Stuff I learned on the road...

I do love exploring! I've never been one for feeling homesick and I've always loved going to new places. As a child I was lucky that my parents took me on plenty of holidays all through the year, whether it was flying away somewhere hot or camping in the rain. My Mum is a bit of a bargain hunter so we never really did package holidays or all inclusive - "off the beaten track" she calls it. I've grown up with the same mindset if not worse and Ryan is the same! Our journey this Summer was extremely loosely planned, even my Dad was shocked at the lack of organisation. Here is what we've learned from our laidback adventure...

From My Kitch Instagram

You can travel FAR and wide with a lot less money than you would spend on a package holiday. I dread to think how much it would have cost for flights and hotels for a month in France and Spain. We both spent just over £500 each and that included ferries, petrol, camping, food and everything else that we did over the last month. The maps below show the route that we took and the main places that we stayed - it was so long that google wouldn't let me put it on one map!

England to France to Spain

A - York

B - Chelmsford

C - Calais

D - Fontainebleau

E - Limoges (Limousin area)

F - Gorges du Tarn

G - Avignon

H - Aix en Provence

I - Finca Slow (Ginestar)

J - Villa Davison (Albox)

Spain to France to England

A - Villa Davison

B - Basque country seaside

C - Bordeaux

D - Poitiers

E - Calais

F - Chlemsford

G - York

Being the frugal pair that we are, we only bought one saucepan and a small bottle of gas to cook with. I have learned that it is in-fact possible to cook for two people using just one small pan. We had to get a little bit creative with our meals such as boiling pasta, tipping it into a mug, making a sauce and then adding the pasta back in. It was a challenge walking round Carrefour and Intermarche trying to plan our meals!

Spending a fortnight in Paris or the Costa del Sol doesn't give you a true reflection of what the country is actually like. If I thought all of Spain was like Benidorm then I certainly wouldn't be returning! I've been to France and Spain before but seeing so many areas of each country by road has changed my perceptions of them. It's amazing that all the pictures below are taken in France - each place is so different from the English channel to the rural heart and Mediterranean south coast.

Staying with friends and family is really handy! It's always nice to see a familiar face (even though I don't get homesick!) and to have a catch up with your loved ones. We were lucky to have so many people to visit on our journey; those stops are some of my favourite memories. I loved our crêpe party with Claire, watching my Grandad battle the waves and eating tapas in the sunshine with all the family.

Your car does suffer. Poor Fred (named after his FRD registration plate) has driven more than a fair few miles. We have pretty much lived in Fred, he's carried the tent, our clothes, toiletries and most importantly the food box! He definitely needs a service and new tyres. Here he is chilling with me in Fontainebleau...

You can learn stuff even if you can't really read the language. It's worth visiting museums and stuff rather than just sitting on the beach - improve your tan and your general knowledge. We didn't spend our whole holiday geeking out but it was fun to explore and learn new things when we could :)

Always try new things! For me just driving on the other side of the road was a big new challenge. Whether it was canoeing down the Tarn, playing on a green gym, building a sauna out of mud or eating fish with eyes, it was all exciting, fun and new.

Now I want to go further afield! All that we have seen and done in just two countries has now inspired me to get out and about way more. There has been talks with Ryan about visiting Germany, Marrakech and India so watch this space :)

Madre, Padre and everything else

Hola! We have been enjoying a much slower pace this week after our epic drive down the Spanish coast. I'm undecided whether I am impressed with how far we have come by car or whether I think we are crazy!

Our travels in Spain began in the North of Spain, in Catalunya. We visited Dan, Johanna and their family at their olive grove, Finca Slow. You can read about our visit and learn more about the work they do on their website...

www.fincaslow.wordpress.com

We then drove further south to Albox which is where my family are spending their holidays in a villa (complete with pool and hot tub!) I wasn't going to turn down the chance to spend a week chilling out in the sunshine for free so here we are! I am giving up valuable sunbathing time to write this ;) 

As well as spending hours on the sunlounger and in the pool, we have visited some places too. We had a day trip to 'mini hollywood' where they used to film old western films. They also had a zoo which was a random but nice addition to our day out. We spent ages laughing at meerkats, watching cancan dancers and taking silly photos in the western props whenever we could. They had a museum of animal prints and a reptile house too which were both interesting and awesome to look around.

Today was our final full day as we begin our marathon of a drive back to York tomorrow. We spent most of the day in Mojacar looking around the shops and eating plenty of tapas. Ryan bought me a bracelet with an indalo charm on it. In Almeria they are a sign of good luck and you often find them on houses. Sadly he didn't buy me the hat....

From Mountains to Beaches

We are having an awesome time travelling around France, living out of my car and staying in a tent. It was our last full day in France yesterday as we moved on to Spain this morning. Here are some of the highlights of our trip so far...

Lakes in Limousin

We didn't realise quite how many lakes there are in France and how many people holiday near them rather than the coast. We camped right next to a few but my favourite was in St Mathieu, south west of Limoges. We relaxed in the sunshine, rented a pedalo, paddled in the lake and walked all the way around. There was a 'green gym' along the path which was good fun to play on as we went.

La cité des insectes

As I am interested in all sorts of creepy crawlies it was a MUST to visit here. In the absolute middle of nowhere we visited this awesome bug museum. Ryan enjoyed taking photos of the butterflies and bees in the gardens but felt a little squeamish at the indoor collection! 

Gorges du Tarn

Our journey here was definitely a fun one! Even if I did hold my breath as Ryan took the sharp bends next to sudden drops. It was very busy in St Enimie where we just about managed to get a pitch for our tent! The first 'touristy' stop of our trip was full to the brim of people wanting to canoe or kayak down the Tarn. We rented a canoe for €36 and managed a 12km trip together, only going backwards a handful of times.

Avignon

When I was at university doing my teaching degree, I had to organise a Frennch day in a school. One of my activites was to learn the song 'Sur le pont Avignon' and create a traditional dance to go with it. I have often burst into my own rendition of the song over the years so I obviously jumped at the chance to visit. Sur le pont Avignon (on the bridge of Avignon)...

Aix en Provence

My French cousin Claire lives in Aix en Provence in the beautiful sunshine. She had baby Jules back in February so we had plenty of excuses to go and visit! We  arrived in Aix en Provence on Saturday and soon found the food markets for Ryan to peruse. We spent a couple of hours walking the many streets before meeting Claire, Alex and Jules who took us back to their house for a barbeque.

Sunday was spent on the beach, relaxing and having a personal tour of Marseille. The Galerie de la Méditerrané was very picturesque! After a dinner full of crépes and a good nights sleep, we left feeling very refreshed for our journey into Spain. Thank you very much for having us Claire, Alex and Jules, we had lots of fun!

9 things we have learned about France (so far)

Our travels through France over the past couple of weeks has shown us a lot of what the country has to offer, in the cities and the countryside. Here is what we have learnt so far, and 1 thing we just don't know!

1. There is a lot of corn growing in the fields.

It's not all sunflowers and garlic! It must be to feed the cows.

2. The birds and the cows are huge.

3. People ignore you if you ask them if they are going to the circus.
This happened in a village in Dordogne. I asked an otherwise nice lady in a village shop, where the circus was visiting, and I was simply totally ignored.

4. The shops sell weird clothes.

5. The cakes and pastries are awesome.
They really are a league above all other baked goods. Almond croissants so full of sweetness, more almond goodness in the form of a Jésuite.

6. The bread is good too.
A baguette is baked well and has the right amount of crunch and chew but there are more great breads across the country, whether poppy seeded or filled with grains, or the Haute-Vienne speciality we found, Le Tourné, which breaks off in swirls.

7. The roads are really long and winding.
Driving through the country from northwest to southeast, the roads are bound to feel long but the roads in Les Gorges du Tarn are something else - twisty mountainside narrow roads with fatal drops.

8. There is fruit growing in all kinds of places.
This is something that particularly stands out from England, every hamlet, village, and city has lots of fruit growing both in the hedgerows, fields and gardens. From grape vines grown over a verandah to fig trees scaling staircases.

9. A lot of the houses have shutters.
They are all different colours. First of all green was our favourite, then the blue ones stood out, now I think we like purple. They keep the sun and noise out and look good.

1 thing we still don't know is what the yellow diamond sign means at the side of the road!? They appear in all kinds of places. Don't worry we are confident driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and totally legal with our two breathalyzers and hi-vis jackets.

Dover to Limoges

We are currently staying in a cheap hotel in Limoges after a long drive south through the Loire Valley. After three nights of camping and more than enough hours of driving, we decided that we wanted a good nights sleep in a bed! We aren't ones for five star luxury and probably never will be :)

We left Essex on Monday evening to catch an evening ferry from gloomy and drizzly Dover. A few hours later and we were making our way through Paris at midnight... quite different to day time Paris! I took my turn at driving on the other side of the road before quickly passing the car back to Ryan. Eventually we pitched our tent in the forest of Fontainebleau at gone 3am!!

Obviously we had a lazy start to our trip with a visit to Carrefour for food and having a wander around Milly-la-Forêt, a local village. Ryan had plenty of time for some climbing and trying some impossible looking problems. I however, spent a lot of time falling off and whinging that I couldn't do it :P

To break up our long trek south we ventured to the Loire Valley and stayed in an eco-campite just south of Orléans. It was fantastic to have a shower and wake up to views of the field and pains au chocolat!!

Today was mostly spent travelling to Limoges in the Limousin area. This is where we hope to be looking at potential properties so the next few days will be spent exploring the area and peering in estate agents' windows.

I'm thinking we need more cheese and wine to fill out our days too :) Look out for our Limousin update!

Jenny