Burton Dane Travels

We're traveling through Europe and parts nearby for a year. We'll be posting our pix and adventures here.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Shoulder Season Travel



Part of our goal for this trip is to be in the shoulder season at the heavily touristed spots. We got a little behind in northern Europe and found most of the campsites closed, some of the museums remodeling and a little more rain than I wanted. Another downside is there aren’t many kids around. I’m sure the campsites are full of them during the summer. That’s all been a little frustrating but the trade off has been no waiting in lines and being alone or close to it at many sites and stores.
The picture of the Fontenvraud Abbey shows Jules and Ben at one end with no one around. We were even able to test the acoustics in a 250 foot long 30 foot high chapel (they were pretty good!)

Another plus is some of the prices are much lower. Our van is renting for about 1/3 of the summer price. It’s about the same as renting a small car. Since the campsites now cost between $20-30 per night we’re able to shift our budget from lodging and transportation to wine, cheese and meat. We won’t camp the whole time but so far so good.

We’ve now had two months with two different GPS systems. They allow us to do incredible things. We are driving through big and little cities, down one lane cobblestone roads and winding between farm fields all while heading exactly somewhere. Usually, we’ve spent a lot of time figuring out where the somewhere should be. But that’s a lot more fun than figuring out road to road navigation. It hasn’t eliminated the stress of driving, but we wouldn’t see as much if we didn’t have it.

2 Comments:

  • At 6:23 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Dear friends,
    We enjoyed catching up with your adventures. Your trip sounds like a dream one!
    Sorry Julie to hear about Scully.
    My heart is with you.
    The two Heribertos send you hugs and kisses.
    Ben... you look quite TALL. What happen to the small kid that we knew?
    We love you guys,
    Beatriz, Heriberto & jr

     
  • At 9:11 PM , Blogger cfort said...

    Hey there Mark. My heart has been missing you and your family for nearly 3 months and I still hate it. The only consolation is the incredible photos you guys are sharing with us. I absolutely love the fact that you are doing this and what an experience you are enjoying.

    I am enjoying my torch! Thankxx cfort

     

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