AustriaMeidling48°10’14” N 16°19’20” E
27 April 2019, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
It was only raining lightly when we got up, but we stuck with the plan of heading for Vienna, and left the camp ground before 10 – we just don’t seem to be able to shower, do dishes, sort out emptying water/toilet, and filling water before this time, lucky we don’t have any deadlines to meet! Driving was easy today, the roads were better, most of it was on motorways where the speed limit was either 130 or 140kph and Nico was quite comfortable doing around 110 with other cars just hooning past us. It drizzled on and off for the morning, but then our decision paid off as it at least became dry, though not very warm – around 8 degrees at lunchtime.
We stopped once at a waterfall by a dam, and the force of the water was quite incredible. Googlemaps can be useful at times for searching on places of interest nearby, and we went off the motorway to find this. We also had a couple of stops along the way, including bacon and eggs for lunch at some random carpark stop.
When we arrived in Vienna, I had the bright idea of going and getting our tickets for the Lippizaners which we are going to see next Saturday. I thought it might be a wee way out of town, and there might be somewhere to park (like the good parking at Swarkovski). Hmmm, maybe not. We ended up driving through the middle of the old part of Vienna, following horse and carts, driving through hordes of people and it brought back memories of Lucca! I don’t think we weren’t allowed there, but it certainly didn’t feel like somewhere that a big motorhome would normally be driving! When we got to our destination, there was definitely nowhere to park – maybe I should have emailled, or called to ask them. Oh well, then we pulled over as soon as we could, and googled where we might stay for the night. We ended up driving around 30 mins out of the City, and have a lovely camping ground which is next to the train station. I ordered an ACSI card before I left NZ which gives us cheaper camping in the off season. We have now used it at several sites, and is definitely saving us money. This campground is 20 euros per night plus 3 euros tourist tax. Everywhere we have stayed has a tourist tax – I can’t understand why NZ politicians think it would be so hard to accept in NZ. People here just expect it. At the non ACSI sites, I think the most we have paid is I think 41 euros which is around $55 NZ at a guess.
This evening we went out for a bike ride – yes I am feeling better! It was a nice short ride, just to see where we were. It is still quite windy here. Tomorrow we will take the train into Vienna, and we intend to take our bikes on the train. It is a 14km ride into Vienna, and we have thought about doing that, and possibly might bike back but that depends on the weather, and how sore our bums are! We are going to stay here tomorrow night as well, and then we might head for either Bratislavia or Budapest.
As you can see, our destinations are not fixed at all. It is sad that I will be missing our on Slovenia again on this trip – maybe next year Trish? But, it is hard to get keen on visiting there when it is meant to be raining all week.Baca selengkapnya
AustriaMeidling48°10’14” N 16°19’20” E
26 April 2019, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Paul gave me a sachet of something to drink before bedtime, and I had an ok sleep the night before, but last night it totally knocked me out for 9 hours. Then I woke up feeling vaguely well again – yeehaa. So we had showers in the most amazing shower block. Each shower had a shower room, and an adjoining room with a basin so it was easy to keep everything dry. The showers were wonderfully hot with good pressure, and the whole shower block was heated. The motorcamp was a bit out of the city, and was surrounded by lovely countryside with tracks for walking and mountain biking. Lots of people were there with their dogs (and the campground even had a doggie shower). It would have been easy to stay there for longer, but we had plans.
So off we drove to the Swarovski Crystal World. It took a bit to get there – thanks googlemaps! The workers might have been surprised to see us what for 90 secs at the red light, go through the one lane, do a youie at the other end and come back through again. But once we got there it was simply amazing. We didn’t quite know what to expect though had a map, and knew it had outdoor areas. We weren’t expecting the hour long inside tour through many different rooms and different experiences. I have posted pics of most of them, and they will hopefully remind me of how amazing it was. We were there for nearly 4 hours, and by that time the weather had really started to close in.
Then we started on the drive to Salzberg, and the rain got pretty hard so it wasn’t a quick drive. We had fun rocking along to old music, and did our best James Corban kareoke impressions. We also drove in Germany for part of the trip which we hadn’t expected. We had sussed out a campsite, and it had a Spar 1km away. I was getting excited thinking that was Austrian for Spa – always love a hot swim. When we got closer we started looking for a supermarket (loving the Jody cooking!), and finally ended up with one, guess what it was called? Spar! But it was a good supermarket, blueberries for 1 euro, a large watermelon, and some beef and chicken for Jody to cook.
The campsite is quite nice, and we got lots of information about what to do in Salzberg. But it is raining, so we are having a quiet night in, enjoying reviewing our pictures. Jody has liked having our SIM cards – so much that she has used 80% of the data on the first one, so we have changed her to a new one. Lucky I was prepared! She cooked a lovely meal once again, and I even felt well enough to finish off my first bottle of limoncello.
Tomorrow we were going to go to Lake Bled, but the weather forecast is bad there, so the plan has changed to go to Graz instead. We might end up in Budapest earlier than expected solely due to the weather forecast. It would have been nice to have a look around Salzberg in the morning – it is a short bike ride there, but if it rains like it is forecasted too we will just be getting up and leaving.Baca selengkapnya
LiechtensteinUnder da Zug47°7’35” N 9°34’13” E
25 April 2019, Liechtenstein ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
We were up early today to say goodbye to Rowena and Paul. What fantastic hosts they have been, and it has been great to meet them and share many stories. Rowena is an amazing cook, and Paul has lots of stories about Switzerland. It was lovely staying in a house for 2 nights as well – not that we don’t love Nico!
The road trip was fairly uneventful though it was extremely windy in parts – ie wind blowing hard (why does windy have 2 meanings?) Nico is rather top heavy with the large luton and the sideways wind really knocks him around. We did drive into Litchenstein (just because we could), and there wasn’t really a lot to see there. And then it was off to Austria, and our destination for the night which was Innsbruck. Our campsite was up in the hills, so we parked up and then took the courtesy bus into the city. That was after a wee lie down for me, my head cold has taken hold so am definitely below par, but hopefully it won’t last long.
When we arrive in the city, we planned a route to the gardens. On the way we saw a number of interesting shops, and also had the most amazing views of mountains at the end of every road we looked at. The gardens were quite nice with lovely tulips. There were big sized chess sets with local men playing with them. Then we walked back into town and went into heaps of shops with interesting things to look at. Then we saw the Swarovski shop – lovely crystal jewellery, ornaments etc. We were in there for quite a while. We plan to go to the Swarovski museum park tomorrow on our way to Salzberg. I also found some raspberries for 2 euros, really yummy! There was this amazing shop where you could buy schnapps and fruit liquers and you chose your own glass bottle to be filled. The bottles were in a vast array of shapes so it was very interesting. I bought a neoprene cap from a outdoorsey clothes shop that had loads of lovely clothes which were quite different to things that I have seen before. I thought the cap would be good for out on the water as it is washable and floats.
When we left the campsite, we thought the bus back went at 7.20pm. When we got off the bus we asked the driver where we caught it back from. He was very gruff, and when I first asked if he spoke English I got ‘NEIN NEIN’, and asking for where we caught it back was nearly too much for him. So we got back there before 7 in plenty of time, but there didn’t seem to be another bus back this evening. So we caught a taxi for 20 euro which wasn’t too bad.
Jody is a pretty amazing cook, and cooked some lamb fillets to perfection which we had with salad and foccacia. I had picked up a couple of small movenpick sorbets at a gas station, and found that our freezer works rather well. We have stocked Nico with all sorts of tasty treats which we try from time to time. After dinner we had some planning time for where to next. We have that a lot more sorted than a couple of days ago, and even know where we expect to be for the next 3 days!Baca selengkapnya
SwissMuota46°59’37” N 8°36’19” E
24 April 2019, Swiss ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
So today I woke up feeling a bit worse, had coughed a fair bit overnight and then woke up at 9am. Rowena then took us on a wee drive around Stienen and we visited the swiss army knife factory - Victorinox – where we might have bought a few things. We both got a ceramic knife which is supposed to stay sharp for ages, and reduce the crying issue when chopping onions, and also several little knives which have lots of little gadgets. Rowena also took me to a pharmacy that had lots of natural remedies, hope they work.
Then we had a stop at a café near Lake Lucerne, and decided not to take the boat as it was pretty rough. It was just under an hour on the train with 1 train change which was pretty easy and got there around 1pm. We spent the afternoon in Lucerne browsing the shops, taking silly pictures, and walked up the hill to a castle which had lovely views. Things really are pretty expensive here which was great as we weren’t tempted to spend any money. We caught the train back around 6pm, and Rowena cooked us a lovely meal of meatballs, pasta and salad.
Oh, yes we might have found a chocolate shop as well. We both picked up a visitors guide, and 1 page had an advert for this shop, and by presenting the page we got 4 lindt chocolate truffles. Of course we had to visit that shop.
So tomorrow I am hoping that the remedies work as we are on the road again tomorrow. Heading for Innsbruck, and stopping off in Litchenstein on the way.
And forgot a funny story from yesterday. Rowena’s husband does a lot of skiing and pointed out the hill that he skis on that you can see from their house. He drives to the train to get there, and I asked when he put his ski boots on, and he said when he got out of the car. I said that he must be comfortable in them, and he said well I can’t drive in them! I think he would if he could tho.Baca selengkapnya
SwissMuota46°59’37” N 8°36’19” E
23 April 2019, Swiss ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We had a rather leisurely start this morning. I have had a bit of a sore throat and cough, so trying not to overdo it. It also was raining lightly this morning so that made it easier to stay in bed for a while. So we left the motorcamp at around 10am, and then got a bit distracted at the Lidl supermarket in Brigg (I loved Lidl when I was in Croatia, so wanted to visit another one). We were then heading to Rowena’s place (an old friend of Jody’s who has lived in Switzerland for 27 years). We left Brigg around 12, and googlemaps said we would arrive at Rowena’s in 2.5 hours. And then the journey began….
It started off quite well, the roads were a bit narrow but not in great condition. The view was amazing again with such lovely little buildings all around and lots of little villages. As we went along, there was more and more snow, and the roads got narrower though the view got better. We seemed to be heading for some really high snowy mountains, but there didn’t seem to be a pass. At one stage we were heading for a tunnel, and found a round red sign that looked like it was a stop sign. We sort of thought that maybe we shouldn’t go through the tunnel, so I got out and asked the car behind us, and they didn’t have any idea either. So I beckoned the 3rd car through, and they went down a narrow path beside the tunnel, the other car followed, and I went to as well. But then a car came from the other way, so we waited for them, and then went on the narrow path. It was a couple of kms long, and it was very fortuitous that no cars came towards us, as there really wasn’t any room. It looked like a slip had fallen over the tunnel which is why we wouldn’t have got through it. When we got back on the road, it looked like there was a petrol station. We drove past that, through the town and then headed again for the mountains. The snow was encroaching on the road, and there was only just enough room for us to get through. I started thinking that this road really wasn’t a goer, and then we came across another red stop sign – looked like the road was closed. So we found somewhere to do a youie houie (missed a good photo opportunity there!) and went back through the time. There was a sign pointing us back to Brigg, but that seemed a long way to backtrack. So I thought we could go back to the gas station, and see if there was another option. Lo and behold but it wasn’t a gas station at all – it was a car train! The next train was at 1.05, and it was 1.00. So we quickly bought a ticket, drove over to the guard who showed us where to drive and we were on. He then handed us an A4 sheet of paper with about 10 different languages – basically saying that as we were pretty high, we couldn’t drive into the covered part of the train and we would have to wait at the other end for them to help us off. The train journey was around 15 minutes, and all the cars ahead of us just drove forward to get off. The cars behind us had to wait for the guard to open up some side gates, and maneuver us forward and back to get us off. The pass we went under was called the Furkapass (not what we were calling it!), and apparently it is only open for 5 months of the year. I have just seen picture of it, and driving under seems a preferable option.
So the road after the tunnel was still a bit snowy and not well repaired, but then we started seeing some signs that looked like a motorway – yeehaa! The motorway still wasn’t amazing, and we went down a huge hill with hairpin bends (pleased that Nico has a manual gear), and finally got to the bottom of that and got on a road that I could even set cruise control on. We stopped at a gas station off the motorway and had lunch – ie Jody heated up our meat patties and cut up some stuff to go with them while I lay on my bed for a while. And then it was off on our final leg to Rowena’s in Steimen.
What a lovely place this is. Rowena is a kiwi, but married Paul who is Swiss, and they have lived in this house for 27 years. We had a lovely dinner – bruschetta, rosti, and fleisch kase (translates as meat cheese). Rowena and Paul had a good time laughing at the routes that we have taken so far. Apparently the St Bernhard pass that we did on the first day was one that not many people would take by choice, and today’s effort was even better. Paul has been great at helping us with our route for the next few days – maps out all over the table. Interesting for me trying to login to my google drive on their wifi as it only gives me German and French as language choices. But very lovely hosts with a washing machine, and we get to sleep in beds where we don’t need to use ladders to climb into them – a bonus! Nico is currently parked in their driveway, but is on a bit of a lean so when Jody went in there with her socks on she slipped from one end to the other.
So tomorrow we intend to go into Lucerne either by boat or train depending on what the weather is like.Baca selengkapnya
SwissVisp46°17’48” N 7°52’27” E
22 April 2019, Swiss ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Shock horror, I set an alarm this morning. Only for 6.30am though so it wasn’t too traumatic. It always seems to take us a while to have showers, and get ready and then it was a bit of a walk to the train station, but we were on the train at 8.41 and arrived at Zermatt just over an hour later. The train ride was spectacular with the cutest wee houses, waterfalls, a river and boulders the size of houses. We found it interesting trying to work out how people could actually get to the houses with no roads. At the last 2 stops, people just got on with ski boots, masks and jackets already on carrying their skis. So we wondered how far they would have to go to get to the slopes once we got there. But no worries, people walked maybe a couple of kms from their hotels to the trains/shuttles etc with ski boots on. I had to take a video of the girls which went shopping in their boots. I used to find them really uncomfortable for walking, but that was over 30 years ago, so they might have improved a bit since then.
Our first stop was the info centre. There are several different points where you can go up the mountain and see the Matterhorn. The lady there advised us to go up to Rothorn which is meant to be the best view, and is from the Italy side. When we were up there I read the guide, and there were actually more things to do at the other peaks, but we were happy with how our day went, so that didn’t really matter. We had a bit of a walk to get to the funicular, and were a bit confused at which steps we needed to go up. The guard said it didn’t matter, and that’s when we realised that people just stood at the stairs on either side, and boarded the funicular from there when it arrived. It went very fast and up a very steep track in a tunnel, so we couldn’t see where we were going. Then we took a small gondalar carriage up to the next station, and then a really large gondala which fitted maybe 40 people with their skis to take us to the top.
Our first steps off the gondala were a bit hairy as it was quite icy, and we just had walking shoes on. We managed to find a wetter snow path to get to the building and restaurant. The Matterhorn was not on full display at any time that we were there with just the top poking out from time to time. There was another amazing peak that was in full sunlight the whole time – weird as they weren’t that far away from each other. We wanted to go down a wee hill to take some pics, but it was too slippery. Then I realised people were having lunch and not using their ski poles, so a very nice man lent us 2 sets. It was still a bit slippery, and I had my camera ready but Jody didn’t oblige me by falling on her bum. Never mind. It was just so peaceful up there looking around. Lots of skiiers came off the gondola and immediately hit the trails. We had lunch up there, and stayed for maybe a couple of hours just enjoying the view.
On our way down we stopped at the next station and had a look around. The beginners ski slope was great with a travellator for people to go up on. There were 4 different ones, on different gradients so it would be easy to advance. Once at the bottom we looked in a lot of shops. Bought some amazing sox with really soft inners. Oh, and the first shop we saw just might have been a chocolate shop – golly these ones were super amazing!
We were both feeling rather tired by this stage even though it was only around 3pm. We walked for a bit, then sat on the plentiful benches or steps, then walked for a bit more. We found these great wooden reclining seats in a park, and put our feet up for a while. I had been keen to try raclette, and cheese fondue while I was here, so looked at many restaurant menus to find one that did those. Finally managed it, and we had both. Well, I won’t be needing to try them again – just ok really, but lots of cheese. On our way to the train we saw these really cute stuffed toys in a window, so went in. They were very soft, and the guy told us they were made from the softest animal fibre from the south of france. I didn’t quite get what the fibre was but the price was incredible - about 700 euros! Then it was time for the train back again and a walk back to Nico. Got back around 7.30 which is good as we were both a bit knackered (and full of cheese!).Baca selengkapnya
SwissHohlichtgletscher46°4’26” N 7°43’28” E
21 April 2019, Swiss ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Fine, 22 degrees
We got up early – ie around 7am, but by the time we changed the water etc in Nico, picked up our fresh warm ciabatta and ate it, we didn’t leave until 9am. We were keen to stock up on supplies before we left Italy, but hadn’t factored in it being Easter Sunday and everything was closed. We do have a reasonable amount of food and water, so should be fine. Then we were off for our 5 hour drive to Visp – hmmmmm, how come we didn’t arrive until 5pm? The first part of the drive was on motorways that weren’t straight, and had loads of tunnels. We went up the west coast a bit, past Genova, then past Milan and the motorway got a lot better then, and I could use cruise control. We stopped for gas twice, and once in an Aire for lunch. After we drove past Lake Maggiore (which looked stunning), the roads got a lot narrower, and were pretty bumpy. Going through the Swiss border was a non event, we stopped as it looked like we should, but then had to ask a guard whether we needed to do anything, and he said no just go.
I was a bit nervous about driving in Switzerland in case I got caught up a mountain. Jody did point out earlier today that we would have to go over a mountain pass, and we certainly did. It was sooo picturesque and I would have loved to stop and take some pictures. But we were both feeling rather tired, so just kept going. The road wasn’t too bad, but I did pull over many times to let cars go past. It was more of an issue going down, with a 10% gradient at times. I was very aware of how heavy Nico is, and how wide he swings on the corners, so was pretty careful.
Our campground in Visp is just amazing. The pitches are on grass, and it is a short bike ride to the town centre. When we arrived, we were both very tired – I even had a wee lie down which is not like me, but I had been concentrating very hard for most of the day. Jody got keen though and hooked up the electric, took our bikes off the back, and encouraged me to go out for a ride. We sussed out where the train is that we will walk to in the morning, and found a Coop that was open for us to buy some meat, veges and fruit for dinner. Jody whizzed up some yummy hamburgers and we should be in bed early.
Tomorrow we are intending to take the train to Zermatt which is a non car town at the foot of the famous Matterhorn. We should have loads of wonderful photos from that.Baca selengkapnya
ItaliaBenabbio43°59’57” N 10°36’3” E
20 April 2019, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Fine and 23 degrees
Well I kind of prefer a clean towel, but…. so we washed all the towels yesterday except for Jody’s. Last night she kindly handed me a new towel. When I showered this morning I thought it smelt a bit off, and then when Jody was searching for her towel realised that yes, she had given me her manky old one that she had been using for days. Good times! Not a great morning for her in the cognitive stakes. She boiled the kettle, so I made her a cup of tea. Then she got a bit confused at the number of cups on the table – yep, she had already made herself one! Am hoping the day gets better…..
After handwashing some clothes and doing our dishes and mucking around a bit, we didn’t head off on our bikes until around 10.30am. First stop was riding around the walls of Lucca – 5km circle. Lots of people walking, running and riding around the walls. On the outside of the walls was a huge area of grass with walking/biking tracks. Lots of people were walking their dogs there. We spied a market from the top of the walls, and thought we would head for there. But sort of got distracted by realising that we were by the entrance that we took Nico through last night. So we retraced our steps on the bikes – by golly we were lucky not to meet cars coming the other way with Nico. We found another market and had a look around there. And then were a bit hungry, so found somewhere to eat. Roz keeps telling me I have to try fresh pasta, so thought this place might be good. Hmmm, no-one else came in there to eat while we were there, and the pasta took forever and something went in the micorwave. Well it was edible, and not too bad, but won’t be going there again!
One of Jody’s friends had suggested a Puccini opera that was on every night in Lucca. Puccini was born here, but it was only 80 years after his death that he was being celebrated here. We asked a number of places where this place was for the opera, and got sent all around the place. A couple of people said there are a hundred churches in Lucca, so we can’t know where they all are. In the end, we just had enough and decided to go and find the first markets that we saw from the wall. Lo and behold, the markets were beside the info centre that sold tickets to the opera – phew! So we bought them, and then went back to Nico – about a 3km bike ride.
Jody retreated to her bed for a wee rest, but I thought I should go and investigate around the area on my bike seeing as we will be leaving tomorrow. About 400m down there road there was a stopbank, and a river on the other side. I rode the wrong way down the one way street by the river (bikes just go anywhere here!), and then round various tracks. I found a gorgeous spot by a bridge with the river going over a wee dam. Lots of people were walking and swimming dogs here. Then I went further and found the enormous carpark that we had been warned against. There were quite a few motorhomes parked in here.
Then back to Nico where I made a yummy salad with bacon and egg in it. Then back on the bikes and off to town for the Opera. It isn’t something that I would normally do, but was rather interesting. There were a male and female singer with just 1 pianist who was amazing. It was held in a church, and it was rather cool in there but with great acoustics. It was just over an hour long which was good. And when we came out at 8.20pm it was only just getting dark, so we hightailed it back to Nico as we only had 1 bike light between us.
So tomorrow we are intending to leave Italy – it has only taken us 5 days, we thought it might take a lot longer. We both love Italy, the shopping and scenery is amazing. But I am looking forward to going places that I haven’t been before. We have about a 5 hour drive, and will be going through lots of tolls, but Jody seems to have that pretty sussed now – as long as we use cash anyway!
Ciao ciao ciao!Baca selengkapnya
ItaliaLimano44°3’43” N 10°40’54” E
19 April 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌙 11 °C
What a fun day today. We had tomatoes, avocado and basil on toast for breakfast, washed our towels (5 euros in the machine, and I had to ask for a bit of help, towels were very well washed as I put some washing liquid in, and it also added some automatically). Then we biked into Firenze on a lovely path by the river. I might have suggested we walk up the hill at some stage where it was really steep, but we managed it. We biked into the main centre, had to visit a pharmacy where I replaced the items I left in the shower in San Gimignano (though I have found my missing sunglasses). Then we headed for the Uffizi gallery to have a look at the David. Jody had stayed near this Piazza before, so knew there was a leather bag market around the corner, so of course we went to visit it. We did laugh a bit when we realised it was the same market that we had visited last night. And it was a sucessful trip – 2 bags and 2 glasses cases. Then it was off to raid a restaurant so we could use their toilets. So pleased to be travelling with a like minded person who is just fine with using the mens toilets – tho the man waiting for her didn’t seem to be so impressed.
Then we went back to our bikes and realised we had chained them right next to a chocolate shop that I hadn’t been in before – Venchi. There was flowing chocolate running down one wall, and the chocolate was possibly even better than Lindt. We might have had an icecream as well as purchasing just a couple of chocolates (who am I kidding, who could get just a couple?). Then it was back on our bikes to get back to the camping ground. After getting ourselves organised packing away washing, having chicken wraps for lunch etc, it was 3pm – close to the required checkout of 2pm. I introduced Jody to the fun of filling water, emptying grey water, and the toilet cassette which went off without a hitch.
Then it was on the road to Lucca, but we had to make a stop at IKEA first. I hadn’t been to that store before, and am thinking it is worth another visit. We bought some chairs, and a duvet for me. Oh and a stool, key holder, and could have bought so many other useful things. We intended to stop at a store like a mitre 10 on the way out of that shopping area, but only had a right hand turn, so couldn’t go back. I just stopped on the side of the road waiting for a decision point between 2 motorways while Jody got googlemaps. organised for where we were supposed to be going – that should have made me wary for the future! Then at the 2 toll stations we went through, Jody handled like a pro. Not sure that she is going to choose the card option any time soon tho.
So about that future,….. Jody initially put in Lucca has the destination, and then when we were on the motorway she put in the actual address for the camping ground. Googlemaps sent us through the city walls of Lucca, and I stopped there for a few minutes cos it looked like only vehicles under 3m should go through, and Nico is 3.2m high. After a fair bit of car tooting behind us, we folded in the wing mirrors, and went through. Oh my golly, was that a bad decision. There wasn’t really anywhere to turn around, so we just kept on going, narrow streets, loads of tourists, gesticulating italians, and tight corners. I was just hoping that we weren’t going to find a height restricted exit, and that we were going to have to reverse the whole way back! Jody was watching the people around, and saying we were lost. I didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone, and just kept driving – though pretty slowly, why wouldn’t the tourists just get out of the way? We ended up in the main Piazza, so stopped in the middle and checked googlemaps. It seemed that it was still directing us to the middle of Lucca. So we set it for the campground address, and finally found out way out of the city centre – that was just such a relief! It took a while to get to the campground through some more narrow streets, but at least there were other vehicles around so we thought we were allowed there. I have googled ZLTs since then – Zone Limited areas, and will be expecting some sort of ticket in the mail in the future.
The campsite is pretty basic, but there are lots of motorhomes here. There are 6 mhs owned by Danish people, and they have set up tables in a line. They invited us to join them, but really after that experience, we were heading for the wine, limoncello and chocolate! Jody cooked some sausages for dinner which were nice with salad. Then we reviewed the videos that she had taken, and after a bit of alcohol they just kept getting funnier. We really should have taken the most of the opportunity with lots of pics, but at the time we just wanted to get out.
While I am typing this, Jody is reading people’s comments on her fb posts, and I am a bit worried that she will be wetting her pants – lucky we have a mine and her side of the table… she can do what she likes over there!
We have booked 2 nights here – need to get over the trauma of today before I drive again. And with it being Easter, we knew there might be a bit of an issue finding places to camp. Lucca is supposed to be wonderful, but another Just Go camper had theirs broken into in a public carpark here which is why we have chosen to stay in a camp ground instead of just passing through and using the public carpark for the day.Baca selengkapnya
ItaliaGucci Museo43°46’9” N 11°15’25” E
18 April 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Our day started with focaccia from the campsite restaurant with scrumptious tomatoes – why do they always taste better in Italy? - and doing our washing (I was down to my last pair of sox and knickers (just in case anyone wanted to know!). Then we got on our bikes, and headed back to San Gimignano. We went the long way up the hill, and managed to bike all the way. This time we remembered our bike locks, so chained them to a tree, and walked into the town. Jodie found a stunning wine glass in a ceramic shop – they had the most beautiful ceramic table tops. Then we found the markets, and got a wee bit carried away – who could go past pure linen tops for 10 euros? Not us, that’s for sure. We had to check out by midday, so didn’t spend quite as long in the markets as we would have liked, but that was probably a good thing. The ride back to the campsite was lovely again – biking around here certainly perks me up. Then it was up to Nico to carry us away again.
Next stop was Pams supermarket again in Poggibonsi. We wanted to get some levelling blocks for Nico, but the shop next to Pams had lunch from 1 to 3.30 and was closed, so we lost our enthusiasm and went on our way after getting a clothes drying rack, washing bucket and some still water. We have a really good garage in Nico, the 2 bikes fit in easily if we want, and found today that we could leave an entire drying rack up. That will make drying clothes a bit easier. Then we set off for Lucca which is meant to be amazing.
The drive went quite smoothly until we met our first toll station. I had warned Jody that these weren’t always plain sailing, but I don’t think she was mentally prepared for the trauma. We elected to choose the lane to pay by card, and that’s when the fun started. It wasn’t really that clear where to put the ticket, so Jody put in her credit card first. Then a man’s voice came over the intercom basically saying ‘what are you doing!’. Jody asked him if he spoke English, and the answer was no. But he managed to give a bit of help, and she managed to get the ticket in a place that just looked like a box to me, and then put credit card in the same box and then the gate opened. Needless to say at the next toll gate we chose the cash option, and there was a person sitting in the booth who could have helped us if we had problems. We did notice the wind a bit – Nico is pretty high and large in front with the luton, so hopefully we won’t be driving on any really windy days.
While we were driving both of us lost our sense of direction, and wondered where the GPS was taking us – it felt like we were going closer to Florence than Lucca. So we stopped to check the GPS, and it was taking us on main highways, but yes we were going close to Florence. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, we both decided that we loved Florence, and as we were so close then maybe we should stay there for the night, so we did!
We got to our pitch about 3.45, and there was a shuttle into the city at 4.30. That was about the time I realised that I must have left my sunglasses somewhere, as they were nowhere to be found. But we put the washing in the sun for a while, got our bags ready, and were on time for the shuttle. It was fun walking around Firenze, and I got to see my favourite places. The lindt shop beside the Duomo is always easy to find, and we had a gelato there as well just taking in the lovely view. Just such an amazing structure. We had looked in a few shops for bags and jackets on the way, but I had in mind the road full of shops where they make their own jackets. When we found that road, I went into 1 shop and found a really nice jacket there for 150 euros. I asked him to keep hold of it and I might be back. Then I went to the next shop, and found the perfect jacket – similar to the style of my red one at home. The listed price was 445 euros. But by the time he had convinced Jody to get one as well, we paid 320 euros for 2 jackets. We were both very pleased with our purchases, and put them on straight away as it had got a bit cooler.
Then it was off to Mercato for dinner. That is a bit like the Stables in Auckland, but much bigger, and much noisier. I have figured out why I like Italians so much. It is because they are never reserved, and larger than life. Earlier today we were in a shop, and the older man and woman were having an argument very loudly across the shop. A middleage man then asked them to ssssh, which they totally ignored. Then he started saying something like customers in the shop, but they still ignored that. I think it was their son, and found it hilarious. There is always something loud going on. We had a lovely meal of Tuscan stew with roasted potatoes and grilled veges. We shared the 3 plates which was plenty for both of us. After dinner we tried to catch a taxi, but ended up walking to the train station where there was a long line of people waiting. I then googled it cos there was something in my memory banks – and yes, you can’t flag down taxis in Italy, good to know.
So now back in Nico at 10pm preparing for bed. We don’t have to check out tomorrow until 2pm, so plan to bike the 5kms into Firenze for breakfast. I mentioned biking up to Fiesole, and Jody thought she could be quite good support crew, ie waiting at the bottom for me to come back down and to take a video. After that we hope to get to Lucca! Being Easter weekend we are a bit concerned about finding a campground with a vacancy.Baca selengkapnya
Gratis
