Episode 1 - Dorset to Switzerland by way of Hickstead
Spring 2017 - Italy via old comrades
The full trip. See below for details
Sun 14th May
Lovely spring day, left home at midday, for Alan's 70th birthday tea, at Hickstead Hotel, West Sussex. I first met Alan 54 years ago when we joined the RN as artificer apprentices in 1963. I met him again in Bahrain in 1971, then again in 2013 at the 50th anniversary reunion. We have kept in touch ever since.
We are now in the car park of the Sportsman, a nearby pub that is also a Britstop - an overnight stop for motorhomes. A nice looking restaurant, and good beer - but we were too full to try the food.
Shaftesbury to Hickstead
Mon 15th May
A straightforward hop to Dover, for the 1200 DFDS sailing to Dunkerque. A quiet crossing, not many passengers. We are following our normal rout via Lille, and Luxembourg, and are current on a very nice aire at Saint Hubert, in the Luxembourg region of Belgium (not to be confused with Luxembourg, the state, or Luxembourg the city of tax dodgers). No map for this leg - the tracking device battery ran out:)
the aire at St Hubert
N 50.08480 E5.33902 Miles 390
Tues 16th May
Early start as we aim to get Neuchatel in Switzerland by mid afternoon. We had expected to go through Luxembourg (the state) where fuel is very cheap, but instead Sally took us off just before Luxembourg, and headed across France - Metz, Nancy, Belfort, then minor roads through Bourgignon, St Hippolyte, across a tiny border into Switzerland, and then not many miles to Neuchatel, getting there just after 3 pm. We have invested 40 Swiss Francs in a vignette to allow us to use motorways.
We are in Neuchatel to meet Chris, another artificer apprentice I joined up with in 1963, and his wife Hulya. We parked in a neighbour's drive for the night. It was good to meet Hulya for the first time, and we enjoyed their hospitality very much. The views across the lake to the Alps beyond are to die for - clear views of the Eiger, Mont Blanc, Jungfrau, and more.
Alps across the lake - a view to die for
Trompe l'oeil (statues - not the stairs!)
Trompe l'oeil
Neuchatel
Chris & Hulya, Neuchatel
St Hubert to Neuchatel, Switzerland
Wed 17th May
After a tour of the town, and a very pleasant lunch, we set off for a campsite we visited some years ago, and enjoyed greatly. Certainly worth a return visit. A slight kerfuffle at the start, because we had Sally satnav set to avoid toll roads, and she set us a course avoiding motorways, taking over 4 hours. We have bought a vignette to use motorways, and Sally then gave us a revised course taking under 2 hours. - Camping des Glaciers, at Le Fouly.
N45-56-0 E7-5-43, Miles 809
Camping des Glaciers, Le Fouly
Neuchatel to Le Fouly
 |
| The full trip. See below for details |
Sun 14th May
Lovely spring day, left home at midday, for Alan's 70th birthday tea, at Hickstead Hotel, West Sussex. I first met Alan 54 years ago when we joined the RN as artificer apprentices in 1963. I met him again in Bahrain in 1971, then again in 2013 at the 50th anniversary reunion. We have kept in touch ever since.
We are now in the car park of the Sportsman, a nearby pub that is also a Britstop - an overnight stop for motorhomes. A nice looking restaurant, and good beer - but we were too full to try the food.
 |
| Shaftesbury to Hickstead |
Mon 15th May
A straightforward hop to Dover, for the 1200 DFDS sailing to Dunkerque. A quiet crossing, not many passengers. We are following our normal rout via Lille, and Luxembourg, and are current on a very nice aire at Saint Hubert, in the Luxembourg region of Belgium (not to be confused with Luxembourg, the state, or Luxembourg the city of tax dodgers). No map for this leg - the tracking device battery ran out:)
 |
| the aire at St Hubert |
N 50.08480 E5.33902 Miles 390
Tues 16th May
Early start as we aim to get Neuchatel in Switzerland by mid afternoon. We had expected to go through Luxembourg (the state) where fuel is very cheap, but instead Sally took us off just before Luxembourg, and headed across France - Metz, Nancy, Belfort, then minor roads through Bourgignon, St Hippolyte, across a tiny border into Switzerland, and then not many miles to Neuchatel, getting there just after 3 pm. We have invested 40 Swiss Francs in a vignette to allow us to use motorways.
We are in Neuchatel to meet Chris, another artificer apprentice I joined up with in 1963, and his wife Hulya. We parked in a neighbour's drive for the night. It was good to meet Hulya for the first time, and we enjoyed their hospitality very much. The views across the lake to the Alps beyond are to die for - clear views of the Eiger, Mont Blanc, Jungfrau, and more.
 |
| Alps across the lake - a view to die for |
 |
| Trompe l'oeil (statues - not the stairs!) |
 |
| Trompe l'oeil |
 |
| Neuchatel |
 |
| Chris & Hulya, Neuchatel |
 |
| St Hubert to Neuchatel, Switzerland |
Wed 17th May
After a tour of the town, and a very pleasant lunch, we set off for a campsite we visited some years ago, and enjoyed greatly. Certainly worth a return visit. A slight kerfuffle at the start, because we had Sally satnav set to avoid toll roads, and she set us a course avoiding motorways, taking over 4 hours. We have bought a vignette to use motorways, and Sally then gave us a revised course taking under 2 hours. - Camping des Glaciers, at Le Fouly.
N45-56-0 E7-5-43, Miles 809
 |
| Camping des Glaciers, Le Fouly |
 |
| Neuchatel to Le Fouly |
Episode 2 - By Grand St Bernard tunnel Into Italy
Thurs 18th May
Yesterday was too hot (we are not yet acclimatised), but today is cold, wet and miserable, so we spent most of the day trying to understand the mysteries of Android photo galleries. (photos get the wrong date, location information sometimes appears and sometimes doesn't). We have tried umpteen different apps, and are none the wiser. Not a problem on the laptop, only on Android tablets and phones.
Tomorrow promises to be even wetter, so we are planning to move on to Italy, to see if there is any sun there. The Grand St Bernard pass is not yet open, so it will have to be the tunnel.
La Fouly - not sunshine
Something you didn't know about orchids!
Fri 19th May
Awoke to a cold morning, heavy rain and thick fog! And to really make the day, both wiper blades have started to fail. As we descended (from about 5500 feet) the fog lifted (low cloud, presumably), but came on again as we ascended towards the Grand St Bernard tunnel. The tunnel cost 42 Swiss Francs - about £34, and was surprisingly clear of traffic. The pass itself is still closed by snow. All the garages we passed were closed, so we couldn't replace the wipers.
We have stopped at a sosta (aire) in Aosta, in Italy, but not a huge distance from the border. The actual border is in the middle of the tunnel, but the Italian customs post is just as you enter the tunnel. Still very cold, and heavy rain, so we walked into Aosta appropriately dressed. Aosta has some interesting Roman remains. By mid afternoon the rain had stopped, and the sun was beating down, and we were way overdressed. However, I did find a garage that sold replacement wipers, so that's OK
Aosta, Roman bridge
Aosta, Roman bridge
Opposite us is an elderly Italian motorhome. During the afternoon a small car arrived to join them, containing, presumably, the daughter, son in law and grandson. The grandson was about 12, quite fat, and spent the afternoon kicking his heels, and smoking cigarettes quite openly in front of his parents.
About 8pm we wandered into town for a drink (or two). We like the way the Italians always serve a very nice snack with drinks, on the house. On our return to the sosta we found the Italian van opposite was running a generator - no surprise it was them, but generators are not well regarded by most motorhomers. In France some years back we watched an irate German Angela Merkel lookalike threaten to flatten someone running a generator, to everyone's annoyance.
I have discovered that the Ordnance Survey app I have on my phone, gives the lat and long, and height, of the present position, so I can say we are at N45.7363 E7.3299, height 1968 feet.
Sat 20th May
We have moved on a few miles to a mountain resort, Cogne. This has a large sosta, which costs €12 a night, including 4 hours wifi. Electricity is available. A brilliantly sunny day, but a bitterly cold wind.
the sosta at Cogne
A small resort, that was previously an iron ore mining town. As we passed the church a very pregnant bride was about to take the plunge...
...just in time...?
After an early lunch we walked up one of the valleys to Valnontey, a round trip of about 5 miles, but uphill all the way. We saw (we think) an Ibex
Ibis?
N 45.6082 E7.359 height 5206 feet (no wonder it's cold!)
Sun 21st May
A clear night and a bitterly cold morning. We headed back past Aosta, to Chatillon, said to be an interesting town. But when we got there it didn't look at all interesting. I also made the mistake of using a motorway for about 15 miles, and was shocked to be charged €14.50. We then headed towards Turin, avoiding motorways!, and turned up into a German speaking valley, climbing higher and higher, to an aire at Gressony La Trinite, at over 6,000 feet. GLT proved to be yet another boring ski resort - ski resorts are ALWAYS boring when there's no snow - and the aire costs €12 per night, so we turned round and dropped 500 feet to Waltdorf. This is much more scenic, and we are parked in a large and empty car park, beside the mountain stream.
N45.8323 E7.822 height 5600 feet, 945 miles
Mon 22nd May
Another cold morning, but we expected that. Except for us, the car park was completely empty. We are now heading for Turin (to my surprise!). It was a surprisingly long descent, with some incredibly narrow streets in some of the villages.
First stop, not far from where we spent the night, was a castle/holiday home built by Queen Marguerite, wife of King Umberto. It was very reminiscent of Queen Marie of Romania's castle at Bran, Romania, and in fact the 2 ladies seemed to have very similar personalities. (Marie used to hold hashish parties for the local ladies, but there's no suggestion that Marguerite did likewise).
Queen Marguerite's view
There is a particularly attractive Roman bridge at Fountainemore.
another Roman bridge!
...and there's always a cat...
After our motorway toll shock yesterday, we are avoiding the autostrada, but Sally found us a reasonably long free stretch. That ended when we had to battle though 10 miles of Turin - the council must have shares in traffic lights, and the famous Italian drivers were out in force - every one a Fangio. We haven't had that elsewhere in Italy. Maybe it's because Turin is the home of FIAT. (aka Fix It Again Tony)
We are parked up in a very professional sosta - so professional that 2 nights costs €36, water and sewage extra. However, it is right on the tram line into Turin's centre. A 48 hour ticket costs €7.50. After a quick evening meal we went into town for a wander around, ice cream, and a beer.
Turin...and Garibaldi..
Turin at sunset
N45.0289 E7.6402 height a measly 987 feet!
Tues 23rd May
Another fine day - and into Turin centre before 11. First stop was the cathedral - smaller and less impressive than I had expected, but it does house the Turin shroud, now dated at 13th century. It is not on display, but is in a vacuum sealed box, behind a window.
...shrouded in controversy...
We came across a number of very ornate arcades ("galleria"), and old and ornate cafes (like 150 years old!). We had coffee and a pastry in one, and sushi in another. (in Subalpina Galleria)We were lucky to get a table where we had lunch, as almost every table was reserved. For €23 each we had a huge selection of sushi, a bottle of water, a glass of wine, dessert and coffee. This is less than we pay in Bath for just half of the amount of sushi, never mind the extras, and in quite a posh restaurant. We did notice that almost everybody else was eating standard Italian food. Then after lunch, we spent half an hour by the Po - River Po, that is;)
one of the splendid arcades...
Rosemary forgot the charger for her Fitbit watch. This needs to be charged every week (!), so she has been without a watch. We found a little jewellers shop - very old fashioned, and we had to ring the bell to get in. We were after a cheap watch just for the next 2 months, and found Casio at only €15. Cheap it may have been, the little old lady shopkeeper spent as long fussing over guarantee details as if it had been an Omega. Then we found a large face wall clock - we have been looking for a replacement for our 40 year old hall clock for few years, without luck, at any price. And in Turin we found just the right thing at only €29.
and the ice creams are something else!
Bridge over the Po
There's always something to look at in Turin...
sunbeam...
...maybe
Time for another drink, we rejected some very expensive cafes in the Piazza san Carlo, and found a very nice cafe in the San Federico Galleria, an arcade worth a visit just to see the decoration. 2 beers and a good wifi connection. Grim news from Manchester - "Allah the Merciful" indeed!
San Federico Galleria
We have discovered that the tram line numbers are not easy to see - and returning to the sosta quite late, we managed to get on the wrong tram. Just as we were beginning to wonder where we were, and how we would get back to the van, we came into a tram stop on the other side of the sosta. Luckily we saw the vans in time to get off.
Wed 24th May
We are parked reasonably near the old FIAT factory, that has a banked test track right around the roof. It has been developed into a tourist attraction, the Lingotto, said to comprise an art gallery, and a "slow food supermarket" called "Eataly", Unfortunately, it wasn't as close as it looks on the map, so walking was a mistake, especially as we got lost.
The old FIAT banked test track on the roof
The art gallery, costing €8 to get in, had no more than a dozen paintings - a few drab Canalettos, some Matisse paintings that looked like they had been done by a 9 year old (I must investigate why he is well regarded!) and a decent Renoir and a Picassos - a complete waste of time and money.
the only 3 paintings worth looking at, at €8 per head!
Eataly had more types of pasta and olive oil than you can shake a stick at, and a number of "slow food" restaurants. We had 2 huge swordfish steaks, before finding a bus back - almost door to door. If you are ever tempted to visit the Lingotto - don't bother!
McDonalds comes to Turin
Getting out of Turin proved to be a lot easier than getting in, as we didn't need to drive right across the city. We have returned to Cherasco, a pleasant hill top town we visited last year, about 40 miles from Turin, and a very relaxed atmosphere. There is a milk dispenser in the town selling draught raw (unpasteurised) milk, €1 per litre. Take your own bottle, or buy one for 20 cents. We are on the official aire - last time the town was having a beer festival on it, so we parked in a town square.
N44.6487 E7.8547, height 1,125 feet
Yesterday was too hot (we are not yet acclimatised), but today is cold, wet and miserable, so we spent most of the day trying to understand the mysteries of Android photo galleries. (photos get the wrong date, location information sometimes appears and sometimes doesn't). We have tried umpteen different apps, and are none the wiser. Not a problem on the laptop, only on Android tablets and phones.
Tomorrow promises to be even wetter, so we are planning to move on to Italy, to see if there is any sun there. The Grand St Bernard pass is not yet open, so it will have to be the tunnel.
 |
| La Fouly - not sunshine |
 |
| Something you didn't know about orchids! |
Awoke to a cold morning, heavy rain and thick fog! And to really make the day, both wiper blades have started to fail. As we descended (from about 5500 feet) the fog lifted (low cloud, presumably), but came on again as we ascended towards the Grand St Bernard tunnel. The tunnel cost 42 Swiss Francs - about £34, and was surprisingly clear of traffic. The pass itself is still closed by snow. All the garages we passed were closed, so we couldn't replace the wipers.
We have stopped at a sosta (aire) in Aosta, in Italy, but not a huge distance from the border. The actual border is in the middle of the tunnel, but the Italian customs post is just as you enter the tunnel. Still very cold, and heavy rain, so we walked into Aosta appropriately dressed. Aosta has some interesting Roman remains. By mid afternoon the rain had stopped, and the sun was beating down, and we were way overdressed. However, I did find a garage that sold replacement wipers, so that's OK
 |
| Aosta, Roman bridge |
 |
| Aosta, Roman bridge |
Opposite us is an elderly Italian motorhome. During the afternoon a small car arrived to join them, containing, presumably, the daughter, son in law and grandson. The grandson was about 12, quite fat, and spent the afternoon kicking his heels, and smoking cigarettes quite openly in front of his parents.
About 8pm we wandered into town for a drink (or two). We like the way the Italians always serve a very nice snack with drinks, on the house. On our return to the sosta we found the Italian van opposite was running a generator - no surprise it was them, but generators are not well regarded by most motorhomers. In France some years back we watched an irate German Angela Merkel lookalike threaten to flatten someone running a generator, to everyone's annoyance.
I have discovered that the Ordnance Survey app I have on my phone, gives the lat and long, and height, of the present position, so I can say we are at N45.7363 E7.3299, height 1968 feet.
Sat 20th May
We have moved on a few miles to a mountain resort, Cogne. This has a large sosta, which costs €12 a night, including 4 hours wifi. Electricity is available. A brilliantly sunny day, but a bitterly cold wind.
 |
| the sosta at Cogne |
A small resort, that was previously an iron ore mining town. As we passed the church a very pregnant bride was about to take the plunge...
 |
| ...just in time...? |
After an early lunch we walked up one of the valleys to Valnontey, a round trip of about 5 miles, but uphill all the way. We saw (we think) an Ibex
 |
| Ibis? |
N 45.6082 E7.359 height 5206 feet (no wonder it's cold!)
Sun 21st May
A clear night and a bitterly cold morning. We headed back past Aosta, to Chatillon, said to be an interesting town. But when we got there it didn't look at all interesting. I also made the mistake of using a motorway for about 15 miles, and was shocked to be charged €14.50. We then headed towards Turin, avoiding motorways!, and turned up into a German speaking valley, climbing higher and higher, to an aire at Gressony La Trinite, at over 6,000 feet. GLT proved to be yet another boring ski resort - ski resorts are ALWAYS boring when there's no snow - and the aire costs €12 per night, so we turned round and dropped 500 feet to Waltdorf. This is much more scenic, and we are parked in a large and empty car park, beside the mountain stream.
N45.8323 E7.822 height 5600 feet, 945 miles
Mon 22nd May
Another cold morning, but we expected that. Except for us, the car park was completely empty. We are now heading for Turin (to my surprise!). It was a surprisingly long descent, with some incredibly narrow streets in some of the villages.
First stop, not far from where we spent the night, was a castle/holiday home built by Queen Marguerite, wife of King Umberto. It was very reminiscent of Queen Marie of Romania's castle at Bran, Romania, and in fact the 2 ladies seemed to have very similar personalities. (Marie used to hold hashish parties for the local ladies, but there's no suggestion that Marguerite did likewise).
 |
| Queen Marguerite's view |
There is a particularly attractive Roman bridge at Fountainemore.
 |
| another Roman bridge! |
 |
| ...and there's always a cat... |
After our motorway toll shock yesterday, we are avoiding the autostrada, but Sally found us a reasonably long free stretch. That ended when we had to battle though 10 miles of Turin - the council must have shares in traffic lights, and the famous Italian drivers were out in force - every one a Fangio. We haven't had that elsewhere in Italy. Maybe it's because Turin is the home of FIAT. (aka Fix It Again Tony)
We are parked up in a very professional sosta - so professional that 2 nights costs €36, water and sewage extra. However, it is right on the tram line into Turin's centre. A 48 hour ticket costs €7.50. After a quick evening meal we went into town for a wander around, ice cream, and a beer.
 |
| Turin...and Garibaldi.. |
 |
| Turin at sunset |
N45.0289 E7.6402 height a measly 987 feet!
Tues 23rd May
Another fine day - and into Turin centre before 11. First stop was the cathedral - smaller and less impressive than I had expected, but it does house the Turin shroud, now dated at 13th century. It is not on display, but is in a vacuum sealed box, behind a window.
 |
| ...shrouded in controversy... |
We came across a number of very ornate arcades ("galleria"), and old and ornate cafes (like 150 years old!). We had coffee and a pastry in one, and sushi in another. (in Subalpina Galleria)We were lucky to get a table where we had lunch, as almost every table was reserved. For €23 each we had a huge selection of sushi, a bottle of water, a glass of wine, dessert and coffee. This is less than we pay in Bath for just half of the amount of sushi, never mind the extras, and in quite a posh restaurant. We did notice that almost everybody else was eating standard Italian food. Then after lunch, we spent half an hour by the Po - River Po, that is;)
 |
| one of the splendid arcades... |
Rosemary forgot the charger for her Fitbit watch. This needs to be charged every week (!), so she has been without a watch. We found a little jewellers shop - very old fashioned, and we had to ring the bell to get in. We were after a cheap watch just for the next 2 months, and found Casio at only €15. Cheap it may have been, the little old lady shopkeeper spent as long fussing over guarantee details as if it had been an Omega. Then we found a large face wall clock - we have been looking for a replacement for our 40 year old hall clock for few years, without luck, at any price. And in Turin we found just the right thing at only €29.
 |
| and the ice creams are something else! |
 |
| Bridge over the Po |
 |
| There's always something to look at in Turin... |
 |
| sunbeam... |
 |
| ...maybe |
Time for another drink, we rejected some very expensive cafes in the Piazza san Carlo, and found a very nice cafe in the San Federico Galleria, an arcade worth a visit just to see the decoration. 2 beers and a good wifi connection. Grim news from Manchester - "Allah the Merciful" indeed!
 |
| San Federico Galleria |
We have discovered that the tram line numbers are not easy to see - and returning to the sosta quite late, we managed to get on the wrong tram. Just as we were beginning to wonder where we were, and how we would get back to the van, we came into a tram stop on the other side of the sosta. Luckily we saw the vans in time to get off.
Wed 24th May
We are parked reasonably near the old FIAT factory, that has a banked test track right around the roof. It has been developed into a tourist attraction, the Lingotto, said to comprise an art gallery, and a "slow food supermarket" called "Eataly", Unfortunately, it wasn't as close as it looks on the map, so walking was a mistake, especially as we got lost.
 |
| The old FIAT banked test track on the roof |
The art gallery, costing €8 to get in, had no more than a dozen paintings - a few drab Canalettos, some Matisse paintings that looked like they had been done by a 9 year old (I must investigate why he is well regarded!) and a decent Renoir and a Picassos - a complete waste of time and money.
 |
| the only 3 paintings worth looking at, at €8 per head! |
Eataly had more types of pasta and olive oil than you can shake a stick at, and a number of "slow food" restaurants. We had 2 huge swordfish steaks, before finding a bus back - almost door to door. If you are ever tempted to visit the Lingotto - don't bother!
 |
| McDonalds comes to Turin |
Getting out of Turin proved to be a lot easier than getting in, as we didn't need to drive right across the city. We have returned to Cherasco, a pleasant hill top town we visited last year, about 40 miles from Turin, and a very relaxed atmosphere. There is a milk dispenser in the town selling draught raw (unpasteurised) milk, €1 per litre. Take your own bottle, or buy one for 20 cents. We are on the official aire - last time the town was having a beer festival on it, so we parked in a town square.
N44.6487 E7.8547, height 1,125 feet
Episode 3 - Cherasco - an Italian Shaftesbury?
Sat 25th May
There are some lovely avenues of limes near the castle, and they seem particularly prone to lightning strikes. Of 43 trees in one section, 19 had been well blasted. A sign, in English, says it is illegal to walk there in storms.
The castle is well fenced off. and inaccessible. Here mad Queen Joanna disposed of a lover who was too tired to perform...a lesson for us all!
We really like Cherasta - it feels very much like an Italian Shaftesbury.
After a final wander into town to pick up email, buy more wine and 2 litres of draft raw milk, we set off for another favourite - Castigliano Fellatio. Only 6 miles as the crow flies, but 15 miles by road. The sosta at CF is small, but perfectly formed, and free. The hilltop village itself is tiny, centred around a small castle, just a couple of shops, several restaurants, and stupendous views.
In the evening we returned to our favourite restaurant - we went there twice last year. This year the menu is also in English. We were greeted by the same ever smiling waiter, who claimed to have recognised us (hmmm! But he says it so charmingly). We settled on the “tasting menu” - a number of tiny dishes, all delicious, starting with raw meat. With wine and tip, E85
N44.6225 E7.9737 height 1253 feet 1065 miles
Sun 28th May
Delightful though this place is, there is not a lot to do once you’ve walked around the base of the castle, admired the spectacular 360 degree view, and eaten at Locando del Centro restaurant, so after one more trip into the village, we set off for Torriglia, in the hills above Genoa. Only 100 miles, but it took over 3 hours - the final 30 miles were a continual climb, with many bends (and suicidal bikers!). We assumed it would be a scenic road, but there was heavy industry all the way up. Torriglio has the feel of a mountain station, rather like Simla, or Sintra in Portugal, and the air is cool and fresh. Not much here either. There is a ruined castle, but it does appear to be neither accessible nor open. However we did find a free wifi signal, so we could keep up with the latest doom and gloom from home.
N44.5168 E9.1602 height 2575 feet 1165 miles
Mon 29th May
We had in mind to go to San Rocco, a small isthmus south of here on the coast. It didn’t look far - but we hadn’t expected a very narrow, high and twisty mountain road - during which our fuel warning light came on - and then the first garage, after many miles, was closed...Finally, having conquered the mountain road, and the even hairier narrow streets and heavy traffic of the nearby town, we found that we could only park for a few hours - and every tourist in the vicinity was heading for it. (Wisely, they were mostly on foot). Deciding this wasn’t for us, we took to the road again, chancing our wallet on the A15 Autostrada, then north up yet another hairy mountain road to Castelnovo ne Mont. 60 miles of autostrada cost only E12 - and saved 1 ½ hours. This is the marble mining area - and the mountain road to Castelnovo was spectacular - very high mountains with what looked like large areas of snow. When we got closer we could see that the snow was actually outcrops of marble. That led to another challenge - heavy lorries carrying huge cubes of marble taking the narrow mountain bends at speed, with just a blast on there horns to let you know you were about to meet something big in the middle of the road.!
marble, not a glacier
Castelnovo was also uninviting, although it did have a free sosta and bunkering facilities. We have now moved on another 12 miles or so, to Barga. This is supposed to be a pleasant hilltop town - and the sosta costs E10 per night
Barga is a very old walled town, on a hilltop. A steep climb up to the cathedral, right at the top, then a slower amble down via a number of attractive little squares, each with small bars and restaurants. There seem to be a lot of British expats here - and there`s an Irish pub….Obligingly,there is a community provided wifi that does not require an elaborate and complicated sign on process. We had drinks one of the squares, served by a gentleman with very impressive whiskers - made me feel decidedly inferior.
N44.0721 E10.4814 height 1500 feet. 1295 miles
Tues 30th May
We have been away from home for 16 days, and haven`t touched a campsite yet - meaning no access to a washing machine - and I’m running out of shirts, so today`s plan is to move onto a campsite at Montecatini Alto after a foray into Barga again.
Now on the campsite, Camping Belsito, and 2 washing machines full of washing are now drying. The campsite wifi is down, except for the very slowest of speeds. Come back 14.4K modems, all is forgiven!
campsite pool
N43.9061 E10.78884 height 900 feet
Wed 31st May
At 8.30, before it got too hot, we walked the mile from the campsite into the hilltop town of Montecatini Alto, some of it along a main road with no pavement. We witnessed some spectacular Italian driving - why is it the drivers of the smallest cars take the most risks? As we walked up the stone track into the town, a young fox came out of a side road and ran up the road in front of us. Faced with a car coming the other way he ran back towards us, and if only I had had my camera out of its bag I would have had a great shot! Another one that got away.
Montecatini Alto
St Barbara - patron saint of bomb makers! Only in Italy!
OK - so what time is it?
MA is a very pleasant town, but quite the most touristy we have been to so far, and the waiters particularly unhelpful. There is a funicular running up the hill from the large town on the plain below. In the cafe in the square where I am writing this a table has been commandeered by a large and voluble group of English teachers, their charges can be identified by their pale skin and ice creams. (actually, 16 year old schoolgirls with long legs and very short shorts, with very attentive waiters...quite a responsibility for the teachers!
Birth announcement for "Lavinia"', on a gate
Sat 25th May
There are some lovely avenues of limes near the castle, and they seem particularly prone to lightning strikes. Of 43 trees in one section, 19 had been well blasted. A sign, in English, says it is illegal to walk there in storms.
The castle is well fenced off. and inaccessible. Here mad Queen Joanna disposed of a lover who was too tired to perform...a lesson for us all!
We really like Cherasta - it feels very much like an Italian Shaftesbury.
The castle is well fenced off. and inaccessible. Here mad Queen Joanna disposed of a lover who was too tired to perform...a lesson for us all!
We really like Cherasta - it feels very much like an Italian Shaftesbury.
After a final wander into town to pick up email, buy more wine and 2 litres of draft raw milk, we set off for another favourite - Castigliano Fellatio. Only 6 miles as the crow flies, but 15 miles by road. The sosta at CF is small, but perfectly formed, and free. The hilltop village itself is tiny, centred around a small castle, just a couple of shops, several restaurants, and stupendous views.
In the evening we returned to our favourite restaurant - we went there twice last year. This year the menu is also in English. We were greeted by the same ever smiling waiter, who claimed to have recognised us (hmmm! But he says it so charmingly). We settled on the “tasting menu” - a number of tiny dishes, all delicious, starting with raw meat. With wine and tip, E85
N44.6225 E7.9737 height 1253 feet 1065 miles
Sun 28th May
Delightful though this place is, there is not a lot to do once you’ve walked around the base of the castle, admired the spectacular 360 degree view, and eaten at Locando del Centro restaurant, so after one more trip into the village, we set off for Torriglia, in the hills above Genoa. Only 100 miles, but it took over 3 hours - the final 30 miles were a continual climb, with many bends (and suicidal bikers!). We assumed it would be a scenic road, but there was heavy industry all the way up. Torriglio has the feel of a mountain station, rather like Simla, or Sintra in Portugal, and the air is cool and fresh. Not much here either. There is a ruined castle, but it does appear to be neither accessible nor open. However we did find a free wifi signal, so we could keep up with the latest doom and gloom from home.
N44.5168 E9.1602 height 2575 feet 1165 miles
Mon 29th May
We had in mind to go to San Rocco, a small isthmus south of here on the coast. It didn’t look far - but we hadn’t expected a very narrow, high and twisty mountain road - during which our fuel warning light came on - and then the first garage, after many miles, was closed...Finally, having conquered the mountain road, and the even hairier narrow streets and heavy traffic of the nearby town, we found that we could only park for a few hours - and every tourist in the vicinity was heading for it. (Wisely, they were mostly on foot). Deciding this wasn’t for us, we took to the road again, chancing our wallet on the A15 Autostrada, then north up yet another hairy mountain road to Castelnovo ne Mont. 60 miles of autostrada cost only E12 - and saved 1 ½ hours. This is the marble mining area - and the mountain road to Castelnovo was spectacular - very high mountains with what looked like large areas of snow. When we got closer we could see that the snow was actually outcrops of marble. That led to another challenge - heavy lorries carrying huge cubes of marble taking the narrow mountain bends at speed, with just a blast on there horns to let you know you were about to meet something big in the middle of the road.!
 |
| marble, not a glacier |
Castelnovo was also uninviting, although it did have a free sosta and bunkering facilities. We have now moved on another 12 miles or so, to Barga. This is supposed to be a pleasant hilltop town - and the sosta costs E10 per night
Barga is a very old walled town, on a hilltop. A steep climb up to the cathedral, right at the top, then a slower amble down via a number of attractive little squares, each with small bars and restaurants. There seem to be a lot of British expats here - and there`s an Irish pub….Obligingly,there is a community provided wifi that does not require an elaborate and complicated sign on process. We had drinks one of the squares, served by a gentleman with very impressive whiskers - made me feel decidedly inferior.
N44.0721 E10.4814 height 1500 feet. 1295 miles
Tues 30th May
We have been away from home for 16 days, and haven`t touched a campsite yet - meaning no access to a washing machine - and I’m running out of shirts, so today`s plan is to move onto a campsite at Montecatini Alto after a foray into Barga again.
Now on the campsite, Camping Belsito, and 2 washing machines full of washing are now drying. The campsite wifi is down, except for the very slowest of speeds. Come back 14.4K modems, all is forgiven!
|
| campsite pool |
N43.9061 E10.78884 height 900 feet
Wed 31st May
At 8.30, before it got too hot, we walked the mile from the campsite into the hilltop town of Montecatini Alto, some of it along a main road with no pavement. We witnessed some spectacular Italian driving - why is it the drivers of the smallest cars take the most risks? As we walked up the stone track into the town, a young fox came out of a side road and ran up the road in front of us. Faced with a car coming the other way he ran back towards us, and if only I had had my camera out of its bag I would have had a great shot! Another one that got away.
MA is a very pleasant town, but quite the most touristy we have been to so far, and the waiters particularly unhelpful. There is a funicular running up the hill from the large town on the plain below. In the cafe in the square where I am writing this a table has been commandeered by a large and voluble group of English teachers, their charges can be identified by their pale skin and ice creams. (actually, 16 year old schoolgirls with long legs and very short shorts, with very attentive waiters...quite a responsibility for the teachers!
Wed 31st May
At 8.30, before it got too hot, we walked the mile from the campsite into the hilltop town of Montecatini Alto, some of it along a main road with no pavement. We witnessed some spectacular Italian driving - why is it the drivers of the smallest cars take the most risks? As we walked up the stone track into the town, a young fox came out of a side road and ran up the road in front of us. Faced with a car coming the other way he ran back towards us, and if only I had had my camera out of its bag I would have had a great shot! Another one that got away.
 |
| Montecatini Alto |
 |
| St Barbara - patron saint of bomb makers! Only in Italy! |
 |
| OK - so what time is it? |
MA is a very pleasant town, but quite the most touristy we have been to so far, and the waiters particularly unhelpful. There is a funicular running up the hill from the large town on the plain below. In the cafe in the square where I am writing this a table has been commandeered by a large and voluble group of English teachers, their charges can be identified by their pale skin and ice creams. (actually, 16 year old schoolgirls with long legs and very short shorts, with very attentive waiters...quite a responsibility for the teachers!
 |
| Birth announcement for "Lavinia"', on a gate |
Episode 4 - Lucca, a real gem
Thurs 1st June
A short drive to Lucca, a Tuscan town we have visited some years ago, but in the Autumn, when it was largely empty, and wet. For 500 years Lucca was an independent republic, and is surrounded by seriously impressive ramparts, still all complete. Circumference 4.2 miles, height 20 feet, width at the top between 20 and 40 feet, and lined with Horse Chestnut trees for shade - a really nice, cool, promenade, well used by walker and cyclists.
these walls completely encircle the city
Within the town itself, some very impressive churches, and a Roman amphitheatre. The Roman structure had had houses, shops and restaurants built around it, incorporating the original buildings and entrance arches and retaining the arena floor, making a most attractive square. The area was filled with slums in the 19th century, but these were cleared away, and restaurants now line the entire inner perimeter. When we were here in the Autumn the outdoor restaurants had been cleared away,and it looked much more authentic.
Amphitheatre - now and in the 60s
We are running out of essentials - beer, wine and milk - and found a small supermarket for all these. I do love pastries - and the bakery counter had on display some large, flat, delicious looking things, called “treccie con cioccolato o ovetta e canditi”. Delicious they certainly are! Ours included a taste I have not experienced since childhood - crystalised angelica. I wonder if that is still available in the UK? A unique and unforgettable taste.
Lucca is Puccini’s birth place, and they are very proud of him. There are monthly outdoor Puccini concerts in the square outside of his house, and in front of his statue (shown smoking a cigarette). Tonight’s was La Boheme, a concert version. Mimi certainly didn’t look as if she was fading away from consumption - quite the reverse - but we watched the entire performance.
Puccini - born in the house behind
you canˋt see his hand, so maybe that's the reason for her expression...
We are on a large sosta just 10 minutes walk from the walls. It costs E10 per night, but could not be in a better position. (There is another sosta somewhere that costs E25 pn)
N43.8397 E10.488 height 230 feet.
Fri 2nd June
Today is Republic Day, a public holiday. We started off by walking around most of the walls. Very cool and pleasant, before dropping down into the town. Interestingly, we passed several defibrillators, and more available in town. Being a tourist town, restaurants are not cheap, but there are numerous little snack bars selling take away stuff at reasonable prices. Being a holiday, most of the shops - even tourist shops - are closed.
wedding shoot on the walls
We visited Palazzo Pfanner, a lovely large house that belonged to Felix Pfanner, who set up a beer brewery there in the middle of the 19th century, one of the first breweries in Italy (THAT was a surprise!). He had been a brewer in Austria. The house is still owned by the Pfanner family, and there is a very peaceful, green and cool garden. (The single toilet has no window and no working light, which made life interesting for a while. Luckily my phone has a built in torch).
these are all marble fruit
We ate in the van - there are limits to our funds! Then I set off to storm round the walls with my Nordic walking poles. By the time I finished the circuit it was dark, and I walked another quarter of the circuit before I realised I had gone too far, and had to ask someone where I was.
the prisoner of Lucca
Sat 3rd June
Almost the best thing about being in this part of the world is waking up with the expectation of a warm and dry day, without having to wonder whether to take a waterproof - and today was no exception. We spent the morning just wandering the streets admiring the shops, yesterday being a holiday and tomorrow being Sunday. We ate at Trattoria da Leo, ViaTagrimi, recommended in Lonely Planet as being good and cheap, and frequented by locals. And surprisingly, it was. Usually a Lonely Planet recommendation adds a considerable premium. We paid E50 for antipasti and secondo courses, ½ litre wine and all the usual extras.
outside a bar...
After that filling lunch we didn’t need much for tea, but went to our usual bar and drank a bottle of Prosecco while catching up on news from home. It seems that Mrs May is managing to lose her initial huge lead in the polls big time.
Sleeping off lunch
Sun 4th June
So much for yesterday`s confident prediction about the weather. Today is overcast, and some spits and spots of rain:(.
Allah the Merciful has again shown how merciful he is in London. I can't think why I'm an atheist!
This afternoon we visited the botanic gardens. Small, but perfectly formed. There’s a rather nice pond and bog garden, with lillies , huge fish, and terrapins.
Thurs 1st June
A short drive to Lucca, a Tuscan town we have visited some years ago, but in the Autumn, when it was largely empty, and wet. For 500 years Lucca was an independent republic, and is surrounded by seriously impressive ramparts, still all complete. Circumference 4.2 miles, height 20 feet, width at the top between 20 and 40 feet, and lined with Horse Chestnut trees for shade - a really nice, cool, promenade, well used by walker and cyclists.
 |
| these walls completely encircle the city |
Within the town itself, some very impressive churches, and a Roman amphitheatre. The Roman structure had had houses, shops and restaurants built around it, incorporating the original buildings and entrance arches and retaining the arena floor, making a most attractive square. The area was filled with slums in the 19th century, but these were cleared away, and restaurants now line the entire inner perimeter. When we were here in the Autumn the outdoor restaurants had been cleared away,and it looked much more authentic.
 |
| Amphitheatre - now and in the 60s |
We are running out of essentials - beer, wine and milk - and found a small supermarket for all these. I do love pastries - and the bakery counter had on display some large, flat, delicious looking things, called “treccie con cioccolato o ovetta e canditi”. Delicious they certainly are! Ours included a taste I have not experienced since childhood - crystalised angelica. I wonder if that is still available in the UK? A unique and unforgettable taste.
Lucca is Puccini’s birth place, and they are very proud of him. There are monthly outdoor Puccini concerts in the square outside of his house, and in front of his statue (shown smoking a cigarette). Tonight’s was La Boheme, a concert version. Mimi certainly didn’t look as if she was fading away from consumption - quite the reverse - but we watched the entire performance.
 |
| Puccini - born in the house behind |
 |
| you canˋt see his hand, so maybe that's the reason for her expression... |
We are on a large sosta just 10 minutes walk from the walls. It costs E10 per night, but could not be in a better position. (There is another sosta somewhere that costs E25 pn)
N43.8397 E10.488 height 230 feet.
Fri 2nd June
Today is Republic Day, a public holiday. We started off by walking around most of the walls. Very cool and pleasant, before dropping down into the town. Interestingly, we passed several defibrillators, and more available in town. Being a tourist town, restaurants are not cheap, but there are numerous little snack bars selling take away stuff at reasonable prices. Being a holiday, most of the shops - even tourist shops - are closed.
 |
| wedding shoot on the walls |
We visited Palazzo Pfanner, a lovely large house that belonged to Felix Pfanner, who set up a beer brewery there in the middle of the 19th century, one of the first breweries in Italy (THAT was a surprise!). He had been a brewer in Austria. The house is still owned by the Pfanner family, and there is a very peaceful, green and cool garden. (The single toilet has no window and no working light, which made life interesting for a while. Luckily my phone has a built in torch).
 |
| these are all marble fruit |
We ate in the van - there are limits to our funds! Then I set off to storm round the walls with my Nordic walking poles. By the time I finished the circuit it was dark, and I walked another quarter of the circuit before I realised I had gone too far, and had to ask someone where I was.
 |
| the prisoner of Lucca |
Sat 3rd June
Almost the best thing about being in this part of the world is waking up with the expectation of a warm and dry day, without having to wonder whether to take a waterproof - and today was no exception. We spent the morning just wandering the streets admiring the shops, yesterday being a holiday and tomorrow being Sunday. We ate at Trattoria da Leo, ViaTagrimi, recommended in Lonely Planet as being good and cheap, and frequented by locals. And surprisingly, it was. Usually a Lonely Planet recommendation adds a considerable premium. We paid E50 for antipasti and secondo courses, ½ litre wine and all the usual extras.
 |
| outside a bar... |
After that filling lunch we didn’t need much for tea, but went to our usual bar and drank a bottle of Prosecco while catching up on news from home. It seems that Mrs May is managing to lose her initial huge lead in the polls big time.
 |
| Sleeping off lunch |
Sun 4th June
So much for yesterday`s confident prediction about the weather. Today is overcast, and some spits and spots of rain:(.
Allah the Merciful has again shown how merciful he is in London. I can't think why I'm an atheist!
This afternoon we visited the botanic gardens. Small, but perfectly formed. There’s a rather nice pond and bog garden, with lillies , huge fish, and terrapins.
Episode 5 - Florence - Culture - pure, never ending, all embracing, wearisome
Mon 5th June
We’ve been here 4 days - longer than we usually stay in one place. We like Lucca. Touristy, but not excessively so, Our next stop will be VERY touristy! 4 days cost E40, and the machine takes credit cards.
Next stop Florence. Sally took us almost into Pisa before turning left for Florence. At one point she tried to takes through an arch of an aqueduct that was both too low and too narrow. Instead we took the road beside the aqueduct, which ran for about a mile. On the motorway into Florence we attempted to buy LPG, as we have emptied one cylinder. The garage refused to sell us any - we have heard of that happening to other motorhomers, but it is the first time it has happened to us.
In Florence we tried one sosta, but it felt very unsavoury, we so moved on to another. Being Florence, they all cost E15 per night. There is a bus stop right outside, but you have to buy tickets before you board, normally at bars and tobacconists. The bar near the sosta had sold out, and the girl behind the counter was not at all interested in telling us where else to get them. We walked down a long straight hill, mercifully in the shade, and with a cool breeze, to Porto Romana, where there were more shops. However, at Port Roma we had walked half way into Florence, so we walked the rest of the way, and over Ponte Vecchio, eventually making our way to San Croce, the church where various famous people are buried, with elaborate tombs - Michelangelo, Rossini, Machiavelli, Dante, Galileo (ironic - he was almost burned at the stake for suggesting the Earth went round the Sun), This costs E8 each, works out at about E1 per famous tomb.
Macchiavelli
Galileo
When we came out, the sky was black and a few heavy drops of rain made us nervous - all the skylights are open (and my side of the bed is under one of them), and we had no wet weather gear. Magically, umbrella sellers, almost all African, appeared from nowhere. I invested E4 in a small folding umbrella - and magically, it stopped raining.
Ponte Vecchia
The girl with the pearl ear ring
Mmm- street art
We managed to buy some bus tickets, but the disadvantage of walking in is that you don’t know where to catch the bus back. Then when we did find a correct bus stop, there was a sign on it saying the route had been diverted, just for today. So we ended up walking back as we never did find the right bus stop. Tomorrow we will get the bus in to suss out the route. (NB we later discovered you can buy tickets on the bus, but at double the price)
N 43.7523 W11.2448 height 510 feet
Tues 6th June
Well we did catch the bus in, but it took such a circuitous route in we had no chance of following it on the map. We got off at the station, but the No 11 bus the other way doesn’t go from here. As yesterday, crowds, queues, armed soldiers with armoured cars, lines of ambulances waiting beside the cathedral “just in case”, expensive coffee, market stalls full of seriously expensive leather jackets. I have had Renaissance culture up to here, so Rosemary went into various culture palaces on her own. I would have gone up the cathedral dome, but you couldn’t just buy a ticket for that, it had to be a combined ticket with a stack of other places, each of which meant an hour’s queue. I did find a quiet haven of a cafe with free wifi, slightly outside the main tourist area - still tourist prices, though.
I never did find the bus stop to get back - road works by the station meant the route had been diverted - but they didn’t say where. In the end I caught the bus the wrong way then, when it looked as if buses were coming the other way, got off and waited for the correct bus.
Here lived Elizabeth Barratt Browning
Wed 7th June
Rosemary went off on her own in the morning - I can only take so many museums! Meanwhile, I caught up on odd jobs - like the soap dispenser continually dripping soap. We met up in town for lunch - we can recommend Strozzi Caffe, and up market by the modern art gallery of the same name, but prices very similar to most other cafes. It is cool, quiet, and has excellent food. (and a good wifi connection)
Back at the sosta, a French convoy has arrived. It seems the French mostly travel in convoy outside of France. We are now quite an international sosta - French, Dutch, German, Belgian, Spanish, and one Brit
Thurs 8th June
bronze copy of a Roman sculpture
cathedral
A lost and lonely bear:(
UK general election, and a disaster for the UK whoever wins. We have a proxy voting for us. Unfortunately Screaming Lord Sutch, being dead, is no longer a candidate - one of the few party leaders with decency, intelligence, integrity - and a sense of humour.
....and the soap dispenser has started dripping again...
We had prebooked tickets for the Uffizi Gallery today - saves an hour’s queueing but costs an extra E15 each. It is reckoned to be one of the best art galleries in the world - and so it is if you’re into Renaissance and medieval religious paintings. If I never see another Madonna and Child again it will be too soon. I know Rosemary will disagree with me, but in my view the National Gallery knocks it into a cocked hat, and entrance is free. Even its little brother, The National Portrait Gallery, is better. I was hugely underwhelmed.
Palazzo Strozzi
Thumbs up for a Medici..
Just lovely!
My favourite of all the pics
popular with the ladies...
....a British salute...
...in a shop close to the cathedral
Tomorrow we move on into Chianti, an area of English second homes and village stores thaat stock Marmite...
Mon 5th June
UK general election, and a disaster for the UK whoever wins. We have a proxy voting for us. Unfortunately Screaming Lord Sutch, being dead, is no longer a candidate - one of the few party leaders with decency, intelligence, integrity - and a sense of humour.
....and the soap dispenser has started dripping again...
Tomorrow we move on into Chianti, an area of English second homes and village stores thaat stock Marmite...
We’ve been here 4 days - longer than we usually stay in one place. We like Lucca. Touristy, but not excessively so, Our next stop will be VERY touristy! 4 days cost E40, and the machine takes credit cards.
Next stop Florence. Sally took us almost into Pisa before turning left for Florence. At one point she tried to takes through an arch of an aqueduct that was both too low and too narrow. Instead we took the road beside the aqueduct, which ran for about a mile. On the motorway into Florence we attempted to buy LPG, as we have emptied one cylinder. The garage refused to sell us any - we have heard of that happening to other motorhomers, but it is the first time it has happened to us.
In Florence we tried one sosta, but it felt very unsavoury, we so moved on to another. Being Florence, they all cost E15 per night. There is a bus stop right outside, but you have to buy tickets before you board, normally at bars and tobacconists. The bar near the sosta had sold out, and the girl behind the counter was not at all interested in telling us where else to get them. We walked down a long straight hill, mercifully in the shade, and with a cool breeze, to Porto Romana, where there were more shops. However, at Port Roma we had walked half way into Florence, so we walked the rest of the way, and over Ponte Vecchio, eventually making our way to San Croce, the church where various famous people are buried, with elaborate tombs - Michelangelo, Rossini, Machiavelli, Dante, Galileo (ironic - he was almost burned at the stake for suggesting the Earth went round the Sun), This costs E8 each, works out at about E1 per famous tomb.
 |
| Macchiavelli |
 |
 |
| Galileo |
When we came out, the sky was black and a few heavy drops of rain made us nervous - all the skylights are open (and my side of the bed is under one of them), and we had no wet weather gear. Magically, umbrella sellers, almost all African, appeared from nowhere. I invested E4 in a small folding umbrella - and magically, it stopped raining.
 |
| Ponte Vecchia |
 |
| The girl with the pearl ear ring |
 |
| Mmm- street art |
We managed to buy some bus tickets, but the disadvantage of walking in is that you don’t know where to catch the bus back. Then when we did find a correct bus stop, there was a sign on it saying the route had been diverted, just for today. So we ended up walking back as we never did find the right bus stop. Tomorrow we will get the bus in to suss out the route. (NB we later discovered you can buy tickets on the bus, but at double the price)
N 43.7523 W11.2448 height 510 feet
Tues 6th June
Well we did catch the bus in, but it took such a circuitous route in we had no chance of following it on the map. We got off at the station, but the No 11 bus the other way doesn’t go from here. As yesterday, crowds, queues, armed soldiers with armoured cars, lines of ambulances waiting beside the cathedral “just in case”, expensive coffee, market stalls full of seriously expensive leather jackets. I have had Renaissance culture up to here, so Rosemary went into various culture palaces on her own. I would have gone up the cathedral dome, but you couldn’t just buy a ticket for that, it had to be a combined ticket with a stack of other places, each of which meant an hour’s queue. I did find a quiet haven of a cafe with free wifi, slightly outside the main tourist area - still tourist prices, though.
I never did find the bus stop to get back - road works by the station meant the route had been diverted - but they didn’t say where. In the end I caught the bus the wrong way then, when it looked as if buses were coming the other way, got off and waited for the correct bus.
 |
| Here lived Elizabeth Barratt Browning |
Wed 7th June
Rosemary went off on her own in the morning - I can only take so many museums! Meanwhile, I caught up on odd jobs - like the soap dispenser continually dripping soap. We met up in town for lunch - we can recommend Strozzi Caffe, and up market by the modern art gallery of the same name, but prices very similar to most other cafes. It is cool, quiet, and has excellent food. (and a good wifi connection)
Back at the sosta, a French convoy has arrived. It seems the French mostly travel in convoy outside of France. We are now quite an international sosta - French, Dutch, German, Belgian, Spanish, and one Brit
Thurs 8th June
 |
| bronze copy of a Roman sculpture |
 |
| cathedral |
 |
| A lost and lonely bear:( |
UK general election, and a disaster for the UK whoever wins. We have a proxy voting for us. Unfortunately Screaming Lord Sutch, being dead, is no longer a candidate - one of the few party leaders with decency, intelligence, integrity - and a sense of humour.
We had prebooked tickets for the Uffizi Gallery today - saves an hour’s queueing but costs an extra E15 each. It is reckoned to be one of the best art galleries in the world - and so it is if you’re into Renaissance and medieval religious paintings. If I never see another Madonna and Child again it will be too soon. I know Rosemary will disagree with me, but in my view the National Gallery knocks it into a cocked hat, and entrance is free. Even its little brother, The National Portrait Gallery, is better. I was hugely underwhelmed.
Palazzo Strozzi
 |
| Thumbs up for a Medici.. |
 |
| Just lovely! |
 |
| My favourite of all the pics |
 |
| popular with the ladies... |
 |
| ....a British salute... |
 |
| ...in a shop close to the cathedral |
Tomorrow we move on into Chianti, an area of English second homes and village stores thaat stock Marmite...
Episode 6, into Chianti country, and overtake a Lamborghini
Fri 9th June
We have no Internet at the sosta, so we had to wait for a text from our daughter to find out the election results. Seems the polls were wrong once again, and there is a hung parliament. May’s gamble with the electorate seems to have failed spectacularly.
Time to move on. 4 days here cost €60, not bad for a site with easy access to Florence (once you understand the trams). It’s beside a main road, so was rather noisy (at times, VERY noisy)
We have an moderately urgent need to replenish our LPG tanks - if that runs out I canË‹t make my tea or cool my beer! Our 10 days or so in the Alps used a lot of gas for heating the van morning and evening when it dropped to zero outside. Before we left I downloaded a set of satnav POIs for European LPG stations. There is one near our next destination, Greve in Chianti, and Sally set us up a scenic route. However, ascending a steep and narrow hill the gearbox refused to allow me any gear except 4th. After a few minutes wrestling with gears I managed to get moving again, and has at least got us to the LPG station, and then the sosta at Greve in Chianti. I’m hoping we can get home before getting it fixed.
Oops! "please do not take photos..."
There is a superbly appointed and free sosta at GIC. A very touristy but pleasant town, with a colonnaded piazza. You can tell it’s touristy - the menus are in English, and there is an estate agent where properties for sale are exclusively (and expensively) in English. I bet Brexit will have an dramatic effect on house prices!
Early afternoon, we drank our way through half a carafe of Chianti Classico “Vignaggio Prenzano” - I’m by no means a wine buff, but that was very smooth and tasty - even in a restaurant it was only €17 a litre. The wifi here was pretty rubbish, but we did get the gist of the political chaos at home. Seems that 8 government ministers lost their seats, only saved by 11 new Tory seats in Scotland, at the expense of the SNP. The SNP also took a drubbing - seems the Scots were put off by the prospect of another independence referendum. Best of all the Fat Fishcake (aka Alex Salmand) lost his seat. The Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson is a very impressive - she would make a very good prime minister. Without her, Jeremy Corbyn would have been Prime Minister.
taken on my phone
Back into town in the evening, for glasses of Prosecco at a different cafe. Much better wifi:) It seems Mrs May is planning to form a government in alliance with the DUP. It is scandalous that the country will be held to ransom by a bunch of homophobic Irish bigots, (and amazingly, just as Eire elects a gay half Indian as prime minister. How times have changed!)
N43.5909 E11.3134 height 872 feet
Sat 10th June
Today is market day, and the piazza is full of stalls. We carried 3 heavy bags back to the van. At home, there is speculation about how long Mrs May can hang on - will there be another election? I also signed a petition protesting at the alliance of Tories and DUP - it won’t do any good, of course, but does send a signal. The petition was organised by “Winston Churchill”. Whether that is just a pen name, or there is any relationship...who knows?
Market day in Greve
We ate in town, and it was the first poor value and unpleasant meal I have had in Italy. With hindsight we should have realised that only a few items were freshly cooked, the rest were just defrosted and either deep fried or microwaved.
A shallow river runs through the town, and past the sosta. At night, the noise of frogs singing is deafening. Not just croaking, but a whole range of notes.
Sun 11th June
The sosta is adjacent to the swimming pool, and is supposed to be for motorhomes only. But by mid day most available spaces were taken by local cars, whose occupants were spending the day by the pool. Motorhomes arriving later were unable to get in - moral - arrive here in the morning, before bathers get here.
We have located a wine merchant that sells the Chianti we enjoyed on Friday, and invested in a crate I just hope it tastes as good in England as it does in Tuscany.
I took my camera off on a frog hunt, but although I could hear them, I failed to spot even one. But I did see a few lizards, and an egret spearing fish. Quite close to the centre of the town we saw a large rodent that we took to be a coypu. The light was poor, and I only had my phone camera, so rather a shaky photo.
egret?
Coypu
Mon 12th June
Time for fresh scenery - we have driven just 20 miles or so to Radda in Chianti, a walled hilltop town. We came here 9 years ago, but now the sosta costs €12 per night, and the machine only accepts coins. Whereas the last town, Greve, had a life of its own and tourism was incidental, the whole raison d’etre of Radda is tourism.
relaxing in Radda
N43.4864 E1.3757 height 1950 feet - I hadn’t realised how much we had climbed.
Tues 13th June
Radda is very pleasant - but there is not a vast amount to see. There is a tiny grocery shop that sells EVERYTHING! A large selection of cold meats and saucissons, cheeses, fruit and veg, and all the essentials for an Englishman with a second home in Tuscany, including Marmite.
where to buy Marmite in Italy...
Rosemary has found lots of things to draw and paint, and for a while had quite a gaggle of admiring children sitting beside her. I have found a cafe with wifi that sells cappuccino at only €1.40 - I’ve been charged €4 in some places. On Thursday wifi won’t be so essential - cellphone companies will no longer be able o charge absurd prices for accessing data whilst roaming, at least within the EU.
artist's groupies
I have written to my MP to explain why, after 50 years, I no longer support the Conservative party (the final straw was the return of the slimy Gove to the cabinet, and the deal with a bunch of Irish bigots.)
Wed 14th June
Major fire in a residential tower block in London, many dead, and it seems Mrs May’s current adviser, who lost his seat in the recent election, had earlier refused to sanction a review into fire hazards at that block. Polite words fail me….!
We have moved on. firstly to see the garden of Brolio castle. Not a vast amount to see for €5 - the best bit was the highly secure steel gate you have to get through, opened remotely when you have paid your money, and which immediately closes and locks behind you - very Italian. They do seem to have a security fetish. There were also number of strangely shaped mirror objects lying around.
the only way in to Brolio Castle - and it locks behind you. An idea for the National Trust perhaps?
Brolio castle - and shiny things
Then back past Radda, to Castellina in Chianti, somewhere else we remember with affection from several years ago. On the way we overtook a Lamborghini (Lamborghini tractor, that is). Then the sosta was free, but now costs €10 per night (but which does include electricity), and involves some serious wrestling with the ticket machine. We won that fight, but the French couple in an adjacent van lost the match, having paid the money but not getting the ticket. In the interests of L’Entente Cordiale, I have promised to back up his claim of having paid if he is challenged by any of the various police forces that seem to operate here.
Also arrived, a very large German caravan that took up 3 places, plugged in the electricity cable, didn't pay for parking, unhitched his car and drove away. We were mightily unimpressed with this.
N43.4734 E11.2876 height 2017 feet
Thurs 15th June
From today we don’t need to buy overpriced coffee in order to pick up emails and the newspapers, our UK cellphone contract now applies throughout the EU and, I believe, the EEA.
In the morning the German caravanners returned to their caravan, just in time for a very friendly municipal policeman to arrive to check parking tickets. He marched the owner up to the ticket machine to buy the ticket he should have bought yesterday, and told him the sosta was not for caravans, and to depart. About an hour later the same policemen cam back to check he had actually left. (You may be wondering why "no caravans". The whole purpose of the sosta is to bring trade to the local community. Caravanners tend to leave their vans, then drive off for the day, whereas motorhomers look at the town. Caravans attract other caravans, and the sosta can become a didicoy site - we've seen that in France)
We have revisited the nearby Etruscan (pre-Roman) tomb - 4 burial chambers built into the top of a small hill, and also the tiny archaeological museum. Not a lot here, but you do get to climb to the top of the castle tower. (The castle was “restored” in the 20th century - essentially rebuilt how the restorer felt it should be.)
a view from within an Etruscan tomb
We had an interesting chat with our German neighbours. They are here for the Florence field archery championship. He has to wander through a wood taking potshots at plastic animals. We asked what the orange drink was they had, as we had seen lots of people drinking it. It is an aperitif, apparently, and they gave us 2 small bottles.
Add caption
sights to see in Castellina in Chianti...
We had planned to eat ashore this evening, but late afternoon interesting clouds built up, thunder rolled around, and heavy rain seemed imminent. We thought discretion the better part of valour, and ate in - and the rain came to nothing and the thunder and clouds just rolled away.
Fri 16th June
Delightful little town that it is, there really isn’t much to other than spend money in cafes. (You could waste a lot of money on Tuscany souvenirs, or even more money on an original oil painting - none of which I liked). We have moved to only our second campsite of the trip, not far from Sienna, at Montagnola. Must mean the laundry basket is full, and we are running short of knickers...First wash load is on the line, and almost dry after an hour.
A Dutch couple on a the neighbouring pitch are watching their television outside - and loud enough for half the site to hear.
N43.2 811 E11.219 height 1000 feet
Fri 9th June
We have no Internet at the sosta, so we had to wait for a text from our daughter to find out the election results. Seems the polls were wrong once again, and there is a hung parliament. May’s gamble with the electorate seems to have failed spectacularly.
Time to move on. 4 days here cost €60, not bad for a site with easy access to Florence (once you understand the trams). It’s beside a main road, so was rather noisy (at times, VERY noisy)
We have an moderately urgent need to replenish our LPG tanks - if that runs out I canË‹t make my tea or cool my beer! Our 10 days or so in the Alps used a lot of gas for heating the van morning and evening when it dropped to zero outside. Before we left I downloaded a set of satnav POIs for European LPG stations. There is one near our next destination, Greve in Chianti, and Sally set us up a scenic route. However, ascending a steep and narrow hill the gearbox refused to allow me any gear except 4th. After a few minutes wrestling with gears I managed to get moving again, and has at least got us to the LPG station, and then the sosta at Greve in Chianti. I’m hoping we can get home before getting it fixed.
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| Oops! "please do not take photos..." |
There is a superbly appointed and free sosta at GIC. A very touristy but pleasant town, with a colonnaded piazza. You can tell it’s touristy - the menus are in English, and there is an estate agent where properties for sale are exclusively (and expensively) in English. I bet Brexit will have an dramatic effect on house prices!
Early afternoon, we drank our way through half a carafe of Chianti Classico “Vignaggio Prenzano” - I’m by no means a wine buff, but that was very smooth and tasty - even in a restaurant it was only €17 a litre. The wifi here was pretty rubbish, but we did get the gist of the political chaos at home. Seems that 8 government ministers lost their seats, only saved by 11 new Tory seats in Scotland, at the expense of the SNP. The SNP also took a drubbing - seems the Scots were put off by the prospect of another independence referendum. Best of all the Fat Fishcake (aka Alex Salmand) lost his seat. The Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson is a very impressive - she would make a very good prime minister. Without her, Jeremy Corbyn would have been Prime Minister.
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| taken on my phone |
Back into town in the evening, for glasses of Prosecco at a different cafe. Much better wifi:) It seems Mrs May is planning to form a government in alliance with the DUP. It is scandalous that the country will be held to ransom by a bunch of homophobic Irish bigots, (and amazingly, just as Eire elects a gay half Indian as prime minister. How times have changed!)
N43.5909 E11.3134 height 872 feet
Sat 10th June
Today is market day, and the piazza is full of stalls. We carried 3 heavy bags back to the van. At home, there is speculation about how long Mrs May can hang on - will there be another election? I also signed a petition protesting at the alliance of Tories and DUP - it won’t do any good, of course, but does send a signal. The petition was organised by “Winston Churchill”. Whether that is just a pen name, or there is any relationship...who knows?
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| Market day in Greve |
We ate in town, and it was the first poor value and unpleasant meal I have had in Italy. With hindsight we should have realised that only a few items were freshly cooked, the rest were just defrosted and either deep fried or microwaved.
A shallow river runs through the town, and past the sosta. At night, the noise of frogs singing is deafening. Not just croaking, but a whole range of notes.
Sun 11th June
The sosta is adjacent to the swimming pool, and is supposed to be for motorhomes only. But by mid day most available spaces were taken by local cars, whose occupants were spending the day by the pool. Motorhomes arriving later were unable to get in - moral - arrive here in the morning, before bathers get here.
We have located a wine merchant that sells the Chianti we enjoyed on Friday, and invested in a crate I just hope it tastes as good in England as it does in Tuscany.
I took my camera off on a frog hunt, but although I could hear them, I failed to spot even one. But I did see a few lizards, and an egret spearing fish. Quite close to the centre of the town we saw a large rodent that we took to be a coypu. The light was poor, and I only had my phone camera, so rather a shaky photo.
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| egret? |
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| Coypu |
Mon 12th June
Time for fresh scenery - we have driven just 20 miles or so to Radda in Chianti, a walled hilltop town. We came here 9 years ago, but now the sosta costs €12 per night, and the machine only accepts coins. Whereas the last town, Greve, had a life of its own and tourism was incidental, the whole raison d’etre of Radda is tourism.
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| relaxing in Radda |
N43.4864 E1.3757 height 1950 feet - I hadn’t realised how much we had climbed.
Tues 13th June
Radda is very pleasant - but there is not a vast amount to see. There is a tiny grocery shop that sells EVERYTHING! A large selection of cold meats and saucissons, cheeses, fruit and veg, and all the essentials for an Englishman with a second home in Tuscany, including Marmite.
 |
| where to buy Marmite in Italy... |
Rosemary has found lots of things to draw and paint, and for a while had quite a gaggle of admiring children sitting beside her. I have found a cafe with wifi that sells cappuccino at only €1.40 - I’ve been charged €4 in some places. On Thursday wifi won’t be so essential - cellphone companies will no longer be able o charge absurd prices for accessing data whilst roaming, at least within the EU.
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| artist's groupies |
I have written to my MP to explain why, after 50 years, I no longer support the Conservative party (the final straw was the return of the slimy Gove to the cabinet, and the deal with a bunch of Irish bigots.)
Wed 14th June
Major fire in a residential tower block in London, many dead, and it seems Mrs May’s current adviser, who lost his seat in the recent election, had earlier refused to sanction a review into fire hazards at that block. Polite words fail me….!
We have moved on. firstly to see the garden of Brolio castle. Not a vast amount to see for €5 - the best bit was the highly secure steel gate you have to get through, opened remotely when you have paid your money, and which immediately closes and locks behind you - very Italian. They do seem to have a security fetish. There were also number of strangely shaped mirror objects lying around.
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| the only way in to Brolio Castle - and it locks behind you. An idea for the National Trust perhaps? |
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| Brolio castle - and shiny things |
Then back past Radda, to Castellina in Chianti, somewhere else we remember with affection from several years ago. On the way we overtook a Lamborghini (Lamborghini tractor, that is). Then the sosta was free, but now costs €10 per night (but which does include electricity), and involves some serious wrestling with the ticket machine. We won that fight, but the French couple in an adjacent van lost the match, having paid the money but not getting the ticket. In the interests of L’Entente Cordiale, I have promised to back up his claim of having paid if he is challenged by any of the various police forces that seem to operate here.
Also arrived, a very large German caravan that took up 3 places, plugged in the electricity cable, didn't pay for parking, unhitched his car and drove away. We were mightily unimpressed with this.
N43.4734 E11.2876 height 2017 feet
Thurs 15th June
From today we don’t need to buy overpriced coffee in order to pick up emails and the newspapers, our UK cellphone contract now applies throughout the EU and, I believe, the EEA.
In the morning the German caravanners returned to their caravan, just in time for a very friendly municipal policeman to arrive to check parking tickets. He marched the owner up to the ticket machine to buy the ticket he should have bought yesterday, and told him the sosta was not for caravans, and to depart. About an hour later the same policemen cam back to check he had actually left. (You may be wondering why "no caravans". The whole purpose of the sosta is to bring trade to the local community. Caravanners tend to leave their vans, then drive off for the day, whereas motorhomers look at the town. Caravans attract other caravans, and the sosta can become a didicoy site - we've seen that in France)
We have revisited the nearby Etruscan (pre-Roman) tomb - 4 burial chambers built into the top of a small hill, and also the tiny archaeological museum. Not a lot here, but you do get to climb to the top of the castle tower. (The castle was “restored” in the 20th century - essentially rebuilt how the restorer felt it should be.)
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| a view from within an Etruscan tomb |
We had an interesting chat with our German neighbours. They are here for the Florence field archery championship. He has to wander through a wood taking potshots at plastic animals. We asked what the orange drink was they had, as we had seen lots of people drinking it. It is an aperitif, apparently, and they gave us 2 small bottles.
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| Add caption |
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| sights to see in Castellina in Chianti... |
We had planned to eat ashore this evening, but late afternoon interesting clouds built up, thunder rolled around, and heavy rain seemed imminent. We thought discretion the better part of valour, and ate in - and the rain came to nothing and the thunder and clouds just rolled away.
Fri 16th June
Delightful little town that it is, there really isn’t much to other than spend money in cafes. (You could waste a lot of money on Tuscany souvenirs, or even more money on an original oil painting - none of which I liked). We have moved to only our second campsite of the trip, not far from Sienna, at Montagnola. Must mean the laundry basket is full, and we are running short of knickers...First wash load is on the line, and almost dry after an hour.
A Dutch couple on a the neighbouring pitch are watching their television outside - and loud enough for half the site to hear.
N43.2 811 E11.219 height 1000 feet
Monday, 26 June 2017
Episode 7 - Sienna, a pug, an Ape, and a wedding
Sat 17th June
We had planned to catch a bus into Sienna today - the bus actually pulls into the campsite. However, because the schools have just closed for the summer, the weekend bus timetable is pretty rubbish, so we are having a couple of quiet days on site. During a stroll from the site we discovered we were only a 15 minutes walk from the village, although the road route had been long and circuitous. This village is completely untouristy, there being only a single and part time shop.
We were back in time for the sky to suddenly blacken and the heavens to open. Our German neighbours were in Sienna (and got very wet), so we took in their washing and stowed their chairs. Then as quickly as it had arrived, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and by mid afternoon you would never have guessed it had rained at all.
Apart from the rain, it is very hot - too hot. But according to the BBC weather app, it is almost as hot in England. And Lisbon, another favourite destination, is over 40°.
Sun 18th June
Rosemary has walked into the village to do some sketching, while I almost reach the end of Bill Bryson's "The Road to Little Dribbling". On every page there is at least one laugh out loud paragraph.
Mon 19th June
Today we have been abroad for 5 weeks.
The first bus into Sienna leaves at 08:55 - and we were on it. That got us into Sienna, close to the centre, by 09:30. That was a good time to get there - it hadn't got crowded, and it was still reasonably cool.
We have a walk from Lonely Planet that takes us around the sites. It started at the Duomo (cathedral), and whilst there we bought entrance tickets (€4 each),intending to use them when we had finished the walk. However we discovered they were timed - for 10.30, so we had to hang around a while waiting for it to open. We were amongst the first in, and generally got uncluttered views of its famous inlaid marble floors. By the time we left it was full of tours, with tour guides explaining into microphones. We should have waited - by mid afternoon all the tours had departed, and there were many fewer visitors. By any standard, it is a lovely cathedral.
Then we carried on with our walk. Chiesa di San Dominico has the head of St Catherine in a fancy box - the rest of her is in Rome. Who says you can't be in two places at once? Halfway round we stopped for lunch - there's a huge number of restaurants, cafes and delis to choose from. We spent €25 on a sharing platter for 2 - a selection of meats, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, water and bread.
The heat increased in the afternoon, although in a number of places there were nice breezes. By mid afternoon we were well knackered, and sticky, and caught a bus back at 15:55. When we here some years ago we stayed at a sosta and walked in, but it was good to go back to a shady campsite.
Tues 20th June
The site has cost us €21 per night, including taxes. We have moved on a few miles to San Quirico D’Orcia, another hilltop town (they’re all hilltop towns). Pleasant, very few tourists, but the cafes were more expensive even than Sienna. We have quite taken to going out for a glass of Prosecco in the evening - it’s a sort of lemonade for adults. There is a little ice cream shop that is open from 9 pm to 11.30 pm - very civilised, and the ice creams are delicious.
seen during an evening stroll in San Quirico D’Orcia
The sosta is supposed to cost €10 per night, but the ticket machine isn’t working, and the coin slot is taped over - pity about that (but we spent the money in town, instead)
N43.05607 E11.60682
Wed 21st June
We walked into town again to a do a bit of shopping - but there was only one, rather poor, supermarket. Then on less than 4 miles to see the thermal pool at Bagno Vignoni. Parking for motorhomes is in a rather unkempt car park, getting on for half a mile from the pool. The path is uphill, in full sun, and when we got there we found it was primarily hotels and “wellness centres”, and other opportunities to spend money. The pool itself was small and murky, and showed no signs of being particularly hot.
thermal pool (if you look carefully)
We are now at a sosta only a few miles away, at Castiglione D”Orcia, which has not one, but two castles. It is also the most untouristy place we have visited, with the result that bar and cafes are hard to find. This area is a UNESCO site, because of the beauty of the surrounding countryside - and the views are spectacular. At midday it was all rather hazy - maybe if we get up early….yeah, right. We have had a pleasant walk around the town, found a good Co-Op for groceries, and met a very elderly lady who was having trouble walking, but was pushing a trolley that contained a very fat pug. We joked and laughed with her, despite our having no common language, and was happy for me to take a photo. She could certainly see how bizarre it seemed. We have located a likely looking trattoria, and plan to eat there this evening.
she struggles to walk - and the pug gets to ride
To get there we followed Sally satnav, as usual, and she took us up a very narrow, twisty and steep hill into the town - first gear all they way. Luckily we didn’t meet anything coming the other way.
Later - we ate at Trattoria il Cassero di Claudio e Maria. Just husband and wife, neither of whom had any English, but the menu was also in English, as was their strapline “Life is too short to eat bad and drink even worse”. Meal was excellent - recommended!
N43.0026 E11.6158, height 1820 feet.
Thurs 22nd June - and the nights are drawing in:(
Lonely Planet recommends another thermal spring not far from here, at Bagni San Filipe, so we ventured forth to visit it. From the description I imagined warm water tumbling over rocks forming pools for a warm frolic, but all we found was a meagre warm trickle. But it is possible we looked in the wrong place…
Instead, we moved on to our next destination, Montepulciano. Our guide says the sosta is closed Thursday mornings for the weekly market, so we made sure we arrived after 12 - and the market is still going, but beginning to wind down. We have parked, temporarily, beside a No Parking sign until we can get onto the sosta - and a Dutch van has pulled in beside us doing the same thing.
the town hall...
...and the view from the balcony
The artist observed...
Rosemary has gone ashore to do some sketching, while I wait with the van to proffer excuses to traffic wardens, and move into the sosta when it is available, There is a huge amount of rubbish left, but a small roadsweeping machine and a small dustcart, just 2 men, made short work of that. I was impressed by how hard they worked.
Rosemary walked into town, and it is quite a long way, uphill. At the top she discovered there is a bus that goes from right outside the sosta right to the top, So in the evening we caught the last bus up. It is only a tiny bus, but it can't be any bigger - it only just fits into the narrow streets as it is, and then there are tourists walking in the streets and tables from cafes...But walking back is a cinch!
another lady with dog
I am having major battles with my laptop. Quite often it refuses to boot, or throws an error. When it throws an error I can get at the self test program - which it always passes!
N43.0968 E11.7875 1824 feet, 1581 miles
Fri 25th June
We caught an early bus into town (by "early", I mean, before 10 am), and it was nice and quiet. We went up the tower of the medieval town hall (walking past grey filing cabinets and racks of files), for some great views. Then Rosemary did more sketching while I meandered back home. Currently I am running an in depth disc check to see if I can sort the laptop problem.
Well the tests ran all day, and found no errors. Hmm
this is one of the wider gates the bus swings through at speed
We have booked a meal at Montepulciano's most famous restaurant, Osteria Aquacheta. You can't book a table - tables are shared (and cramped). You can't book a time, only a sitting. There are 2 sittings for lunch and 2 in the evening. We booked for the 7.30 sitting, and got there by 7.15. There was a large crowd outside, waiting for the doors to open. The doors opened precisely at 7.30, and a number of people who hadn't booked weren't allowed in. We were allocated our seats, next to a charming American couple who shared their time between California, Montana, and Europe. He said we had something in common - both our leaders are crazy, but he would swap May and Trump any time.
1st sitting for dinner - our American neighbours are on the right
Menu - note the sizes of the steaks
The speciality of the house is steak - all butchered while you wait. The American asked for a small one, and it was enormous. So big he insisted we had some, and that small one cost €39. Other people were getting HUGE steaks. We knew the steaks would be huge and expensive, and chose local sausages (very salty). We could not possibly have eaten a whole steak, even between us, and it would be criminal to waste it. The American (& I'm ashamed to say I have forgotten his name, but his wife was Robyn) said he thought it was the best steak he had ever had, but the Texan on his other side said the biggest and best steaks came from Texas.
the proprietor is the man standing, the oven is the furnace at the far end
Wine was only €6 a half litre, and was served the traditional way ,- in the same glass as the water. When we left at 9.20 the 9.30 sitting was milling around in the road outside. Narrow street, no pavement, and on the bus route.
The bell is struck by Mr Ponchinello
I have to mention the buses. The streets are narrow, steep, tight bends, lots of tourists, tables outside cafes, cars and vans parked in odd places, narrow arches, and the bus driver handles it all at speed without flinching. I'm amazed we didn't scrape anything. Some of the arches are so narrow there can only have been an inch either side of the wing mirrors. Did he slow down? Not bloody Likely!
Sat 24th June
We have moved 7 miles to Pienza. Pienza is an absolute gem. In 1459 Pope Pius II began turning his native village onto an ideal Renaissance town. It was rebuilt in just 4 years and hasn't been remodeled since. A papal bull of 1462 forbade any alteration of the duomo. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996.
While we were there a wedding took place in the duomo. Best of all, the bride arrived in a decorated Ape (aka tuk-tuk in Asia). A limousine would not have got round the corners.
Duomo - unchanged since 1462
inside the duomo
I said in an earlier blog that there was ample opportunity to spend money on paintings of Tuscany, none of which I liked. But here we came across a tiny shop, with the artist herself busy painting miniatures commissioned for a wedding. All oil paintings, at very reasonable prices. We found one we liked, and came back later to buy it - and she had sold it:(. No matter, she said, i remember what it was, I'll paint you another. Come back in an hour". But we said we would collect it in the morning.
the view from Pienz
N43.0776 E11.6893 height 1761 feet
Sun 25th June
We have walked back into Pienz and collected the painting - cost just €45...
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Lady
amazing what you see in car boots!
Add caption
... and have moved on about 12 miles to Montalcino. This is the home of Brunello di Montalcino, "one of the world's great wines" (says Lonely Planet). Great prices, too! (as in HUGE). Every year a new advertising image is created, and placed over a seat in the square. Some are pretty good..
Brunello di Montalcino - yearly posters
From the outside, the town looks spectacular, a castle that looks like a caricature of a castle, a duomo and other grand looking churches, but on closer inspection it doesn't have the character or charm of all the smaller places we have been, or the narrow dark and cool streets. It does have lots of shops selling expensive wine, though.
the castle - and its conveniences
The sosta here is a mile away, up a steep hill, and walking back after a day tramping the streets is exhausting.
a view to die for...that's the hospital on the left
N43.0492 E11.4878 height 2227 feet
Sat 17th June
We had planned to catch a bus into Sienna today - the bus actually pulls into the campsite. However, because the schools have just closed for the summer, the weekend bus timetable is pretty rubbish, so we are having a couple of quiet days on site. During a stroll from the site we discovered we were only a 15 minutes walk from the village, although the road route had been long and circuitous. This village is completely untouristy, there being only a single and part time shop.
We were back in time for the sky to suddenly blacken and the heavens to open. Our German neighbours were in Sienna (and got very wet), so we took in their washing and stowed their chairs. Then as quickly as it had arrived, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and by mid afternoon you would never have guessed it had rained at all.
Apart from the rain, it is very hot - too hot. But according to the BBC weather app, it is almost as hot in England. And Lisbon, another favourite destination, is over 40°.
Sun 18th June
Rosemary has walked into the village to do some sketching, while I almost reach the end of Bill Bryson's "The Road to Little Dribbling". On every page there is at least one laugh out loud paragraph.
Mon 19th June
Today we have been abroad for 5 weeks.
The first bus into Sienna leaves at 08:55 - and we were on it. That got us into Sienna, close to the centre, by 09:30. That was a good time to get there - it hadn't got crowded, and it was still reasonably cool.
We have a walk from Lonely Planet that takes us around the sites. It started at the Duomo (cathedral), and whilst there we bought entrance tickets (€4 each),intending to use them when we had finished the walk. However we discovered they were timed - for 10.30, so we had to hang around a while waiting for it to open. We were amongst the first in, and generally got uncluttered views of its famous inlaid marble floors. By the time we left it was full of tours, with tour guides explaining into microphones. We should have waited - by mid afternoon all the tours had departed, and there were many fewer visitors. By any standard, it is a lovely cathedral.
Then we carried on with our walk. Chiesa di San Dominico has the head of St Catherine in a fancy box - the rest of her is in Rome. Who says you can't be in two places at once? Halfway round we stopped for lunch - there's a huge number of restaurants, cafes and delis to choose from. We spent €25 on a sharing platter for 2 - a selection of meats, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, water and bread.
The heat increased in the afternoon, although in a number of places there were nice breezes. By mid afternoon we were well knackered, and sticky, and caught a bus back at 15:55. When we here some years ago we stayed at a sosta and walked in, but it was good to go back to a shady campsite.
Tues 20th June
The site has cost us €21 per night, including taxes. We have moved on a few miles to San Quirico D’Orcia, another hilltop town (they’re all hilltop towns). Pleasant, very few tourists, but the cafes were more expensive even than Sienna. We have quite taken to going out for a glass of Prosecco in the evening - it’s a sort of lemonade for adults. There is a little ice cream shop that is open from 9 pm to 11.30 pm - very civilised, and the ice creams are delicious.
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| seen during an evening stroll in San Quirico D’Orcia |
The sosta is supposed to cost €10 per night, but the ticket machine isn’t working, and the coin slot is taped over - pity about that (but we spent the money in town, instead)
N43.05607 E11.60682
Wed 21st June
We walked into town again to a do a bit of shopping - but there was only one, rather poor, supermarket. Then on less than 4 miles to see the thermal pool at Bagno Vignoni. Parking for motorhomes is in a rather unkempt car park, getting on for half a mile from the pool. The path is uphill, in full sun, and when we got there we found it was primarily hotels and “wellness centres”, and other opportunities to spend money. The pool itself was small and murky, and showed no signs of being particularly hot.
 |
| thermal pool (if you look carefully) |
We are now at a sosta only a few miles away, at Castiglione D”Orcia, which has not one, but two castles. It is also the most untouristy place we have visited, with the result that bar and cafes are hard to find. This area is a UNESCO site, because of the beauty of the surrounding countryside - and the views are spectacular. At midday it was all rather hazy - maybe if we get up early….yeah, right. We have had a pleasant walk around the town, found a good Co-Op for groceries, and met a very elderly lady who was having trouble walking, but was pushing a trolley that contained a very fat pug. We joked and laughed with her, despite our having no common language, and was happy for me to take a photo. She could certainly see how bizarre it seemed. We have located a likely looking trattoria, and plan to eat there this evening.
 |
| she struggles to walk - and the pug gets to ride |
To get there we followed Sally satnav, as usual, and she took us up a very narrow, twisty and steep hill into the town - first gear all they way. Luckily we didn’t meet anything coming the other way.
Later - we ate at Trattoria il Cassero di Claudio e Maria. Just husband and wife, neither of whom had any English, but the menu was also in English, as was their strapline “Life is too short to eat bad and drink even worse”. Meal was excellent - recommended!
N43.0026 E11.6158, height 1820 feet.
Thurs 22nd June - and the nights are drawing in:(
Lonely Planet recommends another thermal spring not far from here, at Bagni San Filipe, so we ventured forth to visit it. From the description I imagined warm water tumbling over rocks forming pools for a warm frolic, but all we found was a meagre warm trickle. But it is possible we looked in the wrong place…
Instead, we moved on to our next destination, Montepulciano. Our guide says the sosta is closed Thursday mornings for the weekly market, so we made sure we arrived after 12 - and the market is still going, but beginning to wind down. We have parked, temporarily, beside a No Parking sign until we can get onto the sosta - and a Dutch van has pulled in beside us doing the same thing.
Rosemary has gone ashore to do some sketching, while I wait with the van to proffer excuses to traffic wardens, and move into the sosta when it is available, There is a huge amount of rubbish left, but a small roadsweeping machine and a small dustcart, just 2 men, made short work of that. I was impressed by how hard they worked.
Rosemary walked into town, and it is quite a long way, uphill. At the top she discovered there is a bus that goes from right outside the sosta right to the top, So in the evening we caught the last bus up. It is only a tiny bus, but it can't be any bigger - it only just fits into the narrow streets as it is, and then there are tourists walking in the streets and tables from cafes...But walking back is a cinch!
I am having major battles with my laptop. Quite often it refuses to boot, or throws an error. When it throws an error I can get at the self test program - which it always passes!
 |
| the town hall... |
 |
| ...and the view from the balcony |
 |
| The artist observed... |
Rosemary has gone ashore to do some sketching, while I wait with the van to proffer excuses to traffic wardens, and move into the sosta when it is available, There is a huge amount of rubbish left, but a small roadsweeping machine and a small dustcart, just 2 men, made short work of that. I was impressed by how hard they worked.
Rosemary walked into town, and it is quite a long way, uphill. At the top she discovered there is a bus that goes from right outside the sosta right to the top, So in the evening we caught the last bus up. It is only a tiny bus, but it can't be any bigger - it only just fits into the narrow streets as it is, and then there are tourists walking in the streets and tables from cafes...But walking back is a cinch!
 |
| another lady with dog |
I am having major battles with my laptop. Quite often it refuses to boot, or throws an error. When it throws an error I can get at the self test program - which it always passes!
N43.0968 E11.7875 1824 feet, 1581 miles
Fri 25th June
We caught an early bus into town (by "early", I mean, before 10 am), and it was nice and quiet. We went up the tower of the medieval town hall (walking past grey filing cabinets and racks of files), for some great views. Then Rosemary did more sketching while I meandered back home. Currently I am running an in depth disc check to see if I can sort the laptop problem.
Well the tests ran all day, and found no errors. Hmm
We have booked a meal at Montepulciano's most famous restaurant, Osteria Aquacheta. You can't book a table - tables are shared (and cramped). You can't book a time, only a sitting. There are 2 sittings for lunch and 2 in the evening. We booked for the 7.30 sitting, and got there by 7.15. There was a large crowd outside, waiting for the doors to open. The doors opened precisely at 7.30, and a number of people who hadn't booked weren't allowed in. We were allocated our seats, next to a charming American couple who shared their time between California, Montana, and Europe. He said we had something in common - both our leaders are crazy, but he would swap May and Trump any time.
The speciality of the house is steak - all butchered while you wait. The American asked for a small one, and it was enormous. So big he insisted we had some, and that small one cost €39. Other people were getting HUGE steaks. We knew the steaks would be huge and expensive, and chose local sausages (very salty). We could not possibly have eaten a whole steak, even between us, and it would be criminal to waste it. The American (& I'm ashamed to say I have forgotten his name, but his wife was Robyn) said he thought it was the best steak he had ever had, but the Texan on his other side said the biggest and best steaks came from Texas.
Wine was only €6 a half litre, and was served the traditional way ,- in the same glass as the water. When we left at 9.20 the 9.30 sitting was milling around in the road outside. Narrow street, no pavement, and on the bus route.
I have to mention the buses. The streets are narrow, steep, tight bends, lots of tourists, tables outside cafes, cars and vans parked in odd places, narrow arches, and the bus driver handles it all at speed without flinching. I'm amazed we didn't scrape anything. Some of the arches are so narrow there can only have been an inch either side of the wing mirrors. Did he slow down? Not bloody Likely!
Sat 24th June
We have moved 7 miles to Pienza. Pienza is an absolute gem. In 1459 Pope Pius II began turning his native village onto an ideal Renaissance town. It was rebuilt in just 4 years and hasn't been remodeled since. A papal bull of 1462 forbade any alteration of the duomo. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996.
While we were there a wedding took place in the duomo. Best of all, the bride arrived in a decorated Ape (aka tuk-tuk in Asia). A limousine would not have got round the corners.
I said in an earlier blog that there was ample opportunity to spend money on paintings of Tuscany, none of which I liked. But here we came across a tiny shop, with the artist herself busy painting miniatures commissioned for a wedding. All oil paintings, at very reasonable prices. We found one we liked, and came back later to buy it - and she had sold it:(. No matter, she said, i remember what it was, I'll paint you another. Come back in an hour". But we said we would collect it in the morning.
N43.0776 E11.6893 height 1761 feet
Sun 25th June
We have walked back into Pienz and collected the painting - cost just €45...
... and have moved on about 12 miles to Montalcino. This is the home of Brunello di Montalcino, "one of the world's great wines" (says Lonely Planet). Great prices, too! (as in HUGE). Every year a new advertising image is created, and placed over a seat in the square. Some are pretty good..
From the outside, the town looks spectacular, a castle that looks like a caricature of a castle, a duomo and other grand looking churches, but on closer inspection it doesn't have the character or charm of all the smaller places we have been, or the narrow dark and cool streets. It does have lots of shops selling expensive wine, though.
The sosta here is a mile away, up a steep hill, and walking back after a day tramping the streets is exhausting.
N43.0492 E11.4878 height 2227 feet
We caught an early bus into town (by "early", I mean, before 10 am), and it was nice and quiet. We went up the tower of the medieval town hall (walking past grey filing cabinets and racks of files), for some great views. Then Rosemary did more sketching while I meandered back home. Currently I am running an in depth disc check to see if I can sort the laptop problem.
Well the tests ran all day, and found no errors. Hmm
 |
| this is one of the wider gates the bus swings through at speed |
We have booked a meal at Montepulciano's most famous restaurant, Osteria Aquacheta. You can't book a table - tables are shared (and cramped). You can't book a time, only a sitting. There are 2 sittings for lunch and 2 in the evening. We booked for the 7.30 sitting, and got there by 7.15. There was a large crowd outside, waiting for the doors to open. The doors opened precisely at 7.30, and a number of people who hadn't booked weren't allowed in. We were allocated our seats, next to a charming American couple who shared their time between California, Montana, and Europe. He said we had something in common - both our leaders are crazy, but he would swap May and Trump any time.
 |
| 1st sitting for dinner - our American neighbours are on the right |
 |
| Menu - note the sizes of the steaks |
The speciality of the house is steak - all butchered while you wait. The American asked for a small one, and it was enormous. So big he insisted we had some, and that small one cost €39. Other people were getting HUGE steaks. We knew the steaks would be huge and expensive, and chose local sausages (very salty). We could not possibly have eaten a whole steak, even between us, and it would be criminal to waste it. The American (& I'm ashamed to say I have forgotten his name, but his wife was Robyn) said he thought it was the best steak he had ever had, but the Texan on his other side said the biggest and best steaks came from Texas.
 | |
|
 |
| The bell is struck by Mr Ponchinello |
I have to mention the buses. The streets are narrow, steep, tight bends, lots of tourists, tables outside cafes, cars and vans parked in odd places, narrow arches, and the bus driver handles it all at speed without flinching. I'm amazed we didn't scrape anything. Some of the arches are so narrow there can only have been an inch either side of the wing mirrors. Did he slow down? Not bloody Likely!
Sat 24th June
We have moved 7 miles to Pienza. Pienza is an absolute gem. In 1459 Pope Pius II began turning his native village onto an ideal Renaissance town. It was rebuilt in just 4 years and hasn't been remodeled since. A papal bull of 1462 forbade any alteration of the duomo. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996.
While we were there a wedding took place in the duomo. Best of all, the bride arrived in a decorated Ape (aka tuk-tuk in Asia). A limousine would not have got round the corners.
 |
| Duomo - unchanged since 1462 |
 |
| inside the duomo |
I said in an earlier blog that there was ample opportunity to spend money on paintings of Tuscany, none of which I liked. But here we came across a tiny shop, with the artist herself busy painting miniatures commissioned for a wedding. All oil paintings, at very reasonable prices. We found one we liked, and came back later to buy it - and she had sold it:(. No matter, she said, i remember what it was, I'll paint you another. Come back in an hour". But we said we would collect it in the morning.
 |
| the view from Pienz |
N43.0776 E11.6893 height 1761 feet
Sun 25th June
We have walked back into Pienz and collected the painting - cost just €45...
 |
| Portrait of the Artist as a Young Lady |
 |
| amazing what you see in car boots! |
 |
| Add caption |
... and have moved on about 12 miles to Montalcino. This is the home of Brunello di Montalcino, "one of the world's great wines" (says Lonely Planet). Great prices, too! (as in HUGE). Every year a new advertising image is created, and placed over a seat in the square. Some are pretty good..
 |
| Brunello di Montalcino - yearly posters |
From the outside, the town looks spectacular, a castle that looks like a caricature of a castle, a duomo and other grand looking churches, but on closer inspection it doesn't have the character or charm of all the smaller places we have been, or the narrow dark and cool streets. It does have lots of shops selling expensive wine, though.
 |
| the castle - and its conveniences |
The sosta here is a mile away, up a steep hill, and walking back after a day tramping the streets is exhausting.
 |
| a view to die for...that's the hospital on the left |
N43.0492 E11.4878 height 2227 feet
Saturday, 8 July 2017
Episode 8 - Pisa to Dorset via lavender fields
Mon 26th June
We have made our way northwest, to a campsite near Pisa. The site is on an a nature reserve, beside a lake, so we are expecting mozzies (in fact there were very few.) We are now near sea level, so it is even warmer, but we have sussed out how to put up a makeshift awning. I have bought some industrial strength suckers that stick to the van like limpets, and we have attached a flysheet to them. This is working fine. We have always resisted investing in a proper roll out awning, because they add so much weight.
At last we have a decent wifi connection, and I have published blog episode 7. It seems that BT Internet thinks my emails are Spam, because of the number of bcc recipients, but if I send them individually they get through OK.
N43.6356 E10.3652 height 56 foot
Tues 27th June
Woken at 5 am by a German caravan beside us, who decided to leave at some ungodly hour. Then, at 5.30, a German motorhome followed suit. Thanks guys! A Dutch guy suggested that it was because one of the Swiss tunnels in the Alps was to be closed for maintenance during the day (not night!) and they may have been trying to beat the closure.
We left at about 10.30, a long drive to a site north of Nice - 266 miles. Most of the journey was on an Italian toll motorway, and some 200 miles or so cost only €41, but saved us 6 hours of driving. We must have driven through 60 tunnels, at least. French toll roads around Monaco and Nice added another €4 - they would have been murder to drive through. We are now at a campsite in Haute Provence, lots of steep hills and valleys.
Early in the trip, near Pisa, because of the confluence of rivers and motorways, we navigated, successfully, a whole series of junctions that make Spaghetti Junction a doddle, but these weren't nice motorway junctions, but a series of roundabouts, and we seemed to do a number of figures of eight. Almost impossible without a satnav.
A nice evening - but then live entertainment opened up at the restaurant - and the entire site got the benefit. I was rather after peace and quiet. But at least it stopped at 11.15
N43,9567 E6.862 height 1902 feet,
Wed 28th June
A cool morning gave way to a thunderstorm and heavy rain at midday - that's the first rain we've had in 6 1/2 weeks away, so we can't really complain.
Thurs 29th June
2 nights here have cost a very reasonable €38. Access and egress is difficult - very steep and narrow with tight bends.
We have climbed steadily, spectacular gorges , cliffs and mountains to equal the Alps. At one point an eagle soared over the road, no more than 100 feet away. They are BIG birds!
We're aiming for the lavender growing region of Provence, using Lonely Planet as a guide. LP has some spectacular photos, but did we see anything similar? (NO!)
We took the lavender tour from Dignes Les Bains to the Priere de Salagon, without seeing a single lavender plant, although we had passed a few lavender fields earlier. The Priere cost €8 each to go in, and had some reasonably interesting gardens, but the staff left a lot to be desired. 3 people, one of whom was chewing gum with her mouth open, but only one actually doing anything. Each customer took around 7 minutes to process, and they seemed to find us amusing. (Fair enough- I find us amusing!), But it didn't set us off in the right frame of mind. The priory itself was disappointing.
We are spending the night at an aire not far away at Villeneuve. It is a hilltop town with fine views, but the town itself is rather sad looking.
N43.986 E5.8618, height 1434 feet
Fri 30th June
We have spent the day hunting lavender, with only limited success. Eventually we found a plateau above Apt which had many fields of the stuff, but getting a picture that looked anything like the professional pics seen in travel books is almost impossible. Most of the fields had weeds, not the nicely manicured fields advertised.
We are now in a car park at Rustrel for the night. We came here last autumn.
And we have booked a ferry home,. Dunkerque to Dover. Logging in to the DFDS website, each time I attempted to book (but failed) the price went up from £70, to £85, to £133. Instead I went to DirectFerries.com, and, without any hassle, paid £62. All we have to do now is get toDunkerque by 11.00 next Friday.
Sat 1st July
At last! We have stumbled across fields of glorious lavender. The road from Rustrel to Sault is beautiful at any time, one of the most scenic roads we have been on, but in June and July there are large fields of lavender. And easy to see and access. We did follow another Lonely Planet lavender route, but that drew a blank. Then the road from Sault to Banon was even better. In one particularly colourful field an extended Italian family was photographing the solo Bambino amongst the lavender.
We are spending the night on an aire in Banon- a pleasant small town with a mediaeval town above. We had a very nice plat de jour at Les Voyageurs restaurant, €14 each. We keep forgetting we are now in France and say "grazie" instead of "merci.
I spent a happy half hour under the van spraying WD-40 onto the gear change mechanism. Hopefully this will allow me to get into 5th gear and, more importantly, out again. It has yet to be road tested, but my thanks to fellow Rapido owner Ian in Falmouth for the suggestion. (A problem he had already encountered).
N43.9235 E5.474 height 1486 feet
Sun 2nd July
We found a reference to a lavender festival at a small village nearby, Ferrassieres, and are parked on a small hill opposite (along with many other motorhomes), and plan to spend the night here. When we arrived, quite early, the Mistral was blowing hard, and it was very cold indeed. Until midday I was eating a windproof thermal jacket, but it warned up in the afternoon.
The village is tiny, pop'n only 90, but lavender based stalls line all the streets, and by mid afternoon it was crowded. Every street into the village was blocked by a tractor, to prevent a repeat of last year's lorry massacre in Nice. We took a one hour walk around the lavender Fields - I now have a lifetime supply of lavender pics! Apparently most commercial lavender these days is a hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender, producing five times as much oil, but it looks very similar.
Lunch was in an open marquee, and was rather a bunfight. There were various queues, and no one knew which queue was which, but wine was just plonked on the trestle tables, to help yourself. €10 each bought us a very nice lasagne, but served agriculturally ("splat").
We have concluded that French ice cream is not a patch on Italian, twice the price and half as good.
We have bought so much lavender that I feel am living in a mothball. The idea is to put it in our wardrobes to keep moths away, but we have so much of it there won't be any room for moths (or clothes).
This year we have majored on cherries - we have eaten more cherries in the last 6 weeks than we have in all our previous years combined. And they are huge, juicy and delicious!
N44.1364 E5.4747 height 3290 feet
Mon 3rd July
A very cold morning, giving way to a hot day. We are heading North, ready to begin a storm through France, to get to the huge Auchan hypermarket at Lille by Thursday, and ferry on Friday. Had a lovely run through Haute Provence and Haute Alpes to an aire at Laragne Montegrin. Rosemary tells me the town is a rather sad affair - I had a book to read and a beer to drink.
On the way we stopped at a lovely looking old town, Montbrun Les Bains. After scaling a hot steep hill we found it is nothing but an empty facade. Disappointing! Further on we drove beside the Gorge du Mouge, lots of wild swimming spots, and cascades.
N44.3121 E5.8255 height 2027 feet
Tues 4th July
(50 years ago today I was at the coronation of king Ahou Tupou IV of Tonga - just thought I'd drop that in. And 9 years later I was in New York for the Bicentennial celebration. Happy independence day to my American readers.
Time to head for home. We drove 6 1/2 hours to an aire North of Bourg en Bresse, in the Jura. We are parked below a limestone cirque, and beside a classic limestone karst stream.
The road to Grenoble was excellent, and the scenery stunning. The further north we got the flatter the landscape.
Interesting headline in The Independent today, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-vote-leave-director-dominic-cummings-leave-eu-error-nhs-350-million-lie-bus-a7822386.html. The man who led the Brexit Leave campaign, and who came up with the infamous "£350 million a week for the NHS" lie, now says calling the referendum was a dumb idea and Brexit is shaping up to be an unqualified debacle.
N46.6913 E5.6393 height 1500 feet
Wed 5th July
An early start and a long drive, 322 miles, got us to an aire at St Hubert in Belgium. Gearbox was fine the whole way. Thanks Ian. We have stopped at St Hubert on the way out, but at a different aire. We were surprised to find a large abbey in the centre of the village, and a number of bars and restuarants, St Hubert is a good distance from the coast, a 2 1/2 hour drive, so a useful place to overnight.
On the way the through Luxembourg we filled up with diesel, only 82 pence a litre....and Luxembourg drivers are the worst we have come across this trip.
N50.0271 E5.3809 height 1638 feet
Thurs 6th July
Two and a half hour drive to Auchan in Lille. Close to Lille there was a sudden thunderstorm and torrential rain. One of my recently acquired wiper blades flew off, last seen disappearing under a Polish lorry. Luckily it was on the passenger side, so I could continue to a service area to a) have a cup of tea while the rain stopped, and b) make a temporary repair so the wiper arm didn't scratch the windscreen.
The Auchan hypermarket here is huge, but the car park has height barriers. No problem, you drive to an entry labelled for use by buses, vans, and motorhomes, press a button and speaker into the speakerphone, the barrier rolls back and you drive in. We have done this numerous times. Except this time the man on the other end wouldn't open the barrier for us. Wouldn't say why, so we caused chaos by backing out of that entry point, and trying a different one. Same thing happened. Then a van approached the gate, coming out. The barrier rolled back, he came out and we went in. I guess the problem was our English accents and English plates. Coming out was no problem- I had visions of having to employ the same tactics on the way out, or spend the night there.
We are now on an aire at a small village called Hondschoote. Despite its Flemish sounding name it's actually in France, 24 miles from Dunkerque. We are booked on the 12.00 ferry, but we are hoping to get there in time to catch the 10.00. Then it's 2 hours to Dover, arriving 11.00 UK time.
N50.97618 E2.58033 height 170 feet
Fri 7th July
No problem catching the 10.00 ferry, which actually docked at 11.30 UK time. At Auchan we had bought a pack of sushi, which we ate on board. Just as well, because the rest of the journey home was a nightmare. By far the worst leg of our trip. Sally (satnav) automatically warns us of road closures, traffic incidents, stationary traffic, etc in real time - a very useful feature. Today it appeared that the entire south of England was a traffic jam, and we went a very convoluted route trying to avoid the worst of the jams. M2 to Medway, M20 M26, M25 (the usual route) A3 towards Guildford, Hogs Back, M3, then down country lanes to Wilton and the A30 to avoid the usual snarl up at Stonehenge. What should have taken just over 3 hours took 5 1/2 hours. Driving in Europe is pleasant, interesting and (mostly) relaxing. Back in the UK, it is suddenly stressful, hassle, aggressive, like driving through Turin for 5 1/2 hours.
Interestingly, as we queued to board the ferry, we could see that about 75% of the cars waiting to board were Dutch, French, German, Swedish, Italian. Normally they make up about 10% of the traffic. I guess they are coming to visit the UK while they still can, before the shutters come down.
Total miles for the trip- 3162.
We have made our way northwest, to a campsite near Pisa. The site is on an a nature reserve, beside a lake, so we are expecting mozzies (in fact there were very few.) We are now near sea level, so it is even warmer, but we have sussed out how to put up a makeshift awning. I have bought some industrial strength suckers that stick to the van like limpets, and we have attached a flysheet to them. This is working fine. We have always resisted investing in a proper roll out awning, because they add so much weight.
At last we have a decent wifi connection, and I have published blog episode 7. It seems that BT Internet thinks my emails are Spam, because of the number of bcc recipients, but if I send them individually they get through OK.
N43.6356 E10.3652 height 56 foot
Tues 27th June
Woken at 5 am by a German caravan beside us, who decided to leave at some ungodly hour. Then, at 5.30, a German motorhome followed suit. Thanks guys! A Dutch guy suggested that it was because one of the Swiss tunnels in the Alps was to be closed for maintenance during the day (not night!) and they may have been trying to beat the closure.
We left at about 10.30, a long drive to a site north of Nice - 266 miles. Most of the journey was on an Italian toll motorway, and some 200 miles or so cost only €41, but saved us 6 hours of driving. We must have driven through 60 tunnels, at least. French toll roads around Monaco and Nice added another €4 - they would have been murder to drive through. We are now at a campsite in Haute Provence, lots of steep hills and valleys.
Early in the trip, near Pisa, because of the confluence of rivers and motorways, we navigated, successfully, a whole series of junctions that make Spaghetti Junction a doddle, but these weren't nice motorway junctions, but a series of roundabouts, and we seemed to do a number of figures of eight. Almost impossible without a satnav.
A nice evening - but then live entertainment opened up at the restaurant - and the entire site got the benefit. I was rather after peace and quiet. But at least it stopped at 11.15
N43,9567 E6.862 height 1902 feet,
Wed 28th June
A cool morning gave way to a thunderstorm and heavy rain at midday - that's the first rain we've had in 6 1/2 weeks away, so we can't really complain.
 |
| that's us - perched on the top, left (taken on my phone) |
Thurs 29th June
2 nights here have cost a very reasonable €38. Access and egress is difficult - very steep and narrow with tight bends.
We have climbed steadily, spectacular gorges , cliffs and mountains to equal the Alps. At one point an eagle soared over the road, no more than 100 feet away. They are BIG birds!
We're aiming for the lavender growing region of Provence, using Lonely Planet as a guide. LP has some spectacular photos, but did we see anything similar? (NO!)
We took the lavender tour from Dignes Les Bains to the Priere de Salagon, without seeing a single lavender plant, although we had passed a few lavender fields earlier. The Priere cost €8 each to go in, and had some reasonably interesting gardens, but the staff left a lot to be desired. 3 people, one of whom was chewing gum with her mouth open, but only one actually doing anything. Each customer took around 7 minutes to process, and they seemed to find us amusing. (Fair enough- I find us amusing!), But it didn't set us off in the right frame of mind. The priory itself was disappointing.
 |
| Priere de Salagon |
We are spending the night at an aire not far away at Villeneuve. It is a hilltop town with fine views, but the town itself is rather sad looking.
N43.986 E5.8618, height 1434 feet
Fri 30th June
We have spent the day hunting lavender, with only limited success. Eventually we found a plateau above Apt which had many fields of the stuff, but getting a picture that looked anything like the professional pics seen in travel books is almost impossible. Most of the fields had weeds, not the nicely manicured fields advertised.
We are now in a car park at Rustrel for the night. We came here last autumn.
And we have booked a ferry home,. Dunkerque to Dover. Logging in to the DFDS website, each time I attempted to book (but failed) the price went up from £70, to £85, to £133. Instead I went to DirectFerries.com, and, without any hassle, paid £62. All we have to do now is get toDunkerque by 11.00 next Friday.
Sat 1st July
At last! We have stumbled across fields of glorious lavender. The road from Rustrel to Sault is beautiful at any time, one of the most scenic roads we have been on, but in June and July there are large fields of lavender. And easy to see and access. We did follow another Lonely Planet lavender route, but that drew a blank. Then the road from Sault to Banon was even better. In one particularly colourful field an extended Italian family was photographing the solo Bambino amongst the lavender.
We are spending the night on an aire in Banon- a pleasant small town with a mediaeval town above. We had a very nice plat de jour at Les Voyageurs restaurant, €14 each. We keep forgetting we are now in France and say "grazie" instead of "merci.
 |
| Apparently this is the 2nd most famous bookshop in France, and stocks every book published in French. It is much bigger inside than it looks on the outside |
I spent a happy half hour under the van spraying WD-40 onto the gear change mechanism. Hopefully this will allow me to get into 5th gear and, more importantly, out again. It has yet to be road tested, but my thanks to fellow Rapido owner Ian in Falmouth for the suggestion. (A problem he had already encountered).
N43.9235 E5.474 height 1486 feet
Sun 2nd July
We found a reference to a lavender festival at a small village nearby, Ferrassieres, and are parked on a small hill opposite (along with many other motorhomes), and plan to spend the night here. When we arrived, quite early, the Mistral was blowing hard, and it was very cold indeed. Until midday I was eating a windproof thermal jacket, but it warned up in the afternoon.
 |
| Lavender festival, Ferrassieres |
The village is tiny, pop'n only 90, but lavender based stalls line all the streets, and by mid afternoon it was crowded. Every street into the village was blocked by a tractor, to prevent a repeat of last year's lorry massacre in Nice. We took a one hour walk around the lavender Fields - I now have a lifetime supply of lavender pics! Apparently most commercial lavender these days is a hybrid of true lavender and spike lavender, producing five times as much oil, but it looks very similar.
Lunch was in an open marquee, and was rather a bunfight. There were various queues, and no one knew which queue was which, but wine was just plonked on the trestle tables, to help yourself. €10 each bought us a very nice lasagne, but served agriculturally ("splat").
We have concluded that French ice cream is not a patch on Italian, twice the price and half as good.
We have bought so much lavender that I feel am living in a mothball. The idea is to put it in our wardrobes to keep moths away, but we have so much of it there won't be any room for moths (or clothes).
This year we have majored on cherries - we have eaten more cherries in the last 6 weeks than we have in all our previous years combined. And they are huge, juicy and delicious!
N44.1364 E5.4747 height 3290 feet
Mon 3rd July
A very cold morning, giving way to a hot day. We are heading North, ready to begin a storm through France, to get to the huge Auchan hypermarket at Lille by Thursday, and ferry on Friday. Had a lovely run through Haute Provence and Haute Alpes to an aire at Laragne Montegrin. Rosemary tells me the town is a rather sad affair - I had a book to read and a beer to drink.
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| Montbrun Les Bains - what you see is what you get - that's all there is |
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| One of the few residents of Montbrun Les Bains |
On the way we stopped at a lovely looking old town, Montbrun Les Bains. After scaling a hot steep hill we found it is nothing but an empty facade. Disappointing! Further on we drove beside the Gorge du Mouge, lots of wild swimming spots, and cascades.
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| Gorge du Mouge |
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| Gorge du Mouge |
N44.3121 E5.8255 height 2027 feet
Tues 4th July
(50 years ago today I was at the coronation of king Ahou Tupou IV of Tonga - just thought I'd drop that in. And 9 years later I was in New York for the Bicentennial celebration. Happy independence day to my American readers.
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| 4th July 1967 Nuku'alofa Tonga (taken with an ordinary camera, no long lens) |
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| 4th July 1976 - Tickertape parade New York |
Time to head for home. We drove 6 1/2 hours to an aire North of Bourg en Bresse, in the Jura. We are parked below a limestone cirque, and beside a classic limestone karst stream.
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| Karst cascade |
The road to Grenoble was excellent, and the scenery stunning. The further north we got the flatter the landscape.
Interesting headline in The Independent today, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-vote-leave-director-dominic-cummings-leave-eu-error-nhs-350-million-lie-bus-a7822386.html. The man who led the Brexit Leave campaign, and who came up with the infamous "£350 million a week for the NHS" lie, now says calling the referendum was a dumb idea and Brexit is shaping up to be an unqualified debacle.
N46.6913 E5.6393 height 1500 feet
Wed 5th July
An early start and a long drive, 322 miles, got us to an aire at St Hubert in Belgium. Gearbox was fine the whole way. Thanks Ian. We have stopped at St Hubert on the way out, but at a different aire. We were surprised to find a large abbey in the centre of the village, and a number of bars and restuarants, St Hubert is a good distance from the coast, a 2 1/2 hour drive, so a useful place to overnight.
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| St Hubert abbey - front and side views...it can only be France |
On the way the through Luxembourg we filled up with diesel, only 82 pence a litre....and Luxembourg drivers are the worst we have come across this trip.
N50.0271 E5.3809 height 1638 feet
Thurs 6th July
Two and a half hour drive to Auchan in Lille. Close to Lille there was a sudden thunderstorm and torrential rain. One of my recently acquired wiper blades flew off, last seen disappearing under a Polish lorry. Luckily it was on the passenger side, so I could continue to a service area to a) have a cup of tea while the rain stopped, and b) make a temporary repair so the wiper arm didn't scratch the windscreen.
The Auchan hypermarket here is huge, but the car park has height barriers. No problem, you drive to an entry labelled for use by buses, vans, and motorhomes, press a button and speaker into the speakerphone, the barrier rolls back and you drive in. We have done this numerous times. Except this time the man on the other end wouldn't open the barrier for us. Wouldn't say why, so we caused chaos by backing out of that entry point, and trying a different one. Same thing happened. Then a van approached the gate, coming out. The barrier rolled back, he came out and we went in. I guess the problem was our English accents and English plates. Coming out was no problem- I had visions of having to employ the same tactics on the way out, or spend the night there.
We are now on an aire at a small village called Hondschoote. Despite its Flemish sounding name it's actually in France, 24 miles from Dunkerque. We are booked on the 12.00 ferry, but we are hoping to get there in time to catch the 10.00. Then it's 2 hours to Dover, arriving 11.00 UK time.
N50.97618 E2.58033 height 170 feet
Fri 7th July
No problem catching the 10.00 ferry, which actually docked at 11.30 UK time. At Auchan we had bought a pack of sushi, which we ate on board. Just as well, because the rest of the journey home was a nightmare. By far the worst leg of our trip. Sally (satnav) automatically warns us of road closures, traffic incidents, stationary traffic, etc in real time - a very useful feature. Today it appeared that the entire south of England was a traffic jam, and we went a very convoluted route trying to avoid the worst of the jams. M2 to Medway, M20 M26, M25 (the usual route) A3 towards Guildford, Hogs Back, M3, then down country lanes to Wilton and the A30 to avoid the usual snarl up at Stonehenge. What should have taken just over 3 hours took 5 1/2 hours. Driving in Europe is pleasant, interesting and (mostly) relaxing. Back in the UK, it is suddenly stressful, hassle, aggressive, like driving through Turin for 5 1/2 hours.
Interestingly, as we queued to board the ferry, we could see that about 75% of the cars waiting to board were Dutch, French, German, Swedish, Italian. Normally they make up about 10% of the traffic. I guess they are coming to visit the UK while they still can, before the shutters come down.
Total miles for the trip- 3162.
