As usual our plans changed and we didn't leave the site at Cavallino until
the Monday. There was a good reason for this though. We weren't up to it! I
had a bad cold, and Sue had hay fever and a bad cold. A picture of health
the two of us! The weather was good, the site very nice, so we just relaxed
and only left on Monday when we felt a bit better, not 100%, but better.
We had decided that we wanted to head off into the Dolomites so we aimed in
that direction and ended up staying the night in a delightful place near the
town of Mel, Castello di Zumella. It was a bit off the beaten track a few
miles into the middle of nowhere on a very narrow up and down road, but a
very pleasant find indeed. It was quite a new camper sosta near Castello di
Zumello, a recently restored castle. It had free electric and fresh mountain
water, not to mention great views. It was only a shame that the weather
didn't hold otherwise we might have stayed there for a couple more nights.
Oh and we were running short of supplies too, bad organisation! Anyway, I
managed to give Noddy a quick wash before the rain settled in.
We hit the road again Tuesday morning and headed further north into the
mountains only making it as far as Agordo, after hitting a few shops for
provisions. The town of Agordo was very nice indeed set amongst some very
ragged looking peaks. We stayed the night in the overflow parking for the
swimming pool, as indicated in our Italian camper book. However, on taking a
stroll around the town we did see signs for another camper sosta but did not
manage to locate it, as it appeared to be quite a way out of town. So on our
way Wednesday we sought it out. It was down below the town in the industrial
area. It was a brand new parking area for campers with very smart water and
waste facilities. It would have been a nice spot to stay but not as
convenient for the town centre. We made use of all the facilities emptying
out and filling up and then proceed off further into the mountains.
Our planned route was up and over the Passo Pordoi (2239m) just north of
Marmalado the highest peak in Italy. It was a spectacular drive, a steep
climb with loads of hairpin bends. The views on reaching the top were great!
There were several hotels there, none of them cheap, and also a cableway
that went on up to about 2900m. We didn't take a ride on it, too expensive,
but I don't believe the views could have been that much better than they
were from where we were, although you probably would have got a better view
of Marmalado.
We had picked out a couple of possible places to stay that night, but none
looked great. We decided to move on a bit further and head into Trento. The
right decision! What a lovely place, 'the Painted City'. Many of the old
buildings are covered on the outside with frescos, some a bit faded, but
most were amazing. The town itself was a cool place to hang out, not
touristy, but very busy and lively. We stayed there two nights in a large
car park that had 5 places reserved for campers, just a few minutes walk
form the centre of town. When we arrived we met another English chap, Bert
from near Bolton. Retired and on tour for a few weeks in his 17 year old
motorhome on his own as his wife didn't fancy the trip. We joined him for a
cuppa (at about 17h00) and then after a lengthy chat and a few glasses of
wine the three of us headed of into town to find something for dinner (about
21h00). After a stroll around town we found a nice restaurant and had pizza
and wine. The pizzas were bloody great, and the wine wasn't bad either! A
bill of less than 30 euros for the pizzas, a litre of wine, and a free
Limoncino (lemon liquor), not bad! We had a nightcap back in Bert's
motorhome, more wine, and then finally retired to bed the wrong side of
midnight. We all slept very well!
Bert headed off Thursday morning, after his daily fry-up, and we went off to
explore the city. It was market day, which explained the mayhem in the car
park. The weather was scorching, 35C. We retired to Noddy for lunch and had
an afternoon doze in the heat. When evening came we went back into town for
another stroll. We wandered for ages and eventually decided to have a drink.
Two bars and a few Spritz (sparkling wine, Alperol, soda) later we couldn't
resist another pizza! No wine this time though after our drunken night!
From Trento we headed northwest, back into the mountains, eventually ending
up at Sondrio. Not a very pretty place, but there was camper parking
allocated next to the tennis club, so it suited us for the night. It was
festival weekend and we came across a band (pop) setting up on a stage doing
sound checks. After dinner back at Noddy we returned to see if they were
playing. Unfortunately the group we heard, not bad, didn't appear to be on
until getting towards midnight. The early bands, we listened to 3 of them,
were err interesting. I think we must be getting old! We gave up at about
22h00 and headed for bed.
The heatwave we had been having for the last few weeks finally came to an
end today. Much cooler and wet! Our route took us to lake Como, well we
think it was there, couldn't really make it out in the rain. I think we will
have to come back this way some time and check it out when the weather is
better. We had planned to go to a campsite near Lugano at Melano, but
weren't sure about it if the rain was going to set in for a while. The day
gradually brightened up in the afternoon so Lugano it was. The site is right
on the lake about 10 miles south of Lugano. We were thinking of staying here
a few days and getting a bus or train in. However we forgot one thing about
Swiss sites, tourist tax and environmental tax. The site which costs 14€
suddenly becomes 18.80€ with the taxes added. Oh and the rain has returned.
This evening, I think we will be putting our thinking caps on!
Ciao
M&S
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Just one Cornetto .... and you can keep the Gondola .... Grazie
Just when you think it cannot get better, it does. Our next stop was a
little hill town in Marche called Mergo. Ann and Steve had told us about the
camper stop there, so we worked it into our route. It was well signposted
and in a very pretty spot too, just on the edge of the sleepy little hill
town. We had a great view out across the valley from the parking area. The
best bit though was free electricity, yes free, and a very usable 6A supply.
Just hook up and enjoy, all courtesy of the community of Mergo. We had 3
great days there. Noddy got a good clean, we seem to collect dead bugs on
the front as if they are going out of fashion! Sue did all the hand washing,
and we soaked up the hot, hot, sunshine. Mergo was small and has a very
sweet old part, not to mention the great views all around. Brilliant.
We eventually dragged ourselves away from Mergo on the Thursday, it was hard
but we knew we had to move on. Our route took us to the coast near Rimini
and then back inland to another sleepy hill town, Torriana, in
Emilia-Romagna. We were going to head into San Marino but the camper sosta
we were going to use was not available all day on Fridays so we had to find
alternative accommodation. We don't know whether it was pollution or just
atmospheric conditions but visibility was very poor and the sky a very dirty
murky blue / grey. It was still sunny though. You could see San Marino from
Torriana, in the haze, just.
A very nice German couple we had met at Mergo gave us a tip of a good spot
to stay for a night up at Comacchio, at the nature reserve there. So that is
where we headed to on Friday morning. Comacchio is positioned on the
northern edge of a huge wetlands area running inland from the coast just
north of Ravenna. The main industry there is eel fishing, and all along most
of the canals and along the edge of the lagoon are eel fishermen's huts with
their nets strung out in front of them suspended from a pulley system that
lowers and raises them in and out of the water. It is quite a sight to see
the endless lines of the huts and nets along the banks. After some hunting
around trying to find the nature reserve where the German couple had
suggested we could stay, we eventually, with a bit of a diversion, found it.
The direct route from Comacchio that our maps indicated didn't exist anymore
as the bridge it used, over one of the canals, had collapsed quite a while
ago, helpful!
Anyway, we got to the almost deserted nature reserve, parked, and went for a
walk to see the birds. It is apparently one of the most important areas in
Europe for migratory birds. Obviously we were not really there at the right
time of year, but we still saw some interesting birds, including quite a
large number of Flamingos. We were walking along enjoying the birds,
noticing that our legs were being brushed by a lot of grass. Looking down,
there was no high grass. There were however hundreds of mosquitoes, all in
the short grass, that is what was 'brushing' our legs! Bugger. We made a
hasty retreat back to Noddy. It was a shame, but what can you do? We didn't
fancy getting eaten alive. Instead we had a nice relaxing afternoon reading,
even though it was quite warm in Noddy, windows open, fly screens closed!
Ever slowly inching towards Venice we stayed Saturday night in Noventa
Vicentina, about 20 miles SW of Padova. We parked in the designated car park
with a camper service area, had a nice stroll around the town, not much
going on. On returning to the car park we noticed signs and banners that
indicated a running event might be happening on the Sunday. It did, and they
started setting up the barriers etc. in the car park at about 05h00 Sunday
morning, nice wake up call. We hastily packed up and made an exit while we
had the chance before the car park was sealed off for the day! Never mind,
it gave us a nice quiet early morning drive through the countryside towards
Venice.
We arrived at Punta Sabbiono on the end of the headland just east of Venice
by about 09h00. We stayed 3 days there in a sosta, 16 euro a night, but only
600m from the Water Bus stop to Venice. A 72-hour travel card cost us 30
euro each but that was for unlimited travel on the ACTV waterbus network
around the city, and we made a lot of use of it over the 3 days.
I wont say too much about Venice, you all know about it, don't you? We had a
great time, lovely sunny days, just wandering aimlessly around. We didn't go
into any churches or museums. Nothing is free and we have seen enough
already on this trip. When we were too tired to walk we just hopped on a
waterbus and watched the world pass by, very cool. We had a very nice lunch
on the island of Burano on Tuesday, a very pretty place, the houses are all
painted different colours, a bit like a huge Tobermory. Gondola ride? No
chance. They cost 80 euro for 40 minutes! That goes up to 100 euro at night!
After 3 days of walking we moved a little back along the headland to
Cavallino and a camp site for a couple of days, to rest our weary legs! We
had also previously arranged to meet Peter and Yvonne there, the Dutch
couple we had seen a couple of time on Sicily. We had lunch with them
yesterday and sat out in the sunshine. The weather has been great for the
last 2 weeks. Today, it is cloudy, but bright and dry.
We will probably leave here tomorrow. There again we might not. It is a very
nice campsite, and it is only 12 euro a night, bargain.
Ciao
M&S
little hill town in Marche called Mergo. Ann and Steve had told us about the
camper stop there, so we worked it into our route. It was well signposted
and in a very pretty spot too, just on the edge of the sleepy little hill
town. We had a great view out across the valley from the parking area. The
best bit though was free electricity, yes free, and a very usable 6A supply.
Just hook up and enjoy, all courtesy of the community of Mergo. We had 3
great days there. Noddy got a good clean, we seem to collect dead bugs on
the front as if they are going out of fashion! Sue did all the hand washing,
and we soaked up the hot, hot, sunshine. Mergo was small and has a very
sweet old part, not to mention the great views all around. Brilliant.
We eventually dragged ourselves away from Mergo on the Thursday, it was hard
but we knew we had to move on. Our route took us to the coast near Rimini
and then back inland to another sleepy hill town, Torriana, in
Emilia-Romagna. We were going to head into San Marino but the camper sosta
we were going to use was not available all day on Fridays so we had to find
alternative accommodation. We don't know whether it was pollution or just
atmospheric conditions but visibility was very poor and the sky a very dirty
murky blue / grey. It was still sunny though. You could see San Marino from
Torriana, in the haze, just.
A very nice German couple we had met at Mergo gave us a tip of a good spot
to stay for a night up at Comacchio, at the nature reserve there. So that is
where we headed to on Friday morning. Comacchio is positioned on the
northern edge of a huge wetlands area running inland from the coast just
north of Ravenna. The main industry there is eel fishing, and all along most
of the canals and along the edge of the lagoon are eel fishermen's huts with
their nets strung out in front of them suspended from a pulley system that
lowers and raises them in and out of the water. It is quite a sight to see
the endless lines of the huts and nets along the banks. After some hunting
around trying to find the nature reserve where the German couple had
suggested we could stay, we eventually, with a bit of a diversion, found it.
The direct route from Comacchio that our maps indicated didn't exist anymore
as the bridge it used, over one of the canals, had collapsed quite a while
ago, helpful!
Anyway, we got to the almost deserted nature reserve, parked, and went for a
walk to see the birds. It is apparently one of the most important areas in
Europe for migratory birds. Obviously we were not really there at the right
time of year, but we still saw some interesting birds, including quite a
large number of Flamingos. We were walking along enjoying the birds,
noticing that our legs were being brushed by a lot of grass. Looking down,
there was no high grass. There were however hundreds of mosquitoes, all in
the short grass, that is what was 'brushing' our legs! Bugger. We made a
hasty retreat back to Noddy. It was a shame, but what can you do? We didn't
fancy getting eaten alive. Instead we had a nice relaxing afternoon reading,
even though it was quite warm in Noddy, windows open, fly screens closed!
Ever slowly inching towards Venice we stayed Saturday night in Noventa
Vicentina, about 20 miles SW of Padova. We parked in the designated car park
with a camper service area, had a nice stroll around the town, not much
going on. On returning to the car park we noticed signs and banners that
indicated a running event might be happening on the Sunday. It did, and they
started setting up the barriers etc. in the car park at about 05h00 Sunday
morning, nice wake up call. We hastily packed up and made an exit while we
had the chance before the car park was sealed off for the day! Never mind,
it gave us a nice quiet early morning drive through the countryside towards
Venice.
We arrived at Punta Sabbiono on the end of the headland just east of Venice
by about 09h00. We stayed 3 days there in a sosta, 16 euro a night, but only
600m from the Water Bus stop to Venice. A 72-hour travel card cost us 30
euro each but that was for unlimited travel on the ACTV waterbus network
around the city, and we made a lot of use of it over the 3 days.
I wont say too much about Venice, you all know about it, don't you? We had a
great time, lovely sunny days, just wandering aimlessly around. We didn't go
into any churches or museums. Nothing is free and we have seen enough
already on this trip. When we were too tired to walk we just hopped on a
waterbus and watched the world pass by, very cool. We had a very nice lunch
on the island of Burano on Tuesday, a very pretty place, the houses are all
painted different colours, a bit like a huge Tobermory. Gondola ride? No
chance. They cost 80 euro for 40 minutes! That goes up to 100 euro at night!
After 3 days of walking we moved a little back along the headland to
Cavallino and a camp site for a couple of days, to rest our weary legs! We
had also previously arranged to meet Peter and Yvonne there, the Dutch
couple we had seen a couple of time on Sicily. We had lunch with them
yesterday and sat out in the sunshine. The weather has been great for the
last 2 weeks. Today, it is cloudy, but bright and dry.
We will probably leave here tomorrow. There again we might not. It is a very
nice campsite, and it is only 12 euro a night, bargain.
Ciao
M&S
Sunday, May 06, 2007
The sun will come out ... tomorrow ... or will it?
Thank God we had our day on the beach last Sunday, the sun has been
distinctly absent since then, apart from the odd glimpse.
We moved a bit further up the coast on Monday to Petacciato Marina. Marina?
Well just a term for the coastal bit associated with an inland town in some
cases, not much of a marina in the true sense of the word this time. We knew
from our books of a possible place to wild camp there, and we found it no
problem, as had the 50 or so Italian motorhomes who were already there! It
was only a car park on the beachfront but it became a temporary campsite for
the holiday weekend (the coming Tuesday was Labour Day), quite a little town
in its own rights. We were the token foreigners until Tuesday when a couple
of German 'homes arrived. It was quite a pleasant place to stop, a lovely
long sandy beach and thankfully no rain, but not a lot of sun either. We
just hit the books and read the hours away, with the odd stroll along the
sand to break up the day. Tough eh? The place emptied out quite a bit on
Tuesday but a few Italians remained that night and with the two German
'homes we were not alone.
For a change of scenery we headed inland on Wednesday to the Abruzzo
national park and a campsite near the small town of Opi. We should have
known better! The clouds looked uninviting inland when we set off and by the
time we arrived at site we had already seen some rain. We settled in, a nice
site, surrounded by hills. We were the only ones there. We discovered that
there was no hot water for the showers, but were assured that it would be
fixed that evening. Not that we intended finding out as the rain hit and we
stayed firmly in the safety of Noddy.
The new day arrived after a very wet rainy night, and it was still looking
grim. Things got worse when we realised that we had left our shoes (pool
shoes) outside overnight and one of Sue's had gone walkabout! She was not a
happy bunny. She didn't cheer up much when I saw it in the distance and
retrieved it for her. It was a bit chewed, one of the resident dogs. I wont
repeat what she said. We almost upped and left, but decided to stay out for
a day or two. The Dutch couple, Peter and Yvonne, we had previously met were
due there on the Friday so we decided to stay to meet up with them again.
The rain returned again so we had showers in Noddy as there was still no hot
water in the campsite showers! Eventually by lunch time the rain had
stopped, and the site showers were fixed, hoorah! I made the most of the
break in the weather and headed off on foot to Opi to find the tourist
office to get some info on the park. It was a 4 or 5km walk and thankfully
the tourist office was open, the lad working there was very helpful. I even
bought a map of the park with all the walks marked on it. Thought it would
be useful, perhaps it will be sometime. I got a bit wet walking back to the
site, the rain had returned. It didn't stop all night.
Friday morning, it was still raining. We decided enough was enough. We were
leaving. I sent a SMS to Peter saying we were leaving and they were better
off going elsewhere as it was so wet where we were. We will have to catch up
with them some other time. Anyway, we had breakfast and packed up. Still
raining! We chose to drive up to the showers, park, get clean, pay and then
head off. I dropped Sue off and went to empty the wastewater and the loo.
Doh! No hot water in the showers. I got soaked doing the chores and no hot
shower to clean off in! To make things worse the owner was nowhere to be
seen so we couldn't even pay and leave. Plan B. We hooked up to the
electricity again and showered in Noddy, one problem solved. Still no owner
so we couldn't leave, they had one of our ID cards. Eventually by lunchtime
the owner retuned. We had a bite to eat, paid our money and hit the road. It
could have been very nice there if the sun had been shining, the showers
worked, and Sue's shoe hadn't been munched. Never mind, all part of the
experience!
Our next stop, anywhere the sun was. We headed north, ending up in L'Aquila.
Again our books showed a free place to stay, but after finding it we found
it full of Italian 'homes, a touring club. Thankfully there was another
possibility in the town and we got a spot there instead, free also. It
wasn't sunny but it was dry so we ventured into the old town for a look
around, and very nice it was too.
Another day, and another plan. We missed the town of Spoleto, in Umbria,
last year when we were around these parts so we thought we would check it
out this time. Silly mistake, the camper stop we were looking for in the
town we eventually found but it was not very nice at all and the town was
way too busy to find alternative parking. So Spoleto we will see next time!
Instead we ended up in the nearby hill town of Montefalco and an excellent
camper stop! A large free parking area on the edge of the medieval town with
good drinking water (10c per 10l) and electric (10c per 6 min) and a great
view of the valley and hills beyond.
We had a stroll around the town and even paid, yep us the people who don't
pay, to go into the museum and see the stunning frescoes there. Well worth
the money, but sorry no pictures, not allowed, so if you want to see them
you will have to come here yourselves!
Our little spot in the car park with the view was too good to leave today,
so we sat in the sunshine and read our books listening to all the birds
chattering away in the trees around us. Yes sunshine I said. It was very
nice indeed, well until the thunderstorm and heavy rain arrived of course!
I will leave you with a passing thought. We always say we are pleased when
we are wild camping if another motorhome arrives to keep us company. What if
the occupants are serial killers praying on lone wild camping motorhomes?
Hmmm.
Ciao
M&S
distinctly absent since then, apart from the odd glimpse.
We moved a bit further up the coast on Monday to Petacciato Marina. Marina?
Well just a term for the coastal bit associated with an inland town in some
cases, not much of a marina in the true sense of the word this time. We knew
from our books of a possible place to wild camp there, and we found it no
problem, as had the 50 or so Italian motorhomes who were already there! It
was only a car park on the beachfront but it became a temporary campsite for
the holiday weekend (the coming Tuesday was Labour Day), quite a little town
in its own rights. We were the token foreigners until Tuesday when a couple
of German 'homes arrived. It was quite a pleasant place to stop, a lovely
long sandy beach and thankfully no rain, but not a lot of sun either. We
just hit the books and read the hours away, with the odd stroll along the
sand to break up the day. Tough eh? The place emptied out quite a bit on
Tuesday but a few Italians remained that night and with the two German
'homes we were not alone.
For a change of scenery we headed inland on Wednesday to the Abruzzo
national park and a campsite near the small town of Opi. We should have
known better! The clouds looked uninviting inland when we set off and by the
time we arrived at site we had already seen some rain. We settled in, a nice
site, surrounded by hills. We were the only ones there. We discovered that
there was no hot water for the showers, but were assured that it would be
fixed that evening. Not that we intended finding out as the rain hit and we
stayed firmly in the safety of Noddy.
The new day arrived after a very wet rainy night, and it was still looking
grim. Things got worse when we realised that we had left our shoes (pool
shoes) outside overnight and one of Sue's had gone walkabout! She was not a
happy bunny. She didn't cheer up much when I saw it in the distance and
retrieved it for her. It was a bit chewed, one of the resident dogs. I wont
repeat what she said. We almost upped and left, but decided to stay out for
a day or two. The Dutch couple, Peter and Yvonne, we had previously met were
due there on the Friday so we decided to stay to meet up with them again.
The rain returned again so we had showers in Noddy as there was still no hot
water in the campsite showers! Eventually by lunch time the rain had
stopped, and the site showers were fixed, hoorah! I made the most of the
break in the weather and headed off on foot to Opi to find the tourist
office to get some info on the park. It was a 4 or 5km walk and thankfully
the tourist office was open, the lad working there was very helpful. I even
bought a map of the park with all the walks marked on it. Thought it would
be useful, perhaps it will be sometime. I got a bit wet walking back to the
site, the rain had returned. It didn't stop all night.
Friday morning, it was still raining. We decided enough was enough. We were
leaving. I sent a SMS to Peter saying we were leaving and they were better
off going elsewhere as it was so wet where we were. We will have to catch up
with them some other time. Anyway, we had breakfast and packed up. Still
raining! We chose to drive up to the showers, park, get clean, pay and then
head off. I dropped Sue off and went to empty the wastewater and the loo.
Doh! No hot water in the showers. I got soaked doing the chores and no hot
shower to clean off in! To make things worse the owner was nowhere to be
seen so we couldn't even pay and leave. Plan B. We hooked up to the
electricity again and showered in Noddy, one problem solved. Still no owner
so we couldn't leave, they had one of our ID cards. Eventually by lunchtime
the owner retuned. We had a bite to eat, paid our money and hit the road. It
could have been very nice there if the sun had been shining, the showers
worked, and Sue's shoe hadn't been munched. Never mind, all part of the
experience!
Our next stop, anywhere the sun was. We headed north, ending up in L'Aquila.
Again our books showed a free place to stay, but after finding it we found
it full of Italian 'homes, a touring club. Thankfully there was another
possibility in the town and we got a spot there instead, free also. It
wasn't sunny but it was dry so we ventured into the old town for a look
around, and very nice it was too.
Another day, and another plan. We missed the town of Spoleto, in Umbria,
last year when we were around these parts so we thought we would check it
out this time. Silly mistake, the camper stop we were looking for in the
town we eventually found but it was not very nice at all and the town was
way too busy to find alternative parking. So Spoleto we will see next time!
Instead we ended up in the nearby hill town of Montefalco and an excellent
camper stop! A large free parking area on the edge of the medieval town with
good drinking water (10c per 10l) and electric (10c per 6 min) and a great
view of the valley and hills beyond.
We had a stroll around the town and even paid, yep us the people who don't
pay, to go into the museum and see the stunning frescoes there. Well worth
the money, but sorry no pictures, not allowed, so if you want to see them
you will have to come here yourselves!
Our little spot in the car park with the view was too good to leave today,
so we sat in the sunshine and read our books listening to all the birds
chattering away in the trees around us. Yes sunshine I said. It was very
nice indeed, well until the thunderstorm and heavy rain arrived of course!
I will leave you with a passing thought. We always say we are pleased when
we are wild camping if another motorhome arrives to keep us company. What if
the occupants are serial killers praying on lone wild camping motorhomes?
Hmmm.
Ciao
M&S
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)