I think I'm going to just Be...

I think I think too much. I spend all day thinking, I go to bed thinking and I wake up thinking. I have so many thoughts running through my head I lose track of the original thought. I think about the past, the present and the future. When I try to stop thinking I only start to think about what I'm not thinking about. So I'm going to stop thinking and just Be. I think.

This is all most likely down to the fact that I've had two wonderful years of adventure and now I've stopped. I'm not on a journey anymore and I'm at a loss. I feel it all happened so quickly I wonder if it happened at all. I'm probably just sulking that the party's over and in my head I'm still dancing. Like Cinderella I forgot about the midnight curfew. Which is quite ironic as I'm working as a cleaner, living with my sister and praying my Prince Charming will turn up with my glass slipper! Although my glass slipper is more of a Wellington boot, my sister is not ugly and I don't have small woodland animals helping me clean.

Tomorrow is a new day and I'm going to be receiving some help from Love Guru James Preece. I can't find Prince Charming on my own and I can't be chucking welly boots at random men in the woods. So I've enlisted professional help and I'm feeling quite positive... I think...

Always dancing...

Professional help...

Off to London I go...

Oh my what a quiet life I'm leading just now. I've been caring for my mum who has just had her second hip operation. She is doing really well in her recovery and could be running a marathon at this rate. I've also been spending a fair amount of time in my Motorhome writing my book. I've been driving it about half a mile down the road and parking up to just sit and write. The main reason being so that I have no internet connection. I have a terrible habit of sitting down to write and two hours later I've googled my perfect dream house, joined dating websites, found a delicious recipe for baked semolina pudding and read everyone's facebook updates.

On the subject of the dating website: twenty four hours later I unsubscribed. I'd chosen one inline with my age group. I don't like my age group. They're old! Now I don't particularly want a toy boy but I certainly don't want to date my granddad. My birth certificate puts me in my fifties but my heart is sadly stuck in my twenties.

On the subject of my perfect dream house: it's in the woods, I own the woods, there is a stream, it's surrounded by countryside, the beach is a walk away, there is a vegetable garden and there is a large sunny porch to sit on and write my book. I drew a picture of my house. One day I will live in that house.

On the subject of facebook: it's full of ridiculous competitions.

On the subject of baked semolina pudding: I ate the whole lot and it was delicious.

Next week I'm off to London. I'm going to visit my dear Uncle Ernie. Uncle Ernie is 96 years young and was my dads best friend. He reminds me of my dad. He is full of stories from the past and
portrays such an interesting outlook on the present...

My view whilst writing...

Sketch of my dream house...

The ridiculous things you see on facebook...

If you think you can then you can...

Exactly two years ago today I closed the door on life as I knew it and stepped into the unknown. I left my home of sixteen years and took up life in the Beast, my Motorhome. I sold a lifetime of 'stuff' and kept only what I declared necessary. Of the 'stuff' what do I miss? Silly things. A pink heart shaped cushion, a pair of combat trousers, a large white pasta dish and my bath. All things that can be replaced or lived without. Except the bath. Can't fit one in the Beast but have taken advantage of all friends and relatives kind offers.

When I set off on this adventure with Milo I didn't really plan further than the day in hand. And two years later I'm still doing the same. So many things happened along the way, the good and bad the expected and unexpected. And when I look back two years I still have to pinch myself to believe all that I have fitted in. Over the last two years I've been fortunate to have travelled to Scotland, San Pedro, Ireland, Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and back to England in between. Milo has been my constant companion throughout most of this. I know for a fact I couldn't have done it without him. And my family. They have been a constant support dealing with what could be described as a midlife crisis!

All the way I've been on the lookout for my Mr Perfect. I haven't met him yet and I haven't given up on that dream.  But I've certainly enriched my life with new friends, interesting encounters, strange scenarios, weird propositions, kindness from strangers, stunning landscapes, exhilirating sunrises and calming sunsets, party atmospheres, blissful solitude and an absolute feeling of contentment along the way.

I've learnt a lot about myself but feel I've still a lot to learn. So to anyone out there thinking of throwing caution to the wind, if you think you can then you can...

Hey Dad, what's that big world out there...

Sweet sixteen and still wondering... 

Hey son look at that big world out there... 

Son I'm going to have a look... 

Look how far we've come Milo... 

Hunting for men...

Man hunting is a difficult and exciting activity. I do believe they are becoming extinct. Men that is. The 'potential' type. I think I should contact David Attenborough and inform him of this fact, he may even know of an undiscovered tribe of 'potential' men I could seek out.

Whilst shopping in my local Tesco recently I had an opportunity to become hunter. I was casually waiting at the pharmacy counter when out the corner of my eye I spotted a 'potential'. We made eye contact, the prolonged type. He was beautiful. Tall, dark and handsome. He had one of those ageless faces, he could have been anywhere between 25 and 45. And then he disappeared down the pet food aisle. I quickly collected my goods and headed off in pursuit of my prey. I soon spotted him at the end of aisle five heading toward aisle six, so I made a quick u-turn to head him off. Unfortunately he missed out aisle six and I momentarily lost him. I made a calculated decision to break ahead of him and corner him in the alcohol aisle. My plan worked. There he was, unwittingly in my sight path, grazing the red wine display.

At this point my crazy plan of approach popped into my head. This entailed me, casually approaching said victim with an opening line of "excuse me, may I ask if you are a model?" In my most warm and professional voice, followed by "I am a talent scout for a top model agency and wonder if I may take your photograph for our books and enquire of your age?". Obviously if my prey was far too young to capture I would immediately set him free. But if he was of the mature type I would vigorously pursue his capture.

Unfortunately I lost my bottle (in the bottle aisle haha) and only managed to take a sneaky photo of him in which I only caught the back of him, chopped off his head and blighted it with a little old lady!  My hunt continues...

I'm trying...

My potential prey... 

Currently my only bed partner... 

Do I need a literary agent...

The Beast received some tlc from Wirral Small Cars today and is now the proud owner of another 12 months mot. Just driving the Beast down the road brought pangs of sadness, I miss travelling around in him. I miss feeling Milos head resting on my shoulder wondering where we are going next. I miss the sense of adventure as to what's round the next corner. I miss the feeling of carrying all that I own right there with me. I love that sense of freedom, abandonment and unexpected delights. Me thinks I need to plan another trip!

I feel a bit in limbo at the moment. I don't feel I quite belong anywhere. All my friends and family are merrily just getting on with their lives whilst I seem to be just lurking on the sidelines. It's all very well going off on adventures it's just annoying when real life creeps onboard. I'm quite adaptable when it comes to making do, I could actually qualify as a womble.  I only wish I could eat berries and fuel the Beast on fresh air!

I've spent today trying to motivate myself in my book writing. I have highs and lows on this subject. One moment I think 'wow how amazing does this read' followed by 'it's just not good enough'. I'm going to explore the idea of some professional help from the publishing world. Wish me luck...

I miss all of this...

What next for MiloandMe...

I'm back in the UK and enjoying these holiday like temperatures. Can't believe two weeks ago today I was at the start line, under the Forth Road Bridge, ready for the car rally road trip of a lifetime. It was certainly in a car, definately on a road and for sure a trip. But it wasn't a 'rally'. We never really got to enjoy the antics of our fellow rally cars and can only watch in envy of their videos of rust2rome. But I did go on a journey and that's what life's about. You can't turn the clock back but you can keep on winding it up.
My flight home was problem free. I kept half expecting the pilot to pull over and lift the bonnet. I flew Rome to Liverpool with Blue Air and they are quite a decent airline, free food and drink too. Fiumicino airport is lovely too. I did struggle in the toilets though. Very sensitive automatic flush system thinks you have finished when in fact you have just bent forward to retrieve mobile phone falling from back pocket!

Back home with my Milo is testing my emotions. I think he is punishing me for leaving him. He wants to spend all his time with Pip and her boyfriend and give me the cold shoulder. So I've succumbed to letting him sleep beside me at night.

Now I'm in the UK I'm back to the dreaded question I keep hearing "what are you going to do next Nicci?" And at the moment I don't know. I'm about to look after my mum for a bit as she is having some surgery, but after that I don't know what to do. I'd love to take the Beast and go exploring the English coast but at the moment I can't even afford a tank of petrol! So thinking cap on for me as I'm not quite ready to stop my journey yet...

Ready for a car rally...

Fun in the sun...

Milo feeling the heat...

Where's Milo? Found a puddle...

We made it to Rome...

We made it to Rome! I don't think anyone believed we would taking into account all the problems we've had with the car. But we limped it. We left Edinburgh ten days ago following 41 other cars and basically lost them all on day two. I think on average we broke down every two hours.

This road trip has been rather different to what I expected. I didn't expect to be a back seat driver for the whole trip (too temperamental for me to handle!). I didn't expect to visit so many hard shoulders/service stations. I didn't expect to see the bonnet raised so often. I didn't expect to live and breathe with the same three people for ten days. But then again I didn't  expect to revisit my favourite Como, eat Carbonnara in Florence and drink champagne on a rooftop overlooking Rome. The boys have been great, they never once got grumpy about the breakdowns and treated me as part of the team all the way. The money raised for Northern Lights children's charity has far exceeded the target. A big shout out to all those who donated to such a worthy cause.

We eventually caught up with the other teams at a campsite in Rome. Most were shocked to see us but welcomed us with open arms. I think everyone has had a great adventure in one way or another. Today the boys have started the long journey driving home. I've bailed out and got a flight booked back to the uk this evening. Less weight in the car for them! Yesterday we did a tour of Rome and I got to throw my coin in the Trevi fountain. I made a wish. I may well be wishing above my station but I'll never give up on my dream...

We made it...

Catching up with the teams... 

Bus tour of Rome... 

Making my wish... 

Maybe he heard my wish... 

France to Switzerland to Italy in a day...

We left France on Saturday morning and optimistically headed for Switzerland. We did really well and didn't breakdown again in France. But we did when we crossed the border into Switzerland. The view from the hard shoulder was rather stunning, I felt like Heidi sitting on the grass verge. I keyed in a local garage into the satnav and after climbing a pretty steep mountain we reached the most spotless and efficient garage so far. A very friendly Volkswagen mechanic filled us up with some 'pink' water and 'hoovered' the overheated water pump. All quite girly. My girly motto from the beginning has been 'if a light appears on the dash just ignore it until the car dies'... We left this garage and only overheated once, or was it twice more?, driving through Switzerland. And then before I knew it we were in Italy! Home of my Italian Stallion?

I think we were heading for Rome at this point, our final destination. But somehow we ended up in Como, which was no bad thing. Our hotel was a bit isolated but lovely and served the best breakfast so far. We left Como yesterday once again heading for Rome and once again overheating. This time we ended up in Florence and our copilot directed us up the steepest mountain to a village called Fiesole. We drove through streets that I swear were footpaths but our driver handled it all admirably. Last night I got to eat my favourite Carbonnara and do some people watching at a pavement cafe in the square.

Today we are again heading for Rome, with a pit stop at a garage for some K seal (see I know the terminology now!) where we will hopefully reunite with the rust2rome team in time for the finale party. I may yet get to wear my LBD. I may yet meet my Italian Stallion...

Roadside Switzerland...

Pink water and a Hoover...

My attempt at fixing...

Breakfast in Como...

Carbonnara in Fiesole... 

Is that an Itallian stallion behind me...

Looking down at Florence...

People watching...

French service stations...

I do declare this has been an 'unusual' road trip so far. My photos consist mainly of pictures of the car bonnet up, at the side of the road. We have had so many breakdowns I've lost count. We haven't seen the rust2rome team since we left Dover on Monday. They are living it up in the Swiss Alps no doubt taking pictures of amazing scenery.
My team have been pretty unlucky with their car, I feel so sorry for them. They've invested so much hard work into this trip it's quite disheartening for them. As for me I'm just along for the ride and only wish I knew how to replace an engine! I've certainly learnt a lot so far, thermostat replacement, head gasket faults, break failure, pump replacements, windscreen wiper refit etc etc. And I'm most impressed at the cleanliness of the hard shoulders in France compared to the Uk.

We eventually left Saint Quentin after two days of repairs and headed down the road. And we got about 50k overheated and then spent six hours in a service station. The next day we improved our distance to about 100k before the breaks failed. Miraculously we found a gentleman who happened to have a Range Rover part in his shed. After following him through the countryside (back the way we'd just driven) for about an hour we got the car fixed.
Today we are leaving Vesoul, France, and 'hopefully' going to reach Italy and meet up with the team. Where, fingers crossed, I will meet an Italian stallion (not wearing garage overalls!) and live happily ever after...

A very nice hard shoulder...

Home...

German army at service station...

Possible?...

Should have travelled in the Beast...

We eventually left Dover on a very choppy crossing. I was fine with this as I found the vodka sampling bar upon boarding. Much appreciated after the torrential downpour whilst we all queued to board. I did ask if I may visit the captain onboard but apparently he was a bit busy keeping us afloat.

We eventually arrived in Calais but everyone's satnav was playing up and all cars were heading off in various directions. Lucky for us our copilot has much European driving experience and got us back on track for a destination near River Mosselle. All was going well until we stopped for a toilet break on the motorway. Yuk! A hole in the floor! Lucky for me I had a Shewee in my handbag which worked quite well thank you very much (no further explanation necessary). Although the automatic toilet flush caught me out unexpected.

Returning to the car I saw the dreaded sight of the bonnet up and the three boys standing scratching their heads. Sadly this has been our worst breakdown thus far. I'm easily confused when it comes to the mechanics of the car but words like 'head gasket' rang warning bells.
So our journey has stalled us in Saint Quentin where this morning I happened to spot a man in the hotel carpark wearing a BMW jacket. He is currently driving us to the local parts garage where hopefully we can purchase a new engine?!?
Fingers crossed our journey can continue and we can rejoin the rust2rome team...

My rather fetching raincoat...

A good spot onboard the ferry...

A familiar sight...

I can fix it...

Boarding the ferry... 

And we're off...

Saturday, day of departure of Rust2Rome, we left the Wirral on route for our departure point under the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland. Twenty minutes up the road the engine overheated on the Range Rover and we ended up on the hard shoulder near Warrington. The very nice police man enquired of our destination and appeared quite bemused when we replied 'Rome'. We overheated again near Tebay and once again met a very nice policeman, who was equally bemused by our destination. Unfortunately none of these police men were driving a Lamborghini.

Our departure was amazing with over forty cars departing and crowds of people waving us off. Best bit for me was my bestie, Sue, who lives twenty minutes down the road, coming to wave me off. We got to 'sticker bomb' lots of the other cars with our 'range pig' stickers.

Our third overheat breakdown occurred near Gretna Green, incurring crashing through motorway bollards to pull over. Luckily no police men stopped this time as we were all in our fancy dress outfits  consisting of Daisy Duke, spider man and the driver and co pilot wearing women's stockings.

Night one was spent in a B&B near Grange Over Sands, the rest of the crew are camping on route. The boys I'm travelling with have chosen to book hotels, which was most welcome in the rainstorm last night. We visited the local pub and I was quite excited to check out the local talent but alas we were the only customers in the pub.

Today we left to travel to Dover, over seven hours of driving in torrential rain and a terrifying moment when the wipers failed in the fast lane. We managed to reach the hard shoulder and blind drive to a service station to repair our wipers. So tomorrow we catch the ferry to France and hopefully will have a smooth journey. Although all this breaking down has been all part of the adventure. So far my favourite 'other' car is the one that has a Tassimo coffee maker installed, I intend
to keep them on favourite frequency on the CB radio...

Departure day...

Breakdowns...

Making friends on the road...