20-21/07/2014 : Switzerland (did we miss something??) - Annecy Full !!

Sunday

Got onto the internet at supermarket. Research places to stay in Switzerland around Lake Geneva. Found several hopefuls so set of with a plan.

At the Italian/Swiss border I entered into negotiation with the Italian border guards about whether I needed a ‘Vignette’ or heavy vehicle permit for Switzerland, as advised by my motor home mates on the motor home web site. In the end the guard took me into his office and got me to type the questions into google translate. They still did not know the answer so went to find someone who spoke French. We managed to understand each other and eventually they said ‘just go it’s not a problem’. We drove on still convinced we needed a permit.

The Simplon Pass - Steep!!

The drive through the Simplon Pass was amazing. As we drove up I kept thinking of the scene from the film the’ Italian Job’ and Matt Munroe singing ‘On days like this’ and as we dropped down the other side Jo was thinking of the ‘Sound of Music’ and Alpen adverts. The weather developed into horrendous torrential rain. All the planned stopovers failed to materialise and as we circumnavigated Lake Geneva it all became a bit soul-less. Surprised to see grape vines all along the Northern Shore of the lake, but once out of the mountains Switzerland seemed to lose all its character.

In the end with nowhere to stay we kept on driving in the pouring rain and ended up back in France at Annecy (twinned with Cheltenham). It was clearly meant to be! Annecy looks beautiful even in the rain, even if the guide book says it’s a tourist trap. I am sure we missed loads in Switzerland, but we agreed we would not rush back.

Frank acquitted himself well, got a little hot at one point,but managed. Italy, Switzerland and France all in one day!

An 'Italian Job' moment (in Switzerland!)

Switzerland in the rain

Could not get onto the Aire at Annecy, so found a pleasant one just outside to park up for the night and see if the rain stops tomorrow.

Miles 246 (ouch!)

Aire 5 euros

Monday

Woke up to torrential rain. What shall we do now? Found WI-FI at ‘Ronnies’ and checked out the weather forecast. This part of Eastern France is in for thunder storms and constant rain until next weekend. The weather gets clearer the further west you go, so west it is. We stop the night at an Aire called St. Paircain-sur-Sioute which was a very strange place. We went for a wander and it seems to be caught in the 1970s. Had a very odd feel. The Aire seemed to be used by French motor homes who appear to be set up for weeks. We will see what weather is doing in the morning.

Miles today 187

Aire Free

18-19/07/2014 : Back to Orta

 Friday

 Boiling hot again today, so we decided to go back to Orta for the lake swimming. We were back there by about 11 am and straight onto the free Sosta we were at a few days ago. We thought we had better explore the Sacre Monte, which was just above the Sosta. It was amazing with about 28 separate chapels containing frescoes and sculptures, mostly from 1600’s. To be honest we found them a bit creepy, but the views of the lake from up there were wonderful and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Orta Town Square

Swimming in the lake was next and it was great!! We went for a walk in the late afternoon and found no less than 3 wedding parties competing for prominence in the square, which made for some interesting people watching.

Miles today, Gavirate – Orta 38 miles.

Sosta free.

View across the lake from Orta Town Square

Saturday

Went out for a cycle this morning and stopped for coffee at the train station – it was really atmospheric place and made me think it could have featured in a scene from the Godfather or some similar film. Very pleasant watching the locals go about their lives.

Swim – lunch- lazy walk into town where we bought a set of ‘ Vespa’ espresso cups and saucers.

Another swim this time in the rain. A thunderstorm is brewing.

After dinner we walked down to the gelataria for ice cream- last night in Italy so what else would we do?

Miles today nil.  

Sosta free.

16-17/07/ 2014 : Lake Varese via Maggiore

Wednesday

Up early-ish to move on. We hit the road after emptying nasty stuff and filling with clean water, with a vague plan to head towards Maggiore.

We found a large supermarket with a café attached with free WI FI, so after a big shop we got coffee and tried to research some stopovers. A Dutch guy at Orta had given us details of an App which listed 1000's of stopovers for motor homes. So we downloaded it and we got details of possible places around Maggiore. Trouble is when we got to the locations via tiny lanes, 1.6m high bridges etc., we found nothing! We eventually pulled over and hooked up to internet and found a sosta at a town called Gavirate on Lake Varese. 

Taking the evening sun at Lake Varese

When we got there we found it was a lovely place. Very Italian and not much tourism - unlike Maggiore. The lake was not for swimming in however, the main activity being rowing. The world under 23 rowing championships are here next week. Pleasant evening a walk through the town and a meal and Yahtzee at the van.

Miles today Orta San Guilio – Gavirate 63

Sosta 10.50 euros

Thursday

We are finding it a bit unusual being so close to a lake and not being able to swim (only about 50 m from the shore). However today was a lazy morning at the van reading and sun bathing. It is now really hot. The lake had a great cycle track all the way round, so the afternoon was spent cycling the 28 km track. Forgot to mention that before the lazy morning Jo went for a run and I cycled with her. Jo found an achitechtural salvage yard which she wanted to go back to which we did later looking for bargains - none to be had however, as things were very expensive! 

Great Ice Cream

It also transpired that the Sosta was right next to the Australian Institute of sport European Training Centre, with loads of very fit looking young Australians, most appearing to be there for the upcoming rowing championships. After dinner we went for walk to get ice cream from a shop we had spotted earlier - and what great ice cream it was.

Miles nil.  

Sosta 10.50 euros.

14-15/07/2014 : Italy – Lake Orta

Monday

We got up this morning with a sense of excitement. The last time Jo and I were in Italy was before we were married (25 years this year) and in fact Jo had expected me to propose to her in Venice on that occasion (I didn’t!!!). We were looking forward to today. The first hour or so was another spectacular drive  - the middle bit not so exciting and the last hour was great as we drove through rice fields towards Arborio and Lago D’Orta.

View across the town and Lake Orta

The lake is stunningly beautiful and we found the motorhome parking area in Orta San Guilio straight away. However we went for a walk and a short way up the hill we found another one which was much nicer, and was in fact the free ‘sosta’ that I had read about in the ‘Our Tour’ travel blog. We legged it back down the hill to move.

 

Alleys and jetties all around the town

A walk into the town of Orta San Guilio revealed the stunning beauty of the town. It seemed very affluent , with beautiful villas set amongst trees on the hillside, all overlooking an island. We wandered around the lake’s edge looking for somewhere to swim from. The water was very clear and full of fish. Back at the van we relaxed and had a chat with Amelia on the phone.

View from our 'Sosta'

Jo is absolutely bowled over by the smell of jasmine, which seems to be everywhere. We are running low on provisions, so we think we have identified a local shop to cycle to tomorrow. Jo has also identified where to get pastries from (the local petrol station / café!)

The Sostas in Italy don’t seem to be as well set up as they are in France – we are not yet sure where to empty waste water and fill up as there are no service points at most, but we are sure we will overcome that – all part of the adventure! We are out of our French comfort zone.

Miles today : 136

Sosta : free

Tuesday

Running low on supplies today so we cycled off to try and find a shop and located a tiny mini market where we were able to get essentials, then bought croissants from the petrol station! Actually there was really nice coffee bar and bakery attached and had a very Italian feel.

Spent the morning at the beach and swimming in the lake. Only 5 minutes walk from Frank. Once you were 100 yards from shore the views were amazing. I wished I had a waterproof camera.

Great pizza!

We returned to the van to discover it full of ants. Jo exterminated them with spray. We had a long walk along the lake path and had a call from Jack. When we got back to the van we sat outside for an hour with a cup of tea and got eaten alive by mozzies. We were both covered in bites including in places where the sun does not shine,so how the buggers got in there I do not know. We relaxed inside the van with wine having applied cream to bites and then went out for Pizza. We had a lovely walk back in the twilight, Jo remarking that nothing could be more romantic and I had to agree!!

Got back and place was alive with ants again. I crawled around in the dark with a torch and found that they were marching in via one of the rear steady legs. Lifted the legs after judicious spraying ant killer and went to bed fingers crossed we wouldn’t wake up to a total infestation.

Our swimming spot

No miles today. 

Sosta free.

12-13/07/2014 : Lets go to Italy! (via Montgenevre)

Saturday

The plan today was to go to the other side of the lake, book onto the Municipal Site and spend some time at our old holiday haunts. But it rained – so we devised plan B. We decided to head for Italy via Briancon. This was a good decision! The drive through the mountains was spectacular, even in torrential rain.

Before we hit the road, we visited the market at Riez to have a wander round and get some fresh fruit and salad. Jo got a bit emotional as it her reminded her of the market at Aups and holidays with the kids. It was a nice atmosphere, and Jo bought a bag of apricots which she loved!

A very wet drive up through the mountains

Drove, through the rain to Briancon, which according to ‘The Rough Guide’, is the highest town in Europe. It was a spectacular place looking like it was hanging off the mountains. Our overnight stop was a further nine miles of hair raising driving at Montgenevre where we parked up underneath a ski lift with wonderful views across the Alps, watching the sunset. The Italian border is only a mile or so up the road.

View across Montgenevre from the aire

We will spend tomorrow exploring here on foot and on the bikes, and give Frank a well earned rest! He coped really well with hairpin bends, heartstopping drops, and steep steep hills. You would not want to make a mistake on these roads!!

Miles today 166.

Aire at Montgenevre €10

Exploring Mongenevre
by bike

Sunday - Montgenevre - And Jo conquers her fear of heights!

We got the bikes out today and went off to explore, the bonus being clear blue skies and sunshine – and what views we had woken up to! We mooched around town and stopped for coffee in a café on the main street. I ordered what we wanted in my best French, but my best is clearly not good enough, as the waiter responded with heavily Northern accented English ‘No problem.’

On the Ski Lift
Is that a smile - or a grimace?

Later in the day Jo conquered her terror of heights by jumping on the ski lift to the top of the mountain. It was great. We had a fantastic walk back down what would, in the winter, be ski runs.

The view from the top

Italy tomorrow!!

No miles today.

Aire : €9