Internet in Europe post. In Amsterdam, I’d stopped into a couple mobile stores and figured out that, despite it having worked as a hotspot with a Rogers SIM in Canada on our way up to and back from Alaska, our old iPhone 5 (the “Hot Phone, as we always called it) was not actually “unlocked” and wouldn’t work with a European SIM. While the mobile stores were happy to sell me their cheapest hotspottable phone, that was gonna run me over 100€. . Disheartened after riding the cargo bike with Wynne all the way across the city to a big electronics store and then back across to a super grungy discount department store only to find more expensive phones, I happened to see a storefront window advertising screen repair, phone cases etc. I walked out with a used Samsung smartphone that may or may not be the one you’re not allowed to bring on planes and, based on a good feeling from the shopkeeper, was possibly not stolen, for 60€ (note: Dutch law requires that all phones be unlocked and carrier independent). Back at a Vodephone store, I bought a prepaid 3GB (with a special offer for a bonus 1GB) SIM for 20€ and learned that following legislation that went into effect just this past summer, all European carriers were required to enable their plans to “roam like home” all over the EU. . After doing our best to turn off features like automatic app/music/podcast updates and video streaming on social media apps on our phones, we’re finding that a morning email/social media check, downloading “The Daily” podcast and doing a little route research in the afternoon, and another longer evening online session (usually involving researching camper models we’ve seen on the road like the ones in the last pics - floorplan for the family-friendly McLouis Van 3 Maxi parked next to us included in pics), we use about 300-500mb a day. . That means I have to call Vodaphone about every 8-9 days to buy another 4GB bundle, and we’ll end up spending about 80€ ($92) for our mobile internet. Unfortunately, I still get texts from them in Dutch! #mobileinternet #lifeontheroad #rveurope #eurocamperporn A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 8, 2017 at 3:04am PST
Internet in Europe post. In Amsterdam, I’d stopped into a couple mobile stores and figured out that, despite it having worked as a hotspot with a Rogers SIM in Canada on our way up to and back from Alaska, our old iPhone 5 (the “Hot Phone, as we always called it) was not actually “unlocked” and wouldn’t work with a European SIM. While the mobile stores were happy to sell me their cheapest hotspottable phone, that was gonna run me over 100€. . Disheartened after riding the cargo bike with Wynne all the way across the city to a big electronics store and then back across to a super grungy discount department store only to find more expensive phones, I happened to see a storefront window advertising screen repair, phone cases etc. I walked out with a used Samsung smartphone that may or may not be the one you’re not allowed to bring on planes and, based on a good feeling from the shopkeeper, was possibly not stolen, for 60€ (note: Dutch law requires that all phones be unlocked and carrier independent). Back at a Vodephone store, I bought a prepaid 3GB (with a special offer for a bonus 1GB) SIM for 20€ and learned that following legislation that went into effect just this past summer, all European carriers were required to enable their plans to “roam like home” all over the EU. . After doing our best to turn off features like automatic app/music/podcast updates and video streaming on social media apps on our phones, we’re finding that a morning email/social media check, downloading “The Daily” podcast and doing a little route research in the afternoon, and another longer evening online session (usually involving researching camper models we’ve seen on the road like the ones in the last pics - floorplan for the family-friendly McLouis Van 3 Maxi parked next to us included in pics), we use about 300-500mb a day. . That means I have to call Vodaphone about every 8-9 days to buy another 4GB bundle, and we’ll end up spending about 80€ ($92) for our mobile internet. Unfortunately, I still get texts from them in Dutch! #mobileinternet #lifeontheroad #rveurope #eurocamperporn
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 8, 2017 at 3:04am PST
#roadmoms can relate, parenting goes on, no matter where you are... . We’re finding that, almost more than in France, travel in Spain must bend to the schedule of the land. Whether it’s late dinners or a complete shutdown on Sundays - or the construction closure of the road that winds up to the Lagos de Covadonga we were hoping to see - the only choice is to roll with it. . So instead of visiting the lakes, we parked close enough to the Basilica of Santa María la Real de Covadonga for the Bells (see today’s story) to rattle the walls of the camper and walked through the Cueva de Santa María to the hermitage carved into the rock wall with a mysterious waterfall (thanks, iPhone Live image Long Exposure setting for the smooth water) emerging from behind it. Mae’s sour mood eventually capitulated into a nap on my shoulder as we walked back up the steps, so we dumped her into her bunk and hung out in the parking lot for another couple hours, a definite benefit of the van/moho life over a trailer. . Last comment, these really interesting and often very old raised structures (pic 4) are common along the backroads in he Asturias region in Spain. A little research revealed that they are granaries, the narrowing stone pillars ending in wide, flat “saddle stones” preventing access by rodents. They almost looked Japanese to us, but are fairly unique to the regions of Northern Spain geographically isolated by the Picos de Europa that rise to the south. #asturias #horreo #picosdeeuropa #covadonga #travelwithkids #familytravel A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 6, 2017 at 10:36am PST
#roadmoms can relate, parenting goes on, no matter where you are... . We’re finding that, almost more than in France, travel in Spain must bend to the schedule of the land. Whether it’s late dinners or a complete shutdown on Sundays - or the construction closure of the road that winds up to the Lagos de Covadonga we were hoping to see - the only choice is to roll with it. . So instead of visiting the lakes, we parked close enough to the Basilica of Santa María la Real de Covadonga for the Bells (see today’s story) to rattle the walls of the camper and walked through the Cueva de Santa María to the hermitage carved into the rock wall with a mysterious waterfall (thanks, iPhone Live image Long Exposure setting for the smooth water) emerging from behind it. Mae’s sour mood eventually capitulated into a nap on my shoulder as we walked back up the steps, so we dumped her into her bunk and hung out in the parking lot for another couple hours, a definite benefit of the van/moho life over a trailer. . Last comment, these really interesting and often very old raised structures (pic 4) are common along the backroads in he Asturias region in Spain. A little research revealed that they are granaries, the narrowing stone pillars ending in wide, flat “saddle stones” preventing access by rodents. They almost looked Japanese to us, but are fairly unique to the regions of Northern Spain geographically isolated by the Picos de Europa that rise to the south. #asturias #horreo #picosdeeuropa #covadonga #travelwithkids #familytravel
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 6, 2017 at 10:36am PST
Just because it’s not *all* rainbows and unicorns doesn’t mean that there aren’t still some (double) rainbows and stunning surf beaches for a lunch stop. #rveurope #adventuresofdaveandannandmclouis #northernspain A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 5, 2017 at 11:29am PST
Just because it’s not *all* rainbows and unicorns doesn’t mean that there aren’t still some (double) rainbows and stunning surf beaches for a lunch stop. #rveurope #adventuresofdaveandannandmclouis #northernspain
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 5, 2017 at 11:29am PST
So, the bedbugs are back. 😖 After another one of my nightly 4:00 am sessions of scratching the skin off my arms while Googling how to get rid of the little mother effers, this morning we stripped the bed again and ran everything through the high heat cycle on the dryer which is supposed to fry them. We wiped the bed frame down as well as we could with bleach, but couldn’t complete the final recommended step of a thorough vacuuming of the crevices. . Until, that is, we happened to stop at a gas station with a car wash! We pulled the camper door right up next to the coin operated “aspirador” and snaked the hose up into the loft for a thorough debugging. The car seats (which stay in place on the bench of the dinette) also yielded a goldmine of baguette crumbs between the cushions. . #lifeinarentedrv #bedbugs #diebloodsuckers #notallrainbowsandunicorns A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 5, 2017 at 11:25am PST
So, the bedbugs are back. 😖 After another one of my nightly 4:00 am sessions of scratching the skin off my arms while Googling how to get rid of the little mother effers, this morning we stripped the bed again and ran everything through the high heat cycle on the dryer which is supposed to fry them. We wiped the bed frame down as well as we could with bleach, but couldn’t complete the final recommended step of a thorough vacuuming of the crevices. . Until, that is, we happened to stop at a gas station with a car wash! We pulled the camper door right up next to the coin operated “aspirador” and snaked the hose up into the loft for a thorough debugging. The car seats (which stay in place on the bench of the dinette) also yielded a goldmine of baguette crumbs between the cushions. . #lifeinarentedrv #bedbugs #diebloodsuckers #notallrainbowsandunicorns
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 5, 2017 at 11:25am PST
The picture just sets the theme: Challenges of RV life. . Ended up on a wild goose chase this afternoon to find propane since no one seems to be willing to fill tanks and the exchange tanks in Spain have a different connection (and may or may not require you to fill out a form with a Spanish address on it). In the end, driving an hour back across the border into France to buy an exchange tank with the right fittings was the easiest solution and even that required stopping at three stores in a complete downpour until we could finally convince one to ignore the French law about requiring a safety regulator directly on the bottle since we had one on the RV (and it made the thread size wrong). Despite the crazy wet American playing charades at them, everyone was super helpful and friendly during the ordeal, and we’ll have heat tonight and coffee tomorrow morning as we head towards Picos de Europa! #lifeontheroad #rveurope #gotgas A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 4, 2017 at 10:30am PDT
The picture just sets the theme: Challenges of RV life. . Ended up on a wild goose chase this afternoon to find propane since no one seems to be willing to fill tanks and the exchange tanks in Spain have a different connection (and may or may not require you to fill out a form with a Spanish address on it). In the end, driving an hour back across the border into France to buy an exchange tank with the right fittings was the easiest solution and even that required stopping at three stores in a complete downpour until we could finally convince one to ignore the French law about requiring a safety regulator directly on the bottle since we had one on the RV (and it made the thread size wrong). Despite the crazy wet American playing charades at them, everyone was super helpful and friendly during the ordeal, and we’ll have heat tonight and coffee tomorrow morning as we head towards Picos de Europa! #lifeontheroad #rveurope #gotgas
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 4, 2017 at 10:30am PDT
With everywhere else we’ve been in the last 6 weeks, we really haven’t even had time to plan for Northern Spain. Fortunately @lostworldluis and @lostworldlacey sent us to San Sebastián with its spectacular downtown beaches and promenade (complete with a carousel and great playground filled with kids, parents and grandparents), a vibrant “parte vieja” and an introduction to “pinxtos” (Northern Spain’s equivalent to tapas where you walk into any bar/cafe, grab whatever you want from the feast laid out on the bar and pay as you walk out - the perfect alternative to long sit down meals with kids, especially when the real restaurants don’t open for dinner until 8:30!). #sansebastian #travelwithkids #familytravel #northernspain A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 3, 2017 at 1:13pm PDT
With everywhere else we’ve been in the last 6 weeks, we really haven’t even had time to plan for Northern Spain. Fortunately @lostworldluis and @lostworldlacey sent us to San Sebastián with its spectacular downtown beaches and promenade (complete with a carousel and great playground filled with kids, parents and grandparents), a vibrant “parte vieja” and an introduction to “pinxtos” (Northern Spain’s equivalent to tapas where you walk into any bar/cafe, grab whatever you want from the feast laid out on the bar and pay as you walk out - the perfect alternative to long sit down meals with kids, especially when the real restaurants don’t open for dinner until 8:30!). #sansebastian #travelwithkids #familytravel #northernspain
A post shared by David Zimmerman (@advodna_dave) on Nov 3, 2017 at 1:13pm PDT
