9. Onwards into France and homeward bound ❤️

The weather was holding up as we arrived in France - our last few days of the trip. In fact, it was almost getting too hot again! Decided to head to Eygalieres in The Alpilies (Provence) - one of our old favourites, somewhere familiar and comfortable 😃 It’s a stereotypically beautiful small French village, surrounded by the stunning Alpilies countryside of olive groves and limestone hills. And what makes it work for us is the campsite right in the centre of the village - a bit on the basic side, but does the trick 🤣 It’s a lovely small town to wander around, and with a couple of quintessentially French bars, some lovely restaurants, and a fabulous artisan boulangerie, the perfect place to spend a couple of days. 

Not really talked much about ongoing van related problems in this blog so far, but something which has been causing us a bit of a headache has been our electric hook up lead. It chose this time to stop working - again 😢 Despite feeling stressed and knackered after the drive from Italy, Dave set to to try to re wire the lead - and fortunately, after a lot of huffing and puffing, got it working! So, all set up, we strolled into the village straight to Le Cafe de Place - beer was needed 🤣 Unfortunately the pizza van wasn’t there 😢 so it was back to the van for a tasty pasta meal.

Le Cafe de Place

Relaxing after a long drive 

This is the life!

Early evening in Eygalieres

Eygalieres 

Eygalieres 

Eygalieres 

Eygalieres 

Rubes wasn’t really up for a walk, so we took the opportunity to get out on the bikes. Did a fabulous 30km ride around the surrounding countryside and villages - it really is so beautiful around there. That wasn’t enough for Dave, so later he went out on his bike again, exploring some of the trails, and some which he’d found when out riding previously with some of the local MTB riders - he was very happy 😃 

The Alpilies

The Alpilies

Cycling through villages in The Alpillies

The Alpilies 

Mountain bike trails in the Alpilies

After another lovely relaxing evening in Eygalieres it was time to pack up and head home. But not before our favourite almond croissant from the fabulous boulangerie 😂 So after a very expensive vet trip (to get Rubes all certificated to return to the UK) - €69!, we set off. You can always see Dave physically relaxing into the drive once on the French motorways - they really are the best! Expensive yes, but worth it 😃 

Final evening In Eygalieres 

End of a lovely evening in Eygalieres 

Delicious almond croissant 

So that night we arrived at Nuits Saint Georges, the famous wine producing town in Bourgogne, where campervans / motorhomes are welcomed and basic facilities provided - perfect for a one night stopover en route 😃 Hard to believe, but we didn’t actually sample the wines! 🤣 Had a lovely potter round the town - the architecture is really interesting - and a very tasty takeaway pizza, then early to bed for us. Would definitely use this as a stopover again 👍 Following day we made good progress en route to Calais, so booked onto an earlier train and arrived in Folkestone in the evening. Spent a lovely evening at a country pub near Ashford, all decorated with hops - so we definitely knew we were in Kent 🤣 

Nuits St Georges 

Nuits St Georges

Nuits St Georges 

Lovely Kentish hops 😃

Arriving home the next day was lovely- so nice to be back in our happy place home 🏠 The sun was shining, the garden didn’t look too disheveled, and the huge copper beech tree was starting to turn - autumn had definitely arrived ❤️

So, another wonderful trip in our van. Despite the many challenges along the way, the trip has been absolutely wonderful - we both feel very fortunate ❤️ Slovenia was new to us, and it’s probably fair to say we were pretty bowled over by it! Hard to put it all into words, but it really is beautiful, interesting, friendly and welcoming, and generally feels a lovely place to be. Enjoying outdoor activity as we do, Slovenia is a fabulous place to spend time, this being part of their culture anyway, prioritising activity and supporting general wellbeing. Probably not a coincidence that major world medals have been won in recent times by Slovenians - Tour de France and Olympic climbing 😃 We were surprised at just how authentic yet progressive Slovenia seemed, and indeed how rich a country it was - much more so than its neighbouring Croatia. Apparently the progressive government that was in place following the dissolution of Yugoslavia can take much credit for this - maybe a lesson for other countries?? 🤣 Much of its revenue actually comes from tourism, so perhaps not surprising to have such a positive experience. 

Spending time in Italy is always a treat, and despite not being able to travel to areas we’d hoped to, we still managed to find new, interesting places to explore, and generally experience all that is good about Italy 😃 Revisiting old favourites also feels special, familiar and comfortable - adding to already formed memories. 

We pondered a lot about what sort of travellers we are - whether purely for tourism, or more for adventure, thinking about what drives us - probably a blend of all different motivators. Perhaps more of this to explore in the next travel blog! But for now, we have arrived home safely, with lots of amazing memories to treasure, things we have learned, and new interests to explore - And, having discovered that Dave is a poet 😃 Watch this space!