After a long flight and a good nights sleep in a Rome airport hotel we took a very fast train to Florence
We were able to walk from Florence rail station to our apartment which is 50 meters from the Duomo
Homeward Bound
Our last week has passed as rapidly as the other three weeks. From Dover we drove to Runwell not far from Chelmsford in Essex where we lunched with cousins, John and Lin Stephenson and Peter and Jeanette Stephenson.
We commenced our English week with a fabulous traditional roast dinner of beef and roast potatoes, other roasted vegetables and amazing Yorkshire puddings. It was a very happy time catching up on all the news. John had organised a parking spot for our camper on the marina at North Fambridge. Mike enjoyed looking at all the boats being prepared for the coming English Bank Holiday weekend and the coming Summer holidays. The late afternoon was sunny and peaceful.
We moved on to explore the coastal areas of Suffolk and Norfolk. The larger cities were very busy and traffic congested and the holiday resorts were rowdy and uninviting.
We turned to the inland and were blown away by the beautiful landscapes, the wildflowers and the vivid green pastures. Lavenham an old wool industry town made for a lovely afternoon stroll. There is a huge guildhall dating to 1529 and a very irregular shaped market place where we enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea sitting in a lovely sunny spot. The artist John Constable lived and painted in Suffolk.
Travelling on to Cromer and Kings Lynn, we drove through more green pastures enjoying the warmer parts of the day without the need of coats. Kings Lynn was granted a royal charter in 1204 and has a marvellous set of buildings in the old square.
Next stop was Yorkshire and a gorgeous camp on a Yorkshire farm near Stillingfleet and on the River Ouse.
Visits to Harrogate and York included taking tea at Betty’s, a very classy tea room that has been making tea for 100 years and wandering through the Shambles, the ancient winding laneway that is at the centre of the ancient city of York. Originally it was the meat market.
On the Friday we caught up with two of the Liverpool cousins, Michael and Peter Guest and their wives Kathy and Jane who had driven over to York to catch up. We enjoyed a great time sharing news and sitting by the river in the sun.
With Mike’s Aunty Joan and Uncle Brian and cousins John and Paul we explored the little village of Millington and the surrounding area of the Yorkshire Wolds. Mike’s Mum was born here and her family farmed at Mill Cottage. This was our first visit to this part of Yorkshire and we enjoyed a beautiful peaceful day exploring this quiet part of England.
Next stop was a lunch date with Jane & Ed and gorgeous Ella and Evie at their home in Telford. The drive from York passed through the stunning Peak District and Derbyshire. No soft rolling hills here, but dramatic peaks and misty dales and narrow roads bordered by stone hedges to challenge the skill of our driver.
We took the easy route, the mighty motorway to travel back towards Luton and the drop off point for our motor home. We stayed overnight on a very quiet farm in Bedford not far from Bletchley Park, the top secret home of the World War 11 code breakers. Bletchley Park was saved from demolition and is now a very interesting place to visit.
We have reached the end of our journey. This has been a very interesting and happy trip and we are very pleased to be returning home.
Bye for now
Jan & Mike
North West France
Hi there family and friends.
We had an unexpected surprise when we stopped in Metz. We found a very pretty city on the banks of the Moselle and xyz rivers. It had an air of quiet beauty and we had a great time strolling through the gardens and along the river.
We continue to enjoy this wonderful country. Driving through the marvellous agricultural countryside is so beautiful. We are passing tractors of varying size on the road as early crops are being harvested.
On our way across France, we stopped for a day in Luxembourg to say hello to our friends Erika and Axel who are visiting family. We had a great tour of the capital city, also named Luxembourg. Luxembourg reminded us of Sydney as it is undergoing a building boom. Scaffolding and large cranes were very apparent. Regardless, we enjoyed our short time in this elegant city and purchased some very yummy goodies from Oberweis.
We have spent some time in the Somme Valley, visiting WW1 museums and memorials. It seems so contradictory that such a beautiful countryside could have been ravished and so many people die here. We felt moved by the respect shown towards the deceased, the beautiful memorials and neat grave yards but have a feeling of overwhelming sadness at the waste of so many lives.
We located Mike’s great uncle in a small cemetery in Thelus and Jan’s cousin on the mighty Australian memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
We are in a beautiful little campsite tonight, on a farm in the countryside. It is still light at 9.30 and we have been watching a tiny bird, probably a finch hop in and around a pretty hedge.
Our final drive in France tomorrow will take us to the coast and Calais. Our ferry crossing is Monday morning.
Au Revoir from France.
Jan and Mike
The Alsace
Hi there, greetings from France.
Apologies if we are confusing you with so many posts in such a short period of time. Access to wifi has varied and we have not been able to put text and photos together when it suited us.From Switzerland we travelled through to the north east of France. This region borders the river Rhine and at various times in history has been German but today is within France.
The hills and the plains are planted extensively with grapevines. This area has been a major wine producer since Roman times. These days they make mainly varieties of white wine, a sparkling “champagne”style but also a very nice Pinot Noir. There is a wine trail here developed in the 1950s and the first of this style of promotion in France.
Alongside the vines are the prettiest storybook style towns. We decided to spend our time exploring some of the smaller towns, Eguisheim, Hunawihr, Kayserberg and Riquewihr for the ease of parking and moving about. These towns are very old,some with Roman or earlier origins but the buildings we have seen were built between the 1400s through to the 1700s. Some of the buildings have been neglected over time and many of these are being restored but with a view to maintaining the character of the town.
The old towns of Colmar and Strasbourg feature identical building design. The sun has shone for our time here so it is a pleasure to wander and enjoy the spectacle.Need we say we are enjoying the local produce everywhere we have been, the cheeses, salamis and of course the chocolate.
Jan was excited to visit the museum displaying the illustrations of Jean Jacques Waltz. Known as Hansi, he created pro-French prints at a time when Alsace was governed by Germans.Au revoir from France.
Our next post will be from the north west of France as we head towards Calais.Jan and Mike xx
Farewell to Italy and Hello to Switzerland
Hello to our family and friends.
We continued travelling north and towards Lake Maggiore with the rain threatening. The wind blowing fiercely across the lake cleared the cloud from the eastern side of the lake and we were able to experience this gorgeous place. There are many towns, large and small hugging the shores of the lake and behind the towns are beautiful mountains. Ernest Hemingway is said to have written part of A Farewell to Arms while staying at Stressa on the L. Maggiore and the lake features in a small way within the story.
The sunny weather was perfect to explore the charming towns along the lake. Locarno and Ascona are the very fashionable Swiss towns at the end of the lake. Cafes and restaurants face the lakefront and make a perfect place to sit in the sun and watch the action.
We took the cable car from near the city station in Locarno and connected with the gondola at Orselina, then the chairlift to the Cardada Cimetta geological observatory. From the observatory it is possible to have a 360 degree view of Lake Maggiore, the lowest point of Switzerland to Defour Peak of the Monte Rosa, the highest point of Switzerland. There are no words to describe the views. The sky was clear and the panorama was breathtaking. The wind was freezing.
The roads in Switzerland are great to drive. The practical Swiss have built many tunnels to allow for year round road access throughout the country. We drove through the Gotthard Tunnel from Airolo in the south to Goscheren in the north. It is almost 17 kilometres in length but avoids the lengthy climb to over 3000 metres on the San Gotthard Pass and saves a huge amount of time.
Our stay in Lucerne is beside the lake and an easy and scenic walk beside the lake into town. We caught up with Rachael’s friend Amy, who now calls Lucerne home. It was lovely to see her with her family and they gave us an insider’s view of this picturesque place.
We spent a day on the lake and took another ride up a mountain. This time it was Mount Rigi and we took the Queen of the Mountains cog wheeled train to Kaltbad Mineral Baths.
This Spa has a very serene indoor heated pool that connects to a marvellous outdoor infinity pool with views of the lake and surrounding snow covered mountains. After a massage it was back to ground zero by gondola and of course with more stunning alpine scenery on the way.
Our last day in Lucerne was spent at the Verkehrshaus der Schweiz, translated as the Transport Museum. This massive museum covers everything transport from rockets and space exploration to tunnel drilling for railways. There are many interactive displays and activities designed for ages 12 months to 100 years. The aircraft section had many complete passenger aircraft within the pavilion. The attention to detail is magnificent.
Time to say good-bye to Switzerland. We had a great time here, made very special thanks to Amy, Tobias and Lily.
More of Italy
Hello family and friends
Our first long drive was in the direction of Lake Maggiore. Last year we experienced some problems using the payment booths for the Italian toll roads. We are very happy to report that using a credit card is a far superior method for paying tolls than trying to feed a handful of small change into one of the toll booths.NO Arguments = happy Jan & happy Mike. The weather was damp and overcast as we headed north and for most of the drive it did not improve.
How lucky we were when we stopped to visit Mantova in Lombardy. Mantova is located near Brescia and part way between Modena and Verona. The sun came out and the clouds vanished.
This pretty town is surrounded by lakes and was in festival mode. A music and drama festival is held here each May. We wandered over one of the bridges leading into the town feeling like a couple of elderly pilgrims as we approached the old castle and battlements surrounded by a moat.
There was a lot to explore as one piazza merged into another. The gelato seller was doing a good trade too. This city was an unexpected delight.
Love to all
Jan & Mike
We Hit the Road
Our camper was waiting for us at the factory in Poggibonsi. There was no need for a long orientation as the vehicle and layout is very similar to the one we had last year. We stocked the kitchen, unpacked our bags and spent the first two nights at a campsite near San Gimignano.
Tuscany boasts many historic walled towns with beautiful old stone buildings finished with terracotta tiled roofs and with a tower or two. San Gimignano is built upon a hill and is visible for many kilometres no matter what approach you choose.
It has many towers and is so well preserved it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It looks beautiful at sunrise through to sunset when the light catches the colour of the honey and ochre coloured stone. When we passed this way on our trip last year we were unable to find a parking place for our camper van so had to be happy with admiring the town from the distance. Curious to see what lay within the walls we reserved a place at a nearby camping ground this year.
The charming town is given over to the tourist trade but in a most enjoyable way. The winding narrow streets lead to a piazza where the Church of Santa Maria Assunta stood on the high side. We admired the interior of the church and the style and smaller scale of the paintings. The frescos on the walls tell the story of the bible and date from the 14th century.
An expensive saffron and mushroom risotto with a coffee in a tiny cafe was welcome shelter from an icy downpour in the middle of the day. The shower cleared but by then the large tour buses had arrived with many eager tourists. It was time for us to leave but we are very happy to have begun our road trip here.
Ciao
Florence
Our accommodation is about 50 metres from the Duomo. We have a comfortable apartment on the third floor. Fortunately it is to the rear of the property and we hear absolutely no noise from the street. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night we go down to the street there is something going on. This appears to be the city that never sleeps. From early morning to well after dark there is a queue that starts at the main entrance of the Duomo and trails around the side of the building. We guess it could be more than 100 metres in length. This is the same situation at many of the famous buildings here and there seems to be an interesting trade in jump the queue tickets that allow one to be part of another more select queue.
What we have enjoyed about being here for a few days is the opportunity to wander some of the quieter areas of the city and experience this amazing city of culture, art and science that continues to be a great inspiration to so many.
Among the things we have enjoyed most are lunch at the San Lorenzo Mercato, visiting the third oldest Botanical Gardens in the world, wandering the Palazzo Vecchio after dark and feeling humbled by being in the presence of so much amazing art. There is plenty of commercial activity here too. Almost every major fashion brand has a beautiful shop here.
Brittany
Brittany
Hello family and friends.
Rain has been pending for a while now and this morning is cooler and overcast. Our plan for today is to drive across France to Brittany. This will be a long day of driving and we shall use tollways where necessary to shorten the drive.
We drive on some magnificent roads through the Loire Valley and marvel at what an agrarian countryside we are seeing. The sky is grey but the road is dry and our gps continues to guide us to our selected destination
First stop is the city of St Nazaire on the Atlantic coast. It is across the Loire river from Nantes and a significant port on the Atlantic coast. Not knowing much about this part of France we chose St Nazaire as a stop. To our surprise we managed to drive into the city and to the seafront. There was little traffic and we obtained a parking spot with ease on the waterfront. The beach was sandy and the beach front had a lovely relaxed feel to it.
We were interested to learn more about a monument on the beach with the French and USA national flags attached. This port was a significant landing stage for US troops towards the end of WW1.
It also had a major role in WW11 when under German occupation it was the site of the German ship and submarine building program and was heavily bombed by the Allies. St Nazaire was bombed more than any other part of France. The huge concrete structure that was the uboat operation is still part of the port area although it has a different purpose these days. St Nazaire was the last area of France to be liberated at at end of WW11.
Audresselles
Shipbuilding is a huge part of the local economy with Chantiers de L’ Atlantique one of the largest ship building yards in the world. Think of vessels such as Queen Mary 2.
St Nazaire
St Nazaire
St Nazaire
St Nazaire
We continued our journey for another hour to Arradon a very picturesque small town on the Morbihan Gulf. It rained while we were here but it didn’t diminish our enthusiasm for this place. We enjoyed eating prawns, oysters and clams all sourced from the Gulf.
Oysters at Arradon
Arradon
Arradon
Arradon
Arradon
Arradon
Arradon
A visit to Vannes was exciting too. This area has a strong connection to the sea and we loved window shopping and looking at the street art.
Vannes
Vannes
Vannes
Our next stop was Langonnet where we made a rendezvous with Guest cousins on holiday from Liverpool. The weather now was turning windy, damp and quite cold. Apparently, this is to be expected in this part of the Atlantic coast. The weather did not deter us and we met for lunch at a little cafe near the camping ground
Guest boys at Langonnet
Lunch at Langonnet
After lunch we decided to try to cover some of the distance towards Calais and our Channel crossing. The roads were quiet and being a Sunday there were no heavy vehicles on the road. We made good time and apart from a strong wind the weather improved and the sun came out.
Le Mont Saint-Michel was our next stop and we were very grateful for the sunny evening so that we could go for a walk and view Saint Michel. Wow!
We were on the road again early the next morning to cover the rest of the distance to Calais. Mike had chosen a camping area about 30 kms out of Calais for our stop so that we would be able to access the ferry with ease the next morning. This part of Brittany had many fortifications dating from Norman times to WW11. We were surprised to see so many of the heavy concrete bunkers left after the German invasion of this area during WW11.
Plouay lunch
Audresselles
Audresselles
Audresselles
We left the campsite early the next morning to take our trusty home of five weeks on the ferry to Dover and back to Luton.
Calais
The holiday is nearing an end.
See you soon
Jan and Mike
France
Bonjour family and friends
We enjoyed our fresh croissants in Annecy and hit the road. From Annecy we had another long day on the road. Heading north and west we drove for about five and a half hours covering 540kms. The French tollways seem a bit expensive but we can cover the kilometres quickly. They have another benefit too. The fuel and food stops are extremely attractive and offer good food and coffee and great places to simply stretch the legs after a long time in the car.
Our next stop was meant to be just an overnight stop before another drive. As the afternoon progressed we searched (on the app) for a good place to stop. We found Romorantin-Lanthenay in the Centre-Val de Loire. The attraction for us was the camp was located near a river and had ease of access.
It was easy to find and was a very large local council run camp, nicely laid out with lush grassy sites and trees for shade. The weather continues to be hot so a few trees are welcome in the late afternoon.
As we took a walk after dinner we met an English couple also staying at the same place who told us of several things in town well worth seeing. Peter and Marion holiday in France twice a year. They have been here for a week and they mention two excellent boulangeries among other things. Eager to find a source for croissants and bread for tomorrow we set off to explore the town. It was dark when we returned to the camper but we were refreshed after the long drive and interested to stay another day to explore the town further and Mike had a plan to buy the croissants tomorrow morning. The boulangerie would open at 6.30.
We did enjoy the bakery products for breakfast and spent a good part of the day in the area. We found a couple of streets lined with beautiful shops….. all closed as it was a public holiday – WWll Victory Day. We wandered through a beautiful park and walked by a little restaurant Peter had recommended. We were hopeful that Natacha might open for dinner. Disappointed, we returned to the camp and made plans to join Peter and Marion at L’Estaminet de Nat for lunch tomorrow.
Romorantin-Lanthenay
Romorantin-Lanthenay
Natacha cooked up a great meal for our lunch for 12.50 Euros a head. This included, an aperitif then entree, main, dessert, house wine, coffee. The rest of the clientele appeared to be local people who knew each other and Nat and her husband. Marion and Peter were greeted like friends too ( this was their third visit). This was typical home cooking and served by Natacha and her husband with great cheer and pride. It was loads of fun and too much food. Both of us were ready for a sleep but we had checked out of the camp and had plans to visit Chateau de Chenonceau this afternoon
.
This is Chateau country and it was a short drive to Chenonceau. By now it was late afternoon and the car park appeared to be emptying. Taking this as a good sign we purchased tickets and had a most enjoyable time walking in the shoes of Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici. These two women both connected to Henry 11, one his mistress and the other his wife, were responsible for many of the improvements to the house and gardens. We enjoyed a walk in the gardens. After Versailles this is the most visited Chateau in France.
Our overnight accommodation was a few kilometres away …. a lovely spot by a river.
We are enjoying France very much and finding this part of France very interesting. Prior to leaving home we had been watching Un Village Francais, a television series set in WW11 France. We are reminded of the story as we visit this area.
Au revoir
Jan & Mike
Ducato Touring 