Wednesday 8th - 14th July, Montpellier (France) to Barcelona to Mallorca (Spain)

After Nice we drive to Montpellier on route to Barcelona. We stop for the night and enjoy a night out in the town. We never intended to visit Montpellier, but after seeing the beautiful old buildings we wish we’d planned to have more time here. It’s got a great character, few tourists and a wonderful vibe. The locals are all out and about enjoying the warm weather!
The next day we continue to drive to Barcelona to catch our flight to Mallorca. We spend the next 6 days there with our friends Grant and Maria. Maria is Spanish and she’s organised our stay at a beautiful old farm house which has been recently renovated. It’s set on 150 hectares which is used to grow wheat and rear horses. It’s a wonderful rural environment and only a 10 minute drive to the nearest beach, Sant Jordi.
When we arrive at Sant Jordi, we naively move past the crowded section to a more open area and suddenly we are in a nudist beach! It’s not a particularly attractive experience but certainly eye opening! After this, we get some local tips about the best beaches to visit to avoid the hoards of German and English tourists.

We spend the next few days doing day trips around the island. One of the highlights was a day at Cala De Deia on the Western side of the island where we had local seafood for lunch overlooking the beach (the best sardines we’ve ever eaten!).

Mallorca is much larger than we’d imagined and there’s an interesting diversity of people and terrain. We pass very mountainous regions, open plains with golden wheat fields and quaint villages which contrast starkly to the thousands of ugly sea-side apartments built for the “Easy-Jet crowds” from the UK and Germany.

We really enjoy the beaches here as nothing can beat soft white sand! It’s been a really relaxing and fun week...we’ve indulged in some wonderful local food, spent hours in the warm, crystal clear waters and had plenty of laughs with Grant and Maria.

Saturday 4th July -7th, Nice France

When we arrive in Nice, it’s late in the afternoon and the weather is a balmy 30+ degrees. The area of Nice that we are staying in, could best be described as “edgy” given the interesting characters that we pass when we go out to dinner. Nice is a great mix of locals, tourists, restaurants and art and the city is abuzz with the heat of summer. We find a wonderful wine bar for dinner and indulge in some Nicoise specialties whilst we enjoy the local pianist play. As we walk home we come to realise that the Tour de France will be flying through the main street the next morning.

We wake up eager to find the ideal position to watch the race (which happens to have no shelter from the burning sun). We wait sometime and the caravan of sponsors comes through throwing out giveaways. The locals go crazy trying to grab whatever they can and it’s a fun spectacle. Then we wait some more and the caravan of team cars comes through. We continue waiting and the expectation begins to build. Suddenly, we hear someone say that they’re coming around the corner and within 5 seconds the breakaway group flies past. 30 seconds later we see the peloton make their way up the hill. In about 15 seconds it’s all over. It was a fun morning, but just quietly I don’t think we’ll be spending the next month following the tour around France!
In the afternoon we decide to have a dip in the Mediterranean. Since we’re in Nice we decide to indulge in a sun-bed and pay far too much for the privilege. It’s at this point that I realise that the inconvenience of having sand everywhere after being at the beach in Sydney isn’t such a high price to pay at all! But we thoroughly enjoy our decadent afternoon.

On our last day in Nice, we meet up with our friends Simon and Howard for a long lunch. We’ve been looking forward to seeing them and they have chosen a spectacular clifftop restaurant overlooking Cap de Ferat. After several bottles of wine, cocktails and a delicious meal we end up swimming in the Mediterranean! It is a long lunch indeed as it’s 8.30 by the time we get home and I am certainly worse for wear! It’s a fabulous day!

Friday 3rd July, Milan, Italy

A pretty uneventful day dominated by 7.5 hours driving from Heidelberg to Milan. The highlight was our break in Switzerland for an hour of power shopping - oh and picking up our newly repaired car! We stay in Milan for the night, before making our way to Nice for the next 4 days

Saturday 27th June – Thursday 2nd July, Heidelberg, Germany

We know that today we will be driving further north to Heidelberg to spend the week with our friends Linda, Plamen and Daphne, but we estimate that the drive should take about three and a half hours. We agree that we should make the most of being in Switzerland by exploring the nearby mountains and going on a small hike.
$70 later we are on a cable car (the Swiss know how to charge!) and we are passing magnificent blue glaciers, climbing higher and higher towards the top of the mountain range. When we get to the top we choose to do a 3 hr hike. The trail we choose turns out to be covered by snow in parts and a slight drizzle slows us down and it eventually takes us 4.5 hours! The magnificent views, beavers, mountain goats and home-made apricot pie at the finish makes up for it all. When we finally get to Heidelberg it’s 11pm but we enjoy a night cap with Linda and Plamen before trudging off to bed.

The next few days are very relaxing and we really enjoy our time in Germany. Every night we spend time preparing meals, gasbagging, and enjoying our food with local vino on their deck in the backyard. Plamen endeavours to change my view of Rose and by the end of the week I am a convert!
Despite there being 3 children under the age of three in the same house, the girls manage to enjoy some retail therapy in Heidelberg. We also have a wonderful time over lunch in nearby Strausberg which is very pretty and the church in the centre of town reminds me a little of the Duomo which we saw in Milan – albeit on a much smaller scale.
After our hectic time in Italy it’s really great to be able to spend time with good friends we haven’t seen for a long time and relax...

Thursday 26th, Interlarken, Switzerland

From Como we drive to Switzerland and as soon as we cross the border, there is a distinguishable difference in the quality of the roads and the drivers (they actually indicate and can stay in one lane!). The scenery is dramatic and spectacular as we drive past gushing waterfalls and snow capped mountains.
We make a stop at Lucerne and take a walk by the lake. As I look around I notice that no detail is overlooked by the Swiss. The lawns are perfectly manicured and even the swans look like they’ve been preened.
We push on and find our hotel at Interlarken which is by the lake. Our room has stunning views and you can tell from the furniture that it was a rather upmarket ski resort in its heyday (which we estimate to be in 1960).

Wednesday 24th- 25th, Belaggio, Lake Como, Italy

We leave Milan well rested after sleeping on the world’s most comfortable bed and pillows! We make our way to Belaggio which is a small village on Lake Como (after which the infamous casino was named!).
This lakeside village is absolutely charming and is surrounded by beautiful villas that overlook the water. The area is a weekend escape for the Milanese and the rich and famous so I’m on the lookout for Mr Clooney who apparently has a house at a nearby village!
We find a lovely campsite on the side of hill overlooking the lake and enjoy exploring the area over the next two days. On one of the days we even risk hypothermia and jump into the water (for about 5 seconds!).

Tuesday 23rd June, Rome to Milan, Italy

Travelling is amazing... it opens your eyes and you see and experience wonderful things.... but today was not one of those days.
After an early morning start, we drive for 6 hours (dodging crazy Italians) to Milan, where we have arranged to have our Peugeot repaired. After arriving at 2.30 to have our car inspected at the garage, we wait until 6.30 before we are told that a rental car has been arranged for us and a taxi will take us to the airport to pick up the car. At 7pm a tow truck tuck arrives at the garage and out jumps a burley Italian who speaks no English. He throws our baggage onto the back of the tow truck (which has no sides or back) and motions us to jump in. We drive away squashed into the front of the truck frequently turning around to see whether our luggage is still there! When we turn up at the airport we are literally thrown out of the truck by our “taxi driver” with absolutely no information about where to find our car. We then spend an hour running around the airport trying to call Peugeot and knocking on the doors of the various car rental companies!
It is an absolute disaster but we eventually find our car... one look at the Fiat Panda and we’re sure that this is some sort of joke. Our two bags don’t even fit in and it looks like the sort of car that clowns jump out of at the circus! Nevertheless, we persevere and drive to our hotel.
When arrive at the hotel, it’s 8.30. We’re exhausted, frustrated and we haven’t had a thing to eat since breakfast and its one of those days... the Hotel manager says that there have been some problems and explains that they have arranged for our stay at another Hotel. I take a stern look at the man, and explain that I have had a day from hell and if he does not find us a room in this hotel right now, I will cry – right then and there (S). He tells me it is not possible... and the waterworks begin to flow.
So off we go to the second hotel (By this stage it’s close to 9.30pm). One look at the room and we crack. We grab our bags and walk across the road to shining 4 star hotel for a little bit of luxury. We’ve both had it with this day.