Post by JaG - Jean & Graham on Nov 22, 2013 15:21:01 GMT
It seemed only yesterday that we decided to do this tour. In fact it was 15 months ago when we first started planning it, the idea coming from friends on a Motorhome meet in June 2011. Since that time it had gone from direct to Croatia and back to ‘let’s see what we can see’. It had also gone from 28 days to 46 days, although the final time was 42 days.
The round trip consisted of 2959 miles, staying at a total of 15 sites in 9 countries. The planning route was at Version 21, that is after Version 3 was announced as the 'finale’', we wish. The route planned was:
This is the ‘blog’ we wrote as we toured around Europe, most of it written at the end of each day. It was written as a ‘Memory Journal’ that we could look back for years to come and for others who may be thinking about doing the same thing and have an idea of what was involved.
The Plan
Sunday 2nd September
Leisurely journey from Chesterfield down to Dover, stopping overnight on Hawthorn Farm
Hawthorn Farm
Monday 3rd September
Early rising to catch the 0640hrs ferry from Dover to Calais. That should get us off the ferry and on the road by around 0930hrs, taking into account the hour forward. First time towing on the continent will be a bit daunting I suppose however, a lot is motorway. Jean will be my 'eyes' as she is on the overtaking side. 'No pressure then', she says. We have got 260 miles to do before we reach our night stop at Campingplatz der Stadt, Koln
Campingplatz der Stadt, Koln
Tuesday 4th September
Hope to set off around 0830hrs to our next stop at Knaus Camping Park, Nuremberg. It is 255 miles, which is a nice distance on the motorway. The frustrating part is going to be doing 48mph, the limit for Germany.
Knaus Camping Park, Nuremberg
Wednesday 5th September
This part of the journey takes us into Austria to Camping Pyhrm, Gleinkerau 34, 4580 Spital am Pyhrn, which is 225 miles from Nuremberg. Expecting the scenery to be spectacular. I anticipate several 'photo stops' on the way.
Thursday 6th September
We will have to tear ourselves away from the mountains to travel through Austria, into Slovenia for a short way then into Northern Croatia to Camp Slapic near Zagreb.
Camp Slapic near Zagreb
Friday 7th September
The final leg of our first part of the tour when we drive down to our main stay campsite at Camping Strobrec, Split, just 216 miles away. By the time we get here I anticipate we will be very tired as the adrenalin will have subsided and we will be ready for the rest. 18 days to enjoy the sunshine, here's hoping eh?
Camping Strobrec Split
Monday 24th September
Well rested we leave the campsite to our overnight stop at Camping Preluk, Rijeka, 222 miles away.
Tuesday 25th September
On to one of the main highlights of the trip - Venice, staying at Camping Serranissima. We will have travelled just 138 miles this day. There is a bus every 30 minutes into Venice for 22 hours of the day, and back again. We plan to buy a 2 day rover ticket to see as much as we can.
Saturday 29th September
Moving on to our next site Camping Bella Italia on the shore of Lake Garda, a mere 81 miles away. Hoping for some lovely warm sunsets, even though it will be almost October. Don't expect any photos of sunrise; we don't do early mornings on holiday.
Wednesday 3rd October
Off to our overnight stop at Camping Tunnel, Aosta, 203 miles away. This is just outside the Grand St Bernard tunnel, which we will be going through to our next site.
Thursday 4th October
Through the tunnel and on to Camping Rive Bleue, 1897, Montreaux, just 62 miles today. We are expecting to break out the winter woolies. Whilst here we plan to visit the cheese factory at Gruyeres Village as well as Montreaux. I may even drive through Geneva at 50mph to show Jean the gold shops.
Monday 8th October
The 167 mile journey through Switzerland should be spectacular to our next site Camping Hirzberg in Freiberg, Germany. We hope to visit Europa Park for the day and venture into Freiburg and the Black Forest.
Thursday 11th October
A longish day of 187 miles to Bon Accueil, Luxembourg. We are only here for 2 nights so it will be a day exploring the city as our site is a bus ride away from the Centre.
Saturday 13th October
It will be getting cold now we reckon as we travel the 203 miles to Camping Klein Strand, Belgium. This is our last site on the Continent. We plan to visit Brugges and the coast. May even have a relaxing day while there.
Tuesday 16th October
A leisurely 63 mile drive back to Calais Ferry Port for our mid afternoon ferry. We shall be staying at Hawthorn Farm for the night.
Wednesday 17th October
Back home to Chesterfield. Just enough time to empty the van before we go on Cheryl's Stargazer's weekend.
Saturday 1st September 2012
T Minus 26 hours and counting.
At around 10am tomorrow we set off for our first overnight at Dover, ready to sail at 0640hrs on Monday morning.
Everything is in the caravan and it has been duly weighed at the Public Weighbridge. The travelling files are complete. Travel Log, Costing sheet, Car Documents, Caravan Documents, Driving Documents (Licence, Counterpart, International Driving Licence), Health and Travel Insurance, NHS Cards, Car Breakdown documents, ACSI Card, Camping International Card, Camping Carnet, Road Tax disc for Austria and Switzerland (Slovenia will be bought on Services), European Map, Michelin Route print-out, Ferry Tickets, Reservations for sites, GPS Coordinates and addresses of all sites, TV Satellite bearings, ACSI Books, etc., etc., etc.
Now, I wonder if we can find room to get into the car with the awning, caravan twin-tub, portable fridge, wind-breaks, fresh water containers for overnight stops, waste water container, Carling Export for the end of each day, etc., etc.
Have I forgot anything?
Sunday 2nd September 2012
We left Chesterfield almost on time at 1015am. The weather was warm and dry and the SatNav showed no delays throughout the 230 mile journey.
As promised the journey down was an absolute pleasure. There were no queues or slow moving traffic, except for a short delay on the Dartford Bridge of around 5 minutes. We arrived at Hawthorn Farm at around 4pm to a pleasant welcome from Reception and advised we could pitch anywhere on site, and there was loads to choose from. We decided to stay near the exit as we were leaving at 0515am so as not to disturb too many campers. Did not see the railway line directly behind the caravan where the trains ran until 1130pm and started again at 5.15am.
The highlight of the evening was a flypast of the Vulcan at around 5.30pm. What a site, my favourite aircraft; the perfect start to our holiday.
We decided to use our Garmin walking satnav to track our journey, just for interest and to look back on.
Mileage = 230. Moving time = 4hrs 25 minutes. MPG = 29.0
Tomorrow is a long day to Cologne.
Monday 3rd September 2012
An early night was had by both of us as we had to rise early at 4.30am for our 6.40am crossing. The night seemed endless, looking at the clock…1am, 1.40am, 2.00am and on and on until 4.20am when we got up. A quick shower to freshen up then trying to hitch the caravan back up in pitch blackness without waking anyone at 5.15am was an impossible task, especially with a tent right next to us.
The Pride of Kent ferry left on time. This was it. As we arrived in Calais the butterflies started, thinking of whether we would head the right way or not. We were tired but knew the adrenalin of the first day and the sites we would see en-route (which was cows and nowt else) would keep us alert.
The SatNav said Brussels was 115km away .The journey was brilliant and uneventful, well almost! It was a brilliant road, until that is ‘she (TomTom)’ said take the next exit. We had only gone 40km or so and it was saying turn off for Gent. Well, TomTom, a force to be obeyed, must know what she is doing (I think not). We followed her every instruction, on this occasion………Gent is a lovely little town.
We saw it all. The high street shops, mini roundabouts, one-way streets, impossible corners, weaving in and out of parked cars; and all in a 42 foot outfit. I am now a fully seasoned local delivery driver for Gent. And guess what? Fifteen minutes later it put us back on the main route to Brussels. That is the last time we follow her to the letter. Mind you, the next time ‘she’ said turn off we looked at each and said, ‘Well, shall we or shan’t we?’
We arrived at Camping Koln around 3.30pm. The reception was excellent – me trying to say everything in German and the receptionist answering back in fluent English. We met another English couple from Newcastle who were en-route to Austria. The site was right next to the Rhine with a pathway that takes you into the city 4km away. Beautiful scenery and a place we will come back to one day for sure. Cruise ships passed almost continually. The toilets and showers were modern and spotless and there was a Restaurant right outside the entrance. The cost of the site was not cheap at 26E but the location was perfect. Looking forward to a full night’s sleep as this was our hardest day we had to do totalling almost 12 hours. Tomorrow it’s off to Nuremberg and not expecting to see any spectacular scenery either.
Mileage = 271. Move time =5hrs 27 minutes. Average Speed = 48.4mph. Mpg = 29.9
Tuesday 4th September 2012
After a pleasant evening meal out we retired to bed, ready to get up at 7am for an 8.30am start. Up we got at 7am, or at least we thought we had. Forgot to change the time on the clock to European time so it was 8am with a 9.30 start. Oh well, we are on holiday I suppose. During the night it was not even annoying being woken now and then by a huge cargo ship going up or down the Rhine.
As suspected the 271 mile trip did not produce anything interesting to see though the scenery was a little better with forests, hills and huge traffic jams of 10 miles the other side where a lorry had broken down in the road-works. No change there then.
We arrived at Camping Knaus site, Nuremberg at around 3.30pm, leaving us plenty of time to chill out in the 27 degree heat with an ice cold beer.
The site is almost in the city yet it is a forest of acorn trees. At 32E a night it is quite expensive, and they don’t do any discounts either. Internet was fair though at 3.5E for 24 hours.
It was lovely sat outside eating a salad under the trees, listening to the odd acorn drop on the caravan roof. Reception did warn us that the squirrels are very naughty. In the night they sit in the 50 foot trees above the caravan and throw nuts onto the roof deliberately.
Tomorrow is another 225 mile trip, though this should be more interesting as we are travelling out of Germany and into Austria. We thought we would be bored with such a long journey but it is not so as each day is so different and we know on Friday we will be reaching our ultimate goal – Split in Croatia for 18 days of doing nowt.
Mileage = 265. Move time = 5hrs 17 minutes Average speed = 50.4mph Mpg = 29.9
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/020-Koln-12.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
Wednesday 5th September
I used to love squirrels, especially red ones. Now I am not so sure because I swear that they waited until I snored then threw an acorn hard onto the caravan roof from 50 foot up. This happened at least every 20 minutes throughout the night, hence with little more than 3 hours sleep we were more than a little tired. That clock tried it’s old trick of knocking itself back an hour but I was wise to it this time as we got up at 7am proper time and left at a healthy 8.30am. It was dry and warm and the temperature soon rose to 26C. As we entered Austria around noon we started a steady climb up to 2000 feet above sea level, travelling through several long tunnels. What we had noticed since leaving Koln is the speed at which cars travel. Over a quarter are well over 100mph and many 120+mph. Overtaking has to be well planned and good visibility before pulling out because they appear from nowhere. Where have all the British gone? For the last 2 days we have not seen one British registered vehicle on the road at all. We did meet a couple from Newcastle in Koln and they also stayed in Nurnberg with us however, that was it.
We arrived in good time at around 2pm and were all set up by 2.30pm so we decided to visit the local town, Windischgarsten. We strolled around the shops, bought a couple of souvenirs then had a coffee with a banana split at a street Café.
The evening was spent reading and relaxing ready for another 225 miles or so tomorrow. We heard thunder in the distance around 6pm. By 7pm we had a massive thunderstorm; we could not even hear each other speak. Next to the site was a field with cows, all with bells around their neck. Guess it is going to be another noisy night.
No rush tomorrow as it will be our last stop before arriving in Split.
Mileage = 232. Move time = 4hrs 45 minutes. Average Speed = 48.7. Mpg = 33.5 (best day yet)
Thursday September 6th 2012
And so it was, the storm raged almost all night. I have never heard thunder like it. It was so strong the whole floor of the caravan shuddered. The cows ate grass all night long – that’s why their bells clanged every few seconds I suppose. When we woke at 7.30am it had stopped raining but was dull and gloomy, though warm. We had breakfast, packed up and were on the road by 9.10am.
The journey through Austria was smooth, climbing gradually to 2,500 feet above sea level and travelling through many tunnels, some four miles long. That was the only bit where I gritted my teeth, travelling at 80kmh through a two way tunnel with lorries thundering towards us and little room for a mistake. Still, all in days driving. The Tolls were not too bad at 15E however, we had to buy the Slovenian Vignette which cost 30E for a month, as we were coming back through there in 20 days time. Rip off seeing as we were only in Slovenia for perhaps 30 minutes or so.
We arrived at Camp Slapic at 2.30pm. What a game getting to the site. The new road to it was unfinished and the only way over the river was via a temporary steel floating bridge, or so we thought. I knew before I went on it that it spelt trouble, and it did. When we got on site it had torn the jack pads off the bottom of the caravan. The site owner said I was lucky that was all that had happened. We were not aware there was another way in, well, TomTom didn’t, which was not signposted either. At least we will get out without damage.
The site is fantastic, a fisherman’s dream with running river right behind the site, all free and a lake just a minute’s walk away.
The restaurant will be acquainted tonight and there is a BBQ area for free use. Free internet as well. And all for 14.5E a night with ACSI. Now this is a site you could happily spend a week on. It also has outside covered bar, swimming ladders into the river, modern toilets, showers. Pity we have to leave in the morning. Still, tomorrow we shall reach our furthest point out and be able to chill for 18 days.
Mileage = 224. Move Time = 4hrs 49 minutes. Average Speed = 46.5mph. Mpg = 30.5
Friday 7th September
D-Day – the day we start our holidays for proper. We were up bright and early and on the road by 8.20am. The drive down through the Croatian mountains was mainly easy. Still not a British vehicle in sight and noticeably, almost no lorries. I did read somewhere about lorries not being out on Friday’s and weekends.. Was I right?
There was such a strange phenomena that happened on the way. The weather had been dry, no clouds, no wind and around 16 degrees, right up until lunchtime. We put it down to being in the mountains at 2000 feet above sea level – but we were wrong. Just before midday the road signs showed a wind sock and maximum speed 40 mph. No sooner than it did the wind raged across the road from no-where. We were not even in an exposed area. It buffeted the caravan side to side even at 40mph, and this went on for over an hour. Then, as quick as it came, it went. Not only that but within a few minutes the temperature went from 16 degrees to 29 degrees. It was as if it was creating a barrier. We asked around as was told it was called the ‘Bora’ wind, which affects only the North of Croatia and Slovenia and can gust up to 140mph. We arrived at Camping Stobrec in Split at 1.30pm. The site is fabulous. Our caravan is sited one away from the sea shore, restaurants and shop 5 minutes walk, water and waste at rear of caravan.
When we first planned this from the UK TomTom said we would arrive at 1.15pm. Fifteen minutes late, I am sure I will live with that - 1481 miles over 6 days.
By 6pm we were all set up and sitting down for our meal outside the awning. It was still 27C and the forecast for the next 7 days is 29C and 21C at night. Will I miss getting up at 6.45am every morning, packing up and moving on? I think not for the next 18 days.
Mileage = 258. Move time = 5hrs 5 minutes. Average Speed = 49.4 mph. Mpg = 27.1
Sunday 9th September 2012
Another day in paradise.
Been nowhere, done nothing but read and sleep and paddle in the sea outside the caravan. Jean has been making a few cards ready for Christmas.
Before we came Jean had a cortisone jab in her knee to try and help with her walking. Unfortunately it went wrong and he could only get half in as there is no cartilage left, so it has left her with burning down her leg 24 hours a day. She can only walk about 20 yards at a time so tomorrow we are going to see if we can find a mobility scooter to hire in Split while we are here. Still, we will make the best of what we have...no problem.
You know the things I find amazing.
1. In 4 days of travelling we have not seen one single British vehicle.
2. We were half way through a 4 mile tunnel in Austria. The SatNav was still working, the Radio was still on channel and amazingly, I received a telephone call over the car system from the UK like it was next door. How do they do that because in Slovenia we lost everything under a long bridge, and in the UK the radio and Sat-Nav disappears under a bridge?
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/Stobrec-Restaurantend.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
Just enjoying the sun, sitting on the sand watching the sun go down. Been and done our food shopping in LIDL. No plans on going anywhere for a few days at least.
The internet is really good and fast here and cost around £9 for 24 hours use, which is good because you can use it for as long as you want each day, or any time you want until you have clocked up 24 hours over any period. We use Skype to keep in touch with Millie and family/friends.Tonight it is still 22 degrees and we are sat outside with a nice cool drink.
Monday 10th September 2012
We woke to a new dawn and another hot day. It was 23’C by 8.30am. Jean thought her leg felt a lot better today after resting it for a couple of days so we decided to visit the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian in Split and see how it held up.
Fascinating, absolutely fascinating. The Palace was built by Emperor Diocletian in 218AD for him to retire to as it was time for him to abdicate and hand over the Emperor title to someone else. He built it in Split because he was born locally and wanted to spend the rest of his days in the same area. He died in 235AD.
We bought our ticket to enter the Palace and started walking around looking at everything. In the second room we heard an English speaking guide taking a group of Australians around so listened from a distance. As she was interesting we asked the group of around 10 if they minded if we tagged along, agreeing to make a donation at the end. They all agreed and we had a brill time going through all the rooms and areas. They even helped Jean get up and down steps with me and she managed to walk with them for over an hour. We gave our donation and left the group for a premium priced coffee. At midday they did an enactment of Caesar addressing the nation from the balcony with everyone hailing him.
From there we found a nice local café that made Pizza’s and had lunch. There is nothing like a locally made Pizza. It was enormous so we shared it and, at only 4.50E it was excellent value for money too.
On the way back to the car we went via the Cathedral of St Domnius, which is within the Palace grounds and I went up to the top to see the magnificent view over the city. I must admit it felt really hairy climbing those 145 steps up to the top and looking down above the bells. The Roman Catholic Cathedral was built in the 7th Century with the walls being 6 foot thick on the main towers. A very worthwhile 4 hour visit.
We made our way back to the campsite and got back to our normal afternoon nap before showering, having our evening meal then chilling out for the evening.
Original houses within the Palace walls
Now why has Jean got such a broad smile on her face?
The Cathedral Tower Graham climbed up
The view from the top
Looking down on the Cathedral bells
Wednesday 12th September
After a day of sunbathing, and me getting burnt, we decided today was a ‘cover up’ day and a day to go exploring. Today was the day we met one of our worst nightmares….being robbed in broad daylight of 500 kuna (about £54.50). More on that later.
The day consisted of a 200 km round trip from Split to Dugoppolie via the A1, over the mountain road to Drnis, down the mountain into Sibenik, onto the coastal road to Primosten, (the point at which we were robbed) then onto Trogir via the coast road and back into Split. The journey took us around 7 hours with stops, including the involuntary one.
The mountain road was so diverse. One minute you were on a decent ‘B’ road, next you were driving through a road building site with dirt track roads and no sign posts. TomTom bore no resemblance to where I was…it said I was in a field when I was on a road and on a trunk road when I was on a road not much wider than a footpath. Talk about the outback. For 20 miles or so there was not a single soul, vehicle or animal. Every mile or so there was a bus stop; a bus stop? There was not a house to be seen, except this one, or path to walk along so why was there a bus stop?
We kept seeing ‘Beware of the Wild Boar’ but never saw one. We did see three cows with bells on in the middle of the road (yes, that track is the road). Break down here and you are in serious trouble, it would take a week to find you. Still the scenery was superb.
We arrived in Drnis, the town of Cooked Ham for which it is famous at around 1pm. The view of the town and the old fort was spectacular before dropping down into the town.
We tried to get to the ruin but there were road works and it was blocked off. As we were hungry we sat in an outside Restaurant to eat. No-one came so I went to ask for a Menu. ‘Not until 3pm’, she said. All Restaurants closed between 1pm and 3pm, how ridiculous is that? We decided to drive down the mountain to Sibenik.
Again the drive over was scenic and the views over Sibenik were like something out of a movie.
We stopped at Sibenik, bought some ham and bread from the supermarket to have on the beach and drew 500 kunas from the bank. We travelled past Brodariea.
Our next stop was Primosten, just 10 minutes from Sibenik. The beach was on the right and we just missed the turning so I pulled in, waited for a break in the traffic and swung around to go back to the turn off. I did not see the Police Motorbike waiting for me to do that turn. He pulled me in and told me I had crossed a solid white line. Well of course I had, I had to to turn around. He was having none of it and robbed me by fining me 500 Kunas, just like that. After checking my tax, insurance documents, driving license, log book, etc., etc. he eventually wrote out the ticket. Crikey, the 500 Kunas I had drawn from the Bank was not even dry before he took it.
Somehow the sandwich did not taste the same on the beach, which was really sandy, with a lovely breeze and 30 degrees.
We continued our journey back following the coast road to Trogir. Now this really looked the rich person’s paradise with the expensive yachts moored up. Again very picturesque.
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/Trogir2.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
From here we continued back to our camp site, tired and happy, apart from being robbed of course.
The next few days the weather is forecast to be cooler with rain. We will see what happens. Who cares anyway.
Friday 14th September
It has been a funny 2 days, lots of rain but warm so we have been resting again, doing some reading and got some food supplies in.
Today we realised how small the world really is. An English person called by and asked if we had seen a motorhome with a kayak on the top. When we told him we had not he said they had said on the Forum they were here. We asked what Forum and he said MotorhomeFun, the same Motorhome Forum we are on. Even more of a coincidence the person he was looking for was the same couple we had co-hosted a meet with in Wrenbury in June (JayGee). Now what are the chances of that? Turns out their clutch had gone on the motorhome and it was in a garage a mile away. We sent a Personal Message via the forum and they turned up at our caravan an hour later. Now they are staying an extra couple of days so we can have a get together. Now that really does show just how small the world can be.
Tomorrow the weather is set to go back to 30 degrees so we shall be off again somewhere.
Saturday 15th September
As testimony will bear yesterday was not a good day weather wise.
Only joking. But it was very low cloud - you could almost touch it.
But, today was another day. I got up at 6.30am because there was a lot of noise about being Saturday with people coming and going. It was a glorious morning and some were fishing off the rocks. Being so nice we decided to visit Omis, a mere 20km away. We took the coastal road which hugged the sea throughout.
Omis is situated between a mountain, river and sea. It was once a settlement below Fort Peovica, which I climbed up to. It was built in the 13th century on the foundation dating back to 887AD.
The view from the top was superb, having to climb an iron ladder the last 15 foot to the top rampart.
We went up the Gorge on a 2 hour cruise, stopping for 30 minutes coffee break at the centre of the gorge. The air was crisp and clear
They even have their own Beach Huts on the Gorge. Not quite the standard of the UK.
When we came back to Omis we had a stroll around the quaint town and bought a couple of souvenirs. Jean's knee is still holding up when the sun shines.
It was late afternoon when we got back so we had a chill out period before doing our chores. During the evening we are going over to Tony & Jackie's motorhome (our friends we met at Wrenbury in June) for a few drinks, or more. Tomorrow just may not come to into being.
Sunday 16th September 2012
It was a late start today. We did not even wake until 9.30am. Could not have anything to do with the late night drinking with Tony and Jackie of course so, it was a day on site today. The hot weather has returned, though quite windy. Jean sat out sunbathing this morning, I read in the shade then we both went swimming in the bay this afternoon. You can walk out several 100 metres and still be chest high (head high for Jean, ). Tonight we are out to the site Restaurant with Tony & Jackie, and another motorhome friend, Mike. Then back to our van and who knows, it could be another late morning tomorrow. Never mind, there are still lots of future places for photo shoots, like Venice next week.
Tuesday 18th September 2012
Having had a few quiet days I decided I needed a bit of an adrenalin rush so we decided to go an adventure for the day. We set off for the car ferry at 8am to take us the 16km to the Island of Brac. It was a lovely warm day forecast with no cloud. For £50 return we were transported there on a modern ferry in just under an hour. We spotted a non paying passenger but he jumped ship before he could be caught.
Island Brac is the largest of Central Dalmation. It is made primarily of limestone and dolomite and was quarried by the Romans to build cities, temples, etc . throughout the Roman Empire. Emporer Droceletian used the secure harbours whilst building his Palace in Split across the water. Due to the dryness of the area there are no streams of water on the island. Their main produce is Olive Oil, wine and fruit.
When we disembarked we realised we had forgotten the map. No matter, it’s an adventure, just pick anywhere on the first signpost. At the roundabout we decided Bol, which was 35km away on the other side of the island. The journey over was spectacular, the scenery so varied throughout.
TomTom had done us proud recently and was programmed to take us to Bol city centre, which is right next to the sea anyway. But it didn’t quite understand that a 5.5m car does not fit down a 5.5m back street.
We weaved down the tiny streets, through the open-air market, much to the amazement of the locals until we came to some steps with the seafront directly in front of us.. Now, had we been in an Austin Mini and been filming ‘The Italian Job’ we could have got to our destination….but we weren’t , so we turned down an even narrower alley and carried on until a local shook his head and said, ‘No way! Only if you can shrink to the size of a moped’.
Oh well, it was good practice reversing down where we had just squeezed through…we picked up some grapes while going back through the market.
We found our way back to the main road and the right turning down to Bol that took us to within 5m of where we had been. The market man said, ‘I know you. Didn’t I see you in a red car a while ago?
Bol is a picturesque port where the water is crystal clear for 10m or more.
We spent over 2 hours there before having lunch and catching the road train to Zlatni Rat Beach. We had arrived at paradise. Jean went in swimming
And we stayed there for over two hours
Then it was time to make our way back via the coast road to catch the 6pm Car Ferry back to Split. The road was not for the faint hearted but provided beautiful scenery throughout. Everywhere you looked the view was different.
Travelling back on the Car Ferry was a quiet affair as we were both tired but happy
As the weather forecast is not good for the next 2 days we shall be staying local and preparing for our move to our overnight stop in Rijeka before moving on to Venice.
Thursday 20th September 2012
Reflections of Croatia.
Tomorrow we move from Split on our way to Venice, Italy
Last night we experienced the full force of the Bora Wind. Several motorhomes had roof lights ripped off because they left them partly open, awnings, including ours had the pegs ripped from the ground like twigs and we had to take it down. The thunder, lightning and torrential rain went on for several hours. We got up this morning to clear blue skies but the Bora Wind remained. If it had stayed the same we would not have been able to move tomorrow however, it has dropped for now and we are hoping it stays manageable during our two day move to Venice.
We have loved our two weeks here. The people are so friendly and honest, the culture is interesting, the weather has been all but perfect, the cost of living is around the same as the UK, the food is really nice. The site is so welcoming we will miss the site, even though we are ready to move on to new adventures.
There is still 3 and a half weeks to go.
Friday 21st September 2012
Now this is the blog day that should not even have been mentioned – a simple route from Camping Stobrec in Split to Camping Preluk, in Rejika – except it wasn’t!
The journey was uneventful, as expected, with the 270 miles travelled on mostly motorways in glorious sunshine. It was when we got to Rijeka that it all changed. The SatNav took us off the one motorway and heading for the next, except the entrance slip road to the next motorway was closed. We ended up going up steep hills with narrow roads for 10km before we could turn around. Then we had to go right through the middle of Rijeka City Centre in rush hour to get to the site 10km away. When we got there the site was closed. There was a sign saying ‘Closed from 14th September’ when they should have been open until 28th September. There was a Car Park next door which was next to the Beach. As it was now 5.30pm and it was dark by 7pm there was no choice but to manoeuvre the caravan into it and do our first ever wild camping.
There were another 6 motorhomes doing the same, so we were not alone. We backed up to the main road and went to open the caravan door – except it would not. The key would not unlock it and we were both desperate for the toilet. Jean came up with the idea of opening the rear side locker, crawling in and getting into the caravan from under the double bed. It worked (good job I am relatively slim, lol). I opened the door from the inside. Then we scratched our heads of what to do next. We had a door you could lock but not unlock. I took the lock apart and decided the only way was to wedge the door mechanism back and use the deadlock bars only, which operate on the key – simple, but it worked.
We texted a friend to find out where the Adria factory was in Slovenia as we were on their borders. It was 170km away in the opposite direction and, as it was Saturday tomorrow we would not get it sorted until Monday. So we decided to go straight to Venice tomorrow and live with what we have got. When we can we will email the Adria dealer we bought it from and have a lock ready for when we get home next month.
Saturday 22nd September
It was a restless night, probably around 2 hours sleep. Cars kept coming into the gravel covered car park throughout the night and driving out again. I must have opened the blinds 30 times during the night, suspicious of anything that moved. At 5.30am, when it was pitch black, three cars came into the car park with young lads in. They got out and started playing music as loud as they could, playing football around the car park. I watched them expecting them to do something wrong. I need not have bothered, they were just waiting for daylight so they could do their wind surfing in the bay. Strange how thoughts work.
We got up around 6.15am, had breakfast and left around 7.15am. The temperature had dropped to 3 degrees C and stayed that way until around 10am. We travelled through the Slovenian mountains and saw ‘Beware of the Wolves and Bears’ but never saw any. Slovenia is virtually entire forest in the part we were travelling through. Travelling from Rijeka and around Trieste is an experience as there were no motorways, the main roads were like our worst ‘A’ roads and we had to go through villages. No real problem though, just high concentration with the size of the caravan.
We arrived on site after 137 miles and 4 hours travelling. Unlock the caravan, except it almost didn’t. This called for drastic action. Strip the lock, ponder a while then melt a nail through the plastic barrel holder so the barrel bar would catch it and lock and unlock the door. Bingo, I think it is fixed until we get home.
Camping Serenissima is a lovely relaxed site, set in woodland with modern facilities. The bus to Venice stops outside the site every 30 minutes from early morning to late night. We decided to buy a two day Rover ticket, which covers the bus and all shuttle boats around Venice for two days – Sunday & Monday. At 30E each that seemed quite good value for money.
Our next episode will be ‘Venice through our eyes’.
Off to the site Bar for a few Aperol Splitz. If you have been to Italy you will now be savouring the taste.
Sunday 23rd September
Caught the bus into Venice from outside the caravan site,
which had a canal running alongside the road.
It took us straight to the connecting hub of Venice where buses, trains, cruise ships airport transfer coaches and water buses all come together – a brilliant feat of engineering and it all works like clockwork with no hold ups. It was a cool 19C but soon warmed up to 24C later on.
As there was so much to see and with no real plan we decided to go straight to the Island of Murano.
We started with the Murano Glass Works and watched how they made it, then it was the shopping spree buying souvenirs and of course, Jean’s future costume jewellery. We were surprised how reasonable Murano Glass was, except of course the really classy 1000E-6000E plus stuff. We had some lunch on the island before returning to the mainland of Venice.
They say you have not really visited the best of Vienna unless you have sat and had a coffee in St Mark’s Square. Well we did, well Jean did because I thought that 9.8E for a cup of Cappuccino was taking the ‘wee-wee’. I did become ‘involved’ with the drink though by drinking the water that came with the Cappuccino. We made sure we stayed there ages listening to the music and people watching and made sure we made good use of their toilet while there too. So there you have it. We have drunk cappuccino in St Mark’s Square, Venice. And??
Jean supping her 9.8E Cappuccino really slowly. Note my jug of water for free.
St Mark’s Square
The architecture is something else. We took a water bus around the outside of the island to see the whole of the perimeter. We saw all the churches, museums and cruise liners. There were also street artists and small stalls selling memorabilia of Venice. I did consider taking Jean on a romantic Gondola trip but at 100E for 30 minutes I settled for a photo instead
Having had enough for one day we took the bus home, asking the driver to drop us off at our camp site as we were unsure where it was. He was a miserable fella and proved us right by dropping us off almost a mile before the site. By the time we got home Jean was in agony so a resting evening was the order of the day hoping all would be well for another day in Venice tomorrow.
Monday 24th September 2012
We had a later start today, not getting to Venice until 1130am. We decided to do the longest Water Bus trip to ease the walking distance. The Water Bus took us to Lido Island where we thought there might have seen plenty to see. What we didn’t know was the island was virtually deserted and most had left for Venice, where we had come from. What we did see was 100’s upon 100’s of bikes chained to railing and racks. It seems that everyone who lives on the island has bikes to travel around the flat narrow roads and very few cars are on there.
We caught the next water bus back and got off at Rialto Bridge.
This was a very busy part of Venice with the bridge, Café’s, and the main shopping area that covered a really large area of tiny narrow streets. There would be a Gucci shop next to a 1E Shop. We shared a huge Ice Cream Sundae with fresh fruit and proper Italian Ice Cream (12E) in one of the Restaurants by the canal. During the afternoon we walked down the back streets to St Mark’s Square and Graham went up the Bell Tower, a height of 320 foot. The views from the top were spectacular, you could see the whole Venice and beyond.
Before long it was time to make our way back to the terminus to catch the bus home.
As we got to the terminus the heavens opened and we had a thunderstorm, getting soaked before we got on. To cap it off, when we got to our site to get off the driver shut the doors and carried on just as we had fought our way through the over full bus and ignored all pleas to stop and bell pushing. He did not stop until the next village and we had to catch a bus back. Not been lucky with buses really have we? The Italian bus drivers we have met have been so ignorant and surly.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our 4 days / 3 nights in Venice. We have seen so much culture and enjoyed the friendliness of almost all the Italian people we have met (except Bus Drivers!). The site we stayed on was family run with a family atmosphere. The Restaurant was reasonably priced with good food and the little shop catered of all emergency needs. The facilities on site were very modern and always clean. What more could we ask?
Tuesday 25th September 2012
Just a short note. Travelled today from Venice to Bella Italia with no problems whatsoever. The journey was a mere two hours.
What a site, it is massive. Apparently when it is full it holds 12,000 people however, it is less than half capacity and almost all the kids are back in school too, which is good. We were lucky to get a pitch only three back from the Lake and have a clear view from our front window and awning. Not only that, we have the luxury of direct connect mains water and permanent waste connected so we can run the water all day long. Glad we decided to put the adapters in the van just in case. It is stunning here, with a view right across the lake. A two minute walk, and on site, we have a Supermarket, Bazaar, Restaurant, Take-Away, Veg shop, Swimming Pool, pebble beach and swimming in the Lake, the water temperature is currently 23C and Internet Wi-Fi point. While here, which will certainly be for the full nine nights we hope to see as much of Lake Garda as we can.
Adria, Slovenia have contacted us and told us to contact Adria, Brescia, which is only about 50km away. They said they should be able to help us.
Anyway, time for an Asperol Slitza and a stroll along the Lake side. Wish you were here.
Wednesday 26th September
Domestic day today – clean the caravan right through, do all the washing, drying and ironing. Unfortunately it still all has to be done, even when on holiday. As it was a rainy day it was no hardship.
Thursday 27th September
A nothing day of relaxing and reading. Drying out the awning after yesterday’s heavy rain. We were discussing how it can be lonely, even when on a holiday when everyone around you is German and does not want to speak, when a text came through. It was Tony and Jackie, our motorhome friends. They had decided to join us as we had the better weather and arrived five hours later, parking up right opposite us.
Friday 28th September
Tony went on a bike ride around Lake Garda, all 102 miles of it!! I couldn’t believe it until I read his Garmin which confirmed he had cycled the whole route in 6 hours. For over 60 he is so fit. Me? I borrowed his other bike and did 14.2 miles along the lake and back and was shattered. Lovely views though. I had a stop after 6 miles at Lazise for refreshments then cycled back via a different route.
Jean sat in the sun reading. During the evening we had a BBQ with Tony & Jacky followed by a few drinks. Jean maintains she is not a drinker of course so that must be a glass of water in her hand???.
Saturday 29th September
Got up to rain, and it stayed most of the day. Still, we got a bus for the 25km run into Verona. The Amphitheatre was a nice feature as was the old part of the city in the Main Square. All the classy shops, with their classy prices of course were here too. It was a place to browse and buy little, though we did get ripped off at the exchange (the only one open on a Saturday) when we needed Euro and they took 14% commission, and they knew we were stumped. We had lunch in a café, which was very reasonably priced for Italy then decided to come back to the site as the rain was not going to stop.
Tony and Jacky decided they are going to make a run for home tomorrow and fly out to their place in Spain instead of touring Germany. We are staying here until Thursday, when we are due to go to Switzerland. Tonight we are going out for a meal with them before they go home so tomorrow we will be back on our own again. It has been nice having company for a few days with such good friends.
If you come across any of these people approach with extreme caution. They are easily identifiable by their name badges. The one who always has his eyes shut drives across Europe by voice guidance only from his wife. They will have you believe they are going swimming in Italy - don't believe it, they are up to no good after a heavy night out.
Sunday 30th September
A quiet day. We visited the local village Peschiera this afternoon and browsed around the streets and harbour before devouring a local ice-cream.
Then we tried to park in Sirmione however, there were at least 100 cars waiting to park so we turned back and will go by boat one day. Back at the site we lazed around the swimming pool with a Cappuccino for the rest of the afternoon before getting a Pizza, as you do.
Just read about the appalling conditions set to hit the UK next week. Now why on earth would we want to make our way slowly Northward on 4th October, when we can stay on Lake Garda with temperatures around 23 degrees forecast for the next 10 days? Even if it rains some of the time it is still warm. We think we may stay until around 9th October, which will give us one night in Aosta, two nights in Switzerland, miss out Germany, drive 360 miles to Luxembourg for two nights then two nights in Belgium before taking the ferry home on 16th October. Sounds good to us, we will see how it pans out. Everything is subject to change because we can,.
Tuesday 2nd October
The skies have cleared and it is a lovely warm day, with temperatures set to hit 23C. We decided this was a good day to drive around the entire outside of Lake Garda, taking the coastal road that hugs the lake all the way around. We travelled clockwise around the Lake via Desenzano, Padenghe Manerba, Salo, Gardone and our first long stop for morning Coffee at Maderno, though we made several ‘view stops’ all around the Lake to take in the breath-taking scenery. The road was very narrow in a few places with long drops off the edge if you took your eye off the ball.
Maderno
Carrying on up the circular tour we passed through:
Tremosine
And stopped in Limone
for a pleasant walk and viewing the town from above and below.
By now we were feeling peckish as it was well past lunchtime so we enjoyed a snack at:
Riva Del Garda
Riva Del Garda
After lunch we made our way down the right hand side of Lake Garda, stopping at
Malcesine for an ice cream like only the Italians can make.
Thirsty work this you know, travelling around this huge lake so, after travelling down the coast vis Brenzone and Torri Del benaco we had a Coffee stop at:
Garda. While we were drinking our Coffee a busker turned up right in front of us and began playing Italian balads on his guitar with mini amp and backing tape. It was so soothing Jean was dropping off to sleep while facing the lake with the sun shining brightly and a warm 23C. What more could we want?
As the day was coming to an end we made our way back to the camp site via Bardolino, Lazise and Peschiera.
The day had not gone without incident. Over the last few days I have been hearing a rubbing noise from the front driver’s side tyre, like something was stuck on the tyre somewhere and rubbed the road on each revolution. I had checked the tyres, jacked it up and revolved them, checked every part of it, but nothing. Today it got louder and when I checked I noticed part of the tread looked higher than the rest and the car was pulling slightly to the right. My thoughts are the tyre has parted from the steel interior, even though they were new the week before we left. Tomorrow I will take it to the local garage and see what the score is.
Thursday 2nd October
It has been two days of up’s and down’s. Waited all day yesterday to hear from Motability for authority to go and fix the tyre – no reply. Got an email from Adria in Brescia saying that a new lock for the door had been sent to them from Adria Italia and I could either collect it or bring the caravan and they would fit it under warranty. As it was 50km away and in a city I decided to collect it. Glad I never took the caravan as it was the back of beyond in Brescia. Good old TomTom took me to the door with no mistakes. I got a warm welcome from them and the whole new mechanism was handed over – no charge, no signatures in triplicate and I kept the old one for spares. Now that is what you call excellent After-Sales Service.
While I was there I asked if there was a tyre dealer close by and they gave me the address of the one they used, just 3 miles away. As Motability had not been in touch I had no choice but to sort it myself. There was no information or contact for Europe in their booklet in the car.
It was a big tyre dealer so I was hopeful of the issue being resolved with the bulging tyre, which I had to drive the 50km up the motorway on – carefully and ‘bricking it’ a bit too I might add. Just my luck, not one spoke one word of English, which is unusual. It was all sign language but they soon saw the bulge on the new tyre and took a deep breath saying, ‘Problem, bang’, as if I didn’t know. Then the Manager did what I expected her to do, she put two fingers up indicating the front tyres were unusual and I had to have two. Good old Kwik-Fit had fitted special rain tyres knowing I was going to Switzerland. Did me no favours eh? I asked the price and nearly died when she wrote down 345E. Big intake of breath, shaking of head and showing ‘Contract Car’ with the Disability badge. She pondered then went out the back and returned with two second-hand Michelins with about 2.5mm tread on. ‘How much?’ in sign language. She wrote down 60E. The deal was done, a nod of approval and they set to work. They put the good new ones from back to front and put the second hand ones on the back, balancing and putting new valves in. All in all an excellent bargain. I had to take the two tyres they took off to take back to the UK to Kwik-Fit. What a pain in the a** that is going to be trying to find room for them.
During the afternoon good old Motability rung, 48 hours after the urgent email. They said I should have had contact numbers from the Insurance Company when they approved the foreign travel as the car was covered for the whole of Europe. We never did. If I had we would never have spent 95E with ADAC to cover it, now would we? He apologised and said it would be all sorted and we should be refunded the 60E on our return as it was their fault they never supplied the numbers for Europe-Assist. Do you think they will be give me back the 95E for ADAC? I think not!
So, from 8am when I left two big issues had been resolved and I was back by 11am with most of the day left. We spent the afternoon reading and lazing around the swimming pool as it was a warm 23C again. Another good day’s work done. Don’t want too many of them while on holiday. Back to sightseeing tomorrow.
Friday 5th October
Got up early today to a nice warm morning with clear skies promised by lunchtime, which it did. I wanted to go and see historic Sirmoine however, as there was so much walking involved Jean decided to stay on site and make some Christmas Cards, which she has been wanting to do for some time.
I left around 8.15am to walk the 2km down to the harbour via the coastal path, Along the path there is an exercise route where several people were doing jogging, then doing different things at 10 points as indicated by the boards, like 10 x press-ups, 10 x squats, etc., etc. I was tempted but got tired watching them, most seemed to be posers so carried on strolling. I caught the fast catamaran to Sirmoine which only took 20 minutes as against two hours for the slow passenger ferry. It was awesomely fast.
Sirmoine is on a peninsula and was well worth the visit and was indeed a lot of walking around the streets, up and around the Scaligero Castle Fortress which was built in the 13th Century. It even has its own dock. At the tip of the peninsula there is an ancient Roman Palace ruins.
By the time I had finished viewing the Fortress and partially excavated roman villa I was peckish so enjoyed a Tuna Pizza, as you do in Italy.
Then I strolled through the streets to the bus terminal, which was a little way out as no vehicles are allowed into the peninsula part of Sirmione. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun, had tea then went out for a drink late on in the evening to the Restaurant.
Saturday 6th 0ctober
Another really warm and sunny day (26C). After a hearty breakfast of cereal, bacon, eggs and toast off we went to Movieland.
The normal entry price was 24E but because we had a Blue Badge it was 19E for Jean and I went free as her Carer (well someone had to hold her hand). It was an excellent day and we spent over 5 hours there. Even the full lunch of Pizza, French Fries, drink and a Magnum was only 7.8E, which is cheap by Italian standards. As it was low season there were less than 100 people in the whole park, which meant at times there was only us on a ride, except the Tomb Raider where there was only one – me, the whole ride to myself! Somehow it did not seem the same. Briefly, we went into the Horror Chambers, which were pitch black apart from a little red on the ceiling now and then, lots of bangs, screams and real people jumping out at you dressed as skeletons, prisoners, and the worst one, a bed suddenly lit and this maniac came bounding at you. Frightened the c*** out of us. Then there was the Terminator 2 studio where the floor moved, we had 3D glasses and had to shoot the enemy as they came at you. I did OK scoring the highest on our row. U571 Submarine Simulator was next. We had to buy a waterproof poncho, and I could see why, for this one. It was a real submarine that was dark, seemed to dive and roll as it was depth charged and water came flooding in from above and drenched you. Very real and the feeling of going to the bottom of the ocean. Jean decided at the last minute not to go in, and she was right as it was very claustrophobic.
A few other ‘normal’ rides and shows then the ‘finale’. Had I have seen it first I would never have gone on it for sure. I thought it was your normal Tomb Raider ride. Was it heck! It threw me upside down, 45 degree reverse loops, etc, etc.
So, a good day was had by all and we went back to the site to enjoy the late afternoon sun, though the nights are drawing in fast and it is dark by 7pm.
Sunday 7th October 2012
REFLECTIONS OF ITALY
Our time in Italy is coming to an end, and what a joy it has been to be here. Our original ‘Plan’ was 7 nights in Italy, three in Venice and four on Lake Garda. That turned out to be 17, 3 in Venice and 14 on Lake Garda.
Weather
Throughout our stay it has been glorious weather, with temperatures in the mid 20’sC by day and around 18C at night. We have only had two wet days and one wet night. There has nearly always been still air, with the occasional breeze during the latter part of our stay. Autumn is showing itself as the leaves are falling fast off the trees now and the nights are drawing in. We consider ourselves lucky to have had such good weather.
Camping Bella Italia
This is where we spent 14 nights. We would find it very difficult to find any fault with the site at all. Staff are helpful and always pleasant, even when they promise you shingle every day for your pitch and it arrives a week later. The facilities are extensive but not obtrusive. There is a large supermarket, greengrocers, accessory shop, internet café, several eating in places, take-aways, hairdresser, bicycle hire, children’s playgrounds, huge pool complex comprising of three areas with a bar and loungers, plenty of parking, an efficient Reception, top quality showers and toilet blocks, washing up facilities, laundry room, clothes washing sinks with scrubbers, all of which are cleaned more than once a day. It is right on the lakeside with its own beach, water sports facilities like pedalos, skiing and kayaks. The pitches are a good size with permanent water and waste to each unit and all separated by trees.
Lake Garda area
There are so many places to visit around the 102 mile circuit of the lake, either by car or boat. You can cycle right on the water’s edge for several miles on well made walking/cycle tracks. The scenery is varied with rugged mountains, tunnel passes, edge of rock roads that are over 100m up. What you do not see are many animals even though the land lends itself as perfect for goats.
Cost of living
The cost of living in this part of Italy is almost double of that of the UK. A loaf of bread is around 2E, litre of milk 1.6E and ice-creams average 2.5E for a single cone. Beer is around 4E a half litre and cocktails around 6-7E. Sweets are very expensive at 7.5E but are usually big enough for two to share. Pizza’s are obviously in abundance everywhere and, surprisingly enough, it is as cheap to eat in as to take out in most cases. The menus are pretty much the same wherever you go such as steaks around 15E, fish around 13E. Fuel prices are high at around 1.8E per litre however, public transport is cheap. You can go on the bus to Verona, which is 26km away for 3E, or Sirmoine for 2E. Boats on the Lake are quite expensive. To hire a speed boat for 6 people it is 190E a day, plus petrol! The quality of food is always good and we have never had a poor meal.
Dislikes – very few.
1. Mosquitoes, they love English blood and take every opportunity to bite you, even up socks in the evenings. Repellents help a little but are by no means fool-proof.
2. At this time of the year there are virtually no British people around so it can become a bit lonely if you are a people person. The Dutch, Belgians and Danish are usually quite friendly but the best we ever got from the 95% of the site, which was German was either a stare or a grunt if you forced the issue of demanding an answer when you gave a good morning or hello. In the end we decided not to say anything to anyone until they spoke first and give the same stare back. They never did speak, not even once.
3. Obviously the cost of living being so high, though we can’t do anything about that as the Euro did it.
Conclusion
Definitely a place we will return to. The whole Italian experience has been great, even with our tyre and door lock mishaps. It has been relaxing with plenty to do and see, if you can tear yourself away from glancing out over Lake Garda whilst reading a good book in the warm sunshine.
So, on Tuesday we move on towards Switzerland. Watch this space!
Monday 8th October 2012
Spent most of the day preparing to move. The awning roof and skirts were filthy with leaf stains, which took two hours to clean off. We filled the car up with diesel and went shopping for provisions to cover us through Switzerland to Luxembourg. Our Swedish friends, who came here just after us and were sited opposite left this morning. We have just been to settle the account for our 14 nights here, which was £193.33 (224E @ 16E a night with ACSI). Excellent value for money and we would highly recommend Bella Italia to stay on. They have chalets and mobile homes as well.
We have decided, all being well, to drive straight to Montreaux and miss out the overnight stop at the Grand St. Bernard Tunnel, driving straight through.
Tuesday 9th October 2012
We were up bright and early at 6.45am. By 8.00am we had had breakfast
And even had mushrooms growing under the caravan
The drive was to take us exactly six hours, covering 267 miles with 90 minutes of stops on the way, so four and half hours is good going through mountains and the Grand Saint Bernard Tunnel which cost 37.9E At one point we were 6,150 feet above sea level. The journey through to Milano and Turino was mundane but as soon as we turned off for Aosta the mountains appeared and we saw our first peak with snow on.
The Mondeo pulled up the inclines effortlessly and even returned 30.9 mpg throughout the journey. We stopped at a lovely mountain lay-by for lunch.
We arrived on site mid afternoon. Situated right next to the harbour at Bouveret it was virtually deserted, with only around half a dozen units on. The site closes on Friday for the winter. We went for a short walk around the harbour. It too was deserted with hundreds of boats moored up – a case of ‘will the last one to leave please turn out the lights’.
It was still warm at around 21C with the odd shower but it cooled down quickly at the end of the day to 16C. The bonus here is free internet, so I intend to fill my boots after having to pay over £4 an hour, hence an unscheduled blog tonight.
Tomorrow we are up early again and going to Gruyeres to the Cheese Factory and Broc to the Chocolate Factory. That will be both our needs and desires fulfilled if all goes well.
Wednesday 10th October
It rained most of the night, and was still raining when we got up. Still, who cares we are in the dry today.
We left around 9am to go the Gruyere Cheese Factory, which has moved since I last visited in 1984. Then it was built into a hillside and was very basic. Now it is factory in the middle of the village with interactive narration and a full view of production. Fascinating as to the preciseness of production. Milk is delivered twice a day by 15 producers, each day the master cheese maker produces 48 wheels of cheese. The cellar holds 7000 wheels of cheese, each weighting 35kg where they ripen over time.
To make Gruyère, raw milk is heated to 34 °C (93 °F) in a copper vat, and then curdled by the addition of liquid rennet. The curd is cut up into pea sized pieces and stirred, releasing whey. The curd is cooked at 43 °C (109 °F), and raised quickly to 54 °C (129 °F).The whey is strained, and the curds placed into molds to be pressed. After salting in brine and smearing with bacteria, the cheese is ripened for two months at room temperature, generally on wooden boards, turning every couple days to ensure even moisture distribution. Gruyère can be cured for 3 to 10 months, with long curing producing a cheese of intense flavour. We got a sample of cheese as different stages and bought a slab of cheese that is so tangy it will almost slice your tongue in two.
Cheese making process
From Gruyere we moved on to Broc, where Cailler’s Chocolate Factory is located (yum, yum).
This was a brand new factory where everything was automated. Cailler of Switzerland is one of the largest Swiss chocolate manufacturers and claims to be the oldest brand in the chocolate business. They have been producing chocolate since 1819 (in Vevey) and since 1898 in Broc. It was the first manufacturer of chocolate slabs and has been part of the Nestlé group since 1929 but still operates largely independently. There was a 45 minute tour that took us through the animated history of chocolate and ended with lots and lots of different chocolates to eat, which Jean and I both indulged so as not to offend our hosts, mmmmm.
At 4pm the rain finally stopped leaving just enough time to go around the scale railway and village, which was right next door to the camp site. Very cleverly designed, it was situated in a small area of around 80m x 40m yet it took the train 20 minutes to go around as it weaved back and forth, up and down, over bridges before coming back to the station.
The perfect end to a busy exciting day. We will certainly sleep well tonight, but not too long as we have to up by 7am for an 8am departure to cover the 360+ miles to our overnight stop in Luxembourg before moving on to Belgium for our final chapter of our adventure of a lifetime.
Thursday 11th October 2012
Woke up early this morning and went for a shower in the pitch dark. Took me ages to get there because I could not believe what I was seeing. The sky was full of stars, shining so, so brightly. No light pollution for miles around. It was cold too and when day broke there was snow all around on the mountain tops - it wasn't there yesterday. Time to get the hell out of here .
It was a long drive to Luxembourg, 341 miles with six hours and 49 minutes actual driving time. It was dry when we left Montreaux however, it started raining when we got to Bern, and stayed that way for the next three hours, then it stopped, cleared and the temperature went up from 8C to 16C.
We got to Luxembourg around 4pm, pitched then drove out for diesel as it is only 1.3E a litre (£1.08 per litre). We called into a local Cafe and managed to get him to understand we wanted something to eat. He made us a huge Rump Steak of around 16oz, home-made chips and salad, and all for 12E. I managed mine but Jean had no chance - so I helped all I could.
A cheap site too here at 12E a night with electric and free super fast internet. We have decided to stay just the one night and move on to Jabbeke in Belgium for our last 4 nights before heading home on the ferry next Tuesday afternoon.
Tonight will be a very early night as we are both shattered.
Friday 12th October 2012
And finally……..
It rained all night and the forecast for Friday was rain all day in Luxembourg, so no point in staying there.
The forecast for the next four days in Jabbeke, Belgium was much the same – rain all day Saturday and Sunday so we made the ultimate decision – drive the 261 miles direct to Calais and see if we can get a ferry today instead of Tuesday.
All the way to Calais it poured with rain. The wind was battering the caravan side on and it was a struggle to keep it stable at times in exposed areas. There was no time for sentiments and luxury stops so it was a quick sandwich and on our way again. The ferry we were hoping for was the 1520hrs from Calais to Dover. We arrived in Calais at 1430hrs and were lucky to get a space on the ferry, even if it did cost us extra to change the ticket. Bit of a rip off really because the ferry was almost empty on the lorry deck.
That’s when the emotions kicked in and the realisation that it was all over bar the journey from Dover to Chesterfield. It was really emotional, as some of you may have experienced yourselves, getting on that ferry.
And what an adventure it has been! We achieved almost everything we wanted to, adjusted our itinerary to suit what we wanted. The one thing we have learnt is that there is no need to book anything at this time of the year, though it did help as it was our first time abroad with the caravan.
From the beginning:
• The rapid heartbeat as we got off the ferry in Calais thinking all the time – keep right, keep right.
• TomTom taking us on a guided tour of the shops and mini roundabouts of Gent
• Being memorised by the shipping on the Rhine in Koln
• The squirrels in Nurnberg using our caravan as target practice all night with acorns battering the roof
• Austria unleashing the violent thunderstorm for hours on end vibrating the caravan like a kettle drum
• The fantastic scenery travelling through Austria, Slovenia and northern Croatia
• The power of the Bora wind in northern Croatia
Montreaux, Switzerland. We are glad we stopped here even though virtually everyone had left and gone home. Travelling through Switzerland from Italy was spellbinding scenery and hairy at times with the roads hugging the edge of the mountains with 100’s of feet drop if you got it wrong. Switzerland is not anywhere near as expensive as it used to be 30 years ago. It compares quite favourably with Lake Garda area now.
• Scoffing chocolate and cheese
• Journey to Calais via an overnight stop in Luxembourg. The French motorways are something else, pot holes everywhere, road works every 20 miles for 10 miles, no overtaking for a large part of it.
This is where it all ended – boarded and ready to leave Calais.
Departing where we landed almost 6 weeks ago.
And sailing back to Dover.
Tonight we are staying at Hawthorn farm, Dover having a well earned rest so we can drive home to Chesterfield tomorrow refreshed.
Car = Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi Zetec
Caravan = Adria Adora 612DP
Towing weight throughout journey = 1680kg
Total mileage covered = 3650
Site to Site milage = 2947
Overall mpg average = 29.7
If you want to see all of the photos we have taken since we left full photo album can be found here
So, all that remains is to thank Jean for the fantastic company and sharing the funny times, exasperating sites and experiences and frustrating times when things did not go too good, but we always found our way through. And to Traveller (Ian) for all his help in advising on putting this adventure together. And, most of all, to all 365campingcaravanning members who have followed us throughout our six weeks travelling the Continent. Thank you all…………until the next time.
Arrived home safe and sound at 4pm this afternoon. We have travelled most of Europe and not had one single hold up....until we got on the M1 and there was an accident involving a motorbike and seven cars near Junction 16 - hence a two hour delay.
Would we do it again? ....Most certainly, and will. Only problem is how do we equal or better what we just did. I'll tell you something, when I turned off the engine before boarding the ferry at Calais on Friday we hugged each other and just said, 'We did it', then had tears in our eyes that we had completed what we had planned for 15 months......and loved every minute of it.
Graham & Jean
October 2012
The round trip consisted of 2959 miles, staying at a total of 15 sites in 9 countries. The planning route was at Version 21, that is after Version 3 was announced as the 'finale’', we wish. The route planned was:
This is the ‘blog’ we wrote as we toured around Europe, most of it written at the end of each day. It was written as a ‘Memory Journal’ that we could look back for years to come and for others who may be thinking about doing the same thing and have an idea of what was involved.
The Plan
Sunday 2nd September
Leisurely journey from Chesterfield down to Dover, stopping overnight on Hawthorn Farm
Hawthorn Farm
Monday 3rd September
Early rising to catch the 0640hrs ferry from Dover to Calais. That should get us off the ferry and on the road by around 0930hrs, taking into account the hour forward. First time towing on the continent will be a bit daunting I suppose however, a lot is motorway. Jean will be my 'eyes' as she is on the overtaking side. 'No pressure then', she says. We have got 260 miles to do before we reach our night stop at Campingplatz der Stadt, Koln
Campingplatz der Stadt, Koln
Tuesday 4th September
Hope to set off around 0830hrs to our next stop at Knaus Camping Park, Nuremberg. It is 255 miles, which is a nice distance on the motorway. The frustrating part is going to be doing 48mph, the limit for Germany.
Knaus Camping Park, Nuremberg
Wednesday 5th September
This part of the journey takes us into Austria to Camping Pyhrm, Gleinkerau 34, 4580 Spital am Pyhrn, which is 225 miles from Nuremberg. Expecting the scenery to be spectacular. I anticipate several 'photo stops' on the way.
Thursday 6th September
We will have to tear ourselves away from the mountains to travel through Austria, into Slovenia for a short way then into Northern Croatia to Camp Slapic near Zagreb.
Camp Slapic near Zagreb
Friday 7th September
The final leg of our first part of the tour when we drive down to our main stay campsite at Camping Strobrec, Split, just 216 miles away. By the time we get here I anticipate we will be very tired as the adrenalin will have subsided and we will be ready for the rest. 18 days to enjoy the sunshine, here's hoping eh?
Camping Strobrec Split
Monday 24th September
Well rested we leave the campsite to our overnight stop at Camping Preluk, Rijeka, 222 miles away.
Tuesday 25th September
On to one of the main highlights of the trip - Venice, staying at Camping Serranissima. We will have travelled just 138 miles this day. There is a bus every 30 minutes into Venice for 22 hours of the day, and back again. We plan to buy a 2 day rover ticket to see as much as we can.
Saturday 29th September
Moving on to our next site Camping Bella Italia on the shore of Lake Garda, a mere 81 miles away. Hoping for some lovely warm sunsets, even though it will be almost October. Don't expect any photos of sunrise; we don't do early mornings on holiday.
Wednesday 3rd October
Off to our overnight stop at Camping Tunnel, Aosta, 203 miles away. This is just outside the Grand St Bernard tunnel, which we will be going through to our next site.
Thursday 4th October
Through the tunnel and on to Camping Rive Bleue, 1897, Montreaux, just 62 miles today. We are expecting to break out the winter woolies. Whilst here we plan to visit the cheese factory at Gruyeres Village as well as Montreaux. I may even drive through Geneva at 50mph to show Jean the gold shops.
Monday 8th October
The 167 mile journey through Switzerland should be spectacular to our next site Camping Hirzberg in Freiberg, Germany. We hope to visit Europa Park for the day and venture into Freiburg and the Black Forest.
Thursday 11th October
A longish day of 187 miles to Bon Accueil, Luxembourg. We are only here for 2 nights so it will be a day exploring the city as our site is a bus ride away from the Centre.
Saturday 13th October
It will be getting cold now we reckon as we travel the 203 miles to Camping Klein Strand, Belgium. This is our last site on the Continent. We plan to visit Brugges and the coast. May even have a relaxing day while there.
Tuesday 16th October
A leisurely 63 mile drive back to Calais Ferry Port for our mid afternoon ferry. We shall be staying at Hawthorn Farm for the night.
Wednesday 17th October
Back home to Chesterfield. Just enough time to empty the van before we go on Cheryl's Stargazer's weekend.
Actual Live Account
Saturday 1st September 2012
T Minus 26 hours and counting.
At around 10am tomorrow we set off for our first overnight at Dover, ready to sail at 0640hrs on Monday morning.
Everything is in the caravan and it has been duly weighed at the Public Weighbridge. The travelling files are complete. Travel Log, Costing sheet, Car Documents, Caravan Documents, Driving Documents (Licence, Counterpart, International Driving Licence), Health and Travel Insurance, NHS Cards, Car Breakdown documents, ACSI Card, Camping International Card, Camping Carnet, Road Tax disc for Austria and Switzerland (Slovenia will be bought on Services), European Map, Michelin Route print-out, Ferry Tickets, Reservations for sites, GPS Coordinates and addresses of all sites, TV Satellite bearings, ACSI Books, etc., etc., etc.
Now, I wonder if we can find room to get into the car with the awning, caravan twin-tub, portable fridge, wind-breaks, fresh water containers for overnight stops, waste water container, Carling Export for the end of each day, etc., etc.
Have I forgot anything?
Sunday 2nd September 2012
We left Chesterfield almost on time at 1015am. The weather was warm and dry and the SatNav showed no delays throughout the 230 mile journey.
As promised the journey down was an absolute pleasure. There were no queues or slow moving traffic, except for a short delay on the Dartford Bridge of around 5 minutes. We arrived at Hawthorn Farm at around 4pm to a pleasant welcome from Reception and advised we could pitch anywhere on site, and there was loads to choose from. We decided to stay near the exit as we were leaving at 0515am so as not to disturb too many campers. Did not see the railway line directly behind the caravan where the trains ran until 1130pm and started again at 5.15am.
The highlight of the evening was a flypast of the Vulcan at around 5.30pm. What a site, my favourite aircraft; the perfect start to our holiday.
We decided to use our Garmin walking satnav to track our journey, just for interest and to look back on.
Mileage = 230. Moving time = 4hrs 25 minutes. MPG = 29.0
Tomorrow is a long day to Cologne.
Monday 3rd September 2012
An early night was had by both of us as we had to rise early at 4.30am for our 6.40am crossing. The night seemed endless, looking at the clock…1am, 1.40am, 2.00am and on and on until 4.20am when we got up. A quick shower to freshen up then trying to hitch the caravan back up in pitch blackness without waking anyone at 5.15am was an impossible task, especially with a tent right next to us.
The Pride of Kent ferry left on time. This was it. As we arrived in Calais the butterflies started, thinking of whether we would head the right way or not. We were tired but knew the adrenalin of the first day and the sites we would see en-route (which was cows and nowt else) would keep us alert.
The SatNav said Brussels was 115km away .The journey was brilliant and uneventful, well almost! It was a brilliant road, until that is ‘she (TomTom)’ said take the next exit. We had only gone 40km or so and it was saying turn off for Gent. Well, TomTom, a force to be obeyed, must know what she is doing (I think not). We followed her every instruction, on this occasion………Gent is a lovely little town.
We saw it all. The high street shops, mini roundabouts, one-way streets, impossible corners, weaving in and out of parked cars; and all in a 42 foot outfit. I am now a fully seasoned local delivery driver for Gent. And guess what? Fifteen minutes later it put us back on the main route to Brussels. That is the last time we follow her to the letter. Mind you, the next time ‘she’ said turn off we looked at each and said, ‘Well, shall we or shan’t we?’
We arrived at Camping Koln around 3.30pm. The reception was excellent – me trying to say everything in German and the receptionist answering back in fluent English. We met another English couple from Newcastle who were en-route to Austria. The site was right next to the Rhine with a pathway that takes you into the city 4km away. Beautiful scenery and a place we will come back to one day for sure. Cruise ships passed almost continually. The toilets and showers were modern and spotless and there was a Restaurant right outside the entrance. The cost of the site was not cheap at 26E but the location was perfect. Looking forward to a full night’s sleep as this was our hardest day we had to do totalling almost 12 hours. Tomorrow it’s off to Nuremberg and not expecting to see any spectacular scenery either.
Mileage = 271. Move time =5hrs 27 minutes. Average Speed = 48.4mph. Mpg = 29.9
Tuesday 4th September 2012
After a pleasant evening meal out we retired to bed, ready to get up at 7am for an 8.30am start. Up we got at 7am, or at least we thought we had. Forgot to change the time on the clock to European time so it was 8am with a 9.30 start. Oh well, we are on holiday I suppose. During the night it was not even annoying being woken now and then by a huge cargo ship going up or down the Rhine.
As suspected the 271 mile trip did not produce anything interesting to see though the scenery was a little better with forests, hills and huge traffic jams of 10 miles the other side where a lorry had broken down in the road-works. No change there then.
We arrived at Camping Knaus site, Nuremberg at around 3.30pm, leaving us plenty of time to chill out in the 27 degree heat with an ice cold beer.
The site is almost in the city yet it is a forest of acorn trees. At 32E a night it is quite expensive, and they don’t do any discounts either. Internet was fair though at 3.5E for 24 hours.
It was lovely sat outside eating a salad under the trees, listening to the odd acorn drop on the caravan roof. Reception did warn us that the squirrels are very naughty. In the night they sit in the 50 foot trees above the caravan and throw nuts onto the roof deliberately.
Tomorrow is another 225 mile trip, though this should be more interesting as we are travelling out of Germany and into Austria. We thought we would be bored with such a long journey but it is not so as each day is so different and we know on Friday we will be reaching our ultimate goal – Split in Croatia for 18 days of doing nowt.
Mileage = 265. Move time = 5hrs 17 minutes Average speed = 50.4mph Mpg = 29.9
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/020-Koln-12.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
Wednesday 5th September
I used to love squirrels, especially red ones. Now I am not so sure because I swear that they waited until I snored then threw an acorn hard onto the caravan roof from 50 foot up. This happened at least every 20 minutes throughout the night, hence with little more than 3 hours sleep we were more than a little tired. That clock tried it’s old trick of knocking itself back an hour but I was wise to it this time as we got up at 7am proper time and left at a healthy 8.30am. It was dry and warm and the temperature soon rose to 26C. As we entered Austria around noon we started a steady climb up to 2000 feet above sea level, travelling through several long tunnels. What we had noticed since leaving Koln is the speed at which cars travel. Over a quarter are well over 100mph and many 120+mph. Overtaking has to be well planned and good visibility before pulling out because they appear from nowhere. Where have all the British gone? For the last 2 days we have not seen one British registered vehicle on the road at all. We did meet a couple from Newcastle in Koln and they also stayed in Nurnberg with us however, that was it.
We arrived in good time at around 2pm and were all set up by 2.30pm so we decided to visit the local town, Windischgarsten. We strolled around the shops, bought a couple of souvenirs then had a coffee with a banana split at a street Café.
The evening was spent reading and relaxing ready for another 225 miles or so tomorrow. We heard thunder in the distance around 6pm. By 7pm we had a massive thunderstorm; we could not even hear each other speak. Next to the site was a field with cows, all with bells around their neck. Guess it is going to be another noisy night.
No rush tomorrow as it will be our last stop before arriving in Split.
Mileage = 232. Move time = 4hrs 45 minutes. Average Speed = 48.7. Mpg = 33.5 (best day yet)
Thursday September 6th 2012
And so it was, the storm raged almost all night. I have never heard thunder like it. It was so strong the whole floor of the caravan shuddered. The cows ate grass all night long – that’s why their bells clanged every few seconds I suppose. When we woke at 7.30am it had stopped raining but was dull and gloomy, though warm. We had breakfast, packed up and were on the road by 9.10am.
The journey through Austria was smooth, climbing gradually to 2,500 feet above sea level and travelling through many tunnels, some four miles long. That was the only bit where I gritted my teeth, travelling at 80kmh through a two way tunnel with lorries thundering towards us and little room for a mistake. Still, all in days driving. The Tolls were not too bad at 15E however, we had to buy the Slovenian Vignette which cost 30E for a month, as we were coming back through there in 20 days time. Rip off seeing as we were only in Slovenia for perhaps 30 minutes or so.
We arrived at Camp Slapic at 2.30pm. What a game getting to the site. The new road to it was unfinished and the only way over the river was via a temporary steel floating bridge, or so we thought. I knew before I went on it that it spelt trouble, and it did. When we got on site it had torn the jack pads off the bottom of the caravan. The site owner said I was lucky that was all that had happened. We were not aware there was another way in, well, TomTom didn’t, which was not signposted either. At least we will get out without damage.
The site is fantastic, a fisherman’s dream with running river right behind the site, all free and a lake just a minute’s walk away.
The restaurant will be acquainted tonight and there is a BBQ area for free use. Free internet as well. And all for 14.5E a night with ACSI. Now this is a site you could happily spend a week on. It also has outside covered bar, swimming ladders into the river, modern toilets, showers. Pity we have to leave in the morning. Still, tomorrow we shall reach our furthest point out and be able to chill for 18 days.
Mileage = 224. Move Time = 4hrs 49 minutes. Average Speed = 46.5mph. Mpg = 30.5
Friday 7th September
D-Day – the day we start our holidays for proper. We were up bright and early and on the road by 8.20am. The drive down through the Croatian mountains was mainly easy. Still not a British vehicle in sight and noticeably, almost no lorries. I did read somewhere about lorries not being out on Friday’s and weekends.. Was I right?
There was such a strange phenomena that happened on the way. The weather had been dry, no clouds, no wind and around 16 degrees, right up until lunchtime. We put it down to being in the mountains at 2000 feet above sea level – but we were wrong. Just before midday the road signs showed a wind sock and maximum speed 40 mph. No sooner than it did the wind raged across the road from no-where. We were not even in an exposed area. It buffeted the caravan side to side even at 40mph, and this went on for over an hour. Then, as quick as it came, it went. Not only that but within a few minutes the temperature went from 16 degrees to 29 degrees. It was as if it was creating a barrier. We asked around as was told it was called the ‘Bora’ wind, which affects only the North of Croatia and Slovenia and can gust up to 140mph. We arrived at Camping Stobrec in Split at 1.30pm. The site is fabulous. Our caravan is sited one away from the sea shore, restaurants and shop 5 minutes walk, water and waste at rear of caravan.
When we first planned this from the UK TomTom said we would arrive at 1.15pm. Fifteen minutes late, I am sure I will live with that - 1481 miles over 6 days.
By 6pm we were all set up and sitting down for our meal outside the awning. It was still 27C and the forecast for the next 7 days is 29C and 21C at night. Will I miss getting up at 6.45am every morning, packing up and moving on? I think not for the next 18 days.
Mileage = 258. Move time = 5hrs 5 minutes. Average Speed = 49.4 mph. Mpg = 27.1
Sunday 9th September 2012
Another day in paradise.
Been nowhere, done nothing but read and sleep and paddle in the sea outside the caravan. Jean has been making a few cards ready for Christmas.
Before we came Jean had a cortisone jab in her knee to try and help with her walking. Unfortunately it went wrong and he could only get half in as there is no cartilage left, so it has left her with burning down her leg 24 hours a day. She can only walk about 20 yards at a time so tomorrow we are going to see if we can find a mobility scooter to hire in Split while we are here. Still, we will make the best of what we have...no problem.
You know the things I find amazing.
1. In 4 days of travelling we have not seen one single British vehicle.
2. We were half way through a 4 mile tunnel in Austria. The SatNav was still working, the Radio was still on channel and amazingly, I received a telephone call over the car system from the UK like it was next door. How do they do that because in Slovenia we lost everything under a long bridge, and in the UK the radio and Sat-Nav disappears under a bridge?
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/Stobrec-Restaurantend.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
Just enjoying the sun, sitting on the sand watching the sun go down. Been and done our food shopping in LIDL. No plans on going anywhere for a few days at least.
The internet is really good and fast here and cost around £9 for 24 hours use, which is good because you can use it for as long as you want each day, or any time you want until you have clocked up 24 hours over any period. We use Skype to keep in touch with Millie and family/friends.Tonight it is still 22 degrees and we are sat outside with a nice cool drink.
Monday 10th September 2012
We woke to a new dawn and another hot day. It was 23’C by 8.30am. Jean thought her leg felt a lot better today after resting it for a couple of days so we decided to visit the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian in Split and see how it held up.
Fascinating, absolutely fascinating. The Palace was built by Emperor Diocletian in 218AD for him to retire to as it was time for him to abdicate and hand over the Emperor title to someone else. He built it in Split because he was born locally and wanted to spend the rest of his days in the same area. He died in 235AD.
We bought our ticket to enter the Palace and started walking around looking at everything. In the second room we heard an English speaking guide taking a group of Australians around so listened from a distance. As she was interesting we asked the group of around 10 if they minded if we tagged along, agreeing to make a donation at the end. They all agreed and we had a brill time going through all the rooms and areas. They even helped Jean get up and down steps with me and she managed to walk with them for over an hour. We gave our donation and left the group for a premium priced coffee. At midday they did an enactment of Caesar addressing the nation from the balcony with everyone hailing him.
From there we found a nice local café that made Pizza’s and had lunch. There is nothing like a locally made Pizza. It was enormous so we shared it and, at only 4.50E it was excellent value for money too.
On the way back to the car we went via the Cathedral of St Domnius, which is within the Palace grounds and I went up to the top to see the magnificent view over the city. I must admit it felt really hairy climbing those 145 steps up to the top and looking down above the bells. The Roman Catholic Cathedral was built in the 7th Century with the walls being 6 foot thick on the main towers. A very worthwhile 4 hour visit.
We made our way back to the campsite and got back to our normal afternoon nap before showering, having our evening meal then chilling out for the evening.
Original houses within the Palace walls
Now why has Jean got such a broad smile on her face?
The Cathedral Tower Graham climbed up
The view from the top
Looking down on the Cathedral bells
Wednesday 12th September
After a day of sunbathing, and me getting burnt, we decided today was a ‘cover up’ day and a day to go exploring. Today was the day we met one of our worst nightmares….being robbed in broad daylight of 500 kuna (about £54.50). More on that later.
The day consisted of a 200 km round trip from Split to Dugoppolie via the A1, over the mountain road to Drnis, down the mountain into Sibenik, onto the coastal road to Primosten, (the point at which we were robbed) then onto Trogir via the coast road and back into Split. The journey took us around 7 hours with stops, including the involuntary one.
The mountain road was so diverse. One minute you were on a decent ‘B’ road, next you were driving through a road building site with dirt track roads and no sign posts. TomTom bore no resemblance to where I was…it said I was in a field when I was on a road and on a trunk road when I was on a road not much wider than a footpath. Talk about the outback. For 20 miles or so there was not a single soul, vehicle or animal. Every mile or so there was a bus stop; a bus stop? There was not a house to be seen, except this one, or path to walk along so why was there a bus stop?
We kept seeing ‘Beware of the Wild Boar’ but never saw one. We did see three cows with bells on in the middle of the road (yes, that track is the road). Break down here and you are in serious trouble, it would take a week to find you. Still the scenery was superb.
We arrived in Drnis, the town of Cooked Ham for which it is famous at around 1pm. The view of the town and the old fort was spectacular before dropping down into the town.
We tried to get to the ruin but there were road works and it was blocked off. As we were hungry we sat in an outside Restaurant to eat. No-one came so I went to ask for a Menu. ‘Not until 3pm’, she said. All Restaurants closed between 1pm and 3pm, how ridiculous is that? We decided to drive down the mountain to Sibenik.
Again the drive over was scenic and the views over Sibenik were like something out of a movie.
We stopped at Sibenik, bought some ham and bread from the supermarket to have on the beach and drew 500 kunas from the bank. We travelled past Brodariea.
Our next stop was Primosten, just 10 minutes from Sibenik. The beach was on the right and we just missed the turning so I pulled in, waited for a break in the traffic and swung around to go back to the turn off. I did not see the Police Motorbike waiting for me to do that turn. He pulled me in and told me I had crossed a solid white line. Well of course I had, I had to to turn around. He was having none of it and robbed me by fining me 500 Kunas, just like that. After checking my tax, insurance documents, driving license, log book, etc., etc. he eventually wrote out the ticket. Crikey, the 500 Kunas I had drawn from the Bank was not even dry before he took it.
Somehow the sandwich did not taste the same on the beach, which was really sandy, with a lovely breeze and 30 degrees.
We continued our journey back following the coast road to Trogir. Now this really looked the rich person’s paradise with the expensive yachts moored up. Again very picturesque.
[img src="i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/JaG5553/Around%20Europe%20in%2046%20days/Trogir2.jpg" src="" alt=" "]
From here we continued back to our camp site, tired and happy, apart from being robbed of course.
The next few days the weather is forecast to be cooler with rain. We will see what happens. Who cares anyway.
Friday 14th September
It has been a funny 2 days, lots of rain but warm so we have been resting again, doing some reading and got some food supplies in.
Today we realised how small the world really is. An English person called by and asked if we had seen a motorhome with a kayak on the top. When we told him we had not he said they had said on the Forum they were here. We asked what Forum and he said MotorhomeFun, the same Motorhome Forum we are on. Even more of a coincidence the person he was looking for was the same couple we had co-hosted a meet with in Wrenbury in June (JayGee). Now what are the chances of that? Turns out their clutch had gone on the motorhome and it was in a garage a mile away. We sent a Personal Message via the forum and they turned up at our caravan an hour later. Now they are staying an extra couple of days so we can have a get together. Now that really does show just how small the world can be.
Tomorrow the weather is set to go back to 30 degrees so we shall be off again somewhere.
Saturday 15th September
As testimony will bear yesterday was not a good day weather wise.
Only joking. But it was very low cloud - you could almost touch it.
But, today was another day. I got up at 6.30am because there was a lot of noise about being Saturday with people coming and going. It was a glorious morning and some were fishing off the rocks. Being so nice we decided to visit Omis, a mere 20km away. We took the coastal road which hugged the sea throughout.
Omis is situated between a mountain, river and sea. It was once a settlement below Fort Peovica, which I climbed up to. It was built in the 13th century on the foundation dating back to 887AD.
The view from the top was superb, having to climb an iron ladder the last 15 foot to the top rampart.
We went up the Gorge on a 2 hour cruise, stopping for 30 minutes coffee break at the centre of the gorge. The air was crisp and clear
They even have their own Beach Huts on the Gorge. Not quite the standard of the UK.
When we came back to Omis we had a stroll around the quaint town and bought a couple of souvenirs. Jean's knee is still holding up when the sun shines.
It was late afternoon when we got back so we had a chill out period before doing our chores. During the evening we are going over to Tony & Jackie's motorhome (our friends we met at Wrenbury in June) for a few drinks, or more. Tomorrow just may not come to into being.
Sunday 16th September 2012
It was a late start today. We did not even wake until 9.30am. Could not have anything to do with the late night drinking with Tony and Jackie of course so, it was a day on site today. The hot weather has returned, though quite windy. Jean sat out sunbathing this morning, I read in the shade then we both went swimming in the bay this afternoon. You can walk out several 100 metres and still be chest high (head high for Jean, ). Tonight we are out to the site Restaurant with Tony & Jackie, and another motorhome friend, Mike. Then back to our van and who knows, it could be another late morning tomorrow. Never mind, there are still lots of future places for photo shoots, like Venice next week.
Tuesday 18th September 2012
Having had a few quiet days I decided I needed a bit of an adrenalin rush so we decided to go an adventure for the day. We set off for the car ferry at 8am to take us the 16km to the Island of Brac. It was a lovely warm day forecast with no cloud. For £50 return we were transported there on a modern ferry in just under an hour. We spotted a non paying passenger but he jumped ship before he could be caught.
Island Brac is the largest of Central Dalmation. It is made primarily of limestone and dolomite and was quarried by the Romans to build cities, temples, etc . throughout the Roman Empire. Emporer Droceletian used the secure harbours whilst building his Palace in Split across the water. Due to the dryness of the area there are no streams of water on the island. Their main produce is Olive Oil, wine and fruit.
When we disembarked we realised we had forgotten the map. No matter, it’s an adventure, just pick anywhere on the first signpost. At the roundabout we decided Bol, which was 35km away on the other side of the island. The journey over was spectacular, the scenery so varied throughout.
TomTom had done us proud recently and was programmed to take us to Bol city centre, which is right next to the sea anyway. But it didn’t quite understand that a 5.5m car does not fit down a 5.5m back street.
We weaved down the tiny streets, through the open-air market, much to the amazement of the locals until we came to some steps with the seafront directly in front of us.. Now, had we been in an Austin Mini and been filming ‘The Italian Job’ we could have got to our destination….but we weren’t , so we turned down an even narrower alley and carried on until a local shook his head and said, ‘No way! Only if you can shrink to the size of a moped’.
Oh well, it was good practice reversing down where we had just squeezed through…we picked up some grapes while going back through the market.
We found our way back to the main road and the right turning down to Bol that took us to within 5m of where we had been. The market man said, ‘I know you. Didn’t I see you in a red car a while ago?
Bol is a picturesque port where the water is crystal clear for 10m or more.
We spent over 2 hours there before having lunch and catching the road train to Zlatni Rat Beach. We had arrived at paradise. Jean went in swimming
And we stayed there for over two hours
Then it was time to make our way back via the coast road to catch the 6pm Car Ferry back to Split. The road was not for the faint hearted but provided beautiful scenery throughout. Everywhere you looked the view was different.
Travelling back on the Car Ferry was a quiet affair as we were both tired but happy
As the weather forecast is not good for the next 2 days we shall be staying local and preparing for our move to our overnight stop in Rijeka before moving on to Venice.
Thursday 20th September 2012
Reflections of Croatia.
Tomorrow we move from Split on our way to Venice, Italy
Last night we experienced the full force of the Bora Wind. Several motorhomes had roof lights ripped off because they left them partly open, awnings, including ours had the pegs ripped from the ground like twigs and we had to take it down. The thunder, lightning and torrential rain went on for several hours. We got up this morning to clear blue skies but the Bora Wind remained. If it had stayed the same we would not have been able to move tomorrow however, it has dropped for now and we are hoping it stays manageable during our two day move to Venice.
We have loved our two weeks here. The people are so friendly and honest, the culture is interesting, the weather has been all but perfect, the cost of living is around the same as the UK, the food is really nice. The site is so welcoming we will miss the site, even though we are ready to move on to new adventures.
There is still 3 and a half weeks to go.
Friday 21st September 2012
Now this is the blog day that should not even have been mentioned – a simple route from Camping Stobrec in Split to Camping Preluk, in Rejika – except it wasn’t!
The journey was uneventful, as expected, with the 270 miles travelled on mostly motorways in glorious sunshine. It was when we got to Rijeka that it all changed. The SatNav took us off the one motorway and heading for the next, except the entrance slip road to the next motorway was closed. We ended up going up steep hills with narrow roads for 10km before we could turn around. Then we had to go right through the middle of Rijeka City Centre in rush hour to get to the site 10km away. When we got there the site was closed. There was a sign saying ‘Closed from 14th September’ when they should have been open until 28th September. There was a Car Park next door which was next to the Beach. As it was now 5.30pm and it was dark by 7pm there was no choice but to manoeuvre the caravan into it and do our first ever wild camping.
There were another 6 motorhomes doing the same, so we were not alone. We backed up to the main road and went to open the caravan door – except it would not. The key would not unlock it and we were both desperate for the toilet. Jean came up with the idea of opening the rear side locker, crawling in and getting into the caravan from under the double bed. It worked (good job I am relatively slim, lol). I opened the door from the inside. Then we scratched our heads of what to do next. We had a door you could lock but not unlock. I took the lock apart and decided the only way was to wedge the door mechanism back and use the deadlock bars only, which operate on the key – simple, but it worked.
We texted a friend to find out where the Adria factory was in Slovenia as we were on their borders. It was 170km away in the opposite direction and, as it was Saturday tomorrow we would not get it sorted until Monday. So we decided to go straight to Venice tomorrow and live with what we have got. When we can we will email the Adria dealer we bought it from and have a lock ready for when we get home next month.
Saturday 22nd September
It was a restless night, probably around 2 hours sleep. Cars kept coming into the gravel covered car park throughout the night and driving out again. I must have opened the blinds 30 times during the night, suspicious of anything that moved. At 5.30am, when it was pitch black, three cars came into the car park with young lads in. They got out and started playing music as loud as they could, playing football around the car park. I watched them expecting them to do something wrong. I need not have bothered, they were just waiting for daylight so they could do their wind surfing in the bay. Strange how thoughts work.
We got up around 6.15am, had breakfast and left around 7.15am. The temperature had dropped to 3 degrees C and stayed that way until around 10am. We travelled through the Slovenian mountains and saw ‘Beware of the Wolves and Bears’ but never saw any. Slovenia is virtually entire forest in the part we were travelling through. Travelling from Rijeka and around Trieste is an experience as there were no motorways, the main roads were like our worst ‘A’ roads and we had to go through villages. No real problem though, just high concentration with the size of the caravan.
We arrived on site after 137 miles and 4 hours travelling. Unlock the caravan, except it almost didn’t. This called for drastic action. Strip the lock, ponder a while then melt a nail through the plastic barrel holder so the barrel bar would catch it and lock and unlock the door. Bingo, I think it is fixed until we get home.
Camping Serenissima is a lovely relaxed site, set in woodland with modern facilities. The bus to Venice stops outside the site every 30 minutes from early morning to late night. We decided to buy a two day Rover ticket, which covers the bus and all shuttle boats around Venice for two days – Sunday & Monday. At 30E each that seemed quite good value for money.
Our next episode will be ‘Venice through our eyes’.
Off to the site Bar for a few Aperol Splitz. If you have been to Italy you will now be savouring the taste.
Sunday 23rd September
Caught the bus into Venice from outside the caravan site,
which had a canal running alongside the road.
It took us straight to the connecting hub of Venice where buses, trains, cruise ships airport transfer coaches and water buses all come together – a brilliant feat of engineering and it all works like clockwork with no hold ups. It was a cool 19C but soon warmed up to 24C later on.
As there was so much to see and with no real plan we decided to go straight to the Island of Murano.
We started with the Murano Glass Works and watched how they made it, then it was the shopping spree buying souvenirs and of course, Jean’s future costume jewellery. We were surprised how reasonable Murano Glass was, except of course the really classy 1000E-6000E plus stuff. We had some lunch on the island before returning to the mainland of Venice.
They say you have not really visited the best of Vienna unless you have sat and had a coffee in St Mark’s Square. Well we did, well Jean did because I thought that 9.8E for a cup of Cappuccino was taking the ‘wee-wee’. I did become ‘involved’ with the drink though by drinking the water that came with the Cappuccino. We made sure we stayed there ages listening to the music and people watching and made sure we made good use of their toilet while there too. So there you have it. We have drunk cappuccino in St Mark’s Square, Venice. And??
Jean supping her 9.8E Cappuccino really slowly. Note my jug of water for free.
St Mark’s Square
The architecture is something else. We took a water bus around the outside of the island to see the whole of the perimeter. We saw all the churches, museums and cruise liners. There were also street artists and small stalls selling memorabilia of Venice. I did consider taking Jean on a romantic Gondola trip but at 100E for 30 minutes I settled for a photo instead
Having had enough for one day we took the bus home, asking the driver to drop us off at our camp site as we were unsure where it was. He was a miserable fella and proved us right by dropping us off almost a mile before the site. By the time we got home Jean was in agony so a resting evening was the order of the day hoping all would be well for another day in Venice tomorrow.
Monday 24th September 2012
We had a later start today, not getting to Venice until 1130am. We decided to do the longest Water Bus trip to ease the walking distance. The Water Bus took us to Lido Island where we thought there might have seen plenty to see. What we didn’t know was the island was virtually deserted and most had left for Venice, where we had come from. What we did see was 100’s upon 100’s of bikes chained to railing and racks. It seems that everyone who lives on the island has bikes to travel around the flat narrow roads and very few cars are on there.
We caught the next water bus back and got off at Rialto Bridge.
This was a very busy part of Venice with the bridge, Café’s, and the main shopping area that covered a really large area of tiny narrow streets. There would be a Gucci shop next to a 1E Shop. We shared a huge Ice Cream Sundae with fresh fruit and proper Italian Ice Cream (12E) in one of the Restaurants by the canal. During the afternoon we walked down the back streets to St Mark’s Square and Graham went up the Bell Tower, a height of 320 foot. The views from the top were spectacular, you could see the whole Venice and beyond.
Before long it was time to make our way back to the terminus to catch the bus home.
As we got to the terminus the heavens opened and we had a thunderstorm, getting soaked before we got on. To cap it off, when we got to our site to get off the driver shut the doors and carried on just as we had fought our way through the over full bus and ignored all pleas to stop and bell pushing. He did not stop until the next village and we had to catch a bus back. Not been lucky with buses really have we? The Italian bus drivers we have met have been so ignorant and surly.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our 4 days / 3 nights in Venice. We have seen so much culture and enjoyed the friendliness of almost all the Italian people we have met (except Bus Drivers!). The site we stayed on was family run with a family atmosphere. The Restaurant was reasonably priced with good food and the little shop catered of all emergency needs. The facilities on site were very modern and always clean. What more could we ask?
Tuesday 25th September 2012
Just a short note. Travelled today from Venice to Bella Italia with no problems whatsoever. The journey was a mere two hours.
What a site, it is massive. Apparently when it is full it holds 12,000 people however, it is less than half capacity and almost all the kids are back in school too, which is good. We were lucky to get a pitch only three back from the Lake and have a clear view from our front window and awning. Not only that, we have the luxury of direct connect mains water and permanent waste connected so we can run the water all day long. Glad we decided to put the adapters in the van just in case. It is stunning here, with a view right across the lake. A two minute walk, and on site, we have a Supermarket, Bazaar, Restaurant, Take-Away, Veg shop, Swimming Pool, pebble beach and swimming in the Lake, the water temperature is currently 23C and Internet Wi-Fi point. While here, which will certainly be for the full nine nights we hope to see as much of Lake Garda as we can.
Adria, Slovenia have contacted us and told us to contact Adria, Brescia, which is only about 50km away. They said they should be able to help us.
Anyway, time for an Asperol Slitza and a stroll along the Lake side. Wish you were here.
Wednesday 26th September
Domestic day today – clean the caravan right through, do all the washing, drying and ironing. Unfortunately it still all has to be done, even when on holiday. As it was a rainy day it was no hardship.
Thursday 27th September
A nothing day of relaxing and reading. Drying out the awning after yesterday’s heavy rain. We were discussing how it can be lonely, even when on a holiday when everyone around you is German and does not want to speak, when a text came through. It was Tony and Jackie, our motorhome friends. They had decided to join us as we had the better weather and arrived five hours later, parking up right opposite us.
Friday 28th September
Tony went on a bike ride around Lake Garda, all 102 miles of it!! I couldn’t believe it until I read his Garmin which confirmed he had cycled the whole route in 6 hours. For over 60 he is so fit. Me? I borrowed his other bike and did 14.2 miles along the lake and back and was shattered. Lovely views though. I had a stop after 6 miles at Lazise for refreshments then cycled back via a different route.
Jean sat in the sun reading. During the evening we had a BBQ with Tony & Jacky followed by a few drinks. Jean maintains she is not a drinker of course so that must be a glass of water in her hand???.
Saturday 29th September
Got up to rain, and it stayed most of the day. Still, we got a bus for the 25km run into Verona. The Amphitheatre was a nice feature as was the old part of the city in the Main Square. All the classy shops, with their classy prices of course were here too. It was a place to browse and buy little, though we did get ripped off at the exchange (the only one open on a Saturday) when we needed Euro and they took 14% commission, and they knew we were stumped. We had lunch in a café, which was very reasonably priced for Italy then decided to come back to the site as the rain was not going to stop.
Tony and Jacky decided they are going to make a run for home tomorrow and fly out to their place in Spain instead of touring Germany. We are staying here until Thursday, when we are due to go to Switzerland. Tonight we are going out for a meal with them before they go home so tomorrow we will be back on our own again. It has been nice having company for a few days with such good friends.
If you come across any of these people approach with extreme caution. They are easily identifiable by their name badges. The one who always has his eyes shut drives across Europe by voice guidance only from his wife. They will have you believe they are going swimming in Italy - don't believe it, they are up to no good after a heavy night out.
Sunday 30th September
A quiet day. We visited the local village Peschiera this afternoon and browsed around the streets and harbour before devouring a local ice-cream.
Then we tried to park in Sirmione however, there were at least 100 cars waiting to park so we turned back and will go by boat one day. Back at the site we lazed around the swimming pool with a Cappuccino for the rest of the afternoon before getting a Pizza, as you do.
Just read about the appalling conditions set to hit the UK next week. Now why on earth would we want to make our way slowly Northward on 4th October, when we can stay on Lake Garda with temperatures around 23 degrees forecast for the next 10 days? Even if it rains some of the time it is still warm. We think we may stay until around 9th October, which will give us one night in Aosta, two nights in Switzerland, miss out Germany, drive 360 miles to Luxembourg for two nights then two nights in Belgium before taking the ferry home on 16th October. Sounds good to us, we will see how it pans out. Everything is subject to change because we can,.
Tuesday 2nd October
The skies have cleared and it is a lovely warm day, with temperatures set to hit 23C. We decided this was a good day to drive around the entire outside of Lake Garda, taking the coastal road that hugs the lake all the way around. We travelled clockwise around the Lake via Desenzano, Padenghe Manerba, Salo, Gardone and our first long stop for morning Coffee at Maderno, though we made several ‘view stops’ all around the Lake to take in the breath-taking scenery. The road was very narrow in a few places with long drops off the edge if you took your eye off the ball.
Maderno
Carrying on up the circular tour we passed through:
Tremosine
And stopped in Limone
for a pleasant walk and viewing the town from above and below.
By now we were feeling peckish as it was well past lunchtime so we enjoyed a snack at:
Riva Del Garda
Riva Del Garda
After lunch we made our way down the right hand side of Lake Garda, stopping at
Malcesine for an ice cream like only the Italians can make.
Thirsty work this you know, travelling around this huge lake so, after travelling down the coast vis Brenzone and Torri Del benaco we had a Coffee stop at:
Garda. While we were drinking our Coffee a busker turned up right in front of us and began playing Italian balads on his guitar with mini amp and backing tape. It was so soothing Jean was dropping off to sleep while facing the lake with the sun shining brightly and a warm 23C. What more could we want?
As the day was coming to an end we made our way back to the camp site via Bardolino, Lazise and Peschiera.
The day had not gone without incident. Over the last few days I have been hearing a rubbing noise from the front driver’s side tyre, like something was stuck on the tyre somewhere and rubbed the road on each revolution. I had checked the tyres, jacked it up and revolved them, checked every part of it, but nothing. Today it got louder and when I checked I noticed part of the tread looked higher than the rest and the car was pulling slightly to the right. My thoughts are the tyre has parted from the steel interior, even though they were new the week before we left. Tomorrow I will take it to the local garage and see what the score is.
Thursday 2nd October
It has been two days of up’s and down’s. Waited all day yesterday to hear from Motability for authority to go and fix the tyre – no reply. Got an email from Adria in Brescia saying that a new lock for the door had been sent to them from Adria Italia and I could either collect it or bring the caravan and they would fit it under warranty. As it was 50km away and in a city I decided to collect it. Glad I never took the caravan as it was the back of beyond in Brescia. Good old TomTom took me to the door with no mistakes. I got a warm welcome from them and the whole new mechanism was handed over – no charge, no signatures in triplicate and I kept the old one for spares. Now that is what you call excellent After-Sales Service.
While I was there I asked if there was a tyre dealer close by and they gave me the address of the one they used, just 3 miles away. As Motability had not been in touch I had no choice but to sort it myself. There was no information or contact for Europe in their booklet in the car.
It was a big tyre dealer so I was hopeful of the issue being resolved with the bulging tyre, which I had to drive the 50km up the motorway on – carefully and ‘bricking it’ a bit too I might add. Just my luck, not one spoke one word of English, which is unusual. It was all sign language but they soon saw the bulge on the new tyre and took a deep breath saying, ‘Problem, bang’, as if I didn’t know. Then the Manager did what I expected her to do, she put two fingers up indicating the front tyres were unusual and I had to have two. Good old Kwik-Fit had fitted special rain tyres knowing I was going to Switzerland. Did me no favours eh? I asked the price and nearly died when she wrote down 345E. Big intake of breath, shaking of head and showing ‘Contract Car’ with the Disability badge. She pondered then went out the back and returned with two second-hand Michelins with about 2.5mm tread on. ‘How much?’ in sign language. She wrote down 60E. The deal was done, a nod of approval and they set to work. They put the good new ones from back to front and put the second hand ones on the back, balancing and putting new valves in. All in all an excellent bargain. I had to take the two tyres they took off to take back to the UK to Kwik-Fit. What a pain in the a** that is going to be trying to find room for them.
During the afternoon good old Motability rung, 48 hours after the urgent email. They said I should have had contact numbers from the Insurance Company when they approved the foreign travel as the car was covered for the whole of Europe. We never did. If I had we would never have spent 95E with ADAC to cover it, now would we? He apologised and said it would be all sorted and we should be refunded the 60E on our return as it was their fault they never supplied the numbers for Europe-Assist. Do you think they will be give me back the 95E for ADAC? I think not!
So, from 8am when I left two big issues had been resolved and I was back by 11am with most of the day left. We spent the afternoon reading and lazing around the swimming pool as it was a warm 23C again. Another good day’s work done. Don’t want too many of them while on holiday. Back to sightseeing tomorrow.
Friday 5th October
Got up early today to a nice warm morning with clear skies promised by lunchtime, which it did. I wanted to go and see historic Sirmoine however, as there was so much walking involved Jean decided to stay on site and make some Christmas Cards, which she has been wanting to do for some time.
I left around 8.15am to walk the 2km down to the harbour via the coastal path, Along the path there is an exercise route where several people were doing jogging, then doing different things at 10 points as indicated by the boards, like 10 x press-ups, 10 x squats, etc., etc. I was tempted but got tired watching them, most seemed to be posers so carried on strolling. I caught the fast catamaran to Sirmoine which only took 20 minutes as against two hours for the slow passenger ferry. It was awesomely fast.
Sirmoine is on a peninsula and was well worth the visit and was indeed a lot of walking around the streets, up and around the Scaligero Castle Fortress which was built in the 13th Century. It even has its own dock. At the tip of the peninsula there is an ancient Roman Palace ruins.
By the time I had finished viewing the Fortress and partially excavated roman villa I was peckish so enjoyed a Tuna Pizza, as you do in Italy.
Then I strolled through the streets to the bus terminal, which was a little way out as no vehicles are allowed into the peninsula part of Sirmione. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun, had tea then went out for a drink late on in the evening to the Restaurant.
Saturday 6th 0ctober
Another really warm and sunny day (26C). After a hearty breakfast of cereal, bacon, eggs and toast off we went to Movieland.
The normal entry price was 24E but because we had a Blue Badge it was 19E for Jean and I went free as her Carer (well someone had to hold her hand). It was an excellent day and we spent over 5 hours there. Even the full lunch of Pizza, French Fries, drink and a Magnum was only 7.8E, which is cheap by Italian standards. As it was low season there were less than 100 people in the whole park, which meant at times there was only us on a ride, except the Tomb Raider where there was only one – me, the whole ride to myself! Somehow it did not seem the same. Briefly, we went into the Horror Chambers, which were pitch black apart from a little red on the ceiling now and then, lots of bangs, screams and real people jumping out at you dressed as skeletons, prisoners, and the worst one, a bed suddenly lit and this maniac came bounding at you. Frightened the c*** out of us. Then there was the Terminator 2 studio where the floor moved, we had 3D glasses and had to shoot the enemy as they came at you. I did OK scoring the highest on our row. U571 Submarine Simulator was next. We had to buy a waterproof poncho, and I could see why, for this one. It was a real submarine that was dark, seemed to dive and roll as it was depth charged and water came flooding in from above and drenched you. Very real and the feeling of going to the bottom of the ocean. Jean decided at the last minute not to go in, and she was right as it was very claustrophobic.
A few other ‘normal’ rides and shows then the ‘finale’. Had I have seen it first I would never have gone on it for sure. I thought it was your normal Tomb Raider ride. Was it heck! It threw me upside down, 45 degree reverse loops, etc, etc.
So, a good day was had by all and we went back to the site to enjoy the late afternoon sun, though the nights are drawing in fast and it is dark by 7pm.
Sunday 7th October 2012
REFLECTIONS OF ITALY
Our time in Italy is coming to an end, and what a joy it has been to be here. Our original ‘Plan’ was 7 nights in Italy, three in Venice and four on Lake Garda. That turned out to be 17, 3 in Venice and 14 on Lake Garda.
Weather
Throughout our stay it has been glorious weather, with temperatures in the mid 20’sC by day and around 18C at night. We have only had two wet days and one wet night. There has nearly always been still air, with the occasional breeze during the latter part of our stay. Autumn is showing itself as the leaves are falling fast off the trees now and the nights are drawing in. We consider ourselves lucky to have had such good weather.
Camping Bella Italia
This is where we spent 14 nights. We would find it very difficult to find any fault with the site at all. Staff are helpful and always pleasant, even when they promise you shingle every day for your pitch and it arrives a week later. The facilities are extensive but not obtrusive. There is a large supermarket, greengrocers, accessory shop, internet café, several eating in places, take-aways, hairdresser, bicycle hire, children’s playgrounds, huge pool complex comprising of three areas with a bar and loungers, plenty of parking, an efficient Reception, top quality showers and toilet blocks, washing up facilities, laundry room, clothes washing sinks with scrubbers, all of which are cleaned more than once a day. It is right on the lakeside with its own beach, water sports facilities like pedalos, skiing and kayaks. The pitches are a good size with permanent water and waste to each unit and all separated by trees.
Lake Garda area
There are so many places to visit around the 102 mile circuit of the lake, either by car or boat. You can cycle right on the water’s edge for several miles on well made walking/cycle tracks. The scenery is varied with rugged mountains, tunnel passes, edge of rock roads that are over 100m up. What you do not see are many animals even though the land lends itself as perfect for goats.
Cost of living
The cost of living in this part of Italy is almost double of that of the UK. A loaf of bread is around 2E, litre of milk 1.6E and ice-creams average 2.5E for a single cone. Beer is around 4E a half litre and cocktails around 6-7E. Sweets are very expensive at 7.5E but are usually big enough for two to share. Pizza’s are obviously in abundance everywhere and, surprisingly enough, it is as cheap to eat in as to take out in most cases. The menus are pretty much the same wherever you go such as steaks around 15E, fish around 13E. Fuel prices are high at around 1.8E per litre however, public transport is cheap. You can go on the bus to Verona, which is 26km away for 3E, or Sirmoine for 2E. Boats on the Lake are quite expensive. To hire a speed boat for 6 people it is 190E a day, plus petrol! The quality of food is always good and we have never had a poor meal.
Dislikes – very few.
1. Mosquitoes, they love English blood and take every opportunity to bite you, even up socks in the evenings. Repellents help a little but are by no means fool-proof.
2. At this time of the year there are virtually no British people around so it can become a bit lonely if you are a people person. The Dutch, Belgians and Danish are usually quite friendly but the best we ever got from the 95% of the site, which was German was either a stare or a grunt if you forced the issue of demanding an answer when you gave a good morning or hello. In the end we decided not to say anything to anyone until they spoke first and give the same stare back. They never did speak, not even once.
3. Obviously the cost of living being so high, though we can’t do anything about that as the Euro did it.
Conclusion
Definitely a place we will return to. The whole Italian experience has been great, even with our tyre and door lock mishaps. It has been relaxing with plenty to do and see, if you can tear yourself away from glancing out over Lake Garda whilst reading a good book in the warm sunshine.
So, on Tuesday we move on towards Switzerland. Watch this space!
Monday 8th October 2012
Spent most of the day preparing to move. The awning roof and skirts were filthy with leaf stains, which took two hours to clean off. We filled the car up with diesel and went shopping for provisions to cover us through Switzerland to Luxembourg. Our Swedish friends, who came here just after us and were sited opposite left this morning. We have just been to settle the account for our 14 nights here, which was £193.33 (224E @ 16E a night with ACSI). Excellent value for money and we would highly recommend Bella Italia to stay on. They have chalets and mobile homes as well.
We have decided, all being well, to drive straight to Montreaux and miss out the overnight stop at the Grand St. Bernard Tunnel, driving straight through.
Tuesday 9th October 2012
We were up bright and early at 6.45am. By 8.00am we had had breakfast
And even had mushrooms growing under the caravan
The drive was to take us exactly six hours, covering 267 miles with 90 minutes of stops on the way, so four and half hours is good going through mountains and the Grand Saint Bernard Tunnel which cost 37.9E At one point we were 6,150 feet above sea level. The journey through to Milano and Turino was mundane but as soon as we turned off for Aosta the mountains appeared and we saw our first peak with snow on.
The Mondeo pulled up the inclines effortlessly and even returned 30.9 mpg throughout the journey. We stopped at a lovely mountain lay-by for lunch.
We arrived on site mid afternoon. Situated right next to the harbour at Bouveret it was virtually deserted, with only around half a dozen units on. The site closes on Friday for the winter. We went for a short walk around the harbour. It too was deserted with hundreds of boats moored up – a case of ‘will the last one to leave please turn out the lights’.
It was still warm at around 21C with the odd shower but it cooled down quickly at the end of the day to 16C. The bonus here is free internet, so I intend to fill my boots after having to pay over £4 an hour, hence an unscheduled blog tonight.
Tomorrow we are up early again and going to Gruyeres to the Cheese Factory and Broc to the Chocolate Factory. That will be both our needs and desires fulfilled if all goes well.
Wednesday 10th October
It rained most of the night, and was still raining when we got up. Still, who cares we are in the dry today.
We left around 9am to go the Gruyere Cheese Factory, which has moved since I last visited in 1984. Then it was built into a hillside and was very basic. Now it is factory in the middle of the village with interactive narration and a full view of production. Fascinating as to the preciseness of production. Milk is delivered twice a day by 15 producers, each day the master cheese maker produces 48 wheels of cheese. The cellar holds 7000 wheels of cheese, each weighting 35kg where they ripen over time.
To make Gruyère, raw milk is heated to 34 °C (93 °F) in a copper vat, and then curdled by the addition of liquid rennet. The curd is cut up into pea sized pieces and stirred, releasing whey. The curd is cooked at 43 °C (109 °F), and raised quickly to 54 °C (129 °F).The whey is strained, and the curds placed into molds to be pressed. After salting in brine and smearing with bacteria, the cheese is ripened for two months at room temperature, generally on wooden boards, turning every couple days to ensure even moisture distribution. Gruyère can be cured for 3 to 10 months, with long curing producing a cheese of intense flavour. We got a sample of cheese as different stages and bought a slab of cheese that is so tangy it will almost slice your tongue in two.
Cheese making process
From Gruyere we moved on to Broc, where Cailler’s Chocolate Factory is located (yum, yum).
This was a brand new factory where everything was automated. Cailler of Switzerland is one of the largest Swiss chocolate manufacturers and claims to be the oldest brand in the chocolate business. They have been producing chocolate since 1819 (in Vevey) and since 1898 in Broc. It was the first manufacturer of chocolate slabs and has been part of the Nestlé group since 1929 but still operates largely independently. There was a 45 minute tour that took us through the animated history of chocolate and ended with lots and lots of different chocolates to eat, which Jean and I both indulged so as not to offend our hosts, mmmmm.
At 4pm the rain finally stopped leaving just enough time to go around the scale railway and village, which was right next door to the camp site. Very cleverly designed, it was situated in a small area of around 80m x 40m yet it took the train 20 minutes to go around as it weaved back and forth, up and down, over bridges before coming back to the station.
The perfect end to a busy exciting day. We will certainly sleep well tonight, but not too long as we have to up by 7am for an 8am departure to cover the 360+ miles to our overnight stop in Luxembourg before moving on to Belgium for our final chapter of our adventure of a lifetime.
Thursday 11th October 2012
Woke up early this morning and went for a shower in the pitch dark. Took me ages to get there because I could not believe what I was seeing. The sky was full of stars, shining so, so brightly. No light pollution for miles around. It was cold too and when day broke there was snow all around on the mountain tops - it wasn't there yesterday. Time to get the hell out of here .
It was a long drive to Luxembourg, 341 miles with six hours and 49 minutes actual driving time. It was dry when we left Montreaux however, it started raining when we got to Bern, and stayed that way for the next three hours, then it stopped, cleared and the temperature went up from 8C to 16C.
We got to Luxembourg around 4pm, pitched then drove out for diesel as it is only 1.3E a litre (£1.08 per litre). We called into a local Cafe and managed to get him to understand we wanted something to eat. He made us a huge Rump Steak of around 16oz, home-made chips and salad, and all for 12E. I managed mine but Jean had no chance - so I helped all I could.
A cheap site too here at 12E a night with electric and free super fast internet. We have decided to stay just the one night and move on to Jabbeke in Belgium for our last 4 nights before heading home on the ferry next Tuesday afternoon.
Tonight will be a very early night as we are both shattered.
Friday 12th October 2012
And finally……..
It rained all night and the forecast for Friday was rain all day in Luxembourg, so no point in staying there.
The forecast for the next four days in Jabbeke, Belgium was much the same – rain all day Saturday and Sunday so we made the ultimate decision – drive the 261 miles direct to Calais and see if we can get a ferry today instead of Tuesday.
All the way to Calais it poured with rain. The wind was battering the caravan side on and it was a struggle to keep it stable at times in exposed areas. There was no time for sentiments and luxury stops so it was a quick sandwich and on our way again. The ferry we were hoping for was the 1520hrs from Calais to Dover. We arrived in Calais at 1430hrs and were lucky to get a space on the ferry, even if it did cost us extra to change the ticket. Bit of a rip off really because the ferry was almost empty on the lorry deck.
That’s when the emotions kicked in and the realisation that it was all over bar the journey from Dover to Chesterfield. It was really emotional, as some of you may have experienced yourselves, getting on that ferry.
And what an adventure it has been! We achieved almost everything we wanted to, adjusted our itinerary to suit what we wanted. The one thing we have learnt is that there is no need to book anything at this time of the year, though it did help as it was our first time abroad with the caravan.
From the beginning:
• The rapid heartbeat as we got off the ferry in Calais thinking all the time – keep right, keep right.
• TomTom taking us on a guided tour of the shops and mini roundabouts of Gent
• Being memorised by the shipping on the Rhine in Koln
• The squirrels in Nurnberg using our caravan as target practice all night with acorns battering the roof
• Austria unleashing the violent thunderstorm for hours on end vibrating the caravan like a kettle drum
• The fantastic scenery travelling through Austria, Slovenia and northern Croatia
• The power of the Bora wind in northern Croatia
Montreaux, Switzerland. We are glad we stopped here even though virtually everyone had left and gone home. Travelling through Switzerland from Italy was spellbinding scenery and hairy at times with the roads hugging the edge of the mountains with 100’s of feet drop if you got it wrong. Switzerland is not anywhere near as expensive as it used to be 30 years ago. It compares quite favourably with Lake Garda area now.
• Scoffing chocolate and cheese
• Journey to Calais via an overnight stop in Luxembourg. The French motorways are something else, pot holes everywhere, road works every 20 miles for 10 miles, no overtaking for a large part of it.
This is where it all ended – boarded and ready to leave Calais.
Departing where we landed almost 6 weeks ago.
And sailing back to Dover.
Tonight we are staying at Hawthorn farm, Dover having a well earned rest so we can drive home to Chesterfield tomorrow refreshed.
Car = Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi Zetec
Caravan = Adria Adora 612DP
Towing weight throughout journey = 1680kg
Total mileage covered = 3650
Site to Site milage = 2947
Overall mpg average = 29.7
If you want to see all of the photos we have taken since we left full photo album can be found here
So, all that remains is to thank Jean for the fantastic company and sharing the funny times, exasperating sites and experiences and frustrating times when things did not go too good, but we always found our way through. And to Traveller (Ian) for all his help in advising on putting this adventure together. And, most of all, to all 365campingcaravanning members who have followed us throughout our six weeks travelling the Continent. Thank you all…………until the next time.
Arrived home safe and sound at 4pm this afternoon. We have travelled most of Europe and not had one single hold up....until we got on the M1 and there was an accident involving a motorbike and seven cars near Junction 16 - hence a two hour delay.
Would we do it again? ....Most certainly, and will. Only problem is how do we equal or better what we just did. I'll tell you something, when I turned off the engine before boarding the ferry at Calais on Friday we hugged each other and just said, 'We did it', then had tears in our eyes that we had completed what we had planned for 15 months......and loved every minute of it.
Graham & Jean
October 2012