Terrified of flying, my clever Mum encouraged my Dad to get a campervan so they could still travel but avoid setting foot on an aeroplane. Their first trip was driving from London to Athens for the Olympic Games in 2004, followed by many more adventures around Europe and even to Morocco when I lived there from 2008 to 2010.
But since Dad died in 2014 Mum hasn't been travelling much, so for her birthday this year she joined me at my favourite yoga retreat in the Catalonian mountains of northern Spain.
By my (self-imposed, unwritten and often illogical) rules, a holiday does not constitute a microadventure, even though I did a bit of trail running (training for June's microadventure) while I was there. But with Mum's fear of flying, a Eurostar from London to Paris and a direct train from Paris to Barcelona, this month's microadventure was all about the journey (which, while a bit cliché, is so often true of life anyway).
The whole thing took about 12 hours, but over a very civilised 9-9 period where we could read, chat, eat, drink, sleep and play A LOT of backgammon. Thanks for being my microadventure buddy this month Mum, and Happy Birthday!
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| Waiting for the tube from Balham to Kings Cross St Pancras |
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| Coffee before the Eurostar |
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| Opening birthday cards on the train |
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| Waiting for a taxi from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon in Paris |
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| Waiting for the train to Barcelona at Gare de Lyon |
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| 6.5 hours Paris to Barcelona |
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| Birthday Champagne |
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| Whizzing past vineyards |
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| Post backgammon snooze |
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| Beer in Barcelona |
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