Well, that’s it… Day 29. Done. Dusted. Finished. Over. Kaput.
Our European adventure has officially come to an end, and although we were back in the motorhome and heading home, it felt a little strange not to record one final day. So, here we are, tucked up in bed, giving you the final instalment of our European adventure.
And what a trip it has been!
One Last Walk for the Girls 🐾🌊
We started our final morning with one of the most important jobs of the day, getting Tilley and Frankie out and about.
We were aiming for a 10 o'clock walk and, for once, we were almost bang on time. We got the girls fed a massive breakfast, including their usual food plus some potatoes and sausages. Because apparently they had been wasting away while on holiday!
Then it was off to the beach for one final walk and swim. They had a brilliant splash around, plenty of sniffing and a good run along the beach. We covered roughly 4½ to 5 kilometres, although naturally we hadn't checked Strava at the time because that would have required organisation.
Back at the motorhome, the girls got washed, dried and generally returned to something resembling respectable dogs.
We then finished the final jobs, packed everything away and were ready to leave at around 11:45am.
Not bad at all.
Passport Panic… Even Though Everything Was Fine! 😬
One thing we were both conscious of was getting to the ferry with plenty of time. Even though all the paperwork for the dogs was in order, we'd checked it, double-checked it and even had the vet triple checked everything before we left.
Because those microchip numbers and pet 'passport' / AHC details are ridiculously long. All it would take is one wrong digit and suddenly you're having a very different sort of holiday!
We even had a little discussion about the microchip checking process. They hand you the scanner and, technically, you could scan pretty much any dog!
Thankfully, everything was fine and we sailed through the checks.
Farewell France 🇫🇷
We watched the queues of vehicles and pets gradually disappear onto the ferry and eventually made our way aboard.
The motorhome was parked fairly close to the front, which we were pleased about because we knew it meant we'd hopefully be among the first off when we reached Plymouth. The girls were perfectly comfortable in the motorhome with water, fresh air and the fans running and here's another little victory for our motorhome setup: Three fans running from one battery. That's exactly the sort of thing all the extra power equipment we installed before this trip was designed for.
We boarded and at around quarter to two and then watched the coastline disappear behind us. There was something quite satisfying about looking back towards places we'd visited during the trip and recognising the beaches and landmarks from the ferry. It really brought home just how much we'd actually seen.
The Ferry From Hell… Almost! 😂
The sea wasn't exactly playing nicely. There was a massive swell, and inside the ferry people were wandering around the corridors looking like they'd had a few too many before lunch. Let's just say the corridors weren't exactly horizontal!
We ventured into the shop, but the combination of movement, perfume smells and a ship rolling around wasn't doing Steven any favours. So we found ourselves a spot outside, roughly in the middle of the ship, where things felt a little more stable.
And then… I fell asleep for about two hours.
Completely zonked. Which probably explains why I was wide awake at night!
A Bit of Memory Lane 📸🎥
During the crossing, we went through our photos and drone footage from the trip. It was brilliant looking back at everything we'd done.
Twenty-nine days of travelling, sightseeing, exploring, driving, walking, eating, laughing, occasionally getting lost and generally having a fantastic time. We found ourselves saying:
"Where was that again?"
"Oh yeah, that was there!"
"Look at that view!"
It's amazing how quickly a whole adventure becomes a collection of memories. We even got chatting to a lovely lady we'd met on the ferry who was doing some embroidery. She had some interesting stories to tell and, rather amusingly, was apparently trying to avoid the rest of her family! Sometimes it's the random conversations with people you meet along the way that become part of the holiday memories too.
Hello Plymouth! 🇬🇧
Eventually, the familiar sight of Plymouth appeared. The breakwater, the coastline and the harbour were all there to greet us.
Home.
We headed down to the vehicle deck and, just as we'd hoped, we were among the first vehicles off. Passport control was straightforward and within roughly five minutes of leaving the ferry, we were back on the road and, naturally, we did what any exhausted travellers would do after 29 days of European adventure…
We ordered a Chinese takeaway. Well, we'd earned it!
And Then… 3,000 Miles! 🚐💨
But there was one final little milestone. As we pulled back onto the drive, we noticed something rather satisfying on the dashboard.
3,000.0 miles. Exactly.
Not 2,999.9
Not 3,000.1
3,000 miles bang on.
The funny thing is that Steven had been predicting for weeks that we'd finish the trip at around 2,999 miles.
He was so close!
In fact, we reckon that little trip out to collect the Chinese takeaway may have been the difference between finishing at 2,999 and hitting the magical 3,000.
So technically…
The Chinese takeaway completed the European adventure. That's our story and we're sticking to it.
We even managed to video the mileage turning over to 3,000 just before we arrived home.
Perfect timing.
And That's a Wrap ❤️
Back home, we demolished the Chinese, watched the rest of the TV series we'd started binge-watching during the storm and finally admitted that the holiday was over.
Tomorrow?
Reality. Washing. Cleaning. Sorting everything out. Basically, the glamorous side of motorhoming that nobody puts on Instagram!
But looking back over the entire adventure, we honestly wouldn't change a thing.
From the moment we left, through all the places we visited, the sights we saw, the miles we covered and the adventures we had with Tilley and Frankie, it has been absolutely brilliant.
We've laughed.
We've explored.
We've eaten far too much.
We've driven 3,000 miles.
We've taken thousands of photographs.
We've flown the drone.
We've made memories that we'll be talking about for years.
And most importantly, we've done it together.
Would We Do It Again?
Absolutely.
Would we change anything?
No.
Would we do anything differently?
Probably not.
Would we recommend taking the dogs around Europe in a motorhome?
Without a doubt, although we'd definitely recommend checking those pet passports / AHC's about seventeen times before you leave!
This trip has been everything we'd hoped it would be and more.
So, from Steven, Suzanne, Tilley and Frankie, thank you for coming along for the ride.
Thank you for listening to our podcasts, reading our blogs and following our European adventure.
This might be the end of Day 29, but it certainly isn't the end of Touring Ideas.
There are plenty more adventures to come.
The motorhome will be cleaned, the washing will eventually be done, the memories will be edited into videos and photos, and before long we'll probably be looking at a map thinking…
"Where shall we go next?"
Until then…
Thanks for travelling with us.
See you on the next adventure! 🚐❤️🐾
Oh... And we finally got to see the Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden... Proper Job!
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