Impressions of a 2nd First Mate
As a follower of “Life in New Lanes” since its inception, it was an honour and privilege to be invited to join in along these particular lanes in Italy for a week of cycling, walking, swimming, train / station hopping, and the opportunity to visit a long held “tick-box item”. My time as second.. →
Verona – a post of its own
It was great to also have booked the Castel San Pietro campsite just up (steeply) from the river in the centre, having got the last pitch. This was so that we could spend Friday afternoon and evening in Verona before being able to have an easy airport dropoff the next day.
Prompted by some.. →
The Cinque Terra & 1.5 days in Tuscany
1st mate no 2 and I headed off on the 200 miles or so motorway journey to Levanto on the mediterranean coast between Genoa and La Spezia, just outside the CT national park for the first 4 nights of this stay. My guest has contributed her own account which, as it is positive :), and summarises the.. →
Week 2 Lake Garda
Sommacampagna, a small town 30k or so from Cisano Lake Garda and 6k from Verona airport, was a good place to spend a couple of hours having a larger supermarket and nice cafe on the central square, waiting for the midday landing of 1st mate number 1. The results of the usual research for short-term.. →
Accelerate To The Sun
So here I am loving my now Day 5 stay in one place of what will be almost a 2-week stay at two small towns at Lake Garda. Due to the rain at Fussen meaning that not much could be seen, I had made the right decision to cut short the visit, avoid stopping in Innsbruck and head to the sun.
The.. →
Romantische Strasse – Germany
This is a well-known drive in Germany heading south from near Wurzburg to Fussen in Bavaria, the location of the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein and other castles. Reminded of it by friends, I decided to do this route as part of the planned journey to Lake Garda in Italy.
Koblenz
After a.. →
Maastricht, Leiden, Amsterdam
The sunshine and blue sky for the first 2 weeks painted everything gloriously!
Maastricht
I spent my first 2 nights a couple of kms or so outside of Maastricht, which I chose to visit as it was within 25km of the Terhill Centerparcs. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I absolutely.. →
The Netherlands, & my travel, infrastructure
Heading on the way back to Rotterdam we met up with my eldest son and his German partner as they came across from Cologne. We stayed for one night in a BnB in the city of Eindhoven, Netherlands, which was a social enterprise within a large campus-type setting providing services and housing for people.. →
Travels with a Toddler Part 2
The Terhills Resort Centerparcs in Belgium is an easy 2 hours drive south-east from Rotterdam. It’s a peaceful setting with a beautiful centre having attractive, relaxing indoor and outdoor pool and play areas, more suitable for adults and younger children. There is a lakeside beach for some.. →
Winter 2024-25 & Escape to the Continent May-June
My Hull to Rotterdam cabin was booked back in October between coming back from Spain and the South Africa trip, using the catalyst of the booking of some of my family to come to a Belgium Centerparcs in May. I decided to tag along for the outward journey at least and the trip also crystallised the.. →