You can't get too much of a good thing!

It is seven months since we sailed from Bergen across the North Sea to Newcastle, leaving behind the stunningly beautiful fjords of Norway and a farewell message scrawled on the beach of a sandy cove. Spring is in the air and Modestine is eager to feel the tarmac of Europe beneath her wheels once more. This time we will be gone, not for a year but perhaps for six months. So if you want to travel with us again, this is our new site. Maybe this time we will spare our readers hours in front of their computers. We are unlikely to keep up the momentum of our last travels!

Our home is being cared for while we are away by Kate. Not our daughter Kate but someone house hunting locally. It is an arrangement that suits both her and us wonderfully. This time we are intending to get as far as Croatia and already have an invitation from the daughter of our Hungarian friend Istvan to visit her and her family in Zagreb. Sicily is also on our list of "must-dos" and we are told Sardinia is a must.

As we drive through France we will jangle with the collected keys to the homes of several friends and it will not be easy deciding which route to follow. We long to return to see Susanne and Roland at Champagne-sur-Loue in the Jura. The Languedoc is calling to us, offering wine on the sunlit terrace of our friends house in Ambre-les-Espagnolettes. The Loire in springtime seems even more attractive when there are friends waiting there to welcome you and you have the offer of a little house near Amboise. The whole of France is waiting and we are aching to return, but there is still so much of Europe yet to see.

We leave in just a few days time. At least our first port of call is settled. We will cross to Caen to spend Easter with our friend Genevieve. It will also be the opportunity to see many other good friends we have in the city. From there though, who knows where our route lies? Your suggestions are always welcome and frequently acted upon.