took out umbrellas. The walk through the streets of Padova is very pleasant, even in the rain for the most part. Most of the footways are under loggia and sheltered from the bad weather. We visited the Palazzo, a large 12th century building, used as a courthouse and for administrative purposes for hundreds of years, it has a vast floorspace and is used for large gatherings and corporate events. On this day it was full of people wearing nametags and listening to interminable speeches. They love their speeches, the Italians, take them very seriously. This spoiled our enjoyment of this unique building, the walls are covered in frescoes from the 1300s on, by many of the great artists and the main feature is an enormous carved black wooden horse, by Giotto. We enjoyed the markets in the squares either side of the palazzo and got progressively wetter. Took a quick look at the cathedral, which was a bit of a disappointment after St. Anthony's and headed back to the van. The bad weather got the best of us and we headed for Vicenzo. Will look back on our visit to Padova with affection.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Thurs. 12th. Apr. Well, to think we nearly didn't visit Padova!! We decided to give it a miss after visiting a succession of cities after leaving Tuscany. Thought we'd get to the coast and do some sunbathing!! Ha! It's lovely here, we have a car park next door to the main piazza, Prato della Valle, one of the largest piazzi in Italy, it's surrounded by 78 statues and has a waterway surrounding it with ornamental bridges. The buildings around the square are a fascinating and colourful mixture of palaces and more modern buildings, it's pretty as a picture. We walked from there to the Basilica di San Antonio, a collection of domes and towers, built in 12th. century to house the remains of Saint Anthony. It goes straight into our top 5 churches, lots of art and stuff. The collection of gold, housing the relics of S A has to be seen to be believed. Very impressive. Followed that with a walk through the town to the Musei Civito incorporating an archeological museum, an enormous art gallery and a chapel painted by Giotto in 13th. century, 200 years before Michaelangelo did a similar job on the Sistene Chapel. Very impressive. We spent hours wandering through the art gallery and had to give up without visiting the Zuckerman collection, another art gallery included in the admission price. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing that the ticket is valid for tomorrow as well!! So there we are, a second night in Padova and more to see tomorrow. Vicenza will have to wait until the weekend. Did I mention that the sun shone all day today. Not hot weather but a definite improvement on yesterday.Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Wed. 11th. Apr. It rained all night and has rained all day. It's horrible!! Shopped this morning and headed for Padua. We've spent the afternoon parked up on a car park near the historic centre, listening to the rain. Determined to take a walk after dinner, even if we get wet, these towns always look good in the dark, we'll see!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Tues. 10th. Apr. Washing day. Sun was shining, cool breeze blowing, no beach today, washing to be done. Tried sitting out in the chairs to enjoy the sun, too cold!! I suppose we should be grateful, it is giving us a taste of what we'll get back in England in under 3 weeks. Sorted out the garage, had a tidy up, pretty dull day really. Had a last long walk along Luongomare Gina Lollobrigida, we'll miss her. Tomorrow we take off for Padua and Vicenza. That will be the start of the long journey home.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Mon. 9th. Apr. Did I miss Sunday, can't see it on the blog page. Wonder where that went. Nothing much happened on Sunday anyway. Monday was much the same. Took a couple of long walks, had brunch of bacon eggs and baked beans, that was a treat. The whole place was full of large families braving the cool Easter weather, barbecuing and eating outside, just like us!! A real family day. Jan and Julie had one of their mother daughter long chats on Skype and I sat outside until the cold drove me in. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of prosecco which the family in the next van gave us, home made, quite nice if you like fizzy white wine, which I'm not fond of. I had to let them see me drinking it though. Yet another example of how kind and welcoming Italian people can be to complete strangers. We'll miss that. Weather forecast for the next 10 days is poor, could almost believe we're already back in England!! Looks like a trip up through Austria and Germany and a visit to Gunter and Anita. Should be fun, only touched Germany on way down and never seen Austria. Let's hope the weather doesn't spoil it.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sun. 8th. Apr. Happy Easter. Spent the night listening to the wind blowing in the awning and the rain - raining. To be honest, it didn't really keep me awake but it bothered Jan. Our beach holiday prior to returning to England is turning into the sort of experience you normally get when holidaying in England. Still, you can't change the weather. We had a lazy morning and took a long walk up the promenade to make our Sunday morning phone calls to Arnie and Mum. The wind was cold but the morning bright. Arnie is off to Majorca on Tuesday for 2 weeks so is raring to go. Spent most of the day lazing and dozing. Another walk this afternoon for gelati and back to Skype the Smigiels. Time for dinner now and some dreadful film on CBS Drama. It will be a relief to get proper TV back. Shame to be missing the Masters!! Better have a glass of wine. Could be worse, Monday tomorrow, but no work.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sat. 7th. Apr. Friday was housework day. Managed to get most of the stains out of the carpets, they'll be back!! Long walk along the seafront and ice cream. Pretty nondescript day, weather fair but cool. Saturday, decided to take bus into Jesolo. Jan walked me by the shops on one side of the street and then down the other side. Had coffee in the sun. Walked along the Luongomare Gina Lollobrigida but never caught a glimpse of her!! Found good fish restaurant and decided to have leisurely lunch. Ate too much, only drank one glass of Chardonnay and some fizzy water, restaurant manager so pleased with what we spent he gave me a large glass of grappa. Home to van in time to miss the rain, think I'll have a nap. Sunday tomorrow, hope for sunshine.

Kevnjan's big adventure

Thur. 5th. Apr. Left Punta Sabbioni just after 9, heading for Lido di Jesolo to find a place on a site before the locals descended and took all the best spots. Shopped for the weekend and found two folding sun beds for the beach, they will save us a fortune as the locals charge upwards of €10 per day for bed and umbrella. Found a reasonable site, about 100 metres from the beach with hook up and usual facilities. Almost deserted when we arrived but started to fill up later. Don't think it will get too congested, I'm sure they have seen the weather forecast for the weekend. Not good!! Sun beds might not get used for a while!! The further east we come the less Freeview TV we can receive, we now have no Freeview channels at all. Infuriating, the Masters golf is on this weekend and I can't get BBC!! I put the awning up and the table and chairs out and that was the cue for the temperature to drop and the rain to fall. You'd think we'd have the hang of this by now. I think we'll stay until Tuesday and if there's no sign of an improvement in the weather have a look at driving up through Austria and Germany. We'll see, I'm still hanging out for some sun and sea.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Wed. 4th. Apr. Last day in Venice. Set off for the city, the first vaporetto to turn up was headed for the island of Burano, which we'd intended to visit later. Jumped on and avoided the hoards of schoolchildren and other travellers boarding for St. Marks Square. Good decision. Burano is a small island, famous for the skills of it's lacemakers. Burano is to lace what Murano is to glass. Jan was captivated by the wonderful clothes on display in the shops. Very expensive but I suppose of high quality. She didn't buy clothes although she spent lots of time admiring them in shop windows. She contented herself with buying a glass pendant and earrings to match her bracelet. We spent more than an hour wandering around the pretty town. The inhabitants take great pride in their houses and paint them in bright, contrasting colours. Makes for good pictures, pity the sun didn't shine. As we walked back to the dock our attention was drawn to a tall couple sitting outside a cafe, looked suspiciously like Geert and Maria!! Pleasant surprise, after a coffee we shared a boat to Murano where they went off to see glass and we headed for Isola san Michel to take pictures of the cemetery for Ian. By the afternoon we were back in Venice and Jan wanted one more look at the Grand Canal from Rialto Bridge. Got some great pictures, good timing. We set out to walk to San Marco, got totally confused by the signposts which must be wrong, got lost and just enjoyed walking around, in the rain again. Spent a last evening in the company of our good friends, wine was taken!! Tomorrow we go our separate ways, they to Croatia and we to Lido di Jesolo, hopefully for 7 - 10 days on the beach, in the sun. Doesn't look too promising at the moment. Once more we have been lucky to enjoy a few days with G & M and I'm sure we'll bump into them again one of these days. It feels as though by leaving Venice we are beginning the long, slow journey back to England. Ho hum!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Tues. 3rd. April. What a morning! we left for Venice on the 10 o' clock bus and sent off to look for a suitable gondola. The weather was overcast but not raining and we felt we should go while it was still dry. It was wonderful! Jan's face was a picture and I can't imagine bringing her back to England without the experience. Our gondolier took us on a leisurely glide around the small backwaters which you can't see on the vaporetti. He pointed out places of interest and refrained from singing, for which we were grateful. Our voyage took around 35 minutes and we took dozens of pictures from a perspective which you can't get unless you're on the water. Magical!! When we arrived back at the gondola station Geert and Maria insisted on paying. We resisted and insisted on paying our share, whereupon they announced that it was their 20th. wedding anniversary and was something they wanted to do. How could we argue? What good friends they are. We went to find some coffee which was much needed after our voyage. Jan and I returned to the van for the afternoon in preparation for our evening walk around the city. The weather closed in and it rained but only lightly. We enjoyed a stroll through the narrow backstreets of the city and Jan and Maria stopped at every shop window. They are well suited. After a gelato all round it was time to return to the vans. The end of a memorable day. Happy anniversary you two.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Mon. 2nd. Apr. And so - back to Venice. Arrived at St. Marks Square by boat on a sunlit morning and it was every bit as beautiful as last time. We bought 3 day passes for unlimited travel on the vaporetti and made the most of them from the start. Great value. We took a circular tour on no.2 which took an hour and reoriented us then wandered around taking it all in again. Jan just loves the place. Did a little shopping, got Jan's last 2 charms for her bracelet, it's now full. Just wasted the day, enjoying it. Home about 5.30 and chicken for dinner. Geert and Maria are here after their weekends racing at Imola. Tomorrow we share a gondola. Expensive but has to be done.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sun. 1st. April. Another month gone. Can't believe this is the last full month of our big adventure already. Here we are back where it all started. Parked up, wild camping at the edge of the lagoon, overlooking Venice. Jan is wild with excitement at the prospect of re-visiting her favourite place. She wants to go NOW but has been persuaded to go tomorrow morning early. The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse, the temperature is now down around 50-55 F and there is a cool breeze. Not what we need for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Fingers crossed that the warm sunshine returns soon. It feels like an English summer day at the moment. Time for pre dinner Scotch, first for over a week.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Sat. 31st. Mar. Took a trip to Chioggia's famous fish market this morning. A walk along the waterfront and across the bridge to the old town was very pleasant, sun was shining and the scene was very colourful, lots of waterways, like a mini Venice. We'd planned to eat out tonight but couldn't resist bargain king prawns and squid, meal out put on hold. As we walked back a nasty sea mist rolled in off the Adriatic, suddenly the day was dank and chill. As the day went on it became colder, looks like the warm spell is over!! Forecast not so good for the next week. Let's hope it's wrong. Leaving here tomorrow for Venice. The fish for dinner was superb.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Fri. 30th. Mar. First day of our long weekend before re-visiting Venice. Took a long walk this morning and went along a jetty with huts on stilts from which are suspended large nets which are lifted and dropped by a collection of ropes and pulleys. Never seen them before, only one of the nets was in the water and we hung around hoping to see it lifted out. Didn't happen, one assumes it would be full of fish. I'll probably never know. Pictures on Facebook. The morning was beautiful, clear, bright and sunny with a cool breeze. We walked for miles and after lunch spent the afternoon in the chair, sunbathing. Jan and Julie somehow managed to talk for nearly 2 hours on Skype. How do they do that?? Another long walk this afternoon and gelatto reward. Steak for dinner. Can't wait. Skyped Geert and Maria last night. Another reunion planned for Venice.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Thurs. 29th. Mar. Spent a peaceful night and set off this morning to see if we could enjoy a couple of hours in the terme, (thermal baths). It was a strange setup which resembled and in fact I think was, also a doctors surgery. We couldn't make sense of it and no-one seemed to speak English, my Italian wasn't up to the task so we headed for the coast. Arrived in Chioggia around midday and found a sosta, close to the beach for €10 per day. There is a hook up but the electric kettle is too much for it, as is the water heater, but with luck we should be able to charge up a toothbrush and watch TV!! The weather was hot and sunny, we took a long walk along the beach and had our first paddle of the year, not ready to swim yet but who knows - another day or two. We took a walk into town around 5 and found a fishmonger where we purchased a dish of octopus salad, which we ate sitting on a bench in the town square. Fish for dinner tonight. It's good to be back on the coast, we've missed the sea. I think we'll spend the weekend here and head for Venice on Monday. That is unless we change our minds and do something else. What a life!!

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Wed. 28th. Mar. Changed the beds this morning and headed for the launderette. Found one just outside Este, on the way to Padua. Spent most of the afternoon washing and shopping. Hell because the weather was perfect again and we wanted to enjoy the sun. Drove quite a way, through agricultural country but picturesque nevertheless. We ended up at Battaglia Terme on the ss16, about 5.30. There was a diversion which totally confused satnav girl and took us out of our way and when we got here the sosta is not what we expected. A bit rough and ready but it will have to do. The town looks lovely, we'll have a look tomorrow, think we might check out the Terme too. Looks like we might be back in Venice by the weekend. Traumatic day so taking a glass of wine today. I've earned it!! Currently barbecuing pork chops and sausages, can't do that without wine.

Kevnjan's big adventure.

Tues. 27th. Mar. Verona today. Jan was very excited because she's fascinated by Romeo and Juliet, which of course Shakespeare set in Verona!! I have to say, I find it odd that people get so carried away, visiting a house which is said to have been occupied by fictitious character but they turn up here by the thousand and eat it up off a spoon. Jan loved it. Revelled in every aspect of the house and the story. What a treasure. It's impossible not to become infected by her enthusiasm. Even to the extent of walking miles to see Juliet's tomb. Very strange!! Verona is beautiful, the whole feel of the place is magical and of course, we had another perfect warm day. The layout of these wonderful Italian towns is always a pleasure to walk around, and walk we did, all day. Got back to the van at about 7.30 and poor old Jan had to cook dinner, just a quickie pasta though. More tomorrow.