Lucca to Montecatini Alto

Lucca to Montecatini Alto - 21 miles

The parking, or “sosta” as it's known in Italian, had filled right up. We were aware that next Tuesday is a public holiday in Italy so if they were anything like the Spanish, most people would take Monday off and make it a four-day weekend. We were on our guard!

Piazza Napoleone

San Giovanni

Duomo San Martino

Asymmetric frontage

Some finer detail

As planned, up early and a 10 min walk to the city walls, taking Jamie as he appeared to be much better – we'd actually starved him for 24 hrs which is an approved treatment for dicky tummy. Lucca has no definite central place of attractions so we headed along Via Vittorio Emanuel II towards the Duomo San Martino, finding Piazza Napoleone (but no statue, well if it was he'd forgotten to put his trousers on.....!) We passed a number of other churches along the way, as well as attractive piazzas, but noted that despite it being a very religious country many of the churches were in a state of disrepair. Not so of the main Duomo, however, which was undergoing some restoration. We particularly noticed the black and white horizontal lines, a very asymmetric frontage and almost all the columns had been decorated differently. A longish queue of folk waiting to pay their entrance fee to go in, but again Jamie precluded us from doing the same.

Piazza Anfiteatro Romano (red van parked just as we arrived!!! Ignore it)

Taking a roughly circular route we slowly wandered back to the van, finding a lovely oval-shaped piazza, Anfiteatro Romano, full of cafes of course then Via San Gorgio, which was the main shopping street. A short walk along the top of the walls – there is a wide pathway apparently all around the city – before exiting through one of the gates back to the van. An attractive place to visit and which apparently is also on some cruise ship itinerarys – we met a couple who were “lost”.

Bi-annual International Festival of Cardboard Art

Tunnel under/along the city walls

But now to decide what next. We were in need of some serious shopping and in view of the impending public holiday thought a few days on a campsite away from the coast would be nice. We spotted an attractive looking ACSI site at Montecatini, a place Terry visited with a coach party some years ago, so decided on there. But first TomTom found the local Carrefour where we also had lunch, then took us the off-motorway route to Montecatini Alto, pausing to refuel at the cheapest place we've yet seen in Italy, although that's relative of course. €1.42 per litre!

A nice run up into the Tuscany hills and the site turned out to be every bit as attractive as the book said. We were given a nice roomy and part-shaded pitch with lovely views and settled in for a few days.

We stayed at: 
Camping Belsito, Montecatini Alto. ACSI €19. Full facilities including small shop, restaurant/bar, 2 swimming pools and wellness centre. Terraced pitches with good views of Tuscany.

Technical note: we bought Bren a new camera as the old one, though still taking excellent pictures, kept eating batteries. The panoramic view above was a first try - looks good!
Also please excuse the random placing of pictures - I've reformatted the pages to be wider and it's upset the placings. Should be better in future posts.

Deiva Marina to Pisa

Wednesday and Thursday were planned as do nothing days, well apart from getting a couple of loads of washing done and a visit to the local minimarket for some basics. Both days started a little cloudy but the sun soon came out and with a pleasant breeze the washing was soon dry; thereafter just chilling and a bit of planning. Our programme was for us to go to Pisa next and as it's only just over an hour away we thought we'd get away early on Friday, get parked up and spend a few hours there, maybe staying overnight or maybe moving on. We decided we'd just see what transpired.

The camp site has what appears to be a quite busy small restaurant, it certainly seems popular with the “residents” so we thought we'd give it a try on our last night. Very friendly staff, including a waitress who wouldn't believe us when Terry asked for a birro grande, which was actually a litre. After a bit of banter it was reduced to a medium, and was very nice – Bren had cola, the bar not being very comprehensive and not stocking her favourites. A platter of mixed meats between us, shnitzel for Bren and ravioli for Terry then tira misalou (that right?) eventually as the waiter kept forgetting us! Very enjoyable though and we returned to a slightly desperate Jamie who we'd forgotten to take out before we left him.

Deiva to Pisa to Lucca - 85 miles

So Friday up early as planned and away by 9.15 straight onto the autostrade, then off into a services as Jamie was crying and wanted out – he's got a bit of an upset tummy and needed to poo. Then into Pisa where we'd got three parking areas to choose from, all a bit difficult to find. Numbers one and two were deserted and we didn't like the look of them either so sought out the third which was a tad further away from the centre and more expensive, but it was attended and secure and obviously where everybody else stayed. We payed for a longer stay, which turned out to be a mistake, it was possible to pay for just 6 hours which would have been quite long enough. You live and learn.

Ruined Roman gatehouse - Pisa

Guess?

Tower and Duomo

Not-Leaning Tower of Pisa

Baptistry - and yes, it leans too but the other way!

Everybody trying to get pictures holding it up - we chose a lamppost instead!

Taking Jamie with us we walked into the town, it was supposed to be 2km to the Tower but we didn't think it was quite that far after taking a short cut through the town. Most of Pisa's attractions are gathered together in one open space, the magnificent Duomo, Baptistry, museo and of course the world famous Leaning Tower. Obviously it was quite busy but again not overcrowded and we managed to view all we wanted quite easily, although we were not inclined to pay the somewhat steep entrance fees – we couldn't take Jamie in anyway. Instead we satisfied ourselves with photos and an ice-cream before having a little wander through the rest of the town in a general direction back to the van with a hot tired doggy who was still pooing wet ones.

Senior school, Pisa

Lunch then a decision; we'd need to pay more to stay overnight but as there was nothing else we wanted to see we thought we'd push on to Lucca, a nearby town recommended by Elaine our neighbour. We noted a couple of parking/overnighting spots so with TomTom fired up headed off. It was only half an hour away but the private parking we had chosen was full however the friendly owner directed us to the municipal parking which he said was fine and so it turned out to be. Plenty of room when we arrived but it did fill up later.

Cold drinks and a snooze then we gave up the idea of going into the town for the cooler evening and instead bought pizzas at a local place that had put leaflets around the parking. We felt it would be better to get up early again and explore before it got too hot.

We stayed at;

Lucca Municipal motorhome parking area. €10 for 24hrs, water and waste disposal.

Deiva Marina and Cinque Terre

After a week on the road, we needed a break so Monday was decreed a rest day. Basically all we did was some domestics and serviced the van whilst enjoying the hot sunshine. Jamie is still a bit jumpy but that now is probably due to the fact that we are pitched close to reception and everybody who enters or leaves the site has to pass us by. There are of course a few dogs to be shouted at and also bicycles which for some reason he continues to try and chase. It has now got to the stage where we have to make him wear his bark-buster collar; at least that seems to work but it's not a permanent solution.

The campsite is generally very quiet with only a few pitches where we are. Along from us are mainly permanent units with buildings built onto ex-touring caravans, used mainly for weekend getaways by what we have seen although the site looks to have a few for hire too. There is a restaurant which seems to be well used in the evenings, so we may try it one night, and a small shop with not much in it although bread is available to order fresh daily. The book also says there is a swimming pool but it is currently being totally renovated and is a building site; however at this time of year not many campsite pools are open.

As mentioned before this is a good jumping off point to view the Cinque Terre, a group of 5 fishing villages clinging to inlets along the very mountainous coast line of Liguria, as well as being a national park with many marked walking trails. Access by vehicle is difficult and actually impossible in a couple of the villages and they are all therefore served by rail, cut through the mountains in almost continuous tunnels, or by boat. The villages are said to be very attractive and are a popular tourist attraction.

The campsite offers a free shuttle bus service to the train station in the small town of Deiva Marina and also provided us with plenty of information, so we've booked places first thing tomorrow.

Tuesday started quite dull and cool with perhaps a tiny hint of a rain shower although the promise was for a return to the sunshine before long. Packing enough for ourselves and Jamie, who is allowed on the trains, the shuttle took us down to the station where we bought tickets to Levanto, the start of the tourist trail. A journey of only a few minutes on a punctual and clean and tidy train and we got off, only to find an enormous queue to buy the special discounted tourist passes – it took half an hour but we managed before the next train.

What we hadn't realised up to now was that there were extra trains operating between Levanto and La Spezia apart from the hourly “through” train so in fact we never had more than 15 minutes to wait all day. But of course it was then we also discovered just how popular this area was as all the trains were pretty full, though always enough room for us and Jamie – the trick was to walk along to either end of the train where it was much quieter.

We decided to travel to the furthest of the villages, Riomagiore, then “hop” back one at a time to give us greatest flexibility, so we bagged an individual compartment on the next train so that Jamie had a bit of room – his first time on a train he was as good as gold all day (well right up until the last one where he got startled and made his feelings well known!).

None of the villages are very big so the crowds, which included several “crocodiles” of tourists led by guides apparently off cruise ships moored further south, were some what off-putting. Also, being built in tiny gorges, there was a lot of up and down to be negotiated. We managed several ice-creams during the day.

Coast looking north from Riomagiore

Tiny harbour at Riomagiore

Riomagiore

Steps to castle

Religious montage left over from Xmas

We explored pretty well all of what was to be seen at Riomagiore but have to say that, whilst very nice, we weren't over impressed in the place as a tourist attraction. So we headed back to the station and the next train “back” to Manarola where we found more of the same, but at least mostly on the same level and were able to get down to the harbour area where some local lads were providing entertainment by jumping off steep rocks into the water. Unfortunately that's where everybody else had headed and as it was now lunchtime the many restaurants were full, probably with the “crocodiles”; we made do with expensive take-away chicken nuggets and chips and our own bottles of water. We also bought postcards and a small guide book as it was clear we would not be able to get to the best places for photographs.

Manarola main (only!) street

Harbour at Manarola

Manarola

Local cruise boat arriving

Back to the station and the next village of Corniglia, said to be the smallest and the least accessible. Well the latter is true as there was a free shuttle bus to the village from the station, but the service simply could not cope with the numbers of visitors so we satisfied ourselves with a walk along the coastal footpath before returning to the station for another ice-cream.

Coast at Corniglia

A word here about the footpath, which is supposed to connect the villages by following the cliffs. There not being much distance between the villages, the longest train transfer being 4 minutes, this is a good way to see the coast at it's best. Unfortunately two of the shortest paths are currently closed and as the recommended time allowance for each of the others was 1½ to 2 hours, we rejected that idea!

Sat at Corniglia, it was obvious that Jamie was flagging and we too were hot and sticky so when the next train came in we stayed on it back to Levanto where we had to get off and wait 45 mins for the next “through” train back to Deiva Marina. A phone call to the site quickly brought the shuttle bus and 5 mins later we were back and indulged ourselves in a cuppa and an hour resting weary feet and backs. Apart from the stations and trains because of the crowds we'd found few opportunities to just sit and watch. We agreed we'd both enjoyed the day but it was a shame about the crowds. Jamie just went to sleep under the van!

Alessandria to Deiva Marina

Alessandria to Deiva Marina - 96 miles

After the fireworks, things quietened down very quickly and we had a relatively undisturbed night – unfortunately we were parked next to quite a busy road and there was traffic most of the night. But Sunday was again bright and sunny and the car-park was empty! But not for long, it seems that there was a Sunday market just along the road, but we didn't indulge.

We just got on our way but then one of the tyre sensors gave out a warning of low pressure, although the usual “pre-flight” inspection had looked okay. Also Jamie started creating so a quick diversion into a Centre Commercial to sort him out and a proper investigation of the tyre. It looked like a sensor problem so the battery was changed and it was okay then for the rest of the day.

Back on the autostrada we had set TomTom to go to a motorhome parking place in Genoa, mainly to get us out of Alessandria, but he then decided to go a different way to our pre-programmed route in Nellie – not that it really mattered so we went along with it. Sunday and the roads were very quiet so we thought we'd let the satnav have it's way and have a drive into Genoa.

Just as well it was Sunday because it was quite a complicated trip but it did give us the opportunity of viewing this fine city and we even arrived at the parking place too. Which was a bit of luck really as TomTom decided to play silly whatsits just as we left the autostrada into the city itself! Fortunately Bren was following our progress on Nellie so we muddled our way through. However we decided not to stay as it was a little way from the centre and thought it would make more sense to return by train. We'll see how our trip progresses.

Quick shot of ferry terminal passing through Genoa. Too busy for more, sorry!

Our pre-planning had set the town of Chiavari as our jumping off point in Italy but we wanted a few days stop so the nearest ACSI campsites were a little further down the road. A choice of three at Deiva Marina sort of pointed us there so with the satnav programmed for the nearest we once more joined the motorway – which was a shame really as this is a beautiful coastline and we only managed a glance or two as we popped out of one of the many tunnels along the road then back in again. Planning had showed us, however, that taking the coastal road would have taken us all afternoon but our destination was close to the Cinque Terre, a group of fishing villages clinging to the coast and said to be very attractive. More about this later.

All three campsites were very close together so we had a look at the first, which looked very reasonable. We checked in for 5 nights and selected an open pitch quite close to the amenities. There were other, more shady but smaller pitches however they had bookings already – we didn't mind.

We had not travelled a great distance today so we got set up then settled down to a late lunch. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, as well as chatting to a couple of other Brit motor-homers. 

We're not actually in the village itself, but a couple of kilometres away – the site provides a free shuttle bus to the station – so we'll leave exploring for now.

Lac Leman to Alessandria

Le Bouveret to Alessandria - 217 miles

Saturday, another hot one – we're slowly getting used to this – and after the usual we got under way, heading for the Simplon Pass, chosen purely because we've never gone this way before. Starting with motorway (and not forgetting to fill in the relevant section of our road permit) we soon came to ordinary roads, again with roadworks where there was not a lot apparently happening. Although not yet really needing it we decided to refuel as a/, we were going over the mountains but more importantly b/, we believed fuel to be more expensive in Italy, which turned out to be the case. We also found a Lidl for some bits we still needed.

It wasn't long before we started the long climb up the pass through some stunning scenery. We've saved the dashcam footage and will try to add some of it in later along with some pictures. We hit the snow line at about 3000 ft although the roads were obviously clear and dry and it was still quite warm. Well pleased with Bertie's performance we topped out at around 6000 ft and stopped in a layby for lunch.

Setting off down the southern side, still in Switzerland, the roads were again good but before long we noticed the smell of very hot brakes so slowed right down and inevitably the traffic, which could not get past, built up. Sorry, but our safety comes first! Eventually arrived at the Italian border, just a small village really but the police/customs were not interested, barely making the effort to wave us through. Almost immediately Terry got confused about a signpost with conflicting information at a roundabout, and of course took the wrong road! We were not using TomTom, or Nellie (our netbook navigator) at the time but we were able to turn round easily and get back on track.

Our planned destination was Alessandria where we had read that there was dedicated motorhome parking close to the centre of town. So we engaged the satnav and headed there, but of course the roads were now nowhere near as good as in Switzerland, more like Morocco or even worse, and we found ourselves doing quite a lot of pothole dodging, even on the Autostrade when we joined it. During planning it had become obvious that using the toll Autostrade was the best way to go as trying to use the other roads would have taken at least twice as long, with the additional cost of fuel being significantly more than the quite reasonable toll fees.

As TomTom directed us into the city and we got close to our destination it became very busy and shortly we spotted a huge funfair – unfortunately it turned out to be very close to the parking area we were headed for and which was, predictably, full of cars. There were a few m/homes parked up so we went in anyway and eventually squeezed into a space that was just big enough for us. As it turned out, the area was by now starting to empty and more spaces became available, but we elected to stay where we were.

Later it started to fill up again and we noticed a large social club just behind us who were obviously having some sort of event because folk were spilling out of it! Later, during a dog walk Terry noticed a strip of land in front of us had been cordoned off, with notices that seemed to suggest some kind of incendiaries – our Italian doesn't go that far. But it was indeed warning of a fireworks display and at 10.30 pm World War III broke out and Jamie went nuts! He absolutely hates fireworks and although we did our best to calm him, he was obviously frightened by all the noise – we'd closed the blinds and windows but it didn't help. Eventually it stopped and Jamie calmed down, but he remained nervous for the next 48 hours.

We stayed at; Motorhome Parking centre of Alessandria - Water & waste disposal. Free

The Vosges to Lac Leman

Luxeuil-les-Bains to Le Bouveret - 151 miles

Friday, yet again developed into a hot sunny day after a peaceful night, if a little chilly early morning – it is still April of course. After breakfast and servicing the van we called round to Lidl for a bit of shopping then headed south again.

Today is mainly off-motorways and we had a lovely run through the hills and forests of the Vosges, with just the odd detour when our route map and the roads didn't seem to agree. At one point we found ourselves on a minor road behind a huge tractor seemingly for miles. Of course he turned off just after we had managed to get past!

Lunch in a layby near the oddly named village of Nods; what a shame that the travelling public have no respect for the countryside, the woodland just off the layby looked to have been used more as a public toilet. Disgusting.

But ever onwards and in mid-afternoon we crossed the border into Switzerland, the very nice police lady amused by the moustache on the bonnet – but she still checked our paperwork! Then onwards to Lausanne where we got our first glimpse of the snow-topped mountains (we noticed that they still had the “snow chains required” signs out) and then joined a motorway which ran along the north shore of Lac Leman, or Lake Geneva as it is better known as in the UK. Switzerland seems to be doing a lot of road replacement and repairs – they're making an excellent job of it but don't appear to be in any rush!

We'd picked out a campsite for our stop tonight at the far eastern end of the lake so TomTom was tasked with finding it and we ended up on Camping Rive Bleu – well somewhere that was called that but was just a holiday chalet site! In fact the place we wanted was across the road and so we checked in there instead. Quite a steep tarif, even if it does have all facilities, but Switzerland is much more expensive than elsewhere in Europe so we just have to grin and bear it. It is very nice though and reasonably quiet this early in the season, well except for lots of young children running around that Jamie decided needed shouting at!

Pitched up, chairs out and cold drinks while we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sun. The lady on reception told us that it had been very warm for the last couple of days and was expected to continue. However just a week ago it had been freezing.

One night here then we'll carry on over the pass to Italy. We've only got a small amount of Swiss coinage and it's not worth changing any more so thank goodness for plastic!

We stayed at:

Camping Rive-Bleu, Le Bouveret. All facilities  CH39.35 (approx £30) per night. This also included a “rubbish tax” which apparently now applies throughout Switzerland – they did provide a bag though!

Ardennes to Vosges

Han sur Lesse to Luxeuil les Bains - 218 miles

Thursday saw a bright sunny and warm day so we took our time getting going again. More motorways today, still quite busy but no holdups although we spotted a tremendous queue going the other way due to what looked like a breakdown.

From Belgium we crossed into Luxembourg but we were taking the shortest distance across this diminutive country, which we've explored before, and it took us less than an hour. But not without stopping for some nice cheap fuel although we didn't actually need to – but half a tank full at less than 95p per litre was worth having. Once we'd crossed back into France we checked the prices (albeit at motorway service stations which tend to be expensive) and realised we'd saved €20 just on what we'd bought.

Lunch near Nancy on a rest area and it was now very warm indeed, so much so that when we set off again we needed the aircon. Checking the diary later we are almost exactly one month earlier than last year but it is 5-10 degrees warmer! It's taking a bit of getting used to!

We were now entering the Vosges, a hilly wooded area and our route took us along the Moselle river for quite a way. We haven't been to this area before and it looked quite attractive so we'll keep it in mind for the future.

Planned stop was working out just fine but we were only 10 minutes away when Jamie started whimpering – he's usually very good so there was obviously something he was trying to tell us. A quick stop in a layby and he made a dash for the grass – needed a poo!

Luxeuil-les-Bains is a quite ordinary small town and like many has an Aire de Camping Cars, this one really just a car-park on levelled gravel but with plenty of room and basic facilities. But best of all it's free! However we'll contribute to the community tomorrow with some shopping at Lidl. Meanwhile it was awning out (not supposed to but most of the other dozen vans already pitched were doing so) chairs out and, despite a temperature we estimated at 30 deg, a cup of tea was most welcome.

As I write at 9.15 pm it's now dark but we've still got all the windows and vents open!

We stayed at:

Aire de Camping Cars, Rue Gambetta, N47deg49.012' E06deg23.183' - Free, basic facilities. Water by token.

Home to the Ardennes

Monday 16^th to Wednesday 18^th April

Well the weather finally bucked up so on Monday we headed off on the boring drive down the A1. Traffic seemed particularly heavy although we had an excellent run down, pausing as usual for lunch at Weatherby services. This place is getting more and more popular, we've never seen it less than busy and so it was again today.

Mum was fine and we had a lovely evening with her then turned in whilst parked on her driveway; this saves her a lot of trouble and is also better for Jamie who won't sleep in her kitchen.

Tuesday was somewhat cloudy to begin with but cleared up to a lovely warm sunny day later. A couple more hours with Mum before setting off on the long slog down to Folkestone. This time the roads were busier still and we suffered several holdups due entirely to the volume of traffic. A pause at Birchanger services for lunch, not our favourite stop as it takes ages to get in and out of, but it was convenient. A broken down lorry on the QE2 bridge at Dartford caused yet more delays so it was just as well we had allowed plenty of time.

It seems odd that despite Mum being exactly halfway between home and the Channel Tunnel, the first half took us only 3hrs 10m driving whilst the second was nearly 5 hours.

But we arrived with enough time to spare to catch an earlier train, being moved straight through with only a very short wait to load. We much prefer using Eurotunnel as, apart from it not costing us anything (Tesco vouchers) it's quicker, we don't have to leave Jamie on his own and there is so much less fuss. Once clear of the train we called into Auchan to refuel, where we discovered the cost of fuel in France is a little more than the UK, and then decided to forego our planned stay on Citie Europe but instead head east along the coast to another favourite spot at Gravelines.

By now it was quite late so a light meal and a relatively early night.

Gravelines to Han sur Lesse - 182 miles

Wednesday was a warm sunny start – at last – so after a no-rush breakfast we headed back to the motorway for the next stage of our journey. Today was planned to be all motorways again, there being no reasonable alternative, but at least they're more interesting than the UK and nothing like as busy. Lille, Tournais, Charleroi where we stopped on a rest area for lunch then head towards Namur and Luxembourg.

We'd planned to overnight at Han sur Lesse in the Ardennes, where we'd stopped last year but found that, due to a bit better navigation, we were somewhat earlier than we'd expected. Nevertheless we decided to stick to the itinerary and so TomTom was called in to take us there, deciding as usual to take the shortest, prettiest roads. Han is something of a touristy town, or rather a big village, it's main attraction being the Grotto but there are also lots of other things to see and do, as we found out later during an evening stroll. But for now all we wanted was to park up, get the chairs out and enjoy the longed-for beautiful hot weather with a nice cold drink!

Street sculpture at Han sur Lesse

WE STAYED AT:

Monday – Mum's driveway at Navenby

Tuesday – Gravelines aire de camping car - €7.50 no services

Wednesday – Hans sur Lesse aire de camping car - €9.00 all services inc. electricity & WiFi.

In the beginning....

Well here we go again, we're going to have another try at Italy. Hopefully this time it will not be as hot!
The last trip, to Spain, didn't really satisfy our wanderlust and the UK weather since has been pretty poor - although of course we haven't been home at thus time in the last 5 years! However the forecast is good for the next few days at least.

So the Chunnel is booked, the van is packed and apart from the last minute things, we're ready to roll. As usual we'll call in at Terry's Mum at Navenby and stay overnight before heading for our channel crossing late Tuesday afternoon. Overnight at Citie Europe then our plan is Belgium, Luxembourg, France Switzerland then Italy, making our first call at Genoa.

As the last blog, we won't be posting a day by day account but we hope to keep up to date of where we are and where we visit.