The Floating Nomads

We wanted to know where our favourite drink, the spritz, came from, and it took us on a quest around Italy... but as we found out, the world's favourite cocktail (Aperol, Campari, take your pick) wasn't invented in Italy at all. Full film: youtu.be/0blHrMk8bFg

Monticello on the back of an American nickel. The building behind it is in Vicenza, which is where that style came from, and most people have never heard of the place. This week, we discover why our cities look the way they do: youtu.be/g3DRnx4pJKs?...

We’ve been doing this for years now, so we know exactly when to go. Come and see Venice the way we see it. youtu.be/PteA8fJAWr8

Happy Birthday Rick! 🎈 For the second year in a row we are spending his birthday in Cagliari, Sardinia (this was not not planned!) so there will be spritzes!

Historic journeys by water are very much up our street, so as soon as we found out the Venetians had built a canal to get to Venice, it went straight onto the bucket list. The full film is on YouTube now: youtu.be/k147xF7F3Uk

We spent hundreds of days in Venice and always arrived over the causeway or by waterbus. When we discovered that there was an ancient route in BY CANAL and it was lined with UNESCO palaces, we made it our mission to do it one day. The whole adventure is now on YouTube: youtu.be/k147xF7F3Uk?...

A castle with a curse on it. A language for coffee that belongs to nobody else in the country. A cave so enormous we hid from a storm underground rather than risk the streets. We kept asking ourselves if we were still in Italy. Trieste, in full: youtu.be/Y262a6uHkVM

The 42nd most visited city in Italy has a square bigger than anything in Venice Trieste was the Austro-Hungarian Empire's only seaport for five hundred years, and it still looks like it. They even have a different language for coffee! Most surprising place we've been all year: youtu.be/Y262a6uHkVM

We did it! Jersey to Trieste without a single flight. 5 trains, 4 taxis, 1 ferry, and 1,100 miles over 4 days. Dragging ourselves out of bed for early trains was genuinely gruelling, but the long route led us to two completely new cities we’d have otherwise flown over. We’ll be back!

Our new film is up. We went from Jersey to Trieste by ferry and train, and the part we can't stop talking about is a French city we'd never heard of... The full film is out now: youtu.be/qBAe8b46RQg

We've now visited both of the biggest Channel Islands and made our decision. This week was Jersey's turn  We walked to a lighthouse on a causeway that was under 8m of water a few hours later, tasted some of the best oysters in Europe, & were stunned by the beaches  Full film: youtu.be/xxFcWDmdRrI

We went to Guernsey not really knowing what to expect. What we found was French street signs, a town built on piracy, and Victor Hugo finishing Les Misérables there after France, Belgium and Jersey had all thrown him out. The coastline was the best thing though! Full video: youtu.be/z9YznskEU74

We'd never been to the Channel Islands before. Jersey seems to be the one everyone visits, so we thought we'd try the other one first. Guernsey turned out to be full of surprises. Street signs in French, distances in metres, a capital built on legalised piracy. Full video: youtu.be/z9YznskEU74

Imagine an island that's part of the British Isles but isn't part of Britain, or the UK, or the EU. An island that makes its own laws and has banned cars and streetlights. It's nowhere we've ever been, and we don't think there's anywhere like it on earth. youtu.be/fiNVyCSUKgA

Sark isn't part of the UK, Britain or the EU. It makes its own laws. No cars, no cash machine, no hospital. 562 people, and after six in the evening there's no way to leave. Full film out tomorrow, but channel members can watch it right now. youtu.be/fiNVyCSUKgA

We sold our house for a narrowboat life that might be disappearing. For the second summer running the canals have not got enough water in them. We came back to explore them at their best, and it did not work out that way. New film out now. youtu.be/pLf_VT6AVvE

We’d like to report a robbery

Is Dutch food really as bad as they say? A month in the Netherlands finding out. Rick left the herring until the last day. Out now: youtu.be/BTjQvSgu7Xc

Everyone comes to this corner of Holland for the windmills. So did we. We booked a few nights in the nearest city and knew nothing about it. Turns out we'd made a mistake, though not the one you'd expect. Live now for all channel members. Everyone else tomorrow. youtu.be/NplXknyYGBc

We were told not to bother with Utrecht. "It's just a student town." We'd already booked five nights, so we were stuck here whether it was worth it or not. New film out now: youtu.be/jhVl2dS0nsI

Norway is stunning and staggeringly expensive. We spent a week in the fjords working out whether a cruise is the sensible way to see it. Full film's on YouTube: youtu.be/8xziVes58rY

New film is up. A week in the Norwegian fjords with Holland America, and the most expensive beer we've ever bought in our lives. Norway is stunning and brutal on the wallet. Is a cruise the sensible way to do it? youtu.be/8xziVes58rY

Seven nights, cheapest cabin on the ship, no window, straight through the Norwegian fjords. It wasn't cheap either. youtu.be/o7-BamSSYrs

Tonight's film is live. We booked the cheapest cabin on Holland America's MS Rotterdam. Inside, no window, bottom of the ship, a week in the Norwegian fjords. It wasn't cheap. Whether it was worth it is another question. Watch now: youtu.be/o7-BamSSYrs

Our biggest first 48 hours ever, and currently top of Google's video results for "Rotterdam." Watch it if you haven't yet. youtu.be/AwMN0FL5h7Y

Rotterdam. A city we'd passed through for years and never actually stopped in. We stayed eight days. New film out now. youtu.be/AwMN0FL5h7Y

We heard about a village in the Netherlands that uses canals instead of roads and boats instead of cars. We absolutely had to go and find out whether it was as amazing as it sounds. Out now on YouTube.

Giethoorn. You've probably never heard of it. A Dutch village with no roads, just canals, that only exists because of a medieval flood. We've never been anywhere quite like it! The full video is out now for channel members, and for everyone else, tomorrow. youtu.be/_88405sX9Og #Giethoorn

We’re staying in a Dutch village with no roads. Just canals. And boats instead of cars. Full episode Friday. Nomads Club members get it Thursday. You’re going to love it. #giethoorn #slowtravel

We'd heard this ferry crossing was like a mini cruise. So we booked one of the best cabins on the ship, prepaid the restaurants, and spent eight hours on the North Sea finding out if that's true. Is this the best way to get to Europe? Out now. youtu.be/gnTGs7HfgwI

…And we’re off on our adventure abroad! 👋 With cruise ship style cabins, good food and space to relax on deck, we’ve heard this ferry might just be the best way to get to Europe. Find out in this week’s episode, released on Friday (Thursday for members).

This episode took three weeks to make and we genuinely didn't know how it would end when we started filming. One broken lock, no way round, and a lot going wrong along the way. New episode is live: youtu.be/dJg51dfRpoQ

Over the last 2 days we've travelled for 22 hours, covered 39 miles and [Rick has] done 29 locks. Today alone was almost 11 hours of cruising. All to try to get through a lock that was about to break. We are absolutely shattered.

Don’t count them / can’t count them. 💙🦆🦢

They shut the doors behind us. Then the fans started. New video: youtu.be/_cTdn2wCOPM

After a very difficult few days (next week’s video will explain all of the many reasons why), this lovely rainbow is giving us hope.

This week we're exploring the story of Josiah Wedgwood - how broken pottery and a canal he helped finance turned him into one of the world's first tycoons. We also happen to visit the best pub in Britain (officially) along the way. New episode out now. youtu.be/mAySEWy1iC8

Rick’s mum has been visit today, and she’s brought this [big] chap a [very small] companion 😍

Summer’s over then?

In 2023, we sold our house and quit our jobs for a dream. Three years later, we're reassessing whether it paid off. New episode out now: youtu.be/BQKnTW54cIg

First couple of weeks back on the canals. Settling back into the rhythm like we never left. It's good to be back. 😍

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The view from the bedroom hatch 💙

New video out now. It shows what we love most about travelling around by boat. Oh, and our barge pole has a fungal infection. youtu.be/DyT-RpVRhWk