Post It from Back Horse Farm, Kent. England. 26th April, 2015

I thought I would just do a few lines from this familiar site to us to set the theme for this touring holiday and for Brian and Sue, our good friends, who are awaiting the arrival of their new VW camper van. This tour was only booked recently once Smokee, our house cat, had the all clear from the vet to travel. He is quite old now and we are pleased he is still with us. I can definitely say he seems to enjoy being back in ‘Bessie’ again and is currently enjoying a bit of sun shining below the low clouds as he watches the rabbits on the empty grass pitches close by. The journey down from East Yorkshire was quite good; I always like to travel on a Sunday as there is less traffic on the roads, and the weather started off with beautiful sun as we left East Yorkshire and changed to slight drizzle as we travelled through Kent from the M25. I understand it is snowing in Inverness so we are doing well! As we arrived at the campsite a silver grey VW T5 camper van pulled in behind us and later arrived on the pitch next to ours. It was quite chilly and I struck up a conversation with the couple as we set up. It was their first journey on the Continent in their 2 year old van and they were heading for just north of the Mar Menor in Spain, close to where we once lived, to visit their daughter. I passed on some tips about nice camp sites in the area and assured them they would thoroughly enjoy their 6 weeks away. They said the van was a tad small inside and wished it had been the long wheel based version but they used a tent to accommodate the many extra things they carried. I cannot wait to see Brian and Sue’s new van once it is all done, it will be fantastic. Our own trip this time is a whole new experience for us. Providing the weather is good and we end up following our intended guide we shall visit totally new countries for us, with the sole exception of crossing the English Channel to Calais using the Eurotunnel. We shall travel through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, back into Austria, Slovenia and into Croatia. On the way back we shall probably pass through the same countries visiting different places and also a stop in Luxembourg to see the capitol city. Sharon can generally meet and greet campers we meet in most languages that she has picked up since camping but otherwise we cannot speak any of those countries national languages. We have for many years travelled to Spanish speaking countries in readiness for our retirement and short (ish) stay in Spain. I will be out of my comfort zone in this regard and I am also a little apprehensive about the road network through Germany in particular. I have a decent map but find the road network so complex it is hard to see the road name at times and follow the route when turning from page to page. The sheet map of Slovenia and Croatia is much easier to follow all being on one page. I just hope the trusted Tom Tom will do its job and I have managed to make a note of what I think are the roads I should be taking from the map. I like to know to some degree what the next main city will be on the direction signs and have a visual map in my head of the route. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will have some reassurance when I start the journey and see the road signs as they appear. Having said all this we are really looking forward to the new experiences and will hopefully arrive in Croatia. If we find somewhere we really enjoy on the way and the weather is good then you never know, we may just stay there! Likewise we have already agreed that if it is long term poor weather, and I mean rain, then we shall find a country where the sun is shining and just move there instead. We are not due back until the end of June so there is no rush and I will keep you all posted where we are, internet access permitting. Now to catch the final episode of Poldark, and my once a week treat of a bar of ASDA smart price chocolate, luxury!!! Regards, Roy