Completing a final travel blog from my home computer seems strangely out of sync with reality but here we go.  As you can imagine, things become very busy as you wrap-up a trip like this, and they don’t slow down immediately upon landing. It’s now been just over two weeks since our return to Victoria and so before additional summer events kick in, I’ll take a moment and polish off this 2024 trip by completing this last travel blog and sending it off to the book publisher.

Sailing from Dublin, we had a lovely and gentle crossing of the Irish Sea back to the port of Holyhead in Wales. Unfortunately on arrival we were greeted by thick clouds and heavy rain which was a bit disappointing. Overall the weather on this trip has been fantastic, not too cold, hot, or wet, so we’ve nothing to complain about in that regards. However, missing out on some of those beautiful Welsh mountain vistas was slightly disheartening especially considering what we could see was picture perfect. We drove south along the Welch coast to Pembroke and then cut eastward through the Black Mountains.  We slipped past busy Newport and Bristol and settled for a couple of days at a wonderful farm campground in South West England. 

On our way to Salisbury we visited the fascinating “Wilton House” where the young 18th Earl of Pembroke lives with his wife and daughters. It’s about five kilometres from the Salisbury Cathedral and much of this estate is open to the public when not in use by the family. What makes the country house so interesting is the personal treasures and  memorabilia randomly displayed throughout this grand home including a huge collection of Greek and Roman statuary and multiple paintings by van Dyck and other famous artists. It also has a fascinating history dating back to 1544 when Henry VIII granted the estate to Sir William Herbert. One interesting historical note was the impressive “Double Cube Room” which was the actual top secret location where during WWII Churchill and Eisenhower planned the D Day landings in Normandy. On the lighter side of interesting facts, this is where the NETFLIX series “The Crown” and “Bridgerton” are filmed.

After an expensive visit to Leeds Castle in Kent we eventually made our way to Folkestone (near Dover) and took the Eurotunnel train back to France. Over the next few days we made our way past Waterloo, Belgium into Germany, and north to Munster not far from Dulmen.  In the tiny village of Hiddingsel, Germany we enjoyed our final culinary experience at a wonderful little pub that was kitty-corner to our first amazing cuisine experience on Valentine’s Day, 2014. What a great way to end this part of our 2024 trip. 

We returned the motorhome to our friends at Dumo and hopped on a train to the Netherlands where we were once again greeted with wide and open arms by our amazing extended family there. I feel that over the years we’ve developed a special bond with these magnificent people who always make us feel so very much at home. Feeding us, housing us, entertaining us with theatre, harbour cruises and city tours makes us realize how lucky we are to have them in our lives. Thank you again for all your Dutch hospitality and the wonderful memories. 

KLM provided an excellent flying experience back to Victoria where we were so excited to reconnect with family and friends. Thank you Cam, Lia, boys and Winston for such a nice airport welcome despite some postponed luggage delivery. A quick trip to Portland a few days later to celebrate the twins 6th birthday was fun, heartwarming and long overdue. How fortunate we are to have such a wonderful loving family to return home too and ground us once again on the West Coast.