After nearly 1,650 miles of European touring, Day 17 was supposed to be a proper lazy day.
You know the sort of day we mean: no driving, no packing up the motorhome, no worrying about the next destination. Just beach, sunshine, swimming and absolutely nothing strenuous.
Well… that was the plan.
As usual, things didn't quite work out that way!
🏖️ A Day on the Croatian Coast
We decided to spend the day on the beach and, unusually, we left Tilley and Frankie behind.
Don't get us wrong, we love having the dogs with us, but sometimes it's nice to have a couple of hours where we're not constantly checking where they've wandered off to, what they've eaten, or whether they've decided that somebody else's campsite is their new home.
The beach was warm, there was a lovely breeze and, for once, we could properly switch off.
And we really needed it.
After all the driving we've done over the last couple of weeks, it was great to stop, take a breath and just enjoy being somewhere.
🏄♂️ SUP? More Like S.O.S!
Of course, a "lazy day" couldn't possibly remain lazy.
We got the paddleboard out for the first time in ages and headed onto the water. The wind, however, had other ideas.
Steven seemed to manage rather better than Suzanne, who quickly discovered that her upper-body strength apparently disappeared somewhere between the motorhome and the water.
The result? Lots of paddling… and very little actual forward movement.
There was a fair amount of going around in circles, ploughing into the water and generally looking like we knew exactly what we were doing.
We even got close to the inflatable water assault course, which was probably the point at which Steven decided that staying on the board was a very good idea. Then came the jellyfish. And not just little jellyfish.
These things were massive – some apparently around 60cm across – and looked like someone had dropped giant, rather unattractive fried eggs into the sea. They fascinated Suzanne.
Steven? Not so much.
The thought of falling into warm Croatian water surrounded by enormous jellyfish wasn't exactly his idea of a relaxing afternoon!
🪼 Giant Jellyfish & Brown Acne
We're not sure what these jellyfish had done to deserve the description, but they apparently looked like they had "a bad case of brown acne."
Lovely.
They certainly weren't pretty, but they were fascinating to watch drifting through the water. Eventually, though, we decided we'd had enough excitement and headed back towards the beach. And that led to the next adventure…
Sunbathing.
🌞 Fifty Shades of Pink
Steven managed to achieve a rather impressive level of sunburn. His legs were brown. His arms were brown, his back was red, his stomach was red and his forehead apparently resembled a Baliza beacon.
Suzanne wasn't exactly sympathetic.
There was even a rather fetching pale pink shirt to match the newly acquired bright pink face. Let's just say the phrase "slap on some sun cream" may have been mentioned more than once.
🔋 Charging Up – Literally
Back at the motorhome, it was time to catch up on some of the practical stuff.
One of the big jobs was checking the electrical system and our new battery setup.
The solar panels had brought the battery up to around 91%, which sounds impressive until you remember that our new battery is absolutely enormous.
We're running a 312Ah battery, so getting that last few percent takes a bit more doing than with the old setup. Still, it's exactly why we invested in the new electrical system before setting off on this European adventure. More capacity means more freedom, and after spending this much time on the road, we're already appreciating it.
🚐 What's the Plan?
With another 12 days still available, we started looking at the map and discussing where we should go next.
Croatia has plenty more to offer, including a national park further inland towards Hungary, but we started wondering whether heading deeper into Croatia would make the rest of the journey feel rushed.
And that isn't what this trip is supposed to be about. We don't want to spend the final two weeks simply driving from A to B and sitting in the motorhome. The whole point of this four-week adventure is to explore, relax and enjoy ourselves.
So we're considering heading back towards Italy and then making our way towards some places we've either visited before or always wanted to see.
🇮🇹 Italy, Here We Come?
Lake Idro is somewhere we've visited before and remember as being incredibly peaceful and relaxing.
We'd also love to revisit the mountains around Borg Saint Maurice, where we've previously been skiing, but this time see them in the summer. And, of course, the dogs could potentially get a ride up the mountain on the funicular.
Then there's Annecy.
Neither of us has properly visited Annecy before, and the pictures of the lake look absolutely stunning. If we can find somewhere to park and stay, we'll definitely give it a go. If not, we'll find somewhere outside the city and head in from there.
After that, we're hoping to find another nice nature spot somewhere on the way back towards France.
It sounds like a pretty good way to finish the trip to us!
🍔 Hangry Suzanne Makes an Appearance
Of course, no day would be complete without food becoming part of the story.
By the evening, Suzanne had become what can only be described as hangry.
Apparently, the waiter wasn't getting to her quickly enough... There may have been some impatience.
There may also have been a chicken burger involved.
And Steven had an absolutely enormous burger, which even he couldn't finish.
Fortunately, things improved considerably when the waiter brought over some schnapps at the end of the meal.
He asked whether we wanted the sweet one or the strong one.
Guess which one we chose?
Yep. The strong one.
It was less "pleasant little after-dinner drink" and more "someone has just poured petrol down my throat."
We're still not entirely sure whether it was nice or disgusting. Probably both.
🐕 Meanwhile, Back at the Motorhome…
Tilley and Frankie had their own priorities.
They went for another swim, came back, and promptly collapsed in front of us as if they'd spent the day paddling around the Adriatic themselves. They're now perfectly positioned for tomorrow's adventures.
We're not convinced they understand the concept of "lazy day" either.
❤️ One of Those Days
Looking back, Day 17 turned out to be exactly what we needed.
Yes, there was paddleboarding.
Yes, there were giant jellyfish.
Yes, Steven turned an impressive shade of pink.
Yes, we had a very strong schnapps.
But more importantly, we laughed a lot.
After nearly 1,650 miles, it was good to stop for a while, enjoy the sunshine, get in the water and simply spend some quality time together.
This trip has been fantastic so far, and neither of us can really think of a bad part.
Well… apart from the waiter's slightly slow service when Suzanne was hungry.
And the jellyfish.
And the sunburn.
And possibly the schnapps.
Actually, maybe there were a few things.
But we're still loving every minute!
🚐 Day 18 – Where Next?
And now comes the big decision.
Do we stay in Croatia for another day because we're reluctant to leave?
Or do we head towards Italy and start making our way towards the Alps, Annecy and eventually France?
At the moment, we haven't quite decided.
So you'll have to keep your ears peeled for Day 18 to find out which way we go.
One thing is certain…
The adventure isn't over yet!
📍 Touring Ideas – European Adventure
Follow Steven, Suzanne, Tilley and Frankie as we continue our four-week European motorhome adventure, exploring new places, revisiting old favourites and discovering what life on the road is really like.
From Croatia and Italy to the Alps, France and beyond, we're sharing the good, the bad, the funny and occasionally the slightly sunburnt!
👉 Follow the adventure: www.touringideas.co.uk
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