Be Prepared

A phrase usually associated with the Scouts movement. Funny that, considering I did no more than two cubs evenings, before deciding I hated it and locked myself in the bathroom, so as to avoid having to go!

I do like to be prepared though and really enjoy the forward planning of these tours. I could never just ride into a place and hope to find a room for the night. Oh no, that's why on my tours, we know exactly where we are staying, where we are going to fill up with fuel, what attractions we are going to stop at and sometimes, even where we are going to eat. It seems to work pretty well too, just ask Grizzly.

On this particular tour, more than others I've done, there are a lot of attractions that it is best to book in advance, otherwise, we run the risk of not being able to gain entry or at the very least, not being able to get on an English speaking tour. It is this aspect of the tour I have been concentrating on recently.

Not wishing to give the game away too much, I have already pre-booked four things; two in Poland, one in Czechia and one in Croatia. The first two I'm quite pleased with, those being English speaking tours, as neither my Polish, nor Czech language skills are any good, i.e. they are non existent. I've still got another few things to book up, including a ferry in Croatia but they can't be done sooner than 10 - 12 weeks in advance. One of the good and frankly unexpected things, is that I'm not having to pay up front to make all these bookings. OK, I've paid for two but I think all the other tours are payable when you turn up. I'm not sure there are many places in this country you could book a place and not have to pay until you arrive.

It's fair to say, I've not entirely finished running through the itinerary yet, so there may even be some more stuff to book up. We shall see.

That's all for this update. Keep watching, keep following.

Bring on Summer

In five months’ time (15th June), the blog countdown timer will show all zeros and Dick (a.k.a Grizzy) and I, shall be in Prague, having already crossed through Germany and dipped a toe in Poland. That's a long way off yet though and there's still plenty to do before we ship out of Blighty.

Let me get you up to speed what we've been up to though, since my last update.

You may recall a couple of Croatian hotels had changed their names. Well, since then, I've been told that a hotel I had booked in the Italian Alps, was cancelling my booking, as it was now under new ownership. I presume they don't want to run a guest house. Either that or they want to charge more for the rooms! Cynical Neill. I therefore had to find us somewhere else; not an easy task given the location. The mountains are as popular in summer as they are in winter. However, I got lucky. Lucky in so much as I found a hotel with rooms to spare, high up on the Stelvio Pass and only about 200m from the summit. Not so lucky though, that the cost is about 75% more than the place I'd originally booked. Oh well, è la vita.

I've also been right through our itinerary and identified places we want to visit; opening hours, entrance fees, etc, and I'll be booking some of those up in the next couple of weeks, to make sure we get an English tour/guide.

On the booking front again, we have booked our Eurotunnel tickets and Grizzly has his
usual Leigh Delamere Travelodge room booked, that breaks the journey from Kent
to Pembroke. He's also booked his ferry from/to Ireland.

With regards to cash for the tour, I've worked out what I think we'll need for our days outside of the Euro zone. The good thing about the eastern European countries, is that they tend to have a lot lower cost of living than us, so I can't see us paying £15 each for a tureen of soup, like we did in Norway! Cheap food and cheap beer. Oh Yes!

This autumn and winter, has been awful. I swear it has barely stopped raining since I returned from Aragon at the end of September. It's been so bad, that Ginny hasn't seen the light of day, since that trip, so the spring/summer can't come quick enough. Ginny is ok though, tucked up and being trickle fed. I've booked her in to have her gearbox recall work done on 12th March. She'll still be in warranty, by 5 days, so if something else amiss should be found, I shouldn't have to face a hefty bill. Once she's had that work done, I'm hoping to get across to see my grandson, who at the rate he's growing, will probably be in long trousers by then.

One thing I do need to check, is the impact of us leaving the EU on 31st January on my driving permit. I'd bought them before the 31st March '19 Brexit date but I'm not clear if I will need to renew one before the tour or whether things will remain as they are until the 31st December 2020 deadline. Something to think about.

Think that just about covers it for now. 

Till the next time.