Back

The French Alpes - Sometimes van life is just perfect | Day 103 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Apr 13, 2023· 3 minutes

Sometimes van life is just perfect.

When we left the Mont Blanc tunnel, we realized it was pretty late, and we were relatively high up in the mountains. It was not optimal to sleep in the van when it was freezing outside, so we drove down for some time before we stopped to rest. Took a wrong turn and drove some scary small roads.

“When you take a risk, you are rewarded” This is one of the truths we have learned on our journeys. In a few weeks in the podcast with Martin Cooke, you can hear this saying from the horse's mouth in our podcast.

lake-2

So, we woke up by a beautiful lake in a valley of the Alps. There were snow-capped mountains, green grass, birds singing, and friendly people walking dogs, and we were happy to do the morning routine. My husband even took a dip in the lake.

Driving off, we met a waterfall after only 3 minutes of driving, stopped, and had a beautiful and healing walk feeling the pure joy and excitement nature sometimes sparks, running to get closer, drinking the water, and taking photos.

waterfall

Moving on, the day was full of sunshine and practical stuff and springtime. We fixed the water system, stocked up on gas for cooking and organic food, and drove as far towards Normandie as possible before nighttime.

The evening was a contrast to the morning. We had decided to park in a small village with an area that said “Stationnement de Camping Car” on google maps, but in reality, it was forbidden to enter with camping cars. So, we slept at a supermarket parking lot. Not very interesting.

While driving, we discussed peace and how to let it enter the lifestyle. We canceled some planned events and decided to go to some friends' houses, friends who are also attending the worldschooling event. It makes much more sense to get tuned and ready for this rather than trying to do a hundred things on the way.

We ARE willing to go far outside our comfort zone, yet we also want to focus on what matters the most in the given situation.
We realize finding peace is very much about being ready. Ready to be ready.

Thank you for reading
I would love to hear from you. Listen to your thoughts and reflections - or praise :) It is often emotional to share our life like this, and we get very happy when we get feedback from you. So feel free to share a comment below 😋 

Love and light

Cecilie-Underskrift-300x133

Cecilie Conrad

# 103 of my 2023 writing challenge - Read them all here

More images from the day

lake

Cecilie-silke-vandfald

Fjord-skov

yuna-waterfall

sjov-soe

Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

Am I the right person to help you? You can book a free discovery call, and we'll talk and figure it out.

Listen to my podcasts

I share my knowledge and curiosity about family life and learning in my two podcasts.

Read my latest blogposts

How did we make it happen? This is the all times most asked question, we get. Read on to get insight into our experiences around the money question. …Read more
Walking with faith, listening to the ways of God, the ways of the Universe, believing the miracles, and embracing even the complications. We learn ev…Read more
Dive into our week of nomadic exploration, filled with unexpected detours, artistic inspirations, and heartwarming encounters. From the scenic Pyrene…Read more
From fixing bike racks to witnessing flamingos in the wild, we navigate the intricacies of bus life while embracing the serenity and surprises of our…Read more
This gallery is about the week when we started driving in the bus, going south, and learning to live in the bus as we moved around. Read more
When we drove the bus the 100 km North to visit our unschooling friends in Gilleleje, the bus broke down a bit again and we became organic farmers fo…Read more
We have been full-time travelers for almost three months, seven weeks of which were preparation: Clearing out our home in Copenhagen, converting the …Read more
A sunshine gallery about the first ten days of bus conversion, sharing visually how we began rebuilding a 43-year-old big red bus to a tiny house. Read more
We optimistically said this every evening of week 33: “Tomorrow, we finish the bus!”. It is scientifically proven that optimists live longer. And we …Read more