Explore europe in a campervan

Finally the little story of how we made it back to the UK.

It was Monday when we left Morzine and our Channel Tunnel crossing was booked for Tuesday evening.  It was decided that we would take the sat nav’s route, avoiding any toll roads.  This involved some mountain roads north of Geneva, but the snow was so far gone that we knew the roads would be steep, but passable.  Straight away I was starting to get irritated by the squeaking wheels that had supposedly been cured weeks previously during one of our overnight stays at a garage. More >>

We haven’t updated in quite a while so I thought I had better say that we did make it back to Britain but I haven’t posted the story of the journey yet.  It wasn’t straightforward (as usual).

We’re busy working on staying van-based and travelling; building web development and internet marketing work.  Currently we’re working at an internet cafe at a student music festival. Cups of tea and Pot Noodles galore!

Will blog properly soon!

We saw the season to an end with some style - but with one less person in our on-piste party.  Steele unfortunately had a pan-accident with some boiling water and pasta which badly burned his foot and he was unable to snowboard for the last few days.  If there had been any way to get on a snowboard he definitely would have done so his readiness to stay in the van told us just how bad his foot was.  No photos here because it’s too nasty-looking.

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I’ve just put some new photos in the gallery while we’re doing our laundry up in Avoriaz and having a beer and having some internet. Multi-tasking!

Started today with a great day’s boarding with Julie and Steele.  The sky stayed dry for once, despite some ominous looking clouds, and we got some sunshine too. It doesn’t look like we’re due any more snow, but we did get some last week on the higher slopes so we consider ourselves pretty lucky. More >>

The season is drawing to a close now and the snow is retreating.  Everywhere we go the rivers are raging with meltwater and there are waterfalls spouting out of the side of the mountains.  The pistes in Avoriaz are holding up ok and still all passable, but the final run at the end of ‘Crot’ directly to the car park is very patchy now and we may have used it for the last time.  Today we’re having rain, as forecast, and hoping that above 2000 metres altitude it’s cold enough for a bit of snow which would be a nice bonus.

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As the days go by the swelling has gone down on Simon’s poor dislocated finger.  He’s keeping it splinted straight to give it time to heal and protect it from painful knocks, but it can bend a little and doesn’t look like it’s going to explode any more.  In the meantime I’m realising how much Simon did as now I have to put the generator on and fill the petrol, make the bed up and put it away twice a day – and even tie up his snowboarding boots! More >>

A little while ago we were contacted by a writer from InLondon magazine which is published for Australians and Kiwis living in London.  They were looking for content for an article about travelling in Europe in a van so we answered a few questions and here’s the article

I think we might be a little less wild than the Australian girls featured as we’ve found that we’re more healthy than ever before - while they got run down and sick!  But it’s nice to be quoted in print and to think that we might help others make the choice to escape by van some time.

After drowning our sorrows in a large barrel (!) of red wine on Friday night in Julie and Steele’s van we didn’t set out too early on Saturday!  We needed to get a new strap for one of Simon’s snowboard bindings which had snapped the day before (when we tried to get back on the piste after inspecting the poor van!)  Bad idea.  Saturday is changeover day when excited fresh new holiday-makers arrive at the resort wanting to hire their skis, boards and boots.  But eventually we got to the front of a queue and the new part only cost €4 which was good news. More >>

Our van seems to be having rather a run of bad luck.  Yesterday a German car drove into it in the car park, breaking the bumper and the indicator.  The side panel is also slightly pushed in.  He must have reversed into it pretty hard, because Steele heard the bang from his van a hundred metres away. More >>