Having left Nuremberg by aeroplane on an Air France flight directly to Paris we then travelled on a TGV service from Charles de Gaulle through to Rennes. From there it was just a one hour drive to Malestroit in our rented bright red, 'très mignon' Fiat 500. Heather was very pleased that for once we actually got the car specified rather than the 'or similar' that car rental companies normally give you. I will be honest the car was good fun to drive and perfect for nipping around the narrow streets in France - it certainly stood out from the crowd.

The two and a bit weeks we planned to stay in Malestroit, at our second home, was the longest we have ever spent there and we could have stayed longer as we failed to catch up with a few people during our stay and, as ever, we could have easily filled more days.

It was really nice to welcome Sharon, Juice, Zack and Adam to Malestroit as they had rented a gite about two kilometres from the centre of town over the Easter weekend. I am fairly sure they all enjoyed their time in Brittany as well as the daily fresh bread and croissants that was had at breakfast at our house. Zack and Adam certainly did enjoy a baguette or three with us. It was also very good that Nick, Steph and their two year old son, Thomas, could spend some time in Malestroit with us as they were also over in France at their house (about an hour north of Rennes) at the same time as we were in France. It was nice to catch up and show people why we have a second home in this part of Brittany.

When in Malestroit we like to eat out whenever possible and during this trip we managed to not only visit some of our favourite places in the town - Pont Neuf, Mael Trech, Corpes du Gard and Grain de Sel - but we also tried a couple of newly opened places for the first time too - La Griotte and Lazarro Pizza. We also managed to get invited for 'Aperitifs' at both of our neighbours with drinks being accompanied by all sorts of snacks and nibbles and conversation - my French needs to improve but fortunately Heather saved the day - twice! We really need to understand this bit of French etiquette as we will, at some point in the future, need to play host and they both seemed to have a great understanding of the wines and food they were serving. Cheese and pineapple cubes on cocktail sticks and a box of wine may well be frowned upon!

Given the proximity of Malestroit to the Breton coast we managed a couple of trips to Damgan, one each to Quiberon and Piriac-sur-Mer as well as visiting Pen Lan for the first time. The coastal walks, particularly at Quiberon, will have us going back many times I am sure as the scenery is lovely and the walking fairly easy. Heather will definitely make sure we return in the future as she does like the sea and living in Derby is probably as far as you can get from the coast at home so it is far quicker from Malestroit.

So now, as we head back home, this brings us to the end of our six months of fairly continuous travelling. It really has been a blast and hopefully we will be in a position to do something similar (or better) in the not too distant future. We both just need to get jobs and pay off the mortgages as quickly as possible . . . . . . or we just need a little bit of lady luck and a decent lottery or premium bond win!

Even though this six month phase is over we do still have a few things to look forward to. I am off to Australia for the weekend (yes, for the weekend) at the end of April to take part in a race against a steam train (www.justgiving.com/holtyboy) and we are both off to see the Eurovision Song Contest at the end of May in Vienna. There is a stag weekend to look forward to as well in June taking in the Austrian Grand Prix for myself and then we are both planning to be at the Singapore Grand Prix in September. Maybe we don't really have time for work!