217 – 219: Staff Lunch and Rain in the Mountains

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Clunegapyears

217 – Monday 23rd November 2015: Staff Lunch

The Aged P’s do a huge amount for us: Personal Assistants – opening post, scanning and emailing docs to us, receiving and collecting parcels, and car care etc. This was their last day so we picked them up and took them for a staff lunch. Don’t you find if you treat your staff right, they stay with you? And we need them to sign up for at least another 5 years!

Seafood – we all wore bibs

My starter – fried limpets. A very different shape to those on the UK coast. Yummy with all the garlic and a hint of chilli.

We have spent two weeks with them and miss them hugely.

218 – Tuesday 24th November 2015: ‘Gorge’-ous

Big runs for us and nothing to do with the toilet! J did 4 miles and I did 5 km … doesn’t that make it sound as if I did more?

We have about a 9 day window before Kerstin joins us from Germany, so we have a window in which to explore a section of Sicily in more detail. The thought was to head for the hills before winter really sets in as it can be a 10C temperature difference from the coast. We knew the forecast was clouds and showers, but since we planned to do a bit of walking … no problem! Huh!

We visited Gole Alcantara. A seriously large visitor attraction, as the roads to it were really good and they obviously catered for hoards of summer tourists and lots of things for young children to do. We started with a short film in English about how the deep and narrow gorge had been formed, cutting through the volcanic basalt that had filled a valley. It was 3d and the narrator – an ant needed stepping on and the butterflies needed swatting so you could see the rock formations! As it is winter (!) and the gorge is prone to flash flooding, we could not get down to the water level, but there was a route around the top, through a botanical garden, with viewing points. The heavens opened and served to make the rocks even blacker. We have seen lots of gorges, but this was seriously different due to the rock formations. Hence so many pix!

Prickly Pear – once the thorns are removed it can be used as a juice and added to booze.

We attempted to overnight on a Fattore Amicale (Italian version of France Passion: farms with free space), but had read on forums that a lot of the farms deny knowledge of ever signing up to the scheme. And so it proved. Never mind … Plan B was brilliant. It was an Agritourism: vineyard, restaurant, rooms, pool, pukka motorhome services, a shower / toilet block and a VIEW. We really did not mind the EUR15 fee.

Our pitch with views, once the clouds lifted a bit.

We had arrived early, so both of us did banking and K some Christmas gift ordering. Lovely phone call with Bron. During the evening we watched the lightening roll around the hills behind cloud formations. We had a fair bit of the storm over us too!

219 – Wednesday 25th November 2015

Heavy rain, so we had a slow and leisurely start. We headed for Randazzo and as the skies cleared we parked up and wandered into the town. We had no sooner alighted from Chardonnay and the heavens opened again (as bad as any Brizzle Drizzle), so we battled to the Duomo (interesting tower as it was predominantly black basalt) and bolted for a cafe … coffee and pizza slices :). As they are not so used to rain here, the water pours down the streets out of gutterings and gaps in walls. So heavy, we aborted and headed back to Chardonnay.

James, would that be a cheeky little pizza slice?

Stashing the beers!

We drove through Bronte (formerly gifted to Horatio Nelson), Adrano and Regelbuto – all in the guide book, but still pretty wet, so no stop offs. At times the clouds did lift a bit and we could see the hill peaks with ruins atop and the rolling patchwork of fields. Destination: Lake Pozzillo Dam – the largest artificial basin in Sicily. Sunshine as we arrived so we had quick and muddy walk along the shore.

Our pitch … in front of a running track … and did we use it? But it started to rain!!!!

It really was very windy and muddy.

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It really was very windy and muddy.

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212 – 216 : East Side of Sicily

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Clunegapyears

212 – Wednesday 18th November 2015: Aci Trezza Walk and … Lunch

We had thought being in the town would be noisy, but it was actually very peaceful. J was up and about very early for the sunrise – you can tell how long he was out there by the changing light – I thought he gone fishing with one of the locals!

A superb and FREE parking location for two nights.

The Aged P’s arrived … on time! If anything 2 minutes late …. had my ribbing about being always early had an effect? It threw us off – we’d started a quick tidy and a hoovering.

A gent's tie cared in basalt ... J not having any of it! He has two remming ties in the Aged P's attic: weddings and funerals!

A gent’s tie carved in basalt … J not having any of it! He has two remming ties in the Aged P’s attic: weddings and funerals!

Coffee in Chardonnay and then a walk along the front to Acicastello, passing the Isole dei Cyclops: basalt rocks creating usual shapes near the harbour. According to Homer, Polyphemus threw them at Ulysses who had blinded him. Part of the path wended through a private lido with changing huts, plants and sun bathing areas … yours for EUR3. J and I wandered up the stairs into the town – the town where we had struggled with tight turns in Chardonnay yesterday, but we forgave it. It had a nice high piazza by the castle and views over the sea.

It was a little early for lunch, so we tried another of the Slovenian wines we had brought back for Horvat winery in Maribor … this is the second we have tried with the Aged Ps and they are really good. Despite trying for pizza; most seemed to be shut, we ended up with a very good lunch of swordfish overlooking the harbour.

Coffees after lunch sitting on the harbour wall.

OK for those of you who think we look alike … we obviously have the same mannerisms too!

Sylvie: This one’s for you. Tiramsu WITH coffee and chocolate ice cream and cream …..

213 – Thursday 19th November 2015: Mount Etna

A plan for Etna today. The Aged P’s had driven up part of it some years ago (they have been most places!), but it is so much part of Sicily and the largest volcano in Europe, that it really is a must. The other name for it is Mongibello: from the Italian ‘monte’ meaning mountain and the Arab ‘gebel’ meaning mountain too. So ‘Mount Mountain’. Regular eruptions from the main core and side craters – so constantly re-‘cratering’ itself, that it gets to be named twice! I hope you spotted my weak pun there!

We drove via a motorway services for imperfect motorhome services … I won’t go into detail about the concrete hole in the ground ….. Another stop for GPL. And several abortive stops for water. Ho hum … we were a little late at our rendezvous of Zafferano Etnea with the Aged P’s …. just as well. They arrived before us and rang to say the road was unsuitable to get Chardonnay down. We plugged in coordinates number 2 (we like to have a Plan B, and C and sometimes, even D) and met at Piazza Kennedy. The Aged P’s failed to find coffee and cakes in town and so joined us in Chardonnay, whilst J munched through a volcano sized bowl of cereal.

Car view on the drive up. The Autumn leaves must further on here than we have seen anywhere else as it is so much cooler.

Car view on the drive up. The Autumn leaves were further on here than we have seen anywhere else, as it is so much cooler.

We drove in Chardonnay up to the Rifugio Sapienza, where the cable car starts for the summit of Etna starts.

K had googled:

That the road was suitable for motorhomes and so it proved – much easier than most Sicilian roads! Wide and with a good surface for all the summer tourist coaches.
The prices for the Etna ascent. Not going to happen for us … EUR30 for the cable car. 23 for the 4 wheel drive jeep and you still had to walk the rest. And then 9 for the compulsory guide to get to mouth of the main crater. A whopping total of EUR62! EACH!!

However, Etna had kindly gushed a small crater near the carpark and we circled that. A quick and disdainful look at the souvenir shops … who would pay EUR10 for a lump of rock when you can pick one up? And then lunch in Chardonnay, admiring the effects of the changing light on the lava. Fascinating to see the lava, both black and red, and how vegetation starts to grow on areas of volcanic rock. Drifts of volcanic ash that covered the road in places and must be a real hazard to walkers and cars in high winds.

Definitely much cooler up here.

J at the bottom of a small crater … oops, at the bottom of a massive one, of course! If it blows, the only way is up.

Looks as if Dad is about to chuck Mum into the crater … she was actually being camera shy!

The car park was used for a mass paraglider landing, having come down from near the top of Etna. Bet this was more than the EUR 62 to get to the top!

Our Belgian neighbours from Aci Trezza had arrived too. They would stay overnight nearby and he would pay for the cable car and then walk the 5km up, but tomorrow morning as it was too late today.

We could have stayed overnight in the car park in Zafferano Etnea, but the guide book had promised a permanent agricultural fair with local wine and produce …. since there was no sight of either, a whining dog well within ear shot, and the rain had started … three good reasons to head back down the side of Etna towards the coast and higher temperatures.

Brad SatNav was duly tasked with taking us directly to an overnight parking near San Marco close to the coast….. Well, we coasted along following his directions….until he guided us down a quite narrow nondescript road. We followed confidently – the road got more narrow with trees brushing our roof… The road which seemed very narrow got more and more narrow. Did I just use the word narrow twice in the same sentence ? It then got narrowissimo ! Molto narrow, pissedoffissimo narrow, in fact… We came to a point where further progress was actually impossible with nowhere to turn around ! We have been in tight spots before, but this was definitely the worst. Calmly (not), we assessed the options – reverse our 28′ beauty along a ‘kinometre of blind mans alley – or (on finding a sort of gateway) turn in down a gravelly sandy slope with multifarious potholes – and then reverse up the slope and around an impossibly tight corner ! K (calmly) volunteered to drive – and I gave directions from outside the van. Reversing up the gravelly slope led to many wheel spins and slides – this was not promising… Finally, K administered some teacherly wellie – and Chardonnay made it up the gradient. As we share everything, I took my turn behind the wheel at this point. After a 27 point turn, we somehow got our home straightened enough to head back in the direction from whence we came ! Gulps of air (and relief) all round – the gin would have come later, except we don’t have any…

Brad (suitably admonished) finally led us to an alternative oasis – that just happened to be – a campsite! It was the one we planned to stay at tomorrow. We decide it was fate – and bivouacked for a peaceful evening…..

214 – Friday 20th November 2015: Defeated by Taormina Parking and a BBQ

The Aged P’s left their car at our campsite and J drove along the coast (after a direction error by K and had to do a tight 5 point turn at the entrance to the hospital), which was actually really pretty. A bay with islands and amazing clear water.

They have put a long tunnel under Taormina to get to the multi-storey car park as cars, thankfully, are banned from the old town centre. Bugger …. height barriers and not for motorhomes. We followed a motorhome parking sign, another tight turn, down a slope, just scraping the exhaust pipe and a 7 point turn this time. The ticket booth stated that motorhome parking was a whopping EUR5/hour but it seemed pretty deserted. We walked up the slope and looked at the tunnel we would have to walk through …. none of us fancied this, so we scarpered. Dad had suggested returning the the campsite via the supermarket to buy some fodder for lunch. We elected on a BBQ, which went slightly awry as the charcoal would not get going. J even chucked more lighting fuel on it … (from a safe distance, of course) and that just smoked. Abort. Chardonnay’s grill was deployed for the second time in 7 months, until K remembered the Cadac Safari grill … success … we managed to eat …. eventually.

Unbelievably, our Belgian neighbours turned up at the camping. It is a shame we were all too tired to make an evening of it (we had eaten and drunk too much and he had done the 5km walk up and then down Etna), and they only planned to stay the one night.

215 – Saturday 21st November 2015: Taormina and Pizza

Second attempt to reach and park in Taormina was successful. Dad drove in the small hire car … we discovered the rear suspension had gone. It groaned and growled over every bump and particularly did not like the tight hairpins.

Taormina is very pretty, nestled on rocks above the sea. Restaurant and shops, a small Duomo and lots of small narrow side streets. Nice, but must be horrendous in summer.

J tour guide for the day and he has the correct book :). We know where we are!!!

Rules as you enter Taormina …. Really?!?

Part of the statue outside the Duomo

A little rest for the menfolk, as the women checked out a mosaic (unremarkable and up steps), but at least we went to see!

Lots of quaint side streets.

J is Adam, eating Eve’s apple …. it is the carving on the balcony.

Cactus hair … the whole balcony had a family of cactus heads.

The Villa Communale was donated to th town by the Englishwoman Florence Trevelyan.

The Villa Communale was donated to the town by the Englishwoman Florence Trevelyan (could be of the Cornwall garden’s family). Great views of Etna and the coast.

A kooky construction in the Villa Comunale that Ms Trevelyn used for bird watching.

We chose not to have coffees or lunch in the Wunderbar Cafe where Taylor and Burton used to sip cocktails … not at EUR7.50 for an espresso! Swordfish (again, but so good) for Mum and I, and pizza for Dad and James … sitting in the sun overlooking the coast. Try not to feel too sorry for us!

Couldn’t come to Italy and not have at least one pizza.

216 – Sunday November 22nd November 2015 – Traffic Report … Aci Trezza again and Catania

Planned: A rendezvous in Aci Trezza (where we had previously overnighted) and then a bus to Catania … buses few on a Sunday so an early start.

Actual: K and J arrived in good time at the harbour car park … Aged P’s back on form … Early. Very early and had discovered that the published timetable on the web *updated Sept 2015* was incorrect, which it would have meant a long wait. K stocked up on veggies at the small market and then Dad drove.

Catania: Quiet roads and free parking. Main highlight is the the Piazza del Duomo which is really attractive.

A Town Hall security guard with good English explained about the presence of the elephant statue in the square … Hannibal was believed to have passed through and elephant remains were found under the square.

The elephant symbol is also found on the city carriage which is only used annually in a February procession.

You’ll have to wait till February for a lift!

Coffee and cake. Both J and Dad ended up waring the oozing chocolate!

Coffee and cake. Both J and Dad ended up wearing the oozing chocolate!

The town was flattened in an earthquake in 1693. so all the main buildings are C18 …. Baroque.

Some of the characterful gargoyles supporting balconies.

Inside the Duomo: Buy your own plastic saint!!! Otherwise stare at the Cardinal's corpse - face mask but withered bejewelled hands.

Inside the Duomo: Buy your own plastic saint!!! Otherwise stare at the Cardinal Dusmet’s corpse in a glass coffin – he had a face mask but his withered bejewelled hands were there to see.

I want one of those! Child is happy: he has his own car. Dad is happy: he has the remote control!!!!

The Roman baths under the Cathedral were shut and we did not fancy the Roman amphitheatre (a bit Roman Remains’d Out!), so we decided to return to Aci Trezzo for a risotto in Chardonnay. We picked up some fish on our way back to the car from the Pescheria: a relatively expensive fish, but meaty and lots of flavour … no idea what , but not dissimilar to monkfish.

The fruit market leading to the fish market under the arches.

Aci Trezza: Just getting here from Catania was an experience. And one not to wish for. Traffic everywhere. The WHOLE of the region was out and about and all driving as badly as only Sicilians know how. Once we got close to Aci Trezza we joined the back of serious traffic jam. Everyone who was not in Catania had come here. If one horn was beeped, then another, and then everyone had to join in. Is it a herd mentality? Everyone out in their car crawling along roads. We assumed our car park would be jam packed … wrong! Cars were scooting through hoping for a short cut and not parking. K and J left the Aged P’s in the traffic queue to collect the food makings of a risotto, intending to take it up the the Aged P’s apartment and eat there. Amazingly there were car park spaces – so what were all these people doing? Just driving around? Enjoying being in a traffic jam? K started to cook in the van …. it must have been half an hour before the Aged P’s finally parked up. Wine served immediately on arrival … medicinal. Entertainment on hand as we watched cars try to pass in front of our nose for a short cut thorough the short cut of the car park, only to have to reverse as the only exit was into the water. One young enterprising chap collected tips as he became the unofficial car park helper.

After lunch a little wander and into a cafe for dessert and coffee. Another Tiramasu ice-cream, wine and a chocolate crepe. K finally had a cafe correcto with Amoretto … expresso with a shot. 🙂

208 – 211: Picnics on the Coast and in the Hills

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Clunegapyears

208 – Saturday 14th November: Meal at ‘Home’ … How many units?

K shopped in Cefalu for the remaining food items and we drove to the Aged P’s apartment via (a half hour detour each way!) a motorway services that had motorhome services. We are not sure that they wanted us to use the services as they had ‘no entry’ poles up, but we asked, smiled a lot, and they let us use them. We could see why they were shut off. Some people are just foul (literally!) …. excrement and wet wipes had been poured down the grey waste, when there was a perfectly good chemical toilet point.

Arriving at the apartment, K showered in luxury and K and J sorted the hand laundry (3 batches) that were still slowly drying on the balcony. K cooked … all Sicilian recipes. We even had two different types of Marsala and two versions of Grillo white wine. K blames her father for the toxic poisoned feeling she had the next day. Thank you J for driving.

Chef at large … in a pukka kitchen … work space envy!

Starters on the balcony.

View across to Cefalu

209 – Sunday 15th November:

K started the day with two paracetamol 😦 . How does Dad do it?!? As we have a fridge and the picnic gear on board for a picnic, we picked up the Aged Ps and drove along the coast to two towns.

Santo Stefano di Camastra is known for its ceramics. A locals’ town and busy with people out for a wander, coffee and greeting each other. We liked it.

Ceramics everywhere, even on the park fence under some winter jasmine

We caught then end of the band and the majorettes.

We picnicked along side the sea …. and stayed for a couple of hours … peaceful, sun and sea… what’s to hurry for?

Castel di Tusa was less interesting … pretty fishing boats and rocks with the late afternoon glow. It is known mostly for being the start of a contemporary (odd!) art trail. And there was no gelateria open – a major failing!

J’s arms aren’t long enough to give some support!

210 – Monday 16th November:

Up to the hills today. Caccamo: lies under a Norman castle, overlooking a lake, with lots of pretty church squares on different levels. It was only supposed to be 10km from the motorway, but Brad (nice but dim Sat Nav) took us the scenic route up when K was driving (hairpins and a felled tree blockage) and a direct and quick route back when J was driving …. sexist?

It took a matter of minutes for these chaps to clear the road .... they moved fast. And hurled massive heavy trunk segments into the verge to allow traffic through.

It took a matter of minutes for these chaps to clear the road …. they moved fast. And strong as they hurled massive heavy trunk segments into the verge to allow traffic through.

When we approached the castle, an elderly gent scurried out of his museum / tasting shop and explained that despite all the guide books stating the castle was open on Monday it was not …. to be honest, we had completely forgotten that all the museums shut on Mondays …. duh! He was so charmingly earnest that we took him up on his free tasting. Why are these things never free … you feel beholden to buy something. The Aged Ps left with a pistachio pesto for pasta and a prickly pear (cactus fruit) grappa for Grumps … K with jam for M and the pistachio pesto. We LOVED the sweet tastings of lemon and pistachio … but what would we do with them … none of us bake cakes etc. Tempting as it is to buy and just eat from the jar on a spoon!

The elderly gent explaining the closed castle and offering the free tastings.

An ancient pasta press in the elderly gent’s museum

Charmingly proud of his town

We had a quick wander of the town and then had another long picnic – in the sun admiring the view.

Buildings clinging to the hill side

Seriously clinging to the rocks

An Englishman Abroad hat!!! For those that don’t know us … James is Irish.

Madonna and skull!!!

Lunch View 🙂

Back to the Aged P’s apartment for supper … strange looking fish: spatola – silver scabbard fish … pretty tasteless, but we were just relieved it was not eel – none of us care for the oiliness.

211 – Tuesday 17th November: Moving East: Just North of Catania

The Aged P’s second apartment is just north of Catania, near Aci Trezzo. K and J re-vistied the motorway services as there seem to be a lack of OPEN motorhome services.

Free motorway across the centre of Sicily: rolling hills. If it were not for the vegetation, it could have been the UK Dales. We plan to spend a bit of time visiting the central mountains.

Lots of motorway sections are propped up on stilts. Italy must me a major concrete consumer. Hilltop Enna on the horizon.

Lots of motorway sections are propped up on stilts. Italy must be a major concrete consumer. Hilltop Enna on the horizon.

Etna is visible from a long way off, wisps of smoke atop. Approaching Catania, it is flatter with orange groves.

K and J ‘negotiated’ part of Catania and then a few too many near miss / awkward reversing / tight turns of Aci Castello. Fortunately for K, J was driving, so she alighted several times and spotted for him. Onto Aci Trezzo, which is quite close to the Aged P’s apartment and down a few more narrow roads … Oh Joy … a harbour with a free car park. It is always reassuring to be near another motorhome … Belgian Knaus next door. we communicated in French. The first thing our neighbour said was how horrendous the narrow roads were! Yep, I said …. we were going to celebrate arriving with a glass of wine! We duly found a bar and people watched.

A water canoe polo practice – entertainment right on our front porch!

Stop press: J just called me outside… fish jumping. Right outside our front porch, again. Fat cat lurked and nabbed one as they landed on the lava rocks.

201-202: Paestum and Sunday Rest

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Clunegapyears

201 – Saturday 7th November 2015: Paestum – Not all Greek

A few pics from yesterday …

Possibly the largest back pack – ever

Sunset over the pitch we had to flit from

Drink in the local bar before supper …. note leather armchairs and a real fire … we could be at Rothbury!

One of the Greek Temples c. BC 450

We had a really peaceful night amongst the olive groves.

A short drive to the Paestum parking we had left as our EUR5 ticket was still valid. We drove around the parking and successfully retrieved one of J’s crocs, that he had left in our scramble to implement our evacuation plan. Lucky, eh?

It feels like we have done a lot of archaeological sites in the last week, but Paestum has three Greek temples as well as Roman excavations. The temples are often in Italy tourist advertising and predate the Roman. BC450 ish … so amazing to be walking around structures that were built and used nearly 2,500 years ago. In places you can still see the architectural details.

Roman: a double stone roof

The Greek temples were just huge

You can just make out J bottom left, which gives some idea of scale.

Architectural detail.

We lunched in the car park and set off, heading south. Across a peninsular and then along the coast road. The first part was pretty grim … ugly and tatty summer tourist bars and campsites, only inhabited by about 30 prostitutes and the passing (or not passing) traffic. Soon it was mostly stunning: stacks and smarter villages clinging to the rocks, bays and beaches.

We missed our intended pitch as we looked for a supermarket … comedic moment when K asked two parked Carabinari and a local chap for directions and they all spoke at once and tried to out do each other in helpfulness! We then missed a turning and ended up climbing 5km up a mountain in the dark … Brad the Sat Nav wanted us to turn around …. no chance in an 8m van and on hairpin bends! A the top we finally found somewhere to turn and headed for a nearer parking K found.

These things are meant to be …. beachside and fantastic! Our lovely Austrian neighbours came for a couple of days and are still here 8 days later! They warned us about the noise from a nightclub not far away so we followed them to another carpark overnight and then we moved back in the morning.

202 – Sunday 8th November 2015: Praia di Mare – A Day of Rest and Remembrance

We both ran in the sun along the front … J 5km with some speed 🙂 We wandered down the beach to look at the sea and both had a simultaneous thought … let’s stay all day and move on tomorrow.

We have had a lovely day …

we swam
K transcribed lots of free parkings in Sicily from a book loaned by our Austrian neighbours
we read
a little walk in the other direction
J took pix of the sun set
…. and we just sat in the sun and grinned at each other.

Black sand

We are the far left van … you can see how busy it is … NOT!

View from our waterside pitch

Sadly we have been watching a hillside fire … it does not seem to have eaten any of the houses.

166 – 171: Lakes Good and Bad, Milan and 6 Month Milestone

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Clunegapyears

166 – Saturday 3rd October 2015 -K to Brescia

K ran the furthest yet … 5 km… felt good. More laundry and then an early lunch. Cycled to the train station and travelled the 24 mins to Brescia. Very uninspiring near the station: drunks and druggies! However, the main part of the city is inspiring. I had seen that there were two museums up at the castle … quite a steep walk up and I should have counted the steps! Unfortunately the museum I wanted about the unification of Italy was closed and the armaments museum had little interest for me. The photographic temporary exhibition about the 1904 was quite interesting, given that Milan is hosting the world fair 2015.

A proper cobbler – he glued and stitched my walking shoe …. EUR2!!!

Back down the hill, I bumbled around the squares, which all became alive about 3 p.m. … lots of exhibitions about sustainability, selling books, cookery demos and giving away seedings. Buzzing. Attractive architecture. Highlight was the Basilica as it was also a church with a crypt and mosaics – a spiritual place. Not too touristy and worth a visit.

James returned from Dublin via taxi, which the campsite manager had kindly booked … it would not have been possible to get the van back into the campsite after about 9.30 and it saved K trying to park up at the airport when airport carparks are not designed for 8m vans.

167 – Sunday 4th October 2015: Rest and Cycling in the Rain

A late start. After lunch, the rain seemed to have cleared so we cycled past Iseo town and onto the peat bogs …. fine until we lost the route. We decided to cycle onto the next largish town for ice creams and coffee, but the heavens opened – a serious deluge. We watched the stair rods and lightening from the shelter of a tree for about an hour. Once it eased off we about faced and headed back to Iseo. By this time the sun was out, so we stopped off and ate the planned ice cream.

Watery view from our Iseo ice cream stop in Iseo

And then check out the most amazing sun set from the campsite

Received a pic message from our Bristol neighbours, Kay and Stephen … they had a super duper caravan and the pic is of an amazing motorhome. Apparently the caravan ‘morphed’!!!! They claim our ability to move on easily is partly to blame for the transition. We are so delighted to see the birth of Phoebe. Sort out the dog passports and please join us, very latest, end March / early April in N France. Grinning from ear to ear for you.

Phoebe – can’t wait to see her.

J sporting his Ireland cap. Could not mange to watch the game as all fee paying channels. TY Stephen for text updates. A wonderful win… K will now HAVE to support Ireland, although so long as an European team wins…

Our pitch – could not be any closer to the water.

View from the campsite over the lake

168 – Monday 5th October 2015: Boat to Monte d’Iseo and Circular Cycle Wine Tour

We cycled to Iseo port and caught the ferry to the 1) European 2) largest 3) inhabited 4) lake island … quite a lot of criteria here to reduce the competition in this category. We helped out some fellow Brits who knew they were catching a ferry but not where to and how to get back again! We are just so organised … some of the time!

Once on the island we turned right on the 9.5 km bike route around the island perimeter. No cars, just the odd moped and three wheeler car and paths good. Until, K suggested we detour from the shore path inland a bit to see a Medieval village …. the path became cobbles and it was VERY steep uphill. For a loooong way. At one point we considered turning back to the nice level shore path …but that would have been defeatist and surely we must be at the top soon….. NOT!

As soon as we passed though the Medieval village … more of a cluster of houses all on top of each other, we finally descended and found a cafe for a couple of glasses of wine and a snack. Did I omit to mention, we’d had several glasses already … seemed wise the break the trip up and contribute to the local economy!

Another stop for the mandatory gelato. Phone call from Maddy about why she may like to read History at Uni … Horrible Histories seems a good starting point, but what do I know about personal statements?!?

Time for another glass before we caught the return ferry.

Part of the long push up

Glass Number 1

Glass Number 2 – forgot glass 3 pic

We ate at the campsite restaurant. The lake is known for its Perch, which I had with a lemon sauce …. yummy. J went for his usual – Wiener Schnitzel and chips (seems to have replaced scampi and chips in Euroland) and could not manage a Tiramasu after … shock / horror! I managed cheese … all of it and there was a lot! But cheese and ice-cream go into that other stomach. And the campsite manger sent through a complimentary Limoncello – had to buy a bottle the next day – developed a taste for it! He was also roasting chestnuts over a fire pit for the campers … a really excellent site. The washrooms seemed to be constantly being cleaned.

I managed the lot! May have been some dairy induced snoring that night!

169 – Tuesday 6th October 2015: Come on Como

We left our lovely lakeside pitch and headed towards lake Como. The lake is actually in 3 parts, like a person with two running legs. Imagine and upside down Y. Lecco is at the bottom of the right hand leg and Como off the tip of the one on the left. Bellagio is in the crotch where these two legs of the lakes meet. The guide book says that Bellagio is the prettiest town on Lago di Como, so this was our via point with the intention of driving after down the other leg to Como. However, by the time we had shopped … twice (K looking for a pressure cooker … Lyn, who we met in Idryia and then Piran in Slovenia, cooked lots in one … so I wanted one!) … time had marched on.

By the time we arrived in Bellagio it was knocking on the door of 4pm. All the car parks, again like Lake Garda, are not motorhome friendly. We managed to find a free parking by the cemetery which was a bit of a walk into the town, but not suitable for overnighting in. We asked in the TIC and the young girl said it was OK to overnight in the main carparks after 8.00 pm until 8.00 am. Our plan was to stay up at the cemetery and then move at 8.00. Does anyone know the French for cemetery … we were with 4 French motorhomes at one point, in a non friendly motorhome car park, and I could only describe a cemetery as a ‘champs des morts’ … but they understood! We relaxed and watched the world go by over a coffee and an ice-cream. We then relaxed some more and did the 1 hour walking tour around the town and managed (just) not to buy a very expensive, but beautiful green Italian handbag that I need like a hole in the head.

Best laid plans awry again … we had the collywobbles (what a wonderful old word that is) about staying in a non friendly motorhome carpark with no other vans. It was a long drive the Plan A, Plan B and Plan C that K had identified in Como and it was now starting to get dark! Oops! One of the Italian apps described a motorhome parking up the hill between the legs and only 30 mins. Bollocks on two counts. It was a frigging mountain with the tightest hairpins we have done on this trip and it was now dark! And it took the best part of 45 mins. And we could not find it in the pitch black. So we parked off the road and made sure all the blinds were shut fast so we did not alert people to our whereabouts by sending out light sabres. Being now 9.00, we dined only on the leek, potato and blue cheese soup that had been in the slow cooker all day – lunch planned for tomorrow!

We also agreed, again, that not having a Plan A -C within reach is not on and that we need to possibly get up earlier!!! Gulp.

170 – Wednesday 7th October: Narrow Misses, Ferry and onto Milan

K woken in the night to the sound of Alpine cow bells … VERY close. I stuck my head out of the bathroom window to be greeted by a very relaxed flock of sheep only about 1.5 metres from me … it was so still and quiet I could even hear them ripping at the grass. Don’t they sleep?

We set the alarm … our new found and probably short lived new early rising discipline! Discovered that we were next to a helipad … yep, so remote up this mountain it would be a necessity. J took on the challenge of the hairpin descent … at least I had had the benefit of on-coming headlights going up last night. In theory, I should have been able to enjoy the lake views … but it was seriously steep and the hairpins were very tight. Not relaxing.

The next stage of the trip back along the lake to Bellagio was, if anything, even less relaxing! Narrow roads with on-coming traffic and a resurfacing vehicle that decided to reverse suddenly – missing us by millimetres. J managed a polite ‘Oh No’ … my reaction was unprintable.

We arrived at Bellagio and J queued in Chard whilst I went to buy the ticket, having read about a supplement if you buy on the ferry. J was been ushered on board whilst I was still waiting for the card machine to connect with the UK via Mars, Venus and Pluto .. thought I was going to have to do an Indiana Jones style leap across gaping water to catch up!

The west shore of the lake is supposed to be the more attractive …. the plan (can you tell this one went awry too!) was to leisurely meander down to Como, and spend the night there. HOWEVER, the roads around Como are NOT designed for traffic … of any kind. And again, we could not find anywhere to park. So we kept going to Como … drove in and drove out! Large and not inviting.

Top tip: if you want to visit Lake Como – arrive at a main town and go everywhere by boat. Max two days, as although pretty, all the villages look the same! What was good to see was some of the fantastic waterside villas that I remember from my childhood – all pink and yellow.

We found a huge supermarket complex which delivered:

K bought a pressure cooker
J had a MacDonalds …. even if a slight comms issue and he needed up with a Happy Meal 🙂
We managed to ring Camping Milano to see if they had a space to take us … no need to book – just turn up.

We arrived at Camping Milano mid afternoon and got ourselves set up. We then caught the bus and Metro into the centre. Coming up from the Metro to the Duomo Piazza is quite something. The architecture of the cathedral alone is special, but then add in the Vittorio Emmanulle mall … wow factor. We eventually found the Expo ticket office and bought our consecutive day 2 day tickets…. so pleased J is a senior again …. EUR57 versus EUR42! Then found the TIC and picked up info for when we come to the do the city properly.

Vittorio Emanuelle Mall – after the First King after Unification in 1861 and this was completed in 1867.

And inside it – largest glass work after Crystal Place World Expo. Glass lit originally and had little wind up ‘mouse’ that trundled on a track around the top … the first ear knocked the top off the gas pipes and the second ear was the incendiary. Must have been quite a sight.

Old trams everywhere: some had wooden panelling – we will have a ride.

Expo Gate: where we purchased the tickets … statue and church behind

The cathedral – mellow evening light making it look golden. The quarry belongs to the Duomo so no other building has this stone. It is rippled with blue, grey and pink, so takes on a different colour in different lights.

Rounded off our quick visit with a glass before the return … and home cooked perch with a compot made in the new pressure cooker 🙂

171 – Thursday 8th October 2015: Expo Exposed

We caught the campsite shuttle to the Milan Expo – theme of food sustainability and feeding the world. A LOT, and I mean seriously a lot of people, and so many school groups, all arriving at the same time.

Herded.

We had googled the best bits and had a shortlist of country stands that we really wanted to visit.

So we started with UK – they do this kind of thing well – a bee hive with a live feed to a bee hive. Given we visited an amazing bee museum in Slovenia and K listened to a Farming Today broadcast about the importance of bees and pollination … this exhibit gave very little info, but it was sensory with a wild flower meadow and the bee sounds.

Ireland was next … best bits … a thunderstorm audio and giving kids a soft cuddly toy of a cow. If you knew nothing about Ireland you would think it rained all the time and all the landscape is covered with cows!

So it rains all the time?!

We don’t do well in queues, so the only other country we visited was Czech republic – no queue and it was evident why! UAE had a 3 hour queue. Korea 2 hour etc etc. One spends this long at the airport to fly to these countries, not to spend 5-10 mins seeing a stand! We got into some of the smaller countries, such as some of the African nations who were part of the Legumes section, but that was it. We still managed to spend 5 hours walking it … It is truly vast! And so busy! People kept pouring in.

Wine to help us with the crowds!

We have decided not to use our day 2 tickets … our time will be better spent exploring Milan for an extra day.

Milestone – 6 months

We have reached the 6 month travelling mark …

3rd April: Vacated our house in Bristol

4th April: Flew to Jordan for a 11 days driving trip

We cannot tell you how pleased we are to still be loving this. The time has just flown by. We do not miss TV (even the rugby or Strictly, which has just started), washing machines etc. Just people.

We are just so incredibly lucky and we know it.

Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels

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