Summer Lovin’

Summer arrived with a bang last weekend and we camped in the Rheingau wine region in 32 degree heat near Rudesheim. We loved taking Boris out for a run and getting back into our ‘slow camper’ lifestyle.

 

Town of Rudesheim

The Rheingau is very beautiful with wines to match. Riesling is the main variety of this region but they also grow some pinot noir and a few lesser whites. We of course felt it our professional duty to try/buy a few and had a wonderful aged Riesling with lunch - simply stunning, perfect. We brought a few stunners home with us for special occasions – it’s not cheap.

 

Rheingau riesling vineyard

German food doesn’t improve and I’m finding it rather dull. I’ve got to stop ordering salad as mostly I find it inedible, drowned in a white dressing of an indeterminate nature.

We met some more new friends in the campsite, hopefully we’ll catch up with them somewhere along the way in their 4WD camper. This is one of the things that we love about the nomad life, we meet interesting people all the time and often stay in touch.

 

Decided to trade-in Boris - what do you think??

Actually there was a tractor meeting in the campsite - only in Germany?

We’ve also spent some time in the Ahr Valley, only a half hour’s drive from our door. So named because as you look down to the river from the vineyard walking trails, and just sigh “aaahh”. The valleys are dotted with Hansel and Gretel villages, impossibly steep vineyards and wonderful walking trails.

 

Ahr Valley Vineyards

Picturesque towns aplenty

On Wednesday we are off to the UK for the HUBB Overlanders meeting. I know you‘ll all be breathless with excitement at the thought, and will wait with eager anticipation for my trip report!!! I promise not to bore you with the details. We will be catching up with some travel friends and are stocking Boris with cheap Spanish and Italian wine to share.

There’s been some ongoing discussion in the Johnstone/Loughton household about the coming winter and where to spend it. Options include, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus… You know we need somewhere relatively warm and dry and a bit civilised, so we decided to go back to SPAIN!!. There are very few campsites open in Greece and Turkey in winter and rather than rough it for 3 months, we’ll head back to our favourite bolthole of El Puerto de Santa Maria (‘El P’ for short.)

Once we head to Turkey we’ll be roughing it for 6 months on our trek across the wilds of Mongolia, Siberia etc, so thought we’d get some luxury camping in before we head off – makes sense to us.

OK, so the wine and olive oil are also major attractions – but can you blame us? From there, we’ll head to Morocco and do a few bits we missed last time, then ferry to Livorno, drive across Italy, ferry to Split and head south to be in Greece by March. Makes sense???

Well that’s the latest plan, but you know us by now, anything could happen…

Wee Trip to Bonny Scotland

We’ve settled into German life quite seamlessly. Yoga twice a week, (for me), market days for shopping, using our bikes whenever possible for transport.

Yoga is still a challenge in German, but my vocab is slowly improving. I’m not sure how useful it is to be able to say “put your left leg over your left shoulder” and being able to name body parts is not generally part of everyday polite conversation. Oh well, I’ll keep at it.

We recently spent ten 10 days in the UK catching up with friends and family. Pete and Kath graciously let us back in the gate of their lovely house in North Wales, and we got to meet the new addition to the household – Suzy, a Nova Scotia Duck-tolling retriever - no I’m not kidding. At 10 months she’s very sweet and still quite puppy-like. Daisy, the curly coat, adores her but needs admonish her from time-to-time as older bossy dogs do.

Retrieving dogs

We did some lovely walks with the dogs who absolutely love getting out into the woods and getting muddy. Also went to our favourite pub, The Ship, for a shoulder of welsh lamb.

Next stop Glasgow to catch up with sister Helen and cousin Robin and his wife Jan. Weather was mostly kind and we had some really fab meals. Glasgow really does have some brilliant restaurants, and we always eat very very well there. So we had a few fun nights with the gang, and caught up on the goss.

 

Is there anything cuter than a lamb with a black face?

Driving through Ayrshire

We drove across to Edinburgh for 2 nights as I had only spent one day there in 1990. Lawrence’s friend Maggie (from school days!!) came down to meet us and we had a fab Cook’s Tour of Edinburgh. We also did a spooky ghost tour of the underground vaults of the city. We very disappointed not to get a kick in the bum or a head-butt from any ghostly beings of the night.

 

Edinburgh Castle is still there!!

Scottish Parliament - maybe about to make history - again.

Lawrence and Maggie taking a break

Business wise, things are cranking up and Lawrence is doing lots of stuff with Stuart and will be doing some consulting in the Netherlands next month. I’m still just being a Hausfrau and enjoying it!

Having spent 6 months in Italy, one had developed a bit of a ‘pasta belly’. Continuous pasta, pizza, pastries and panini didn’t do wonders for the waistline, so I’ve been ‘reducing’. It’s been fun cooking lots of different foods on my health kick – including cauliflower-crust pizza!! If you want the recipe, let me know. Lawrence really thought I’d lost the plot when I told him what I’d be cooking, but he really liked it – maybe he was just being polite, but then again – that’s not his usual style.

We are heading back to the UK in Boris at the end of June for an expo thingy for people who are into ‘overlanding’ on motorbikes and 4WDs etc. We are hoping to get lots of good info and maybe meet some potential travel buddies. We’d really like to do The Stans, Mongolia and Siberia with others but need to be careful about finding like-minded people that don’t need hand holding and won’t drink all our wine.

We are both really looking forward to being back in Boris. So many people ask us if we are loving being in a flat, staying in one place, having more space etc. Generally the answer is ‘yes’, but we’d both go back to our nomadic life in a heartbeat and we really miss living in Boris. Who’d a thought?

I’d forgotten what a bore housework is…

 

Dog-sitting Logan, Stuart's Border Terrier

Spring has Sprung

We are still in Germany!! Despite my penchant for living in Maastricht, we have rented a flat just outside Bonn. Lawrence and Stuart decided that we needed to be close by, so I lost that one. Anyway the flat is really lovely with views across our lawn to a cow paddock. The district is called Schweinheim – literally pig’s home. We are on the edge of a forest, so will be exploring the walking trails, virtually at our back door.

Our new home

The weather is amazing. The flowers are flowering, the blossoms are blossoming and the blackbirds are singing the Camptown Ladies – a sure sign of Spring. Today is grey but the temperature has been in the 20’s for more than a week.

Boris is parked at Stuart’s and seems safe and bothering no-one, so we’ll just leave him there.

We spent a week in Sardinia and really loved it. So civilised after Sicily. We only saw the east coast, but may go back to see more if we get a chance. The 3 islands Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily are all so different. Somehow I thought they‘d similar, but no.

Sardinian beach

Camp in Sardinia

We took the overnight ferry from Sardinia to Livorno and headed north to Austria. Having had the misfortune to spend a day in Livorno a few years back, we were happy to head to head straight off - it’s a really ghastly port city.

We spent 2 nights in Innsbruck camped in a beautiful spot surrounded by snow capped mountains. The city is small and quaint, and we had fabulous sunny weather, perfect last camping spot before heading to Germany.

Camping in Innsbruck

Lunch in the sun in Innsbruck

We spent 4 weeks staying with Stuart, so it’s nice to have our own place now. Business wise things are moving slowly as predicted, but gaining momentum.

I’ve started yoga – this is a challenge as the classes are in German, but the delightful teacher does a bit of English for me. I’m not sure my German is improving. Must make an effort now that we’ll be here for a few months.

Will report back when we have any more news – but that’s it for now.

The locals in Cologne really let their hair down for Carnivale

Here is the News!!

We are now in Sardinia, having finally left Sicily after 7 weeks. Now the astute among you will have immediately thought – north? – aren’t they meant to be heading east??

We have decided in stay in Europe for another year (ish). Lawrence’s brother Stuart has asked us to help him build up his consultancy business in order to sell it – hopefully for lots of moula. He has signed up some major clients and needs all the help he can muster. I’ll be doing some HR stuff and Lawrence will be doing financial consulting and certification. So yes, I have a bloody job.

We’ll be working in the car dealership industry, about which I know nothing. Oh well, been there before.

So we are on way to Germany to spend some time with Stuart (and dog Logan) before finding a flat in Maastricht in Holland. Most of the business in based in Holland, in case you were wondering.

I last left you in San Vito and since then we’ve seen most of Sicily. I have to admit it’s not my favourite part of the world, although there are a few really lovely spots. Call me hard to please, but rubbish strewn roadsides, poly tunnels and dull grimy towns just don’t do it for me.

Valley of the Temples near Agrigento

Having said that we loved our camp near Avola, right by the sea. We had great neighbours Amanda and Derek and their fabulous chocolate labrador, Zephyr. But best of all, my sister and her hubbie came to visit us for 9 days. We did some touring around, the highlight of which was Syracuse, a really lovely baroque town with an extensive lively market and delicious pastries.

Syracuse

Most of the coastline has been ruined by seriously ugly developments or poly tunnels, not my cup of tea. We did love the wine, the sausages, the fennel and the pastries.

Wild Orchid near San Vito - just because it's pretty

After leaving Avola we all went on to Catania near the base of Mount Etna. The camp itself was a bit scrappy but we were right on the sea. We went up the mountain and walked about in the snow, dodging the skiers and snowboarders, but couldn’t get right up to the volcano. We also went to Taormina, a pretty hill town.

Me with Pip and Mike on Mt Etna

We rather liked Catania, clean and spacious with rather grand buildings, and good shopping. We needed to buy some smart consultants clothes so that we can at least look like we know what we’re doing. Happily the winter sales were on and loads of items were 50% off.

Catania

Who can resist an elephant fountain?

Our camping spot near Catania

We’ll continue our journey home, starting some time next November, well that is the latest plan. Plan D.3 is it??

Anyway, having been in Sardinia for 2 days we love it. So much cleaner and more civilised than Sicily, and really beautiful so far, but we haven’t seen much. Once again we are camped by the sea and as this is the only campsite open on the island in winter we might just stay until our ferry next Saturday.

Days of our Lives

It's hard to believe we’ve been here in San Vito Lo Capo for almost 4 weeks. “What have we been doing?” I hear you ask. Well, not much it seems.

The weather has been mostly good apart from some horror days (wind, rain). Our days have developed a rhythm that we delight in as a complete break from sightseeing.

Late breakfast reading email, papers online etc to start the day. Then we ride into town for a coffee in the sun (mostly). Then a half hour bike ride up a few hills to work off last nights dinner, followed by some shopping.

View of the town from our morning bike ride

Food shopping here is an adventure, as you are never sure what you’ll find. First stop the butcher to see what he has. We’ve got a favourite butcher now so he knows us, but the first time was hilarious. The other customers were friendly, and of course ask “Inglese?”. No, Australia. Ahhh!! Australia bella! And so the conversation goes, all in Italian with me understanding every 10^th word. A lot of knowledgeable nodding and smiling and Si, Va bene goes a long way. Then we lurk in the background while they discuss their purchases in great detail. This can take 20 mins. The pork and fennel sausages tied with straw are worth waiting for!

Next we find one of the vege trucks. We ride around the streets until we find the friendliest one with hopefully the freshest veg. It usually takes about 3 trucks before we find what we want. Fennel is everywhere (it grows wild here) along with artichokes, cauliflower and tomatoes. Everything else is hit and miss, and menu planning comes after shopping. As in “what can we make with this lot??. Fennel salad has become a standard. Just slice it with a mandolin along with red onion and douse liberally with lemon juice and olive oil. Then add whatever else you have to hand. Delicious.

Friday morning is market time and the selection is slightly better. The flower man usually has spinach and broccoli. The olive man is the usual shyster (seems to be universal) and the cheese comes in enormous chunks. We always walk away with far more than we want, as the locals don’t understand the concept of only one pepper or one eggplant.

Just another sunset

As you can imagine, shopping takes up the best part of the morning. After lunch we go for a bike ride or explore some of the area. We’ve now hired a cheapo car (11 euros a day) so we can go further afield.

Beach further along the coast

A few days ago we drove to Monreale, near Palermo to see a cathedral. Once we got into the centre we were starting to wonder if it was worth it. The driving here is lawless, a bit like dodgem cars and we weren’t sure if we’d make it out unscathed from the very narrow streets. Cars are not so much parked, as abandoned and passing or parking on a bend seems to be compulsory. Luckily we jagged a parking spot near the Duomo or we’d have simply given up.

This 12th century Romanesque church is completely decorated in Byzantium/Greek mosaics. It is simply stunning. The colours are not as vibrant as the Ravenna ones but the craftsmanship and artistry is mind-blowing.

Monreale Duomo

 

Lawrence’s brother, Stuart, flew down from Bonn for a few days last weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time sitting about in the sun chatting and sipping on local wine.

Today we went off to see Marsala, famous of course for its wine. The town was so mind-numbingly dull that we just left and went to a Trattoria nearer home that knew had fabulous food. We can buy Marsala in the supermarket!

Nearby town of Trapani

It’s not all beer and skittles though. We did have full week of no alcohol and eating nothing but fresh home cooked food, as a good start to the new year. 

Monreale Duomo cloister - more mosaics

PS: We are still caning the poor old Poms in the cricket..!!