This morning I had a quick look around Bilbao, a cosmopolitan major Spanish city which includes the Guggenheim museum and a train station with a massive stained glass piece of artwork. I have been here before – and there’s been grey skies all day today – so I stayed to have some morning tapas and coffee, walked around by the river and got back into the car. Crossing back into France, I could see that they’re currently building a massive customs / border control plaza on the border. Who said free movement? Driving across a number of countries is much

‘Barcelona Reus’ Airport, it’s called. It’s over an hour away from the city – still that’s budget airlines for you. This was the point where I had to say goodbye to my wife. It was a shame that she couldn’t stay for longer but I’m glad she shared the middle part of this epic journey and experienced everything from Austria to Spain. The next part of my trip proved the most complicated, long-winded and – at times – frustrating. But it’s these sorts of things that can mean finally achieving the thing is more rewarding and it was great to

We went to Marseille city centre for brunch by the sea. The city is quite standard – quite run down in places, in fact – but when we reached the area by the marina it all changes again. Helped by the baking hot, Mediterranean sun, this bit of town was very enjoyable to look at, even if it was just for half an hour. But that’s one of the joys of this trip – one morning you can be taking a quick walk along the marina in Marseille and the same evening you can be strolling along the beach in

After a late night last night, it was time for a lie in this morning and also the maps needed updating on my phone for navigation – the memory card was full of pictures and other maps so that France and the other remaining countries could be put on there. These needed downloading, so it meant a relaxing morning in the hotel bar, before setting off at lunchtime on what would be a spectacular journey. Lots to see whilst on the road, judging by the number of pictures we’ve taken today. The fastest route, as decided by the newly updated

I’ve wanted to visit Switzerland for a long time – it’s always held a certain mystery for me. In the middle of the European continent, but not part of the EU at all; several official languages, mainly depending on which bit of the country you’re in; and always known as a neutral country – does this show in how things are done? Chur (in the far east hand side of the country) seemed to be virtually closed on Sundays, so after finding somewhere that sold vignettes we started our long motorway drive to Geneva, in the far south-west. The Swiss

Well into the mountains now, the first trip of the day was south to Italy and to the resort town of Bolzano / Bozen. Again, the drive itself was great as it involves lots of twists and turns as the Autobahn – and then the Autopista – worked its way through the mountains of the Tyrol region. On the way we had to travel through Germany again – so what I thought was my last trip into the country a few days ago actually wasn’t – it’s so geographically central, I can see why it’s got involved in many of