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Well that's Christmas & New Year done for another year and probably the best one ever with us all together for the first time in 5 years...and altogther on New Year's Eve for the first time ever ! How weird is that ?
Justin,Minako & Marcus are back in Japan after a fairly fraught flight for Marcus who contracted some form of 'flu on Sunday night and had to spend 3 hours at Frimley Hospital Emergency Out of Hours Clinic...
Many thanks to William and Lynn who put up with us all over Christmas despite the weather disrupting many plans..............
So we are now getting ready to leave on Sunday for 3 months in the Sunshine ....we're off to sunny Spain, Viva Espagne......not forgetting Portugal where Sir Bruce will be joing us for (another) alcoholic sojurn at Praia da Luz and we try to avoid being pestered by Austin Healy again.
And of course we have entered a new phase.......the scooter is gone and we have 2 electric bikes.......one too many trips up into the mountains for the Good Fairy and the SanRemo riding experience I suspect. We bought them from the Electric Transport Shop in Cambridge who are terrific and have several other branches and whom I cannot recommend enough for their knowledge, help and service. With the weather we have had last month they have not had a great deal of use by we are both very excited by the trips we have done......so roll on the sunny weather....and watch this space
14th.- 17th. OCTOBER SANARY-SUR-MER
Campsite very good but a although the brochure states 800m from the sea we managed to get very lost on our first attempt to find it. We knew where it was because of the sun but the rabbit warren of private roads protecting the villas on the cliffs had us going round in the proverbial ever-decreasing, combined with the lack of any meaningful signs and extremely short,steep roads. We must have spent an hour and a half trying to get back to the site where I discovered we had gone in totally the wrong direction, despite the sun. However, when we got the scooter out and set off again the next day, the beach was a) more than 800m away and b) virtually impossible to get onto because of rocks and cliffs.
The town is a walkable distance away except for the exceedingly steep hill all the way back, but it is an extraordinarily pretty little fishing village with lovely bars and restaurants all around the quay and a terrific Provencal market all along the prom several times a week. 5kms away is BANDOL which is another very smart resort and we shall certainly be back here.
The news is that the French are on strike over pension reforms and blockading the oil terminal at Marseille....we can see the tankers at anchor on the horizon.....and that the refinereries are shut. Fortunately we have a full tank, good for 400+ miles, which will get us halfway back to the channel so will only need one full refill.
Despite the sunny days the evenings are closing in and getting chilly. We are booked back on Wed 27th but decided to start north on Mon.18th and take a leisurely route to calais for Sat.22nd.
Mon.18th. St.LAURENT DU PAPE...lovely Dutch campsite on edge of Ardeche/Rhone. Lovely road to AIX (past superbly situated Paul Ricard race circuit which has stunning views back to the Med); Tomtom let us down by routing through centre of Marseille which is overflowing with rubbish due to strike (looks like normal actually); came across stunning monument to Jean Moulin. Topped-up 32 litres diesel.
Tues 19th. BEAUNE.... Good road along the Rhone and through Crozes Hermitage; round LYON avoiding tolls on truck route and up to Boug-en -Bresse ; our favourite Aire in BEAUNE centre quite full; terrific meal at Le Fleury but pricey - 2 half bottles wine 42€. cars queuing for fuel in town but topped-up another 22 litres in small town.
Wed.20th. GURGY....another rural route to another favourite Aire on a river bank; topped-up 24 litres en route but passed a lot of closed stations; weather bright and sunny but v.cold with frost at night; had lovely walk along river bank in afternoon sun.
Thur.21st. MAREUIL SUR AY .....lovely route up through champagne region to another favourite Aire on the Marne canal; village in throes of beautification (as if it needed it) making access to aire very complicated; had great walk along canal.Stopped off at terrific monument to Battle of Marne 1914-v.impressive; picked 19 litres, filling tank again and plenty to get back home
Fri.22nd. CALAIS....Boring final leg, mainly toll-free motorways. Last year when we had to get back urgently for the GF's burnt leg, we did virtually the same journey in 2 days on motorways (1st night Beaune, 2nd Calais),733 miles and spent £144 in tolls. This year we took 5 days of easy driving,803 miles and spent £2 in tolls on a 2 junction detour round Avignon. Although the driving was fairly easy it wasn't quick and could probably be only cut to 4 days by missing Gurgy. Another terrific meal to finish at Au Cotes d'Argent, which has become a bit of a tradition over the last 5 years. The Gf kept her head down and did not start an argument with the chef this time.
Sat.23rd. HOME....unusually long wait to check-in at Tunnel as British customs stopping everything, esp.foreign registrations for in depth grilling. Took 40 mins to clear check-in but train on time and home at 1pm.......nothing too nasty in the post box and everything still working...so far !
3rd - 15th OCTOBER 2010 SAN REMO TO FRANCE
We stayed in SANREMO until 10th October and only left in the end as I started to get itchy feet to be moving and the weather became very windy for the last 2 days, prompting a decision to head down to HYERES, only about 100 miles away but about 50 miles more southerly.
The days at SANMREO passed in a most pleasant fashion, alternating between beach and swimming pool and occasional trips out on the scooter.......but after one particularly hair-raising ride up a mountain to SAN ROMOLO (patron saint of SR) the GF was loathe to venture much further afield. Trips into town.....which really is a very nice to roam....became increasingly a walk there and a bus ride back as taking the scooter was not worth the wear and tear on the nerves. Everybody rides a scooter, from smart business women in tight skirts and high heels to mama picking up the weeks groceries and papa bringing the produce from the allotment and every category in-between.......and that's not mentioning the 'youth' element. And they have powerful scooters, not 50cc jobbies and they ride around at top speed. Unfortunately, the car drivers are used to this and expect everyone on a scooter act like a maniac and disobey all the rules and are therefore surprised when someone like me has an over-developed sense of self preservation and doesn't conform to the maniac stereotyping. Helle & Jan left early one morning, after staying a week longer than they intended, with much hugging and kissing and promises to visit then in Denmark next year.
A day out to MONACO by bus to VENTIMIGLIA and train to MONACO (15€ return for 2). The station is weird and tries very hard to ignore the fact that whilst it is in Italy, trains are coming to and from France..(they go no further)... and whilst everybody appears to be going to or coming from France, there is no mention of these trains on the arrivals and departures board which steadfastly maintains that only Italian trains going to Milan and Turin stop here or originate from here. Its actually quite funny and confuses the hell out of everyone as there are also no staff to ask so everybody walks around the train with SNCF and a french flag on it asking everyone else if this is the train to Monaco,Nice or Cannes and looking harassed as they all shrug. Once it gets going of course, a very reassuring french voice assures us all that this is indeed the train back to civilisation, so sit back and enjoy. Only takes 30 mins to Monaco, along scenic coast and the difference between Italy and France is very marked. The station at Monaco is fantastic as is the whole of the city. Give me the money and I would move there tomorrow as it is the best city I have visited...only sorry I have never been to a Grand Prix there. No problem to find the circuit and walk round it as all the red/white curbing is in place permanently......so we walked it and then after lunch took the tourist train trip which went round it again ( and other places). A very walkable city (albeit quite small) but exceptionally clean and tidy and SMART. We passed a ferrari dealership which must have had 50 cars on display in the showroom and forecourt. Great place.
So we left SANREMO on Monday the 10th in rain (first in 3 weeks) and had rain until HYERES, where this was changed for high winds. Pretty scrubby campsite near GIENS at TOUR FONDUE opposite the Golden Isles of Porquerolles,Port-Cros and Levant for 3 days. The wind got worse, over 50kph. We walked into GIENS on market day and caught the bus to HYERES the next. Both places very pleasant esp. Hyeres which we noted last year as a possibly interesting place to visit. Decided not to linger here as I took against the campsite and it was very remote (most southerly tip of FRance) and head round to SANARY SUR MER where there is a campsite highly recommended which takes Camping Cheques...of which I have 4 left, bought early 2009 and expire at the end of 2010 and must therefore be used or we lose the value.
27th.September-3rd.October 2010 LIGURIAN LEISURE BREAK pt.2
Down the road 70kms to SANREMO (or SAN REMO). We had heard of a great campsite but it is very full, won't take bookings and you have to arrive early in the morning to see if any pitches are available. We got there at 10.07am and there was a choice of 3 pitches left, only one of which was really suitable for an attempted parking manoeuvre and that involved using one of the other vacant pitches....thereby breaking the golden rule of NEVER using an empty pitch to facillitate entry to your chosen pitch on an Italian campsite as sod's law dictates you won't be able to use it when you want to get off. These pitches are Very small, double length for back to back with hedges between adjacent pairs but lots of trees.
There are larger pitches on a terrace overlooking the sea but they cost another 10€ a day on top of the 15€ Acsi rate.. Electricity is only 3amp which barely runs the fridge and is not enough for the electric kettle. However, in every other respect it is a great site with accesss to beach, seawater swimming pool and jacuzzi, direct access onto 24 km old railway track cycle and footpath which goes through centre of town...30-40 mins on foot, bus/tram stop outside, 1€ each way into town, great views and lovely weather.
The longer we stay, the better we like the campsite and are contemplating moving down a level to the more expensive sites overlooking the beaches at an extra 10€ a night as they get the sun all day long whereas we are shaded by trees. We eat outside from breakfast to dinner, 8.30am-8.30pm but could do without the shade in the evenings. There is quite a lot of movement each day but everything is full again by 11am. When the germans behind us left I moved back 2 feet to get the satellite dish successfully working on Astra 2 instead of Astra 1 (german tv plus BBC World service for english news) but then a large swiss van moved onto the pitch 12ins from our rear.....and as I am on the front ramps I cannot roll back off them without asking the swiss to move forward - I did point this out when they parked but they could not move forward without sticking out into the access road. I trust that their smiles and assurances of assistance will hold good when I knock on their door at 8am one morning asking them to move.
Sanremo is delightful. A bit faded but like a dowager duchess still trying to keep up appearances and was obviously a rival to Monaco (30kms) Nice and Cannes in its heyday. There is still money here, evidenced by the shops,hotels,casino,yachts and marinas. It's Italian, however, which means most of it is in need of some TLC. The old town, another rabbit warren of steep,cobbled passageways and alleyways is incredibly interesting but a bit scruffy. The atmosphere is great, wall to wall cafes,bars and restaurants.....and scooters. This must be what a bee feels like in a hive. Thousands of scooters buzz everywhere. There is more parking space for scooters than there is for cars and scooters obey no traffic regulations at all. The roads are quite narrow and because the cars can't park they clog the roads nose to tail from here in every direction for as far as we have been and the scooters whizz passed them at high speed on the outside and inside without pausing for junctions or lights, and they take no prisoners. It is quite nerve wracking for me and the Gf is very nervous......so we have taken to parking outside the centre and walking a lot. Had a great trip along the (very scenic) coast road towards Monaco and inland to DOLCEAQUA, yet another mediaeval town with castle,steep,cobbled passageways (upon which we are now experts) and one of the most beautiful churches we have been inside.
On the site, we have made friends with our Danish neighbours, Ella and Jen, who are great fun and have taken 3 months off to tour Europe in an old, borrowed caravan which they have been told to abandon if it ceases to work. She has just had a new kidney after 8 years of dialysis and is lucky to be alive, hence the desire to get more out of life than working. He is a banker (but very nice) and she sells yachts and they sail all the time and organise a big international regatta for old,wooden sailing boats in June. We are seriously thinking of accepting their invitation to meet them in Denmark next year after they have done a great selling job, extolling the countries delights and a trip in May and June seems to be very much on the cards
The campsite arranged a free BBQ one lunch time as a thankyou to guests. Food was Ok and wine kept flowing, followed by grappa. In true b-team tradition, I am glad to say that our very giggly foursome was the last but one group to leave in the midst of the becoming-pointed clearing up and the afternoon was spent fast asleep until we decided to share a couple of bottles of wine late into the evening as we put the world to rights on war,religion,immigration and italian campsites (except this one).
The weather remains very,very warm and sunny.
20th.- 26th. September 2010 LIGURIAN LEISURE BREAK pt.1
A very pleasant 8 days spent on the Ligurian coast in very warm and sunny weather. The campsite ticks a lot of boxes but falls short of a top billing by being just too far for a stroll into town and the lack of a path on the road down to the beach. Being Italy, all the good bits of the beach are private concessions and the public bits are on the scrubby side. The campsite has an arrangement with one such operator and runs a shuttle bus to and fro. For 5€ you get the transport, changing huts, umbrella and 2 loungers which seems quite reasonable. We only did it once and that was the day the clouds came over in the afternoon along with a stiff breeze, necessitating a strategic withdrawal earlier than anticipated. Other afternoons were spent by the pool which was very nice. A couple of trips on the scooter, first to ZUCCARELLO, an old restored fortified village ....having climbed up the very steep path to the castle only to find it closed for further restoration...and secondly to CASTELVECCHIO DI ROCCA along a fairly hair-raising road to nowhere. We had climbed steadily but not seemingly spectacularly but suddenly the road was on the side of hillsides with no protection and very major perpendicular drops to the valleys below. I knew there was a problem from the grip being exerted by the Gf on the pillion but luckily traffic was very light (and careful) and we arrived in one piece. Lovely old mediaeval village with passageways and staircases carved into the rock and houses seemingly piled on top of each other.....the sky only glimpsed high above at irregular intervals. The next town along, ALBENGA, was also worth a visit but we missed out on the cathedral on account of it being shut between 12-3pm, this being Italy. The coast round here is very picturesque, area looks quite prosperous with lots of flower/herb/vegetable growing in huge greenhouses. Excellent supermarket within walking distance with a very drinkable Montepulciano D'Abbruzzo at 1€30 and 66cl bottles of Peroni at 0.95€. Campsite full until last couple of days when it started to empty as the town started to close down at end of season.....all beaches were 'free' from 27th sept.
19th.September..........ITALIAN RIVIERA-
Naturally, Sunday morning dawned without a cloud in the sky so at least we had a very pleasant run down through Italy to the coast, just west of GENOVA, and the last 60 miles was very scenic. Joyfully, the overhead signs with local info gave the temperatures as 25-26-27 and finally as we turned off the motorway, a pleasant 28 degrees. And then we got a result at the toll booth ! We had joined the A26 at VARESE, for some 250 kms and when the GF popped the ticket in the machine it wanted 18.80€ and we had opted for the Credit Card lane. Nothing happened so she tried the card in every possible configuration but it kept saying 'carte illegible', so we tried 3 more cards with the same result, pressed the help button and a voice in accented english kept telling us to try another card. I got out...against instruction as I later saw...and tried all the cards again without luck and then kept my finger on the help button. Suddenly, the ticket reappeared, the barrier opened, and a voice said 'I 'ave 'ad enough, arriverderci, go,go go'So now we will a)find a charge of 18.80€ on all four cards b) be on a motorway blacklist, arrested and fined next time we use the autostrada or c)get away with it........answers on a postcard.
Our destination was a small town called CERIALE, nr. ALBENGA. The campsite is another typical Italian one (see above, except electrics are good) but the family that run it are great, especially the son, Paulo, who spends all day squeezing outfits into impossible pitches, even driving them himself when faint-hearts baulk at his optimistic assessments of what we will go where. Our first night on Sunday was spent on a pitch near the road but the place was full and he assured us that a lot would leave on Monday morning and we could have our pick. The site is very shaded and everybody wants to get a satellite siting which is the bane of Paulo's life but he seems to keep everybody happy !
15-16th September 2010 IN THE ORCHARDS
Found a nice little campsite in a village called WAHLWEIS near STOCKACH at the western end of Bodensee but not very close to the lake....there were quite nice views when we walked up above the site through the apple orchards but not actually on the lake. The weather is not exactly brilliant with chilly nights, much like late September in the UK and whilst I would like to stay here and explore, the sunshine of the south is calling very strongly. The site owners are a very nice young couple who run the fruit farm and the site is extraordinarily pleasant......harvesting is going on all around with tractor trains of apples whizzing about all around us........the climate is such that the apples are picked by hand from now until november and mainly go for juice, with lots of small producers all around but surprisingly small numbers of pickers.
17-18th SEPTEMBER 2010 LAKE LUGANO
Time to head south. The cost effective route is through Switzerland in spite of the road tax sticker because the St.Gotthard tunnel is toll free. At the border in KONSTANZ I had hoped we might slip through because we would be through Switzerland in 3 hours but we were pulled over straight away and sent to the cash desk. The daily rate is 3.50 swiss francs but the minimum charge is 25 swiss francs which gives a 7 day permit....another rip off so you pay the 25sf and smile. Ran into heavy rain up to the St. Gotthard which still only has one tunnel open...just as 2 years ago..but the queues on the Italian side going into Switzerland must have been 10-15miles. I love this route because 17km in a tunnel is interesting and it seems that you you going downhill for about 60 miles and can virtually coast all the way down to the Itailian lakes using no fuel at all..........which was fortunate when I discovered that the Italian petrol stations were on strike and I had only put 20 litres in due to the high prices of the swiss diesel..
Lake Lugano is entirely within the swiss borders but the town right at the bottom ,PONTE TRESA ,where we were headed is in Italy and our campsite did not disappoint in being a typical Italian one.........difficult, narrow entry, narrow access roads, small cramped pitches under low trees and extremely iffy electrics but with direct access onto the lake and a view to die for. Fortunatley not too many tourers around so found the largest of the pitches available and ensured that once on we could get off again without difficulty and then had a lovely walk round the bottom of the lake together with our first delicious ice cream. Unfortunately it started to rain heavily in the evening and we had a thunder storm that seemed to last all night. In the morning it was clearer and we walked into the town 10 mins away along the the lakeside walk which turned out to be charming but we had little time to really explore as the heavens opened again as we left the local Carrefour with our weekly shopping and the roads were awash. This continued for the rest of the day, spoiling what should have been a nice stopover.
