WHERE WERE WE OFF TO
The short answer to the question above is Monaco; the long answer is a bit more complicated, involving a jaunt through nine countries over twelve days.
See the milestones below.
Day 1 & 2
Stage 0: Liverpool > Namur
We left Liverpool, headed to Folkestone and jumped in the Channel Tunnel to France. Once on the European mainland, we headed towards Lille and Charleroi, then reached Namur, Belgium, where we stayed for a couple of nights in a chateau before starting the rally!
Day 3
Stage 1: Namur > Freiberg
On day three, we head south towards Bastogne, then into Luxembourg before skirting around Metz and heading for downtown Saarbrücken. Then, it was into Germany through the Black Forest to reach the next waypoint in Freiburg.
Day 4
Stage 2: Freiburg > Menaggio
On day four, we headed to Switzerland, to the Gotthard Pass in the Alps to drive one of the world's best roads. After that, it was a quick dash through Lugano, a trip to the 'Goldeneye' dam and then to Menaggio on Lake Como in Italy to complete the second leg of the rally.
Day 5 & 6
Stage 3: Menaggio > Monaco
The fifth day was all about the dash to the end of the rally. We headed to Como, skirted around Milan, and headed towards Genoa. It was then a blast along the Mediterranean coast to Monaco, where we did a couple of laps of the F1 circuit, then headed to Nice for the awards and a well-deserved drink on day six.
Day 7 & 8
Nice > Séte
Day seven saw us leave Nice and head along the coast to Séte, described as the Venice of Languedoc. We explored the medieval city streets, ate Octopus Pie at a riverside restaurant, drank local ales and took a trip into the Mediterranean.
Day 9 & 10
Séte > San Sebastián
The ninth day saw us leave the Mediterranean and head to Northern Spain. Along the way, we made a pilgrimage to Lourdes before finishing the day in the beautiful Basque Country. Day ten gave us a whole day to explore stunning San Sebastián.
Day 11
San Sebastián > Bilbao > Portsmouth
The shortest journey of the trip became the longest! A quick skip along the coast found us in Bilbao, where we boarded a Brittney Ferry for the 32-hour trip to Portsmouth!
Day 12
Portsmouth > Liverpool
The last leg of the epic journey saw us disembark in Portsmouth Harbour and head north to Liverpool. A quick dash up to Oxford, around Birmingham, and we had made it home.