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| Leaving Venice |
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| Room is ready |
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| Cruising down the Adriatic |
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| Room with a view |
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| Lost in the bowels of the ship |
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| Mrs D on the beach in Arillas before the masses arrive |
The
first 2 weeks of April saw us catching up with folks before we left and
ensuring we had got everything we needed and booked all the necessary tickets
etc. As usual it simply flew by and in no time at all it was the weekend before
we left and Mrs D was in full panic mode.
We
were due to set off on Tuesday 16th and we had a huge pile of stuff
to fit into the back of our car and the roof box. It did eventually go in with
a bit of room to spare. Amongst the big items for shipping over this year was a
32” TV, some huge picture frames and a bike ramp for getting the motorbike out
of the house. There was also a supply of food items needed for over there.
With
the car ready to go and farewells all done off we went heading south to the B
& B by the sea in Winchelsea. We had a bit of a detour on the way down
calling on someone we haven’t seen for a while near Lincoln so it broke the
journey a bit. We arrived in Winchelsea early evening after managing to escape
rush hour on the M25. A pleasant run down without any problems just as you want
it.
The
following day saw us walking into Rye for some supplies and a coffee before
returning back for an afternoon local stroll down to the sea with our host and
her trusty companion Keesha. Keesha probably did 3 times as many miles as we
did!
Thursday
was ferry day to Dunkirk so it was a 4am start to catch the 6am ferry It is
always sad in a way sailing away from the white cliffs of Dover, something to
do with home, roots and belonging possibly…………..
We
arrived in Dunkirk for 9am so the long haul arse 0f 550 miles to Altenstadt in
southern Germany was under way. The weather was good, the route we knew and all
went well. I think it was probably too long a day and we will look to do it
shorter and differently next time.
Driving
across Germany is always so exciting and challenging. They drive so fast you
have to see it to believe it, you need to check mirrors many times before you
decide to overtake or you risk having someone parked on your tail waiting to
get past! Also it is the land of the ‘ausfahrt’ slip road or exit to you and me
but you always know where you are when see the ausfahrts!!
Digs
in Germany very nice and we get a good breakfast to get us on our way the
following day to Venice. A shorter drive and day at 350 miles and by far the
most spectacular going through the Austrian Tyrol over the Fern Pass followed
by the Brenner Pass out of Innsbruck.
We
mustn’t forget our shopping trip in Telfs to C & A. We usually call in here
on the way out and on the way back. It’s a cracking little shopping centre
where we stock up on summer stuff going out and winter warmers coming back to
UK. I usually come out with more than Mrs D. We also call in the Eurospar and
stock up on supplies for the Venice ferry trip.
All
stocked up we headed over the pass into Italy. Sadly we hit rush hour on the
A4, which runs across Italy, it was horrendous. Makes the challenges of German driving
appear insignificant compared to this ‘every man for himself’ style of driving!
We
had booked a cabin on a campsite in Venice and very nice it was too. Being
approx 5 miles from the ferry it was both handy and comfortable. Again we got
another super breakfast, well when I say super breakfast it wasn’t exactly a
full English but it was good for the journey.
We
were travelling down the Adriatic this year with Anek ferries as Minoan no
longer sail from Venice. So we did not know the ship or the deck layout to find
a good spot to put up our tent on deck. Bravely, Mrs D has to go on before me
as it is drivers only on the car deck so she can scout about and find a good
spot. A splendid place she found too, looking out over the back of the ship and
enclosed behind glass we managed to get a good nights sleep on our floating
campsite.
The
crossing was good, sea calm and we got into Igoumenitsa the following day late
afternoon. This left us needing another ferry across to Corfu from the
mainland. We eventually arrived back in Kopsocheilades about 8pm and all was
well with the house. The weather was as you would expect it and the garden
wasn’t too overgrown.
So
after our 1300 mile drive and 500 miles worth of ferries we had a few
relatively easy days unpacking and sorting everything out. This along with a
few cycle trips to Sidari, Acharavi and strolls round the olive grove saw us
through to the end of April apart from a bit of serious strimming in the
garden.
We
have Lynns brother, our first visitor of the year, arriving the first Saturday
in May so more on that and the rest of Mays antics at the end of May!
