Home in Time for Tea

Road Trip Holiday to Croatia   “You nearly ready?” Richard asks as he lumbers past the bedroom door with a number of bags piled up in his arms. No, I’m not, I think to myself. I’m still choosing which shoes to bring and in the end Richard gives up and tells me to bring the lot. “There’s still loads of room in the boot, it’s the beauty of a road trip!” He says happily. After a few hours from setting off on our road trip holiday to Croatia, we arrive at the Port of Dover. We were aiming to get an earlier ferry (which you can do free of charge, or get the later one), but we have just missed it so we drive back through the town to find a good traditional fish and chip shop. Ahhh, the softest, most crispy-on-the-outside, tasty chips ever, they went down a treat! With the whole twelve days ahead of us, we head back to the ferry port to sail across to the continent and begin our journey South-East through Germany and past Munich, through Austria, through Slovenia and past ...

Stranded Passengers in an Expensive City! 26th March 2010: A week before our cheap flight to Oslo, Norway… I have the phone pressed to my ear, I’m eagerly waiting for Richard to answer… “Hello?” “Oslo! I’ve found two return flights to Oslo for £40 each!” “Yeah? Ok… Can you ski there?” “Yes. I’ve done all the research! There’s a ski resort in Oslo canlled Tryvann, and an even better one a short train ride away. Let’s book it! It’s so cheap!” “Ok – the dates we agreed yeah? There’s no taxes or anything?” “No. It’s all there! Three nights in a hotel in Oslo! I’ll text you when it’s booked...” Day 1 We’re walking down the hill, through Slottsparken to the city centre, using a city map. After ten minutes we come across the large modern train station and nearby tourist centre. We wait in line and a friendly man calls us forward. “Can I help?” “Um, hi, do you know how to get to Geilo ski resort please?” I ask. “It is by train.” He replies in his Nord...

Mid-Range Expections, Very Budget Reality: Hotel Shock on Holiday in Switzerland I closed my eyes and leant against the car window. The map was pasted onto my eyelids - Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Namur, Nancy, Metz - a scribble of colourful roads and place names weaving their way into my sleep. We had been travelling for a few hours from Calais in France, money in our wallets, clothes in our suitcases and petrol in the car. We chose not to book any hotels and just make our way towards Switzerland, stopping when we liked, staying in whatever mid-range hotels took our fancy. Aaah, freedom... After the flat countryside in Northern France and a few nights in French cities Reims and Nancy, we reached a little town away from the motorways, named Chaumont. An enchanting little French town off the beaten track, it was surrounded by low forest-clad hills and rock faces. We ate at a small local Pizzeria, where no-one spoke English – excellent! What a great way to practice our terr...

My First Road Trip Holiday - Journey to Switzerland from the UK... At two in the morning I am woken to Richard eagerly packing the last of his things and double checking everything. Are the windows locked, are the passports there, is the chipmunk cage closed, is anything electric left on… For goodness sake. I turn over and snuggle into the blissfully cold side of the bed. Ten minutes left. Because I am so awful at getting up I had arranged with Richard last night that I will travel in my pyjamas with the duvet in the back of the car. I had offered to drive but Richard said he wouldn’t be able to sleep in the car anyway. He never can. I was up until 11pm reading all about Switzerland. Wow, those Alps! I should have gone to bed a lot earlier. I don’t know why I am so optimistic about time, I just presume there’s all these secret hours stacked up between midnight and one in the morning. How can those two hours really be so close together? Before I know it the light is on and I’...