Project Midlife Crisis

07/06/2026

Van problems, medieval streets, a 2,000-year-old Roman bridge — and then I crossed the Adriatic to somewhere I almost didn't go.

Italy was beautiful but brutal. My DPF kept putting me in limp mode, I spent more time at Mercedes garages than I'd like to admit, and somehow I nearly missed the country entirely. But Rimini's Ponte di Tiberio (oldest bridge in northern Italy, survived a World War II demolition attempt), the medieval town with Casa Ilica — home of the man who wrote the librettos for La Bohème, Tosca and Madame Butterfly — and four days of sunshine made it worth every euro of stress.

Then: the ferry to Albania. Honestly, I nearly went to Greece instead. Getting insurance at the border nearly put me off. I'm so glad it didn't.

Albania is unlike anywhere I've been. The Albanian Alps around Teth are jaw-dropping. I rode the Trans Euro Trail for the first time. The people are among the warmest I've encountered anywhere. And the driving? Absolutely mental.

If you're thinking of going — skip the coast (overpriced and overdeveloped) and head straight inland. You'll thank me.

🏕️ €5 camping near the Teth trail
🛣️ First time riding the Trans Euro Trail
🌉 Ponte di Tiberio — 2,000 years old and still standing
🔧 Multiple DPF repairs across northern Italy



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📍 Locations visited: Rimini, Northern Italy · Teth, Albanian Alps · Albanian coast
🎵 Music: Nigel Clegg
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27/05/2026

I left the coast and came inland to Lake Bafa, which didn’t actually used to be a lake. Over time, silt from the Büyük Menderes River cut it off from the sea and slowly turned it into what you see today.

I’m by the village of Kapıkırı, right next to the ruins of Heraclea at Latmus, an ancient Greek city with massive defensive walls, temples, baths, tombs and a theatre, all scattered around these giant boulder-strewn mountains.

Some of the walls are over two thousand years old.

The mountains behind the lake are the ancient Latmos range, now called Beşparmak, and they’re full of Byzantine monasteries, hermit caves and even prehistoric rock paintings dating back around 8,000 years. Humans have been hanging around this place for an absurdly long time and I can see why 😁

There’s also a local myth that the moon goddess Selene fell in love with a shepherd called Endymion here and asked Zeus to keep him eternally asleep so she could visit him every night. Romantic until you think about it for more than three seconds.

This area feels ancient in a way that photos don’t really capture. Massive rocks, ruined fortresses, silent monasteries, olive trees everywhere and hardly any tourists.

Exactly my kind of place. Quiet, dramatic, slightly haunted-looking, basically me in lake form.

It’s hot, so I’m spending the morning on the lake and I’ll head out to explore the ruins this afternoon, if I don’t melt or fall asleep first.

25/05/2026

The best things in life require a little effort 😊

24/05/2026

Assos - Turkey

23/05/2026

A very exciting milestone for me and Big Yellow. We cross into Asia 😁

19/05/2026

This morning I awake in the foothills of Mount Olympus, Greece, beside a dried up river bed. There's rain forecast, so I better get a move on before I'm washed away 😁

Some people say that living in a van is not all Instagram photo worthy. Well in my experience it mostly is.

I find that the beauty in my life is proportional to my ability to see and appreciate it 😀

05/05/2026

04/04/2026

Having spent the last 3 months here in France I'm now preparing to set off to Turkey next week. Of course this means spending time and money on preparing Big Yellow. My DPF packed up and luckily the fabulous garage I used had a defibrillator on hand when they presented me with the bill.

I decided it was time to replace the front tyre on the motorbike and thought it was a good opportunity to do it myself. Well I won't be doing that again 🤪

Unfortunately my original plans have had to change due to conflicts around the world. So now I'll be heading down the east coast of Italy, taking the ferry to Albania, then travelling through Greece into Turkey where I'll travel along the South coast. eventually arriving at my endpoint, Georgia. The return journey will take me along the black sea cost of Turkey through the Balkans. I plan to be back in the UK for a visit at the end of August, all been well 🤞

31/12/2025

This journey keeps reminding me of something I forget far too easily.
It is never really about the places.

This life on the road works not because of the van or the bike or the miles.
It works because of people.

If you are watching this somewhere along your own journey, I hope it reminds you that the smallest encounters can leave the biggest marks, and that gratitude is never wasted.

Thank you for walking alongside me this year.
I carry these moments with me wherever I go.

And to the people I met along the way.
You changed my life more than you will ever know.

Happy New Year

31/12/2025

This journey keeps reminding me of something I forget far too easily.
It is never really about the places.

This video started with a simple plan. Go back to Spain. Sort paperwork. Find an address. Do the sensible thing.
Instead I found myself welcomed by people I had never met who changed everything just by being kind.

What you are watching here is not a property search or a travel guide. It is a thank you.

To the people who open gates instead of closing them.
Who say yes when they gain nothing from it.
Who turn a stopover into a home and strangers into friends.

I was offered a place to stay. A place to belong. An address on paper but something far more important in real life. Connection. Trust. Community.

There are moments in this video that look quiet. Morning walks. Dogs greeting the day. Shared meals. Laughter. Music.
Those moments are everything.

This life on the road works not because of the van or the bike or the miles.
It works because of people.

If you are watching this somewhere along your own journey I hope it reminds you that the smallest encounters can leave the biggest marks and that gratitude is never wasted.

Thank you for walking alongside me this year.
I carry these moments with me wherever I go.

And to the people I met along the way.
You changed my life more than you will ever know.

Happy New Year

This journey keeps reminding me of something I forget far too easily.It is never really about the places.This video started with a simple plan. Go back to Sp...