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European Van Tour
  • Andy Powell
  • Sara Hunt
  • Andy Powell
  • Sara Hunt

European Van Tour

Our first 2-month trip to Europe in the van. We are planning to visit France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and maybe a few other countries. Crossing to Cherbourg on April 29 2024. Read more
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  • European Van Tour

    Haircut

    May 27, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    In the international language of barbershops, “número uno up the back and sides y número cuatro on top”. 😀

  • European Van Tour
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    Hotel Grèvol Spa

    May 27, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today marks the halfway point of our trip - we left Bath exactly 4 weeks ago. To celebrate we are spending 2 nights at the Hotel Grèvol Spa in Llanars, a hotel used by InnTravel - who we fairly regularly use for walking holidays - so we assumed it would be good. And it is.

    We are back up in the Pyrenees, not far from Andorra, so the weather is a bit colder and a bit wetter but I think it should be ok tomorrow.

    Great spa facilities and we are booked in for tapas later.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Llanars, Camprodon, la Roca loop

    May 28, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We were going to do a longer and higher walk today but discretion is the better part of valour and we thought we’d save our knees for tomorrow. So we ended up walking a loop from Llanars to Camprodon, then over the wooded hillside to la Roca (which is a quaint little village perched on a rock). Grabbed a beer on the way back then Sara treated me to a lovely massage (I mean she paid for it, not gave it) in the relaxation centre, followed by a sauna, steam room, swim, etc.

    We’re toying with the idea of a train ride tomorrow but we’ll see. Whatever, we’ll be back in the van and camping somewhere… none of this luxury rubbish! 😊    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Núria to Queralbs

    May 29, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We left the hotel reasonably early this morning and caught the train that runs up to the Vall de Núria today. An amazing place that is only accessible by foot or train. The train runs from Ribes de Freser but we caught it higher up at Queralbs because that meant we could walk back to the van from the top.

    We started at about 2000m, dropping by about 900m in just under 7.5km. Pretty much all downhill, following the river and the train track. Wonderful views all the way down but quite hard on the knees!

    Sara suffers a little bit with vertigo and at points I would say this walk was borderline ok for her - I’ve tried to show this in the photos but they don’t really capture it. Anyway, she made it down with no real problems. We also had to walk thru a field full of cows with calves (and big horns) which we would normally be quite cautious about but they were fine, even when one calf had to jump up to get off the path in front of us!

    Btw, the cows round here all wear big bells which gives the whole area a very alpine feel.

    All in all, a lovely 3 hour walk and well worth the train fare up there. There were a few people walking up (and one running), which I would have loved to do, but it did look pretty hard work.

    Back to sleeping in the van tonight!    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Camping Le Rotja

    May 29, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We are at Camping Le Rotja, a quiet little campsite in a village called Fuilla.

    Yes, we are back in France. Although it took us over 2 hours to drive here we are, somewhat oddly, not all that far across the Pyrenees from where we were earlier today.

    We crossed the Pyrenees at La Molina and the French border a little while later. We didn’t actually realise we were in France until we went to a supermarket and found everyone speaking French.

    Yet another amazing drive across the Pyrenees, especially the last 20km or so which was just an endless downhill winding road.

    Now we’ve got to work out where to go next!    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Bize-Minervois

    May 30, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Packed up, drove to the beach at La Plagette, drove to Camping de l'Olivigne at Bize-Minervois, booked in for one night, came for a beer.

    That’s pretty much it.

    V. windy.

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    Gorges du Tarn

    May 31, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Spent the day in Beziers which we’d thought we’d been to before but didn’t recognise any of it. We climbed the bell tower in the cathedral which gives amazing views over the city and surrounding area.

    After lunch, we drove up to the Millau area, crossing the Viaduc de Millau (the tallest road bridge in the world we think) which Sara found particularly exciting (watch the video).

    We are now at Camping le Papillon, across the Tarn river from Rivière-sur-Tarn. Stunning views for the evening.    Read more

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    Camping Sunêlia La Clementine

    June 1, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We visited Grotte De Dargilan this morning. A pretty impressive limestone cave but it’s no Wookey Hole. 😀

    Then a drive across the Cévennes National Park that was somewhere between hair-raising and amazing. Basically, I’ve had enough of hairpin bends, especially on single track roads. Really glad that the van isn’t any wider. That said, the landscape was amazing.

    Now at Camping Sunêlia La Clementine. It’s Saturday and pretty busy/noisy! Still planning where next.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Aix-en-Provence

    June 2, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Breakfast on the campsite followed by coffee in Uzes. Then on to Pont du Gard, which we expected to be really busy ( a bit like Mont St Michelle) but which actually wasn’t too bad.

    Now at Camping Le Cezanne in Puyloubier, not far from Aix-en-Provence. Not a bad campsite but also not as good as we hoped. The views are lovely from above the campsite but somewhat hidden by trees on our pitch. Facilities also a bit basic. And it is Sunday so no bars open :-(.

    On the way here there was a massive storm - thunder, lightning and torrential rain. We pulled off the road at one point because it didn’t feel safe to drive, there was so much surface water. When we restarted, we immediately hit a flooded road and had to turn round! Quite exciting but not really what we were expecting of the south of France.

    On towards Italy tomorrow, we think, though we may stop somewhere near Nice.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    The Millstone Path

    June 3, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Found this walk on Outdooractive, which is the app we’re using for mapping while we are away. It is called the Millstone Path. No idea why - we managed to miss the ancient unfinished millstones the route description promised us. Also the ruined fortified city from the Celtic period.

    I guess we had our eyes shut!

    What we did get were some amazing views over Mount Vinaigre and Fréjus on the coast. It was the perfect day for it. The bright blue skies contrast so well with the greenery of the trees.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Le Bar-sur-Loup

    June 3, 2024 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We’re at Camping Les Gorge du Loup, north-east of Grasse in the hills above Cannes. When we got here it looked like they were full but they managed to squeeze us into the last available pitch which actually turns out to be quite a nice one. Getting on to it did involve driving off the campsite and back on via a gate that the owner had to open for us. I guess that is why they don’t use it much.

    To show us round we had a fun ride in the owner’s golf buggy.

    Lovely pool and views. We’ll definitely stay here two nights. They have pizza and burgers (which look really good) at the campsite bar which is an added attraction.

    The drive here was split into two by the walk - see the previous post. To speed the journey, we paid the toll and came on the A8. We stopped at an aire for coffee. While we were drinking it we spotted what looked like a yellow budgerigar sitting the table next to us. Weird. Pretty sure it wasn’t a native bird but you never know I guess.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Ticks

    June 4, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Don’t read this post if you are squeamish…

    On reflection, I think I’ve been a bit cavalier with my early morning walks which I’ve been doing in shorts. Looks like I’ve managed to pick up several ticks - not great news but hopefully we’ve removed them quickly enough not to have to worry about Lyme disease. We have found three so far - one on my lower back, one at the top of my leg and one, cough, on my bollocks.

    All now removed. The tick removal tool that Sara bought for my birthday has seen some action I can tell you! :-).

    Fingers crossed there are no more. I think I might start wearing long trousers for walking from now on.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Washing day again

    June 4, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    So nice to not be moving on today. Have basically done nothing apart from some washing first thing this morning, some lazing around the pool, and a quick walk to the nearest town (Le Bar-sur-Loup) this afternoon.

    Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been overly great so it has taken ages for the washing to dry. When we went for a walk we had to move it all into the van in case it rained, which it didn’t.

    PS Burger and chips at the campsite bar for tea. Tres bien!    Read more

  • European Van Tour
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    Musée Renoir

    June 5, 2024 in Italy

    Our first attempt at ‘culture’ this trip went a bit awry when Sara decided that Renoir should have “put his glasses on before painting” :-).

    To be fair, there was only a limited, and somewhat odd, selection of his paintings and sculptures on offer at the museum but the setting and gardens were very nice.

    Then on to the old port in Nice and the coastal (Corniche) road to Menton via Monaco. This was a little disappointing tbh. Maybe the route I planned was wrong but I expected to be much closer to the sea. Most of the route that we went on was thru long areas of cafes and shops. There were some good bits, with dramatic sea views, but not as much as I was expecting. I had put on a French playlist and everything! Driving thru Monaco was a bit like driving thru the longest multi-storey carpark you’ve ever seen… while it is still being built.

    We stopped at Menton for lunch, then straight into Italy - the border comes pretty much as soon as you leave the city. We joined the toll road in Italy almost immediately - before we had a chance to find out how they work. This hasn’t been a problem in France and Spain because we have an automated tag for those countries. Anyway, the barrier wouldn’t raise and the help button only connected us to someone speaking Italian. We finally realised that you simply had to press the big red button and get a ticket… but it was completely unmarked.

    All a bit stressful because there was only one barrier and a big queue had formed behind us. As you might expect, Italian drivers are not slow in letting you know if you are doing something wrong 😊

    Btw, the E80 toll road is a pretty amazing feat of engineering - tunnel followed by bridge followed by tunnel followed by bridge…

    We are now at Camping Baciccia near Albenga on the Italian coast, the first campsite we tried having been full. As usual, we are still undecided about where next but at least we now know how to deal with any toll roads.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Bar Pizzeria Garbus

    June 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Tea over here isn’t tasting great for some reason so we are drinking more coffee than we do at home. For example, this morning I walked into the village to get pastries for breakfast and had a quick cappuccino at one of the cafes. Then back to the campsite for a second coffee with breakfast. Then we went out for a walk at 11.30ish so we stopped for another cappuccino before starting the walk proper.

    The coffee here is very good.

    The walk was a weird one. Quite steep uphill for the first half. The ground underfoot was very wet, a bit like we were walking on old stream beds that had turned into paths. The rock here is a very pale shale (almost white) and water seems to sit on top of it rather than soaking in or draining away. Sara isn’t a great fan of wet paths because she associates them with frogs (which she has a bit of a phobia about). Coupled with me being paranoid about ticks and snakes, we made a right pair!

    We stopped for lunch at a church on a hill - which we shared with a couple of friendly lizards.

    Then back to the campsite for a hot afternoon by the pool. It is so quiet here. We are the only people on our bit of the campsite and the only people using the pool. It is blissful. There were three other van s on our field last night but they all moved on this morning - must have been something we said. We took the opportunity to move our van slightly to get more sun in the morning.

    Now out for a pizza at Bar Pizzeria Garbus in the village.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Ants

    June 8, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Funny old day…

    We decided to stay here an extra day because the weather forecast was sun, sun, sun. On that basis we washed the bedding first thing.

    As soon as we hung it out to dry, the sun went in. Then we discovered that we had an ant infestation in the van. Looks like we have parked on an ant nest and they have gradually climbed their way up the van and in thru a small hole in the pop-top canvas. Clever little buggers.

    We have blocked up the hole with tissue paper and killed as many ants as we could find. Should be ok tonight we think.

    After lunch we planned to go for a walk but Sara couldn’t face it so I went on my own. All on road up to the high point near the village. The road was very steep all the way. Some great views but quite hazy so the photos don’t show it very well.

    Our part of the campsite was completely empty apart from us last night but it has gradually filled up during the afternoon. We are now quite crammed in. There is the annual cherry festival in Garbagna tomorrow, which might explain the numbers of people. On my walk there was lots of cherry picking going on. And when we went for a quick drink in the village before tea, they were beginning to set out the stalls, etc.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Antgeddon II - Return of the Ants

    June 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Woke up this morning and the little fuckers had taken over our bed! Under the mattress luckily but still pretty horrible.

    Had to get to a supermarket pronto and buy some ant spray. Luckily managed to find a large supermarket about 30 minutes into today’s drive.Read more

  • European Van Tour
    2

    Piomboni Camping Village

    June 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    This wasn’t plan-A but we have come right across to the Rimini coast at Ravenna, staying for one, or possibly two, nights at Piomboni Camping Village. The decision will probably depend on how noisy it gets tonight.

    We spent the first 2 hours here emptying the van completely - I mean completely - spraying ant killer everywhere, then sweeping up the dead bodies and putting everything carefully back into the van after emptying all the bags and so on.

    Hot work.

    It is humid here so we went to the beach, which is, well, pretty horrible - all rented loungers and bars with loud music but the sun is due to shine tomorrow so maybe we’ll get used to it! 😀

    The campsite is nice - with pine trees offering shade - but our pitch is very tight. I very nearly lost a wing mirror on a tree getting into it. Luckily all ok. Phew!

    Plan-A was to stay up in the mountains south of Piacenza but the weather forecast for that area was terrible so we decided to come here instead.

    At the supermarket on the way here we bought a new mat for the van - 2 euros on special offer! Bargain.

    Now sitting drinking a lovely bottle of frizzante wine that we bought for 5 euros in the little shop in Garbagne last night.    Read more

  • European Van Tour
    1

    Ravenna mosaics

    June 10, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We caught the bus into Ravenna this morning to have a look around. The city looks a bit rubbish as you go in on the bus - very industrial - but once you get to the centre it is quite nice.

    We bought tickets that got us into 3 basilicas, a museum and a mausoleum - all featuring lots of very impressive religious mosaics of one kind or another, mainly floors and ceilings!

    By lunchtime we’d had enough tbh, so we went and got a pizza which was very nice even though I completely misread the menu - I thought I was getting pepperoni but I actually got yellow and red peppers. No problem, it was probably better.

    Brief beach trip for a swim this afternoon. Despite yesterday’s comments it was ok - there weren’t many people about and the sea was very warm.

    Now enjoying an aperitif back at the van on the campsite.

    Moving again tomorrow… not 100% sure where to yet but probably somewhere towards (or south of) Florence.

    (Btw, the campsite wasn’t noisy at all last night, but it was hot. By far our warmest evening and hottest night so far.)    Read more

  • European Van Tour
    1

    Camping Il Cinisco

    June 11, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We have come south from Ravenna via Pesaro on the coast (south of Rimini) where we had lunch and a swim. Not great tbh - we had hoped to find a secluded beach a bit further up the coast but such things are hard to find without local knowledge and the cliffs looked quite steep - we didn’t succeed in finding a path ☹️

    Once here, we were hoping to get a cable-car up one of the mountains nearby tomorrow and then do some walking - we are in the Parco Regionale del Monte Cucco - but, unfortunately, we are out of season so the cable-car is not running.

    On that basis, we will probably move on towards the Florence area tomorrow. If nothing else, that should keep us one step ahead of the rain! We also need to start thinking about heading north, into France and then home - only three weeks left.

    Not really looking forward to giving up van life.

    Btw, tonight’s wine is an experiment. Consilia Vino Bianco in a box - 1 Euro 39 for a litre - so about £1.20. Also only 10.5% which is a bonus. It is just about drinkable, but we’re not fussy!    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Packing up

    June 12, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We made a time-lapse video of ourselves packing the van away this morning. Got it all done and then realised that the phone had stopped recording half-way thru.

    Luckily for you, we literally had nothing better to do than get everything out again and then re-record it 😂. Good practice for us I suppose!

    So there are now two videos, one of us getting everything out and one of us putting it all away again.

    Both about 10 minutes in real time.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Camping La Futa

    June 12, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We’re in the Apennine Mountains north of Florence. Fantastic Tuscan views from the campsite. We drove for about 3 hours to get here, stopping at Lago Trasimeno for lunch.

    Tomorrow will be a walk - we haven’t done one for a few days. The day after will probably be another long drive to get us up to the north of Italy.

    Tea tonight was pasta pesto with tomatoes, mozzarella and marinaded sardines - a mix of what we had left in the fridge and what we could buy at the campsite shop. We forgot to go to a supermarket on the way here.

    Tomorrow will be pizza at the campsite restaurant which looks pretty good.    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Camping Village Lago Maggiore

    June 13, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We’re at Camping Village Lago Maggiore on the shores of Lago Maggiore, north west of Milan. Just had a swim in the lake which was ok - the water was quite warm - though calling a bit of scrubby grass next to the lake, even with a bar, a “beach” is a bit of a joke in our opinion.

    Not quite as we planned but the weather in the mountains seemed worse than we anticipated this morning so we decided to move on. It was cold enough that I had to put my beanie on for breakfast.

    We did manage a short walk on the way, to see the Flaminia Militare (an ancient Roman road) - it’s not often you get to walk on the same stones that Roman armies marched on.

    Then it was a 3 hour drive to get here - most of it on the A1 toll road. 200km for ~20 Euros. The speed limit is 130km/hour for much of the way but most cars seem to drive faster than that, even where the road gets quite windy. I must admit, I found the driving quite stressful.

    So far, I’ve learned that in Italy, nobody uses the inside lane except lorries, indicators are purely optional, lorries often seem to use the outside lane (even when signs say they aren’t supposed to) and nearly everyone ignores the speed limits. On the plus side, the tunnels are amazing though.

    The A1 was also the crossing point for the funny little figure of eight route that we have taken in Italy. We drove it in the opposite direction on the way to Ravenna. For some reason I’m not a big fan of routes that cross themselves. No idea why!?

    [Update: Great evening at the campsite restaurant people watching!]    Read more

  • European Van Tour

    Gottard Park

    June 14, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    What a weird place - a museum full of old mechanical stuff (of all kinds) most of it, apart from the cars and motorbikes, looking in need of a bit of tlc. Well worth the 8 euro entrance fee though!

  • European Van Tour

    Alps

    June 14, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We are at Macugnaga Natural Camping in Macugnaga, just to the south of Monte Rosa in the Pennine Alps near the border with Switzerland.

    Macugnaga sounds like the kind of place name that the children in Swallows and Amazons would have made up.

    We, well I [Andy], pre-booked for two nights. I have no idea why. We are almost the only people on the site and the weather is pretty foul. The site doesn’t look anything like the pictures on the website. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon things will start improving - fingers crossed. But so far it is wet and cold. We are desperately trying to think of wet weather things to do up here tomorrow but our options are somewhat limited.

    The clouds briefly parted earlier and it looks like we are not that far below the snow line.

    We drove here along the western bank of Lago Maggiore which was beautiful. Some very expensive looking hotels, especially in Stresa. Then a short walk, more or less in the dry, before arriving here.    Read more

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