It was almost a cover from summer 2010, but in better, because we were 2. The vacations for me began on friday, when i picked up the so called little paddan. A volvo c30, drinking gazole and nervous at its time. I packed it and on a sunny friday afternoon, i drove down to Ljungby.

during the first week end of my vacations (but not M’s unfortunatly) we went on the country side and picked up some
mushrooms and i spent the week beeing a good girl friend (hoppefully) and visiting some friends in Lund. The week end
after, it was time for us to be witness to some love and on sunday, we went to bed all exited, at least, i did. It was time
for me to load to show my France to M. We already went to France, but it was like the touristical part, the one with the big eiffel thing in the middle of every post card. Now, it was time for history, feelings, family and lots of more too. Plus you never know, things like weather can be very important when you test your relationship with some camping. But anyway, alea jacta
est or was, and it was all about to smile and drive when mondya morning came.

Monday morning, 8h30 in the car, M took the little paddan in good hands and hop, on our way to Europe. The rest of Europe. The one who promised wonderfull days in the sun. It began with that:

 

And that:

I was already thinking on how our first night of camping would be. But we had some hours ahead to think of that, the first day was a long day in the car. And You know that you are on a german motorway if you see more clearly the back of the car in front of you than you own image in the mirror. We admired the back of this caravan about 2 hours closed to Bremen…

another efficient thing is BAUSTELLE and a third one is the bad quality of the road. The speed is unlimited but if you drive faster than 100km/h, you get a free arm massage if you are driving. The passangers got a assmassage for free though.

These events did kill our planning, if we had one, and we arrived on the german country side around Duisbourg just in time to … find someone who could call the camping owner. It was totally silent and the office was closed since 17. So it was really near for us to sleep in the car, or to drive all night long. But no, we got chance (and thank you the years in Germany to dompt some words in Goethes mothertongue in order to make us understand by local people there.) don’t you think it looked cosy?

The day after, at sunrise, we drove to the south. Sunrise: read when we woke up and south: read Belgien. We got a little lost on the country side there, but at the end, we found our way to Dinant. On our way, we ate a typical belgian lunch:

We parked our little padda to the municipal camping in Dinant and built our tent and then, took a walk (5 minutes according to the camping owner, more 45 minutes if you ask us) to go to the Leffe museum.

look at the stairs going to the little white door in the middle of the picture below: belgian people are not cowards!

The visit was interesting, interactiv and don’t believe i say that because of the degustation of beer and the gift after the visit. We even staid for a 3 courses dinner at the same place, and honestly, even if we took a walk in town before, i am not sure we could find a better place for this evening.  Nice to talk to the personal too and discover their internal political problems.

 

 

It was beer both in the food and in the glass, so when we left the restaurant, i guess it took only 5 minutes to go back to the camping. The white cat outside the Leffe museum can tell you!

 

Even if the camping owner sold us our place as “a very romantic place”, we just wanted to leave as soon as possible on the day after. The maas is not beautiful when the sky is grey. The train are not silent, the cars and the boats neither and our neighbourghs were kind of strange as well, so hop, a shower and then, everything in the paddan to drive more to the south.

 

The picture above is directly raken from the romantic place. Sure you want! When you compare to this:

This was in Fecamp, from the right side on the border. The side with the good roads and the SUN! YES, MISTER SUN!! We were so happy that we stopped for some time and had a drink.

 

Our goal for the day was to arrive somewhere close to Aromanche, in order to stay 2 nights and see some old WWII things, so we did not stay that long in Fécamp and drove to Luc sur Mer, where we, with 10 good minutes marginal found a nice (in comparaison to the one in Belgien) camping to stay.

Doesn’t it look good for a romantic dinner? we had this time had the time to buy some better food and wome wine, the sun was shining, it was a delicious evening, one among a lot of that kind!

 

The morning after, i woke up earlier than my lovely M, so i jumped into my running shoes and went for a run. It was all foggy but what for a feeling to run on the beach, in the morning, wachting people coming back from fishing, stopping to buy some croissants and the news papper and run fast back to the tent in order to kiss my bf good morning!

We drove then to the beaches where american and canadian troups helped during the WWII. It was a very sunny day and kind of hard to visualise how it was during these moments.

Our ennemy for this day was the sun. During 30 minutes, both M and I got a sunburn. Not even the time to buy some suncream! We even staid some hours (no more than 2) on the beach and took a bath in the sea and honestly, it was easier to go into the sea than into my parents pool which was at 30 degrees. don’t ask me why!

 

 

 

 

 

We went downtown to listen to a little concert for our last evening in Luc sur Mer and it was a good feeling.

 

 

On friday, we drove to Azay le Rideau. We arrived pretty early during the afternoon so we could choose our place as we wanted and we also could stay and do nothing during some time. Both of us were tired and it was lovely to hear M playing the guitalele. Even our neighbourgh Dave thought it, and came to talk we us like after 5 mintues. I think his wife was a way to boring, so he needed some conversation.

 

According to the good advices of Dave, we went to see the sound and light representation at the castle of Azay le Rideau. We liked :)

 

 

 

 

The day after, we visited some relatives and went to see the castle of Chenonceau. Nice castle but very bad for the AC, i tell you! We had to be perfect tourists and stop at the caffee inside of the castles garden to take a fresh drink, that costed the same thing than one night in a german camping.

 

 

We did not had the power to drive to Tours for a saturday night fiever, we went back home in Azay and heard twice the sound and light representation, the camping is located like in the castle park almost, so we could live this moment again. As well as the other nights spent at the camping.

On sunday, it was time for us to see a real castle, meaning not a summer house, but a real castle with batle and stuff, in Chinon. We also had a really cosy lunch in the center of Chinon, which roofs are on the picture bellow. The weather was pretty bad, read: cloudy and 3 drops of rain. Literally, 3. Like one, two and three and then, finito!

 

 

We stopped to visit some other friends on the way back home and monday, we drove to my parents place. You read this word “drive” pretty fast but i tell you, when you sit more than 5 hours in a car, it is boring. We almost did not listen to the radio, even if we had loaded our phones with a lots of different things. We talked a lot and as good swede that we are, it was also moments when no one of us said anything. Yes, even me! But not war or so, just silence (of a car driving 130 km/h on the motorway, how silent this may be!).

It was hot at my parents place and the best idea they had was to take us to the grotte de la balme. Between 10 and 15 degrees, it was heaven, compared to the 35 outside.

 

 

 

Then it was about one week of family, good food and wine and jumps in the pool and so, me liked a lot!

 

The week after we began out trip back north but staid near to Mulhouse when my little sis and her bf bought a house recently. It was also very hot! We took a daytrip to Saint-Dié where i grew up and now, M can say he saw every single school i went to up to the age of 17. Next trip to France, we have to go to Metz and Grenoble, we did not have the time this year.

Since sitting in a car is nice but boring, we decided to took the train at least for a part of the travel back home. We loaded the padda on the train in Lörrach, we too and woke up in Hamburg the day after. Convenient if you ask me. In Lörrach, there is a Milka factory and it was smelling chocolate, i almost thought i was pregnant until i realize what it was.

 

 

 

 

During the whole vacation, i only used one pair of shoes, which already was broken when i left Sweden. No matter, i killed them and even tried to replace them, but without success. RIP my favvo shoes, here you have a last picture. three summers for 3 euros. Good shit!

 

 

 

When we arrived in Hamburg, the trip was not finished. We had to sit another 7 hours in the car to reach Ljungby. We got eaten by a boat on our way and two magnific rainbows were waiting for us at the destination. And who says rainbow say… rain. Yes, welcome back to Sweden, the country where it rains and the temperature reaches almost 17 degrees in august! yeah… NOT!

 

 

These were wonderful vacations, i feel more in love than ever with M, dunno really why, maybe just because he is an awesome man, and it should be enough. With all the good things we ate and drunk, now it’s time for this:

And this:

This was an attempt to tell about our vacations, oh i almost forgot, here you get our route as well:

oh and i found a delfin in my bag, i think i will take my revange, the people who know about this may be scared now ;))