Tuscany

26 May – We headed south back on the motorway to La Spezia and then followed the coastal road to Viareggio, our next camp. On the way we had a huge shop up at a Carrefour. Thought we had left this supermarket chain when we left France. After lunch we walked 800 (longish) meters to a great beach and had a couple of swims in beautiful clear warm water. I have to say the Italians are messy buggers however. It was a shame to see such a nice beach so badly littered. In the cool of the evening we cycled to the railway station to research our journey to Pisa. On the way back to camp we passed ship yards and marinas set up for the gigantic yachts and cruisers that use this part of the Med.

27 May – Back on our bikes and off to the railway station where we booked return tickets to Pisa. (4.50 euro each) We found the tourist office and with a map, walked the length of the old town into the “Field of Miracles” where the leaning tower is. A great description! The bell tower (leaning) and the cathedral and baptistery sparkle in white marble set off against the green of the lawns. People everywhere of course. The tower dominates the area not for its size but for its impossible lean. If you dropped a stone from the top it would land 4.1m out from the base! It is about 7 stories high so that gives you some sense of the degree of lean. It is impossible to capture this in photos. After booking a walk up the tower (restricted to 30 leaving every 20 minutes) we filled our 1.5 hour wait with a walk around the area, beautiful buildings, but that bloody tower draws your eye back all the time. We had bruschetta at a little restaurant with a view and then joined our party for the 300 odd steps up the tower. Climbing the spiral stairs is a very strange sensation as during every rotation the angles are constantly changing. One minute you are brushing the inside wall and next the outside wall. It is like climbing up a corkscrew that is tilted over at a more than 5 degrees. It was built around 1170 and it is amazing it has not fallen over. Thank god it lasted thru 27/05/2011! It started to rain when we returned to camp.

28 May – We went back to the beach in the morning but last nights rain and an on shore wind meant that the waves were up and the beach was closed. Still many people enjoying the sun however. After lunch we left the coast and drove inland to Florence. We are in an “aires” style camp in the centre of this great city. We had no idea where the sights were so we started to walk in the general direction and eventually caught the local bus. We went to the tourist office and as we were leaving a lady gave us a couple of tickets to the ‘Hop on Hop off’ sightseeing bus. (She had finished with them) As usual this a great way of quickly seeing all the sites. We hopped off at Plaza de Michael Angelo and had a great view over the city. All the big names have lived here; Michael Angelo, Galileo, even Tchaikovsky holidayed here. We walked thru the old town which was very busy. The cathedral is particularly spectacular made from green and white marble. After some enquiries we found the bus back to our camp.

29 May – We drove to south to Siena and then had a frustrating 1 ½ hours finding a park and walking to the old town. We found our original planned park easily but then could not work out where the town centre was. We talked to a nice British couple and they followed us in their camper to a closer park which we never found. Back almost to our original park and a frustrating time navigating on foot to the old town which we eventually stumbled across. What a sight! Some beautiful piazzas and stunning marble churches connected by lovely narrow alleyways. Back to the camper (the long hot walk) and off to Montepulciano thru some great Tuscan countryside. We came here because Denise Gullery had mention she has holidayed here with her British family. The town is set on a hill, with great view in every direction. We stayed in an “aires” at the bottom of the town overlooking the vineyards and olive groves.

30 May – We walked up into the town and spent 2 hours wandering the streets and exploring the squares and beautiful churches. There are lots of artists and great little shops everywhere. Around every corner was another view of the country or sunny little piazzas. The drive to Lake Trasimeno was thru picture postcard Tuscan vineyards, olive groves and villages. The camp we are staying at is right on the lake and we enjoyed a swim in the warm water.

31 May – Spent the morning having a good cleaning session. Val did a big wash. After lunch we cycled to the local Tuscan village, Castiglione, set on a hill with the usual beautiful church and square. It was a small version of Montepulciano with lovely views of the lake. Back to camp for a couple of swims in the lake.

17 May – A short drive to Lake Garda but significant in that we managed to buy an Italian gas bottle thus giving us gas for all of Italy and we do not need to think about gas until we get to Germany. Luca (the manager of our camp in Iseo) put us onto his mate at a garage where we bought the extra bottle. We are now carrying 3 bottles (40kgs) all with different gas and all requiring different regulators. We almost need a dangerous goods licence!! Lake Garda is very sophisticated with posh shops and spectacular boats and marinas. Our camp was 5kms past the main town on the lake shore. After lunch we cycled back, along a cycleway following the shoreline, into the town for a gelato and a look around. We ended the day with a lie in the sun and a swim in the camp pool. The temperatures are now climbing with a maximum of 30 C.

18 May – Left Lake Garda and skirted around Verona (Romeo and Juliet’s city) chopping and changing roads with ramps that were closed for road works, which is the curse of the GPS system. We are now back on the coast of the Adriatic Sea at Chioggia. We were hoping for a swim in the sea but the beach is being reclaimed before the whole camp is washed away. The pool was great however! In the evening we cycled into Sottomarina (our local town) for a look around. It is not very impressive with a slightly Spanish/British water front. All amusements and beach huts. Chioggia across the canals is a different story and we explore it over the next couple of days.

19 May – Up early and away before 9:00am to Venice. The trip consisted of a cycle to Sottomarina, local bus to Chioggia where we purchased a 12 hour pass, ferry to Pellestrina, (the next island) and back onto a local bus for a trip up this island to the next ferry. To our surprise the bus drove straight onto the ferry and we crossed to Alberoni and drove the length of the island to the next ferry at Lido (confused!! How do you think we felt??) This ferry took us into Venice. (Trip time 1:40) What a site. It is very hard to describe Venice but it is beautiful, spectacular, surprising, unusual, smelly and stunning all at once. We walked for miles thru the alley ways and along the canals. There are no cars, buses or trucks. Everyone and every thing is transported by ferry, boat, water taxi or gondola. Around every corner is another great sight. Navigating on foot is a little hard as there are only a certain number of bridges, so avoiding dead ends is challenging. We had lunch in a lovely sunny square. There are great churches everywhere and again the interiors are beautiful. We got a bit foot sore so we rode up and down the Grand Canal using our pass. How the boats etc navigate this busy water way without colliding is a miracle. At 5:00pm we started our return trip and stopped off at Chioggia where we sat in square and had a beer and bruschetta at a great outdoor restaurant with the locals. The short bus ride back to our bikes was a giggle with all the locals helping us with our navigation! Back to camp 12 hours after we left, exhausted!

20 May – A quiet day after yesterday. Val washed everything!! We had a swim in the pool before lunch. They close the pools from 12:30pm until 3:00pm for everyone to have a sleep! We cycled along the canals to Choggia. A great old town which is a fishing port set on a series of canals. Back to the camp for another swim and a relaxing night.

21 May – Our intention was to relocate across northern Italy to the west coast (Mediterranean) at La Spezia along the motorway toll roads taking 2 days. Before we left Chioggia however, we had to try and find our painting. Explanation required! We had bought a great little pen and water colour painting from a street artist in Venice. As it turned out he was a great rugby fan and in fact had played with John Kirwan and Craig Green in Treviso. Val told him that she played golf with Craig’s mother. A small world! He wrapped the painting and we carried it back on the numerous buses and ferries back to the camp. The next day we realized that we did not have the painting so we had to try and remember where we last had it. I boiled it down to either where we picked up the bikes or at the restaurant in Chioggia where we had a drink etc. So today we checked both locations and the waiter at the restaurant remembered us and was thrilled that we had come back for our painting. The trip down the toll roads was so quick that we covered the 360 odd kms easily and are now at a camp at Sestri Levante, a train ride from the Cinque Terre. After a cycle into the local town we decided that this is a great area and we will spend some time here.

22 May – We cycled into town to sort out our trip to the Cinque Terre and a possible ferry boat to Portofino. Fortunately we had not tried to get to the Cinque Terre today as the railways are on strike. Much anger and confusion at the railway station! After lunch we went to the local beach and waited for the ferry to Portofino. The water was warm and eventually we boarded the ferry for the 1 hour trip, via some other ports to an Abbey at San Fruttuosa. We had a ¾ hour stop over there so we had a swim in the crystal clear water. Back on the ferry and around the corner to Portofino. This is a picturesque little town which reminded us of St Tropez in France. After 4 hours we were back in our camp where we managed to book our passage on the ferry from Southern Italy to Corfu in Greece. (30 June)

23 May – We set off early for a cycle to the train station and a ride Monterosso, the first village on the Cinque Terre. This literally means 5 villages which are part of a world heritage park. The only way to visit these villages is either to walk the coastal track, by ferry or train. The villages are perched on the cliffs mainly where there is access to the sea and harbours. After buying our pass, and being told that one part of the track was closed, we set off for the first section up and down steps and along the coast. The walk to the second village, Vernazza, took us 1 hour 20 with spectacular coastal views. The villages are very crowded as many either travel by train or by ferry. It was very hot so we had a swim in the beautiful clear water of the harbour before a great pizza for lunch. As we left the village for our walk to the third village the track warden informed us that this section was also closed for maintenance and that we would have to take the high track. This was a long climb up a steep section of unformed track in the sun. We passed many walkers going in our direction but more coming the other way. A great number were Americans, mostly complaining. They never seem to be probably setup. Either they are equipped as if they are climbing the north face of the Eiger or they in slip on sandals, Gucci hand bags and white long pants. Walking poles are also very popular but highly impractical on steep climbs not to mention dangerous to fellow travellers. We arrived at Corniglia and then had to catch the train to Manarola where we had planned to stay the night. After some enquiries we were told to ask at the restaurant for a room and found a nice apartment right in the main street. We had to wait while it was being cleaned and filled in the time with a swim in another great harbour and a gelato. These are becoming very addictive! Both the gelatos and the swims! Drinks in a bar overlooking the harbour watching the sun set and a great traditional meal at a little restaurant.

24 May – After a traditional Italian breakfast we walked the short distance along the Via del Amore (Road of Love) to the last village of the 5. We caught the train back to our favourite village (Vernazza) and had another swim and lunch before a train trip back to our camp. The Cinque Terre was well worth the effort with fantastic villages set in unbelievable settings. We can now tick it off our bucket list.

25 May – A very quite day recovering with, haircuts, washing, and vehicle checks. After lunch we cycled down to the second beach in this area, Riva Trigosa, and spent a relaxing couple of hours enjoying the sun and the swimming. This has been a great camp/area to spent 5 days in!

9 May – We woke to a beautiful clear morning with the Eiger towering over our campsite. The drive to Lucerne was great, following the lakes and valleys with picturesque villages all the way. We had lunch at Sarnen on a lake shore and continued on to Lucerne where we drove thru the city and found a park at the far side. A great cycle back along the lake shoreline to the city. We parked our bikes and walked the old streets. More stunning buildings! The Jesuit Church had a beautiful interior all white and gold with frescos on the ceilings. We drove on to our camp which was a working farm. All a bit different.

10 May – A short drive to Zurich. Unfortunately the GPS took us thru right the centre which was a little stressful but it gave us a good idea of the city. Eventually we found a park and caught the train back into the centre. We followed a walking tour on a map supplied by the tourist office. It took about 3 hours but we saw all the major sites. We stopped for lunch at the lake front. Two packets of sandwiches and two bottles of water cost 22 SF (about $35NZ) Switzerland is pretty expensive!! We drove on to Fraunfeld where we easily found Sarah Caldwell’s house where we were staying. Sarah was Val’s ex boss from Bernina. Sarah, Christian (husband) and Eliza (6 year old daughter) made us very welcome. We had a great barbeque of Bratwurst and sat chatting. They have a lovely home where we were able to park “Lefty” just outside.

11 May – Strangely the only two people we planned to stay with (apart from John & Jackie, and Denise & Ian in the UK) lived about 50kms apart. We drove to St Gallen via Steckborn where the Bernina factory is and Konstance. While we were trying to find a park in Konstance we crossed the Swiss/German border several times. We again unloaded the bikes and explored this town on the border. While we were having lunch we saw a Zeppelin flying from its base in Germany across Lake Konstance. Quite a site. We found Viv Sanwald-Clark’s home easily. Viv is Glen’s cousin and we have had many Christmases with Norm and Elaine, Viv’s parents. Viv dropped us off in St Gallen and we had a great explore of this beautiful city. Many of the buildings have bay windows called oriels which are elaborately decorated often with a clue to the original building’s use. The cathedral was stunning and if we thought the Jesuit Church at Lucerne was great, this cathedral’s interior was 10 xs better. Val visited the Textile Museum. This area is famous for its laces. We caught the bus back to Viv’s house and met the rest of the family, husband Marco and daughters Jaymie (6) and Elynne (3 ½). Another great meal and we sat around until after midnight chatting. They have a near new house which they have only been in for 6 months. An interest thing was that they had a communal garage which is accessed by an underground passage. This garage serves quite a few houses. We parked on another flat spot on the street.

12 May – Viv and Elynne took us for a lovely drive up the valleys to Appenzell and a gondola ride up to Ebenalp. The views were spectacular and we followed a path down the cliffs. At one stage the path took us into a cave to re-emerge further down the cliff where there was a church in a cave and a restaurant clinging to the cliff. We enjoyed the view and had a drink before climbing back up to the gondola station as the wind got up and it started to rain. On the way back to St Gallen we picked up Marco and had pizzas for lunch. A great two days experiencing family life in Switzerland. Thank you both. We drove up a valley beside the Rhine River with Liechtenstein’s mountains on our left, slowly climbing to Chur. The mountains are all around us and tomorrow we will be on the other side. We still have to decide whether to use the tunnel (and pay) or go over the St Bernardino Pass.

13 May – Tried asking several people in the camp about the St Bernardino Pass until we eventually found a young lady who spoken good English. She told us the pass was good but that we could use the tunnel, as that part of the motorway was not tolled. The drive up thru the valleys and gorges was spectacular reminding us at one stage of the Otira Gorge. The tunnel was 6.5kms long and was followed by a steep decent into Lake Lugarno. Our camp site was right on the lake front but noisy as a motorway and railway were only meters away. We lay in the sun as it is now in the mid to late 20s and had a swim in the lake which was quite warm. In the evening we had an electrical storm with heavy rain.

14 May – As it is cloudy and threatening rain we decided to move on to our next camp at Lake Iseo passing Lake Como on the way. There are a series of lovely lakes in this part of Northern Italy. We crossed the Swiss/Italian border and did our first shop at a supermarket in Italy. The prices were much cheaper than Switzerland thank goodness! Speed limits on the roads amuse use. In Switzerland everyone sticks to the speed limits. In Italy the limits are generally lower but nobody travels at them. Most towns are 50kms or 30kms but the traffic travels at more than 70kms. Italian drivers pass when ever they feel like it regardless of on coming traffic which has to avoid them. I suppose we will get use to this practice!! Our camp at Lake Iseo is a beaut. We are again on the lake shore with a great view and no noise. The sun came out so I had a swim in the lake which is also warm. It has started to rain again around 8:00pm.

15 May – We cycled into Iseo in the morning (only about 2 kms). It is a beautiful town set on a small harbour and with some up market shops. There was a market in the square with some great looking furniture and antiques. After lunch we cycled to another village about 8kms away. There seemed to be lots of families having lunch and we wondered if it might be the Italian Mothers Day. Last Sunday it was Swiss Mothers Day so who knows? We sat at camp and watched a stunning sunset over the lake.

16 May – Back into Iseo and this time we took a trip on a ferry to Monte Isola, an island in the middle of the lake. We took our bikes and cycled around the island (9kms) including a detour up to the centre. There were 6 or 7 lovely villages, some right on the lake front and others up in the hills. There were several churches with ornate interiors and frescos similar to what we had seen in Switzerland. The outsides are unspectacular but insides are a different story. This is not a huge tourist spot so the villages were very much untouched. What a great day!! Back to camp for a lie in the sun and a read.

4 May – A great drive up a valley towards the mountains. Beautiful Swiss villages set on the hills and larger towns on the valley floor. We arrived at our camp in the town of Visp. This is a great base for our trip to Zermatt and time to relax and catch up on washing etc. The town and camp are on the banks of the Rhone River at the confluence of two valleys.

5 May – As the day was perfect with not a cloud in the sky and no wind, we walked into town and purchased 2 return tickets (60 euro quite expensive) to Zermatt. A train runs from Visp to Zermatt every ½ hour. The trip took 65 minutes. The train follows the valley and gorges of the Visp River. Most of the track is very steep and the engines use a third rail with cogs to prevent the trains slipping. There are villages scattered all along the route and chalets set on every possible vantage point. We arrived at Zermatt at 11:00am and walked thru the town which is a ski resort a bit like Queenstown but with nicer buildings and better mountains also no cars! Suddenly, there before us was the Matterhorn. It is a stunning site rising sheer into the sky. It was like a magnet so we followed the “Matterhorn trail” up a beautiful path climbing all the time to a point where we were so close to the mountain that it disappeared behind its foothills. There were chalets all along the route and several alpine villages. Unfortunately most of the restaurants were closed as we are between seasons but we found a beauty, with a great view and sat on the deck, had a beer and lunch, and enjoyed a spectacular view of the mountains and ski fields. In the ski season this spot would have been a lunch time stop as you can ski right into the town of Zermatt. We had climbed about 400 vertical metres from Zermatt to an altitude of 2000m. Following a loop track we returned to the outskirts of Zermatt and found a great Café with a spectacular view of the Matterhorn for cake & coffee before returning to the train and our camp at Visp at 6:00 pm exhausted. What a day!!!

6 May – Another beautiful day weather-wise. We spent a lazy morning catching up on cleaning and cycled into Visp town for a look around and to buy bread for lunch. In the afternoon we cycled down the Visp River to where it joined the Rhone and back up the other bank. The camp is beside the town’s outdoor swimming pool so we had a couple of nice swims in 25C water and a lie in the sun. Summer!

7 May – We had intended to go to Interlaken over the Grimsel Pass but our GPS would not let us. A nice Swiss bloke (with virtually no English) told us that it was not open yet but that we could take the camper on a train from Goppenstein to Kandersteg thru the Lotschberg tunnel. We bought a ticket from the camp office for the train (20 SF. Cheap) and set off on the short trip to the station. The train leaves every ½ hour for the 18 minute trip. We lined up and drove onto open flat deck carriages. You just sit in your vehicle for the trip thru the tunnel. A very weird sensation!! At the other end we had a relatively short drive to Interlaken. It is beautiful town set surprisingly between two lakes! Up a valley there are views of the Jungfrau Mountain area. We cycled, from our camp, into town and thru to the other lake. A cable car took us 800 vertical metres up to the Harder Kulm, a lookout and restaurant. What a view. The Jungfrau, Monch and the Eiger mountains and both lakes either side of Interlaken.

8 May – Woke up early to skype the rallies and the kids and then set off for the short (24km) drive up to the ski resort of Grindelwald. It is set with mountains all around but dominated by the Eiger. We cycled to the railway station and caught the train up to the Kleine Scheidegg. This is another “cog” railway and really steep!! Unfortunately the cloud obscured our view of the top of the Eiger and Jungfrau. We walked to a view point as the clouds swirled around the peaks however they never cleared. We had lunch at a small restaurant before returning, with a stop off at a station so that we could take a photo of the train. At sunset the skies cleared and we had a great view of all the mountains around us including the Eiger.

28 April – A misty rain this morning as we drove thru the battle fields of WW1. There are many grave sites of soldiers of the Commonwealth and the USA along the roadside. We drove thru the centre of Reims with lovely tree lined avenues and great buildings. Our camp for the night was at Verdun. This is the site of the biggest battle of WW1 where the Germans were determined to crush the Allies. The battle lasted for 300 days with 300,000 killed from each side!! We walked into town with a stop at the underground Citadel built by the French and accommodating 10,000 soldiers. There was a tour for 6 Euros which was great. We travelled thru the tunnels of the Citadel in an unmanned carriage stopping at various points where 3D re-enactments took place. Very enlightening and technically brilliant. The town of Verdun was very picturesque set either side of a river.

29 April – A lovely morning for our trip from Verdun to Molsheim. We are in the province of Alsace. The farms are beautiful with no fences and many fields of bright yellow Rape. We are using the N and D roads which are slower than the motorways but take us thru some stunning little villages. We swapped our gas bottle so we now have 2 full 15kg bottles. We will need to address the gas issue in 2 months time. Near the end of our drive we came into some hilly country with the first signs of grapes. The houses have a different style and look very Swiss or German. Not surprising as we are close to both countries. The camp was a short walk from the centre of Molsheim which was very quaint and is famous as the birth place of the Bugatti motor cars. Tomorrow we will visit Strasbourg so we explored the possibility of using the train.

30 April – Caught the 9:45 train to Strasbourg. A beautiful city with lots of narrow cobbled pedestrian streets and a fantastic cathedral. We wandered around the river to a café for lunch before returning on the train to “Lefty”. A short drive along the motorway to Eguisheim, a medieval village set on a hillside surrounded by vineyards. We walked into the village which has more narrow cobbled streets, lanes and squares with ancient wood and plaster buildings. At stages the roofs almost touched over the streets. We sat in the main square and had a wine/beer at a local bar before climbing the hill back to the camp.

1 May – Today we are off to Switzerland. We stumbled over the border (Switzerland is not part of the EU) while trying to find a petrol station. A bit of a surprise! Straight away we were into mountainous country and we followed up some narrow gorges and thru some long tunnels to our destination on the shores of Lake Bienne. We had a minor navigation disaster. We have decided not to use any toll motorways as we would have had to prepay for this privilege. Our GPS tried to take us up a route with a height restriction of 3.1 metres. “Lefty” is 3.2m so after about 15kms we had to hook a “U” and return to an N road. Lesson well learned! No more minor roads. The villages in the mountains are like post cards with chalets on any flattish land. Today is Labour Day and although it is Sunday many businesses seem to be hosting a picnic or barbeque for their staff at work. One even was giving the staff helicopter rides. After what seemed like a long drive we found our camp site. It is the school holidays so the camp is quite full.

2 May – We cycled to the local train station and after some investigations purchased 2 x 1 day tickets from a ticket machine. After some further thought we decided that we had made a mistake and that the ticket we had bought would not be sufficient to get us to Bern. We asked the first local that arrived and he thought it would be fine. Then he opened a can of beer. (not the first for the day) Should we trust a guy on his second can at 9:00am?? The next local could not speak English but the third guy, sober and upstanding, assured us our tickets were fine. As it happened there were no inspectors on the train, so we never found out for sure but the penalty is huge if you try and cheat the system. Bern was great with lovely shops and buildings. It is set on a hill with a river below and some spectacular views towards the mountains. Highlights were the Parliament Buildings and the Bern bears. Back on the train (still worried about our tickets) and back to camp for lunch. What should have been a short drive around Lake Geneva to our camp just passed Geneva took ages as we struck the rush hour. The camp is right on the lake side and we had a beautiful sunset. We will cycle back to Geneva tomorrow for a better look. The weather is now really hot! (25C and sunny)

3 May – It rained heavily in the night and is very cool this morning. We cycled back to Geneva (6kms) along the lake. This seems a very sophisticated city dominated by the Rhone River and the lake, with up market shops and many libraries and museums. There is a huge version of the fountain in Oriental Bay – squirts 140m into the air. Also there are many boats and yachts in the marinas. It started to drizzle for our return ride and eventually rain set in for our drive up the other end of Lake Geneva where we are camped for the night. We crossed back into France for a short part of the trip. The borders are very strange in this part of the world, mainly to keep Geneva in Switzerland and not France. It must be confusing for the locals as currency and road rules change at each border crossing. Before dark the clouds have cleared and we have high mountains on three sides.