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.
