Home is where I park it

Following on from writing about places to visit and park up in Spain and Portugal I have written a bit about travelling with dogs. Please be aware the advice here is based on my own research and my own experiences. I have travelled to and from Spain and Portugal with dogs since 2010, also going through France, Holland and Belgium. I have also spent 6 months volunteering in a dog rescue centre in Portugal. This is just a guide, please make sure you get the most up to date information on Pet Passports from your vet and the government website. If you are thinking of driving to mainland Europe and want to take your dog, there are a few things to take into consideration. It is much easier to travel with some animals thanks to the Pet Passport scheme but this all needs to be thought about in advance. All dogs travelling within the EU must have a Pet Passport and cannot travel into another EU country within 21 days of their first rabies vaccination. It is a ...

Trying to get back to the healthy diet and regular exercise that I was doing so well with last year has proved difficult. I started well at the New Year 2015 as we all do with good intentions and felt that I was doing brilliantly I even lasted past the month which people find hard. In March I broke my arm and that set me back a little with the exercise but maintained the healthy diet. As the summer went on it became harder to go out power walking as I was mostly power walking in my breaks from work which are always 2-4pm, the hottest part of the day. I don't do too well in hot weather and although we didn't exactly have much of a summer it was warm enough for me not to enjoy the walking at all. In October I took 5 months off work and travelled to Portugal and Spain with all intentions of maintaining a healthy diet and doing power walking as much as possible. Well you know what they say about best laid plans? The biscuits and cakes are the problem, there is more choice than ...

Following on from the last post after writing my list of places to go to in Portugal I thought I should follow it up with the same about Spain :) Some park ups and some cool places to visit and a few tips for newbies on the road in Spain :) Some of the best things about Spain and vehicle living/travelling are: Police usually relaxed, (even though they look scary and put on a stern face). I haven’t heard as many people getting fines as in Portugal. Make sure you are legal and carrying all the necessary things like warning triangle and high viz jacket though. The rule is no free camping within 1km of a campsite, the reality is you can get away with being nearer most of the time. Be friendly and polite and move on as soon as asked. Lots of amenities for van dwellers in areas where van dwellers dwell! Laundrettes, waste water/toilet disposal and water are common place and only cost a few Euros. Fiestas! Every day is a fiesta day ...