Day 2: Lost

Song of the Day: The Theme Song to Lost

Distance Driven: 304 Miles

Distance Sailed: 21 Miles

It must just be Brighton, but whenever I am there it rains; a lot. And as the reason we went there was to take a photo, that really didn’t help. But 3 hours waiting for it to clear is dedication to the cause (Must remember to pack my book next time). So we left Brighton, not having achieved the reason we went there. An inauspicious start.
And things didn’t look up at Dover. It appears that, somewhere in the last few years I got old; or maybe that is older. While we were waiting to board the ferry to Calais, we were surrounded by several bus loads of Uni students on sports tours. Instead of thinking how wicked that would be, my thoughts turned to, ‘I really hope we don’t sit beside them on the boat’. It was probably seeing some of the truely creative nicknames that they wore on there shirts that made me think of Uni field trips with more drinking than studying. Although, it takes a special kind of drunk to walk around with ‘Big Feet, Small Penis’ written on the back of their shirt. (my personal favourite was ‘ASBO Lover’, she really has something going for her that girl)

And as we expected, we ended up sitting next to a drunken group of them. Since when does turning 30 turn you into an old boring bastard, damn it.

And when we got off the boat it didnt really look up. It rained, alot. In fact, I have already come to the conclusion that it rains more in France the England ;-). We didn't get to Le Havre until after dark due to the adverse weather conditions and my eagerness to send us in the wrong direction (Laurie was driving on the right-hand-side for the first time, and was quality I must say). Then our late arrival was followed by the realisation that the camping area that the city provides doesn't have a toilet. Problem; we don't have a toilet in our van. And after 2 hours of trying to find an open McDonalds in a city we have never been to, we decided, it might just be a good idea to stop at the Mercure for the night.

Things we learnt today:
- Check facilities before leaving for destination
- It rains a lot in France
- We were drunk students once too
- Now we are are 'very' not.

Day 1: And so it begins...

Song of the day: Drive – Bic Runga

Miles travelled: 63.9

5.00am: Wake up. Wonder if we have everything for the van.

5.55am: Get up. Declare that 5am is the new 11am.

7.00am: Load van.

8.15am: Leave home. Waved off by Tom and family. J

8.25am: Get lost for the first time. What does “slight right onto Vauxhall Bridge Road” mean?

8.26am: Throw away Google Map instructions.

8.55am: First argument. Congratulate selves for really being on holiday now.

9.30am: Get van up to 60mph. Get in!

10.30am: Arrive in Brighton.

1pm: Finish organising van.

1.01pm: Argue about how much crap we brought with us.

1.02pm: Congratulate selves for really being on holiday now.

1.15pm: Walk into Brighton.

1.25pm: Starts raining.

1.26pm: Get wet. L

3.30pm-6.29pm: Cam takes photos in rain. Gives up. Leaves pier.

6.30pm: Stops raining. Decide that we never really wanted that photo anyway.

7.00pm: Return to van.

7.15pm: Laurie figures out how to successfully operate stove.

7.20pm: Dinner.

8.01pm-8.56pm: Make bed.

8.57pm: Decide that we should have figured out how to make bed in London.

10:00pm: Bed time. Because we are old and married. And tired. Congratulate selves for really being on holiday now.

The Long Road Home

It seems to be the dream of every Antipodean who spends any time in the UK to do a road trip through Europe. Sleeping on Spanish beaches, or by Italian lakes; and experiencing some of the finest brews in the world along the way. Well, that's my dream anyway, and one that, after months of planning, is finally about to come to fruition.

From Saturday, the shackles of London life (and those of not drinking) will be thrown off (please excuse the dubious use of cliches) as part 1 of our Long Road Home gets started when we take off on our 3.5 month road trip of Europe. As you can see from the map, our itinerary is extensive, and knowing us, we will probably not stick to anything close to this. But some plan is better than none.

So this is where we will write about our adventures for the next 5 months, as we head back to the sunny shores of Wellington (can't beat it on a good day), New Zealand . Hope you enjoy it, and the photos we post along the way.

The Route