On the high seas

Blue of every hue

Forgot to say that there are showers and toilets available.

Susan emerges after a good night's sleep in our personal cabin.. By the way , we watched a DVDs last night, to while away the hours of darkness.

At last only half an hour before we disembark. This is The Rio Bridge which links Patras with Athens on the motorway. We head in the opposite direction towards Pyrgos on the Peloponese..

See you later for the short ferry ride from Kyllini to Poros.

To the ferry and beyond!!

The cavernous mouth of the Anek ferry awaiting the travellers, queuing patiently in line

Like us!!

This is the camping on board car deck and everyone always hopes that they will get a place by one of the arches.

And we did!!

Next thing to do is to get hooked up to the ferry's electric system and turn off the gas appliances. 

Now to get ourselves hooked up to the ferry's electrical system and turn off the gas.

 Happy lady off to the restaurant deck for our traditional kebab, chips and beer as the boat leaves Ancona.

The ramps go up and we are off

It didn't take someone long to get back into bad habits.

Italy is left behind in our wake and our mini cruise begins.

Fingers crossed for a calm crossing..

Home is where you park it.

Here we are on our patch with the sea in front of us. Once Richard launches his boat for the new season, we will have his place so that we can be sideways on. Apart from anything else, it will be better for the fridge not to have full sun. It won't guzzle precious gas with the same rapidity 

Goodbye cold. Hello warmth!!

Here we both are. The house is locked and we are about to set off. What is it with these selfies that means you have to have long arms for them to be successful!!

The sun is streaming into the van here at Ancona and Sue is in T shirt mode so it must be warm. 

Wifi at last!!

At last an opportunity to let our pals know where we are, how we got here and how we are doing.
So far so good. Smooth crossing from Dover, then we blinked, missed France and spent the first night at Han sur Lesse in Belgium. From there we had a long drive to Willisau in Switzerland. It was never going to be a slow drive to Ancona because we only had five days to link up with our Adriatic ferry. I blame she who made the ferry bookings.
We spent much of the Swiss leg underground and emerged periodically, like moles, from endless tunnels. That's what we buy a vignette for, so that we can keep moving on good roads. Soragna in Italy was our next stop. In Italy, the free night stops are known as "sostas". This was a delightful town, just off the motorway, We endured a night of torrential rain and in the morning, took minor roads in the direction of the coast and the resort of Pinarella. Here, along with several other camper vans, we parked on the edge of a small 'lake' and as the rain fell for a second night, we woke with concerns that we could be floating if we didn't move. Happily we remained a Motorhome and not Noah's Ark.
Off to Fano, just a short drive down the coast and another free night in the company of fellow travellers. Finally,here we are in Ancona. The Auchan supermarket has a designated area for us, with all the facilities and free wifi!! Tomorrow we will drive a few kilometers to the port and board The Hellenic Spirit for our mini cruise down the Adriatic.

Pals with their first Motorhome!!

We are over in Newark,Nottinghamshire today
Our two dear friends Paul and Gill have just bought their first Motorhome and as this picture shows, they are thrilled. More Newbies swelling our numbers.

Meet Stanley Starfire!!

Some of our other motor homing pals are getting ready for the new season on the road. Col and Pam are flying over from New Zealand , to pick up their van Lefty,  which is stored in London, ready to head for Dover and onto mainland Europe. Tom and Mariejan, from the Netherlands, have a new dog and are spending the Spring in Italy and in a little under three weeks we are off to Greece.

My 70th Year

Oh my word, there are plans afoot for this special year.
Already booked are extended travels to Greece for the Spring, possibly via Croatia, Macedonia and Northern Greece, returning with our oft used route up the Adriatic to Venice.
Various mini breaks throughout the summer months to enjoy the UK and France for a few weeks in Autumn.
The highlight of  2016 will be India in Novembet!!

Not an Exotic Marigold Hotel visit, but 3 weeks spent travelling from the north to the south of India.

The Himalayas, Amritsar, an  Indian mountain railway from Kalka to Shimla, religious ceremonies on the Ganges,The Golden Triangle, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and the Taj Mahal. Then on to Mumbai. Planes, trains, rickshaws, elephants and rice boats on the Kerela backwaters before collapsing on the coast, south of Goa, for a few days, in order to relax and absorb the colours of India.

Happy 70th Birthday!!