Finally home and a bit refreshed from a week away down in the New Forest with Danielle.
Cassy performed perfectly as always, the trip down was across to Bicester then down the A34, traffic was light but unfortunately those who were on the road weren't the best skilled, we saw plenty of cars screeming up the back of others and changing lanes without indication or even looking!
We took it steady and got there in one piece, although with the dirt tracks we had to go down to get to the cabin we were staying in Cassy was filthy so it was a good job I'd picked up two lots of premix screen wash from Halfrauds on the way down (the pink one as Danielle likes the smell).
Driving through the New Forest is lovely, the undulating winding roads were perfect for a Xantia, and with the scenery and wildlife pootling along at 20-30mph was really all that was needed even though the limit was 40mph for most of it. Of course that didn't stop prats taking their Golfs, Beemers, Vectras and Chelsea Tractors along wanting to do 50 over blind summits and hairpin bends, skipping along like a mexican jumping bean with their stiff suspension, and refusing to get their precious "extension" dirty by actually moving over their side of the road when passing, so quite often Danielle was treated to an extra bouncy ride as I had to pull over with the N/S wheels going along the bank by the side of the road!
Then there was the 'elf n safety horse with plenty of 'tude. We came over a hill to find a horse in the midde of the road just staring at us menacingly.
Behind him there were several other horses munching on the hedge. I swear all he needed was a STOP/GO sign
Danielle's a bit of a canny thing, and found out that Waitrose would deliver to the cabin, so this poor bloke turned up Saturday evening in a Sprinter van with cooler unit on top, looking rather dishevelled after going around in circles trying to find us and bashing the cooler unit on a low branch
We saw Adders at the reptile centre, not just in the display pit, there was one some kids had spotted at the bottom of a tree by the picnic area, trying to hide under the pine cones.
On Tuesday we headed to Portsmouth and got to see the sharks and rays being fed at the aqaurium. Unfortunately I'd left my camera at home
We also went along to the one at Bournemouth.
All in all, a very relaxing holiday, despite having at least one mouse and maybe a squirell in the loft space of the cabin scurrying around in the early hours of the morning.
We drove back yesterday to Danielle's parents' house and stayed the night on the most uncomfortable sofabed I have ever had the displeasure to use! It was like a slap of concrete, but with a camber so if you lay on the edge you risked falling out of bed! I eventually passed out from exaustion at about 5am and was awake off and on until about 8am when I couldn't take it any more and got up.
So tonight I should sleep like the dead!
Oh, Cassy did 525 miles (mostly with the a/c running) on 55L, so just over 43mpg
It was a great tonic for me to spend the day out in the warm sunshine playing cars but by golly I've paid for it today 
