Cinque Terre

Ciao

Sometimes there is nothing better to do than just sit in the sun and dream
the day away. So that is exactly what we decided to do on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Well I did ease my conscience a bit by cycling the few miles into
town to get a few items to keep us going.
On Thursday as planned we set off early, well 09h00 is early for us, and
cycled to the train station in town to get a train out to the furthest of
the 'Cinque Terre' towns, Riomaggiore. The train was fairly quiet, and the
crowds not too bad on arrival. We took a stroll around the town to get away
from everyone and to let them get a head start on the path along the coast
to the next village. We nearly mistimed it though as we returned just after
another train had arrived with what seemed like an endless stream of school
kids on board, luckily we managed to get passed them and onto the coastal
pathway. The fist path is the busiest and has been very made up to cope with
the crowds. Unfortunately this seemed to detract from the setting and you
felt at times that you could have been anywhere but in a nice pretty coastal
nature reserve. Things eventually get better the further along you go and
after the second village things improve and you get back to nature. Having
said that there are still areas that are very built up or shabby on the
paths. The weather was cool and cloudy and very hazy which was nice for
walking but not too great for photography as the views were great but not
easy to capture. Halfway along we stopped in a little restaurant for a
coffee and a slice of lemon tart, and also a quick trip to the loo.
We eventually made it through Manarola and Corniglia to Vernazza where we
had a bite to eat and a sit in the sun on the side of the harbour. As we
were taking in the sun the clouds thickened and the thunder rumbled so we
made haste to the train station for cover and made it just as the heavens
opened. The train services all of the five villages so you can either do the
walks or use the train in between each. The walk to the last village was
about 2hrs or so and the rain would have made the path very slippery so we
caught the next train and headed back to Deiva to collect our bikes. The
last village is not supposed to be the prettiest of the five and in the rain
even less so. We managed to get back to the site just in time before it
started to rain heavily there.
Today we left Deiva and hit the SS1 towards Pisa. We are now based at a site
in Torre del Lago Puccini, and will get either a train or bus into Pisa
tomorrow. Monday is another holiday, so we may stay here until Tuesday and
then head in the direction of Florence.

É una tradizione locale o nazionale?

Ciao

M&S

Watts the problem

24th April 2006 (not posted until 28th as did not have GPRS connection in
Deiva Marina)

Thursday was washing day, and whilst Sue got down and dirty with the
dirties, I headed off into town on the bike to practise some Italian. The
thing is that in Italy most of the sites don't have a very good power
supply. I wont get too technical but in Noddy we rely on the good old leccy
for running the fridge, cooking, heating water for washing up, and the
occasional blast on the heater. Now this is all fine and well in the UK,
most of Spain and France, but in Italy there is just about enough available
to contemplate shaking a stick at. We can of course do all of the above on
gas, but gas in Europe can be a bit of a pain as nothing is inter country
compatible, i.e. gas cylinders and connections. So I headed off to see if I
could shed some light on what gas cylinders were available in the town and
also to try and find a low power kettle that we could use for the tea making
ceremony that occurs every morning. We usually use the hot plate and the
whistling kettle, but that uses to much power, which is obviously not
available.
Needless to say despite some very helpful shopkeepers and some pigeon
Italian, on my part, I was not able to find anything but domestic kettles,
no use. I did have more luck on the gas front and had a nice conversation,
well we were both talking, with a chap in a little shop that did sell gas,
and we can when needed either buy an Italian cylinder or get our UK cylinder
refilled. I must admit I had great fun touring the town on the bike dashing
in and out of shops and having bizarre conversations with non-English
speaking locals.
En-route back to camp I stopped off at the supermarket down the road to fill
the backpack with some essentials for lunch. I even made a mad dash back to
the shops later on to get food for dinner as the thunder clouds were
looming, but thankfully they passed and I stayed dry. Not wanting to be left
out we took Noddy out early evening for an amble back to the supermarket in
the evening to do a weekly shop, three times in a day, they know us pretty
well now.
We left our nice site on Friday as we thought it was going to get busy with
locals in the static caravans for the weekend, and headed off to Pegli on
the western outskirts of Genoa. We wont mention the problems we had trying
to find the turning for the site off the main road in the town. We drove up
and down the same 3-mile stretch several times, but eventually managed to
get where we wanted to.
On Saturday we hit Genoa. We got a train from Pegli as the station was only
a ten minute walk away and there was no way we were ever going to attempt to
try and find any parking in the city. The train only cost us 1€ per person
each way, so why would you do anything else. We had a pleasant enough stroll
around the old town, but it did not really seem to hit the mark with us. The
old churches and palaces along with the cathedral were very nice, but the
very old streets with tall looming buildings did not look anything but run
down. Usually the old towns have character, but we just could not find it.
We did however manage to find some nice food shops and sampled some local
cuisine such as a slice of a freshly made spinach and egg tart, well we
think that is what it was, as well as some freshly deep fried calamari from
a very busy take-away fried fish shop.
We did eventually see a great view of the city on Sunday when we left Pegli
heading for our next destination, as the main road goes right through town
along the side of the port on a raised carriageway, and you do get to see a
great sweep of the old buildings that was not really possible on foot down
below.
We are now at Deiva Marina, on the Italian Riviera more towards Pisa. The
drive here on Sunday was very pleasant through little seaside towns along a
winding up and down road on the coast. We did however hit the Autostrada for
the last 10 miles or so as the road on the map looked just too squiggly for
us to contemplate. Luckily enough the toll booth on the exit of the motorway
was out of order so the 10 miles cost us nowt, we could have got all the way
from Genoa for free!!
The site is great, very nice facilities, and quite busy but everyone is sort
of hidden away so you don't notice. There is a young English couple next to
us who are also touring around, hello if you are reading. We are planning to
do the 'Cinque Terre' on Wednesday. This is a group of five fishing villages
along the coast from here in a national park. You can get a train between
them or walk the coast, and it is supposed to be very beautiful. We are
leaving it until Wednesday as tomorrow is a holiday, Liberation Day, and
most locals are treating today as a holiday also. The English couple next
door found this out to their cost today as they tried to do the Cinque Terre
and said the trains were like the London Underground at rush hour, and it
was just as bad on the paths and in the villages. I am glad we planned
differently, and just cycled into town and beach to see what was about and
also get info on the fishing villages and how to get to them.
Hopefully we should have a better tale to tell than they did.

Non sapevo che facessi qualicosa di male.

Ciao

M&S

Do Scooters bounce?

Our next hit along the south coast of France was Cagnes sur Mer and a
pleasant site inland a mile or so, a nice base for a couple of days. The
drive along past Cannes and Antibes was very scenic up in the hills looking
down on the towns on the coast. At times it proved a bit slow going as there
were many a cyclist out and about and poor old Noddy needs a nice little bit
of clear road to get past going up a hill much to the annoyance of some very
impatient motorists behind at times but I am sure the cyclists appreciated
us not cutting it fine and running them into a ditch or off the side of the
hill. Although we left St Aygulf in good time aiming to arrive and check in
before lunch, we ended up arriving at the new site during lunch and the
office was shut and did not open until 16h00 so we had a bite to eat in the
van and had a doze for an hour or so.
On Monday we took a cycle into town and to the seafront. It is not the
prettiest stretch of town coast that can be found around, but there were
several large marinas full of rather nice yachts, and the weather was still
hot and sunny so we ended up having a relaxing stroll along the promenade
taking in all the sights and the smells of the restaurants. After a nice sit
on the pebbly beach we thought it would be best to head back to camp as the
clouds seemed to be massing in preparation for some non hot and sunny
weather, but luckily it all seemed to break up and dissipate.
I don't know what it is about European camp sites but they seem to have a
strange idea on what should and should not be made available in the toilet
block. For example, toilets will either be the old Turkish style hole in the
ground which is fine, or they put in new 'English' style toilets but don't
seem to bother with any toilet seats, or in several places any toilet paper.
Not terribly civilised. Mind you perhaps they are worried about things going
missing. Sue mistakenly left her shower gel and shampoo behind one morning
in the shower and it was nowhere to be seen when she went back to find it.
On Tuesday we headed for Italy. We decided to go along the coast road, Nice
Monaco Menton etc. What a mistake. It was a nice drive as far as what could
be seen, but it took ages to do as the roads were solid with traffic in
places, and the odd road works here and there did not aid the journey.
Eventually once over the border things started to progress a bit until we
hit Ventmiglia, the first town in Italy. What a crazy place and a pretty
quick introduction to the madness that is driving in Italy. It is bad enough
trying to make your way through the cars and trucks, but the scooters and
motorbikes they are something else. They just go, be it on their side or
your side of the road and don't really seem to have any concept of scooter
hits car it hurts.
Eventually after many a mile of playing 'avoid the idiot' we arrived in San
Remo where we were looking to stay the night, but the campsite we had picked
out was looking to charge us 44€ for the night plus 2€ for electricity.
Funnily enough we thought better of it and headed for the hills, well the
Autostrada to be precise, as we could not face any more town driving for the
time being. The A10 is quite an amazing road once you have climbed the hills
to get to it as it calves its way in and out of the tops of the hills either
by huge bridges spanning the valleys or tunnel after tunnel through the tops
of the hills. After a nice peaceful cruise looking down on the towns and all
the madness within we arrive at Albenga where we hoped to find a cheaper
site to stay at. And we certainly did just that, one of our ASCI sites for
14€ a night, can't complain, and they even have toilet seats!! One strange
thing that this site and others we have seen in the town have is static
caravans, normal road towing caravans. Nothing strange there, except that
these have had little shacks built around them turning them into little
villas, very quaint.
Today we mounted the bikes and made our way into Albenga town to have a look
around, especially at the old town where the cathedral dates back to the 4th
or 5th century. We only had one problem to start with, where to leave the
bikes. I asked a nice friendly policewomen in my best Italian, but she only
seemed to give the impression that despite there being loads of bikes
chained to lampposts and signs, that it was not the done thing and did not
recommend it. So eventually we managed to find a bike rack a little way from
the old town and duly chained them up.
The town was very nice, especially the pizzeria where we had lunch and a
nice litre of local wine. Well I think the waitress misunderstood me when I
asked for a half litre, would have been rude to send it back, hic.
After a wobbly ride back to the site, we kind of crashed out in the
sunshine. Life isn't that bad really.

Non mi dispiace guardare ma preferisco non partecipare.

Ciao

M&S

Are we there yet?

I must say that it is nice not to have to worry too much about other drivers
on the road. The French are a lot more civilised compared to the Spanish
when behind the wheel. I wouldn't go as far to say that they are the best
but they don't seem to be too bad and certainly no worse than the English.
Of what we have seen of France so far it has got much more of a sense of
being at ease than Spain. Everyone seems to be a bit more settled back and
not so desperate to get somewhere. The countryside is very pleasant too, and
the towns and villages just seem to be that little bit nicer than the
Spanish equivalent. Even though we are only having a wee taster of France
over the next few days, I am already quite looking forward to returning
after we have done Italy. I guess the only thing that Spain has over France
is that everything is cheaper.
From Le Barcares we drove a fair old distance across to Aix-en-Provence. It
was quite a long and exhausting drive, but very scenic and ended up with a
bit of a misdirected and mistimed loop in the wrong direction out of and
back into the town at rush hour trying to locate the campsite. After
covering not that many miles in quite many more minutes we eventually were
able to rest up and enjoy what was left of the evening.
Yesterday we took a stroll into Aix, and what a great town it is. The old
part was superb and as the guide book says it is more than easy to just lose
a day wandering around taking it all in. It is a very chic place and has
been described as snobby, but none the less it has something that just
endears it to you. I guess all the markets, cafes, restaurants, and yummy
patisseries do help a tad. We could not help ourselves but purchase a couple
of Pain Au Chocolate to nibble on whilst doing the streets. There is even a
street of restaurants of many a different foreign cuisine like Egyptian
Persian Moroccan Vietnamese etc. We decided to go for something a bit more
traditional, well sort of. There was a Tapas place but the dishes were all
of local origin. So we tucked into 6 different dishes with a glass of wine,
bread, water and coffee for just 22€. Not the cheapest but pretty good value
considering the quantity and quality of the food. The only problem we had
was that is was a lovely day, clear blue sky, and scorching hot, and there
was no shade outside so we baked for the duration of the meal.
After a bit more post lunch wandering we returned back to base and did a few
chores, Sue did some washing and I cleaned the dead bugs of the van, before
basking in the sun with a little something to stop ones throat from drying
out. I think that Aix-en-Pc is definitely a place to return to sometime, and
if you haven't been here then put it on the to do list.
Today we took a shorter chunk out of the distance to Italy and got as far as
St Aygulf, which is on the coast between St Tropez and Cannes. Unfortunately
the sunny weather has left us for the day and the odd spot of rain has
fallen, but can't have it all I guess. We will probably only stay here for
tonight as the site is okay but not great, but it is cheap. I am not sure
where we will head to but still aiming to be across the border either Monday
or Tuesday.

Au Revoir

M&S

Is it me or do we keep changing our plans?

Well we left the Pyrenees on Monday as it was very chilly in the morning so
we decided it was time to try and find some more warmth. The drive down to
Barcelona took about 5 hours and was mostly pleasant with some great views
of the mountains on our left side, but pretty much all of the towns we drove
through were not very nice and very old and run down. There was the odd
place that could be seen in the distance but was inaccessible due to the
poor quality of road that led to it. Our new site was in the town of Sitges
about 25km down the coast from Barcelona. Again, not much to see in Sitges
itself as it was fairly run down with a lot of building work going on. The
site was very nice but next to a building site and the main railway line
along the coast, so it was very dusty and occasionally noisy.
On Tuesday we took the bus in to Barcelona as it stopped just outside the
gate of the site and we didn't really fancy having to try and park anywhere
in the city. It turned out to be very convenient as it stopped at the top of
Las Ramblas, the historic old avenue that runs down the side of the old
town. The avenue was very busy, and this is only April. Half way down after
some strange sights including cages of all sorts of birds for sale, we found
the Mercat de Saint Josep. Wow, what a place. The traditional old enclosed
market crammed packed full of food stalls selling most things that you could
imagine, and some that you possibly couldn't. Amazing fruit and veg, and
quite jaw dropping selections of meat and fish. Some of the items at the
meat counters were not something that you come across every day, like
skinned sheep's heads, calve heads, and a nice selection of various sizes of
brains. I am sure when they are all cooked in a traditional way are very
delicious, but it would take some convincing after seeing them raw first.
Anyway, we managed to find a treat for breakfast that we had been keen to
try, 'Chocolate con Churros', a thick syrupy cup of hot chocolate sauce with
a side of twisted batter sticks that you dip into the drink. Very nice
indeed.
Suitably nourished we headed off to see the sights. As you would expect the
cathedral was clad with scaffolding, and there was a service on inside so
access was very limited. The old streets were very appealing and after an
amount of casual ambling we required some lunch. After trying to find some
guide book recommendations we eventually found a small little bar cafe in a
side street that had an interesting 'menu del dia'. Three courses, some very
nice bread and a bottle of wine to share for 8€ each. Can't complain, and it
was very tasty indeed, all freshly cooked as we could see her doing it.
We chose to take a stroll to the marina to walk of lunch and check out a
couple of very extravagant motor yachts moored up. Huge does not best
describe them, I am not sure if poor old Mr Chelsea himself could afford
them. After trying hard not to appear too envious we aimed in the direction
of the Eixample district to check out some of Gaudi's masterpieces. The
Sagrada Familia was as to be expected fairly well supported by scaffolding
as it is still yet to be completed. It is quite nicely set off by the
typical Spanish restaurants that line the streets around it, like MacDonalds
KFC etc. I am sure Gaudi would be delighted. After a long stroll around
searching out his other main works, which are okay but not as impressive as
you would expect, we sauntered back to get the bus.
We probably could have made another day of it in the city, but we chose to
up sticks again this morning and head for 'La France'. So we are now just
north of Perpignan at Le Barcares. We drove around in circles for a while
trying to find the site, but we eventually found our way. Whether we will
find our way out again we don't know. Tomorrow we will move off again and
head further along the coast and aim to be in Italy early next week. Or not
as the case may be!

Au Revoir

M&S

Driving me mad

This is my first trip to the Pyrenees and I am very impressed with what I
have seen. We took a drive up the valley we are in to the border post with
France, stunning scenery along the way. The border here was shut and
apparently only opens in June as the pass takes that long to clear. We could
not believe how much building work is going on in the towns and villages.
Most of the old towns seem to have been given a complete facelift, and there
are also plenty of new builds going up and they all look very nice too. Even
the ski areas up towards the border post look new and still being built in
places, there must be plenty of money rolling around the coffers of Spain.
The snow up top is slowly starting to give way to spring, but there was
still enough for parts of the ski areas to be open. We considered hitting
the piste, but didn't fancy injuring ourselves only 2 weeks into a 7 month
trip, so we had a cup of coffee and watched instead.
How far will you walk for a loaf of bread? Yesterday we did about 8km. We
went first up to Gavin the closest village, but no shops. We then
backtracked and went down to Biescas the town just below us, and eventually
after walking a full circle around the town we found the handful of shops
around a corner from where we entered the town. The bread was jolly nice
though.
Today we went for a trek in the Ordesa National Park which is about 25km
east of our site along a very bendy road. The road was very interesting to
drive on with constant left and right hand bends climbing up to a pass at
about 1500m, and a bit daunting with not knowing what was coming around the
next corner as the Spanish seem to cut all corners even on a blind bend.
They seem to have a complete inability to keep a car in between the white
lines on the edge and middle of the road, even on straights. I don't know if
it is just a complete lack of driving ability or whether they all think that
they are Fernando Alonso.
The national park is truly stunning, and includes a huge gorge that cuts its
way out of the Pyrenees. The 3km of road to the car park was a tad bumpy and
pot holed and made for a very noisy ride, I don't think anything fell off
Noddy. Once in the park there is quite a selection of walks to do and we
chose the main one that follows the river back up the gorge. The round trip
would be about 16km including an assault 600m up the side of the gorge.
Strangely enough we gave that bit a miss. Even so we did not quite make it
to the halfway point at the end of the gorge as it was very hard going
uphill all the way, especially the last 3rd where the path was still snow
bound. The turn around point would be at about 3 hours, but we stopped at 2
hours at one of the waterfalls and had a bite to eat and a rest, before
turning back for the long trudge downhill back to the car park. We were
impressed though at the stamina of some old folk we passed who were
strolling along in their Sunday Best and they must have made it at least a
half as far as we did. After a nice cup of coffee back in Noddy we hit the
road back to camp trying not to hit any oncoming traffic along the way.
Tonight is our 4th night at Gavin. We will probably have one more day here
to rest our tired feet and then head off down to Barcelona where we will
stop for 3 nights so that we can take our time over 2 days seeing the city.
Then we will set our sights firmly on Italy and pass along the south coast
of France in a few days.

Lo siento, me he equivocado de número.

Hasta Luego

M&S

The rain in Spain

We did eventually head off to Pamplona but a day later than advertised as we
decided that another lazy day in the sun on top of our hill was desired. We
also made use of the facilities to get the washing up to date. Well you have
to take the opportunities when they arise to avoid turning the noses of your
neighbours. Thankfully all was mostly dry and packed away before the clouds
gathered and the thunder rumbled. Yes, we had some rain, our first in Spain,
and it was on top of a hill!! Needless to say after it had passed it was
back to scorching sunshine again, sorry (the temp was around 30c).
On our run down to Pamplona the following day we had picked out some nice
little typical Basque villages to visit, but the weather did not oblige and
the day was damp and cloudy. The wonderful valleys we drove though were
cloud bound and not shown to their best effect. Thankfully on arrival at our
site just north of Pamplona the clouds broke and the sun warmed our skins
again. So after a bite of lunch we decided to make use of the sunshine and
head into town just in case the weather broke again the next day. After
eventually finding the car park we were heading for, thanks again to
Practical Motorhome, we headed off to the old part of the town. We had a
very pleasant afternoon wandering around during siesta time whilst it was
quiet and took in the sights. There are some amazing old buildings, some
that have been refurbished and some that are in need of a bit of care and
attention. The bullring is a bit of a disappointment as you can't really get
much of an idea of it from the outside, it just looks like a big concrete
structure, the ring in Seville is much more picturesque. Later on we
re-visited many of the streets again once the masses had returned and all
the little shops had opened. We did find some nice little bargains in the
shops, a washing line and a nice bottle of No.43 Liquor. For those not in
the know, No. 43 is a vanilla liquor and is very nice indeed, either with
pineapple juice, or what ever you fancy.
The site we were at was not the best and we had decided that one night would
be enough before moving on. This was confirmed in the morning when the
showers were freezing cold with not much of a hint of warm water to be seen.
We had originally been planning to head back to the north west coast and
around from there. But over the last few days we changed our plans as Italy
seems to be calling us. So our route is now into the Pyrenees and down to
Barcelona before popping up the coast into France and along to Italy. Italy
is our main target for the trip and we can always return and do a fuller
tour of Spain at a later date. So off it was to our next stop near the
little town of Gavin in the foothills of the mountains. We had a very
pleasant drive here and are more than satisfied with the site. You should
see the toilet blocks, they are 5-star hotel quality. This is definitely the
benchmark for the tour, as the previous sites were very European and pretty
old.
So weather permitting we will hole out here for a few days and chill out,
hopefully not literally, and then meander on via one or two more sites down
to Barcelona. Our biggest headache coming up is Easter, so we need to find a
nice site that we can take refuge in over the Easter weekend as I think
anywhere near a big town will be very busy.

Sa ha olvidado de traerme el postre

Hasta Luego

M&S

The fine art of finger food

Well we are still at our little haven at Zarautz, but will depart tomorrow
south to Pamplona to run with the bulls. Today we popped along the coast to
San Sebastian about 20km away. As usual the drive was pretty easy except for
the Spanish road signs and road markings that can take some time to get
used to. You know roughly where you want to go but the signs and markings
can sometimes leave you in suspense until the last moment as to how to get
there. You tend to end up with a very trigger happy indicator finger, and
are constantly checking on all available mirrors to ensure that your escape
route is clear from any sneaky cars that are trying to out manoeuvre you.
Not that the locals tend to under or overtake at any inopportune moments at
all.
San Sebastian is a pretty big place but luckily we had prior knowledge of a
good place to find parking thanks to our supply of 'snail trails', articles
from Practical Motorhome magazine (stop yawning at the thought), that we
have stashed on board. Once parked up and Sue had confirmed with a friendly
Spanish girl in a nearby shop that it was okay to park there, we didn't
understand the parking sign, we headed off on the pleasant walk into the
main part of the town. The Spanish are lucky people in that there are cycle
lanes all over the place, mostly running along side the pathways, but this
at times causes issue of not only trying to avoid getting flattened by
vehicles but also running the gauntlet of the many cyclists that hurtle
around.
The seafront of the town is very pleasant with a huge promenade running its
length of the circular natural bay with a very nice flat sandy beach just
below.
After a long walk and a nose in a few of the local bars to see what sort of
food was on order we eventually came across the Information centre. That's
always a dilemma as if you don't have a map of the town but want one you
can't find the Information centre to get one. Anyway, the young man was very
helpful and spoke perfect English. He pointed out some nice places to see
and also provided some answers for essential questions we had. Namely, how
does the pintxos (tapas) thing work and also was the parking we had used
okay.
Armed with the map we did a quick tour of some nice sights and headed back
to the old town to hunt down some of the aforementioned pintxos. Due to the
time of day being just after siesta most of the bars were shutting as the
lunch trade had petered out. We eventually managed to find a nice open bar
and settled in. I managed to mumble the correct combination of words to the
friendly barman and returned to our table with a beer, a glass of wine, and
a plate. The bar was covered in a selection of plates of pintxos of all
descriptions. You just help yourself and tally up at the end. Half and hour
or so later suitably refreshed and snacked out (well sort of as we could
have eaten our way from one end of the bar to the other) we headed back
across town to where Noddy was parked up, hoping he would be where we left
him, well you never know. A few minutes later we were back on the road
negotiating the signs and markings and headed back for camp.
Just to salute to local delicacies we had partaken of I knocked up some
pintxos of our own for dinner with the limited supply of ingredients we had
on board, and they weren't half bad too.

Quiero un trozo de ese queso

Hasta luego

M&S