Italy 2018 - the whole shebang in the right order

Fri 31st Aug 2018

Drive to Dover, via Polesden Lacey, a National Trust property just south of the M25. A lovely house, spectacular gardens. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent their honeymoon there. When we left the rush hour was well under way. Sally took us on a devious route, down some narrow streets and through housing  estates, but saved us at least 20 minutes. Arrived in Dover at 7 pm and parked on the seafront for the night, as usual

Sat 1st Sept
I had meant to book a ferry departing at 0900, but what I actually booked was a ferry arriving at 0900, sailing at 0600, meaning an 0400 alarm. A very smooth, sunlit crossing, and a reasonably quiet ferry. I won't bother with their breakfast next time, though
At the old frontier with Belgium, previously a huge lorry park where lorries waited to clear customs (which is what Dover and the M20 will become after Brexit next year. we stopped for coffee, just 100 yards inside Belgium. Within 2 mintes there were 2 Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at the door. As my French isn't up to a good theological argument we just said "non, merci".
At one point at a motorway cross with roadworks we got into a huge jam that just wasn't moving at all. After a while Sally found an alternative  route that seemed to meander for miles, and brought us out near the head of the queue. That saved us at least 30 minutes.
After Luxembourg (the state, not the Belgian province of the same name - very confusing) we crossed the Moselle into Germany, and then immediately right into  France, and stopped for the night at Sierck-les-Bains

Sun 2nd Sept
A bit of a lie-in after yesterday's morning watch, then set a course for Strasbourg. A navigation complication - we want to set Sally to avoid toll roads in France (VERY expensive) but accept them in Switzerland. Strasbourg is on the corner of France, so we reckoned that once we were there we could turn on toll roads

A useful route, which we have done most of  before - Luxembourg - Sarlouis Zweibrucken, Bitche (good aire here by Vauban fort and near Maginot Line), Hagenau, Stasbourg, Colmar (3 aires here but NVG)

In the Pays de Bitche (NOT Bitch Country!) we came a cross a section of the Maginot Line set up as a museum. Very interesting, includes a train ride through the tunnels, and is well worth a visit. We went into Bitche, off the main road, to use the bunkering there. The aire is in the car park of a Vauban fort - one year we will have to try to visit al the Vauban forts in France (over 100).

The aire at Colmar was depressing, and expensive, so we moved on to Fessenheim, hard against the Rhine and the German border. A large dusty car park, in which local youths came to skid around in their cars. I went out and took some photos - and they moved on.

Mon 3rd Sept
Another long drive. Firstly over the Rhine into Germany (looks like a good place to wild camp beside the locks), then into Switzerland. Interestingly, there was a 2 1/2 Km queue of lorries waiting to clear customs - the shape of things to come. No doubt you have a vision of Switzerland that includes clean air, Alps, pastures, pretty cows (which there are) but a drive through Basle will show not everything is clean, tidy and pretty! In fact it is quite a drive before the scenery becomes more than just average (but when it does - wow!).

We have been this way before - via the Grand St Bernard Pass, but it was in May, and the col was still closed by snow so we took the tunnel. This time we resolved to go over the top - Rosemary remembers coming here age 16 on a school trip to see the St Bernard puppies. The road up, on the Swiss side of the border, was one of the hairiest I've done for a long time. Narrow road, poor surface, blind hairpin bends, hair raising drops at the edge of the road, with no barrier (and with a right hand drive vehicle the driver is looking over the edge).

Swiss side

Italian side

The col is at over 8000 feet, and was bitterly cold.  The trip down the Italian side was a doddle - wide road, gentle (mostly) hairpin bends, excellent surface, barrier at the edge all the way down. I would have expected the Swiss side to be good and the Italian side terrible - but not so. And we have met this before. We are now on an aire at a small town, Chatillon St Vincent, adjacent to a good supermarket that sells fresh milk (unlike many French supermarkets)

Tues 4th Sept
Hopefully our last long outward bound drive, down to Lucca, about 210 miles. Non motorways are particularly slow in Italy, so we elected to use the toll motorways - unlike France they are mostly reasonably priced. Sally took us to Genoa, then dumped us in the middle because of the recent bridge disaster. A week earlier and we could have been on it. As  it was we could see the stark remains. The road to Genoa was pleasant - empty, wide, smooth, but along the coast from Genoa it was awful - lots of narrow tunnels, and lots of traffic. It's worth going further to avoid this bit. As we came to the toll booths at Genoa the unmanned machine refused to accept our credit card. A remote voice gabbled away in Itaian, but even if it had been in English we couldn't have heard it, such was the road noise. Eventually we were given a long slip of paper on how to pay online, and the barrier opened. We had quite a queue behind us by then. (Moral - never queue behind a Brit at a motorway toll booth - they will have no idea what's going on!)


This is our 3rd visit to Lucca, a lovely town with completely intact defensive walls. A large aire, fairly expensive but an easy walk into the walled city. This evening we just walked right round the walls - 4.2 Km,

Lucca - 17th century walls, complete and unspoiled

Palace, with fine gardens, seen from the walls

Wed 5th Sept

Rather a noisy night, from passing traffic. We'll move to the other side of the aire tonight. A pleasant day in Lucca, quite hot in the late afternoon. After a bit of battling with the autostrada website I managed to pay our unpaid motorway toll.

Piazza Anfitheatre - Roman amphitheatre converted to modern use

Piazza Anfitheatre - Roman amphitheatre converted to modern use

Puccini, adjacent to the house where he was born and lived. We saw a free performance of La Boheme last time. Tomorrow there is a fee performance of Madame Butterfly - but we will have moved on

last time the adverts were for the Rolling Stones

    

Cathedral

Thurs 6th Sept

Although we are leaving today, we had to take a last look at Lucca. We were keen to see the Piazza Amfitheatre without a full complement of tourists. Instead it has a full complement of delivery vans, and looked better full of tourists (Piazza Amfiatheatre is a complete Roman amphitheatre, but completely modernised (200 years ago or so) with cafes, shops and flats. Very touristy, and well worth a look). The 40 hours we spent here cost €20. Not bad for staying so close to the city.

Now a 90 mile motorway trek to Arezzo - and another battle with the toll booth. 2 problems - 1. there are 2 sets of controls - one set at a height for cars, the other set for lorries. The former is too low to reach and the latter too high, and of course it is on the passenger's side in a RHD car. There is no way that Rosemary can reach, and getting out is prohibited (no, I don't know why either!). So Rosemary has to get out of her seat, I take her place then climb half out of the window to reach. 90 miles cost a reasonable €10. Then came problem 2 - it wouldn't accept our credit card (the same one I used to pay the toll online with yesterday.) More gabbling in Italian, but this time I found some cash and fed that in. Of course, the cash slot was even further away, and I struggled to get back in after reaching it. We have used motorways right across Europe, and Turkey - why is it that we only have problems with Italian motorways? (run by the same people who ran the recently deceased Genoa bridge).

The aire at Arezzo felt decidedly unsafe, with abandoned caravans, so we decided to move on. We took a scenic (aka difficult) road to Anghiari, a small hilltop town overlooking the site of a famous battle between the Florentines and the Milanese (a tradition that continues today at football matches). On the way a beer can punctured in a locker:(

Fri 7th Sept

Anghiari is a maze of little streets and alleys, on the side of a steep hill, and very interesting. The aire is also a car park, and several empty Italian motor homes were just parked there, so access is a bit tight. We parked next to a Swedish couple, Stefan and Kirstin.

Anghiari

Don't often see the hammer and sickle these days - until Corbyn becomes PM

Bit of a bummer, as I left the service area I managed to dent the side of the van and demolish a side light, which rather put a damper on the day. We drove another 5 miles to Sansepolcro, a much larger town which appears to be gearing for a festival weekend - we watched people practising for a crossbow competition in the main square. Their aim seems remarkable accurate, but the crossbows are mounted on sturdy frames, and the (very small) target is only 36 meters away (there isn't room for a longer range).

Sat 8th Sept

The festival continues, lots of garish medieval costumes roaming the streets. Excellent re-enactments of everyday medieval life. We ate at a rather nice restaurant, as usual, we just had the antipasti and secondo courses. If you don't like beef rare to the point of almost raw - avoid the beef!

Tiered seating has been set up around the main square, and a free flag throwing performance is being put on. The Tourist information Office warned us to get a seat in good time, and we bagged some good seats an hour before it started. The town is obviously twinned with a French town, as a large block of French visitors came and sat adjacent to us, officials having evicted the citizens already sitting there. It is also twinned with Neufchatel, in Switzerland, home of an old navy friend.

We expected the show to be purely flag throwing, which we have seen elsewhere, However the show started with a quick change artist. I've not see this before - very slick and clever. Basically, a couple doing a dance routine. Every few minutes she would get in a sack for about 2 seconds, then emerge wearing a totally different outfit. Even the guy changed from a black suit to a white suit in a second stint in a sack. Best trick of all - he poured a bucket of "sparkly things" over head. As they cascaded down her outfit changed again - no sack involved. How did they do that?! (And having just looked at the photos, I have just noticed  she change hair style and colour)

That was followed by the town band quite different to our town bands, and accompanied by what was obviously the town band of the visiting French town.

Finally, the tradition flag throwing. Several displays, starting with quite simple and ending with the truly spectacular. Whilst there were one or two boys, the performers were primarily late teens to late sixties, not at all a child's pasttime as you might expect. In the first performance, we were pleased and touched to see two mentally retarded youths taking part, patiently guided by the leader.

Sun 9th Sept

The aire was require for the festival between 10.00 and 12.00, so we left by 9.00, and headed a short distance to Cotto di Castello, but the town seemed to be sealed off for a horse event of some kind. Instead we moved on to Gubbio, built on the side of granite hills. A very imposing main street, and 2 lifts between sections of the town. 

Cathedral

back  streets of Gubbio

There is also the "Funivia", a chairlift type of thing but with what looks like small gibbets - iron baskets just big enough to accommodate 2 people - you'd need to know them well! It doesn't slow down to embark or disembark, you just leap on and off. 

Moving gibbets...

Rosemary didn't go up, but I did - lovely views at the top.There is also a church containing a 12th century bishop in a glass coffin, atop the altar. Mostly he is in bishoply robes, but his face is visible in all its skeletal glory.

an alternative to cremation ...

The aire is run by an association of motorhome clubs, and so was of a high quality. (Pity about the nearby night club, throbbing into the small hours)

Mon 10th Sept

Our plan was to travel only  short distances in the Montisibillini National Park, between the various aires, but it hasn't worked out like that. First stop, Pioraco, was expensive and not special, so we moved on to Camerino, a large historic hilltop town. It was like a ghost town, like a town abandoned by refugees. The large aire was locked and barred, and had a general air of decrepitude. Overlooking us was a large building that looked like it had been shelled. Obviously we couldn't stay there, so we headed next to Pievehovigiana. On the way we passed lots of empty buildings, some with walls or roof collapsed, many more with shoring around doors and windows - and the penny dropped. We are approaching the epicentre of the 2016 earthquake. Whole towns have been abandoned, the residents now living in temporary (well constructed) shanty towns nearby. Some years ago we found ourselves near Aquila after another earthquake, and there were tent cities all over the place. This seems much more organised.

We attempted to get to a campsite at Sarnano, but access was through small towns where many roads were closed - so we abandoned that. We are now at a very nice campsite near Preci, "Il Collaccio", with fantastic views across the national park. The final ascent to the site was narrow and hairy - rather like the Swiss side of the Grand St Bernard's Pass. We are still north of the epicentre, and damage has been getting more extreme the further south we came. It is easy to forget how long earthquake events continue, long after the news headlines have moved on to the latest Brexit or Trump fiasco.

the view through our back doors

Tues 11th Sept

Today has been HOT (probably not Florida hot, but more than hot enough for us, and we just lazed around the campsite, used the washing machine, froze in the swimming pool, and drank beer.

Il Collaccio campsite

This is as nice a site as we've ever been to. It may be the end of summer in a hot country, but we are surrounded by green - green grass and thousands of green oak trees.

view from the campsite

Wed 12th Sept

Il Collaccio is such a nice site we are staying longer than we would normally. We ate in the restaurant in the evening - a good meal at very reasonable prices

autumn crocus

Thurs 13th Sept

The last few days have been very hot, but today is overcast and chilly. Rain is forecast for this evening - and it arrived in the afternoon.

Fri 14th Sept

4 nights is about our maximum - time to move on. When we arrived on Tuesday, having laboured up a very steep hill with many tight hairpin bends, an amber engine warning light came on, something to do with injectors and emission control. I didn't tell Rosemary, and hoped it would go away when I restarted - it didn't. Even after 20 miles it was still on, so we made our way to a FIAT garage in Spoleto. We explained the problem, using Google translate, then while we waited for the technician, the light went out. Typical! However he still plugged in his diagnostic tool, and pronounced "Dirty emission sensor", no doubt cause by all that first gear hammering.

We spent the afternoon walking up to the castle in  Spoleto - quite a climb, but there are several lifts and escalators. A really nice city - touristy, but not unpleasantly so. Recommended for a visit.

mediaeval bridge & aqueduct adapted from a Roman original

By 6 pm we were parked in a lovely aire at Montefalco, €5 for 24 hours, superb views, well laid out, and easy walking (uphill) into an ancient town.

Sat 15th Sept

We walked into town, to discover we had stumbled on a wine festival this weekend. A very pleasant town with a large central square. Touristy, but not unpleasantly so. There is a wine tasting event going on for the whole weekend. Buy tour glass, in a canvas pocket that hangs round your neck, and sample wines until the cows come home, or you fall over.  Not full glasses, about 3/4 inch of wine to taste - but there are 140 different wines...

140 wines to sample here...

When we arrived here last night there were just 5 vans in quite a large aire. By lunchtime today it was full to overflowing.

We like the way ice cream shops are open late. We bought 2 small cones - the cones were small but the ice cream was HUGE. We felt great satisfaction that we ate them without  them falling off.

Sun 16th Sept

The wine tasting continues. The glass purchased yesterday continues to attract wine. We found almost all the whites too acidic, but there were some very good reds - and not just the seriously expensive wines. We found a young lady at one of the stands, spoke excellent English, loved London and its museums and galleries, , Jane Austen and really knew her job too. It seems the wine to go for locally is not the most expensive, but Montefalco Rosso - a blend produced by several wineries. That's useful to know - there is a bewildering array of choices! And, she said, Umbrian soil does not produce good white wines, the best comes from the foothills of the Alps.

she knows her wine, loves London and especially the art galleries, and sold us lots of wine!

Mid afternoon there was a parade by the various wineries, celebrating the end of the grape harvest. Some very old tractors pulling floats of people drinking wine - and some very pretty girls.And if you see police signs saying that the road is a tow away zone between certain hours - take note! Several cars were being towed away to make room for the parade!

...and in the evening - heavy rain.

Mon 17th Sept

We have moved on just 5 miles to Bevagna, but a totally different feel to the place. Equally old, much less touristy, and no real centre. At one point I though the only photo I would get was the stained glass in the  church where St Francis preached to the birds. (presumably no one else was interested)

St Francis talks to the birds (maybe he tweeted them...)

...and in the evening - heavy rain and thunder

Tues 18th Sept

Some of the wines we sampled (and bought) at the weekend came from a very sensible winery stand that had all the prices of the wines clearly stated. Every other stand you had to ask the price of the wine you liked - only to find it was the most expensive at €50.  Its cantina (Terre de' Trinci - which might be Italian for "Land of drinkies")  is nearby at Foligno, so we called in, sampled some more wines, and bought a mixed dozen. Now we have to stow them for a month:(. Just for our record (so we know what to buy next time) we bought: La Barnarda - Umbria Rosato IGT - a rose that actually tastes of soemthing, Montefalco Rosso DOC, a blend of Sagrantino, Sangiovese, and Merlot. Wikipedia says that the Sagrantino grape has one  of the highest levels of tannin in the world - and the pure Sagrantino wine was too tannic for us (and a lot more expensive). Lastly, Cajo Umbria IGT - a blend of Sagrantino, Merlot and Cabernet, and slightly richer than the Rosso.

Our next port of call - Spello - a rather touristy hilltop village not far from Assisi. Obviously quite a wealthy village -  every street is perfectly paved, pretty well every house and building looks like it has been renovated in the last ten years, and just the occasional sign of earthquake damage. The main street is awash with restaurants. We had a quite reasonable basic lunch there, but drink prices were interesting. A good sized glass of a good wine was €4, 1/2 litre of beer was €12. The moral is clear - drink more wine.

I understand cannabis has a rather ambiguous status in Italy

The aire here is pretty dismal, and costs €8. Although we had paid the €8 we decided to return to the much more pleasant aire at Bevagna, only 5 miles away (and free).

...and in the evening, heavy rain and thunder...

Wed 17th Sept

We walked back into Bevagna again, to do some shopping, Bevagna is much more low key, more of a real town, somewhere you could feel happy living - quite unlike our next town, Monte Castello di Vibio, another hilltop town close to Todi. Like Spello, every house and every street has been extensively, and boringly, renovated. Even worse, it seems to entirely be holiday homes for weekending Italians. Superficially attractive, it feels completely dead. We had planned to spend the day and night there, but it was so depressing we decided to move on. Its main claim to fame is a tiny early 19th century theatre, which we hoped to see - but that was closed too. The only pictures I took were of the cutest kitten you've ever seen... 

....So we are now at Orvieto - a much bigger town with a large and professional aire - €18 inc electricity. We came here in 2009 and reckoned it was worth a return visit.

The road from Todi to Orvieto, down a dammed (but now empty) river valley was absolutely horrid - really depressing. Not just the awful road surface, and the bends every 100 yards, but the general air of neglect and decrepitude - and the lay-bys (aptly named) with ladies waiting for business. (But at least that's a more honourable profession than politics, or the people who call you out of the blue saying "we hear you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault..."- I got one of those only 3 days ago.)

So here we are just outside Orvieto, only 80 yards from a mainline railway with high speed trains every 5 minutes or so - but at least the noise doesn't last long.

...and in the evening - heavy rain

Thurs 20th Sept

The rain had cleared by mid morning and we caught the funicular up to the town. Orvieto is built on a large volcanic plug, with mostly vertical sides. 

Orvieto on its volcanic plug

We came here  in 2009, and loved it. A real town for real people, and tourists just fit in. The cathedral has quite the most spectacular front we've ever seen.

trompe l'oeil in the cathedral

Fri 21st Sept

Today a moderately short drive to the thermal springs at Saturnia, via the Etruscan tombs near Sorano. Moderately short - but it involved some really hairy roads. Down one side of a vertical gorge and up the other side, and numerous other roads that didn't take prisoners. (But it is quite possible that we didn't use the best route)

Not much is known about the Etruscans, a pre Roman people. We are not far north of Rome so it is difficult to believe they didn't morph into Romans. The extensive tomb network, and system of sunken roads, have been carved out of tufa, a sort of soft limestone. Easy to work because it is soft - but does not weather well. The Etruscans, and their fiercest leader Lars Porsena, are immortalised in Macaulay's poem "Horatius", which does appear to be based on a real event, but the last time we saw it, the Tiber was just a muddy stream. A stirring poem, though, that I remember from school. (There's not much I remember from school)

LIX (verse 59 of 70!)

‘Oh, Tiber! father Tiber!
    To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman’s life, a Roman’s arms,
    Take thou in charge this day!’
So he spake, and speaking sheathed
    The good sword by his side,
And with his harness on his back,
    Plunged headlong in the tide."

Roadway, up to 30 metres deep, cut into the tufa

Etruscan tombs

We had planned to get to the aire at Saturnia shortly after lunch, and get to see/soak in the hot springs (free access). However we got rather held up with the Etruscans, and didn't reach Saturnia until 5 pm. The aire here is HUGE - space for 300 motorhomes, electricity, showers, more of a campsite than an aire. Costs €16 pn with electricity. There is a free minibus to take you to/from the spring, and most people seem to wonder to and fro in dressing gowns - we have only one between us...Because it is a weekend and we are not far from Rome, vans have been rolling in all evening, all going round and round looking for a suitable space

Sat 22nd Sept

The shuttle bus to the springs is only a minibus, and is a hassle, so we walked - an easy 20 minute stroll. An interesting experience, and enjoyable. It's good to see that it really is free, and that it hasn't been tarted up. Just lots of people enjoying themselves in a cascade of warm water. The water is a milky blue, and slightly sulphorous - but not overpoweringly so. There is only so much time you can spend lying in warm water, and as we left, about 10 am, it was beginning to look like Brighton beach on a bank holiday Monday. Definitely somewhere to return to (but early!)







We left the aire before lunch, heading for the coast. This was a mistake. Aires were few and far between, and generally awful. At one point we found ourselves driving through Vivitavecchia, which we discovered is a major port for Rome. In desperation we headed for a recommended campsite at Bracciano, "Roma Flash", on Lake Bracciano, arriving quite late, and exhausted. It is supposed to be easy to get to Rome by train from here.

This really is a lovely campsite. We have a pitch right beside the lake. It is the end of the season, and there are very few campers. Good light shade, a light breeze and warm sunshine. Idyllic.



Sun 23rd Sept

sunrise - from the van door

Nearby caravans, who have quite obviously been here all summer, are packing up  a HUGE amount of belongings. It's difficult to see how it will all fit in their cars.

and also from the van door - a heron mobbed by gulls

 ...and tomorrow - Rome

Mon 24th Sept

Noisy night - owls in the trees around us appeared to be having a shouting match! The staff here are very friendly, and chatty, the receptionist especially so, quite a motherly figure. We told her we were heading for Rome, and she said there is only one campsite for Rome - Camping Village Fliamino, an easy walk to the station and quick service into the centre. In fact this is what we had planned, and where we now are. The drive in was remarkably easy, given Rome's traffic The site is huge. There is even a buggy to give you a lift from the entrance down to the main camping area - worth using as it is a long way.

We were in to Rome central by midday. Not bad going as we only left the last site at 10. The Spanish Steps were crowded, as always. On one side are the rooms where Keats died aged only 25, and on the other side Babington's Tea Rooms - rather a strange sight in the centre of Rome, but it has been there a long time. It makes the tea rooms in Bath seem remarkably down market.

Spanish steps, Rome

...and on the right, Keats final lodgings

...and on the left, tea rooms

We did a lot of walking about (7 miles according to Rosemary's Fitbit). Took in the Pantheon - nearly 2000 years old, from the pre Christian era but now well Christianised. Trevi fountain - even more crowded, and no water due to week for repairs. In the Via delle Muratte, an Art Nouveau courtyard, and chiuso Sant Agostion, which houses a very nice Caravaggio (a general ne'er do well and murderer, but a brilliant artist). This must be a sinful area - the church had ten confession boxes, all double banked to take 2 sinners at a time.

Pantheon - outside

Pantheon - inside

Trevi fountain (waterless)

Art Nouveau courtyard

Cannabis shop

We returned to the site exhausted. It is now full and a  large French convoy has settled in around us. Why do the French always travel in convoy? For safety?

Jeans I would throw away - €89

Carrravaggio

Tues 25th Sept

This time we took the Metro from Flaminio station, to the  Acropolis. Good clean and bright carriages - it is fairly new. 

Japanese bride brought her wedding gown for photos

Another church - Chiese di San Luigi del Fransese - for 3 more Caravaggios. We didn't think these were as impressive as yesterday's.  We did see some superb mosaics

Happy skeleton

where the Trajan Pro typeface comes from...

Victor Emmanuel's "Wedding Cake"

And they were several other churches as well....To our surprise, we came across "stumbling stones" in the old Jewish ghetto. We have seen them in many other places, but had not expected to see them in Italy. There are more than 60,000 of these across 21 countries in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein. A lesson in insanity as the hard right advances across Europe and, regrettably, the UK. (Make the most of the UK whilst it lasts - Brexit will destroy the United Kingdom).

"Stumbling stones" - stolperstein

"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." 
Winston Churchill 

My favourite picture of Rome

 Once again we walked too far and for too long, and became exhausted. This time, instead of walking back to the station, we asked Google Maps to find us a bus - and behold, the bus stop was only just around the corner - miracles do happen. Back at the site we chatted to an English couple camped nearby. They managed to pay €8 each for a cappuccino. By contrast,  a week ago I paid €1.30

Wed 26th Sept

I am unwilling to face the claustrophobic crowds again, so Rosemary went into Rome alone, to do even more churches. In Rome you could do a different church every day for a year, or more.

Thurs 27th Sept

Rosemary has an infected spot on her leg, so we decided that more walking would be unwise for a while, so we have left this site, heading north. I can recommend this site for visiting Rome - a nice site with good facilities....except for leaving arrangements. It is a big site, and lots of large motorhomes all tried to leave at the same time. There was only one harassed girl in reception, a long queue of people trying to pay, and an even longer queue of motorhomes clogging the access road and entrance.

We took the coast road up to Castiglione del Pescaia and Follonica, hoping to get a view of Elba - having visited St Helena I thought it would be satisfying to see Napoleon's first exile island. Elba is too far away to see properly, and that area is dreadful - all campsites, car parks, and tourist stuff. We have learnt our lesson - stay away from Italian coasts.

Instead, we have moved inland to a lovely little town, Massa Marittima, with a very old cathedral - all refreshingly plain after the baroque excesses of Rome's churches. We are now back in Tuscany - just.

Massa Marittima

M.Theresa spoke here, before she expressed her doubts about the existence of God.

Fri 28th Sept

Not far from here, a few Km, is the Geothermal National Park, and we went off to look at it. Rather like Rotorua, but not all on such a grand scale. A strong smell of sulphur, and jets of steam coming through the rocks. At one point there is a large hole, and we can hear steam bubbling up through water, rather like waves on the sea, but the hole was too deep to actually see anything. There is a trail, described as easy, which was a major scramble- the Italian definition of an easy trail must be similar to the Norwegian definition.

Thermal region - the air was so warm the steam didn't get a chance to condense so doesn't look as spectacular as it did at the time

We have moved only 5 more miles to Sasso Pissano, another mediaeval village where there is more geothermal activity, and an aire. Beside the aire is a thermal pool, man made, clean and tidy. The plan is to pay it a visit tomorrow, and come out smelling of sulphur, before we move on.

Sat 29th Sept

A cold night. Rosemary spent the morning sitting in the thermal baths, - not something that appealed to me. But instead of smelling of sulphur, her swimsuit smelt of chlorine.

We had planned to spend the rest of the day, and the night, at Pomerance. The aire is well appointed, but expensive, and it's hassle even getting through the barrier - so we didn't. We parked in a nearby free car park and walked into town from there. It's quite a large town - and some old parts, but completely dead. The only photograph I took was of an old plaque describing the new metric weights and measures, dated around 1860.

After only an hour we moved on again, to Volterra, a very old Etruscan town we visited in 2009. Very high up - lots of hairpin bends to get there, and very old streets and buildings. The aire is at the bottom of 250 steps - but the effort is worth it. There is a pre Roman Etruscan gate over the old route into the town. In 1944, as the Allies advanced north, the Nazi commandant in the city was going to blow it up to slow th Allied advance. A local bishop persuaded him to allow them to block it instead, to save their heritage. He agreed, but gave them only 24 hours to do it, certain it could never be done in that time. The whole town rallied round, and it was completed with 2 hours to spare. Real history!

Volterra

Volterra

Volterra

Etruscan gate (with Roman and Mediaeval additions)

1944- Volterrans work to save their arch

Sun 30th Sept

We spent the morning and most of the afternoon in Voltarra. Touristy, but not unpleasantly so (but I bet it's busy in August!). It has it's own museum of torture - these seem quite popular in Italy - and no, we didn't go in. In the main square a an ornate stage is being erected, with Roman columns - very grand. We thought it was for a concert, but it turns out to be a set for a film - "Medici :  Master of Florence", with Dustin Hoffman. And Mr Google tells me it is an ongoing Netflix series.

a BIG dog!

and a BIG view

Our parking ticket ran out at 4, and we drove the 30 miles or so to Radda in Chianti (That is its full title). It's the sort of road that demands 100% concentration at all times. We have been here a couple of times before. It has a corner shop stuffed to gun'ls with victuals for homesick ex-pats of all nations, plus all other ingredients for eating and drinking in Tuscany.

Mon 1st Oct

We had a bit of a rude awakening this morning. During the night it rained quite heavily (which hadn't been forecast) - and we had left the large skylight vent wide open. Rosemary awoke to wet bedding. Fortunately an hour with the heater going hard and an exhaust fan running dried everything out satisfactorily. 

Reliant Robin on steroids

When we came here last year, I wrote "Whereas the last town, Greve, had a life of its own and tourism was incidental, the whole raison d’etre of Radda is tourism. "  - and nothing has changed in the intervening 18 months. Motorhomes and campervans are not well catered for. However it is Rosemary's favourite place in all Chianti, so...

Tues 2nd Oct

Rosemary spent a happy couple of hours drawing in town, then after another visit to the well stocked shop - we moved only 5 miles to Glamping Orlando. Only 5 miles, but difficult roads, again. This site is primarily about cabins, and other similar forms of expensive camping, (VERY expensive in the season!) but does have a small campervan area. The site is completely surrounded by oak forest, but has the best camp site shop we've ever seen. The lady apologised, it was the end of the season and they were running down.

The site advertises free wifi, but in fact you only get 2 GB free, then you have to pay. And it is very slow.

Wed 3rd Oct

Woke to sunshine - and everything looks much more pleasant. A site worth returning to, but not in the high season. Staff are very friendly, and the facilities are good.

We have moved on a few miles to Castellino in Chianti - another favourite hilltop town with n excellent aire. €12 for a good tarmac surface and electricity thrown in. Much better aire and better value than Radda in Chianti, and I much prefer the town. There is a a takeaway pizza place close to the aire, and we indulged ourselves, although we're not huge pizza fans.

Castellina in Chianti

Beside the road into the village we came across 3 very large rabbits, sitting quietly in the sun. One had the most enormous ears you've ever seen on a rabbit, and a collection bowl to pay for their upkeep. I happily tipped in a load of change

Thurs 4th Oct

The aire is closed tomorrow from 6 am. It is being used for something ceremonial. A group of Italian policemen practised raising and lowering an Italian flag for at least an hour, with lots of discussion and note taking.

We have moved on only a few more miles to Greve in Chianti, another old favourite, but not on a hilltop. A large square, surrounded by restaurants and tourist shops, but nicely done. There seems to be a lot of Americans on cycling holidays, which we haven't seen before. Last time we stocked up on Chianti Classico (red wine, the symbol for which is the large cock) here, but this trip we have bought Montefalco Rosso instead.

Fri 5th Oct

Rosemary had cut an article out our favourite motorhome magazine, describing this chap's favourite route to and from Italy. It sounded quite interesting, avoided toll motorways, and seemed to go as straight as a die up the country. Well, straight as a die it may have been, but it went through dozens of towns and villages, the road surface was appalling - as bad as Albania in some places, and it took forever. Not entirely true - the instant we crossed into Piedmont the road width and surface improved dramatically.

We found our way to a campsite beside one of the Italian lakes  - Camping Orta beside Lake Orta. We realised we had been here before, in 2009. A pleasant site worth revisiting. Interestingly, all the staff at all the campsites we have stayed at in Italy have been exceedingly helpful and friendly - Caravan Club take note!

Sat 6th Oct

Still heading north, and still following the chap's favourite route. Here it took a turn for the better. We crossed the Alps on the Simplon Pass - certainly the easiest Alpine crossing we have done - 4th gear most of the way, and 3rd gear for the descent. Fog and rain on the Italian side, but clear and sunny almost immediately on entering Switzerland. From Brig, at the foot of the pass, we headed due West, past Montreux, Lausanne, Yverdon to an aire at Ste Croix, just a few miles from the French border. We have booked a ferry from Dunkerque next Wednesday, and are meeting friends in Bruges on Tuesday, so we need to press on.

Sun 7th Oct

A long cross country drive today, via Nancy, to Pont a Mousson. There is a large aire here, beside the Moselle at the Port du Plaisance. Costs €10, but includes electricity, wifi, showers, free washing machine use, and a short walk into town. We arrived at 1330, and by 1430 it was full, with lots of. vans being turned away. Next to us is a very large Finnish van. This was a good route - scenic, relaxing, and straightforward. One to remember.

Mon 8th Oct

For the last several years we have done a final shop-up at the huge Auchan in Lille. It ha height barriers but in the past they would open them to allow us access. Lasy year they refused to open them. I later wrote and asked why they no longer wanted our custom, and i got a very snooty reply said, in effect "it is the law". So today we called in at the Auchan in Metz. Not a height barrier in sight! It's a pretty rubbish Auchan though, so we won't be returning.

Thence on to an aire west of Brussels, beside the canal at Aalter. Very peaceful, space for 25 vans beneath the trees right alongside the canal. In the 2 hours  so far that we've been here, only one quite large barge has passed.

Tues 9th Oct

A moderately short drive into Bruges, to see some old friends Guy & Lorraine. Lorraine took us on a tour of old Bruges, including a visit to a brewery - it certainly is a lovely city, and surprisingly emerged from the war largely unscathed. We spent the night in their drive - just an hour's drive from Dunkerque.

the view from the brewery

view of the canal after the brewery visit

Wed 10th Oct

A lovely day, and an easy drive into Dunkerque for the 1200 DFDS sailing to Dover. A good smooth crossing - in hindsight we were just in time - gales, rough seas and heavy rain followed a couple of days later. Arrived home at 1930. A 3300 mile round trip. And as we arrived home, the accursed yellow engine warning light came on again. I assumed it had been because I was using standard diesel, and have been putting in the expensive "go faster" diesel instead - but it made no difference.

Our next trip will be after Brexit - will we get abroad again? It certainly won't be as easy. Amazing how we Brits can be swindled by Putin's trolls, lying politicians, and tax cheats - not to mention the misuse of personal data, fake news, and election expenses fiddling. I have voted Conservative for 50 years - NEVER AGAIN!