Day 19 of our European adventure, and after weeks of glorious sunshine, we finally discovered something we’d almost forgotten existed… RAIN! And lots of it.
We’re Steven and Suzanne, travelling around Europe in our motorhome with our two girls, Tiley and Frankie. Today, the weather decided to test just how good we were at entertaining ourselves when the heavens opened.
🌧️ Welcome to the Wet Side
The day started innocently enough with Suzanne cooking breakfast, an omelette involving some eggs and whatever else was thrown into it. Then we got dressed. And that was pretty much the excitement for the morning!
It absolutely belted down. Thunderstorms, rain and temperatures that had suddenly decided it was autumn rather than summer. After spending the previous weeks in much warmer weather, we actually found ourselves putting jumpers on.
Not exactly the sunshine adventure we had signed up for!
The rain also meant we spent a fair chunk of the morning sitting in the van, wondering what on earth we were going to do with ourselves. Eventually, the weather brightened up enough for us to venture outside... And that was when things got interesting.
🐾 Tiley & Frankie Discover the Mud Spa
We headed down towards Lake Idro, hoping for a decent walk along the water.
There were fish jumping in the lake, the scenery was lovely and, for a short while, everything was looking rather civilised.
Then the dogs discovered the nature reserve. Or, more accurately…
The dogs discovered the mud.
Tiley and Frankie disappeared off on their little adventure and came back looking like they had been professionally dipped in clay.
We got a few funny looks from people who appeared to be watching birds.
I suspect they weren't expecting to see two muddy dogs conducting their own wildlife documentary!
Luckily, we were able to take them back towards the lake and give them a good wash before allowing them back into the motorhome. Because there is one golden rule of motorhoming:
Never put a wet, muddy dog straight into a clean motorhome.
Unless you enjoy cleaning... And we don't.
☕ Cappuccinos, Hearts & a Little Bit of Romance
During our walk we stopped at a lovely café and treated ourselves to a couple of cappuccinos.
Suzanne's coffee arrived with a heart on it. Again.
Apparently, the café staff have decided Suzanne is irresistible. Either that or they just make really good coffee. Either way, she seemed very happy about it!
We continued walking along the lake as far as we could, then turned around and headed back. It was a lovely walk despite the weather, and Lake Idro really is a beautiful place to explore.
🥝 The Great Kiwi Incident
And then came the fruit theft, Well… allegedly.
While walking along the route, we spotted a tree absolutely covered in kiwis. Not something you see every day growing beside a walking path! So Suzanne picked two.
One each. Obviously, we weren't going to go crazy. Two kiwis hardly constitutes a major international fruit-smuggling operation.
We also spotted what looked like corn, although we're still not entirely sure what it actually was. It certainly didn't taste like the sweetcorn we're used to, and we decided it was probably better left alone. The kiwis, however, came back to the van. We're not saying they were stolen. Let's just call them "unexpectedly harvested." 😂
🚽 The Toilet Emergency
Now we get to the part of the day that Steven would probably prefer we didn't put in the blog.
Unfortunately, this is our blog. And it's too funny not to. We'd been trying to find a toilet disposal point and a toilet to use and eventually found one.
Excellent.
Problem solved.
Except…
The toilets were locked.
This created something of an emergency. Steven suddenly found himself needing to get back to the motorhome... quickly. Very quickly.
Unfortunately, there were too many people around for him to simply disappear behind a bush and conduct his business.
So he made a rather urgent dash back to the van. Let's just say that the phrase "nature called" took on a whole new meaning.
There was much rushing.
There was much panic.
There was much laughter afterwards.
And we'll leave it at that!
😂😂😂
📡 Internet Problems & Zero Solar
Back at the van, we had another couple of problems.
The internet had been playing up, partly because we'd parked underneath trees.
And those same trees were causing another problem…
The solar panels weren't doing much either.
In fact, they were doing precisely what solar panels are not supposed to do.
Nothing.
With the combination of thick cloud, rain and being parked under trees, the batteries weren't getting their usual solar top-up.
Thankfully, everything was still working and we had enough battery power to keep us going.
But it certainly reminded us why we invested in the upgraded electrical setup for this trip.
🍗 Hunter's Chicken & Rugby
Eventually, the weather improved enough for us to eat outside, although we did move the van afterwards because we felt a little guilty about our parking position.
Dinner was Hunter's Chicken and chips, accompanied by some rather good flavoured ciders.
Then it was time for something far more important… Rugby League!
We settled down and listened to Wigan beat Wakefield 26–12.
A pretty good way to finish a very wet and rather eventful day.
🚐 We're Staying Another Night!
Originally, we'd planned to move on, but the weather forecast has changed our plans.
Tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer, with sunshine and temperatures around 28°C.
So we've decided to stay at Lake Idro for another day. That means three nights in the same place, but at around €6 for the extra night, we're certainly not complaining and there's a very good reason for staying…
The SUP is coming out!
We're hoping to get onto Lake Idro tomorrow and have a proper play. The water is surprisingly warm, almost like a bath, which should make getting in a little easier.
Although knowing us, getting the dogs involved will probably result in another muddy, wet-dog episode!
🇫🇷 Next Stop… France
After tomorrow's lake adventure, we'll head off on Sunday and start making our way towards Bourg-Saint-Maurice in France, where we're hoping to spend a couple of days.
It's an area we know from skiing, and we're looking forward to seeing it in the summer.
We're also hoping to take the dogs on the funicular railway, although walking there is another option as we're only a few hundred metres away.
We'll also need to find a vet somewhere along the way as we continue our journey.
So there's plenty more adventure ahead.
🌦️ Day 19 in a Nutshell
What started as a very wet and miserable day actually turned into another memorable day on our European adventure.
We had:
🌧️ Rain
⛈️ Thunderstorms
🐾 Two extremely muddy dogs
☕ Cappuccinos with hearts
🥝 Two mysteriously acquired kiwis
🌽 Questionable corn
🚽 A toilet emergency
📡 Dodgy internet
☀️ Virtually no solar power
🍗 Hunter's Chicken
🏉 Wigan winning 26–12
🚐 And a decision to stay another night at beautiful Lake Idro
After nearly three weeks of sunshine, Day 19 was a complete contrast.
But that's the joy of travelling in a motorhome.
You never quite know what the day is going to throw at you.
Sometimes it's sunshine and stunning scenery.
Sometimes it's thunderstorms, muddy dogs and a locked toilet.
And sometimes…
It's all three before lunchtime!
Tomorrow we're hoping for sunshine, the SUP, a swim in Lake Idro and considerably fewer toilet-related dramas.
Let's see what Day 20 brings!
📍 Day 19 Location
Lake Idro, Italy 🇮🇹
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Day 19 Motorhome Tour of Europe – Rain, Muddy Dogs & Lake Idro, Italy
Follow Steven, Suzanne, Tiley and Frankie on Day 19 of their European motorhome adventure at Lake Idro, Italy. Rain, thunderstorms, muddy dogs, cappuccinos, kiwi theft and a hilarious toilet emergency!
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