Malibu Molly

Since the last update I have been looking at Maps, both paper and online, and various apps looking for places to stay in the three overnights we have between  Bühl and Annecy. I have been working in MyRouteApp to to make a route that goes from Bühl to Obernai near Strasbourg that gives us a day on the Black Forest High Road.  It's not that long but it is supposed to be scenic. I have the France Passion book and also the app on my phone to look for two overnights along the Route des Crêtes in Alsace. These generally tend to be non reserveable so it's a matter of seeing what's available when we want to stop. The third overnight has been sorted. I was looking at aires and saw Camping-Car Park has one at Chavannes to the south east of the Crêtes area. It's €13.50 per night with all services. I have been checking for a few nights on the app and there haven't been many pitches left by 7pm. So I booked it.  The new app allows you to choose the time of day when you expect t...

Ferry Maybe I should have done this before but I have booked the return crossing for the end of our holiday. I did a price comparison check on the three of the four channel crossing operators from our area.  I discounted DFDS (Calais or Dunkerque) as they don't have anywhere for the dog to go other than in the van for the entire crossing. Further afield is DFDS from Dieppe to Newhaven.  Newhaven is along the A259 almost door to door. One road! That route also doesn't have a dog lounge and the crossing is around 4 hours. So from the three I have booked Irish Ferries. Why?  It's the cheapest.  I paid in euros and it came out at £132.10 when it landed in my Halifax account. This is for the van, us and Reggie with access to the "pet den".   Last year when I returned on the bike from the MotoGP at Assen their ferry "Oscar Wilde" was very clean and was much cheaper than P&O and the Shuttle. By comparison. For ...

I have been looking at places to go again. Apart from the Shuttle booking and one campsite for the first night we are away,  Ardennen Camping Bertix , I have not planned anything yet. This doesn't mean that over the next four months before we set off that this won't change!  Of course! The current idea is still basically what I had looked at before.  From the Ardennes through Luxembourg, where I hope they still have cheaper fuel (!) into Germany and the Black Forest with an overnight stay in Bühl.  It's close to  Baden Baden . The original plan was to do the Alsace Tour and this could be a good starting point for crossing into France near Strasbourg. Reggie is getting older and he is definitely not a towny kind of  dog and so many places may see us leaving him to sleep in the van whilst we venture out. He doesn't really like traffic all that much!! Admittedly, neither do I go out for a walk. Hopefully, once on the Alsace Tour there will be plenty of o...

With the Shuttle and first night already booked, I am looking at the route that will take us from southern Belgium to a second overnight stop that will mean we can embark on the "Alsace Route". I am of course looking at Camping-Car Park aires and there are a few to choose from.  One in particular is actually across the Rhine at Bühl . It's not that far from the suggested route that I found on "Into the Alpine" website . Whether or not we can find anywhere to park a 6m van in Strasbourg and get to look at the city is another matter.  It may be a case of bypassing the southern HQ of the EU Parliament and go to the next place on the suggested route.  I am also looking at Colmar for a night or two as it is in the middle of the route and will give us time to relax and also to take more time looking at the scenic places on the way around.   I think sometimes as we are always "going somewhere" we tend to miss out on a lot of places and over plan the...