A Travel Story by Patrick and Danette Harkness
It is a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver and we are not ready yet. Patrick is busy scrubbing the bike clean and I am trying to tie up loose ends and finish packing. We have 4 hours before we leave to take the bike to the airport to get crated up.
So we have done 4 days in the Netherlands: We ended up in Broek in Waterland to stay for 3 nights at a B and B for a very reasonable 35 euros: We spent one day in Amsterdam seeing the tourist spots and then a trip out to Groesbeck/Arnhem for some Canadian war history.
Tuesday the 22nd of July
Rain, rain, sunny break, rain overcast...........
We have broken all of our rules. We did not get off the road until after 5:30 and ended up being stuck with staying above a pub for £75, yes that is the budget for like 2 and a half days. MUST FOLLOW THE RULES WE SET FOR OURSELVES - or start booking accommodation a day in advance. Must be off the road by 3:30
tired, annoyed, have to lock the bike up in this town.....drinks then bed.......
Monday the 21st of July - we only know this as we have started using a calendar and have updated the other entries.....
Food - good
Beer - great
Coffee - okay
Gas - huge it was 12£ for 16 litres
ATM's - no problem with good old ING card
Driving - very fast and not sure what speed limit they are doing as we are doing 10 over the limit and are being passed like we are standing still
Signs on road - Very good
Driving on the left - oh my god
Driving on the left going through road abouts - OH MY GOD -
Saturday the 19th Day 6
Lokeren to Brugge
Beer - good but comes in very small glasses
Ice Cream - excellent
Coffee - if you are not in a cafe its Nescafe instant
ATM - didn't need to try
Language - a lot of english spoken
Netherlands to Belgium
Some observations:
Price of gas - about £1 per litre
Driver's manners - good, drive in the slow lane, pass in the fast lane
Coffee - EXCELLENT
Food - good
Beer - EXCELLENT
Budget - Over again.........
ATM access - tried 7 banks before we got money...was a little worried
The story.....
Sunday the 20th of July
Ah France !! Hey watch out for the dog poo
Gas - still around 1 per litre
Coffee - Nescafe again - what's going on here?
Beer - okay
Wine - good - cheap too
We are in high tourist season in Dunkerquer which has a great beach and seaside walk way. We found the Tourist Bureau and we end up in a 2 star hotel at 56, again over budget but a least by only about 8. We are getting better at this....We need to pay to park the bike in a secured lot for 6.50.
Monday July 28th
We head in to Dublin from Arklow. The weather has turned and it is damp and rainy.
The signs are good on the highway and we end up at St Stephens Green quite nicely. However our hotel is across the river from St Stephens Green. We should have stayed in St Stephens Green.
Wednesday 23 of July
(writing this on August 9th2003)
Hello all and sorry for the delay.
Saturday the 9th
We are not 100% but we are going stir crazy and take a short ride out to Cobh (pronounced Cove). It is a small sea side town that has a huge history. Cobh was one of the main habours from where thousands and thousands of Irish made the trip over to America, Canada and Australia during the Famine years. The town has a very good museaum and is a lovely spot to just walk around. Again it is sunny and warm, a perfect riding day.
Monday to Friday
August 18th to the 22nd
We've just come back from visiting Danielle in a place called Crookhaven and are back in Cork for a few days. The West of Cork has a very different look about it from the rest of the county. It is more rugged and almost everywhere you look there is a fantastic view.
The roads were good and we took side roads back up to Cork that didn't have a lot of traffic on so Patrick was able to motor on very nicely at his own speed.
Friday the 22nd of August
As we drive along from County Cork into Country Kerry I can understand why everyone says you must must must go to the west. We cross the county line and are immediately faced with beautiful mountains covered in mist and curvy roads. It's a short journey of about 2 hours taking the direct route. ( we left late this morning due to a rather long dinner with family that involved a few bottles of wine...so no one was moving quickly today....)
Friday August 1st
Well we safely made it down the road from Dublin and made it to Cork. The roads were quite busy as we did this on a Friday afternoon.
We make it into Glounthaune just outside Cork and call my cousin Paula. She is absolutely fabulous and drives down to the shop we were at so that we wouldn't get lost up to her house. We haven't seen each other in 17 years if you can believe that !! Anyway we relax with her and our other cousin Jason and his wife Sinead and meet some of our new cousins (all the children) and have a good all catch up session.
From Tuesday August 5th until Friday the 8th we are struck down by the flu which we think we caught in Dublin. We are completly knocked out and the weather of course is perfect, sunny and warm with a slight breeze. The only good thing is that we have someplace to stay so we don't have to worry about being on the road.
For the next few days we use Uncle Brian's and Marge's as our home base. We start the week going up to Brandon Point. It's an overcast day with some light rain but not too bad for a touring day. The roads are quite bumpy and the visibilities around the corners are not great. We come to one spot in the road where we come to a very fast stop as a heard of sheep are being moved, through the main street of the village, by sheep dogs and 2 guys in a truck. I was able to get a picture.
Saturday the 23rd - another beautiful and sunny day in Ireland. Uncle Brian and Marge take us out on a tour of the area so that we can get off the bike for awhile and not have to worry about finding our way. Uncle Brian is an excellent tour guide and knows everything there is to know about the area historically. We start off heading down the coast to Fenit and take a 2 hour boat trip around Tralee Bay. The weather was now hot and we were sun tanning on the boat !! We got to see where we would be taking our next tour as it was across the water on the Dingle coast.
Sunday
not able to move very quickly need water please.........
we get some newspapers and sit outside in the sun with Marge. I say my usual, I am never drinking again.......
After closing our eyes and trying not to calculate the exchange we paid 120 Pounds return for our trip from N. Ireland to Scotland. The Stena fast ferry is what the govt in British Columbia should have created, 50 mph, 1.75 hours, and there is a bar on board!!! Getting the bike on and tied down is simple, no need to bring your own tie downs as they are provided.
Had an easy crossing and zipped across to Stranraer in Scotland.
The roads in Scotland are easily the best so far, smooth pavement with lots of open corners. Loved the riding in Scotland.
So we have sped up our travels as the weather is no longer as warm as it used to be. We spend 2 nights in Galway with my Aunt Dolores and Uncle Seamus and meet up with some of my other cousins. It's a short trip as the rain has come and the temperature is down to 10 to 15 degrees.
We decide to do a quick jaunt through Northern Ireland and then catch the ferry to Scotland.
Well here we are in France. Glad to be back on the right hand side of the road. Before we move on I must relate the story of the ferry ride from Ireland to France on Irish Ferries. The trip takes about 17 hours but there is lots to do on board (if you would like to pay for it) and you do have a closet/cabin to sleep in. We enjoyed the Stena ferries a lot more.
Let's see, We are back in Ireland for a quick chat with the various family members to say goodbye to all. We are finally moving on to the continent and will stop freeloading.
So to sum up for Ireland:
Gas is easy to find but only the 95 octane. High test is hard to find. Prices from .85 to .95 euro. ( same price in Scotland just in pounds YIKES!!!)
Eating in the gas stations is easy cheap and shockingly very good. Most have a deli/hot food service.
Pubs are great. 'nuff said
We leave St. Lo for Granville for a few "off the bike days". Nice small seaside town with a cool harbour area and lots of fishing boats. The ride here is nothing to scream about, mostly straight and flat. We will have to wait until the south of France before things get interesting in that dept.
Today is Wednesday October 8th and I am really writing this on todays date... finally up to date with this stupid blog... I hope you guys are enjoying our travels and we would love you to email us at any time. Remember we only have each other to speak to in English and considering we have exactly the same day as each other it can get a little dull......
So we have arrived in Spain !!!
Hello all !!
We've missed a few weeks of updates so I'm going to give you the quick and dirty version of the last weeks in France.
So, where am I ??? Dark room, lumpy bed, small bathroom. Could be any of about 7 different countries. Open curtains and discover that it is a beautiful sunny day in San Sebastian or Donostia depending on your political views and ETA affiliation. We have had a great time in S. Sebastian. It is a beautiful city that is overrun in the summer time but offseason is great. We stay for a few days longer than intended as we are really enjoying the place.
Okay, it is October 25th and we have made it to Albufeira in the Algarve. Ahhh, sunny and warm and ocean and ....... tourists.
But I well get to that.
After leaving Salamanca (a city we both liked) we head for Portugal and a city called Coimbra ( pronounced queembra) We decide to stay in a chain hotel near the centre of the city. We arrive a bit late in the day and just crash in the room. This city has a bit of a rough feel to it. Not sure why.
Well it is November the 4th and we are on our last few days of having a home base for a while.
So I will take some time to give a quick overview of Portugal since really for the last 2 weeks we have been drinking and sitting in the sun.....
First of all the North of Portugal is much different from the south. In the north it is the real Portugal, meaning although there are still tourists running around, you know that you are in a different country.
Today is Monday November 17th and we have been travelling since the 10th from Portugal back into Spain.
We unfortunatly looked at the money we have left and have had to do some re-thinking about the last few months of our route. So we think we are heading along the Med. coast back into Southern France and then into Italy. We are trying to book a Gite de France for a few weeks to get us through the Christmas and New Year´s holiday season.
November 22
Just a quick update today. We are in a town called Perpignan France. We are staying here for 5 nights to get organized and to do some much needed laundry!!
The weather on the ride up was mild and sunny from Spain. We had to go around Barcelona to continue on our way north and that was certainly a scary ride. Everyone was doing at least 130 klm and the trucks were passing each other as well as cars. I closed my eyes and tried not to poke at Patrick as we seemed to be dodging trucks for about 25 minutes....i've aged about 10years.....
Hello all !!!!
Currently in Villenueve Loubet just outside of Nice in the South of France. Small town of 11000 or so with the worst drivers and traffic jams I have seen for such a small town. I can't imagine what must go one during the summer. Scary really.
Okay, i have a few update to share. Sorry about the delay.
So, I think Patrick left off while we were in a Gites de France in Villeneuve Loubet on the Riviera. Well, i,m not thrilled with the Gite, it is a basement suite and the shower curtain and I have had many a fight as it likes to cling to you. Also for some reason the shower nozzle is hand held (please picture how you fight off the shower curtain wrapping around you and washing your hair at the same time with only one hand). So needless to say it was an interesting spot.
So we finally leave the Eastern part of the south of France. No need for further comment except .... Yeah!! Yippee!! Much jumping up and down and rejoicing. We jump on the bike with most of our clothing on as the temp has dropped to about 3 degrees. Makes packing the bike easier ....... A little rain makes the riding nice and slippery just perfect for really testing your riding gear ( it failed) After the chilly ride we stopped for 2 days in Arles. Nice place Arles, lots of cool roman ruins including a cool amphitheatre.
We are having fun fun fun !!!!
What Patrick forgot to mention was the train strike in France which ment we had to high tail it to another city in France 200 klms away. That wasn't my favorite as the winds down here are scary and huge !