Adventure – Travel Memories

Welcome to the country of the sweetest kitties

we are in Romania now, our favorite country in the east, after having passed the Hungarian border we found a hotel. The last time we were in Romania was in 2015 when we visited all places linked to Vlad Tepes. As soon as we arrived in the hotel, we drank some Romanian beer and ate something. Soon we got the company of a very sweet cat, to be honest, both of use are dog lovers, but it was hard to say no to our feline companion

The second day a family party kept our kitty outside, the next day she was back, but it was time to say goodbye. More far horizons were awaiting us.

The risotto incident

The day afterwards, we found ourselves at the shores of lake of Bled. This is the most picturesque place in Slovenia. The Viking quickly announced he was not going to have lunch, since he was not hungry at all. Luckily, the waiter thought otherwise and brought a big portion for both of us.

In the blink of an eye, Lars had devoured his portion. It was indeed a very delicious risotto (SEAFood risotto) Since I know how to make a risotto, I decided to make the same risotto when we were back home. That was a success too!

In the previous post , I forgot to mention the address oh the hotel?restaurant:

Vila Planinka

Zgornje Jezersko 67, Zgornje Jezersko, 4206 Slovenia

The experience of a lifetime

After our memorable lunch in Arles, we spent the rest of the afternoon, doing some sightseeing. Coincidence or not, we found ourselves in an area not far from the Gorges du verdon, a very beautiful but also expensive area. Lars decided it would be a good idea to cross the border with Italy and then head east to Slovenia. It was already past midnight when we crossed the aforementioned border, and we actually passed the night at an Italian gas station. WE had taken our bed linen with us, in case we couldn’t find a cheap hotel or camping place. Late in the afternoon the following day, we crossed yet another border, we had arrived in Slovenia! We drove to a small village where Lars knew several cheap places to stay. We started with high hopes, but that soon changed. All the places were completely booked or were closed. Finally, we stopped at a place called Vila Planinka; the price was quite high, but the owner luckily proposed a discount, which we accepted. Since it was late in the evening, .we decided to have dinner in the restaurant. Lars immediately discovered it was a one Michelin -star restaurant. I convinced him to give it a try, after all we were foodies, and we deserved this.

In general, this was the experience of a lifetime. The food was delicious, we tasted food combinations we were not used to, the service was impeccable. For Lars, it was the first time in a Michelin restaurant, and he was simply overwhelmed. And the adventure went on…

The first Border crossing

Another another drivethis day brought us to the province of ZaragoZA tO the townof Zuera. Upon arrival we started looking for a pension, one street further away we founda nice place where we had dinner. We kept things yummy and simple.

The Beginning

Ever since we came to Spain, our way of traveling changed. The main reason was that we wanted to explore our new home country, the pandemic was the other reason. 2022 looked like the year we could change all that ; we were going to make Europe our playground again. We took our time to plan every detail of our trip; I quickly found out that I didn’t need to renew my passport. We canceled traveling to Moldova because of a certain war looming. On the other hand, we had to get the vaccination papers ready. We also took some financial decisions. Instead of booking everything beforehand, we decided about looking for rooms at the moment itself.

In general, it was like the pandemic had never happened;nowhere did people ask for our vaccination papers.

The first two days we were still in Spain. After a full day of driving, we first ended up at a camping to the north of Valencia.

The Best of the Spring Odyssey

10000km and we are back! With many happy memories, today we show you some highlights of our trip. Unfortunately, we also have one very bad memory. Lars and I have become the victims of phishing and have lost a great deal of money. We decided to make the best out of a bad situation. Enjoy!

Soon I will provide more pictures and text. What a ride it has been!

Exploring Jaén – introducing Sierra Mágina

If you are a nature love, you will love this area! This sierra is surrounded by motorways, so accessibility should not be a problem: E 902 in the west, E315 and E326 in the east, A324 in the North and GR5100 in the south. We usually drive via the town of GUadahortuna, which we did that day too, and afterward ended up by coincidence in Cuadros, where we found road signs to a mirador.

We let ourselves be guided by our curiosity, the landscapes were magnificent! This is the video we made:

In the footsteps of Lawrence

I grew up with my grandparents and when I was six my grandmother introduced me to Lawrence of Arabia. Although I didn’t really understand the movie, thanks to the landscapes, the soundtrack and the enigmatic Peter O’Toole, this was the start of a lifelong affair with movies. Furthermore, When I saw the movie again in the fall of 2018, I discovered that part of the movie had been filmed in Spain! The next day we found ourselves in Tabernas for some exploring:

Tabernas

This small town is located not far from a desert, as you can see from the surrounding mountains:

Last Summer, we were back in Tabernas, for some further exploring.

On top of a hill, you can see the ruins of an 11th century castle. The local church is also worth a look:

There are picturesque villages nearby:

And there is of course the desert:

Travel plans for 2022

A new year means new travel plans, and this year our plans are quite ambitious. Our motto this year is “Let’s Make Europe our PLAYGROUND Again”! Let’s have a closer look.

We will still be exploring Spain as well ; in some weeks we will be visiting Seville, to be more precisely, the ;ocations in the town where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. Later this year, we willreturn to Murcia to visit Cartagena.

And Lars would like to celebrate his birthday in Cadiz!

Photo by Agustin Piu00f1ero on Pexels.com

Around May, we will embark on a Spring Odyssey, during which we will follow Spring to the North of Europe! We will start in the east of Spain, go to the east of Europe and then crisscross to the North, to the Baltic Sea, from Danzig to the West of Germany and then Denmark and take the ferryto Bornholm And then we will see!!

Upon our return, we will go to the Camargue and return home via the east of Spain.

Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding on Pexels.com

Laer this year we will probably go to Oporto!

We are ready for the adventure! Where are you heading this year?

To the Pyrenees-The gastronomical Adventure of the Year

During our day in the Pyrenees, we decided to follow a touristic route in the area, we basically drove from one village to another. In Valle de Villaverde we decided to take a lunch break, we had become hungry!

So we parked our car near the Santa Maria Church and made our way to the Posada Calera. As soon as we entered the dining room, we were welcomed by delicious smells coming from the kitchen and a very friendly woman presenting the menu del dia to us.

Lars chose chickpea soup with extra cabbage for the starter, and I had macaroni. Both dishes were incredibly delicious. The Posada has an excellent cook!