Christmas 2022, Mon, 19 Dec 22
Jemma and Simon
at a Museum, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, France
We arrived in Bayeux last night and found a parking spot in the town centre. Unfortunately it was raining heavily all night and in the morning – the weather hasn’t been very kind to us on this trip, but at …
Christmas 2022, Sat, 17 Dec 22
Jemma and Simon
at a Graveyard, Museum, Temple
in Europe, France
After leaving the Somme region, we continued on our way to Amiens. The cathedral was extraordinary, with amazing statues and carvings all over the facade. Then we went to the Jules Verne museum in his old house. Simon wanted to …
Chasing the sun, Fri, 24 Sep 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Cave, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Slovenia
Yesterday we drove up to Hrastovlje, a small village where Jemma found a medieval walled church with a famous Dance of Death frescos. It was closed as we arrived late, so we went to the village inn where we had …
Chasing the sun, Wed, 22 Sep 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, City, Ruins/Excavation, Temple
in Europe, Italy
We woke up to amazing views of the Gulf of Trieste. Park4night is an awesome map and has helped us find so many great parking spots. This spot was just outside Prosecco, on the slope down to Trieste. Our first …
Chasing the sun, Mon, 13 Sep 21
Jemma and Simon
with Ania, Michał
at a City, Museum, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
Day 1 First day in Venice! We left the van at a carpark on the mainland and took the bus to Venice – this seemed to be the best option for us, as parking is really limited and expensibe on …
Chasing the sun, Sun, 12 Sep 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, City, Museum, Temple
in Europe, Italy
We woke up to more incredible views – I’ve been very pleased with the parking spots we’ve found so far on this trip! Mountains with the small city of Trento in between them. We decided to leave the van where …
Short German trips, Fri, 02 Apr 21
Jemma and Simon
at a Mountain
in Europe, Germany
It’s Easter weekend and we have four whole days off work… perfect time to hit the road again and continue exploring Germany. We decided to head back to Saxony, as it is reasonably close to Berlin and convenient for a …
The long return, Wed, 01 Jul 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle
in Europe, Germany
We set off from Bastei and headed towards Köningstein Festung. We could see the fortress on top of another table mountain from the Bastei bridge and were super excited to visit. The views for the drive there were really incredible, …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Lake, Park, UNESCO site
in Europe, Germany
At about 8pm, we walked back to the van and headed towards our next stop: Bautzen. Enroute, we decided to check out another UNESCO site: Biosphärenreservat Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft. This is a nature reserve, with beautiful lakes. We pulled …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Temple
in Europe, Germany, Poland
After spending a couple of hours wandering around the Muskauer Park, we jumped back in the van and headed to our next destination: Görlitz. This is a really interesting place, again on the border with Poland. It is adjacent to …
The long return, Mon, 29 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a Castle, Park, UNESCO site
in Europe, Germany, Poland
Muskauer Park is a really beautiful spot. It’s over 700 ha and is partly in Germany, partly in Poland. The palace was owned by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, who was a 19th c. dandy who travelled the world and got …
The long return, Sun, 28 Jun 20
Jemma and Simon
at a River, Transit
in Europe, Poland
We left Simon’s parents’ house about 7.30pm and started our journey towards the German border, with a quick stop by his Grandparents’ house to pick up a new plant – happy to have another travel companion for this journey. The …
Baron in Italy, Thu, 19 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Museum, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
We had a slower start to this day with packing up our stuff from the Airbnb and a work phone call. I also lost one of my favourite earrings on the way to our first stop and we retraced our …
Baron in Italy, Wed, 18 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Museum, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
Early start this morning – lots to see! First stop was the Uffizi gallery. This place is so vast! We started off thoroughly looking at all the Roman sculptures at the beginning of the gallery, but after 4 hours there, …
Baron in Italy, Tue, 17 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Museum, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
Another delicious lazy morning with waking up in a proper bed! We were clearly super tired from traveling and didn’t get up until 10am, but headed out for sightseeing soon afterwards. Florence is so full of amazing things to see, …
Baron in Italy, Mon, 16 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a Graveyard, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
Before we left Ravenna we had a look at Theodoric’s tomb from the outside, as it is close to where we parked. Now off to San Marino!
Baron in Italy, Sun, 15 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
After the short drive from our parking spot, we arrived in Ravenna. We were amazed at the hugeeeee powerplants we passed on our way here and then by some of the really ugly buildings in the town – I guess …
Baron in Italy, Tue, 10 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
Verona is wonderful! We arrived at around 11am. Firstly, we visited Verona Arena, an amazingly preserved Roman amphitheatre. It was so cool and had great views of the surrounding city and Alps in the distance. Next we walked to Piazza …
Baron in Italy, Mon, 09 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a Sauna/Baths
in Europe, Italy
After leaving Brescia, we drove to a thermal lake path near Lake Garda. This park turned out to be pretty wonderful. The lake was of thermal mineral water and situated amongst the trees is this park, and there were two …
Baron in Italy, Mon, 09 Dec 19
Jemma and Simon
at a City, Ruins/Excavation, Temple, UNESCO site
in Europe, Italy
We spent this morning seeing some of the beautiful churches of Brescia. Firstly, the New Cathedral. I really liked this church as the interior lacks all of the gold & gaudy baroque decor. Next to this is the Old Cathedral, …
