Gorges Du Verdon

Today it was time for the Gorge du Verdon. We had to get up early and pack up the van and after coffee and croissants we set off. We spent the whole day meandering along the gorge, stopping frequently to admire the views.

We took a detour by the Point Sublime and went up to the high village of Rougins, a small settlement perched on the side of a jagged tor with a ruined chateau on top of it. We had refreshements in  a local creperie with a garden view to die for – even the loo had a great view!

The whole area was beautiful and totally unspoilt (except for the hoardes of people and motorhomes!). We finished the day at the village of Moustiers St Marie, where we found a lovely small campsite with terrific views of the village perched on the hillside. We found a pitch, marked it with some stuff and with directions of the site owner, set off to find supper. We hadn’t planned on staying here more than one night but once we’d seen the village we decided to stop 2 nights, as we’d underestimated what was on offer here. We cooked supper and drank local wine admiring the view.

The next morning we headed up into the village on the bikes. It was raining and bikes would enable us to retreat fast if we really got drenched. We walked up to the Church perched high in a ravine above the village. My French is not yet good enough to translate the information points but it had apparently been built by prisoners and dated back to the 9th Century.

We meandered through the streets and alleyways before getting a baguette and heading back to Valerie for lunch. A few spots of rain as we laid the table but we persevered and eventually the sun came out and we had a glorious afternoon in the sunshine.

Cote D'Azur

From the Cinque Terre we headed for the Cote D’Azur and a bit of sun and relaxation. We found a campsite from our book that was near Antibes and only about 1.5km from Biot, a favourite of ours. We wouldn’t normally pick a ‘holiday camp’ type of site but the one we stayed at for 5 nights was mostly small static mobile homes and bungalows, with just a few touring pitches. However, it was convenient to the places we wanted to get to, had a nice pool area, was spotlessly clean and had private bathrooms, toilets and outdoor kitchen area for the touring pitches. So we were able to really unpack for 5 whole days, and with extra storage elsewhere, the van was much tidier. We had a couple of days out exploring. We cycled to Biot for the day and had lunch of moules and frites. Biot is a village like the Italian borgo’s we like but all in stone. It has a beautiful old church and, like many of the old villages on the Cote, attracts artists and most famously here, glass blowers.

We also went to Tourettes Sur Loup and Chateauneuf which were along the same lines and then stopped at Valbonne for a drink and a walk as we had done a couple of years ago but he couldn’t remember.

We had two lazy days by the pool in the sunshine and it was only as we drove out of the campsite as we left, that we realised how close the beach was! Still, we have done the Cote and its beaches many times, so we didn’t miss anything really. One thing we were happy to say goodbye to were mosquito bites. The Cote D’Azur is always lovely but it has drawbacks.

Our next destination was the Gorges at Verdon in Haute Provence. We took the back roads to Castillion and saw some spectacular scenery, especially going over the Coll De Vence and the village of Coursegoules, where we stopped for a walk around and refreshments.

More dramatic scenery and we reached Castillion, where we had lunch. Another 10km after Castillion and we arrived at the campsite, a great location right on the river bank with mountains on either side. We found a nice quiet plot and set up. In the morning we took the bikes and headed for a tiny hamlet almost at the top of the mountain on one side of the campsite. It was served by what the map called a ‘road’ but after some dodgy directions we found ourselves forced to push the bikes up a tiny track. After a while, we could see the village – a long way away!! We persevered and sweated and got there in the end. A tiny place with just a handful of houses. Visitors can’t come often as us just cycling by had two locals coming out to see who was there. The views from up there were lovely but living all the way up there in isolation wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

With all the sweat to get up there, of course coming down was easy! About 5 km without having to press the pedals! A welcome dip in the pool to cool off and a snooze in the sun and we then finished off the day with white asparagus risotto, which has become a favourite of ours to make after we had it in a restaurant.

The Cinque Terre Liguria

We decided to do the Cinque Terre whilst relatively nearby, so we headed for the coast from Barolo and went via Alba, a city we had been told was good for a visit. We stopped but found Alba much like Aosta, some great architecture but much of the city quite scruffy. We had a nice coffee and walked round the old parts before heading down to Genova. We were going to stay on the outskirts of Genova but when we found the campsite we decided to move on! We went a further 2 hours to Deiva Marina, much more convenient for the Cinque Terre and we managed to get a pitch once we went to campsites away from the coast. One campsite wanted to charge us the full pitch rate for 3 feet by the side of an access road!

The Cinque Terre is a collection of 5 borgos on the Ligurian coast between La Spezia and Genova, that were built by and for peasants who took the steep slopes of the coastal mountains and terraced the land to make it productive. We took a day to explore them and they really are quite spectacular, with narrow roads with hairpin bends joining them together. We missed the first - Riomaggiore as we were turned away by the police, the parking having been exhausted. We had tried to park further away and walk but couldn’t find anywhere. We managed all the rest, although you do have to allow at least a 3km walk to/from each town, and of course half of that is uphill back to your vehicle. So, a day is somewhat pushing it. As you walk you see the workers on the steep slopes digging/toiling in the baking heat.

To France via Italy - Barolo

Well, off we went again, awning mourning over and refreshed after a few days in the mountains. The weather has been a bit pants but we enjoyed a few nice walks and a few beers at Les Collons. We also got to catch up with The Apprentice! (what a lot of cr*p that is thesedays – but go Tom!). We set off this morning – we always aim for early but never quite manage it! We headed for Barolo, where his nibs wanted to explore the wine etc. Our route took us over the Grand St Bernard Pass, the highest of our trip so far. We had done it before at the same time of year but we were better served by the weather this time, so the view was much better. Much less snow this time, but still enough!

We had intended to side step Turin on the motorway but missed a turn and ended up in the city, which is just about the scariest thing I have encountered in a long time. Practically every car in Turin has a dent (or two, or more) and it is no wonder when you consider the way the locals drive – they are much worse in the big cities than generally in Italy. I never want to be in a car in Milan that’s for sure!

We arrived at our chosen campsite late afternoon. It was the only campsite we could find on the net anywhere near Barolo, about 3km away. We set up our pitch and then did a quick tour on the bikes to see where we were. A very steep hill into Barolo, so we decided to save that for the next day. We found a little shop and bought some local wine and headed back to camp to fire up the outdoor cooker and rustle up a mushroom risotto with parmesan. The campsite is lovely, very small but clean facilities and away from the crowds etc…. just as we like. Some existing campers warned us of the steepness of the hill from Barolo, but that’s for tomorrow! For now the local wine is good!

The cycle down the hill first thing was lovely. Sunshine and a beautiful view, with virtually no pedalling! No pedalling down for 4 km means hard work back though! We spent the morning wandering through Barolo’s narrow streets and had cappachinos and coffee before the tour round the wine museum. Later we decided to cycle downhill to do some more wineries, but this meant cycling uphill some more! We did around 10km that day, with at least 6 of them up steep hills! Boy was I knackered after!  Once we returned a shower and we were ready for supper at the local trattoria. This was an interesting affair! No menu, just the waitress indicating at each course 5 in total) what was on offer. Veal was a special feature! Including veal tartare, which was described as veal cappaccio – which the old man chose. After a few minutes his ball of minced dead cow baby arrived, dressed with lemon oil, parmesan, olive oil etc (but it was still a dead baby!). He had more veal later but I had a nice dish of angel hair pasta with sage oil and another with asparagus and béchamel. Add desert, coffee and a couple of bottles of local wine and the evening went swimmingly! Barolo had been a lovely stop on our tour and we’d return here in a heartbeat.

Slovenia didn't go quite to plan!

Well, it was going so well..... 3am in the morning and a storm comes over, loud crash, van shakes, wind out awning ripped off the van. Me (drenched) holding torch in my mouth holding up whats left of it whilst he (also drenched) tries to wind it into the casing to prevent damage to the van. We manage to get it back in but its clear it's trashed, so we have to somehow organise its removal, assess whether it's repairable or dispose of it, rather than risk it fall out or off whilst we are away and cause further damage to anything. We spend the next day walking round the lake at Bled. Having not slept much the night before and a bit upset about the loss of our £500 awning, we were a little subdued but Bled is a very pretty place. The sun shone for some of the day but the forecast was for a lot more rain and thunderstorms, so we decided the best thing to do was to return to Switzerland the next day.

The following morning, we secured the awning packed up and set off. We (probably foolishly!) decided to do the whole trip in one go but we did a 2 hour driving rota and were fine. We took our own route and saw the most fantastic scenery along the roof of Italy. We went through the Trentino Alto Adige region, which includes the Dolomites, which, with their jagged tops give a quite different skyline from the Italian Alps.

We passed though lovely villages and mountain passes. We stopped for lunch just outside Forni Di Sopra at a restaurant serving typical mountain food. We had polenta and wild mixed mushrooms, with him having grilled cheese and some kind of meat with his. We pushed on and admired the scenery on the way. We went through beautiful villages and towns as we approached the Swiss border, including Glorenza.

Then we went over the Offen Pass at 2150 metres, which was lovely. We have done so many high passes in the Alps but this one is really pretty. We went over as the sun was going down, which added to the spendour.

We then progressed through Davos but missed a turning so missed Klosters. We hadn't realised that on this route we had to go over the Furka pass at 2500 metres, which in rain and late at night was a little scary! A little fog at the top but nothing too bad - didn't have to worry about anything coming the other way though! Once we neared Brig we were in familiar territory, finally arrived and climbed into bed.

The next morning we removed the awning and dismantled it. Too many bits were damaged to make it worth repairing but at least it was off. A dent in the van is a little disappointing but paint not broken so repair can wait. We'll stay here until the mass of thunderstorms over the Alpine regions moves on. Lots of rain without an awning would be a pain. The tour will continue, the the route will just change. We might not get to go to Croatia, as it's a long way back there but we have plenty of time, so we'll see.

To Slovenia

We departed Venice and headed North East. We’ve been using a book about driving the back roads of Italy, and have been incorporating as much of the drives in the book as we can were it fits in with our itinerary. We hadn’t realised that we were travelling on 2^nd June, Republic day in Italy and a public holiday, so everything was shut but we took the suggested route. Our destination for the day was Gemona Del Fruilli, a town nestled below the Julian Alps about 60 km from the Slovenian/Austrian border. The town was almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1972 and was rebuilt after the devastation. The quake memorial museum was open, so after cycling from the campsite into town, we visited it. The only thing memorable about the campsite at Gemona (apart from noisy Austrians arriving with dogs barking at midnight) was the price of a round of drinks – a glass of prosecco Euro @ 1.60 and 0.4litre of beer @ Euro 4.00!! If you had a glass of local white wine, which was perfectly acceptable, it was only 90 cents!!

We left the campsite early and drove to Bled in Slovenia. On the way we stopped at Tarvisio, just short of the Austrian/Slovenia to try and find a non existent food market – a guide book I had sad there was a market every day but all we could find was leather jackets and handbags!!  Never mind, we were treated when we stopped later at Laghi di Fusine, where 2 glacial lakes meet in lovely surroundings. We would have walked the lakes but the weather was not kind, so we had a somewhat restricted walk, given that we would have had to sit in the van with wet clothes on. If you like the mountains, as we do, you have to accept the weather that goes with them.

We arrived at Bled in Slovenia at midday, checked into the campsite and stuck our storage tent on a pitch. Good camping pitches are like sunbeds, you have to make it impossible for others to boot you off! So, we have a storage tent just for the purpose. We erect it, put the chairs and wheel chocks in it, and then we can bugger off in the van without worrying that someone will have stolen our spot. We went off to explore the area, find our bearings, a supermarket  for some provisions and a restaurant for lunch. We achieved all that, came back, actually changed our pitch! (we’re here for at least 4 days so it has to be right!) and set the van up. Then we went down to the lakeside and had a glass of wine.

Venice

The weather forecast was wall to wall sunshine for 2 days, so we were to be able to see Venice at its best. We bought 2 day bus and vaporetto passes and headed in at 8.30 Monday. Venice has been described by a million people so I wont copy them all here. There is no place like it on earth and even though it was hot and full of tourists, it was still magical. We went back again today but getting around was harder than yesterday as the vaporetto and bus staff went on a 24 hour strike! We have sore feet and pink noses, so I think Venice was a success!!

We're cooking mushroom risotto tonight and have a bottle of prosecco chilling in the fridge to go with it. I am going to miss prosecco when we move on into Slovenia in 2 days. Tomorow we chill and maybe swim, then clean and pack van ready for the off on Thursday morning.

More Italian Lakes - Lake Garda

I am getting so late posting that I am forgetting what we’ve done! After 4 nights in Cannobio we set off for Lago D’Iseo, between Como and Garda. We found a lovely campsite right on the lake and got a pitch right by the lakeside. Iseo is a much smaller lake than Maggiore, but for us was nicer, with a lovely backdrop of mountains. The town of Iseo, a few minutes walk from the campsite was quite lively, although it is still early in the season. We found a restaurant for dinner and had the special fish from the lake barbeque for 2. Whilst we ate we noticed that the pizzas going by looked lovely – and were enormous! So we returned to the same restaurant the next night to try them!

We stayed at Iseo for 3 nights but had a couple of heavy storms, so had to play awning shuffle, including late at night, to save it being ripped off the side of the van. Despite the weather, we got chance to relax here in long sunny spells.

Next stop was Lago Garda. We decided to take a detour there and go up and over the mountains. When almost there we saw a sign indicating the Crocedomini mountain pass was closed but we were supposed to be turning down before that so we continued on. Unfortunately the turning we wanted was just after the barrier, so we had to turn back after winding our way up there. The view was pretty all the way up though, despite poor weather. As we turned round at the top, a group of motorcyclists were coming the other way and were avoiding the barrier by going across a grass verge to the side of it on the edge of the road. I watched in horror as one of them disappeared over the edge!! I was relieved to see him reappear on foot a few minutes later looking a bit shocked, as his friends all dismounted and went to work out how to retrieve his bike. Hope it worked out okay.

Anyway, after coming all the way back to where we started, we took an alternative route to Garda. We arrived in torrential rain and found a campsite in Limone Sur Garda, at the northern end. We were quite late arriving and it was raining. We went out for a walk and wondered where the village/town was. We couldn’t walk too far because of the rain – we were only overnighting so drying clothes etc would have been a nightmare. We had a beer in a bar and thought it good that we were just overnighting but the next morning we found out what we had missed! Limone is a real treat. Packed with tourists but very pretty. We drove out of the town, parked up and took the coastal footpath back. Most people approached Limone from the other side or by car/coach, so this footpath was deserted, making it all the nicer. Limone gets it’s name from its history of lemon growing and all over the place are huge stilts, constructed years ago to top with wooden frames to protect the lemons from the elements. I am glad we found it as it made a very enjoyable morning.

We then headed for Venice over the mountains. We stopped in Asiago, famous for its cheesemaking, but everything was shut and we only found one shop that was open that sold local cheese! The drive was spectacular and I was amazed at how many people live in the remoteness of the mountains in this part of Italy. It was quite cool up there, so we stopped and I made soup to warm me up! We intended to camp somewhere near Bassa Del Grappa but we couldn’t find a campsite. As it was the old mans birthday the next day, we brought it forward and took a night in the Hotel Asolo, a beautiful converted farmhouse and had a lovely supper at their local trattatoria.

We spoilt ourselves with the hotel breakfast and then departed to spend the morning at the beautiful hilltop village of Asolo. We walked up to the fort at the top and then meandered through the old cobbled streets. After some refreshments, we headed off for Venice, where we were to be staying for 4 nights. We found the campsite only by a miracle! It’s the closest one to Venice itself but the compromise is that it’s in a commercial zone, the entrance inbetween two car dealerships! Once inside however, the site backs onto fields and has the best facilities we have seen so far (although with lot of fridges on wheels!). We cooked supper and settled in for the night.

Off to Italy - Lakes Maggiore and Iseo

Well, the Switzerland leg of our tour is over. We did very much our usual there, which is always lovely in itself. My brother and his wife joined us for 5 days and hopefully they enjoyed the sunshine and mountain air (and their ‘boys’ enjoyed the overdose of pizza and freezer food whilst they were away!). We took them to Montreux , Evoline and Sion, enjoying lake, valley and mountains in warm sunshine (with some snow!). The road to the bottom of the dam at Dixence was closed almost until we left but it opened just in time for us to have a look at the lake. The cable car to the  top of the dam is closed until mid June, so we had to hike the steep climb to the top. It was really weird to be confronted with the gigantic concrete wall, to hike up the steep slopes to the top and then to find the enormous lake behind the wall almost empty. There was a lot of snow at the top, in fact we had a few snowy nights whilst there, although the snow only stayed for any time above the tree line. A great time was had in Southern Switzerland, as always, but it was time to close up the chalet and move on.

The level I usually see the lake at is the top of the grey (which is where I am standing for this photograph!).

I can't recall what night this was but it was a really cool moonshot from the chalet.

We were treated to a rainbow on our last day, which was much brighter than in this photo (or I am a cr*p photographer!).















We aimed to get up early and move on but one coffee on the balcony turned into another and we didn’t get away until 11.30am! We eventually went over the Simplon pass at lunchtime. We’ve done this pass before but only in torrential rain and/or fog, so in sunshine it was glorious and the views lovely. We turned off over the other side at Domodossola towards Locarno but turned off to take the mountain road to Cannobio via Finero. The hairpin bends were a little scary, especially when suicidal Italians decided to overtake on blind corners - but that’s what you have to get used to in Italy! We stopped for a picnic in Finero, alongside a local old man who had decided to take a break in his journey and admire the view.

The views down the gorges were lovely despite slow progress along often single lane roads with no passing places.  Eventually we arrived at Cannobio on Lake Maggiore and found a campsite. Camping Riviera is right on the lake shore and has lovely pitches, with beautiful shrubs and trees everywhere. We chose a spot not right on the lake because of the midges, but two rows back. We planned to stay here 4 days so we unpacked and set up Valerie for the duration and went out for a bike ride to explore.

We dined at a pizzeria on the lakeshore and after a carafe of wine, tentatively made our way back. The following morning we awoke to birdsong all around us and a view of the lake from Valerie’s roof bed. We eventually got going and went out on the bikes to explore  Cannobio, a pretty, typically Italian village, with narrow streets and beautiful terraces and villas. We bought a bread baton and then had a glass of what I would call sherry with olives on the lakeshore before returning to Valerie for lunch. A snooze on the beach after lunch was followed by a walk into town to the supermarket to find some beer and decaff coffee. This evening we ‘cooked in’ and had a little wine (hic!) and went to bed early, as we wanted to be up early for the local market in Cannobio, which starts at 8am on Sundays. The heavens opened at 2am and, although not really heavy rain, the pitter patter on the roof made for interrupted sleep.

The Sunday market filled the entire lakeside road and pedestrian area and felt like it was never ending. I have never seen so many handbags and shoes in my life.  A dedicated food market was a spectacle with salami and other cured meat hanging everywhere and colourful displays of vegetables, olives, sun dried tomatoes, dried/candied fruit, cakes etc. We bought some fresh giant ravioli stuffed with ricotta and lemon for supper and some pistachio amaretti biscuits - and nearly fell over at the cost!! Back to Valerie for coffee with the amaretti biscuits and then we cycled for a couple of hours. Lunch was followed by lakeside rain dodging. Our lemon pasta was lovely with a salad and fresh bread but felt a bit like a desert! The wine felt like a bargain! A bottle of Barbera D’Asti and a bottle of Pino Grigio for 5 Euros! If only it was like that at home – although it’s probably better it’s not!

We had enjoyed Connobio. It’s a pretty place with a lovely rustic centre with steep streets that lead down to a beautiful promenade along the lake, lined with restaurants and bars. We took a boat ride on our last full day to Maccagno. Not a place I would return to – I’d go to the next town up the coast, but the boat ride enabled you to admire Cannobio from out on the lake. Connobio was also nice because we weren’t surrounded by fridges on wheels (white motorhomes). Whilst at the campsite we saw at least 7 vans either VW T3/T4/T5, a lovely old Citroen camper that could be as old as I am, a group of 3 camping motorcyclists and another with a Harley Davison with the longest front forks I have ever seen!

Les Bains De Saillon

Today was wall to wall sunshine so we went to Les Bains De Saillon, a thermal spa not far from Sion. What a great day we had! 4 pools, 3 thermal, 2 of which had bubble loungers. We also used the Sauna, Bio Spa and the steam rooms. Wall to wall sunshine until 4pm and 26 degrees so we had a lovely day.

The view!

The European road trip has begun

I am a bit late posting this as we left home last Saturday and it's now Thursday!

We left Saturday and stopped en route at Northampton to pick up a tailgate bike rack from VW. Very pricey but looks really cool on Valerie, takes the 2 bikes and, as its designed to take 4, we can get the chairs and wheel chocks strapped on there to get them off the floorspace inside.

We then headed for Dover and stopped overnight at our usual campsite. Ferry crossing to Dunkerque at 8am Sunday morning and we were on the road in France by a little after 11am (+ 1hour). We decided to take a different route to Switzerland than our norm and booked Dunkerque so we could travel south via Belgium and Luxembourg. We overnighted at a campsite just outside Luxembourg on the top of a hill amongst woodland, where we enjoyed the evening sunshine and a lay in the following morning. The weather was beautiful when we left home and continued all the way to the Swiss border, where we had a little rain and threatening skies for the remainder of the journey.

We had cloud with some drizzly rain for the first day in Switzerland but we were unpacking and relaxing so didn't mind. We have been rewarded with wall to wall sunshine ever since, although during the first morning we had to wait for the cloud that started below us to make its way up the mountain but the scene was picture perfect first thing.

We went food shopping first thing in Sion and then came back up to enjoy the mountains in the sunshine. We went up to see the nice lady at Les Collons for a beer in the evening before returning to cook supper. In the last couple of days I have made 2 of the 3 curtains for Valerie, so we don't continue to risk exposing ourselves! Ours is the only camper I have seen with fully lined linen union curtains!! Bringing a sewing machine on holiday is a bit weird I know, but it's the only time I have any time to do anything!

Today (Thursday) we went walking at Thyon 2000. The snow was still quite deep in places so we stayed at the tree line and got some exercise. There was not a cloud in the sky, with the colbalt blue interrupted only by the occasional airline vapour trail.

Tomorrow is forecast as very sunny, so we are going to try the thermal baths at Les Bains De Saillon for a bit of R&R.

Last Weekend on Jersey

Well, the other half finishes his consultancy contract today and we both become workless! (well, for a little while anyway). Going out for drinks and dinner tonight with the people he has been working with here over the last 5 months. Then we have half of the Easter weekend here before returning home for a week. The forecast for the weekend continues as glorious as it has been, so will be a lovely finish to the sunny and warm 3 weeks we've had here. No buses tomorrow as Good Friday, so we'll be on foot but will probably return to the North coast on Saturday before returning to the Green Olive for our last supper.

We've had a preliminary look at our route for our 3 month long Europe trip in Valerie. The route will probably be something like: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein (because its on the way!), Austria, Germany again to meet up with some friends, Slovenia, Croatia, maybe Bosnia, crossing the Adriatic Sea to Italy to do Rome & Pompeii, back up to Switzerland. The other half may have to fly home from Geneva for a contract at the beginning of August but I will stay and have another month away, maybe with my daughter joining me, and come home with Valerie at the end of August. We'd like to spend quite a lot of time, probably the whole of June in Croatia and its islands and, ferry prices permitting, will revisit the island of Hvar where we spent our honeymoon 25+ years ago. The route might look something like this:

although we'll give France a miss on the way down as we've done eastern France to death!

Anyway, we fly home Sunday afternoon. We then spend 2 days with extended family, then some shopping, packing, preping Valerie, getting haircuts and hopefully some time with the children. Then we hope to depart the following Saturday, pick Valerie's new bike rack up from Northampton on the way, have dinner and stay over with friends just before the M25 and then take the ferry Sunday 1st. Best laid plans always go wrong, so maybe I shouldn't be this organised!!!!!!!!!

Jersey by bicycle

We hired bicycles for the weeknd and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Cycling really is the best way to enjoy Jersey. We took the western coast on Saturday and the Eastern on Sunday, seeing just about everything.

Saturday

We cycled clockwise around the island, starting out along the 3 miles of beach of St Aubin's bay and then took the cycle path to Corbiere lighthouse.

From there we went up St Ouen's bay, had coffee half way right on the beach, before leaving the coast to see a little of the countryside.

We rejoined the coast at the top of the bay and then climbed the steep road to the high north coast.

We meandered along the north coast, stopping at the North Point Bistro for a lovely lunch outside under the pergola. After lunch we continued along the north coast until we reached Devil's Hole. We chained the bikes at The Priory Inn and walked down the steep path.









We then headed for St John's, to pick up the cycle route that goes down the middle of the island and emerges along St Aubin's Bay. We'd come a long way, so we were thankful that from St John's, it was mostly down hill to the south coast. Once there we walked/cycled 50/50 along the bay back to the apartment in the sunshine. We slept well!

Sunday

Today we went anticlockwise, taking the road from St Helier through Five Oaks and on to out first stop at La Hougue Bie Museum.

We then headed off towards St Catherine's via some lovely countryside and the top half of St Catherine's Bay. Once there we has a cup of tea and a cake at the cafe and cycled along the breakwater.

Then we headed up round the coast to Rozel Bay for lunch. This bit was hard work with the gradients so we were starving by the time we got there. We had a long lunch at the Navigator Restaurant and walked on the beach before finding the cycle path back into St Helier through some lovely countryside and hamlets.

What a scorcher!

Similar to the rest of GB, the weather in Jersey has been glorious and very warm. Wednesday I walked the beach of St Aubin's Bay. It was so hot the beach really was the only place to walk! The last time I was in Jersey the weather was horrible, this time it is akin to the Caribbean - literally!

I stopped to admire the nicest house I have yet seen in Jersey:

and this is its view from the front windows:

Thursday the old man worked from the apartment, so I stayed and kept him company - from the balcony anyway. We walked into town when he had finished and had a walk and then a drink in the sunshine overlooking the Royal Square watching the rat race make its way home from work! We then went for dinner at The Green Olive, a lovely place specialising in vegetarian and seafood dishes. The food was so nice, including the basil creme brulee (yes basil!), we booked a table for our last night in Jersey at Easter weekend.

Today has been the hottest day yet and is too hot to walk anywhere so I have been on the balcony reading my Kindle enjoying the view and the sea breeze. The old man just popped back after visiting the fish market and deposited some fresh calamari in the fridge to be cooked with chilli and pasta for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow we hire bikes for the weekend, so will be busy! You can ride the coastal cycle path round the island in about 7 hours but we're going to do it over 2 days. We'll have to set off early though, so we can avoid the heat of the middle of the day in a nice pub for lunch!