SofaWolves

195 – Meeting in the mountains

After a little hiccup finding each other, our two blue dots moving from opposite ends of Europe finally met up in the quaint french village of Saint Remy de Provence.

This is my parents first trip to Europe in their new campervan and so far all is going well. They are much better provisioned with cooking gadgets and tool box, so it will be fun merging our two worlds into a mega van experience. It also means we have 5 dogs between us…chaotic fun!

To give both puppies (Frodo the red lab and Ernest are both around 1) a chance to meet and burn off energy, we all did the scenic loop walk around the village. There was a bit of argy-bargy but nothing serious, they soon split back into their own two packs. Jasper as always was in his own world wandering on ahead. Mabel was fine as long as nobody picked on Ernest, and poor Elsa the smallest of the group told the boisterous pups to bugger off and play rough away elsewhere.

We then had a nice walk around the village, there are lots of tourist shops but it’s pretty empty this time of year. God knows how a local had got his old car up the tiny winding streets to the top

Arles – link to Van Gogh

After lunch we drove on to Arles; a place known to have inspired several of Van Goghs paintings, and thus there are a few tourist links to him.

We visited the fountain and L’espace Van Gogh before heading for a walk by the swollen river and then to the centres roman amphitheatre.

We had a lovely catch up coffee and spent the evening eating a huge chilli con carne and playing Strategy. It’s so nice they came to visit, and she has bought a pile of post for me to sort through, and most importantly a little xmas tree for my van 🤣🎄 (Mark is not impressed).

194 – Canne and Cezanne

Cannes

So we took a more unusual approach today. Mark caught the much delayed train into Cannes for a mooch around. Marvelled at the glitzy hotels, posh shops, and beach under construction.

He found some lovely street art and sculpture, ate pancakes, drank coffee and was home for a late lunch.

Meanwhile, I stayed behind with the pups. Tidied the van, had coffee at a cafe for free wifi, wrote postcards, food shop, dared to step on the scales…realised all my cake munching had increased me by half a stone, did 3 mini exercise workouts and swore of cake for the day.

Both happy we had productive, nice mornings. We should likely do things separately more often.

Aix de Province

We then drove inland as there are amber flood alerts around the coast. Indeed the coastal road we drove yesterday between Turin and Savona no longer exists as a landslide destroyed it!

For a bit of culture we took the pups to see Field of the Painters, from where Cezanne painted many views of Saint Victore. It’s only a small rectangle of land but the view is lovely. As a side note in his excitement to see another dog, Ernest pulled me into the road and almost got us both run over. I need grippier shoes, stronger arms and a better trained puppy.

We are parked up for the night and looking forward to seeing my family tomorrow…rumour has it they are bringing xmas with them (cake, tree and dinner!), they cant surely make me wait until December?

190, 191, 192, 193 – Major catch up from the pyramids and Milan

Apologies for the delay, I’ve been out of sorts and had fallen behind. All caught up now, hope you enjoy xxx

190 – Pyramids in the clouds and a drip feed of chocolate in Milan

Never before have our lives been so revolved around the weather. We have waterproofs and can cope with the rain but it doesn’t make for overly enjoyable scenery. Today I woke at 6am and the mountains were enveloped within the clouds…it was a waiting game for them to lift so we could go on our trek to see the pyramids.

Parco Regionale delle Piramidi di Zone is set high in the mountains (uncomfortably close to snow for Marks liking). They are unlike anything we have ever seen before and are caused by erosion of morainic deposits, which are capped and thus protected by a harder top rock.

Having waited until 11am, we started the walk with clouds intact but were thrilled when they lifted just as we arrived at the site!

It’s a hard walk on rough terrain, and steep both up and down, but what an amazing phenomenon.

Milan

In complete contrast to this, we then drove to Milan, found a parking space next to a dog park on the edge with easy tram links into the centre, and after a mad chuck around with the ropey ball, we pottered off to explore the Isola district. Its known for great food and street art (a lot is on the shop shutters so best to go late or on a Sunday). You can also see the beautiful Bosco Verticale green apartaments, Torre Arcobaleno ceramic tiled landmark and some quality parking 🤣

Walking towards the city centre the Brera district has some wonderful independent clothes shops though I later found out the prices are eyewateringly high.

But not as high as those within the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (beautiful pink embossed quilt Chanel bag…circa £4,500…no santa claus is going to get me that 🤣). The xmas tree is covered in Swarovski, some might say slightly decadent but certainly stunningly effective. Except its next to the Milan Duome…so just as you have picked your jaw up from looking at the tree, you catch a glimpse of the cathedral and it’s seriously impressive.

To fuel our happy wanderings we stumbled upon an amazing chocolate house Zàini Milano. This was the moment I realised my hot chocolate was just pure warm melted rich chocolate….(don’t think about the calories, just drain your cup, enjoy the sugar kick and feel a bit sick by the end 🤣).

The fashionistas amongst you might also want to visit the nearby 10 corso como outlet. I aspire to be better at style but given an epic white dog motif t shirt was €75, and my knowledge it will be covered in real dog paw prints and fur within hours of buying, its neither practical, nor sensible to buy these things. Still it is fun to wander and see what new styles and creations are out there, and I love the shop design layouts.

191 – Cathedral Rooftops and fashion in Milan

My lovely friend Sarah had recently been to Milan and said I must go on the rooftops of the Duomo. She wasn’t wrong, we got the early train in, ignored the rain, took the stairs up and Mark lost me on the roof (he missed a whole section).

It’s an amazing place to wander, and if you can get into one of the cubby turrets you can hide from the other tourists and pretend you’re alone as you gaze over the city.

Next we visited the Duomo Museum and saw a small exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings. The detail in the sculpture is just phenomenal.

Then the day went downhill for Mark, as I suggested heading back to a lovely street we had past the previous night. Thus resulting in over an hour of coat hunting, where the prices scared us, nothing fitted me and my favourite was a burnt orange mens waxed jacket that was huge on me and too small on Mark.

Once home, Mark took the boys out while I crashed out with Mabel and slept for hours, waking intermittently to eat and listen to snippets of an adult dinosaur podcast on audible. I think Mark read a lot and did Duolingo (he is more addicted than me).

192 – Everything on a huge scale: football terraces & art hangers

The rain really does make you linger around indoors much more. I needed a right kick up the arse to get out the door. Such a fetching sight decked out in rain coat, gloves, ear muff and umbrella, with a face that would make my basset look estatic.

As a final stab at getting a new coat I’d researched vintage shops and found Madame Pauline Vintage which got great reviews, so unbeknown to Mark this was our first destination.

Fair play the shop was tiny, but had some treasures! Gold Prada platform brogues in my size…deemed impractical. Seriously any time I looked at anything non coat, Mark reminded me whippet quick…that’s not a coat 🤣 Still the coat gods favoured me and I found a gorgeous Jill Sanders wool coat that fits the bill perfectly, with the added benefit its cheaper and better quality than new.

With that task completed we had celebratory coffee, decided toodling in the rain to see churches wasn’t fun and instead caught the train to Pirelli Hangar – a huge art gallery space. It’s free to enter and I’d highly recommend. Its amazing seeing art given such huge volume of space to reside in. There onsite restaurant was very busy, and serves delicious food, though screams middle class.

Arriving back home, I opted to stay with the pups while Mark went to a football nirvana known as San Siro Stadium to watch AC Milan vs Napoli. A thoroughly enjoyable evening from the highest terraces. Meanwhile I enjoyed some journaling and supervised Mabel ripping all the green fuzz off a tennis ball – anyone else’s dog do this?

193 – Sunshine on the Cote dAzur

My alarm clocks gets switched off on a Sunday, so we woke late and then seemingly wasted an hour or so pondering nothing much.

With 100% rain forecast for all day in Turin I’d found a coffee museum, Egyptian museum and it was the last day of the white truffle festival. Except we didn’t do any of that as Mark suddenly decided he didn’t fancy visiting Turin.

So instead we made great progress driving towards the sun – it’s a barmy 15 degrees; woohoo for double figures again! The Italians were on strike so free toll road, which was a happy surprise. Though the french coastal toll charge machines were still hard at work.

Mark is rather strategic in us arriving in Monoco on a Sunday as all the expensive shops were shut (I’ve still got parades of boutiques to explore in Cannes, St Maxine and St Tropez, though I doubt the prices will encourage my moth purse to open. I’ve been to this neck of the woods so many times, to save my bank card I should stay in the van and let him explore alone…it would be quicker to.

We couldn’t get parked in Monoco, so I drove the van around part of the formula 1 track at a racy 20mph, took a snap of the casino and mega bucks yachts then drove out to a free carpark near Cannes to delight in leftovers and a cake from the local bakery. I’m now catching up on blog entries while waiting for my laundry…living the high life lol

188 – 189 Becalmed & Gnomes

It is rare I have just a single photo of my day, but torrential rains took away our lake garda mountain views and bar a quick dog walk and pizza outing we were becalmed in the van.

Both Mark and I tried our best to amuse ourselves with a never ending list of books, studies, route planning, cooking and music but only being able to walk 4 paces certainly makes us restless. My bum got sore from sitting.

Eventually we braved the elements despite Ernests protests, and given we were then wet, I went for a token 1 mile jog before eating pizza again.

The sun came back!

Today was much brighter and I had another short jog along the lakeside before driving on to Brescia. Got to love the Italians romantic nature with this sign.

Brescia

Driving into Brescia requires all my attention as italian drivers pull out in every direction. The main carpark was already full which meant 30+ minutes driving around until we struck lucky and found a central spot outside a funeral director’s. The owner evidently loved dogs and spotting Ernest sat on my lap in the drivers seat and came out to give him a fuss (Mabel tried her best to scare him off 🙈).

Alongside a central city walk I’d marked a few historic sites to visit. The castle which has great views, Grave of the Dog – a family mausoleum and Chiara Bertoldi Guida Turistica Autorizzata which doesn’t actually exist!

While wandering around the centre I confessed, we have a habit of visiting these smaller towns and traipsing around historical sites that we often have little interest in, just because that’s all that’s really there. It sounds awful but we just aren’t big history buffs so a lot of it is wasted on us. Except ofcourse the aesthetics, typically good views and enjoyment of walking.

Instead we seem to prefer the extremes…cities with quirky things to find and great food, or complete wilderness in forests, mountains, beaches…anywhere in nature.

So with this in mind instead of driving to Bergama near Milan I took a detour north to a little mountain village called Zone. The hairpin drive up had breathtaking views over Lake Iseo (until the clouds descended) and there are multiple walking trails in the vicinity, including The Forest of Gnomes.

This steep trail along a cobbled pathway through the trees was dotted with various wooden sculptures and the odd farm house. We went as far as we could in the fading light, conscious that the way down was going to be rather treacherous on the slippy stones. Ernest loved it as he met donkeys and could hear the bell collars on the sheep.

Tonight I’ve managed to find a free camp spot in the tightly packed village but its next to the bell tower which kindly rings every half hour…won’t disturb me or the dogs 🤣

187 – Above the clouds

Nervous of getting stuck in the carpark we were on our way by 7:30am and left Verona as the sun rose. Ideally we would have spent a bit longer in this lovely city.

However we were rewarded for the early start with breathtaking views above the clouds as we made our way to the cliff edge church Santuario della Madonna della Corona.

A long weaving walk down, past alpaca and sculptures telling the story of christ suddenly reveals this magical church in the most tranquil of settings. We had the place to ourselves as we had arrived long before it opened at 10:30am.

We took the steep steps back up to the carpark and had breakfast before heading onto a second religious site, the Ossuary Chapel of St. Martin. Here in this peaceful setting lie the bones of lives lost in the second war of independence. It has a slightly creepy but respectful charm to it.

Sadly the associated tower and museum were closed (lots of museums around Europe close on a Monday), but this meant the carpark was empty so we tried to tire the pups out with a game of frisbee fetch. Ernests shuffle nose is too short to pick it up bless him.

We need to drove to the peninsula town Sirmione, which being out of season meant free parking right on the lakeside with stunning views of Lake Garda and the snow capped mountains beyond.

Mark was smitten with our camp spot view and didn’t want to leave so we had a lovely afternoon pottering around this affluent town (4 porsches in a row in the car park and €6 for a slice of cake).

The castle links the two islands and if you walk to the tip, there are the ruins of a huge roman villa and Jamaica beach. This was well worth the €8 entry free, and a lovely walk with the pups.

Having decided to stay the night, we popped out for coffee, and having baulked at the cake price, I came home and went on a cooking frenzy trying out new vegan recipes ( fluffy pancakes, turmeric chai pudding, morrocan pumpkin soup that ended up being more of a dahl as I added too many lentils). Despite only having the hob I’m much more creative, try more recipes and really enjoy cooking. Though it doesn’t always go to plan, the end result is always edible.

186 – Wherefore art thou Romeo

We had a lovely lazy Sunday morning watching out for birds in the rain, before driving into Verona.

It’s a wonderful city, rather understated. Driving along the river your eyes dart from bridges, to churches, bell towers and pretty houses.

We parked up in pothole heaven (aka Parcheggio Libero Don Mazza) a tight but convenient free central carpark that we were incredibly lucky to fit in. I’m still trying to heel train Ernest and am testing a new bungie waist lead…as long as I have masses of sweets it works well.

The river path was flooded, but the main streets were full of people, we soon realised there had been a marathon taking place earlier in the day. It was also the first weekend of their xmas market in Piazza dei Signori so the atmosphere was wonderful.

This was also close to the elaborate raised tombs of the Scaliger family which date back to the 14th century.

The city is famous for its Romeo & Juliet connection, so we had to visit Juliet’s house (a huge tourist trap with couples taking it in turns to kiss on the balcony).

As Italy is known as a home of fashion, we also dipped into the shops in search of a new coat. Turns out oversize swamps me and disappointingly there was a huge amount of real fur, which ruled out most options.

A great surprise was the impressive Verona Arena, which looked especially striking lit up in the evening. There are plenty of restaurants and shops in the vicinity so it’s a nice place to watch the world go by.

Typically in Verona you would eat risotto but we fancied pizza, so went to Zeo Lele to try some of their 50 different flavours. The slices are pre made, so you can try a variety, and are then cooked and brought to you. Though tasty, the dough was more like focatia bread and we prefer thin sourdough. I’m so looking forward to visiting Naples, home of pizza…only 6 months to wait lol.

185 – Flooded Venice on a shoestring

I was awake at 5am having dreamt of my venice painting. I’d almost not bought it as I’d never been, but Mark knew how much I liked it and promised to take me (he had actually forgotten this when I mentioned it this morning lol).

It was still raining but due to improve by 8am so I got up, showered and checked again… the waters were still said to be very high. Mark was adamant he would rather stay home, but I still desperately wanted to go. Our compromise was I would pop in on the bus and see how it was, that way I wouldn’t regret being so close and not visiting.

My boots were already soaked from yesterday so I put doggy poo bags on my feet to try and make them less wet and perhaps slightly waterproof (it didn’t work) and off I trotted with my jam sandwiches and flask (Venice can be crazy expensive for mediocre food – avoid drinking at Harry’s Bar and St Mark’s Square unless you have money to burn).

I spotted on the bus only the odd person wearing wellies, the rest were in normal shoes. On arriving I was instantly smiling. I’d done masses of research for things to see, but decided instead to just wander and get lost in the maze. It really is the best thing to do.

Knowing the tide would rise again by midday and it would get busier with tourists, I headed in the general direction of St Mark’s Square. Every time I glimpsed marble, a spire, bridge or something quirky I turned down an alleyway. Often if an alley looked dark or less busy I’d purposely go that way, thus largely avoiding the main alleys and their typical tourist aimed shops.

I loved how different alleys had a distinct smell, be it leather, laundry, bleach from cleaning the basements or coffee. I must confess I became a bit obsessed with taking washing line photos.

Stumbling out onto the Grand Canal was amazing. My first sight of gondalas and Rialto Bridge.

And then crossing dozens of little bridges I came out at the side of St Mark’s Basillica, which I thought was beautiful…and then you see the front and it blows you mind.

Until this point the streets had been dry but here even at 9:30am there was a little flooding, and news crews reporting. To be fair the tourists were carrying on regardless and the city was open for business, it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. The waters added a reflective quality if nothing else. Still I know the damage is going to cost multiple millions.

I’m on a tiny budget so hadn’t booked any of the many tours on offer (for the key buildings, food tours, art tours, walking tours etc) or the archetypal gondala ride. However if you keep your eyes peeled, you can see wonderful frescoes in the many churches for a €1 donation and there are plenty of free modern art exhibitions. I visited 6, all very different, but interesting exhibitions.

One thing I had to spend money on was coffee. My first was drank the italian way…an espresso standing up in a cramped bar, a couple of sips and on my way again. The second was sat at a wonderful illustrated bookshop and bistro called Sullaluna in the Cannaregio district. There are more locals in this area and seemingly lots of great eateries. The food was all organic and freshly cooked. It looked sublime, I should have treated myself (warning service is very slow…Italians take their time over food…just enjoy the books and relax).

Refueled it was more of the same, but this time I checked my pinned map and directed myself to a few key things I’d missed, including:

Ponte Chiodo -one of only two bridges in the city without balustrades, the other is private and not accesible
Ponte dei Pugni – otherwise known as bridge of fists as this was where people used to settle scores with their fists. You can see the footprint where they had to place their feet.
Squero di San Trovaso – the gondola version of a mechanics yard
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo – a 15th century palace with an unusual spiral staircase
Chiesa di San Zaccaria – beautiful frescoes, alter and flooded crypts

One ‘must do’ for me was the famous Libreria Acqua Alta, which keeps its books in bath tubs and a gondala and has lots of cats who take refuge from the tides. Sadly these higher than usual floods had damaged some of their stock, so they were trying to salvage what they could, and offering soggy books free to dry homes. I rescued a few postcards so if they dry out ok you could receive a warped postcard.

Before heading home I wanted to find Banksy’s poignant venice piece, showing an immigrant child wearing a life jacket, holding a pink beacon. It is so easily missed, and was under water yesterday. Interestingly the house its been painted on has been for sale for years and is crumbling into disrepair, the artwork has likely added value but without its setting its meaning is surely reduced. Besides this, there was little graffiti but those I did see often hinted at venice’s troubled future.

Conscious I had left Mark with the pups for 6 hours I decided against visiting any of the islands, though the water taxis were running again. I’d say those warrant a day or two themselves, so perhaps if we return I will focus on:

San Giorgio Maggiore – said to have the best view over venice from the bell tower
San Servalo – former monestry and insane asylum
Sant Andrea – the end of the island is nice for a picnic with great views of the lagoon
Burano – lovely brightly coloured houses
Torcello – impressive cathedral

To summarise, though I definitely got my feet wet, I have merely scratched the surface of Venice and absolutely loved it. It’s a wonderful place to get lost in, and trying to find the bus station I past the same lion four times so I definitely got lost lol.

Though you could easily spend a fortune and tailor your visit accordingly, you dont have to in order to have a great time. I spent €18 on my campsite, €3 on bus fare, €1 on church entry and €7 at cafes. True I haven’t been on the water, but I have been in it. I’m really glad I came, and perhaps the conditions worked in my favour

When I got back Mark was really pleased I’d enjoyed it. He had bought cake and we took the dogs out to the park to play frisbee. Really you can’t get much better ❤

184 – Soaked!

It’s sort of crazy how much time it takes to plan trips, routes and what attractions you want to visit. There is so much to see and do, but the weather is turning so we ideally need to head towards Spain soon.

We finally decided to focus on northern Italy and save the south for next year. The truth is when it’s cold and wet you just don’t see or experience the best of places, and Italy has so much to offer.

Another big question – our route takes us right past Venice…a must do on anyone’s guide to Italy! However they have had their highest tidal floods on records and according to the media the city is on its knees. Its certainly not the best time to visit.

Add to this that Mark has already been, didn’t like it and doesn’t want to go back and most people would sensibly just skip it or wait until next year. However I’d love to go, and am agonising over being so close and yet so far.

When we finally leave Ljubljana we think we have a proper route to Spain, our first stop is Udine, we are going to ignore the thunderstorm and camp just outside Venice so I can ask the locals what’s feasible.

Driving through torrential rain we question our judgement but decide to continue in the hope it stops. Rain coats on, we brave it. Within 10 minutes we are soaked to the skin and the prospect of walking around a lovely town looking at architecture for a couple of hours seems madness. We have to accept that sightseeing isn’t fun in thunderstorms…drizzle possibly…torrential rain no.

We retreat back to the van, knowing it will take days for our clothes and shoes to dry out in the van, but at least we can make a cup of tea. Apologies Udine we will have to come back another time.

Our campsite San Giuliano is 10 minutes outside of Venice. It’s still pouring with rain, the grass pitches are mud baths and the hosts are wearing wellies. She apologises that at St Marks Square the water is up to thigh level after a second high tidal flood. It doesn’t look good.

182 & 183 Come rain or Shine

A second day of pouring rain and we couldn’t convince the pups to go out. Mabel flatly refused and Ernest darts in and out as fast as possible. Jasper doesn’t care either way.

The day was largely consumed by a major writing session on the realities of vanlife, route research, pampering in the frying pan, and my wandering to a vegan bakery Pekarna Sameja for delicious ‘cheese’ and walnut bread knot and chocolate muffins.

183 – Walking in sunshine

Woohoo a bright day! We decided to walk the hour into town to a quirky Americana bar called Nostalgija Vintage Cafe. We had actually been aiming for Mala Prazarna coffee roasting cafe which is a few doors down and also dog friendly but I walked into the wrong one 🤣 Still both are great – thanks for the recommendations Ella!

We then explored the many boutiques along the river. Its wonderful there are so many local designers, though trust me to fall in love with a coat that was €2,000! Ahh whoops, I keep forgetting how expensive it all is; will stick to my ski jacket. The pups got spotted by one fashion designer having an independent show and got free sweets and a right fuss.

Also though I couldn’t justify €25 for a little notebook I would definitely recommend going into the lovely stationary and traditional printing shop tipoRenesansa – I love that inky smell.

For lunch we walked on to Fari’s for a delicious falafel wrap. I’m always conscious our three dogs can quickly take over a space but the owners laughed, gave them each a bowl of water and quizzed us about our travels. Super friendly people.

After walking back home via the vegan bakery we picked up our snow chains which weigh a ton and will hopefully never need to be used (we need to practice putting them on as we currently have no clue). We are thus legal to drive after the 15th November 😊

We also stocked up on yet more dog food from Mr Pets which had the biggest array of dead gross stuff…this seems more popular on mainland Europe than in the UK. Anyway the dogs love it. Meany Mark wouldn’t let me get them some luxury doggy pralines (I think Barf must have a different meaning in Slovenia) 🤣

In the evening we had hoped to see eccentric british band The Tiger Lillies at Kino Siska – a cultural music and art centre. However after driving around for ages, getting stuck and ultimately reversing onto a main road we had to skip it as couldn’t get tickets. By the time we got back to our free park spot we got distracted planning routes and the evening was over.

It’s a good thing to keep checking for bands though as we used to go out to gigs fairly often but haven’t while travelling (except my opera visit lol).

Realities of Vanlife

N.B. Grab a coffee this turned out way longer than I intended, but I hope you find it useful.

A few weeks ago I saw a post on a vanlifers FB group page lamenting the glossy, happy image that people like me reinforce when we blog about vanlife.

Truth be told there are a growing number of people turning to vanlife for a whole host of reasons. Yes some are travelling, have savings and a house to return to but others are doing it out of necessity, be it increased rent costs, zero hour contracts, or the realisation that the majority of their income gets swallowed up just paying bills. They might not want to travel, or pursue the typical desperate foot on the property ladder the British strive for. Vanlife is said to be cheaper, more flexible…freeing…but is it?

My experience

I confess in my writing I have mainly focused on the positives, because largely that’s what I’ve experienced. I sold my business to buy our van, and we rent out our house which provides the income to explore. Until recently I wasn’t really watching the pennies but 6 months in and I’ve realised everything costs and you have to balance out what you want to do with what you can afford.

There are lots of compromises to living in around 12 metre squared, so here is an honest look into our lifestyle on the road.

⚠️ Privacy

No such thing…unless you do things separately you will spend 24/7 in a confined space and get to know every intimate detail of each annoying habit. Ah but if you are newly weds or deeply in love then those pesky little quirks are just cute…still cute on the 50th time…erm not so cute on the 100th…by 1000th you know what I hate running and it’s raining but I value my sanity…bye!

🎵 Noise

Small space with thin walls…there is no escape. You can try hiding in the toilet while your hubby learns to play the guitar but it still seeps through…plus you might be accused of doing a number 2 in the loo (a shock horror for some vanlifers…not us). I have a ukulele I could try learning…if you cant beat them, then join them (n.b. he has actually got much better).

Also the pups love bouncing about, get excited and bark if I try and exercise. Those parked near us must love us as neighbours.

I go to bed earlier than Mark so close off the curtain and pull the duvet over my head to block out the light, but you can hear everything – keyboard taps, conversations with dogs, sighs and mutters. I tend to pop my headphones in and attempt meditation or listen to a daft bedtime story for adults on audible.

Plus in the morning I’m no better. When I wake earlier, in order to extricate myself from under the dogs I have to contort myself and climb out and over them with the result I often fall out of bed and crash into the oven…oh Mark you’re awake…Morning!

🧺 Laundry

I’ve seen expensive mini washers for inside the van and even lettuce washers suggested as a cheap alternative for doing your smalls. But really knickers get a scrub in the sink and when the mountain of laundry gets too huge to ignore a trip to the laundrette is inevitable. 3 dogs + muddy walks = regular laundry visits.

Here you pray you can park close by, haul bags of laundry into an often dreary shop, hope there are enough machines free, fathom the language and use of detergents or not (some have it preloaded). Hang about for 40+ minutes hoping the currently free dryers dont get taken…curse when 5 minutes before your cycle ends they get taken. Hang about some more until the task is completed – this can easily consumer a whole afternoon/evening.

If you want to save money and not use dryers you can use dog lead cables as a makeshift washing line and hope its warm enough in the van to dry out (if parked up can hang outside if appropriate). This works in the summer months when you can also open the window/sunroof but less so in winter as it can cause condensation and you’d have to whack the heating up.

🌧 Getting wet

Fine in summer, just pop things on the dash or on a makeshift washing line.

Not so much fun in winter. Here you can hang a few things in the shower room if you have one, or indoor clothes horse/washing line and hope your heating eventually dries it out (dont create a fire hazard by putting clothes on top of a heater).

😋 Food

Maybe we are just unlucky but our fridge is temperamental, the freezer is tiny, and our oven doesn’t work so we have to cook everything on the only 2 hob rings that work. Being they are gas they cook at instant burn mode or dawdle sizzle mode.

This means we have to go to the shops most days. While I can prep food for a couple of days, you cant fit much Tupperware in the fridge and certainly the freezer is pretty useless.

We are fortunate that we cook everything from scratch and have plenty of storage for tinned food. Seriously a box of spices is a must – adds flavour to even the most basic dishes (can of tomatoes, paprika, onion = easy tasty meal).

Odourous foods like curries and fish are best avoided as the smell clings to the van fabrics.

After 6 months on the road we have just discovered microwave mug cakes, which are epic! However we wild camp 98% of the time, so these are a rare treat. Our microwave spends most of its life repurposed as a bread bin.

🛠 Maintenance

Stuff will go wrong and if you are not very handy then you either have to try and hope to succeed after hours of YouTube videos and forum questions, pay to get it fixed or live with the fault.

So far in the last 6 months

our side door locked us out and I tried everything to fix it myself but eventually had to take it to a garage (it was tricky for them even with the right gear).
water tank dropped off…another trip to the garage
toilet flush stopped working and light says it’s full when it’s not. Repeatedly tried to fix but now just live with it. On the plus it saves water and we empty it regularly.
water pump stopped working, which means no running water. This was three weeks ago. I’ve watched videos, asked forums, checked pipes/filters, and been to a garage who said it’s an air lock just wait for it to pass through. Mark has sucked the tap multiple times and we’ve left taps open for hours with no luck. We are now sourcing free tap water (easy at aires) or having to buy bottled.
brake pads burnt out – another trip to the garage
flat battery – had accidentally switched it to vehicle battery instead of leisure battery and ran it dry so had to call RAC. Our solar panels are great so we never really need to plug in on sites, can charge our gadgets off the leisure battery or as we are driving
sun screen fell off – this happens on bumpy roads and is an easy fix
toilet cassette gets jammed so cant close it. At one point I was having to fix this almost daily. It’s a quick easy fix but anything that involves the toilet is not fun. Touch wood its been fine for months now
hob ring stopped working – there are two others so we just use them
Water tank leaked on the first day we had guests staying with us. Meant no running water so a trip to the garage only to be told we had accidentally flipped the winter discharge switch which empties the tank 🙈 Be careful what you put in your cupboards and how it moves about as you drive.

Wow, I hadn’t actually realised so much had gone wrong 🤣 Still its proof there will always be niggles. Some will be expensive, some will be cheap, some quick, some easy and some you just live with.

🐶 Dogs

I wouldn’t be without mine, though I confess getting a puppy a few weeks before we set off wasn’t my best idea. Fair play to Ernest, he is best adapted as he has spent the majority of his life on the road.

However some things to consider:

They are mud magnets, the van will get mucky and sofa covers, carpet runners, dog towels, drying coats all help but also add to the laundry pile.

Mine are bed hogs. We said they wouldn’t be allowed on the bed before we left, however we now sleep separately as Ernest and Mabel take up too much space on our fixed bed, so Mark sleeps better on the sofa bed with Jasper. I can seemingly sleep in any contorted, cramped position and won’t wake up in the event of barking, puking, or the apocalypse.

They seem to have more stuff then us. I’m going to write a separate dog packing list blog as seriously their stuff takes up so much weight and space.

They do limit what you can do/ places to visit. We tend to take the pups with us most places but three biggish dogs puts us in the eccentric bracket and we often get photographed by coach parties.

There are also some activities we would like to do but aren’t practical in terms of leaving them for too long (excursions, long hikes, cities can be tricky if cant park close by).

Not all places allow dogs on public transport and a lot of europe requires your dog to wear a muzzle on boats/bus/tram. This isn’t the case in the UK so our dogs aren’t used to wearing one so we haven’t forced the issue, and just walk everywhere or dont go to those places with them.

These points aside, the pups are my family and I can’t imagine doing this trip without them. I love how excited they get by all the new smells, walks and experiences.

🛁 Hygiene

There is a stereotype that you must be a bit dirty living in a van with no proper facilities. Well we have a shower but as it takes 40+ mins to heat the water, we have never used it.

We wild camp a lot to save money, so yes my hair goes a week or so between washes unless I boil up some water and do it in the sink which I’ve done on occasion.

Also if we don’t need water or to empty our waste it seems rather daft to pay €10-30 for a site just to use a shower. So we make do with a quick stand up wash.

I’m still doing my daily skincare routine, and weekly foot spa in a saucepan and face mask, but I’m definitely not showering once or twice a day as is the UK average. Do we really need to wash that much? I don’t feel dirty…but you can sniff test me if you like 🤣

🧹Van Chores

While we were parked up in Norwich I happily stated it took the same amount of time to brew up a coffee as to clean the van.

While on the road road dust gets everywhere, we all bring in mud, there is always laundry, washing up has to be done or else there is no surface space, everything has to have it’s set place and be tidied away or it soon becomes a pig sty. Needless to say a deep clean takes much longer…and then there is the toilet…

Emptying the toilet cassette is gross. What goes in, must come out. Hold your breath, try not to smell it and remember it’s all natural. Then wash your hands.

Filling the water tank can be time consuming especially if you bought a cheap leaky pipe that doesn’t connect on the campsite taps very well. Fortunately most campsites have their own pipe pre attached.

Waste water is just a case of parking over the grey water grill and releasing the tap. Remember to check the height of your van so you dont come within mm of ripping the roof off your van and building…yeh we were so close!

🚐 Driving

It’s up to you how much and how far you go. When we first got our van we were teased for spending 3 weeks parked just 15minute walk from our house.

We still had little clue how the van worked when we finally left but we soon learnt and are still learning. As is quite typical we were in a hurry to see and do everything. I was a workaholic used to being on the go and I struggle to find my off switch.

After 6 months, 15,000 miles and 18 countries we realise we should have stopped longer in single places. There is an easy bad habit to get into where you plan what you want to see/do then just whizz around ticking them off – we have been guilty of this.

On the occasions where we have stayed longer through choice or circumstances (currently in Ljubljana longer waiting 3 days for snow chains), we have found places reveal themselves slowly and you see and experience much more than the typical tourist spots.

Booking onto a few acroyoga festivals, having friends visit and van problems all helped us recharge, as its oddly quite tiring being on the go all the time. Each day is wake up, sightseeing, plan journey, plus anything else you want/have to do.

When we return to the UK I’m looking forward to parking in one spot for a while.

🛑 Road Rules

Different countries have different road rules, signs, speeds and road use cultures. City driving is a skill in itself…Italian cities are my nightmare. The baltics seem fairly happy to risk their lives with ill timed overtaking and darting red lights. Belgium has the worst traffic accidents record whereas in Scandinavia you can drive miles without seeing anyone.

Croatia has expensive toll roads and lots of countries require a vignette which you can buy at the border or at garages (Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia for us so far).

🅿️ Parking

If you are going to argue, I can pretty much guarantee it will be over parking. Rocking up in a new country or city and trying to fathom the parking rules is a nightmare. Though Mark is getting good at deciphering them, we’veonly had two parking tickets (one for taking up two spaces instead of one, so try and get your bum over grass or verge ; and the other for being in the first parking spot in green zone not last spot in yellow zone – we paid for wrong zone).

Do yourselves a favour and research a few parking lots before you drive in (camper contact, park4night or google all help). Or park on the edge of cities and use public transport to get in, it’s much less stressful.

Or you could copy us and drive through the centre of Stockholm hoping to find that miracle large space right near the main square, get stuck in a road works loop in heavy traffic and have your husband helpfully suggest that we shouldn’t be driving through the city centre…😡

We stupidly made this mistake in a few cities before realising our marriage wouldn’t last many more parking rows. Research before you go…if you still don’t find a spot and get stuck at least you tried to plan ahead.

⛈ Weather

Unless you embrace the rain or follow the sun you can feel a bit limited in the van. There are days it’s so wet and miserable you just want a duvet day. But in a house it’s much the same.

In the summer you can have the opposite problem in that it gets so hot in the van its stifling and you may struggle to sleep. Opening sun roofs, windows and getting a fan to create air flow can help but it’s often just as nice to find a shady spot under a tree in a local park.

If your van isn’t winterised and you ignore weather forecasts for cold weather or snow, you might wake up freezy cold. We have a gas heater which we pop on first thing, drink plenty of hot tea and soups when the weather cools. Wear slippers, wooley socks and layers. If you dont have dogs then hot water bottles are good bed companions. I’ve read that diesel heaters are great, but this is our first winter and we will eventually follow the sun to Spain/Portugal once our snow chains arrive.

👭 Friendships

You might meet people intermittently for a brief hello but it’s hard to form friendships on the road. Travelling on your own can feel quite isolating. I created the Open Door Traveller Scheme as a little beacon sign to encourage conversation when you are parked up. It’s free if you want to download.

Meanwhile at home your friends may or may not be interested in your travels. I don’t want to bore or brag…I feel lucky to be doing what I’m doing, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. There are definitely times I’ve wished I could be back in UK to support a friend, go out with the girls, meet my new godpuppy.

I’ve managed to lure a few friends out to visit, warning them it will be cramped and basic. Friends dont mind though, they adapt with you and we’ve had such fun. Max we have had so far is 5 adults and 3 dogs in a 4 berth van.

Still it will be great to catch up with everyone when we get back.

💪Exercise

Having been very active with several group exercise classes and a physical job, I had visions of using my newly found spare time to become a super fit yogi, running loads and coming back fitter and healthier than ever.

The reality for me was that in Norwich all my exercises classes formed my friendship groups and social life, so I really enjoyed them. On the road I have to create my own fitness routine, self motivate and use willpower. It’s a lot harder.

While exploring different countries we walk miles, but then we also explore cafes, local delicacies, food markets and recommended vegan restaurants. Turns out the exercise I most enjoy is walking in search of cake…my waist line ballooned. I have not once used my yoga mat. I randomly ran a marathon but now can’t run 2 miles because I instantly stopped running after it.

I managed to get it under control and lose the weight again but its something I have to work hard at. There are lots of free online 30 day challenges that use no equipment and limited space so yes it is possible to exercise in the sliver of floor space in the van…its just difficult to motivate yourself. I downloaded Kinetic Revolutions running challenge, Pole Freaks strength challenge and Betty Rocker fitness challenge.

If happy to exercise outside there are often outdoor gyms or just embrace that you are taking care of yourself and exercise in the carpark, field…wherever. I have to remind myself I’m passing through, the people looking at me oddly are unlikely to ever see me again, and what does it matter if they do?

🗓 Routine

It likely depends on personality type but I went from a heavily routined life with everything scheduled months in advance to a completely empty diary and only a vague idea of where we were heading.

While I was happy for a while to go with the flow, I soon felt I was living without true direction and purpose. I needed some structure otherwise the day just flashed by and odd jobs that needed doing didn’t get done.

I’ve thus spent the last 3+ months creating structure, new habits and using my spare time to think about how I want to spend my time. We don’t have a TV so my fallback of just plonking myself in front of it has gone, but it’s easy to get sucked into mindless social media scrolling. I’ve found journaling and a habit tracker app helpful. I am also addicted to podcasts on a whole range of subjects.

❤ Rude stuff

Nope. Three dogs, the van bounces, and if you can hear the outside then anyone passing can certainly hear you.

📷 Remembering

What a lucky problem to have, when you do so many great things that you forget when and where you were. Honestly my memory is like a sieve so I’m so glad I started this daily blog and have kept it up. I know it’s not the best resource for searching through but equally there are plenty of nuggets of information and happy memories. On future rainy days who knows I may learn more widget stuff and improve the blog. I’m just glad it exists for us to look back on.

Mark also has thousands of photos from his dslr camera…I’m sure his kids are looking forward to the photo bombardment when we get back 🤣

🏠 Compared to House Life

We were amazed how quickly we adapted to vanlife. We dont need the house and all the stuff we have collected over the years…its all boxed up in the garage waiting for us.

It definitely encourages you to live simply, be resource efficient especially with water, buy only what you need and appreciate the little things.

I’m loving our adventure, wish I could communicate more with locals (Duolingo is teaching me Spanish), really value our family time, walking in nature, home cooked food, hot chocolate and doggy cuddles.

To summarise

Crikey when I started writing this a few hours ago I had no idea, I’d write so much!

I’ve still likely forgotten aspects of vanlife so please comment if there is something I’ve missed or you want to know more.

Hopefully this gives a bit more insight to the challenges of vanlife as well as the amazing opportunities it is affording us. Its not all glamorous, we sometimes daydream about a long hot bath and an oven cooked jacket potato, but boy have we racked up some amazing memories.

We aren’t sure how much longer we will do this…hopefully next year as well, but even if we return to the UK I’d happily live in the van. For all the compromises, the big lesson of living simply has had a huge effect on me. These four walls are my home, and I’m moulding my life as I choose. It’s a different lifestyle but each vanlifer makes it their own.