Home in Time for Tea

Until now, I've avoided Spain on summer road trips because of mass tourism along the coast. It's not my cup of tea, yet I know not to write off a whole place just because it's popular, and the beaches of Mallorca had caught my beady eye. So this year we headed in new directions. Our journey took us to some rural parts of France , satisfying my need to 'discover' something. En route we enjoyed distinctive and vibrant Barcelona and a heatwave, before setting off to Mallorca on the overnight ferry. Clermont Ferrand At the volcanic park 'Parc Naturel Regionale des Volcans d'Auvergne' we quickly found a gentle hilly trail, thanks to the helpful visitor centre lady's instructions, saving us wasting time (and data squabbling with Google maps). With our 3-year-old in tow, and 35 degree heat, we missed the most dramatic views, but our trail offered wonderful panoramas.  The whole place was remote, clean, and very green. The little one c...

As usual, we planned this summer's road trip holiday around a naturally beautiful, beachy destination; this time, Corsica. Beaches, mountain walks, and eating local food were the main items on the agenda. It worked out cheaper to take our Corsica ferries to and from different cities, so we got a nice varied road trip with a totally different route home. We mainly travelled for around 3 hours a day on the journey to and from Corsica. We broke it down each day, stopping for lunch and walks (and shopping) in appealing places.   Klowski and I started with a pleasant little day in Cambridge whilst Richard finished work, then we left from there for Dover. This set the tone for the rest of the trip, not least Klowski's thoughts about where we were at various points ('Cambridge' for at least 80% of the time apparently). Rouen & Le Mans On the way to Le Mans, we stopped in Rouen to eat quiche on the steps outside the magnificent cathedral, and I bored Richard with s...

Our little family had 18 days to get from Reims in the Champagne region of France, to Sardinia off the coast of Southern Italy and back again, in our car, loaded with snacks on the way down, and acquired treats on the way back. For example, Italian shoes that fit me really well, an array of tasty French wines, and some lovely French books and toys for little Klowski. The rules of our road trip were: 1. No more than three hours driving in a day 2. No early mornings other than the ferry back from Sardinia 3. To see or do something in a new place each day during the road trip 4. To maintain a ban on videos in the car, so Klowski doesn't become a TV zombie 5. To stay in one place for 5 nights in Sardinia - a holiday from our holiday so to speak! Our route South included the Swiss Alps, Italian and French rivieras, and Tuscany, with an overnight ferry to Sardinia from Livorno. Our return ferry to Toulon in France allowed us to take in Provence and the French Alps befo...