Planning our route is an evolutionary process. We had wanted to see the midnight sun on the longest day in June. but two things have scuppered these original plans for travelling straight from Western Europe to Scandinavia:
1)Breakdown insurance.
Cover in Europe for trips >90 days from RAC costs £600! We looked at every single other option (I think), but we've ended up questioning whether breakdown insurance is a necessity; we concluded, not. Afterall, we are not in a hurry to be anywhere, anytime and just how much can a towtruck charge? Worst case scenario; we dump Pat, continue on foot and cut short our trip.
The question of breakdown cover did however, lead to a reevaluation of our itinerary. Daniel then started campaigning for the inclusion of Ireland and Scotland. These had previously been 'probably should, but not sure when, destinations'. A real turning point though has been the discovery of...
2) The Schengen Agreement
This prohibits us from spending more than a total of 90 days in a 6 month period in the Schengen Area. Countries which are signed up to the Schengen Agreement are: Austria , Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden!
So, a return to the UK midway through our planned 7 month trip is now compulsory. It will be nice to see family, friends, speak 'english' and recharge. It will also be an opportunity to explore the English riviera as the great London north/south divide has thus far prevented us from venturing much past Wimbledon.
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
2 Legs
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Beg Borrow Steal
It's 9am on Saturday morning, Daniel has cooked breakfast and figured out how Pat's chemical loo works. He still has to show this to me - but I'm not out of bed yet. For those that are more interested than me http://www.bradtech.ltd.uk/Porta_Potti_toilets.asp
Before my day, with all its chores, begins, I'll give you an update, and a to do list.
Last weekend we discovered that Pat was leaking - this was rather alarming because it has been raining alot. The sealant around the roof vent is old and no longer sealing. We have begged a towel, weighed down by a chair, to plug the gap for a while, borrowed a sealant gun from Daniel's work collegue and stolen some sealant from the landlord's stock in the basement. Fixing this is on the to do list 
The inside of Pat is surprisely light due to a 1m wide skylight running right down the middle of the roof. However, this will not be conducive to a good night's sleep in the land of the midnight sun. So with traditional kiwi ingenuity, we have fitted curtain rails to either side of the sky light and 2nd on the to do list, is shopping for curtain material, which somehow matches the crazy circle decor.
The recovering of the squabs is just about finished but more sewing is on the to do list. Thanks goes to our lovely flatmate Charley who has kindly lent us her sewing machine and cotton and needles and measuring tape and opinions.
It is now 10am and I must get up!
Saturday, 12 January 2008
The silly season is over; the crazy times begin.
According to my calendar, of the 12 weekends between now and when we have to leave, we have only 2 free weekends; crazy!
So, today we have been very busy. We have begun recovering the squabs in the van. I've chosen a 70's style fabric. Daniel is rather sceptical , but I'll let you be the judge. I have photos this time! I took these using our toy, the specs of which were detailed in another post.
We also bought a new stereo from Halfords. Details below; for the geeks. This was half price and with no delivery charges, beat any ebay alternatives. It plays MP3s from CDs, USB, SD and Aux. It also is a radio and has a remote. This magnificient asset, should be a huge selling point come October.
Unfortunately we will have to pay Haldfords to install it, fortunately, they currently have a half price installation deal.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_238019_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__varient__categoryId_58751_crumb_33967-52752_parentcategoryrn_52752#
