An Unplanned Year

March 1st – March 31st

Meant to publish this a few days ago, completely forgot!

1. Flamenco

Flamenco was amazing. We loved it.

2. Rome

We loved Rome. On a beautful sunny day, we think it probably can’t be beaten (block your ears Paris!). Every corner you turn there is just more and more history. You honestly would have to plan 2 weeks here to really crack the back of it.

Rome on a windy, colder day when your tour operator doesn’t show up and you miss out on visiting the Colosseum is why Rome is #2!

3. E-biking

This was a cold, windy and challenging day, but still so much fun. Eating at Refugio Cycliste with locals and finishing with a fun wine tasting at Quinta de San Michel made a great finish to the day.

4a. Porto food tour

We do love a good food tour and this one was. Great food and fun co-tourists.

4b. Porto sardine factory

A seemingly unusual choice perhaps, but so interesting! A sardine tasting with wine at 10am topped it off.

5. Picnic on the side of a mountain

Peace and quiet in Andorra, just us, birds and the wind. The sun warming our backs whilst we looked at snow capped mountains; ice at our feet and seeing Griffons soar down low, just above us was memorable. Doing it twice was even better.

6. No sea-sickness!

For someone who experiences seasickness, even on our kayaking tour (though I wasn’t the one who vomited), I think I have cracked the code.

Book an overnight ferry.

• Apply motion sickness patches behind your ears.
• Add travabands to your wrists.
• Have two beers.
• Take 1x Travacalm and 1x Panadol.
• Be in bed before the ferry departs.
• No issues.

We’ll see how this theory works on our 28hr Spain – Ireland ferry!!

7. Corsica

We only had a day on Corsica, but the route we drove means we saw a lot of it’s scenery. It is somewhere we’d go back to.

8. Surviving the driving

The first month of driving in Europe has been a learning curve with only a few minor hiccups.  Kevin has driven previously, but Sarah drove on the wrong side of the road for the first time in Portugal and now will drive mountain passes, highways and small towns. Big towns/cities are strictly for Kevin to drive and Sarah to navigate. Best driving – Portugal. The roads are great and drivers are polite. Worst driving – Italy. No-one does the speed limit or uses indicators!

9. Kayaking

Having the opportunity to kayak to multiple caves we would otherwise not see, on calm seas on a sunny day.

10. Bonifacio

So pretty and unexpected with an almost intact fortress/citadel. The views from the coastal walks and cliffs were great.

11. Pintxos

Pintxos in San Sebastian were delicious. Especially grilled Fois Gras!  Our booked food tour got cancelled because of the protests so we were left to our own devices, and it turned out ok!

12. Sagres fortress

So clever that it is defended on four sides, but they only had to build one wall!

13. Lourdes

As a non-believer, I envy those who will drink / bathe / partake in water in order to heal from an illness or disease, believing it will heal / cure them.

We did refill our water bottles from the fountains whilst we were there that day, so our future health is possibly  guaranteed!