After a couple of days at my parents learning how to use a sewing machine (and how hard it is to sew something properly) we finished the curtains we wanted to add. Now it was time to start our trip properly!
We wanted to start easy: after my mom's advice we headed to the Betuwe, to Leerdam. We parked the van behind a dyke and went for a little bike tour, following a bit of the 'blossom route'. We headed to a campsite by the Waal, where we spent the first night properly camping in our new van! By now it was raining continuously, so we got to properly appreciate the limited volume of our new home.
The next day we wanted to head only a little further, down to the Belgium Ardennen. But after driving the morning we saw the rain wasn't going to let up yet, so we decided to drive further and eventually camped in France, just above Parc naturel régional de Lorraine, on a beautiful and peaceful campsite.
In the morning to took off into the regional park to hike a little and then drove further south, now into the Vosges. We were heading to a campsite we selected, but on arrival it turned out it wouldn't open until May. No matter, there was no gate so we decided to stay there for the night anyway, it wouldn't bother anyone.
We were finally greeted with some real sunshine come morning and we left the site. A bit down the hill we stopped at a tiny corner store / bakery for some french bread and a discount Easter pastry. Further up the hill we stopped to hike, enjoying the steep hills very much. After lunch in the van it was time to drive on again, this time into Switzerland. We picked a farm stay, with 3 camper spaces. It turned out to be an amazing and peaceful place, amidst green hills and other little farms.
The day after we started early for a little bike ready and again drove off soon after breakfast, now heading for Genoa, to Federica's parents! After a lot of traffic we arrived far later than planned, but we made it. Driving through the tiny streets of Pegli (actually the town next to Genoa) with the van was about as stressful as we imagined. When we arrived below the apartment the dad of Federica set a plan in motion: neighbors were summoned to inch cars and scooters inches back and forward, such that we could get through and park next to the building. I'm pretty we didn't scratch anything. I'm also pretty sure my already greying hair visibly lost more color.
