This VANLIFE Journey Is Official OVER! Let's Get Ready For TURKEY

[@findingxanadulife]

This week's visit of the Château de Montreuil-Bellay was beautiful, even though the "artwork" was questionable...🤣 We still have no idea why there was a walk named for J R R Tolkein though. If you know, please let us know...🤔 We loved Saints, once the fog cleared. We hope to do too. 😍💜🤟

[@comealongdear]

I had to look this up, and apparently Tolkien used to have a holiday home there and the surrounding area inspired some places in LOTR, including the Shire. That seems...random and questionable, given I can't imagine it looks THAT much like The Shire there 🤔 The chateau sort of looks like a building from the story, but then many castles etc do. However...another website states that none of this is true but doesn't say why, so who knows! There's barely any info I could find, but I swear every story about Tolkien and a random location that we've seen has always been based on not much at all, its bizarre. If only Gandalf was here, he might know 🧙‍♂️

[@findingxanadulife]

@comealongdear Haha I'm sure these places have one person mention a likeness, then they jump on it and invent a load of tosh to try to make themselves sound more interesting. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Montreuil-Bellay shouldn't have bothered. The place was lovely enough in itself. Proof people, if you claim these things, we need to see proof. 🤣 We're sure Gandalf would be far too busy, off on a grand adventure somewhere, fighting Uruk-hai and Balrogs. 🤪💜🤟

[@elainebramson7042]

Well Alison you're killing me with the pastries 🙈🙊 and they looked delish! Now, that chateau was out of this world and its the smallest? And furnished? Wow! Tapestries and the ceilings OMG i was going crazy with those. I know you're in the UK and hope all is well. Safe travels back to France? Bart is such a trooper! 👏🐾 See you soon!

[@findingxanadulife]

Hey Elaine, Sorry, I do have a very sweet tooth. 🤣 This time it was a sponge type cake, with apple, apricot and raspberry. The juice from the fruit had made the sponge really squishy and gooey and lush. 😍 Google said that Montreuil-Bellay was one of the smaller chateau, yes. I would have happily moved in, who needs anything bigger...?!? 🤣 Bart is a fabulous doggo, he loves adventuring. 😍🐕🐾 Glad you enjoyed the video. Much love. 😘💜🤟

[@elainebramson7042]

@findingxanadulife i also have a very sweet tooth. Surely there's enough room for me to move in with you and live in a wing and offer my husband the chef to cook for us and I can bake goodies! Lol Did you comment on the fact that in Spain you can't find or is not as customary to find places for snacks or pastry places as in France? I think France is known for pastries in reality. Maybe they are not into that stuff in Spain as much. You would know, you've been all over that country. Interesting!

[@findingxanadulife]

@elainebramson7042 You guys will have to have a trailer and we will have to upgrade Perse to 4.5t 😍🤣🤣 Yes, Spanish are not great for snack type items. No quiche, sausage rolls or really fattening cakes. Mostly tuna, tomato or spinach with cheese . 🤷🏼‍♀️💜🤟

[@elainebramson7042]

@findingxanadulife 😭😭😭 ill.keep the pastries..that tells me ill.be baking a lot at home. Take side trips across the border to France for pastry fixes FOR SURE! Lord have mercy ... AND Armagnac too! 🍷🍰🥮 I can look forward to that for sure. Maybe closest, easiest crossing is via Girona and find first village or town. 😂😂😂🥰 I can just taste it!

[@elainebramson7042]

If I could I'd send you some "kuchen" a German type of thing for tea time. You MUST have tea. I have for years. My husband is from Chile and they ALWAYS have tea time. To s if Germans, BRITS, French, Italians there. We were members of the British country club. But we had a full.spread with tablecloths poorly for tea. I haveva couple of tea sets and love making tea and munching away. The kuchen is popular there, very easy to make. It's about 1 inch thick and on top i prefer to put peaches cause is moist. But another favorite is apples (all sliced thinly) with a light sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Im sure there are other things you can put on top. Just finished one but ill send you a picture of next one. And sure we will get a camper!

[@Katubemeow]

Nice contrast with the castles in Spain. I guess they charge more because of the gardens and furniture they need to maintain.

[@findingxanadulife]

More than likely. We guessed it's because people still live there, so they have genuine maintenance of rooves etc and probably taxes to pay... Most of the ones in Spain are unoccupied. 😘💜🤟

[@garethroberts68]

Being in the land of Pâtisserie's, it would be a remiss of you not to indulge in the odd pastry or two. Hope it all went well back here in the UK. Great vid as always guys. 😉

[@findingxanadulife]

Thanks Gareth. You know we always indulge in cakey-bakeynesses when we can. 😬 The funeral went as well as these things can, Thank-you. 😘💜🤟

[@comealongdear]

We've never been to a chateau either (something I stupidly only realised translates as "castle" only recently 🙈) but that was a splendid chateau if ever a chateau was. Who doesn't want a stone spiral staircase to descend gracefully in the middle of the night to raid the entirely modern fridge 😍 I wouldn't worry about upkeep either, it's the sort of place that would look even better with added cobwebs and peeling walls. That artwork though 😂 French prices for attractions are very much like the UK's so I think you're right that 12 euros is probably on the more reasonable side compared to usual, though it's still a lot. We are cherishing our time in Spain for all the reasons you said before we get back to the UK to be charged £15 to look around a derelict B&Q or something. French cakes are something else, and yes it does seem harder to find Spanish snacky type things. Obviously, you're back over here now, and I'm glad it all went okay in the UK. It must be a relief for you Alison. Looking forward to whatever Europe has in store next. Much love, take care ❤🤟

[@findingxanadulife]

To me (Alison) a french chateau (said in Allo, Allo accent) always looks so much more stately than a normal castle. We had visited palaces in France, but not a normal chateau. To be fair, they seem to call a large manor house a chateau too, makes it sound much more grand. 🤣 Darren did find an absolute blinder with this one though. My favourite part was the stone tower in the garden, that didn't make the video cut, but I did take a photo of and put it on insta. The artwork was interesting to say the least. 😳🤣 We're looking forward to getting into Eastern Europe to try their prices for castles, although I know Bran castle, that I want to visit will be stupid money if we go at Halloween, which I would love. 🧛‍♀️ It was a relief to have dealt with the funeral and be able to spend some time with family, blissfully unaware of the third smack in the face that was too come. They say that bad stuff comes in 3's, so we HAVE to be done now. Much love guys, enjoy the sun. 😘💜🤟

[@comealongdear]

@findingxanadulife Castle as a literal translation really doesn't quite fit does it! Chateaus look very different, clearly more stately home-like. Bran Castle, oh now wouldn't be something on Halloween! But any time would be fab. We'll be very interested to see the prices of things as you get into Eastern Europe and beyond. I'm sorry that something else has happened as well, jesus that's a rotten run of luck 😟 I hope it's nothing on the scale of the last 2? Love to you both and keep on going, so many great times ahead for you both ❤️ Much love ❤️🤟

[@findingxanadulife]

I'm hoping by the time we get to Romania (Transylvania) that Poenari Citadel where the real Vlad the Impaler lived, will have finished its refurbishments and we can visit. Bran castle would cost around €400 to join the buffet and party inside the courtyard (Only 100 tickets) There is a cheaper version for lesser mortals who only want to party in the marquee...🤷🏼‍♀️🤣 For me, this was the toughest one yet (bizarre to be worse than losing my own father). Mahpiya always demanded constant attention and slept on my pillow, round my head or snoring in my face for over a third of my life. Life will never be the same. He was the other love of my life. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But baby steps will see us right. 😘🤟💜

[@comealongdear]

@findingxanadulife I'm so sorry Alison, he was obviously very special to you and why wouldn't he be, he was your family and you were with him always. Not strange at all to be more affected by his passing, it makes perfect sense. You will be okay though, as you say, baby steps and the grief will become manageable and easier to live with in time. You gave him a fabulous life, and he'll be with you in spirit always. Big hugs to you both ❤️

[@findingxanadulife]

Last year I had his paw print tattooed on my chest, so he'll definitely always be with me, even when I'm old and wrinkly 🤣😘💜🤟