We have always been travelers, mostly in North America and Europe. Since retiring after the summer of 2008, we have undertaken three major trips, the first in Asia and the Pacific, the second in Europe, and the third continuing in Europe and then to Asia. Our world journeys to date are recorded in our blog, www.roadeveron.blogspot.com. There are now more than 1200 posts, and thousands of photos. The blog is searchable and can be viewed by country and major city. In addition, here on the website, Vicki writes a variety of essays on practical aspects of the travel we are doing.
Our Asia/Pacific trip began August 31, 2008, and concluded March 8, 2009. We departed San Francisco September 1, stopped in Tokyo, then arrived in Beijing September 3. Our month-long stay in China included Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Wulingyuan National Park, Yichang, a Yangtze River cruise, Chongqing, and Chengdu, with a great variety of sights in and between those places. From Chengdu, via Bangkok, we flew to Kathmandu, for a month in Nepal, including the Everest trek and Chitwan National Park. From Nepal, we flew to India, for ten days there, including Varanasi, Khajuraho, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Pushkar. From Delhi, we flew to Bangkok and then to Koh Samui, where we weathered the 2008 closure of the Bangkok airports for two weeks.
 Angkor Wat
From Koh Samui we flew to Siem Rep, to see the Angkor Wat temple complexes, and then, with a break in Bangkok's political disorder, we visited that great city for a few days. Then, we flew to New Zealand, via a few days' stop-over in beautiful Sydney, and spent two blissful months among the Kiwis, camping and tramping. Our Asia/Pacific trip concluded with three weeks in the Hawaiian islands, mostly Hawaii and Kauai, with more climbing and trekking. We returned to Missoula for regrouping and refitting and visiting friends and then spent more than a month with family in California and Florida.
Bag End, Hobbiton; "...down from the door where it began..."
After picking the camper up, we spent a few weeks in northern Germany, seeing Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Lubeck, and other places. From there, we drove north on a two-month swing through Scandinavia: Copenhagen, Roskilde, Helsingor, the south and east coasts of Sweden, Oland, Stockholm, Uppsala, a cruise to Helsinki, then on to Oslo, Lillehammer, Galdhoppingen, Bergen, Geiranger, Trondheim, RV17, the Lofoton Islands, Alta, and, ultimately, the North Cape. From the North Cape, we drove back south through the interior, picking up more sites in Lappland Finland and Sweden, and then a few more in Jutland Denmark, before arriving in Paris for a week with our daughters and their friends.
After Paris, our Schengen time used up, we crossed from Calais to Dover and spent 100 days in the UK, moving up the east side of the island, with interior side-trips, on into Scotland and Edinburgh and then further up the east cost. From John 'O Groats we ferried to the Orkneys, then drove back across Scotland's north, then west coasts, to the Isle of Skye, from which we ferried to Lewis/Harris Island, then back down through Glasgow, Liverpool, the Lake District, more interior, Wales, the south and southeast, London, Devon and Cornwall, and on and on. We saw a lot of the UK. But not nearly enough.
Returning to Calais in mid-November, we worked our way west, across Normandy, lingering in our favorite Brittany, then south along France's west coast. By mid-December, we were in Spain, first the north and west coasts, then Portugal, a trip to Toledo, Madrid, and Segovia in Spain's interior, then more of Portugal and not nearly enough time in Andalucia and on Spain's south coast, where it is relatively warm. Side-trips took us to Tangier, Morocco, and to Gibraltar. We continued our eastward journey along the Mediterranean, several days in Barcelona, finally ending at Marseille, where we put the camper in storage and flew back to the US. Schengen again.
Our third trip, commencing in June, picked up where we left off. From Marseille we saw more of southern France, Nice and environs, the traveled the Route des Grandes Alpes to Annecy and then to Chamonix. We spent a few weeks in the Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco area, including Courmayeur and Cervino, then drove on to Switzerland for some time in the Berner Alps and Lucerne. From there, we took in the Bavarian Aps, including the Zugspitze, crossed into Austria, saw the Dolomites in Italy, and then back to Austria for the Grossglockner. After nearly two months in the mountains, much hiking and climbing, we continued east, and north, to see some of the great cities of central and eastern Europe...Munich, Dresden, Cracow, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Our Schengen time nearly expired, we continued further east for three weeks in Romania, including Bucharest, and ending, temporarily, on the Black Sea, preparing to enter Bulgaria and then Turkey, for an extended stay. We will return to the States in December, again visiting friends and family, and returning to Europe once more in May...to continue to Greece, Italy, and then back into France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Beyond that, it's a bit fuzzy. As it should be!
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