186: Gubbio – The Gubbins

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Clunegapyears

185 – 23rd October 2015: Gubbio – the Gubbins

A crack of dawn start and a walk to the hospital. A 20 minute wait and we saw the dentist … he was not able to help as J needs an Xray and serious repair! He can only fix small cracks! Pleasant enough … but tooth problem still needs ‘crowning’. Perhaps Naples!

Quick hoover – J and identify some possible overnight Parkings in Assisi – K and we were off by about 11. The guide book made Gubbio sound good, so we set this as a via point on Brad, the Sat Nav. Perhaps I should explain … We had an incident with Sally, the Sat Nav. Suddenly she became Afrikaans and we could not understand her. About to re-set her back to Sally and thought we could do with a change of voice, so we now have Brad …. male American. Brad as in Brad and Janet in the Rocky Horror Show, as he sounds like an all round nice guy, but a bit dim. Sadly he does not say rout for route. A slight digression …. Brad decided to take us the most direct rout(e) – over hills. Lots of hairpin bends and hill towns with castles atop. Pretty but slow driving.

As we pulled up to Gubbio it was really striking: a Roman amphitheatre in the foreground and layers of a glowing white stone town behind. Banners proclaimed that the white truffle festival was on. At the TIC we asked about the main sights, the truffle festival and an overnight Parking with water. The Parking was only about a half km from where we had parked, so it meant we could wander at will and not worry about getting onto Assisi, which will keep till tomorrow.

Roman Amphitheater – the first sight as we arrived.

Our rout(e) around Gubbio included several of the truffle festival stall areas. There were not many customers about and we were pressed with samples to consume … managed to come away without buying the EUR300 truffle I was kindly shown. But did buy a tuna and pistachio paste, nougat for Maddy, a small lump of cheese and a bottle of very green pistachio cream (alcoholic!) … no truffle products though :(. Apparently to keep the truffles, you place on kitchen paper, which needs changing daily and place in a glass jar in the fridge. I was told the Japanese often buy large ones which are unusable due to lack of care in the keeping. My truffle guide unscrewed the lid on one truffle jar and the scent was very heady … almost tempting!

The historical part of our rout(e) was equally rewarding. The Palace of the Consuls traced the history of Gubbio … prehistoric, redesigning under the Romans and then retreating up the hills when the Byzantines and Goths came as it was then easier to defend themselves from there. As part of this redesigned city they used the latest technology – toilets and water pipework to fountains and really impressive huge arches to support the Piazza Grande. The Palace also contains the Eugubine Tablets – 7 tablets with inscriptions on brass. These date from 1BC and were undeciphered until the late 1800’s. They provided evidence of how people lived in Umbria before the Roman Conquest. The part I read (yes, translated into English) was about the detailed rituals for sacrificing a goat. As well as art and stone, there was also a superb viewing gallery at the top.

We wandered the streets and somehow found ourselves in a bar enjoying a rather pleasant red. More wanderings and stalls and back to Chardonnay. Our neighbours are all Italian, but it is quiet and only EUR5 for water and waste etc.

A fantastic afternoon – one of those moments in time….

The Plazzo dei Consuls with the Piazza Grande supported by massive arches.

And this is what has held up the Piazza for hundreds of years

Shops were classy: truffle and other local food products and ceramics. But even so … we still saw bows and arrows, a crossbow and a leg trap.

The Eugubine Tablets

Sunset over the amphitheater as we return to Chardonnay

184 – 185: The Power of the EHIC and San Marino

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Clunegapyears

184 – Wednesday 21st October 2015: Ospedale Rimini and San Marino

We had googled that to invoke the power of the EHIC we needed to present ourselves at a state hospital who would refer us to a state dentist. We had had a superb experience of the power of the EHIC in Slovenia and assumed that we would have a lesser experience in Italy. A 40 min walk to the very large and modern hospital. Found Pronto Soccorso aka A&E and presented ourselves. The receptionist had a few words of English and asked us to wait. A translator arrived!!! She did the initial registration and then we were through to waiting room number 2. A lot of people with much more serious injuries and obviously in pain arrived, so we expected a long wait. James was called in just under an hour :). The Dr spoke English and referred him to the the onsite dentist. Being so vast we were guided part of the way to the green corridor and then asked for help, only to discover we had missed the dentist by about 10 mins … he shut up shop at 12.00 and would not be back till 9.00 on Friday. Our helper who spoke OKish English became very animated when the subject of football and Liverpool came up … funny that!

A few Rimini Pix, I meant to upload on the last blog … blame the slow wifi … as not a drop of alcohol in me!

A Rimini fountain … not often you see horses snorting from their nostrils!

James looking dead cool

But then, also a dodgy geezer with my hand bag! In front of the Fish Market, built in the main square to denote the importance of fishing.

But then less cool, in dodgy geezer mode, with my hand bag! In front of the Fish Market, built in the main square to pay homage to the importance of fishing.

Tiberius Bridge – one of my fav pix

A typical frontage along the beach … imagine hundreds of these … does not make for an attractive stroll along the shore.

We walked back to our Rimini parking and had lunch. The original plan had been to go to San Marino (RSM on number plates), so we did. San Marino is the oldest and smallest republic. It boasts a football team, the F1 used to happen here but the motor racing championships still do. An older Italian chap we met today described the San Marinese as criminals and rich! It is a tax haven and very wealthy … a government surplus. Apparently a law exists to protect the rich elderly male inhabitants from scheming female money grabbers … all female domestic staff have to be over 50! I’d just qualify, but don’t want a job thanks!!! Plus, I already have my older man, thanks. Shame about the rich part!

The Parking I had identified was a) free and b) 5 mins up a path to the bottom of the cable car that goes up to San Marino historic centre. We had thought we would go up tomorrow, but we were told that it only took about 2 hours to go around and so it proved. Monte Titano is striking in that it is very rocky, steep and sticks out like a sore thumb in the otherwise rolling landscape. Whichever angle you view the Monte from, you can see the fortresses and town walls. The cable car was only EUR4.5 return and a short hop, compared to some we’ve been on, so J did not suffer having to study the cable car floor!

Pretty to walk around and you can see the Adriatic. A castle, churches, walls, fortress towers and an open air theatre which used to be a quarry. BUT full of restaurants, cafes and tourist shops selling leather, guns, and knock off designer brands.

This young man is not catching a bird but an airborne camera. It flew off, up and around one of San Marino’s towers. Talking to the upper crust young Englishmen it can fly 2 km away and compensates for wind etc.

San Marino art? What are these dragonfly up to?

J unimpressed … lots of guns for sale.

I had to bribe him to sit on this ledge …

View from the top as the sun went down.

And a superb sunset from our terraced overnight parking.

185 – Thursday 22 October 2015: Borgomaggiore and Sort-Of-Sorting a Door Locking Problem

We knew we had to return to to Rimini tonight to see the dentist early on the morrow, so we decided not to stray too far. We walked from our Parking into the largest town, Borgomaggiore, which really was not very large. It had a market so we bought some veggies; I plan to do the unctuous veggie sauce I did on the cooking course in Tuscany in August again.

Lunch at the parking and finally found the motorhome services, which were on a lower terrace to us.

We had spotted a motorhome sales garage on our way up to San Marino and decided to stop off there on the return. We have a few niggles that could be sorted or could wait, but the problem with the habitation door lock cannot wait. One of the locks is stuck in lock mode which means the door will not quite fully close and of course is potentially easier to break into. We had to wait 20 mins for the staff to return from their 3.5 hour (!!!) lunch. As Chardonnay is a Bessacarr i.e. English made and not known in Italy, they could not help. However, the owner rang a company who may be able to help. It took us about 40 mins to get to the industrial area environs and then about another 40 mins to find the place … grrr! Helpful chap again, but no, he did not have the part either, but fiddled and showed us a trick to unlock it. We will have to check its position each time we close the door, but at least we are back to full security.

Back to our parking in Rimini … other than the CamperStop in Ljubljana which we returned to 3 times, this is the only other time we have been, stayed away one night, and returned to the same place. Dentist tomorrow … fingers crossed.

A few pictorial Italy observations:

Made us chuckle ... on a small Fiat ... is there room? P'raps we should have this on the back of Chard?

Made us chuckle … on a small Fiat … is there room inside? P’raps we should have this on the back of Chard?

Some interesting roadside advertising … we thought of Route 66 and the giant plastics.

Every town has one. A pawn brokers; they take silver, gold diamonds and dental gold! Out Tuscany tour guide told us the Italians are about making sure they have the latest and could not possibly admit to having no money. I wonder how many of Granny's jewels have gone this way?

Every town has one. A pawn brokers; they take silver, gold, diamonds and dental gold! Our Tuscany tour guide told us the Italians are all about making sure they have the latest and could not possibly admit to having no money. I wonder how many of Granny’s jewels have gone this way?

Health and Safety: we watched as this rubbish was thrown down into the street. There was a spotter at ground level, but the rubbish landed and remained nicely balanced on the wall mounted lamp … for now!

175-177: Verona, Soave and Vicenza and WELL DONE MADDY :)

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Clunegapyears

175 – Monday 12th October: Milan’d Out and head for another city … Verona

Packed up and left our 5 night Milan stop .. fully serviced: grey waste and toilet emptied and fresh water on board … we get veryexcited to be be in this ‘we can stay anywhere’ state.

A variation on a rolling stone gathers no moss … a touring motorhome gathers no leaves … time to move!

J had developed a head cold, so was under medication so K drove to Verona. Long lunchtime stop at a village on Lake Guarda we had passed last on our bikes! We had cycled through it on our way to Sirmione and this visit was pure chance .. we had deviated from the main road in search of a supermarket! Sally the Sat Nav then showed us the blue line to show where we had driven as we left Lago di Garda … a bit surreal to be retracing our steps (or tyres) on our European trip.

We parked up in a proper sosta – all services and a barrier. Many thanks to the Germans who helped us enter through the barrier. At EUR10 / 24 hours and only 10 mins walk into the city … we’re happy.

We parked up and wandered through the gap in the old town wall to the centre. TIC shut, but time to have a quick glass (medicinal for J!) before returning for supper.

176 -Tuesday 13th October: Verona Proper

We purchased the Verona card from the TIC: EUR18 and it was worth it. K’s costs for all would have been EUR35.50. It gained us entry to all the main sites … even Juliette’s Balcony, which we would not have otherwise paid to see.

Kerstin – this one is for you … every town seems to have one!

The Roman Arena

Built in the first century, it predates the Colleseum in Rome. It has been in near constant use and they were dismantling the seating and stage from the Operatic Summer season. This is where K ran to in the morning … and it had stopped raining when I started …. and was most definitely raining on the return. One idiot umbrella seller offered me a brolly – as if I could run with it! Officially I am no longer a fair weather runner!

The Church of St Fermo

Fermo and Rustico were commemorated by this church, and their remains moved here. The Franciscans built TWO churches; one on top of the other. The lower to keep the remains and the upper for religious services. The walls of both churches were covered with 13 and 14 century frescos. The Upper Church had the most amazing wooden ship’s keel ceiling with small images of over 400 saints.

It was here K received the phone call… not used to receiving calls, I had omitted putting my phone on silent and there was comedic fumbling to the bottom of the rucksack to silence the call. The reason for the call from K’s daughter … she had just passed her driving test, which means that Beryl the mint green Fiat 500 can emerge from the garage. North Camp Taxis may now go out of business!

The GOOD NEWS … outside the Church!

Church of St Anatasia

Italian Gothic, 14 and 15th century largest in Verona. A huge painted height with more frescos; the most important of which is Pisanello’s St George and the Princess, or what is left of it. We also liked the hunchback supporting the holy water stoop. Lunch stop outside.

Piazza Erbe

Named after the herbs that used to be sold here. Still markets stalls and restaurants. Attractive architecture around.

Juliet’s Balcony

Actually an old coaching inn, but a whole industry. The original story was written not by Marlowe (aka Shakespeare), but by Luigi da Porto of Vicenza. People stick messages to loved ones on the wall with used chewing gum (YUK) … something the authorities are trying to stop, but not completely successfully … graffiti also rules! We would not have paid to go in, but since it was included with our Verona Card and we then had to have a pic on the balcony.

Supposed to help you find your love if you stroke the breast … of course J and I had no need!

I have watched a Vanessa Redgrave film called ‘Letters to Juliet’ …. and was surprised to find this …

Desks for writing replies inside … it must be true.

The Cathedral Complex

Cathedral, Bishop’s Residence, cloisters, baptistry and old mosaics and excavations. Less interesting than the two previous churches which both had something different. Most memorable is the font carved in 1200 from one piece of stone.

Wine stop to raise a glass to Maddy.

Castelvecchio

Very impressive from the outside but really disappointing on the inside. It was the home to the powerful Scalgeri family, but nothing about them or the castle inside …. all art … more ancient statues and Madonnas! And then modern art next to some pieces with airy fairy leaps of connection to the old. Rubbish. Could climb some of the walls, which is the only reason it is worth going in.

Proud cow!

What I thought of the gallery .... the leaflet talked about 'unnatural anatomical tension' interrelation to this and Christ on the cross. Bah!

What I thought of the gallery …. if you look closely! The leaflet talked about ‘unnatural anatomical tension’ in relation to this and Christ on the cross. Bah!

Not art, but a long drop toilet, but on a theme!

Another Madonna!!!

San Zeno Maggiore Church

We only had 15 mins here as it was closing time … it houses the shrine of Verona;s patron saint. Another wooden ship’s keep nave ceiling. More frescos and cloisters …. we missed the crypt and the doors.

177 – Wednesday 14th October 2015 – Suave in Soave and Vet (German accent) in Vincenza

Kept awake a LOT last night by heavy rain. It is loud enough anyway when it hits the plastic roof and then when under trees, the droplets seem to coagulate into conker size!

No run … perhaps I am a fair weather runner after all? Brekkie and services and we set off for Vicenza, apparently much over looked as tourists head for Milan and Venice, and a stop at Soave on the way.

Saove is visible from the main road and motorway as the castle is perched in a small hill. It is good to be out of the flat plains of Lombardy and into rolling hills of Vento. We found a motorhome parking which would have been good value at EUR5 for 24 hours, but since we only wanted a few hours and the town was pretty much shut, there was plenty of free parking. Shops – shut. Castle – shut. Could have had lunch as few restaurants open but sarnies for J and homemade tomato and lentil soup waiting for us back at Chez Chardonnay.

Walked up, but on their 3 hour lunch break!

Good to see hills again

Yep – shut!

Vines now devoid of grapes, looking down to Soave

Less than an hour onto Vincenza. Parked in a sosta with only Italian motorhomes; last night was 90% German. Not sure how many are inhabited compared to long stay parked. Raining on and off, and a good 15 mins walk into town.

High drama – almost! J could (J here) have been arrested as a dangerous vagrant… Unsure of the correct way to the old town – I emerged from behind some rubbish bins (unfortunately, as it happened) to ask a nice señora for directions – she promptly dived into her Fiat 500 and fled the scene !!! I sniffed my armpits, checked that I had cleaned my teeth – all in order… Our deduction was that as I appeared to be hiding behind the bins – she assumed I was a tramp asking for money or about to snatch her bag!!! Fortunately, the Polizia Locale were not called and I may have a new reputation….a dodgy bloke. Mi Scusi, Signora – mea maxima culpa – molto flagrante! I then asked another Signora – in my almost fluent Italiano – ” Dove il centro di Vicenza ?” She assumed I was an Italian Signore – ” al primo a senestra, Signore ” – wow! Azure Lingua, Sarah! Molto bene, tutti!!!

(K back again) Wandered around and it is attractive; worth a day out from one of the other major cities. All the architecture is pretty much done by Palladino and his disciple; lots of columns.

The TIC lady told us we could get the bus back using are motorhome parking ticket as it entitles us to two bus trips … GRR, we left it hidden in Chardonnay, so a wet walk back. Will look for this another time.

We were too late to gain entry, but this is the entrance to the oldest indoor theatre in Europe 1580… apparently Palladio used a stone semi-circle for the seats and painted the sky on the ceiling.

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

Tag Archives: motorhoming

186: Gubbio – The Gubbins

184 – 185: The Power of the EHIC and San Marino

175-177: Verona, Soave and Vicenza and WELL DONE MADDY :)

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