Rain Rain Go Away.

Hola from Spain!

Bert the Merc <3

Yes it is true- we have crossed another border! Took us a while to figure out that we had in fact crossed the border as there is no 'WELCOME TO SPAIN' sign... the language and the font on signs just changed slightly and then its Hola Chica's and Au Revoir Madame's!

But hang on, I feel we have skipped a few steps so lets go back to our last blog and go from there :)
So... we were at the lovely campsite near St. Jean-De-Luz and we stayed there for a whopping 5 nights! As the first three nights were so good that we weren't ready to leave yet! Throughout our stay at St. Jean-De-Luz we did venture out in the kayak! Our first time!! In the sea....when the tide was coming in.... It was brilliant! We managed to mount the kayak successfully- with water, sun lotion and camera in tow (the waterproof one) and paddled out together, in sync and perfect harmony.... and then the waves came. I swear it had been flat as a pancake the whole day which is why we decided to give the kayak a go and as soon as we were out of the shallows it picked up. A lot. We were doing pretty well with hitting the waves head on and Emily was starting to accept that, no, this was not going to be one of those kayak experiences when only her ankles get wet. She was drenched. Steven, as ever, was uber supportive and caring, and decided the best thing to do when the waves hit us head on was to duck behind Em so that he only got a tad damp. So, there we were having a nice kayak and paddle, we saw that there were less big waves coming our way so decided to kayak to the side instead of head toward the horizon as we didnt want to go too far out. It was going really well until a huge huge huge wave started to form so we quickly started paddling on the right so that the kayak and us faced the beach- hoping that we could 'ride' the wave a bit as it was too big to face head on. This was insane! So much fun and we did manage to catch it for a bit- making sure that we stayed straight.

Bert in St. Jean-De-Luz
(Click me to Full Screen the Pic)

Which became more and more difficult the more we stayed with the wave. To the point which we were no longer straight but more to the left. So much so that, yes you guessed it, ooooover we went. It happened so fast! We were both under and when we surfaced Em had hold of the kayak (brownie points for her) and she still had her sunglasses on somehow! And we each had our own oars. But the waves were still coming so we had to wait it out a bit in the depths until Steven found a rock to stand on so he could steady the kayak as Em got back in it and then he followed.
Well. after that we paddled for a bit but the water in the kayak was getting a bit much so we headed for shore. considering the ease of which we got in the sea we thought it would be a doddle. This was not the case. After many falling overs on Emily's behalf and Steven losing the will to live, we got out, and we got the water out of the kayak, and we walked back to Bert the Merc. This whole escapade happened in less than an hour. We are still so keen to get back out there but only in less wavey conditions and maybe we wont go fully clothed and we will leave Ems bag with Bert... But next time maybe we will be less preoccupied in order for us to actually take some photos! :(

What a view!

In those five days at St. Jean-De-Luz we also went for bike rides most days and bike rode into the centre of St. Jean- De- Luz which was beautiful and we would definitely go back there as the beach was sandy and smooth and didnt have loads of huge rocks and boulders hidden in it so definitely worth a visit! We had our first meal out too- Pizzaaaaa yum yum yum! And we had a look around the shops. It wasnt warm enough for ice cream so Steven just had a waffle filling with Nuttela and then we cycled home again :)

St Jean-De-Luz

On the day we left St. Jean-De-Luz we had rain which was fine as we were just driving to Orio- in Spain! When we got there is was cloudy but not wet so we had a look round. The campsite we stayed on was a few minutes walk to the beach and was lovely- the best beach we have seen so far we reckon. As it was lovely and sandy but the waves were big too! We messed around on the beach and saw how close we could get (fully clothed) before we got soaked taking equal steps at a time. Hehehehe! There is also a hilly area which linked to the beach which we walked up which was very steep but led to some amazing views and as it was mild and overcast it was a nice walk! But unfortunately the weather only worsened and it started chucking it down. We only stayed in Orio for the one night as we feel there is no point sitting inside Bert the Merc doing nothing but paying for it. So we headed off again in the morning.

On our way to the Pyrenees

We were initially heading for Pamplona way as we wanted to check that out but the whole day was thunderstorm full so we stopped at a petrol station and had our lunch and then re-evaluated our plan which resulted in us going full whack. Another three hours driving and then settle. We ended up in Solsona which is where we are blogging from! Very nice area and lovely people but it is just a one night stop as the weather is still rubbish and we want to be proactive! The drive here though was incredible though! We drove through the Pyrenees, practically through the clouds sometimes! And the tunnels they have through the mountains are so weird. But so cool- we went though one which was about a mile long! under a mountain! We also got to see thunderstorms build and release over the mountains while we were driving and went around a beautiful reservoir which was more green than blue, with trees and boats in! We stopped and took a few pics so here they are :) This reservoir is known as the Sea of the Pyrenees.

Sea of the Pyrenees

We also saw this bridge which, as you can see, has some vital aspects of it, missing!

Boredom? Lack of funding? Or just a challenge?

So here we are in Sol Sona, trying to plan our next stop which we think will be...BARCELONAAA. Which we are very excited about! Unfortunately, we think that we will have to leave most of Spain to another time as we want to be able to spend four to seven days in one place and really set up camp instead of staying in many places for just one or two nights. So we are going to head to the East Coast and Med after Barcelona! And tan our English bodies.

No rude pics this time but loads of info and here is a pic of where we have stayed so far :)

Much love and Happy Camping


P.S. Thunder and lightning have found us once again! Ah the joys of European thunderstorms!

A Couple of random doggies
running down the Single Carriage-Way! 

Pretty and Pink

Hello Hello!

Rainbow Omelette by Chef Hall  

It has been five days since our last post and bliiiiiimey have we been moving! We are currently sat in Bert the Merc in St Jean-De-Luz on a lovely campsite which backs onto Erromardie beach! It is beautiful here and we have been on the beach all day, sunbathing and paddling :) its a bit rocky here but we don't mind at all! It has been beautifully sunny today and yesterday (hence the name of the blog... Steven is looking rather pink but hey that's what after sun is for right?!) and we welcomed it, as did everyone else in France as the three days before were overcast and even a bit wet!!! I'm pretty sure we were blamed for bringing English weather with us but now its sunny again the smiles have returned- Phew!

To be honest the first day of overcast weather was welcomed as that was the day we travelled from Argenton sur Creuse to an English run camp site in St. Foy-la-Grande which is on the banks of the Dordogne and was about five hours of being on the road. I can tell you now that it was not worth it. The campsite itself was nice enough but the 'scenic' and 'picturesque' local village was...not. Plus there was very very very little there so we only stayed one night. We did, however, make friends with a black Labrador puppy.

Bert the Merc in the Forest near Pilat Dunes

After a wet and underwhelming night here we headed on towards Bordeaux and ended up on a campsite which was in a massive pine tree forest and linked to the Pilat Dunes, this was really cool and felt very private and wild! As it was mild we were able to walk all the way to the top of the dunes... this sounds like a small achievement but do not judge until you have at least googled these dunes or actually walked up them. It was like a mountain. A small mountain but still a mountain all the same.

Top of the Dunes 

 At this awesome campsite there was opportunity to go paragliding off of the dunes which looked amazing and loads of people were doing it so we had to adjust to the sight of paragliders passing Bert the Merc throughout the day quite quickly! When we were climbing down the dunes a certain paraglider started to drop near the sand and someones German Shepherd thought that this was a FANTASTIC game and was sprinting toward this mans dangling legs and jumping up to try and catch him... this dog could jump pretty high too! (I do know a special dog who can jump a bit higher though !)  Luckily the man did get away without the dog in tow but it was a very funny scene to watch!

Nevertheless, we were on a mission and even though this campsite was nice, it wasn't perfect (we wanted beach, sun and a nice campsite!) so we continued our hunt for the perfect campsite for us and Bert the Merc :) so we headed to Biarritz!

The campsite we stayed on last night was in Bidart which is a few kilometres from Biaritz but promised a good beach just across the road! This was not a lie and the beach was gorgeous! But due to the wet weather and the nature of the campsite (on a hill) it meant that parking Bert the Merc was a bit of a palaver and we kind of slept on the wonk so we wanted to move on and see if some of the other campsites in the area were any better! We drove through Biarritz and even though it looked brilliant and we desperately wanted to set up camp and go explore ( we saw this cove-y bit which was over the sea and you could walk to on a rope bridge thing which looked amazing!) but it became painfully apparent that Biaritz was not camper friendly. At all. there was height barriers, and signs to say that campers could not park here, there and everywhere, and no campsites anywhere near Biarritz- the closest one we found via the satnav was 4km away and that wasn't 4km away from the centre, it was 4km away from the aire we found which wasn't close to the beach or centre :( it was gutting. However (!) we have put it on our 'holiday' list as we definitely want to go there as it does look cracking and beautiful but unfortunately Bert the Merc and the like, couldn't fit anywhere and weren't exactly welcome. So we had to find an alternative!

So here we are in St. Jean-de-Luz! And we love it! The campsite is lovely and cosy and FLAT(!) and the lady who runs it is so friendly! The other campers seem really nice too and the facilities have recently been refurbished. It literally backs on to the beach! We have booked ourselves in for three nights which will be the longest amount of time we have spent at one place since we left home! We were sunbathing today and even though Steven 'never burns' he is nice and pink! I did put factor 30 on him as I know he does in fact burn but apparently that sun wanted him good and proper. We are going to go surfing tomorrow and possibly venture out on the kayak! We also had our first BBQ tonight! You are probably wondering why we haven't been having these everyday since we left but it hasn't seemed right yet, but tonight was the night, kebabs, sausages and the trusty potato salad! And, of course, finished with Marshmallows!!! Yumyumyum!

The French do have a sense of humour... 

Just wanted to give a shout out to the birthday girl, a wonderful Mum and beautiful lady- Happy Birthday Mum/Jo! Hope you have a G&T from us!

Much love to all and Happy Camping!!

Lost....In France

Okay so we aren't actually lost but that song has been in Stevens head since we left Calais!

We are four days in and have been having a cracking time, but have had to come to terms with the fact that there is no such thing as 'beginners luck' for us... Bert suffered a stone to the left headlight on our way out of the UK, we have had a gas leak, and got stung by the Toll Road demons of France all in the first 24 hours.

However we have duct taped Berts poorly eye and magically fixed the gas leak by cleaning a gas valve with the help of a french mechanic, who was also the owner of the first camp site we stayed in, and have learnt how to make the satnav avoid toll roads and we know what they look like on the map now so hopefully we wont be stung again... we have resorted to pasta and beans for the next few days in hope to limit our spending. Scurvy anyone?

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Our First Night in France

Okay, so now you all know we are alive lets get to the details- the first day was a tired, expensive and loooong blur but the camp site we stayed in was beautiful, we have been using the ACSI camping card to find places to stay and the first one was in Bresels- Camping de la Trye, which looked to be a bit of a wild card as even though there was a swimming pool in the photo we are aware that most French campsites dont open their swimming pools until August, and the further description was quite plain. So when we turned up at Bresels we were blown away by the scenery (there was a small stream with a bridge at the far end of the camp site and so many flowers and trees throughout the site) and the facilities were incredible- warm and spacious showers and toilets, the swimming pools area wasn't open yet but it had recently been renovated and looked awesome! And there was a trampoline to play on! We were very impressed but needed to keep moving as the lure of Paris was becoming too much for us :)

The next day we headed off (after the gas leaked was found and then fixed) and ended up in a lovely area on the outskirts of Paris called Maison's Lafitte, where we stayed was on a small island too which made it very exciting, the village of Maison's Lafitte was beautiful and ever so friendly, and where we stayed was walking distance to the train station which was a 20 minute ride to Paris. Sorted.

Paris was brilliant as expected but not as expensive as we had expected which was a result, we left Bert at about 9 a.m. and got into Paris at 9.30 ish and headed to the Eiffel Tower; we even got a discount because we are under 24! There was a strike going on pretty much under and in front of the Eiffel tower about workers rights but that was controlled and we think it resulted in less people being around as we didn't have to queue for a ridiculous amount of time. We then had lunch in front of the Eiffel Tower on the green gardens which was lovely but we were on a mission so started walking from the Eiffel Tower to the Notre Dame! This was long and it was hot hot hot (34 degrees) but the sights we saw made it worth it and it was free... well Emily did need an ice cream at the end but she did share it. Kind of.
The Notre Dame was insanely beautiful and breathtaking and just incredible just from the size of it! Would definitely recommend it and would go in again! we did start to queue for access to the towers of the Notre dame but we waited for twenty minutes without the line moving at all and being about 100 people strong and decided to call it a day and started heading back at about 3pm.

We stayed in Maison's Latiffe for two nights without any hitches I might add and then headed off for a long drive to get as far as we could but still be comfortable. We drove for about 4 hours (France is bloomin' huge!) but did stop a couple of times to break it up for lunch and fuel and to take a photo of this sign that made us laugh a bit...

We are now camping in Argenton sur Creuse which is a lovely site which backs on to a calm river which turns into a raging and current filled river of death half way down which is interesting to watch but needless to stay the kayak is staying in the cupboard another night! This campsite is the first to provide free wifi which is why we haven't been replying to anyone and haven't blogged up until now. Tomorrow we are going to head off again as we want to get as close to Bordeaux as we can but don't want to get uncomfortable so we have a few campsites that are long haul and short haul distances away so the options are endless! We have met a lovely couple on this campsite (Dom and Jill) who are also in a Mercedes Sprinter!!! So... HI DOM AND JILL!

Right, we are off to go do traveller things now!
We will keep you posted if anything exciting comes up :)

Happy Camping!