National Zrimpoon's European Vacation

Millau Viduct... highly recommended you go see this next time you are driving off the beaten track through France!!!! It is one hell of an eye sore in the middle of the french countryside but by gosh is it impressive. We took a look from the viewing platform under the bridge and then we crossed the big bad bridge before continuing on our way. Here is a peak at what we saw.

Mwa xxx

Hi there everyone!!!!

So as our trip has been coming closer and closer to the end, like any great trip, we have been adjusting our plans as we go depending on time it takes us to get everyone and new things we discover etc. We decided that instead of heading across to wine country we would head down to the South to the seaquarium following on from Sarah's addiction to Shark Week on telly in Slovenia, and then we would head straight up the middle of France destination Euro Disney and Paris.

The seaquarium was in a quaint little seaside town called Grau du Roi so we made our way down there and filled our brains with interesting facts about sea animals including seals, sharks, stingrays and Nemo fish. It was loads of fun and Sarah got her shark hit! Did you know that the biggest shark ever caught was in Cube in the forties and was over 6.4 metres long!!!! (Well I think that was right). It is hard to pay attention with live sharks swimming near you!

Anyway... it was a great day out so here are some piccies.

Mwa xxx

Welcome to Francais! Just picture it... the Zrim's are gunning it down the French highway (won't mention their bloody tolls!) and we were lucky enough to get some amazing views of the seaside below including a stunning view of the luxirious and fabulous Monaco! We decided to avoid the posh and luxurious coastline of Southern France... but let's be honest we wouldn't really fit in and we didn't have time for people watching! So we looked on from afar at the massive super yachts down below and kept on the road. We did however take a little trip off the highway to drive along the boulevard in St Laurent and it was stunning but then it was back to the highway for us. We got a hell of a lot of kms under out belt and in the late afternoon and we arrived at our destination of Avignon! We didn't really know what to expect so were pleasantly surprise to find an old city surrounded by a city wall with a beautiful palace and old bridge. It was absolutely stunning and we were excited about exploring it and not driving at all for one whole day!!!

So yesterday we were up and at 'em and headed in to the city of Avignon for a day of exploring. Our first stop was the half bridge... it is a half bridge now only because of it collapsing over the centuries, it is pretty cool. So the tourists that we are got right up there with our audio guides (look alike 80s mobile phone) and had some spectacular views and a lot of fun. Then it was on to the Palais du Papas, the Palace of the Popes, for some more history lessons and again some magical views of the city. Following from our very informative morning we strolled the tiny streets of the city, stopping at a little french patisserie on the way and settling on a peaceful bench by the river to watch the boats and birds pass.

That evening after a long day of being tourists we headed for a nice dinner on the River Rhone. It turned out to be one of the more eventful dinners of our lives! It was a lovely peaceful dinner watching the sun go down and we had a lovely meal... then... whilst waiting for dessert something dropped from the heavens... a bird poop straight on to dad's shirt. We could hardly control ourselves with laughter!!! Everyone in the restaurant was laughing as we were cleaning him up... but wait there's more. A few more huge drops fell around him over a period of 5 minutes and you should have seen these things... it was no budgie up there! So the waiter protected dad with an umbrella (which too then got covered in poop). Then the whole restaurant screamed as we heard an all might bang (which turned out to be a flare type gun) follwed by Ravens sqwalking and flying from the trees. Thanks for the warning mr waiter! ha ha It was hilarious. A nice dinner, lots of entertainment, and dad now has a really lucky shirt.

So today it is goodbye Avignon and due to lack of time left on our trip we are heading through Marsaille to the bridge at Millau, a picture below... tallest bridge in Europe (eek!) and then up headed for Paris. We are slowly taking the scenice route towards Paris over the next several days.

And in case you guys are wondering how life in the van is here is some Zrim Van Tour info...

Andrew (Dad) is a very good driver so he takes over when we hit the windy and hairy roads. He also has quite a road ragers tongue at times... Italian Drivers 0 Dad 1, don't mess with this guy on the road he means business.

Daniel is the chief navigator! He is in charge of the sat nav and makes sure we get from A to B and is vital in telling us if our plans are going to work and if we have enough time to get to where we need to be. He is also in charge of the toll gate machines. Funniest thing ever, the toll machine wouldn't take the note because it was too crumpled, and the bus driver behind us beeped about 5 times in 1 minute so Daniel flipped him the bird as we took off and as the bus got straight through he was right behind us and overtook us and as he did, Daniel hid behind our caravan and camping guide... what a man Dan! He is also king jokey joke maker and loves giving nicknames. Mum now goes by the names of Ribena berry (purple raincoat) or Mutsie meaning kitty in Slovenian and he has likened me to an elf so the elf jokes just keep rolling... no Daniel I can not use my elf powers to make the kettle boil faster. Sarah has a new hair cut and is now called GaGa all day long when she wears her top with the shoulder pads. So I guess with all that, Daniel is chief of Fun!

Jacquie (Mum) is in charge of being mum... she keeps us all in line and makes sure we are behaving and is on clothes washing duty and of course our source of bill paying. Thanks Mum!

Sarah is... well what doesn't she do... she cooks the most amazing meals in our tiny van kitchen incluing crepes and schnitzels! We don't do things by halves. She also keeps the van clean and tidy and does a great job of driving when it's her turn. She gets her road rage from dad!

Me (Kate) well I am also in charge of some of the driving and also iPod control. I am chief time keeper and planner, making sure the alarms are set, everyone is up and ready in the mornings and if we need to be we are kept to a strict schedule... therefore I am not the most liked person in the mornings but hey... someone has got to do it.

So that is all for now... we are off on the road again now and will try and update the blog when possible over the next few days.

Love to you all.

Mwa xxx

Hello again friends! We are saying Bonjour from Francais this morning after some time in the lovely countryside of Italy.

After our adventures in Slovenia we set of on the road once again and headed on the highway to Italy... first stop Venice! By the time the bad boy got to Venice after gunning it down the highway at 110kms p/h but a little too late to hop on the ferry and enjoy Venice to it's fullest so we stayed on mainland Venice for the night ready for an early start the next day. We spent the night in the van whilst outside it was bucketing down with rain and very windy but lucky enough the weather got much better in the morning and as the day went on and we had splendid weather in Venice. We got up bright and early and got the ferry to Venice with our first stop Murano Island where they are famous for their glass blowing. We strolled through the canals and looked at all the beautiful and expensive hand made glass... we even watched a guy make a wine topper. Then it was back to Venice and we explored the streets and canals visiting St Marks Square and the Grand Canal. It was very beautiful but gee does Venice get packed!! The crowds were extremely annoying so we decided to stroll the back roads instead.... OK you got me... we were lost and ended up on the wrong side of Venice! But... we used our orientation skills (asked for help) and eventually found our way back to the ferry port and it was back to the van for us and on to Bologna!

Reason for visiting Bologna... purely to do a tour inside the Ducati factory! It was really cool to go inside and see how they make the bikes... one bike is completed in only 3.5 hours! We also did a tour of the museum and learnt all the history of Ducati but turns out Dad had a thing or two to teach the tour guide... he is a motorbike geek but that's why we love him. He was definitely in his element and I think he is now just hanging to get back home and go for a spin. So we dragged him away with buying only a nice new Ducati cap and then it was on and upwards for the Zrims!!

We decided to get quite a bit of driving under our belt to try and cover some ground because we have a lot to see and get to so we decided to take the non highway route through Italy next destination the Cinque Terre. It was a long a windy road up through the mountains, it was stunning but boy where there some hairy bends. We managed to make it to Manarola on the Cinque Terre in good time thanks to Dad's maneuvers through the mountains. We strolled through the beautiful town of Manarola but then it was off in the van again to try and see more of the trail before nightfall. The raods continued to be windy and the sunset was absolutely to die for. We were being spoilt with the view and it was a lot of fun. We even saw a wolf (we think) and a mouse! We were at one with nature. But again, we headed for the motorway to make some tracks during the evening and we eventually found a truck stop and stayed there for the night, just a little outside of Genova on the coast of Italy.

Wednesday morning we were again up bright and early and hit the road straight away. It was all highways for a while as it was going to take us at least 5 hours to get to our next destination of Avignon, France. We saw some beautiful seaside and country houses on the drive and soon we would be crossing the border in to Francais!!!

Mwa xxx

Well it was back in Slovenia for the Zrim clan and we were off with a bang as we got up bright and early on Thursday and Leon and Martha took us for a lovely drive through Bled, Bohinj and up to Versic where the few was spectacular but clouded a little bit by the foggy haze covering the mountains. It was beautiful all the same though and was a very windy and steep drive up. Then we went to Kranjska Gora and met with Josef and Martha for a big lunch and more schnapps. Once again we were so full we could hardly move but... then we drove back to Menges where Majda thought we would be hungry and prepared rissotto and salad for us. So... like troopers we ate once again. On Friday morning we had a spot of shopping and in the afternoon had a lovely BBQ at Leon and Marthas where we played with their dog Medor and had lots and lots of food.

Yesteday was our last day in Slovenia as today we are off to Italy and we have to say goodbye to Slovenia. I started the day yesterday by hiking up Reshitca with Rok and Katarina and at the top at 9.30 we had a beer and a schnapps... we should start every day like that. I was bouncing off the trees on the way down! Then we visited Uncle Rudi and family at their home and had yet more food and we had a lovely afternoon there but pretty much had to be rolled out of the door! Then we had a little BBQ at the Kosec house where we had yet more food, schnapps and beer before hitting the hay after a long day. How are we ever going to go back to normal life and not have schnapps every day!

Thank you to all the family in Slovenia who have looked after us, made us feel welcome, showed us every corner of Slovenia in two weeks and made it the most amazing trip ever. We love Slovenia and are going to miss it very much. But for now... we are all squeezing back into the van and it Bongornio Italia!!!!!!!

Mwa xxx