Well two weeks plus and we are getting into a habit.
The weather is generally sunny but we have had one wet day and some days and nights of strong winds. No serious damage but the flagpole is a little shorter now!
It is odd to arrive somewhere thousands of miles from Lancashire and know the roads so well I can even predict the potholes even the ones they have repaired. Life of course is never smooth and the latest event here is not good. One of the regulars and our neighbour from last year Hans (Sweden) who travels with his severely disabled wife, Lena, tried to ride his bike back from reception carrying a gas bottle and fell off. He's now in the local hospital unconscious with a brain bleed and his wife is also in hospital being cared for as nobody else knows her routine. Everybody here is shocked.
Meanwhile the local "wildlife" is getting used to all of us humans. The fox is getting better but gets mugged by some of the camp cats if he isn't quick with his food. The flamingos are in the lagoon and we have been adopted by one of the camp cats who is Max's little twin. She is working hard at being adopted as she fusses, sits on laps and generally works at being a little sweetie.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Cabo De Gata
Been here for almost a week now and very quickly settled life adopts its own pattern.
The site has its own life in more ways than one. Firstly there are the people from last year - but fewer of them than then. Maybe its a sign of the recession that there are fewer people than last year. Its also clear that the tensions between the pro and anti cat groups are sharper. The site may have fewer people but the number of cats and particularly kittens is up. The kitten tribe contains some that would be snapped up under any other circumstances - including Katie's double and a passable Siamese!
But stranger still is our "pet" fox. Seen him for the first time tonight but heard stories from some of the people who have been here for a few weeks. It has an injured paw but has with typical fox skill spotted an opportunity and become friendly with the humans so he gets fed. He looks better than many an uninjured fox arounf here I suspect. And I'm told he ignores the kittens who would be too much work when there is food around.
The site has its own life in more ways than one. Firstly there are the people from last year - but fewer of them than then. Maybe its a sign of the recession that there are fewer people than last year. Its also clear that the tensions between the pro and anti cat groups are sharper. The site may have fewer people but the number of cats and particularly kittens is up. The kitten tribe contains some that would be snapped up under any other circumstances - including Katie's double and a passable Siamese!
But stranger still is our "pet" fox. Seen him for the first time tonight but heard stories from some of the people who have been here for a few weeks. It has an injured paw but has with typical fox skill spotted an opportunity and become friendly with the humans so he gets fed. He looks better than many an uninjured fox arounf here I suspect. And I'm told he ignores the kittens who would be too much work when there is food around.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Valencia - and beyond!
Thursday 12/11/2009
Heading down from Barcelona it was like walking into a warm room. As we moved south the weather improved and slowly but surely the main crop became oranges - acres and acres of them. The picking is getting underway and I remember my grandmother waiting for the Spanish oranges to come in and then making marmalade which was about Christmas or a little later. Well there plenty of oranges for everyone now.
Finally arrived at our new base which is about 10 minutes from Valencias' City of Arts and Sciences but very rural amongst the rice fields. The site has two drawbacks - the mosquitos which bite for Spain and the new bypass for the village which runs around the back of the site. Still we are here for only a few nights. Also here is another Brit with an American RV and a horror story. They had been burgled on one of the motorway services despite being among the lorries. Not lost a lot - camera and the mess as well as the disruption was the worst part. But they are clear crime magnets as they had almost been robbed in Madrid on the underground as well. He was telling me how his superior locks had been defeated and then looked at our older ones and pronounced them better!
The site has no internet so this will be up when we get somewhere modern.
Friday 13/11/2009
After a bad nights sleep with the traffic we slept in - fitfully! Still supplies were low and we went to the very large shopping centre on the edge of Valencia whch boasted an enormous Carrefour "Hipermarket". It should come with a map on every trolley with sat-nav so you don't get too lost. Still it had everything you could wish for including PG Tips at €2.40 for 40! Then there's C5A and a host of shops and restaurants. Tha Spanish know how to do a good shopping centre.
Saturday 14/11/2009
Slept slightly better but still had a lazy morning as the parking isn't free until 14:00 at the shopping centre which is across the road - all 12 lanes of dual carriageway that is between it and the City of Arts and Sciences. Arrived with perfect timing at 2:00pm on the dot and went across to the Oceanografico which is "one of the worlds largest acquariums" housed in some very modern buildings. Spent almost 4 hours wandering around the enormous rooms with tunnels in the tanks, Beluga whales in one of the "biggest tanks" in the world and bizarrely for somewhere that boasts green credentials a Dolphin show. We missed that but went o see what we could see after the show was over and it was brilliant. The staff were checking the dolphins over, taking blood samples as well as inspecting them as well as "playing" with them. We also got to watch a new member of staff trying to learn the human end of the performances. Not sure what it feels like to fall flat on your back into water having been tossed up about 15 feet by two dolphins but he walked ginerly at first. Still he kept at it till he got it almost right and then the old hand showed him how again. The dolphins followed their trainers around the pool like well behaved dogs - most peculiar but great fun. The rest of the site is some of the best modern architecture and some of the most daring I've seen. Prince Charles would not approve and it was all publicly funded.
Sunday 15/11/2009
From the sublime to the ridiculous.We drove down the coast to Cullera home to a Moorish castle next door to a Catholic shrine. Both were closed but the viewpoint shows what a mess the tourist business has made of the coast. It is trully awful.
Came home and packed up ready to go tomorrow to find LPG in Alicante and a camp site in Crevillent.
Monday 16/11/2009
Got away cleanly and before 10:30 so the day was going to be longish but bearable. Once more acres of orange groves shimmered away to the horizon as we headed south towards Alicante.I have never been to Benidorm but seeing it again reminds me of what hell must be like. The location is great but the buildings are awful. And the temperature was rising to about 31C.
As we approached Alicante we stopped for lunch at the services but heeding our last neighbours experience we decided to shop separately. As I got down a Dutch guy from the only other camper van in the emptyish car park came across and asked if we used LPG and if so did we know where he could get some as he was running very short. So short he was worried he might have to back to France or Holland to fill up and it was cold up there. He was impressed by my guide to the LPG sites in Spain and delighted there was one just down the road. He sped off as we sat down to lunch waving madly.
We had lunch watching an elderly Muslim couple say their 1 o'clock prayers in the car park, which given Spain's history was interesting.
Well having directions and a GPS fix is not a lot of help when the locals change the roads and dig them up willy nilly. We had reached the point where we found the road we needed for the campsite and the LPG site and decided as the gas is not critical if we did not find it then OK. Just then I saw signs for the Repsol depot and hey presto we found it - complete with our new best friend the Dutchman. The Spanish guy was most impressed by my book but gave me a Repsol map showing a host of new sites. I don't know how many campervans he gets but two foreign ones in sequence seemed unusual. Continued on down the road for what seemed like forever but wasn't - just getting hot and tired I guess. Found our site but the entrance was blocked - by the local cops tow truck as they had lunch in the bar/restaurant at the front. They were happy to move it and let us through. Still glad we are here for one night only as tomorrow we head to Cabo de Gata - home for the next 8 weeks or so! Still the local supermarket sells what we need so that;s OK as well.
Heading down from Barcelona it was like walking into a warm room. As we moved south the weather improved and slowly but surely the main crop became oranges - acres and acres of them. The picking is getting underway and I remember my grandmother waiting for the Spanish oranges to come in and then making marmalade which was about Christmas or a little later. Well there plenty of oranges for everyone now.
Finally arrived at our new base which is about 10 minutes from Valencias' City of Arts and Sciences but very rural amongst the rice fields. The site has two drawbacks - the mosquitos which bite for Spain and the new bypass for the village which runs around the back of the site. Still we are here for only a few nights. Also here is another Brit with an American RV and a horror story. They had been burgled on one of the motorway services despite being among the lorries. Not lost a lot - camera and the mess as well as the disruption was the worst part. But they are clear crime magnets as they had almost been robbed in Madrid on the underground as well. He was telling me how his superior locks had been defeated and then looked at our older ones and pronounced them better!
The site has no internet so this will be up when we get somewhere modern.
Friday 13/11/2009
After a bad nights sleep with the traffic we slept in - fitfully! Still supplies were low and we went to the very large shopping centre on the edge of Valencia whch boasted an enormous Carrefour "Hipermarket". It should come with a map on every trolley with sat-nav so you don't get too lost. Still it had everything you could wish for including PG Tips at €2.40 for 40! Then there's C5A and a host of shops and restaurants. Tha Spanish know how to do a good shopping centre.
Saturday 14/11/2009
Slept slightly better but still had a lazy morning as the parking isn't free until 14:00 at the shopping centre which is across the road - all 12 lanes of dual carriageway that is between it and the City of Arts and Sciences. Arrived with perfect timing at 2:00pm on the dot and went across to the Oceanografico which is "one of the worlds largest acquariums" housed in some very modern buildings. Spent almost 4 hours wandering around the enormous rooms with tunnels in the tanks, Beluga whales in one of the "biggest tanks" in the world and bizarrely for somewhere that boasts green credentials a Dolphin show. We missed that but went o see what we could see after the show was over and it was brilliant. The staff were checking the dolphins over, taking blood samples as well as inspecting them as well as "playing" with them. We also got to watch a new member of staff trying to learn the human end of the performances. Not sure what it feels like to fall flat on your back into water having been tossed up about 15 feet by two dolphins but he walked ginerly at first. Still he kept at it till he got it almost right and then the old hand showed him how again. The dolphins followed their trainers around the pool like well behaved dogs - most peculiar but great fun. The rest of the site is some of the best modern architecture and some of the most daring I've seen. Prince Charles would not approve and it was all publicly funded.
Sunday 15/11/2009
From the sublime to the ridiculous.We drove down the coast to Cullera home to a Moorish castle next door to a Catholic shrine. Both were closed but the viewpoint shows what a mess the tourist business has made of the coast. It is trully awful.
Came home and packed up ready to go tomorrow to find LPG in Alicante and a camp site in Crevillent.
Monday 16/11/2009
Got away cleanly and before 10:30 so the day was going to be longish but bearable. Once more acres of orange groves shimmered away to the horizon as we headed south towards Alicante.I have never been to Benidorm but seeing it again reminds me of what hell must be like. The location is great but the buildings are awful. And the temperature was rising to about 31C.
As we approached Alicante we stopped for lunch at the services but heeding our last neighbours experience we decided to shop separately. As I got down a Dutch guy from the only other camper van in the emptyish car park came across and asked if we used LPG and if so did we know where he could get some as he was running very short. So short he was worried he might have to back to France or Holland to fill up and it was cold up there. He was impressed by my guide to the LPG sites in Spain and delighted there was one just down the road. He sped off as we sat down to lunch waving madly.
We had lunch watching an elderly Muslim couple say their 1 o'clock prayers in the car park, which given Spain's history was interesting.
Well having directions and a GPS fix is not a lot of help when the locals change the roads and dig them up willy nilly. We had reached the point where we found the road we needed for the campsite and the LPG site and decided as the gas is not critical if we did not find it then OK. Just then I saw signs for the Repsol depot and hey presto we found it - complete with our new best friend the Dutchman. The Spanish guy was most impressed by my book but gave me a Repsol map showing a host of new sites. I don't know how many campervans he gets but two foreign ones in sequence seemed unusual. Continued on down the road for what seemed like forever but wasn't - just getting hot and tired I guess. Found our site but the entrance was blocked - by the local cops tow truck as they had lunch in the bar/restaurant at the front. They were happy to move it and let us through. Still glad we are here for one night only as tomorrow we head to Cabo de Gata - home for the next 8 weeks or so! Still the local supermarket sells what we need so that;s OK as well.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Mediterannean coast
Oh well that was a cold night up here in the mountains. So we slept in!
We were gretted just before lunchtime to a truly amazing display of vultures and I do hope I can get the pictures up soon. It was like Autumn Watch - but the exotic experience!
Had lunch and drove down to Ainsa. The new town by the river is useful for shopping so we did. But the Old Town at the top of the hill is wonderful if small! It boasts a castle held by Moors and Christians and was apparently one of the first places "liberated" in Aragon and a stout centre of fighting back against the Moors. Probably a little local licence in that and the usual "old" Spanish attitude to the Moorish reign - ie it was a bad thing. The streets were largely empty and the square has three cafes all fighting for custom so we went to the smallest and busiest! Nice sitting in the sun drinking coffee if wrapped up in fleeces! Bought a mug with Ainsa on to support the local tourist shop.
Next morning headed south and west to the coast. Passed the base of Opus Dei which is an enormous building on the far side of the lake created by the dam near a place called Barbastro. Looks like a cross between a medieval fort and a monastery, which is perhaps the look they were looking for. Finally made Sitges which is down the coast from Barcelona. Nice enough site which is full of Spanish families using their static caravans for the weekend. They have set ups of caravan plus awning plus pergola and anything else that they can fit on the pitch. Its a really lively atmosphere. We are parked next to a huge Finnish reg motorhome which seems to owe more to a horsebox than anything else.
Sunday dawned really windy and some of the complicated Spanish arrangements suffered as the wind tore some of the fabric to ribbons. As the day passed the Spaniards packed up and went home and the site became very quiet. Monday was calmer so we did the very necessary shopping and wandered around Sitges. Its a nice place - at this time of year! The restaurants are either cheap and not so cheerful or very nice looking but expensive and the cafes are almost grateful for your custom. Its like Brighton but with a sandy beach and sunshine.
We went down the road to Tarragona on Tuesday. The weather was cloudy and cool (14C) but it was a fascinating place with Roman ruins at every turn. A theatre down by the beach, a forum in the town centre and bits all over the city as well as each site having its own population of cats. Had lunch in a backstreet cafe with the locals in an attempt to keep warm and yet not spend too much. It was actually very good if simple.
Wednesday was the original day to move or go to Barcelona but in the end we did neither. The Finnish guy spent so ong saying bye to his British neighbours and we all stood around chatting until 11:30. Too late to do anything but tidy up and do a bit more shopping for essentials and a new kitchen rug. Got it all eventually. Came back to find a large German van parked across our satellite "line" but to my surprise it still works. So tomorrow we will be moving south to around Valencia.
We were gretted just before lunchtime to a truly amazing display of vultures and I do hope I can get the pictures up soon. It was like Autumn Watch - but the exotic experience!
Had lunch and drove down to Ainsa. The new town by the river is useful for shopping so we did. But the Old Town at the top of the hill is wonderful if small! It boasts a castle held by Moors and Christians and was apparently one of the first places "liberated" in Aragon and a stout centre of fighting back against the Moors. Probably a little local licence in that and the usual "old" Spanish attitude to the Moorish reign - ie it was a bad thing. The streets were largely empty and the square has three cafes all fighting for custom so we went to the smallest and busiest! Nice sitting in the sun drinking coffee if wrapped up in fleeces! Bought a mug with Ainsa on to support the local tourist shop.
Next morning headed south and west to the coast. Passed the base of Opus Dei which is an enormous building on the far side of the lake created by the dam near a place called Barbastro. Looks like a cross between a medieval fort and a monastery, which is perhaps the look they were looking for. Finally made Sitges which is down the coast from Barcelona. Nice enough site which is full of Spanish families using their static caravans for the weekend. They have set ups of caravan plus awning plus pergola and anything else that they can fit on the pitch. Its a really lively atmosphere. We are parked next to a huge Finnish reg motorhome which seems to owe more to a horsebox than anything else.
Sunday dawned really windy and some of the complicated Spanish arrangements suffered as the wind tore some of the fabric to ribbons. As the day passed the Spaniards packed up and went home and the site became very quiet. Monday was calmer so we did the very necessary shopping and wandered around Sitges. Its a nice place - at this time of year! The restaurants are either cheap and not so cheerful or very nice looking but expensive and the cafes are almost grateful for your custom. Its like Brighton but with a sandy beach and sunshine.
We went down the road to Tarragona on Tuesday. The weather was cloudy and cool (14C) but it was a fascinating place with Roman ruins at every turn. A theatre down by the beach, a forum in the town centre and bits all over the city as well as each site having its own population of cats. Had lunch in a backstreet cafe with the locals in an attempt to keep warm and yet not spend too much. It was actually very good if simple.
Wednesday was the original day to move or go to Barcelona but in the end we did neither. The Finnish guy spent so ong saying bye to his British neighbours and we all stood around chatting until 11:30. Too late to do anything but tidy up and do a bit more shopping for essentials and a new kitchen rug. Got it all eventually. Came back to find a large German van parked across our satellite "line" but to my surprise it still works. So tomorrow we will be moving south to around Valencia.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Into Spain
Moved on from Nimes on Saturday and went to a nice rural camp site on the edge of Toulouse as we want to avoid repeating last years journey down eastern Spain. So we are aiming at a central Pyrennes cossing after a couple of night here and in the mountains.
On Sunday we went into Toulouse to look around and found two very fascinating but different attractions. Firstly, we followed the brown signs from the car park "Victor Hugo" - why don't we name our car parks like that? - and went to Basilique de St Sernin. One of the local delights it became famous as a stop on the pilgrim trail to Compostela. As a result it built up one of the largest collections on holy remains and today displays them in the crypt and all over the cathedral. It claims to have bits of almost every saint you could think of and several you've never heard of. It does include a number which even the Catholic Church has "deregistered" or whatever they do to saints who are no longer thought valid. This includes poor old St Christopher but the church here stills keeps his bit, probably in the huge reliquary marked "Other saints". Still if you want to see saints teeth and bones in ornamental glass cases this is the place to come.
The other delight was found in the Place du Capitole after walking along the Rue du Taur, which is probably "student central" or Toulouses' answer to the Byres Road of my student days. The Capitole is Toulose Town Hall only it is the biggest I have ever seen. It in certainly bigger than the old GLC, Manchester,Glasgow or Munich. And as it was Sunday it was open to the public to wander into some of the ceremonial rooms. It is a wonderful piece of 19th century civic pride and belief. The walls and ceilings are adorned with paintings on a heroic scale. Pictures in one room all in the impressionist style but on a huge scale and in another naked women cavort as the backdrop to the former marriage room. The knowing looks on some of the paintings must have some couples food for thought.The room they use for civic functions and marriages now is huge and richly decorated with pictures and carvings. They have a guide in full colour and it really is good and it was all free so well done Toulouse. Unlike Preston they are proud of their aircraft industry as you can buy airbus shaped postcards everywhere. I did think local government in Britain could learn from Toulouse and believe it had relevance to everyone and was more than just a burden.
Monday moved into the High Pyrennnes and it got gloomy and wet. Still found a campsite that was open if a little close to Lourdes! which will invite Lynda's curiosity. After a damp night it opened dry so we did bits of house keeping and after lunch we went to see Lourdes. Almost 50 years ago I came here as a good catholic schoolboy and left ever so slightly damaged and on the way to being a sceptic. Since then it has not improved. The site itself has dispensed with the collection of crutches, sticks and wheelchairs that used to adorn the cave entrance. And it had the air of Blackpool out of season. The main items open but all the surrounding shops were half closed. Still people from Spain, Poland, Ireland and France as well as undefined nationalities were there but in small numbers. It once more proved Clarksons' theory that the best place for tacky souvenirs is near a Catholic shrine. We finally settled on a "snowdome" with glitter for snow and a luminous Virgin and Bernadette. But neither of us suffered a (re)conversion. It still irks me and feels like its trading on peoples hopes and fears. Still everyone to their own.
Next day dawned rainy and damp so we packed up and debated which way to go. We decided eventually to stick with plan A and cross the Pyrennes by the Bielsa tunnel. It was a really spectacular run up the valley on the French side as the road got narrower but passing occasional HGVs so we stopped off to buy lunch in the new Carrefour at St Lary Soulan and had a picnic in the layby down the road. All this "easy" driving ended with about 3 miles of 1 in 10 slopes with regular hairpins and every so often my passenger swallowing hard at the drops on her side with minimal protection - no armco or any other barrier for that matter. Then we came to the tunnel - 3 kms long and as an "honorary" HGV we had priority for 10 mins maximum as opposed to trucks from Spain. Luckily it was a downhill run and very straight but narrow. The Spanish clearly think more of this crossing than the French as the road on their side was wider and in better condition. Still we failed to notice the crowds of "day trippers from France" mentioned in the Rough Guide.
We found our new site 2 kms from Ainsa and in a spectacular location.( See my facebook pages for the photos)
Next morning broke clear and bright - well it is Spain - if a little cool but as we are at nearly 1500 feet it should be expected. Still the showers are heated and very hot. But as soon as breakfast was over the local show started . First an inspection from a Red Kite and then dozens of vultures circling above the valley. Poor Max was spending a lot of time looking up! we decided to deal with little details like filling the water tank and emptying the other tanks ( my favourite job). Then we took a drive into the Parque Nacional de Ordesa. This is really spectacular country ( see the photos elsewhere). We walked one of simple short trips around the Canon de Aniscio at some 3000 ft plus. It was cold but not that cold we did not enjoy the views and the constant procession of vultures, kites and possibly eagles as well as the river and trees putting in a good case for mountainous Spain. All this less than 200 miles from Barcelona. Maybe people have got their priorities a little wrong as we are great fans of wild Spain which is severly underrated. A quick look at Ainsa on the way back tempts us to stay one more night.
On Sunday we went into Toulouse to look around and found two very fascinating but different attractions. Firstly, we followed the brown signs from the car park "Victor Hugo" - why don't we name our car parks like that? - and went to Basilique de St Sernin. One of the local delights it became famous as a stop on the pilgrim trail to Compostela. As a result it built up one of the largest collections on holy remains and today displays them in the crypt and all over the cathedral. It claims to have bits of almost every saint you could think of and several you've never heard of. It does include a number which even the Catholic Church has "deregistered" or whatever they do to saints who are no longer thought valid. This includes poor old St Christopher but the church here stills keeps his bit, probably in the huge reliquary marked "Other saints". Still if you want to see saints teeth and bones in ornamental glass cases this is the place to come.
The other delight was found in the Place du Capitole after walking along the Rue du Taur, which is probably "student central" or Toulouses' answer to the Byres Road of my student days. The Capitole is Toulose Town Hall only it is the biggest I have ever seen. It in certainly bigger than the old GLC, Manchester,Glasgow or Munich. And as it was Sunday it was open to the public to wander into some of the ceremonial rooms. It is a wonderful piece of 19th century civic pride and belief. The walls and ceilings are adorned with paintings on a heroic scale. Pictures in one room all in the impressionist style but on a huge scale and in another naked women cavort as the backdrop to the former marriage room. The knowing looks on some of the paintings must have some couples food for thought.The room they use for civic functions and marriages now is huge and richly decorated with pictures and carvings. They have a guide in full colour and it really is good and it was all free so well done Toulouse. Unlike Preston they are proud of their aircraft industry as you can buy airbus shaped postcards everywhere. I did think local government in Britain could learn from Toulouse and believe it had relevance to everyone and was more than just a burden.
Monday moved into the High Pyrennnes and it got gloomy and wet. Still found a campsite that was open if a little close to Lourdes! which will invite Lynda's curiosity. After a damp night it opened dry so we did bits of house keeping and after lunch we went to see Lourdes. Almost 50 years ago I came here as a good catholic schoolboy and left ever so slightly damaged and on the way to being a sceptic. Since then it has not improved. The site itself has dispensed with the collection of crutches, sticks and wheelchairs that used to adorn the cave entrance. And it had the air of Blackpool out of season. The main items open but all the surrounding shops were half closed. Still people from Spain, Poland, Ireland and France as well as undefined nationalities were there but in small numbers. It once more proved Clarksons' theory that the best place for tacky souvenirs is near a Catholic shrine. We finally settled on a "snowdome" with glitter for snow and a luminous Virgin and Bernadette. But neither of us suffered a (re)conversion. It still irks me and feels like its trading on peoples hopes and fears. Still everyone to their own.
Next day dawned rainy and damp so we packed up and debated which way to go. We decided eventually to stick with plan A and cross the Pyrennes by the Bielsa tunnel. It was a really spectacular run up the valley on the French side as the road got narrower but passing occasional HGVs so we stopped off to buy lunch in the new Carrefour at St Lary Soulan and had a picnic in the layby down the road. All this "easy" driving ended with about 3 miles of 1 in 10 slopes with regular hairpins and every so often my passenger swallowing hard at the drops on her side with minimal protection - no armco or any other barrier for that matter. Then we came to the tunnel - 3 kms long and as an "honorary" HGV we had priority for 10 mins maximum as opposed to trucks from Spain. Luckily it was a downhill run and very straight but narrow. The Spanish clearly think more of this crossing than the French as the road on their side was wider and in better condition. Still we failed to notice the crowds of "day trippers from France" mentioned in the Rough Guide.
We found our new site 2 kms from Ainsa and in a spectacular location.( See my facebook pages for the photos)
Next morning broke clear and bright - well it is Spain - if a little cool but as we are at nearly 1500 feet it should be expected. Still the showers are heated and very hot. But as soon as breakfast was over the local show started . First an inspection from a Red Kite and then dozens of vultures circling above the valley. Poor Max was spending a lot of time looking up! we decided to deal with little details like filling the water tank and emptying the other tanks ( my favourite job). Then we took a drive into the Parque Nacional de Ordesa. This is really spectacular country ( see the photos elsewhere). We walked one of simple short trips around the Canon de Aniscio at some 3000 ft plus. It was cold but not that cold we did not enjoy the views and the constant procession of vultures, kites and possibly eagles as well as the river and trees putting in a good case for mountainous Spain. All this less than 200 miles from Barcelona. Maybe people have got their priorities a little wrong as we are great fans of wild Spain which is severly underrated. A quick look at Ainsa on the way back tempts us to stay one more night.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Nimes
We arrived here on Monday - here being a site about 5kms from Nimes called Domaine de la Bastide near a village called Generac.
The site is great for a low season site. We have plenty of electricity and water on the pitch as well as a grid for when we leave. All the things a traveller needs except wi-fi so when you will read this is a bit of guesswork.
TUESDAY
My choice of an afternoon out after Lynda has done the washing at the on site launderette. We go to the Pont du Gard which was stunning. It is as picturesque as you could wish for and the weather was really good. But after you have looked at the aqueduct and browsed the shops as well as pay you 5€ car park charge there is not much to do. So we haeaded down the road to Uzes, which is a charming French semi-rural town. It has a rare round bell tower, the nearest other one is in Pisa!, a ducal palace which still gets occupied by the local duke although I thought the French had wisely abolished such nonsense. We just ambled about, bought some chocolates and wines and came home. All we need is a moderate lottery win and we could move here.
WEDNESDAY
We had a lazy morning and then drove down to Aigues Mortes on the coast. It isn't a world heritage site but is still a medieval town complete with all its defensive walls and a grisly secret. Apparently, during one conflict with the English in the 15th century the town was recaptured by the French who massacred the garrison in their sleep and then as burial in the marshy ground outside was impossible stuffed the bodies packed in salt into one of the towers. The tower is now on the tourist trail. Still lunch in the town square was good. From there we drove down the road to Grau du Roi just in time to watch the fishing fleet come home through the middle of town! Coming back Lynda and the sat nav had a row which they both lost!
THURSDAY
Well Nimes is so close we had to go. And once we had got to the centre it was well a bit of a let down. Not as much as its twin town Preston would have been but a let down none the less. The Roman Arena is very intact but as they use it for bull fights amongst other things it does take the shine off it. Still the explanation of Roman gladiators and the fights was well done. In the centre is the best preserved Roman temple in the western world. It is used as the home of a 3D cinema showing the heroes of Nimes which is well done but not what I expected. The outside is being renovated on one side so it probably isn't at its best at the moment. I just wonder what people would have made of a hi-tech Museum of Lancashire. The rest of the town is provincial France at its most pleasant. Toworrow we had planned to move but we are staying an extra day.
FRIDAY
Just 50 kms away is Avignon so we had to go. It was an easy and pleasant journey arriving in time to post one lot of cards - they are the ones you will get in several weeks!! with special Avignon stamps. After that strenuous effort we had to retire to the Restaurant Hotel de Ville and sit in the sunshine for the set 14€ lunch. And very tasty it was too. Then round the Papal Palace. It was interesting to listen to the French version of the history and to be able to put "Papa Luna" who we last met in Spain at Peniscola where he finished his days denied as Pope by the "Roman wing" and dumped by the French. Still it is an impressive building and as ever well presented and easy to understand. From there its a short walk to the Pont d'Avignon. After the audioguided tour of the stump I have now heard a lifetimes worth of the song but it is impressive and the views were great. I only hope the pictures are good enough to post.Tomorrow we head towards Toulouse, once "capital" of the Pays d'Oc and seat of the "awful" Cathars so this may get put up en route as they say round here.
The site is great for a low season site. We have plenty of electricity and water on the pitch as well as a grid for when we leave. All the things a traveller needs except wi-fi so when you will read this is a bit of guesswork.
TUESDAY
My choice of an afternoon out after Lynda has done the washing at the on site launderette. We go to the Pont du Gard which was stunning. It is as picturesque as you could wish for and the weather was really good. But after you have looked at the aqueduct and browsed the shops as well as pay you 5€ car park charge there is not much to do. So we haeaded down the road to Uzes, which is a charming French semi-rural town. It has a rare round bell tower, the nearest other one is in Pisa!, a ducal palace which still gets occupied by the local duke although I thought the French had wisely abolished such nonsense. We just ambled about, bought some chocolates and wines and came home. All we need is a moderate lottery win and we could move here.
WEDNESDAY
We had a lazy morning and then drove down to Aigues Mortes on the coast. It isn't a world heritage site but is still a medieval town complete with all its defensive walls and a grisly secret. Apparently, during one conflict with the English in the 15th century the town was recaptured by the French who massacred the garrison in their sleep and then as burial in the marshy ground outside was impossible stuffed the bodies packed in salt into one of the towers. The tower is now on the tourist trail. Still lunch in the town square was good. From there we drove down the road to Grau du Roi just in time to watch the fishing fleet come home through the middle of town! Coming back Lynda and the sat nav had a row which they both lost!
THURSDAY
Well Nimes is so close we had to go. And once we had got to the centre it was well a bit of a let down. Not as much as its twin town Preston would have been but a let down none the less. The Roman Arena is very intact but as they use it for bull fights amongst other things it does take the shine off it. Still the explanation of Roman gladiators and the fights was well done. In the centre is the best preserved Roman temple in the western world. It is used as the home of a 3D cinema showing the heroes of Nimes which is well done but not what I expected. The outside is being renovated on one side so it probably isn't at its best at the moment. I just wonder what people would have made of a hi-tech Museum of Lancashire. The rest of the town is provincial France at its most pleasant. Toworrow we had planned to move but we are staying an extra day.
FRIDAY
Just 50 kms away is Avignon so we had to go. It was an easy and pleasant journey arriving in time to post one lot of cards - they are the ones you will get in several weeks!! with special Avignon stamps. After that strenuous effort we had to retire to the Restaurant Hotel de Ville and sit in the sunshine for the set 14€ lunch. And very tasty it was too. Then round the Papal Palace. It was interesting to listen to the French version of the history and to be able to put "Papa Luna" who we last met in Spain at Peniscola where he finished his days denied as Pope by the "Roman wing" and dumped by the French. Still it is an impressive building and as ever well presented and easy to understand. From there its a short walk to the Pont d'Avignon. After the audioguided tour of the stump I have now heard a lifetimes worth of the song but it is impressive and the views were great. I only hope the pictures are good enough to post.Tomorrow we head towards Toulouse, once "capital" of the Pays d'Oc and seat of the "awful" Cathars so this may get put up en route as they say round here.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Ciao - Italy
We got the answer to our horde of French vans on Saturday morning as they all had signs in the front announcing that they were off on a tour of Tunisia and Libya. So presumably they were taking the ferry from Genoa. I admire their nerve but wonder at how much it has cost in paperwork alone as they have cats and dogs with them.
Still that would be a real adventure so we wished them bon chance!
We headed west along the Autostrada de Fleuris as the sun shone, the temperature got to about 24C and the sun sparkeld off the Med below to our left as we went from tunnel to tunnel across the viaducts. Been here before but this time we could see over the crash barriers - and its a long way down on some of them. On the hillsides we could see the sheets of netting in the olive groves ready to catch the crop and watch the smoke from the fires of old wood (to judge by the smell). Really made me wish we could stay longer but the weather will get worse and so we might as get across France.
We arrived at our intended stop at Cagnes sur Mer only to find it closed . It was clear that they had not read the Caravan Club guide which said they were open until 1st November. So after a small panic we went on up the valley to the next indicated site( who had not read the Caravan Club guide either as it said they were closed but were open).
As we are moving swiftly on tomorrow we went to the local attractions. Haut Cagnes is home to a picture book castle and village looking down on the urban sprawl that is the Cote d'Azur. In the square the restaurants were doing a roaring trade - one booked out for a birthday with a Franch pub band who turned their hand to everything from Barry Manilow to Carlos Santana. Still it was easy to see why a flat in the village goes for 429000 euros and a house for 1.3M euros. And all the artists who ever wanted to be famous have painted it. And of course they want to be Renoir who spent his last years here and has a superb museum. The castle is an art gallery cum museum with a "panoramic tower" - well the views are. The tower has alimit of 12 people on the roof at any time but today it managed a crowd of 4. You can see all the way to Nice and along the Cote d'Azur and then away up into the Alps where the first snow has dusted the high mountains - another reminder to keep moving. Then we went down to Cros de Cagnes which is the seaside bit and joined all the locals in promenading in the sunshine along the front and stopping for a drink in a shoreside cafe. Can't do that in Southport just now I'll bet.
Finally got home and checked the score from Anfield with more than a little trepidation - 2-0 praise the Lord! Tomorrow we head west again to Languedoc and join our trail from last year but without some of the sites!! We maybe off-line for a little time but you never know I might just decide to go to a McDonalds for a salad and use their free wifi.
Still that would be a real adventure so we wished them bon chance!
We headed west along the Autostrada de Fleuris as the sun shone, the temperature got to about 24C and the sun sparkeld off the Med below to our left as we went from tunnel to tunnel across the viaducts. Been here before but this time we could see over the crash barriers - and its a long way down on some of them. On the hillsides we could see the sheets of netting in the olive groves ready to catch the crop and watch the smoke from the fires of old wood (to judge by the smell). Really made me wish we could stay longer but the weather will get worse and so we might as get across France.
We arrived at our intended stop at Cagnes sur Mer only to find it closed . It was clear that they had not read the Caravan Club guide which said they were open until 1st November. So after a small panic we went on up the valley to the next indicated site( who had not read the Caravan Club guide either as it said they were closed but were open).
As we are moving swiftly on tomorrow we went to the local attractions. Haut Cagnes is home to a picture book castle and village looking down on the urban sprawl that is the Cote d'Azur. In the square the restaurants were doing a roaring trade - one booked out for a birthday with a Franch pub band who turned their hand to everything from Barry Manilow to Carlos Santana. Still it was easy to see why a flat in the village goes for 429000 euros and a house for 1.3M euros. And all the artists who ever wanted to be famous have painted it. And of course they want to be Renoir who spent his last years here and has a superb museum. The castle is an art gallery cum museum with a "panoramic tower" - well the views are. The tower has alimit of 12 people on the roof at any time but today it managed a crowd of 4. You can see all the way to Nice and along the Cote d'Azur and then away up into the Alps where the first snow has dusted the high mountains - another reminder to keep moving. Then we went down to Cros de Cagnes which is the seaside bit and joined all the locals in promenading in the sunshine along the front and stopping for a drink in a shoreside cafe. Can't do that in Southport just now I'll bet.
Finally got home and checked the score from Anfield with more than a little trepidation - 2-0 praise the Lord! Tomorrow we head west again to Languedoc and join our trail from last year but without some of the sites!! We maybe off-line for a little time but you never know I might just decide to go to a McDonalds for a salad and use their free wifi.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Leaving Italy
So this morning it was farewell to Toscana after an 18 day sojourn. Sadly autumn is showing signs of arriving even in la bel paese - warm days but a chill wind and cold nights so we have to head for the deserts of Andalucia where it is warmer and drier.
We have seen some sites we had seen before , some we had not visited and at least one we did not expect to see (on the Lucca road)! Used Saturday to make a last visit to Florence but stayed south of the river and went to the Palazzo Pitti and the Brancacci Chapel. There is not a lot of the latter but what there is stunning. A real rennaisance masterpiece. The Palazzo Pitti is enormous - we saw maybe half in 3 hours and it is a fascinating example of how a few people's taste made an artist. Caravaggio, Titian, Tintoretto, Andrea del Sato, Fra Fillippino Lippi, Raphael, van Dyke, Reubens were all there in varying numbers displayed a little haphazardly and described by the museum in some very strange terms. Still it boasts the sexiest looking Mary Magdalene and Virgin you are likely to see.
Sunday was a packing up day although we are much better and quicker at that. The day was enlivened by watching the Italian "special forces" or someone like that play with their fast motorboats in the bay. Like a scene from a James Bond movie but happily no shots were fired as the nearest ship said LPG in big letters on the side.
Moved 150 miles up the coast to north of Genoa on the truly amazing A10 autostrada. It rolls up and down and in and out of tunnels like a huge but gentle roller coaster. Still I managed to break the external mirrir glass on a road sign in the tunnel as I kept a bit too far over to the right - not like me I know - so we will have to manage on the backup mirror for a few weeks until we stop long enough to get a new one by courier as Royal Mail appears to have shut down. Our "snail mail" catch up took ten days!!! to get to us.
The site we are on is thankfully a short stay halt. Showers cost 50c for 4 mins, the wi-fi is "kaput". the A10 is 60 feet up and 60 feet to one side and the railway is 20 feet the other way and for this including enough electricity to run the kettle but not the fridge they charge 24.50 euros a night. We are paying the extra 3 euros a night to have a fridge, a kettle and some heating if we want. Probably by the time I post this we will be in France but lets wait and see.
Tuesday we went down to Portofino , partly out of curiosity as there used to an Italian restaurant in Aughton called that with a mural on the wall. Well the mural was a rather liberal interpratation of Portofino. The weather was a bit grim and at 5 euros an hour for the only car park in town we left the designer shops and fuschia coloured meerkats to themselves and the American tourists. We Had lunch out in Santa Margarhita which was nice and the food was good if a lot cheaper than Portofino.
Wednesday dawned very grey and got worse as we headed into Genoa after lunch - 18 kms away but took an hour to get in. By then it was raining so we parked and went to the Acquario - the biggest in Europe. A great time with their penguins, sharks and dolphins who were watching the diver clean their glass and showing off. Stayed longer than we intended and by the time we had walked through the narrow streets in the rain the Duomo was closing. Headed back to the car and took almost two hours in the local traffic and rain to get back as the rain reached monsoon proportions. Spent a cool evening drying off and being warm in the van.
Thursday - dawned grey but showed promise so we headed back to Genoa. The Duomo is like all the old town in a pedestrian area and boasts a "Holy Grail" in green glass(!), a piece of the "True Cross", a thorn from the "Crown of Thorns", bones from St Laurence, the platter that John the Baptists head was served up on to Salome and his ashes. As well as assorted containers for the above in gold silver and precious stones. Wandered around Genoa admiring the "old town" area which the guide books kept saying was "seedy". Well rough around the edges and reminded me of Liverpool with more Italians but all in all a nice place. And at the Focacceria IL Punto in the arcades opposite the harbour more of our favourite Neopolitan cakes.
Friday - we were going to move today but the wind was blowing a gale and showers seemed to be the order of the day so we decided to stay for one more night. Well as it turned out France came to us. Last night three french motorhomes arrived. Today another 15 (or so) have turned up and they all seem to know one another! God knows what is going on. Even Max is intimidated. And the Italians seem as gob-smacked as we are. We went down into Arenzano to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing. A nice little place with an amazing Town Hall and a sanctuary dedicated to the "Child of Prague". Well the shopping included local focaccia specialites (delicious) and trofie and pesto (another local invention) for todays meal. Tomorrow we must go.
We have seen some sites we had seen before , some we had not visited and at least one we did not expect to see (on the Lucca road)! Used Saturday to make a last visit to Florence but stayed south of the river and went to the Palazzo Pitti and the Brancacci Chapel. There is not a lot of the latter but what there is stunning. A real rennaisance masterpiece. The Palazzo Pitti is enormous - we saw maybe half in 3 hours and it is a fascinating example of how a few people's taste made an artist. Caravaggio, Titian, Tintoretto, Andrea del Sato, Fra Fillippino Lippi, Raphael, van Dyke, Reubens were all there in varying numbers displayed a little haphazardly and described by the museum in some very strange terms. Still it boasts the sexiest looking Mary Magdalene and Virgin you are likely to see.
Sunday was a packing up day although we are much better and quicker at that. The day was enlivened by watching the Italian "special forces" or someone like that play with their fast motorboats in the bay. Like a scene from a James Bond movie but happily no shots were fired as the nearest ship said LPG in big letters on the side.
Moved 150 miles up the coast to north of Genoa on the truly amazing A10 autostrada. It rolls up and down and in and out of tunnels like a huge but gentle roller coaster. Still I managed to break the external mirrir glass on a road sign in the tunnel as I kept a bit too far over to the right - not like me I know - so we will have to manage on the backup mirror for a few weeks until we stop long enough to get a new one by courier as Royal Mail appears to have shut down. Our "snail mail" catch up took ten days!!! to get to us.
The site we are on is thankfully a short stay halt. Showers cost 50c for 4 mins, the wi-fi is "kaput". the A10 is 60 feet up and 60 feet to one side and the railway is 20 feet the other way and for this including enough electricity to run the kettle but not the fridge they charge 24.50 euros a night. We are paying the extra 3 euros a night to have a fridge, a kettle and some heating if we want. Probably by the time I post this we will be in France but lets wait and see.
Tuesday we went down to Portofino , partly out of curiosity as there used to an Italian restaurant in Aughton called that with a mural on the wall. Well the mural was a rather liberal interpratation of Portofino. The weather was a bit grim and at 5 euros an hour for the only car park in town we left the designer shops and fuschia coloured meerkats to themselves and the American tourists. We Had lunch out in Santa Margarhita which was nice and the food was good if a lot cheaper than Portofino.
Wednesday dawned very grey and got worse as we headed into Genoa after lunch - 18 kms away but took an hour to get in. By then it was raining so we parked and went to the Acquario - the biggest in Europe. A great time with their penguins, sharks and dolphins who were watching the diver clean their glass and showing off. Stayed longer than we intended and by the time we had walked through the narrow streets in the rain the Duomo was closing. Headed back to the car and took almost two hours in the local traffic and rain to get back as the rain reached monsoon proportions. Spent a cool evening drying off and being warm in the van.
Thursday - dawned grey but showed promise so we headed back to Genoa. The Duomo is like all the old town in a pedestrian area and boasts a "Holy Grail" in green glass(!), a piece of the "True Cross", a thorn from the "Crown of Thorns", bones from St Laurence, the platter that John the Baptists head was served up on to Salome and his ashes. As well as assorted containers for the above in gold silver and precious stones. Wandered around Genoa admiring the "old town" area which the guide books kept saying was "seedy". Well rough around the edges and reminded me of Liverpool with more Italians but all in all a nice place. And at the Focacceria IL Punto in the arcades opposite the harbour more of our favourite Neopolitan cakes.
Friday - we were going to move today but the wind was blowing a gale and showers seemed to be the order of the day so we decided to stay for one more night. Well as it turned out France came to us. Last night three french motorhomes arrived. Today another 15 (or so) have turned up and they all seem to know one another! God knows what is going on. Even Max is intimidated. And the Italians seem as gob-smacked as we are. We went down into Arenzano to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing. A nice little place with an amazing Town Hall and a sanctuary dedicated to the "Child of Prague". Well the shopping included local focaccia specialites (delicious) and trofie and pesto (another local invention) for todays meal. Tomorrow we must go.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Radda in Chianti
Saturday was a wash out almost literally. It rained /thundered for virtually the whole day as if expecting the result from Dublin.
Yesterday we went to the Cinque Terre villages about an hour away. Unfortunately half of Italy went as well so 4 out of 5 were full - or at least their car parks were and the local police just sent you away. We di get lunch at levanto which was rather nice if not quite as good as the villages are supposed to be. Eventually we got into Monterosso al Mare which was very nice but too late to take the boat along the coast and back to see the other villages. Ah well a job for another day.
Today we decided to drive across to Chianti - called Surrey with sunshine by some. As soon as a Labour party member turned up the heavens were not pleased. As we sat down in Radda in Chianti to lunch the heavens opened and gave a mighty roar (or several) as well. Now I can really recommend a restaurant called "Al Chiasso dei Portiri" in Radda. It does have loads of refernces elsewhere but in 1997 we went there for lunch and it produced what is still in my opinion the "best Tiramisu in the world" or at least of those I've tasted (and I do try to find a one betterat every opportunity). Well its gone up market since then and is now pricey but the food is still great. The food at luchtime today was the best we have had - even if Tiramisu was not on the menu. So if you are ever in this part of the world save up both your appetite and your pennies (cents) and go to this restaurant. If its any consolation I gather there are even more expensive ones in Radda. But the staff are very friendly - they moved us (and the other diners) inside from their tented patio (table food et al) when they felt the weather was just too bad.
After lunch as we drove back the skied cleared and so we paid a quick visit to San Gimignano - well we have not been there for 6 years so twice in a week is not excessive - and bought some more wine and other essentials (like a handbag). Still it was nice to wander around and be mistaken for Italians by visiting Brits who addressed us in bad Italian first! Not sure if that is good or not.
Still waiting for the snail mail to catch up but as we gather there are problems at Royal Mail we might be here a while. Oh dear - although the nights are colder now. In fact so clear tonight we can see beyond the inner islands to Corsica on the horizon to the west.
Yesterday we went to the Cinque Terre villages about an hour away. Unfortunately half of Italy went as well so 4 out of 5 were full - or at least their car parks were and the local police just sent you away. We di get lunch at levanto which was rather nice if not quite as good as the villages are supposed to be. Eventually we got into Monterosso al Mare which was very nice but too late to take the boat along the coast and back to see the other villages. Ah well a job for another day.
Today we decided to drive across to Chianti - called Surrey with sunshine by some. As soon as a Labour party member turned up the heavens were not pleased. As we sat down in Radda in Chianti to lunch the heavens opened and gave a mighty roar (or several) as well. Now I can really recommend a restaurant called "Al Chiasso dei Portiri" in Radda. It does have loads of refernces elsewhere but in 1997 we went there for lunch and it produced what is still in my opinion the "best Tiramisu in the world" or at least of those I've tasted (and I do try to find a one betterat every opportunity). Well its gone up market since then and is now pricey but the food is still great. The food at luchtime today was the best we have had - even if Tiramisu was not on the menu. So if you are ever in this part of the world save up both your appetite and your pennies (cents) and go to this restaurant. If its any consolation I gather there are even more expensive ones in Radda. But the staff are very friendly - they moved us (and the other diners) inside from their tented patio (table food et al) when they felt the weather was just too bad.
After lunch as we drove back the skied cleared and so we paid a quick visit to San Gimignano - well we have not been there for 6 years so twice in a week is not excessive - and bought some more wine and other essentials (like a handbag). Still it was nice to wander around and be mistaken for Italians by visiting Brits who addressed us in bad Italian first! Not sure if that is good or not.
Still waiting for the snail mail to catch up but as we gather there are problems at Royal Mail we might be here a while. Oh dear - although the nights are colder now. In fact so clear tonight we can see beyond the inner islands to Corsica on the horizon to the west.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Catch up
Sunday was Florence - not all of it even the bits we have not seen before but some of the things we had not seen for a while and even bits we found by accident and some of the obvious bits including the Nuevo Mercato and the boar. It was cool but dry in Florence and although busy not quite the walking on heads experiece we have had on other visits. On the way back the heavens opened and the SGC Fi-Pi-Li( as its shown on the road signs) slowed to a crawl. Matched my mood when i got in and picked up the Liverpool result.
Monday was jobs around the van, cleaning, fixing the things that need fixing, filling and emptying the tanks which is a pain on this site. So the furthest we went was 10 kms to the Co-op hypermarket cum shopping centre. Still it was dry and we did get to watch the cruise ships leaving Livorno. All lit up they look like Blackpool on the move as they go past the container ships waitng outside the harbour.
Today we went down to Volterra, which like Florence benefitted from less heat and fewer people. I'm not sure that I'd realised before that the Rocca is a prison - bit like Lancaster castle but for "hard time". Today that the We also had the best lunch so far of this trip at a restaurant just off the main square. Good food and a decent price - even if its not in the Rough Guide. Then a meandering journey back in which we managed to get slightly mislaid when the road signs disappearred.Still made it in the end.
Monday was jobs around the van, cleaning, fixing the things that need fixing, filling and emptying the tanks which is a pain on this site. So the furthest we went was 10 kms to the Co-op hypermarket cum shopping centre. Still it was dry and we did get to watch the cruise ships leaving Livorno. All lit up they look like Blackpool on the move as they go past the container ships waitng outside the harbour.
Today we went down to Volterra, which like Florence benefitted from less heat and fewer people. I'm not sure that I'd realised before that the Rocca is a prison - bit like Lancaster castle but for "hard time". Today that the We also had the best lunch so far of this trip at a restaurant just off the main square. Good food and a decent price - even if its not in the Rough Guide. Then a meandering journey back in which we managed to get slightly mislaid when the road signs disappearred.Still made it in the end.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Pisa'd off
This site charges 2 seuro an hour for internet access - and its not that quick.
Still yesterday (Saturday) we went local just down the road to Pisa but after a convoluted route. We tried to get to Gombo, which lovers of literature will know is the place Shelley was cremated after he drowned while sailing from Livorno. We have seen the picture in the Walker and decided to go and see the site. After driving around US base Camp Derby (vast but not very secret as its on the road signs) and finding a monastery (ruined) allegedly set up by St Peter we were stopped as the Italian president has a secure house near Gombo. So we went into Pisa, Which in my humble opinion is dire. The area around the Duomo and tower is drowned in tatty stalls selling total rubbish - that's the polite version - and if I saw anyone else doing the original "I'm pushing the Tower" pose I could scream. (Apologies to anyone with that photo).
So we skipped past the Baptistery, Duomo and Tower and went to Campsanto. Now why anyone would in the twelfth century bring a load of earth from Jerusalem just to provide holy ground for the rich and famous is beyond me. But that is what they allegedly did. The cloisters are a tribute to the destructive power of man not his creativity. Fire bombed by the "good guys" in WW II the place is virtually bare.
But walk to the two surviving frescoes and wow.. . called the Triumph of Death and the Last Judgement they are masterpieces for the medieval Catholic vision. Death, retribution and suffering in large doses yet done with style and a vivid imagination. I can see it frightening the masses back into their place.
Shame the same is not true of the rest of Pisa. The place seems tired and tatty with graffiti all over - even if some is witty and political. The town is unable to capitalise on its fame and use it for good. Overall a sad picture - sort of Blackpool with religious overtones!
Still yesterday (Saturday) we went local just down the road to Pisa but after a convoluted route. We tried to get to Gombo, which lovers of literature will know is the place Shelley was cremated after he drowned while sailing from Livorno. We have seen the picture in the Walker and decided to go and see the site. After driving around US base Camp Derby (vast but not very secret as its on the road signs) and finding a monastery (ruined) allegedly set up by St Peter we were stopped as the Italian president has a secure house near Gombo. So we went into Pisa, Which in my humble opinion is dire. The area around the Duomo and tower is drowned in tatty stalls selling total rubbish - that's the polite version - and if I saw anyone else doing the original "I'm pushing the Tower" pose I could scream. (Apologies to anyone with that photo).
So we skipped past the Baptistery, Duomo and Tower and went to Campsanto. Now why anyone would in the twelfth century bring a load of earth from Jerusalem just to provide holy ground for the rich and famous is beyond me. But that is what they allegedly did. The cloisters are a tribute to the destructive power of man not his creativity. Fire bombed by the "good guys" in WW II the place is virtually bare.
But walk to the two surviving frescoes and wow.. . called the Triumph of Death and the Last Judgement they are masterpieces for the medieval Catholic vision. Death, retribution and suffering in large doses yet done with style and a vivid imagination. I can see it frightening the masses back into their place.
Shame the same is not true of the rest of Pisa. The place seems tired and tatty with graffiti all over - even if some is witty and political. The town is unable to capitalise on its fame and use it for good. Overall a sad picture - sort of Blackpool with religious overtones!
Friday
Friday we went down to San Gimignano. I know its almost tourist central for Tuscany and collects descriptions like the "medieval Manhattan" but I really like the place. Some years back we were residents for a fortnight renting a top floor apartment just down from the Piazza del Duomo on the Via San Matteo. In the evening when the day trippers had gone it became a small Italian village where the priest would discuss football and the crops with the old men who sat around the squares watching the world - particularly the women - go by.
So it may be a World Heritage site and thus in danger of being strangled by visitors (like us) and sell nothing really useful but I do think it is one of the places everyone should see. Not that the approach is without its charms. Driving down the coast is a real mediterranean highway with woods all around and then breaking out into a bay. Turning left towards Volterra I was reminded of the first place I stayed in Tuscany, Castellina Marittima, which was on the way but beyond the hotel we stayed in I could not pick out any other landmarks in the village except new memorial to the Communist Resistance heroes killed by the "rabid" German Fascists (put up in 1988).Still the Communist Party offices were still there so somethings don't change.
Back down into the valley and the woods, which are in some ways not anyones vision of Tuscany but very common. On past Volterra with its amazing council chamber and then the first sight of San Gimignano - beyond the jail. Some may think it appropriate Tony Blair took a holiday near here some years ago but I am assured that he did not stay in that establishment.
Still arriving at the edge of the town we discovered that although it was not empty on the first Friday in October we could choose our space on the first car park we came to. The walk through the gates and up towards the Piazza Cisterna was lined as ever by shops selling souvenirs, ceramics, handbags and leather goods, wild boar salami and other "typical" local products and of course cafes. Under the arch at the top of the slope and bingo you are in the Piazza. With the old stone well now full of coins - why do people do that? - and the circle of cafes, ice cream parlours (very good- both of them) and two (expensive) hotels as well as the tourists it is a great place. I could sit there all day and people watch. Not that I expect Cher to come back but for one second I thought Dolly Parton was in town as a tiny American lady wandered across the square - but I was wrong. You can tell the first time visitors - these days they photograph anything and everything as they wander around looking for the best angles on the piazza, the towers, the arch, the well and end up photographing one another as well as the sights. of course we had a look in the Duomo (officially a Collegiata these days as there is no bishop). Last time we were here the poor place was covered in scaffolding. Thats gone and the major bits of repair and restoration are clear but not too bad. Still the frescos are as magical as ever from the life story of Christ on one side to the highlights of the Old Testament on the other and Saint Sebastian looking like a human porcupine on the back wall and visions of heaven and hell on either side of him. Still as its a picture free zone you will have to go and see for yourself.
Eventually we had to go having lunched and wandered around the back streets upto the Rocca and the Museum del Vernaccia di San Gimignano - with free tasting. We left wishing we could win the Euro Lottery so we could move back on a more permanent basis but we had to leave to feed the cat- complete with supplies of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
Yes I know more churches and wine!
So it may be a World Heritage site and thus in danger of being strangled by visitors (like us) and sell nothing really useful but I do think it is one of the places everyone should see. Not that the approach is without its charms. Driving down the coast is a real mediterranean highway with woods all around and then breaking out into a bay. Turning left towards Volterra I was reminded of the first place I stayed in Tuscany, Castellina Marittima, which was on the way but beyond the hotel we stayed in I could not pick out any other landmarks in the village except new memorial to the Communist Resistance heroes killed by the "rabid" German Fascists (put up in 1988).Still the Communist Party offices were still there so somethings don't change.
Back down into the valley and the woods, which are in some ways not anyones vision of Tuscany but very common. On past Volterra with its amazing council chamber and then the first sight of San Gimignano - beyond the jail. Some may think it appropriate Tony Blair took a holiday near here some years ago but I am assured that he did not stay in that establishment.
Still arriving at the edge of the town we discovered that although it was not empty on the first Friday in October we could choose our space on the first car park we came to. The walk through the gates and up towards the Piazza Cisterna was lined as ever by shops selling souvenirs, ceramics, handbags and leather goods, wild boar salami and other "typical" local products and of course cafes. Under the arch at the top of the slope and bingo you are in the Piazza. With the old stone well now full of coins - why do people do that? - and the circle of cafes, ice cream parlours (very good- both of them) and two (expensive) hotels as well as the tourists it is a great place. I could sit there all day and people watch. Not that I expect Cher to come back but for one second I thought Dolly Parton was in town as a tiny American lady wandered across the square - but I was wrong. You can tell the first time visitors - these days they photograph anything and everything as they wander around looking for the best angles on the piazza, the towers, the arch, the well and end up photographing one another as well as the sights. of course we had a look in the Duomo (officially a Collegiata these days as there is no bishop). Last time we were here the poor place was covered in scaffolding. Thats gone and the major bits of repair and restoration are clear but not too bad. Still the frescos are as magical as ever from the life story of Christ on one side to the highlights of the Old Testament on the other and Saint Sebastian looking like a human porcupine on the back wall and visions of heaven and hell on either side of him. Still as its a picture free zone you will have to go and see for yourself.
Eventually we had to go having lunched and wandered around the back streets upto the Rocca and the Museum del Vernaccia di San Gimignano - with free tasting. We left wishing we could win the Euro Lottery so we could move back on a more permanent basis but we had to leave to feed the cat- complete with supplies of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
Yes I know more churches and wine!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Livorno
A quiet day today - except for Max's "swearing session" with the local site cat. the site does not allow dogs so this she cat thinks the whole site and eveerything on it is her personal property. Max did not quite see it her way and a "frank but comradely exchange of views" took place. She eventually stalked off having slashed at both Lynda and I when we walked towards her. Clearly a proper little madam.
After a morning of grocery shopping and lunch we fought off the idea of going to sleep and instead went to see the local attraction, the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Montenero.She is credited according to the pictures in the sanctuary with saving thousands from disasters of all kinds - storms at sea, coach crashes of all kinds over several hundred years, fires, wars - you name the disaster she has been the hero. But all around the sanctuary is proof that even Jeremy Clarkson can get things right. I love the programme but his views are dire generally. But he once said if you want to collect really really awful souvenirs go to a shrine of the Catholic church and look around the stalls outside. He's totally right. Madonnas of all sorts and saints of all kinds in plaster and plastic that light up/glow in the dark/ follow you round the room with their eyes - you imagine it and it can be bought in the square at Montenero Alto.The sanctuary shop is only slightly better as i saw not light up statues.
Still the campsite know how to charge - 2 euros an hour for internet access so these are off line rants. Still all i will have to do is be a careful farmer.
After a morning of grocery shopping and lunch we fought off the idea of going to sleep and instead went to see the local attraction, the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Montenero.She is credited according to the pictures in the sanctuary with saving thousands from disasters of all kinds - storms at sea, coach crashes of all kinds over several hundred years, fires, wars - you name the disaster she has been the hero. But all around the sanctuary is proof that even Jeremy Clarkson can get things right. I love the programme but his views are dire generally. But he once said if you want to collect really really awful souvenirs go to a shrine of the Catholic church and look around the stalls outside. He's totally right. Madonnas of all sorts and saints of all kinds in plaster and plastic that light up/glow in the dark/ follow you round the room with their eyes - you imagine it and it can be bought in the square at Montenero Alto.The sanctuary shop is only slightly better as i saw not light up statues.
Still the campsite know how to charge - 2 euros an hour for internet access so these are off line rants. Still all i will have to do is be a careful farmer.
Travelling
Yesterday we travelled up from Fiano Romano to Livorno on Italy's west coast. Livorno is about 10 miles south of Pisa and only notable for being Italy's second port after Genoa. In World War II it suffered from "heavy bombing" (by the Allies) and was left a wreck but allegedly there was not much to see anyway.
The journey up was like a wine drinkers itinerary. Fiano (available in your local Tesco but Sicilian actually) then Orvieto where the town is better than the wine in my view: then Montepulciano for the red drinkers and finally Chianti. Worst moment was a break just west of Florence when we stopped for LPG and coffee. The forecourt man having hooked up the gas wanders around and spots the LFC sticker on the car. Comes back says Liverpool? Si -then he shakes my hand and grins. Cheeky blighter.
Finally reach our new home for several days in the late afternoon but the view is worth it so see the new picture in the Facebook album as it is the view from the back of the van at sunset yesterday.
The journey up was like a wine drinkers itinerary. Fiano (available in your local Tesco but Sicilian actually) then Orvieto where the town is better than the wine in my view: then Montepulciano for the red drinkers and finally Chianti. Worst moment was a break just west of Florence when we stopped for LPG and coffee. The forecourt man having hooked up the gas wanders around and spots the LFC sticker on the car. Comes back says Liverpool? Si -then he shakes my hand and grins. Cheeky blighter.
Finally reach our new home for several days in the late afternoon but the view is worth it so see the new picture in the Facebook album as it is the view from the back of the van at sunset yesterday.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Frascati
This lunchtime we went across to Frascati - yes the same as those bottles of stuff in your local Tesco/Waitrose/any wine retailer you name.It is twinned with Windsor and Maidenhead a noted British wine region! But to be honest it was very peaceful and quiet. We had a nice lunch (Insalate Caprese if you must know) at a cafe full of Italians, some of whom were clearly friends of the owner and were helping him "roadtest" some new wine and grappa! The rest of the town is fairly insignificant unless you like Baroque churches and the religious art that goes with them. But it was an American free zone so can't be bad.
We moved on to Rocca di Pappa which was quite small and on a clear day - it was just too murky today - would have great views from 800 metres up across Rome. Finally we headed home via Castelgandolfo and the Appian Way. The former was full of cops - at least three different varieties , local, national and the Carabinieri complete with very public automatic weapons. Maybe Il Pappa was at his holiday home which would be the big place surrounded by high walls topped with spikes!
But going there and back meant driving on the GRA or Rome's version of the M25. But with Roman drivers or should that be roaming drivers. Clearly all the overhead gantry signs asking for patience might as well be turned off. The hard shoulder is not for breakdowns here - its is for scooters and motorcycles to undertake and for the real motorists to show that they can do that too. I suspect most F1 drivers would think it was all a little mad. Its not that fast but the sheer unpredictability that scares me. I watched a new Fiat 500 Abarth pass me( I'm middle of 3 lanes), cut in and then undertake the guy in the outside lane cut back in front of him only to realise he is at his junction so just cut back across 3 lanes of traffic run across the chevrons into his slip road and was last seen undertaking the traffic on the slip road on the hard shoulder all without a single brakelight coming on.
Oh well tonight I need to find a way to follow the Liverpool/Fiorentina game - at 300Kms its a bit far and the only tickets you could buy from Fiorentina were for home fans - and then head on to Livorno for a couple of weeks of Tuscany visiting and letting our snail mail catch up. Don't know if the wifi is as good as here so if I disappear don't worry -as if
We moved on to Rocca di Pappa which was quite small and on a clear day - it was just too murky today - would have great views from 800 metres up across Rome. Finally we headed home via Castelgandolfo and the Appian Way. The former was full of cops - at least three different varieties , local, national and the Carabinieri complete with very public automatic weapons. Maybe Il Pappa was at his holiday home which would be the big place surrounded by high walls topped with spikes!
But going there and back meant driving on the GRA or Rome's version of the M25. But with Roman drivers or should that be roaming drivers. Clearly all the overhead gantry signs asking for patience might as well be turned off. The hard shoulder is not for breakdowns here - its is for scooters and motorcycles to undertake and for the real motorists to show that they can do that too. I suspect most F1 drivers would think it was all a little mad. Its not that fast but the sheer unpredictability that scares me. I watched a new Fiat 500 Abarth pass me( I'm middle of 3 lanes), cut in and then undertake the guy in the outside lane cut back in front of him only to realise he is at his junction so just cut back across 3 lanes of traffic run across the chevrons into his slip road and was last seen undertaking the traffic on the slip road on the hard shoulder all without a single brakelight coming on.
Oh well tonight I need to find a way to follow the Liverpool/Fiorentina game - at 300Kms its a bit far and the only tickets you could buy from Fiorentina were for home fans - and then head on to Livorno for a couple of weeks of Tuscany visiting and letting our snail mail catch up. Don't know if the wifi is as good as here so if I disappear don't worry -as if
Monday, September 28, 2009
A quiet life
Today we did nothing! But clean and wash as the last two sites lacked either the power or the facilities (washing machines). But I did find someone who can supply a new part for our awning which will be good for my temper but stop me developing muscles like Superman in my arms !!
We continue to fascinate our Italian/German neighbours who walk around and pass comments - not realising we understand both languages. I shall hang for the next German who calls our "Winnie" a bus.
The Italians are fascinated by Max and keep coming up to say he is "bella". I suspect they think we are "eccentric English".
Mind you the receptionist has been to Skem - she had a boyfriend there!
We continue to fascinate our Italian/German neighbours who walk around and pass comments - not realising we understand both languages. I shall hang for the next German who calls our "Winnie" a bus.
The Italians are fascinated by Max and keep coming up to say he is "bella". I suspect they think we are "eccentric English".
Mind you the receptionist has been to Skem - she had a boyfriend there!
See Naples and die!!
Well we left Sorrento yesterday and it was sunny. That in itself was something of a surprise as the weather has been as they say on British weather forecasts "mixed".
But our stay in Sorrento was not uneventful. We fled there from Pompeii and an attack by a plague of ants, which are one of Lynda's pet hates. We picked the site described by the Caravan Club guide as the "best to avoid the crowded roads". That was no understatement about the roads. The further south in Italy we have gone the more insane has been the driving. Here the cars with a few exceptions - Porsches and Ferraris - all look like they have been in some kind of demolition derby. Scrapes, dinges, broken mirrors bent and broken bumpers are all common. But then its not surprising. Backing into (well almost into) parking bays across two lines of traffic whilst the deranged riders of scooters and motorcycles pass on all four sides seem to be a local hobby. But the road around the "Sorrentine peninsula" is really for mad men as it is narrow with little room for error or you hit the wall/crash barrier/cliff face or double parked(abandoned?) car with its hazard lights on. And then you meet a coach coming the other way as he swings around the bend - on your side whilst a scooter squeezes between you both with his head on one side talking into the telefonino(mobile) stuffed into his helmet.
In the Fiat driving around the Amalfi side it was a bit better if only because the Fiat is small but of course I am foreign so must be passed by every Italian worth his blue shirt. All very nice but it does have the problem of being inundated with tourists.
Sorrento is a bit like the Costas but with Italian food - sfogliatella al limone are worth the trip alone. However with bars offering English football, a menu from Monty Python consisting of unlimited variations of eggs, bacon, chips, beans, toast and tea and an assumption if you are English you can't speak Italian its not my favourite place. Add cruise ships full of American tourists whose ignorance/arrogance or both is breathtaking and I could kill. Hearing two American ladies discussing what they had seen in Rome with the puchline "They've got so much history in Europe" makes me want to scream. And Capri is worse - it boasts over 3m visitors on an island on some 10 square kilometres. The Blus Grotto is frankly a rip off with 5 minutes laid back in a rowing boat for 10 euros plus if you catch the boat from the harbour another 11 euros. The bus ride is better and cheaper but as the bus fills the road (and its only a mini bus) it is not for the nervous.
And the fly tipping which is everywhere is horrendous. The local council has a complicated recycling scheme for just about everything but the locals seem to ignore it and just dump bags of rubbish, mattresses etc at every lay by, back street, country lane.
Still finally we were away - after I'd spent 24 hours being violently ill from something I ate and another 24 hours drinking bottled water and Lynda nursing a bruised elbow when she stepped back to avoid a bus pulling into a stop on the harbour when we came back from Capri and slipped. Then the locals were great offering to get a ambulance, getting a load of ice from a local shop to press on the bruise and the local policeman going off to tell the bus driver what he thought of him after making sure we were alright.
Out of Sorrento on Sunday morning after a last shower in the most public showers I've used since school in the 1960's - i.e. no privacy and no locks on the toilets either. The road out was quieter but still offered an interesting experience but simpler than getting in. On so to the Autostrada. All was well until we needed to stop for diesel. As they advertise comparative prices for the service station I went for the cheapest - but so did everybody else. Then to make it worse the operators had decided to rebuild the forecourt. This produced long and convoluted queues which are not Italian drivers strong suit. Of course this large foreign registered unit is fair game to be cut up by everyone. So a man driving a white Mercedes taxi sees the car in front of move forward and having got fed up with his queue pulls across the front of us. There is load bang at this point. I get out as does he but although he's close he hasn't hit us.Instead people are pointing at the cabinet cover on the "Winnie" where the electric cable is stored which is open and "smoking". But when I look no black cable or signs of a short just a clouad of dust. Its the ant powder from Pompeii - it must have got hot and "exploded". Oh well another lesson learned - that fine ant powder, hot weather and a confined space dont mix well.
At this point enter the Italian lorry driver. We apparently are blocking his way through - well along with several vehicles in front of me but he starts honking and beeping and waving madly as if we are the problem. I did consider driving over the Renault in front of me to be helpful but could not get a run at it. At some point Lynda has had enough of this. She got out and I thought said something to him. She did - sort off. Next thing is she sits back in her seat and the lorry driver is at the window expressing his displeasure at her reaction - but my range of Italian swear words is not good enough to translate but the gist is he did not appreciate the gesture she made! He felt she had disrespected him. When I get to the pump he pulls past and goes to the lorry park. He passes muttering as I fill up and drive away.
Still we made Fiano Romano without a "Duel" style ride up the autostrada.
But our stay in Sorrento was not uneventful. We fled there from Pompeii and an attack by a plague of ants, which are one of Lynda's pet hates. We picked the site described by the Caravan Club guide as the "best to avoid the crowded roads". That was no understatement about the roads. The further south in Italy we have gone the more insane has been the driving. Here the cars with a few exceptions - Porsches and Ferraris - all look like they have been in some kind of demolition derby. Scrapes, dinges, broken mirrors bent and broken bumpers are all common. But then its not surprising. Backing into (well almost into) parking bays across two lines of traffic whilst the deranged riders of scooters and motorcycles pass on all four sides seem to be a local hobby. But the road around the "Sorrentine peninsula" is really for mad men as it is narrow with little room for error or you hit the wall/crash barrier/cliff face or double parked(abandoned?) car with its hazard lights on. And then you meet a coach coming the other way as he swings around the bend - on your side whilst a scooter squeezes between you both with his head on one side talking into the telefonino(mobile) stuffed into his helmet.
In the Fiat driving around the Amalfi side it was a bit better if only because the Fiat is small but of course I am foreign so must be passed by every Italian worth his blue shirt. All very nice but it does have the problem of being inundated with tourists.
Sorrento is a bit like the Costas but with Italian food - sfogliatella al limone are worth the trip alone. However with bars offering English football, a menu from Monty Python consisting of unlimited variations of eggs, bacon, chips, beans, toast and tea and an assumption if you are English you can't speak Italian its not my favourite place. Add cruise ships full of American tourists whose ignorance/arrogance or both is breathtaking and I could kill. Hearing two American ladies discussing what they had seen in Rome with the puchline "They've got so much history in Europe" makes me want to scream. And Capri is worse - it boasts over 3m visitors on an island on some 10 square kilometres. The Blus Grotto is frankly a rip off with 5 minutes laid back in a rowing boat for 10 euros plus if you catch the boat from the harbour another 11 euros. The bus ride is better and cheaper but as the bus fills the road (and its only a mini bus) it is not for the nervous.
And the fly tipping which is everywhere is horrendous. The local council has a complicated recycling scheme for just about everything but the locals seem to ignore it and just dump bags of rubbish, mattresses etc at every lay by, back street, country lane.
Still finally we were away - after I'd spent 24 hours being violently ill from something I ate and another 24 hours drinking bottled water and Lynda nursing a bruised elbow when she stepped back to avoid a bus pulling into a stop on the harbour when we came back from Capri and slipped. Then the locals were great offering to get a ambulance, getting a load of ice from a local shop to press on the bruise and the local policeman going off to tell the bus driver what he thought of him after making sure we were alright.
Out of Sorrento on Sunday morning after a last shower in the most public showers I've used since school in the 1960's - i.e. no privacy and no locks on the toilets either. The road out was quieter but still offered an interesting experience but simpler than getting in. On so to the Autostrada. All was well until we needed to stop for diesel. As they advertise comparative prices for the service station I went for the cheapest - but so did everybody else. Then to make it worse the operators had decided to rebuild the forecourt. This produced long and convoluted queues which are not Italian drivers strong suit. Of course this large foreign registered unit is fair game to be cut up by everyone. So a man driving a white Mercedes taxi sees the car in front of move forward and having got fed up with his queue pulls across the front of us. There is load bang at this point. I get out as does he but although he's close he hasn't hit us.Instead people are pointing at the cabinet cover on the "Winnie" where the electric cable is stored which is open and "smoking". But when I look no black cable or signs of a short just a clouad of dust. Its the ant powder from Pompeii - it must have got hot and "exploded". Oh well another lesson learned - that fine ant powder, hot weather and a confined space dont mix well.
At this point enter the Italian lorry driver. We apparently are blocking his way through - well along with several vehicles in front of me but he starts honking and beeping and waving madly as if we are the problem. I did consider driving over the Renault in front of me to be helpful but could not get a run at it. At some point Lynda has had enough of this. She got out and I thought said something to him. She did - sort off. Next thing is she sits back in her seat and the lorry driver is at the window expressing his displeasure at her reaction - but my range of Italian swear words is not good enough to translate but the gist is he did not appreciate the gesture she made! He felt she had disrespected him. When I get to the pump he pulls past and goes to the lorry park. He passes muttering as I fill up and drive away.
Still we made Fiano Romano without a "Duel" style ride up the autostrada.
Summary
This blog is going to be a sort of electronic journal of our travels this winter. No real logic to starting now except that we are at the southern point of our Italian sojourn and I thought I would try to be good about recording our adventures and misadventures.
We is me Lynda and Max, our black cat "on a string" and we move around in a Winnebago Brave 25 feet long towing a Fiat Seicento on a trailer.
We is me Lynda and Max, our black cat "on a string" and we move around in a Winnebago Brave 25 feet long towing a Fiat Seicento on a trailer.
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