Another summer, another van trip across Europe

Each summer, Dave and I drive a van full of musical instruments to some exciting European destination so that the Oxford Millennium Orchestra has things to play on. The orchestra members fly, but it's tough to fit a double bass or timpani in the overhead compartments these days. Following the previous two tours to Porto and Budapest, this year we made the trip to lovely Bilbao on the northern Basque coast of Spain. Not only was the destination closer (a piddly 16 hours of drive time, compared to 24 hours to Porto!), but we have learned a few tricks from previous years.

1. Snacks. For example, peanut M&M's don't melt in the hot cab of the van. They claim these things have air-conditioning, but this is a lie.

2. Audio book for Molly. When drives are long, you understandably need to take naps when you are between driving shifts and catch sleep when you can. Without someone to talk to, driver-Molly needs entertainment beyond the immensely dull straight stretches of  toll roads in France (admittedly well-maintained but exceedingly expensive and mind-numbing). This year our van didn't even have an audio-in jack, so I made a last minute trip to the Oxford library for a Norweigian detective mystery on CD (12 discs!). I am clearly turning into my parents... one day I'll voluntarily listen to a Tony Hillerman navaho mystery book on tape. My 9-year-old self shudders, my 29-year-old self nods with approval at such sensible action.

3. Car-adaptor for electronics charging. This year our TomTom (satnav) made a pathetic clunking sound rather than turn on, so we relied on phone GPS and actual paper maps to get us places. Keeping the power-sucking GPS phones running was critical. 

4. Enjoyable rest-stops. Previous years we have stayed overnight somewhere that split the distance roughly in half, at a hotel that was as cheap as possible while being as close to the motorway as we could manage. We have had a few bad experiences trying to find a Travelodge at 1am in the dark business parks of suburban Tours. This year, we were smarter, and had more flexibility with driving schedules. On the way down we stopped in Chartres, getting to see the immense cathedral illuminated at night by an impressive, quirky, animated light show. On the way back we stopped in Poitiers, known for it's university vibe and a special type of buttery biscuit, and quite enjoyable to putter around in. Knowing that a long-wheel-base van is frightfully difficult to negotiate in medieval cities, and secure parking is critical to protect our precious cargo, we researched parking garage height-restrictions in our search for good stopover places. Our choices were successful... nice accommodation, new cities to explore, and I got to practice my French while ordering gorgeous croissants and baguettes.


What we learned this drive:

1. Reversing a transit van up an incline, around a blind corner, into a busy sidewalk and traffic intersection.... bad.

2. Doing this with hand brake still somewhat engaged... stinky. And that stink doesn't go away for a while.

3. Dave is a parking fiend. Utterly amazing. I admit that we swap places such that he always handles parking the van. However, he did hit me with it once or twice while I was helping guide the parking process... and I did have to shout frantically once to prevent him from ramming into a confused Basque driver.

4. The Parkopedia website shows you the locations of parking, the prices, the height restrictions, the time limits, and the google street view for parking lots in your destination city. So helpful.

5. It wasn't a fluke, customs agents continue to take one look at me and Dave and immediately decide our giant van is more likely to be filled with wholesome presents for orphan children than illegal smuggled contraband. This is helpful, and so far entirely accurate.

6. It shocks the system when the toll booth operators change nationalities at border crossings... how many times did I ask for un reçu in Spain or say gracias in France? But it is nice knowing any faux pas I perform get attributed to British tourists, due to the big GB sticker on the van and the right-side-drive.


The drive was surprisingly easy and the two stopovers were precisely what we were hoping for: good food, minimal stress, and something interesting to see or do while we were in town. Only real hiccups included some shocking interpretations of the word 'espresso' (no, it is not overcooked filter coffee tar poured into a small cup. no, it should not fill a large travel mug.). But the quantity of butter I ingested while traversing France may have cancelled out this bizarre caffeine issue. Yum.

Please enjoy this album of photos from our drive across France... more from the actual orchestra tour in Bilbao to follow soon!

OMO van driving through France

Cailin Comes to Cardiff (or, Castles, Colleges and Cake)

Much to might delight, Cailin visited me in Cardiff this summer! Lots of friends talk about making the trek across the ocean, or even just across the UK, to see me my Welsh home. But this friend is special... this friend really did it :)

Cailin was with me when I first stepped foot on the British Isles... back in our college years, she was wrapping up a semester in Switzerland and I was in the middle of a challenging summer internship in Berlin that had me feeling immensely lonely. We met in London, and it saved that summer for me. Looking back, we stayed in a hostel in a dreadfully sketchy part of London, did touristy activities, and spent more time talking to eachother (in beautiful, rapid English) than absorbing the bustling world around us. But it was glorious.

This visit was amusingly similar. The best bits involved her, me, coffee, cake, and good conversation. Or replace coffee with cocktails and repeat. We did touristy things, like visit castles, the Austen-esque city of Bath, and the windy streets and colleges of Oxford. Poor Cailin dealt admirably with an air mattress on my living room floor. We are older, wiser, but not that old and not too wise. She remains a unique friend in my life: we seem to have conversations that I don't have with anyone else, and we can always pick up where we left off despite there being an ocean between us.  It was, as before, glorious.


For (silly) practical reasons, the photos are divided between two albums:

Cailin-In-Cardiff

Cailin-in-Cardiff2