A few days following the Tour de France 2025
We joined the Tour at Stage 5 and followed the action through stages six, seven and eight. For stage five we found ourselves parked just outside Caen, tucked beside the charming village church i...
Back on the Road – France, Familiar Faces & Fridge Fails
Back in France! The land of baguettes, boules, and baffling roundabouts. After a long day behind the wheel (and strategic cup of tea stops), we decided that “familiar and cool” was the order ...
Winding Roads & Wacky Racers: From Arganil to France
We began this stretch of our journey with a stop in Arganil, not originally on our itinerary, but life has a way of reshuffling plans. We’d heard a friend had been taken to hospital nearby, so we de...
The Road to the Visa: Adventures Along Portugal’s Atlantic Coast
Before leaving Coja, we had a necessary pit stop — quite literally. The motorhome was booked into the local garage to have the tyre valves replaced. With a few hours to kill, we wandered the quiet l...
Revving Through the Wild Heart of Portugal: A Vintage Enduro Adventure
While I soaked up the tranquil charm of the Portuguese countryside, John had the thrill of a lifetime with a truly unique experience — a day riding vintage off-road motorcycles through the raw, unta...
House Sit at Quinta Castanhas, Wine Auction, and Blackouts – A True Taste of Rural Portugal
As we wrap up our latest house sit here in the Portuguese countryside, it’s been another fascinating couple of weeks — complete with a few days of sunshine (finally!), unexpected local traditions,...
Two Weeks In: Dogs, Hair Dye & The Mysterious Art of Envelope Writing
Well, somehow, we’ve blinked and it’s already been two weeks since we returned to house sit and time is moving fast. The house is just above the village of Vinhó which is situated in the pa...
Our Latest Portuguese Wanderings
Reluctantly, we waved goodbye to lovely Foz do Arelho. But with two weeks’ worth of laundry piling up like a small mountain range in the van, it was time to move on, so off we trundled to Intermarch...
Motorhome Madness: The Joys of Living in a Shoebox on Wheels
Ah, the motorhome life. The open road, the freedom, the fresh air—until, of course, it rains. Constantly. For days. And suddenly, your dream of a rolling adventure turns into a wet, claustrophobic t...
Lost, Leaky, and Looking for Cookies: A Week on the Portuguese Coast
After leaving Coja, we made a pit stop in Arganil for a much-needed grocery shop. My enthusiasm for cooking (or even thinking about food) had officially left the building, and with the ...
The Return of the Patch
Ah, Quinta Castanhas—our Portuguese home away from home. Things have changed since our last visit in September. Namely, the dog population has increased. And, in a plot twist that should surprise n...
February in Portugal
We arrive in Portugal on Valentine’s Day and the road leads us straight onto a toll road. Now, we usually do everything in our power to avoid these, not because we’re cheap (okay, maybe a litt...
Van Voyage 2025
After a cold, choppy crossing that left me questioning my life choices, we finally set foot (or wheel) in France. Destination? Montreuil, a charming spot less than an hour from Calais. Normally, this ...
A New Year by the Sea 2025
I won’t to say Happy New Year because thats long gone! It feels like we blinked, and suddenly, here we are, in Walmer, Kent, for the start of 2025 and its where we have been house-sitting for th...
Back in the UK for the next chapter
It’s over 3 months since we disembarked the ferry and set foot back in the UK, where the familiar British drizzle welcomed us. We planned to hop onto the M20 and make a quick journey over the Dartfo...
Homeward Bound: Returning to France after a Journey Through Spain and Portugal
Back in France, and though it’s only been a few weeks since we were last here, it feels like months have passed. As we begin this final stretch of this year’s adventure, we follow the roads th...
Goodbye Portugal, Hello Spain: A drive along busy roads and a cooler breeze
As September rolled in the weather was already hinting at autumn’s approach which gave a brief reprieve from the summer heat before snapping back with a vengeance and the temperatures spiked to ...
House sitting at Quinta das Castanhas, Vinho, Portugal
As we bid farewell to Tomar, the road ahead promises a journey through Portugal’s less-traveled, winding byways. For the next couple of hours, we navigate twisty roads that carve through the rug...
Curious Adventures in Fátima and Tomar, Portugal
It’s Monday morning, and after a quick trip to Aldi to stock up on the essentials, we hit the road with Fátima in our sights. The drive is easy, but as we arrive, it becomes clear that we’re ...
Roads not for the Faint hearted and a Dusty Oasis in Tomar, Portugal
Leaving Spain we enter Portugal and head for Castelo Branco which is nestled in east-central Portugal and a magnet for those who crave the wild, off-grid life. As we make our way past the dusty ...
French Pyrennes before heading back to Spain
As we inch further along the Pyrenees, we get to explore more of the French countryside in this area before braving the heat waiting for us back in Spain. Our first stop is the c...
Camping Les Fruiters, Pyrennes, France
With the temperature fluctuating daily, we decided to head towards the Pyrenees, and our chosen stop was Camping Les Fruitiers, nestled at the foot of the Pyrenees on the banks of the Adour River.&nbs...
A drive back through Familiar Paths: Markets, Memories, and Moving On
Another Monday morning rolls around, and it’s time to move on once again. Packing up the motorhome has become second nature to us—a routine we’ve perfected down to a fine art. Securing everythin...
Adventures in Samatan: Slip de Bain, Budgie Smugglers, and Man Flu
It’s Monday morning, and we’re on the move again. As predictably as the sunrise, our conversation has veered towards the weather. With the mercury predicted to hit a sweltering 37°C here and ...
Back in France
We’re back in beautiful France, and guess what? The temperature is just as sizzling as ever! To beat the heat we are hopping between camping car park sites near the sea or next to campsites with swi...
Another Day, Another Campsite: The Joys of Motorhome travelling in Spain
With the prices doubling at the end of the week at Camping Costa de Levante, we decided to move on. Of course, the temperature had the same idea and decided to turn it up a notch or two, just to keep ...
From France to Spain: The Heat, the Drive, and the Campsite Adventure
After bidding adieu to France with its undecided weather, we crossed the border into Spain. The temperature climbed with every kilometer as if the sun was tailing us, cranking up the thermostat just f...
Adventures in France 2024
Our new adventure began with a visit to Aldington, where we spent a couple of days with our friends Simon and Sue which provided the perfect start to our journey. After our stay, we headed towards the...
Life’s Unexpected Adventures
It’s been a whirlwind since our last update. We’ve navigated through the highs and lows of life’s unexpected adventures, and let me tell you, it’s been quite the ride! First of...
House-sitting Deopham, Norfolk 2023
In the quaint village of Deopham, Norfolk, our house-sitting adventure unfolded with warmth and charm. Tasked with caring for Janis and Peter’s lively Cocker Spaniels, Kali and Isla, who i...
A Journey of Home, House Sitting, and Motorhome Travels
Time does have a way of slipping by quickly and since rolling fresh off the ferry last October we have been keeping busy. The excitement of another new beginning mixed with a touch of back pain ...
It’s time to say Au Revoir to France for this year
Back on the road we continue to wander the coastal paths of Brittany that lead us back into Normandy, and it seems like Autumn has arrived, with the long summer days now gone and the arrival of shorte...
House sitting in the village of Plouarzel, Brittany
Travelling clockwise along the coast of Brittany we already have a different opinion of this region compared to last year when the heat and crowds got the better of us, so when the opportunity arises ...
Following the Bay of Biscay North
It’s Sunday morning and time to move on again and as we haven’t seen much of the sea this trip we decide to head towards the Atlantic coast and follow the jagged coastline and waves into Britt...
Getting a French Visa
After getting our knuckles wrapped last year at the Calais border crossing for over staying we thought we had better do the right thing this year and get a visa, so I thought I would write about our e...
House sitting in Aigondigné, France
About fifteen kilometres from Niort is the relatively new commune of Aigondigné in the Deux-Sevres department that was born on the 1st of January 2019 when the merger of the towns Mougon, Thorigné,...
My visit to Domaine de La Barde, France
So far this year I haven’t dragged John on a Chateau crawl but finding ourselves back in a familiar place I seizure the opportunity to visit a chateau that we have passed several times before but th...
Ambling across several departments, France
It’s inevitable that at some stage we were going to stumble upon places we have been to before and this year it seems to be happening far more than in other years with the weather being so unpredict...
Tour de France Femmes 2023
Leaving the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes we travel roughly 180 miles passing through the Ardeche and into the Occitania region where the temperature continues to rise daily so it’s a hot few days befo...
From Auvergne Rhône-Alpes to Occitania region, France
With the men’s Tour De France over we spend a couple of days catching up on the laundry, shopping and giving the motorhome a tidy because it’s been rather neglected in the last couple of w...
Tour de France 2023
Having written about the Tour de France in the past I won’t bore anyone with the history this time, Let’s just say this year will see the 110th edition of the Tour start its Grand depart in Ba...
House sitting Arget Village, France 2023
The small village of Arget has just 70 inhabitants and we become part of this community for the next couple of weeks whilst house-sitting. Pulling up outside of the house we are greet...
Loitering around the Occitanie and Aquitaine regions, France
It’s been a couple of weeks since we crossed the border at Irun back into France and at that time we were shocked to see the price of diesel €1.62 per litre, we had certainly been spoilt in Sp...
A Few Hidden Gems in Northern Spain
What a difference a border makes we have gone from the quiet sleepy villages of Portugal into the land of the loud, fast-talking Spanish. Our chosen park up for the night is right next to the river&nb...
Heading North on the coast of Portugal
It’s always strange getting back in the motorhome after being at a house sit for a few weeks but we soon get into the swing of things, and back to watching the comings and goings of the place we cal...
House sitting Vinho, Coja 2023
Driving along the now familiar roads we turn off the N17 towards the old Portuguese town of Coja where we start the 5km climb along the winding tarmac road that then turns to a rubble dirt track once ...
First stop France 2023
Packed up and ready for this year’s adventures we head off with what we believe to be plenty of time to get to the port of Dover but as we travel along the A20 there’s a bang and when John get...