Treehouses and Viking Ships

Time to move on again to the Treehouse Hotel. Was it going to be as good as it looked on the TV, magazines and web sites?
After a slow drive in search of a big moose that we never found. There are only 400,000 moose in Sweden for us to find, should be easy they said? All we managed was a couple of juveniles and a bottle or two of beer!

We finally find ourselves at the Treehouse Hotel and walk into reception which turns out to be the cutest 1950s retro house filled with objects from a bygone era.

We check in and wander through a field of wildflowers into the woods and over to our home for the 1st night… Our super duper space ship! Much to Steve’s delight, the button is pressed, the lights come on and slowly down comes the ladder just like a sci-fi movie. Click here to view.

UFO’s have changed since Deb used to watch them as a kid, they now come with nespresso machines, comfy beds, mini bar and the most modern of campervan toilets.. The Cinderella! Incinerating all that comes near it, not sure how it works but it works very well!!

Like a kid in a candy shop, Deb blows up the alien she remembered to pack, unlike the time in Area 51 when she completely forgot to take it after having made the effort to go buy one to take, then drives 3 hrs to realise she had left it in her suitcase in Vegas! She’s one crazy lady… Poor kids and hubby..
Then it’s time for dinner, back through the woods and then into mosquito land… Very handy, we left the mosquito repellent in the car! They seem to find Deb super tasty.. So off she went into the meadow doing the windmill action with her arms until she got to the restaurant..Well at least she gets a free shot or two of Swedish botox in the face, an eyelid and a couple of less wrinkles on her face until the bites go down.

Dinner is a lovely home cooked meal of cheese pie, arctic char, brown bear and a raspberry tart all prepared by our host Britta, whilst there we meet Amy from New York who’s escaping the bustle of the New York life, shutting down the phone and Facebook to come get away from it all as Sweden is just the place to come chill!

Day two at the tree house hotel and off we go! Time to go get lost again or should we say explore and we do! Finally after a 1hr journey turning in to 2hrs and a few reindeer traffic jams later, we reach Storforsen, a stretch of rapids over 5 km and one of the biggest in Europe. A beautiful place with a huge amount of water tumbling down from the Arctic circle, (average flow of 250 m³ per second) As it spills over the edges and runs into separate pools it creates a lovely picnic area for the locals. People are having barbecues and swimming in the pools amongst nature at its best and the sunshine.

Next day we are off to the airport to fly down to Stockholm for a couple of days. Amy turns out to be on the same flight, so we share a supersaver ticket for 3 on the  Arlanda express straight in to the city.

Next morning we get up and go to visit the Vasa museum before the queues, Deb has wanted to do this since before she met Steve, so a big tick on the bucket list of life! Did we beat the queues, no not quite, is it worth it, Yes!

You really cannot believe that hundreds of years ago these guys built such a beast of a boat. What we did find out was just how small the vikings were, average of 5ft 5 inches. Yes Steve could have been a viking! So how did the Swedish men end up so tall?

So what have we learnt.

• Midnight Sun
  Something you really need to see.
• True Silence
  Something you need to experience.
• Stockholm is pricey!
  Everything is so expensive, wine and beer are about double what you pay in London. You need to find yourselves the Systembolaget. These shops are government run and you can buy a host of wines and loads of Swedish beers at prices more like you would expect.

• Must see in Stockholm.
  Vasa museum.
• People.
  No one rushes over here, they have a nice pace and politely queue.
  To Steve and Debs disappointment Sweden was not full of perfect beautifully blonde people, we had a vision that it was a land full of them but it was just a country full of lots of normal people, give or take some seriously long legs.
• Natural and Organic.
  It was so nice to see so much good quality produce, people living as they should, caring about the world around them and using eco friendly body washes etc.. Really wondered when in the wine shop (Systembolaget) how come they have loads of organic beers and wines at similar prices to what we pay in the UK for the same brand of non organic??? About 50% of there store was organically grown.
• Satellite Navigation.
  As many roads are gravel tracks don’t expect satellite navigation to necessarily find your local villages. Download an offline map from Google!

Live Happy

Steve and Debs

 

 

 

One to Many Man Hugs!

So we have finally detached from work, like a tooth that the dentist can’t seem to pull out but got there in the end.

Steve has been finding it so hard to leave and Deb will finally stop popping up all around work. If you worked with Deb you will know exactly what this means. 🙄

How did people act?

• So many cuddles and man hugs, many more than we ever expected!
• Most are really pleased for us and came up with 101 ways to climb in the rucksack and suitcase or become our sherpas along the journey.
• Then there were a few stragglers who just cut you off…

McLaren Automotive has been an amazing journey for the both of us and may not be the end as you never know where life may take you. In the words of Bruce McLaren, “Life is Measured in Achievement Not in Years Alone”

By the end of the last day we were settling just nicely to the new life, sat in a old english country manor house over looking beautiful landscaped gardens, sipping champagne and munching our way through an afternoon tea. Could get used to this!

Time to reflect on our journey through life so far and realise that we are two very lucky people to be able to have this adventure. We may have been through some very tough times in the past, but as the saying goes “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Stronger”

Day one of our new adventure, we are sat in the airport waiting to fly to Sweden, then an interconnecting flight up to the Arctic circle for the midnight sun. Only a 4 hour wait plus 2 hrs delay between flights. So glad I packed some snacks, even though we knew it was going to be expensive, we didn’t expect it to be that expensive…. Nearly £10 for one sandwich and £5.00 for one coffee. So the action plan, fill empty water bottles from the taps and after much wandering around we found the cheapest items, 2 burgers and a slice of cheese, £4.00, strangely the queue here was rather long?

Swedish people are so calm, the 1st one I spoke to, just in a shop said, “Welcome to Sweden Have a Great Time” Think we are going to like it here 😊

Mean while, back in the UK our nephew Jake was busy winning medals and cups for cricket. 1st Junior Hampshire County Champions then going on to become Southern Counties Winners. Well done Jake!!

One of our daughters is also now on countdown to the final days as a teacher in the UK as she soon jets off to teach in Myanmar for the next 2 years and settle into a new way of life.

Time for us to sit back and watch the never ending sunset of the midnight sun completely lost as to what time it is, very strange feeling.

Live Happy
Debs and Steve

 

Nearly There……

So, Steve is just hitting his last week at work and it’s going to be a lonely one as his team all head off to their next event in Belgium.

Meanwhile Deb has been doing a bit here and there to earn a few extra pennies to help towards Sweden as we are starting expensive 1st… We have been looking at couch surfing although hit the problem that everyone is on holiday so spaces are limited especially when you go to places like the Arctic Circle, so it’s off to a hotel in Lulea we go!

Steve’s last day is the same day we head off to the airport so perhaps we shall have a treat on route rather than come home? Maybe an English afternoon cream tea is calling!

Straight after this is time for the family hobbit festival down in Cornwall. Let us explain. Our daughters are both traveller types too.. One is just back from 18 months travelling Bali, Australia, New Zealand, back to Bali and then back home to sunny Newquay UK, working freelance as a surf instructor. The other is just about to fly out to Myanmar in Asia for 2 years to teach so very rare we meet up all together, so July is the time!  We have found us a glamping camp, with fire pit, barbecue and bar and as we are all short, it is being named hobbit festival for a few days! Really looking forward to it 🙂

Surf photo courtesy of Surf Sistas

Planning has started for our French and Austrian trip in Sept.. So let’s make it all about wine.
Currently looking to head through the wine regions on the way to working in a vineyard in the south of France.
The list is growing,
Champagne
Chablis
Burgundy
Beaujolais
Rhone Valley
and then down to the final destination in Saint Tropez..

Thoughts are already moving towards what we do in Nov? We have had a few offers that sound interesting so who knows? No more English breakfast or roast dinners!

It’s amazing how many things change when you do something like this? We have started to re-engage with our neighbours, meeting people who we have only ever seen drive in and out of drivewways and Deb has been given the opportunity to help at the local regatta down on the Hamble river. Theme for this year is Rio Carnival, so sure at some time Deb will have a feathery head piece on 😉

The scariness of no income is starting to also kick in now. Spreadsheets are in progress and super analysing all we spend underway. Steve is already getting bored with Deb saying, do we need it or just want it! Negotiations have already started with Steve on the cancellation of the full sky TV package. It’s also amazing what you can make out of a 5kg bag of onions that only cost £2. It’s so difficult not to worry about getting a job when we complete our travels. You can’t help but peek at job adverts and talk to people about future roles.

YES!  
It takes courage and self belief to do this and not something everyone can do but looking forward to all the learning, challenges and problem solving ahead! Our current favourite quote from a friend is “you will be fine, cream always settles at the top”

So what have we have learnt so far.
WORK
It’s hard to give up a job and go to nothing and hard to talk to each other about it as you don’t want to cause your other half to go into a wobble as you both feel you have to support each other.
FLIGHTS
Think about the cheap early morning flights. They may not be as cheap as you think. As we live 1-2 hours away from the London airports the trains don’t run that early, you miss the bargain off peak train tickets, you can’t put people out by asking for a lift, so your choices become, go up on the train the night before and sleep at an airport hotel or on the floor, if you pick a hotel suddenly it’s the same cost as hotel and parking. Taxi’s are just too expensive. Must get better at this as airport parking kills the budget!
IMAGINATION
Imagine yourself during and after your travels, what does it look like. Set yourself goals to ensure you are always going in the right direction and never be afraid to re-evaluate them from time to time as your life evolves.

BE REAL
It’s not always going to be a dream life and things will not go to plan and the plan will always be changing. Challenge yourself to be more resilient.

Time to go pack again. What do you take to the Arctic Circle for the midnight sun?

Live Happy

Debs and Steve

Roaming Around Rhodes.

So week 2 in Greece and the weather is still super hot and the sea, so blue and clear. Can’t imagine what it’s like in August?

In fact it’s been so hot that Rhodes has had a forest fire. We heard about it from the locals but it wasn’t until we were driving around exploring and trying to avoid crazy kids on scooters and quad bikes that we really saw first hand the damage it had caused. It had torn through kilometers of forest, a village and the surrounding land and affected people’s lively hoods. The fire engine service were still patrolling.

So who have we met along the way?

Old Greek People.
They’re amazing, they have so much stamina and perseverance. In Symi old town and Chorio (pronounced Horio) where the real locals live, there are so many steps everywhere, no cars just oodles of steps and some very old buildings waiting to be rebuilt.
All day you see little old people wandering around the streets having visited the local shop, laden-ed with carrier bags of shopping struggling their way up the steps in 40◦+ heat. You stop to help them and they really appreciate the fact you offered to help but are so stubborn they won’t let you, they hold your hand and say óchi óchi (no,no) Crazy People! But this lovely little guy did let us help, not surprising really as we were struggling ourselves too.

Lovely Little Ladies.

In the wine village of Emponas, next to the hotel were a couple of lovely old women who watched us walk back and forward to the village whilst sat outside their homes on little stools, they taught us our second set of Greek words, we have to say the 1^st word we learnt was Yamas, Cheer!!

• Good Morning – Kalimera
• Good Afternoon – Kalispera
• Good Night – Kalinihxta

Every day we waved and smiled at them saying the right phrase and they would chunter away speaking back to us in Greek and we would be left with no clue as to what they said but they liked the reply and we left them happy.

A Guy Who’s Name We Don’t Remember.

This guy made the best homemade lemonade and work at a beautiful cafe hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Lindos call Rainbird. He also had the best sense of humour and was a great wasp batter! Orange or Lemon homemade cake anyone?

Stergos Manolakas.

We have spoken about this guy before, we have met his parents, family friends from Austria and his little girl and even popped back to see him on our way back to the airport. We learnt a lot about the solar system and also spent some time asking him about the Greek economy. One of the kindest people we met on the island.

The One Eyed Brothers.

Never judge a sign by its look! So we are in the middle of nowhere going somewhere and we come across a cafe sign, do we, don’t we.. Boys being boys they need feeding.. Lets go in we said. Cutest rustic cafe run by two brothers in their 70s . One only had one eye and was wearing a handkerchief on his head and the other was being followed by a group of over hungry cats. Man, this place had a lovely view over bright blue sea, was cheap, full of friendly locals and had hand cooked chips, the biggest plate full. Everyone was full of smiles and pleased to see us, more embarrassing these guys also spoke English to a degree.

People You Don’t Want to Meet Again.

Rhodes Rogue Restaurant Men.

Then you get the opposite end of the scale, the horrific greedy guys trying to rip the tourists off and giving a bad name to others. Please people, watch yourselves in Rhodes Old Town main square, restaurants pitch their lovely roof top terraces and when you get up there you realise that the people you saw there have vanished and the drinks are still on the tables and then you ask to look at the menu before you order anything to find that they want to charge €5 for a coke!! Be brave and just tell them it’s too expensive, walk away and don’t feel guilty as hard as they try to push you back in! Go to the restaurants sitting just inside the city wall.

Dodgy Donkey Men of Lindos.

Title says it all! Poor little donkeys, not something we would do but we did see way too many tourists hand over €5 to be sat on a donkey and rushed and we REALLY DO MEAN rushed up a hill to the Lindos Acropolis by a load of very abusive men hitting the donkeys to go faster and even if the tourists were scared they wouldn’t slow down, then shouting something in Greek to any pedestrians in the way, don’t even want to think what this was!

 

Off to make homemade pita breads 🙂

Live Happy

Debs and Steve

 

The Adventure Begins!

So what are we doing?

Giving up our corporate jobs and going travelling!

Budget – As small as we can.

Places – Where ever life takes us.

How – Creatively as possible.

We are happy to consider any interesting opportunities that come our way, paid or not that help us continue the journey. These can range from bespoke house/pet sits, working/volunteering for board and lodging etc. Whilst travelling we also plan to study wines and spirits too, so Deb can complete her final wine exams.

Feel free to contact us if you have any ideas/opportunities or cool places you think we really should look to visit 🙂

Thank you for visiting our blog, should you wish to follow us it would be great and we promise not to post more than once or twice a week.

Live Happy

Debs and Steve