How much?

The site has 360 pitches and typically of European sites the pitches are very close…  Having said that we had a site big enough for the van and the girls tent.  The cost came as a bit of a surprise having spent €10-16 for Sostas here and there… It was €199 for 2 nights….but that did include electricity (although that was an extra)! Switzerland was living up to it’s expensive reputation.  This was only to be compounded when we had ice creams and coffee later in the town (another €60!).  However it was a pretty little harbour with free wifi here and there. I even managed to download the Switzerland map for my Map.me app.  

Delta Camping looking out over Lake Maggiore
Delta Camping looking out over Lake Maggiore

Before we visited town though the girls had a quick swim in the lake at the site’s own beach. Not really a beach but a waterfront access which is rare for a campsite on the lake.

Having downloads the new map and the Sostas for Switzerland I picked out one at the end of the Verzasca Valley in a village called Sonogno.  Part way along the valley is the Verzasca Dam, which is one of the highest dams in Europe and used in the opening scene of James Bond Golden Eye and home of the alleged highest bungy jump location in the world. The Sosta is at over 900 metres the girls may need thier sleeping bags.

As we sit and chat over a glass or two…… Peach tea for the girls of course, the next years trip is already being discussed….  This is driven by the girls and at the moment looks like this.

Next year's trip
Next year’s trip? 

 

Amy’s view of the trip so far, 

Pisa

Pisa was a quick trip. We first went for a cheeky little coffee ( Even though I don’t like coffee so I just had a coke). Soon after that the tower slowly came in to sight with all the tourists doing the tourist pose of holding the tower up. We we made our way round the tower , photo bombing on the way. We then saw the cathedral, it is massive I must tell you and many photos were taken. We made our way through the market and then we had to take the tourist pose. We then made our way through the tourists and back to the Motorhome.

Pisa
Pisa

Florence

When we got to Florence the first things we found were the midges. That wasn’t fun. It soon became evening and we wandered down to the to the viewing point. We were waiting there for a while for the sun set and in that time there was a wedding and a flash mob choir for a proposal. Then instead of a lovely sun set we got a thunder and lightning storm but the cathedral was still beautiful.

Venice

When we got to the camp site we managed to get a beautiful pitch which over looked the lagoon and Venice. We got a boat out there which was a 30 min boat ride yet on the same boat we had had a tourist guide which was reading the book about Venice which didn’t fill me with confidence. When we got off the boat we went down the path way and found a lovely violin man a he was playing Just One Cornetto (O Sole mio). Once we had had a look at all the shops and bought what we had to buy, we got on a gondolier which was very fun and we manage to photo bomb a lot of photos. All together it was one of many places which stunned me to the ground.

Cannobio

There in not much to say about this place except rain . This is because we stopped there one night and there was the biggest thunder storm EVER and the other night it was -20 degrees.

Anyway this was one of the best trips I have ever been on Bob so thank you love you to the moon and back

Just a small storm then…

During the night we were woken by a huge thunderstorm. It was the loudest I had ever heard and I guess that some of that would have been echoing around the mountains….

The day was a bit of a wash out in that it rained for most of it but we still managed a wander into town for a #Clewleystopsforcoffee and ice cream.  

Cannobio really is a pretty little town with cobbled stone alleyways linking the bigger streets.  It is a must for a return on a dry sunny day so we can take a boat trip out on the lake.

Tomorrow may be a move to Locarno, 30 minutes north and in Svizzera. Still on the glacier formed Lake Maggiore though.  Switzerland at this point is greatly Italian speaking.  Italy only became unified in 1861 and even now residents have more feeling of loyalty to their region than their country. 

And to the lakes….

Left Venice by 9.00 and having failed to find a supermarket (seemingly non-existent in Italy!) we headed off to the lakes.  

We arrived at the Sosta in Cannobio on the north west shore of Lake Maggiore to the customary clap of thunder and associated downpour (and again we arrived mid-afternoon so spaces available. By early evening it was full). To be honest though, so far we have only had to cancel one planned activity and that was the cable car in Chamonix. For the remainder of the trip we have arrived to rain but by the time we were in an position to explore the rain had stopped and the weather was fine.  

Our Destination
Our Destination

 

 

En route June had set the washing machine to work. We have a plastic box with lid and fill it with water and soap. This is then put in the shower tray with any small items that needed washing. The drive then vibrates the washing and all we have to do is rinse it.  I wish I could claim it as my idea, however, I read about it on a Motorhome forum somewhere. 

All for €16 a night.
All for €16 a night.

Cannobio is a very pretty town with cobbled paths and beautiful lake frontage. There are boat trips from the town and the Lake Maggiore Express which is a combination of boat and train rides around the lake. This trip can be made either clockwise or anti clockwise. And if this rain keeps up there may be a more detailed paragraph or two about it.

The main part of the town is along the waterfront with numerous restaurants and cafés. With a Carrefour Market along the main street. 

The trained eye may even pick out a kebab shop….. But I have been studying this subject for many years and have reached the status of kebabologist. Training started an a young age while serving in TVP at various towns around Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and my specialist area of Oxfordshire.  I only just failed the ‘keeping the kebab intact on the dash of a moving vehicle while on a blue light run’ but I did get honours in the ordering from height while on the Air Support Unit. 

 

What a difference a day makes

A cloudy start as we made our way to the office 25 yards from the campsite entrance  to grab 4 tickets for a return boat trip to Venice. At €13 each…. Not bad for a 20 minute trip each way but be sure to get to the jetty ahead of time – we took the 10am out and 16.30 back, both of which were pretty chaotic!  The boat takes you into Zattere where it is only a quick walk to the main points of interest.

A lived in face
A lived in face

As we walked towards the centre we passed a old chap with a violin.  His face was ‘lived in’ and I am sure he could tell a story or two, he looked a real character.

For June and I it was a return trip but as the day cleared and the sun shone down it became a different Venice to the spring time of our last trip.

A quick stop at the Ponte dell’Accademia for some Time Lapse photography (will be posted when we get home) and on to the Piazza St Marco.

One of the things to do on June’s list was a ride on a gondola.  So after lunch in a little square we made our way back to the outskirts of Piazza St Marco and paid our €80 for a 30 minute trip. It’s the same price for up to 6 passengers and the boats are owned by the gondolier.  It is a ‘got to do’ really and none of us had been on one before. There was no ‘just one cornetto’ sang to us but we did get a bit of history as we were gondoliered along.  Apparently you train with your father for a year, then go to college to study English, French and Spanish together with Venetian history.  You can then take a driving test. After all that you still have to take a swimming/life-saving test before you are qualified…. Or so our Marco Polo told us anyway.

A gondola ride for four
A gondola ride for four

 Back to the camp site for few domestic chores and planning where to go next.  We knew we wanted to go towards the lakes towards the second week and it now looks like we will be off to Lake Maggiore. We have been using an IPhone app called Parking by Campercontact an app by the Netherlands Camper Club. It has proved its worth as you can down load maps for the area you are looking to travel to.  There are other camping apps but they do not have the download option.  I have also saved the sites listed as POIs for TomTom.

Our next stop
Our next stop 

The other app I have found really useful is maps.me. This is £2.99 and again offers the option of downloading the areas you are travelling to.  The maps are really detailed showing Supermarkets cafés etc.

And we continued to laugh…as it rained again..

Leaving the Florence Sosta which for Motorhomers among you has a black and grey water dump and fresh water tap, we made to the campsite of Fusina in Venice. As we neared Venice the rain started…. well to be honest it poured and poured.  Fusina, on the mainland, is really well located with a pedestrian ferry to the central Venice. Partly due to this though it  wasn’t cheap at 54 Euros a night plus an extra 5 Euros if you wanted WiFi access by reception.  

Going to have a little rant now….  If you charge what you think is a fair price of 54 Euros, and I guess bearing in mind it was the peak season and it was on the outskirts of Venice and you insist on charging and extra 5 Euro for WiFi make sure it covers all the site! Rant over!

We picked a pitch with water frontage hoping the rain wouldn’t bring it closer, and plugged in.  Ahhhh aircon tonight if we need it. For the past few nights we had….well I say we but I mean June and I, had the benefit of a fan above our bed that could run off ships power.  It was a God send, if I was a believer, and I will thank our friends who had it fitted when they owned the van.  I can remember, and am reminded quite often of this, saying when we bought the van “we’ll never use it and as for those hydraulic levellers I may get them removed for more weight capacity”….  So far we have used the levellers almost every opportunity and it does give a certain smugness ( yes I know that isn’t a nice trait) when we arrive and I get out with the remote to play ‘how level can I get this this time’

Anyway Venice.  As I look out of the window, having been assured by the lady that took my passport at reception that Venice is there in-between the rain laden clouds, I get a quick flash and clap of thunder….that storm is back with vengeance!  At least we’re warm and dry in the van and we didn’t laugh too much at the poor souls whose pitches are now under water or even having water pumped off them! Well she did assure me that tomorrow was going to be sunny. 

Oh we have ships too
Oh we have ships too

 

 

Florence by day

A simple walk into town took us straight to the Ponte Vecchio. First things first #Clewleystopsforcoffee and then onto Piazza del Duomo.  The first stone of the Cathedral, as we see it today, was laid in 1296 and the building was complete 170 years later. The exterior work is stunning and not matched inside, which is quite plain when compared with some other cathedrals around the world.  

Just on of the locals
Just one of the locals

We bought a 10 Euro ticket each which gave us access to the top of the dome (access to the main cathedral is free).  This same ticket also gave us access to Giotto’s Bell tower and The Baptistery of San Giovanni. The climb to the Cupola and to the top of the Duomo was 460 steps with only 320 to the top of the Bell Tower. The passage ways can be narrow and I didn’t envy the guy I passed at the bottom of the tower who had 4 cycle helmets strapped to his rucsac and was upward bound.  At some points I had been flat against the wall while someone travelling in the opposite direction was likewise as ours backs made friends.

 

From the Duomo
From the Duomo

Both the Duomo and the post lunch trip to the Bell tower offered great spots for photos across the city

Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio

 

 

On to Pisa and Florence

As we left Pisa it was pouring down…..  hey it was Italian rain …who cares….  As we drove into Pisa we picked up a sign indicating Motorhome parking….. we followed these excellent tourist information signs…..  until they stopped in with no parking to be seen. But we have sussed the Italians out now and managed to find a road side parking slot near the river. A 15 minute walk took us to tower that is a little skew wiff.    

The Campo Dei Miracoli (the main area by this skew wiff tower) was full of tourists all going for ‘that’ shot of someone holding  the tower up. We managed a couple of those photos before we returned to the van. We did look at going up the tower but it seemed the tickets gave you a time slot, ours would have been 2 hours after buying the ticket.

Pisa
Pisa

 

Having ‘done’ Pisa we made towards Florence and another Sosta. This one was about 20 minute walk to the Ponte Vecchio, but more of that later.  That evening we walked for about 20 minutes to Pizzale Michelangelo which is a stunning view point looking out over the city.  While we were there we witnessed a flash mob Choir and a proposal of marriage in the middle of the performance. All as the sunsetting amidst a thunder storm with  lightning off to the west.        

Florence
Florence

    

Balsamic vinegar with Ice Cream..

Having left our campsite and via Carrefour we decided to head down the “scenic” coast road and not the motorway.  Unfortunately you can’t see too much of the beach as for about 50km it is hidden by one long strip of hotels and beach bars all with their regimented rows of loungers.  To reach Pisa we had to turn inland and then the adventure began……There was a  diversion you see and they seem to run out of signposts very quickly.  We were going so well until the signs ran out and then even the girls noticed we had gone past one particular junction 3 times.  So with all thoughts of scenic drives gone we headed to the motorway… That took us to Lucca…  OK Pisa can wait for a couple of days. I am sure.

We had a campsite in mind and Tom-Tom took us straight there.

Campsite Lucca
Campsite Lucca

We arrived during siesta time and while waiting we were joined by several other vans – there was going to be a rush to the office when it opened…..  Could Bob beat the 3 French vans and the German to the best pitch?  The site Il Serchio was 28 Euros a night and had all we needed…. laundry facilities, showers etc (albeit we can shower in the van) together with electric.  Again we can cope without mains as we have a fairly big inverter that will even run the coffee machine.

Once all plugged in we made to town, a 15 minute walk. Lucca had been sold to us as a quaint little town with nice ice cream.  Once in the walled town it was clear to see why;  narrow streets and an abundance of coffee shops and gelateria. We settled on one that served a multitude of combinations including vanilla and Balsamic Vinegar.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Balsamic Vinegar
Vanilla Ice Cream with Balsamic Vinegar

We then had a wander around the town and even managed to drop off a Travel Bug in a Geocache….IMG_8297

Escaping the rain

Having taken the decision that the weather was too changeable in Chamonix (3rd time lucky maybe for the view from the Aguille de Midi?), we headed off to Italy after a short incursion into Switzerland.  With the cost of the Mont Blanc tunnel being around €150 for a vehicle of over 3m and because Bob likes a challenging drive and we are all partial to a photo opportunity, we decided to go over the Alps via the Grand St Bernard pass.

As we were driving along one section, June looked down to the side and noticed it was along way down.  As we turned another hairpin bend the cloud below suddenly cleared and we were treated to a spectacular view of Vallee du Rhone so we pulled into a viewpoint to jump out and take photos.  Well June would have, but at this point we realised her camera was still in the drawer at home but hey, we only had another 12 devices capable of taking still photos!

We had the option of either going through a tunnel or taking the pass  right over the mountain top – no choice really.  The pass was longer but the drive stunning and we were in no rush.  A succession of hairpins took us down into Italy and sunshine and we came out of the mountains into a huge agricultural plain which seemed to be growing mostly rice.

Back on the motorway we headed towards Genova (Genoa) and the coast and then mile after mile of either tunnel or viaduct…..The Italians do seem to take the most direct route through the mountains!  We were aiming for a sosta a little further down the coast at Marinella di Sarzana about 50km north of Pisa with the idea being that we could have an early start to the town to do some exploring.  At €10 a night this was a basic site but had fresh water and the facility to dump grey water – enough for us for the night.  Across the road from the site was a beach and we had hoped to be able to go for a swim but the thunder storm continued to haunt us and the sea was too rough.  We managed to find one bar open for a quick drink before the rain really set in and the girls managed a quick paddle.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh how it rained

As we left England a really weird cloud formation came in from the sea. A roll cloud. At this point we were glad to be going to France via the Tunnel….. the wind was picking up….a lot!!

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Roll Cloud

As we hit France there was the largest lightening storm any of us had ever seen…..

We stopped in a motorway aire just north of Lillers. Yes there are lots of stories about being mugged and attacked as you sleep by the bad boys but to be honest I have been doing this since 2005 and never had any problems…..

Early start the next day to another aire to the South of Dijon at Poulet De Bresse on the A39…

Typing this from Chamonix as it rains we have decided that tomorrow we will make our way to Italy and Lucca. Apparently this is a really loverly town and they make beautiful ice cream. Wait one for the update on that.

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Chamonix

During our wander around Chamonix today we had to have a #Clewleystopsforcoffee moment of course… Well if I am being honest it was a #Clewleystopsforbeer!

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All polished and ready to go

The van is now polished ready for the next trip.

As normal eldest is having a break from him mums and looking after the house, watering the garden etc while we are off to France and Italy.

We are looking to stop at Chamonix as I am determined to show June and the girls the view from the Aquile de Midi. Last time I took them it was a white out !

Then across the Alps and into Italy. Nothing booked and free styling it all the way.

What we are hoping for
What we are hoping for

 

What we had last time.
What we had last time.

Continue reading “All polished and ready to go”