Getting Home

 The catch up continues as we get closer to the return of Bekir and Halil! Let's get to it.

Maisie was so filthy by this time

I had to treat myself to a Chinese

The Whisky I bought on Islay

Professionally packed boot

Mum loves her new chair

Dad's grave

After dropping Ryan at the station I went for a quick visit to the studio and then dropped past my mate John for a cuppa and a lovely chat sat in the sun in his back garden. Soon enough however I was back on the road and heading down south towards my mum's house. The plan was to stay a few days, get Maisie repacked and just chill before continuing my trip as unfortunately I couldn't head directly home. Maisie was absolutely filthy by this time, a month on the road will do that. I pulled everything out of Maisie into my Mum's front room (she was not actually home when I arrived, so that gave me a chance to get this done before she saw the mess I made) and then I spent a while packing everything back into Maisie which went very well. I even had some spare space! One of the items I'd brought from Bulgaria and left on my way past earlier in the trip was a gift for my mum - a swinging chair that matches one we have that she loves. With my repacking done I spent some time assembling it and since then she's had it blow away, fall apart, and also has had some lovely time sat on it. Soon enough it was time to move on, however, and I headed down towards the New Forest but made time to stop at the cemetery to see my Dad's grave. I do miss him.

A New Forest Pony having a roll

Memorial to the Royal Airforce in the New Forest

A robin came to say hello

Ryan driving (piloting?) his boat

Sun sets over the marina

Probably the best playground in the world

A StuG III

Yes, it's Fury!

Pitched up at Roundhill

This is where I camped with my dad when I was 11

I had planned to camp at the campsite where I had my first ever camping experience with my Dad (Roundhill) however when I called to book they had a problem with the toilets so I booked into another campsite which was really nice, but didn't have the memories. One good thing, however, was that just round the corner was the New Forest Airfields Memorial for WW2 so I strolled across some fields and spent some time looking around before going back to the tent to cook and sleep. The next day I headed over to Ryan's boat as our plan was to go for a sail before our trip the next day. Unfortunately, even though the boat was put back in the water after its maintenance without any problems it proved completely impossible to get any fuel so we just stayed in marina and chilled out. A shame, but it was great to finally get to see the boat. The next day we drove over to Bovvington Tank Museum and had an absolute blast taking loads of time walking around slowly and seeing every tank they had. I do love that place and I took MANY more pictures than I've put here. After this day out I dropped Ryan back to his boat then went over to Roundhill - yes they had managed to fix their toilet issues so I was able to spend my last night in the UK camping where I stayed with my dad. Brilliant! I took a stroll around the campsite and found the place where we first camped and had a great time remembering happy memories.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang out for a drive

Sitting in an early car

Beautiful Mercedes

Mr Bean's Mini

This art was so creative and clever

Cooking dinner at a services

The next morning I packed up the camp and headed a few miles from the campsite to Beaulieu Motor Museum. This was also a trip down memory lane as that first ever camping trip my dad and I did, we walked from Roundhill to Beaulieu only to find that the power was out so we were let in for half price. Shortly after, the power returned. This time I didn't get in half price but I spent many hours walking around slowly until I was exhausted, looking at everything that I possibly could. Even so I didn't exhaust all there was to see there - that place is incredible and worth a trip (though the ride on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at I think it was £100 per person was a bit steep!). I had lunch of fish and chips half way through my tour and walked all around and into most of the buildings and saw every car on display. Once I had no more energy I headed out to Maisie and got on the road towards Dover, though I diverted up to near Reading as there were road works and I really needed a few supplies so I dropped into the supermarket there. I had dinner in a services and made it to the ferry in plenty of time, getting over to the mainland and driving until I got to Belgium before parking in a services and sleeping in the car.

So good to see Cis and his family again

The sun rises as I head home

Beautiful Austrian Alps

Truck crash in cloudy Bulgaria

The next morning I was up and drove over to see my mate Cis for a BBQ. I was very early so found a secluded carpark in the village near him and read for a couple of hours before finally arriving, having a shower, then a lovely BBQ with his family and some of their friends. It was a very nice afternoon indeed and great to get the opportunity to see him again. I then headed back to a hotel near my work as I was in the office on the Monday for one day only which was great as I didn't open my laptop up at all. I stayed in the hotel again that night (and had a really nice meal with Stefan, one of my colleagues) but was up super early, about 4am, to start driving home. I missed the traffic around Brussels which was my aim and then decided to take a different route home to usual, going via the Austrian Alps, Serbia, Herzegovina and a few other countries I can't remember now. It was a very fast trip home (though very expensive with tolls) and I took only a few pictures the entire way, sleeping in the car for about 4 hours total and making it back in less than 30 hours including that sleep time. It was so good to be home!

So there it is. I'll do another couple of blog posts to capture interesting things that have gone on at home since, but mainly that is me caught up I think. Thanks for reading.

What a long holiday

The title of the update was written months ago, when I had just got back from the long holiday to the UK and I expected the workmen to return imminently. They are still not back however I do think that it is getting close to when they'll be here so I figured I should check out the pictures and videos and make a start on one of many updates to get us caught back up. There are only 1700 or so videos and photographs taken since the last update so I'm sure this won't be painful at all.

*shudders*

Bekir fixes the washing line in the chicken enclosure

Up the scaffold doing the walls

Skimming the inside wall

Done for now

The men were actually in on my last day before I headed off in Maisie. Bekir helpfully fixed the washing line that had broken the day before and then they both worked away in the roof on the stairs to finish up as much of the cement skim as possible. And that was it; that was the last thing they've done.

The mountains near Sofia; first photograph of the trip

Cooking up breakfast by the car

I booked myself a lovely comfy room

The church at Iggensbach, where I stayed

Here's my ferry, waiting to leave

Enjoying a lovely whirlpool bath

Sunset and Sunrise from the hotel

After finishing work I hit the road and headed towards the UK. I stopped for a rest overnight in the mountains in Bulgaria and again in Romania - I think leaving that late in the day is a bad idea for me to be honest. I made such good progress that by the time I reached Germany I was a day ahead of my schedule and I decided to stop off in a hotel, have a shower and some proper food, and waste some time. It was very pleasant indeed and despite this I reached the ferry very much earlier than expected. Maisie was proving to be amazing - so comfortable and smooth and swift. I reached Reading the early morning of my hotel booking and had breakfast in the park round the corner from where I lived before checking in, checking out the amazing suite, then getting into the whirlpool bath as I had promised myself. Since leaving Bulgaria where it had been raining and grey I had perfect weather and this glorious view shows it off well, taken from the suite window both that night and the next morning for sunrise.

Rosie made a den den in the hotel room

Chow time the next morning

A flower in her hair at the pub

Having a load of fun with our friend

The next day I had the great pleasure of collecting Angela and Rosie from the station after their trip to Ireland and to visit friends near London. I then went on a little sight-seeing around Reading showing my old school and few of my old haunts before we headed back to the hotel for a rest and freshen up before our evening plans. They were very impressed with the room! That evening was an amazing BBQ at Wardy's house with his family, such a lovely time! Rosie had loads of fun playing with the other kids. All too soon it was time for the off and back to the hotel before our long day of driving the next day. We had breakfast then packed and filled the car and headed down south. Our ultimate destination that day was Angela's Aunt and Uncle in Plymouth however we stopped for lunch with a very good friend on the way and that was such a lovely time, down next to the river and the weir and then with a large grass area just across the way so Rosie and our friend could run around loads together. We stayed as long as we could but then had to bail out and go further on. The journey from there to home for the next few days was super easy and we were settled in quickly with a warm welcome.

Starting to explore the awesome park

This cafe had a great lego collection

Found where Shackleton left from

Getting stuck into a Mr Whippy

Slushy evidence

Rosie cuddling the young baby

The next morning we got up lazily and then headed out to walk towards town. On the way there was a park with an awesome long slide and a super death-slide thing, as well as a load of other stuff, which Rosie had great fun on. She did very well as we walked a huge distance that day, making it all the way to the Hoe. On the way we stopped at a little cafe for brunch, where Rosie got to play with Lego, and had an ice cream break. While we were on the Hoe we got more cool drinks, it was a hot day, and Rosie's tongue turned blue with her slushy. We caught a bus back home, and randomly my sister's eldest was on the same bus so that was really nice to see him. That evening we made our way over to my sister's house to meet the newest addition to the family, and for Rosie to meet her other two (who are around Rosie's age) before the wedding in a few days time.

The very intelligent Octopus

A big fish of some kind

What kind of flying boat is this?

Rosie with a meremaid

Big big chompers

Enthralled by the Shark Talk

This fish cannot shut its mouth

Having a family meal

Outside the restaurant

The next day was super exciting and I really struggled to limit the number of pictures here. We were dropped off at the aquarium by Angela's auntie and had an awesome slow stroll around the entire show seeing so many cool things like an octopus, sharks, skulls and many different types of fish. We were lucky enough to catch the Shark Talk as well, with Rosie sat right at the front and she answered some questions correctly as well. It was brilliant. We stopped for some lunch there as well before heading off for another little walk around Plymouth (I found a second hand book shop - that was expensive!) then home again to change before our exciting rest of day. I don't have any pictures of it however the first thing we did was go with my Mum, Sister and her kids to a soft play area where they all ran around like lunatics and had a great time. After that it was into two more cabs and down to a fantastic restaurant for dinner as a family treat before the wedding the next day. It was a great way to spend the evening.

Sister getting married

Lots of fun after the wedding

Dancing at the reception

The next day was the wedding and it was a brilliant day all round. I haven't many pictures to share in here as I've not asked permission from people to post however take it from me, it was brilliant. Rosie enjoyed it, my sister had a lovely time, and we saw lots and lots of family who had never met Rosie yet so that was another bonus.

And that is where I think I'll leave this first catch up update. The next day I headed north for my solo part of my holiday while Angela and Rosie caught a train to the airport to fly home. I'll get the next update written very soon to take you to Islay with me, and hopefully will have caught up fully by the time the men return. As always, thanks for reading.