Back to England

We stayed in Ameins just in car park in the town. Mum and Dad walked in the Notre Dame-Ameins-Catherdral. It was lit up in the dark and they said it was an amazing gothic Catherdral. When we all went the next day we thought it was very similar in the Notre Dame Paris. It had lots of Gargolyes and Statues on the front of the two bell towers. The doors had huge decorated arches above them. There were some huge Glass windows inside the Catherdral but most of them were clear. There were plaques for the Anzac’s in one part. The back exterior was under restoration so we couldn’t see it.


There was some cool Music, Art and other shops in Ameins. We walked through a clothing market and went into a Fresh Produce market in a Food hall. There was a Mall as well and we had a look around there.

We drove to some of the ‘Aires’ on the Coast that we had stayed at in the summer. It was raining so we drove further towards Calais. We had a night on the cliffs and spent the next day doing nothing. We had our last shop in France and got some of the things that are cheap and good in France like Pate, Cheese and lot’s of Wine. We had our last bite of French Baguettes and Cheese. Mum had booked the 1o’clock (in the morning) ferry but we arrived earlier and got an Earlier crossing to Dover. While waiting at the Dock a small Van full of 10 drunk Lithuinians parked waiting behind us.

We left the continent at midnight and had a smooth, fast crossing back to England. We watched ‘The Jungle Book’ which got quite boring after the first five minutes. We parked on the Marine Parade in Dover.

We had an interesting experience in a Tesco Supermarket with all the people speaking English again and all the products with English labels! We went to a Motorhome dealer in Canterbury for a quote who explained different options how we can sell our Motorhome. We decided we’d try going to go back to the dealer we bought it from in Northhampton. We drove to Herne Bay on the North sea where the Thames finishes. The sun was out but it was cold. The water was brown and the beach was stones with walls going out to sea to stop erosion. There were little huts all different colours along the beach. We decided to walk to the library. It was much further than we had thought it was and we ended up walking more than 10kms. There were a lot of people using the library and we were asked if we were there for the homework club.

The next day Mum and Thomas went back to the library. They did a little shopping on the ‘High Street’ and got a jacket at a Charity Shop. There was a really neat ‘Witch’ shop with incense, candles and spell making ingredients. The lady was very happy to explain what the different things were. Mum got a purple beeswax candle for success in legal matters and some charcoal disks and dried lavender. Mum wanted to meet up with her Uni friends Fiona and Robyn. It got dark very early while we drove around London and under the river Thames. We got to Robyn and Jule’s place and parked next to the stable. There was a lot of mud everywhere. Jule’s had cooked a Beef Cassserole and Christmas pudding and Robyn’s lemon cake. Robyn told us stories of practical jokes at University. It was nice to see Fiona again and we had never met Robyn but we like her. We watched some TV until late then had a good sleep. Fiona and Flossie were nice and warm in their little Peugeot. When we went in the house in the morning we had nice hot showers and Porridge and our dirty washing was clean and folded. Jules took us on a tour of their every own graveyard. It was very interesting and a little creepy. Robyn rode two of her horses in the Dressage arena. The girls had a little ride as well. We had dinner in a Tesco car park then stayed on a street opposite a special hospital in Ampthill. We drove to Gary at ’Heart of England’ motor homes. We watched a movie while Mum and Dad talked inside. After Gary looked in our Motorhome we left. Mum and Dad decided they wanted to sell the Motorhome with Gary. We went to the same Shopping we bought the Satnav/GPS and had dinner. We stayed in Warwick at the St. Nicholas Park where we before in summer.

We went to Warwick Castle the next day. We had our Merlin Passes so it was ‘free’. The grounds were quiet and empty. There weren’t any outdoor shows cause it was too cold. The actors really made the day special and the castle’s history come alive. There were little details that we noticed differently from last time like secret doors. We took the Ghost tour and dressed up in the Princess tower. The view of Warwick was spectacular from the tallest tower. It is a very historic town and all the old houses are crooked.

Portugal to Paris-New Years

After our wonderful Christmas ’break’ with Sharon we decided it was finally time to start heading back to England and the cold winter weather. To see a different part of Portugal and Spain we decided to go along the bottom of Portugal and then up to Salamanca. We visited a couple of beaches but found them unattractive because of all the development that restricted our camping overnight options. We did find one nice place with a big parking area and lots of other campers, internet and a beautiful long beach. As well enjoying the soft sand and nice walks we had to take some photos for selling the camper. We managed to transform our camper (by adding the carpets and taking off the covers we made in Scotland) and it looked brand new. We usually have all the fabric covered so seeing it out with the new carpets reminded us of how nice our little home is when we’re not all in it. We crossed over the border into Spain and drove all day along motorways back to Salamanca. We got stuck in the petrol station height restricting bar back in Salamanca and stayed in the same truck stop we had stopped on the way to Portugal.
During the drive we watched a few new movies which made sitting in seat belts a lot more inviting. The vast landscape was very sparsely populated but there were lots of plantations. Oranges and citrus in the warmer south and olives in the dryer north. There was also a lots of homesteads with crumbling sheds and collapsed tile rooves. One thing I really remember is having lunch in a gigantic supermarket carpark which felt deserted. It was warm enough for us to just wear T-shirt and Shorts while the locals were in Jackets. We played outside with tennis balls just to get a bit of exercise the few locals that were there looked side ways at us. Then after lunch we got diesel and the man running the station laughed at dad because he jumped out to help in bare feet. He was really nice though and gave us lollies and a Spanish newspaper which we couldn’t read so we coloured it in and did the puzzles.
The next day we drove from Salamanca all the way to Bayonne France. Some of the longest driving we’ve done on this trip. It was another long day. It’s amazing how the scenery and houses changed when we crossed back into France. We like the French camping facilities and Mum can understand the locals. We spent the night in a very busy Aire with lots of other campers. In the morning it was a beautiful sunny day so we went down to the beach and found that very busy too. Because the locals have a few days off.
We drove through lots of Pine trees looking for somewhere to stop for New Years because we weren’t going to make it for Paris (800km away). We looked at a few empty beaches but stopped at a large smooth lake. There was the most amazing sunset over the lake. The water was shallow for a long way out and would have been nice to swim in warmer weather. Thomas went ‘Paddling’ but it was freezing.
We transformed the back of the camper back into a Cinema and watched ‘Into the Wild’.
Thomas and Anneke went to the lakeside ‘beach’ and made a little mound covered in white corn flour. We saw lots of them on the Mekong river for Chinese new year in Luang Prabang. Ten minutes before we were going to go out and light a candle a group of eight or ten loud and drunk ‘youngsters’ walked past and we didn’t feel safe leaving the camper. We knew we had entered the new year when some unexpected fireworks went off across the lake.
New Year’s Day we went down to the beach and lit a candle on our mound. It took a while because of the wind. We drove further north and went walking on a beach near the biggest sand dunes in Europe. We didn’t climb the dunes. We stayed by a river with an old watermill, surrounded by the town’s Boulanger, Patisserie and Pharmacie.
We went to a Motorway rest-stop with fast-food restaurants and budget hotels. Mum spent a while on the Wi-fi internet at McDonalds trying to work out how to sell our camper and where to go for our last 24 days. We talked about listening to each other and respecting one another in such a small space. It was much colder after driving only a couple of hundred kms north. The pond where we stayed froze-over, overnight. We had fun smashing the ice and bouncing stones on top, making funny noises.
We drove past a town called ‘Angerville’ and soon we were on a busier Motorway to Paris. There were some huge powerlines to our right. We got further into the city past some big office buildings and a hot-air balloon. There were lots of vehicles on the roads. We were back in the Bois de Boulonge with the ‘Ladies of the Night’ vans. We walked towards the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ past lots of familiar things. There were fenced off pens for Christmas tree recycling. The Arc de Triomphe was lit up and bigger than we remembered. We took the underpass under the huge roundabout with 12 exits. We then walked down the Champs Elysees. The trees were sparkling with Christmas lights and all the shops had Christmas lights out front. Everyone was shopping and there was a waiting line for the ‘Louis Vuitton’. Looking through the windows we could see handbags and coats for hundreds of Euros. We turned right and reached the Seine river. There was the Eiffel tower lit up gold. There were two spotlights shining outwards like a lighthouse. We walked down the river past the river cruise docks. We walked under the tower behind the Army guys with big guns. There were lots of annoying vendors (some illegal immigrants), hassling us to buy the little tourist souvenirs and these light-up spinning helicopters. We turned around to head back to the camper then the whole tower (as well as being gold) was sparkling with flashing strobe lights. It was amazing but only lasted five minutes. We saw a man cooking in a small tent on the footpath. We walked past some cafes and green-grocers on the way back to the Bois de Boulonge. It was a little scary at night. We drove out of Paris to a place we’d stayed at before on the Seine river.

Christmas with Sharon

 We drove to one of the beaches (by Bordeira) we would have stayed at if we haven’t spent the three days at Praia da Cordoama beach near Vila de Bespo. We had lunch and walked on some of the boardwalks looking over the cliffs and dunes. We drove to Aljezur then following Sharon’s instructions we went to the town of Vale de Telha past the Hotel and Karisma-the local bar. We parked opposite the house and Sharon came out with her dog-Rosie. We walked up the steps and into Sharon’s two bedroom house. Sharon is a good friend of our Auntie Debbie and Auntie Chris and went to Sydney with Mum and Dad in 2008. Us Children had never really met Sharon so we got to know her. And we really like her, she’s kind, generous, bubbly and special like our Aunty Debbie and Chris. We’re glad to be having Christmas in a house especially Sharon’s. William cooked us Pasta and Mushrooms and for the first time in 6 months the dishwasher did the dishes.

The next day we watched movies and went in the Hot tub. It wasn’t a nice day outside and we dared each other to go in the cold pool which was only 15 degrees and like ice. Sharon told us stories about her travelling the world, working in London and her friends that are coming for Christmas dinner. Sharon’s dog - Rosie was from the SPCA and afraid to see so many people in her house, she got more used to us while we were there. Sharon is also looking after the neighbours dog- Scotty. Thomas spent a long time in the Garage painting Jewellery boxes for Sharon and Maddy though they didn’t know this at the time. There is a nice view of a small lake from the hill Sharon is on and when the clouds go you can see some mountains. Mum and Dad slept in the spare room and we got to spread out a bit in the camper. We liked having some of the luxuries you don’t have while travelling like unlimited hot showers and clean clothes and space! Mum, Dad and Sharon went to the Karisma bar a short walk and we had the house to ourselves and we watched more movies.

Christmas eve was Dad’s birthday. Sharon started preparing some of the food for the Christmas feast and Mum and Dad wrapped there presents. We went back in the Hot tub with wine glasses and water. Sharon, Mum and Dad went back to the Karisma. We had Lasanga and watched ‘Miss Potter’. Nanny and Pa called us and it was nice to hear their voices, the connection sounded like Morse code

Christmas day we got up a 8o’clock and didn’t wait as long to open presents as we usually do. Auntie Debbie ad Ernie rang and we got to talk. We put pillow cases up with Sharon last night and Santa had filled them with lots of Chocolate. We spent two hours unwrapping the little two Euro gifts we had bought/made for each other and Sharon. We had lots of fun especially trying to open boxes and triple-wrapped presents.

We went down to the beach at 11o’clock for one of Sharon’s traditions-champagne and a walk on the beach. The river was swollen so we couldn’t cross to the big side of the beach. There were lots of English people that had moved out from the UK and it was nice meeting them. Some of them went for a cold paddle in the waves.

We then had to start preparing veges and things for dinner. The girls went upstairs to count and swap lollies, chocolates and toys. Thomas and Sharon had fun making Christmas mince pies and Yorkshire puddings which we haven’t had before in NZ. ‘The Boy’s‘- Keith, Dave and Mark are Sharon’s friends (who also moved here from the UK), came round for dinner and it was nice meeting them. We had a wonderful English feast from Sharon-two turkeys and a ham, broccoli, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, parsnip, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, gravy, Christmas pudding, custard and Christmas mince pies. It was extra special because a lot of these things are difficult to get in Portugal and we probably wouldn’t have had the same if we were just in the camper. Johanna raided Sharon’s wardrobe and tried on all her shoes and put on a fashion show.

On Boxing day we just relaxed and had soup and Christmas cake. We started eating our chocolates and watched movies. Thomas spent all day catching up on the blog. We all watched Avatar again.

Thank you Sharon for sharing Christmas with us. We’ll never forget the awesome time we had and would love you to come back to NZ again sometime.