Last camp night....for now!

As a "bookend" to our first 4 months of living in a van, all be it a van with a name (Hugo), we had decided to have a beach bonfire to celebrate. We mentioned this to our neighbours yesterday and hoped that they would come. Jasper, Maya and I spent the morning finding resources and then set about creating our yet to be blazing beach beacon.

Fast forward to 6:30pm tonight and as we were about to light the fire, a different guest turned up, Lilo, also German. Beers, some fizz too, crisps in hand all added to what we hoped would be a nice night. Then, Gabi, Norbert and Paul turned up with some Italian bitter shot style drink that Norbert had take a fancy to. The fire got going well due to some good preparation and much fun was had. A very pleasurable evening. Jasper and Maya said it was their best night ever!

I learnt some more German, Gabi acted as translator for all, Clare learnt to go steady when paddling in the dark!!! Norbert continued to spread the fun,

and Paul had a great night having never toasted marshmallows before on an open bonfire. In fact, Paul did seem to eventually munch his way through quite a few marshmallows. In fact he got so proficient at it, he developed his own technique to stop his face from burning whilst toasting.

It enlightened me though to why doing this trip now is really worth while. If we had waited until the children had left home, yes we could have done so much more, more restaurant trips, more drinks with friends etc, but actually, having fun toasting marshmallows on a bonfire or kite flying as per yesterday are very child friendly activities to do. And having shared that fun with adults Gabi, Norbert and Paul, it has been a real pleasure, with them having as much fun as Jasper and Maya....if not a little more!

I think the people of the trip have really made it for us so far!

Ed

Wow, wow, wow!

Walls

A kitchen

Real beds

A big fridge

Running water and electricity

A front room

Doors

....and a bath!!!!

Wow, wow, wow!

Our journey today was relatively pain free, and a warm welcome by Klaus and Sue our new neighbours for the next 'while' certainly helped. Klaus then took us to our house, which was down possibly the smallest, narrowest lane that Hugo has been down. However, the house, with walls, doors, running water, rooms, real beds and a bath, was tucked away beautifully in a superb landscape like no other we have seen in Italy. Many rolling hills, dry stone walls and a real homely feel about it (i.e, quite Somersety). A really beautiful part of the country, which will become our home for the foreseeable future. Our home is a Trullo. This region we have driven into was like a switch being turned on. Quite different to what we have seen so far. Beautiful farms with these Trullos all over the place. I gather a sort of old storage building. More research needed. However, really beautiful and full of character and it gives this region a real identity that sadly we haven't seen in other parts of the country. 

After Klaus left us to get ourselves settled in, we didn't quite function as well as we have done over the last 4 months. Routines went out of the window and the great unpack began! It's only when you begin to unpack, that you realise how much poor old Hugo has been lugging around. Not to mention the things we have accumulated. 

Tea followed with the usual holiday home tricks of finding the pots, pans, cutlery, glasses etc. And then, THE BATH. Oh joy. Complete wallowing joy! No timer, no tepid water, no sandy feet, no outdoor walk to accompany the return journey to your room. Real joy. 

.....the blog may start going quieter now as we calm down for a bit and ......have more baths!!!!

Ed

4 months in

Four months in now! 4 months in 'normal circumstances' doesn't seem quite like something to write about, but our 4 months in Hugo have been a real adventure. And just to prove that we are all still relatively normal, here is a token family shot taken on the beach yesterday. It's our very own family tree!

Ed

Mit gefühl

Calabria Kite-fest 2014 took place today with a disappointing showing. Initially, the moderately windy conditions entertained the Clements family for plenty of time. Our newish 'Decathlon' bought kite was an absolute winner though. No rods, packs away into a small package, and is fully controllable. Jasper started proceedings,

but then Maya took over and showed a deft control of the ropes using my 'soft hands' technique.

After 30mins or so, we started to pack up and go for lunch. However, Calabria Kite-fest 2014 had taken on a multinational flavour and began to become more interesting. Norbert, our German neighbour had sneaked out from his van whilst Gabi (his wife) had gone for a long walk. He had assembled his kite, which was on it's inaugural flight. From a distance though, we could all see that he was not quite having the success that he wished to have. His kite was continually dive bombing and smashing into the ground. We all rushed to his aid to get his kite working well. After many attempts of continual breaking and smashing incidents on the ground, I had a go, and the kite worked really well. Norbert was wondering how I managed to get the kite flying so well. At this point Gabi returned, and her translation was much needed. I set about trying to teach Norbert about soft hands, but it didn't translate so well. So 'mit gefühl' was Gabi's translation. In essence this translates as 'with feeling.'

From here on in Norbert was flying high, at which point Paul (the German cyclist from previous post) came and started getting involved. And so it began again. We got our kite out and everyone was flying the kites again. An hour later, we decided we should really feed the children and therefore finished for the day. During our lunch though, we could still see on the beach, Gabi, Norbert and Paul all flying Norbert's new kite with much success. Super kite flying on a super location with some super people! All of this has been said mit gefühl!!!

Ed

Prince of Orange ( and the princess)

Prince of Orange

I am the Prince of Orange. No historical link here to Orange in France, and therefore by proxy, no link to  the Netherlands. Instead, I realised today that my fashion sense knows no bounds, particularly when it comes to travelling about and not worrying what other people think. It was not missed by even me that as I set out for the supermarket to get our daily bread that I had my orange running shoes on, accompanied by orange socks and also an orange t-shirt, all coincidentally mind.

I increased this particular look with an asymmetrical sock lineage. As you would expect Clare did not accompany me on this particular trip. 

Princess of Orange

Later on in the day, I was off playing the guitar on the beach, Jasper and Maya were playing around somewhere and Clare was on the phone. As she sat there, bearing in mind that where we are is just us and our German neighbours, a lady walked up to Clare and handed her a bag of oranges. Clare was still on the phone and tried to explain that she had no money and that she spoke no Italian, but the lady was adamant. So, we now have this...

Talk about a glut. They are gorgeous too! Apparently our neighbours said that the lady had tried to give them to them, but they had just bought a load, hence we got the bag. She had explained that there were too many on the farm and they just needed to get rid of some. We were the lucky beneficiaries of this. There must be 50 or so. An orange diet for the Prince and Princess of Orange then!

Ed

Capturing an imagination

I have met a man today, whom we both mutually find it difficult to communicate with each other through a German/English language barrier, but has fired the next bit of imagination. As we have travelled, we have seen many people all panniered up on their bikes and slowly chugging along around Europe (or wherever). Today though we met Paul Keiser. I have yet to have the full low down from him about how he has done it, but in essence he has just got his bike loaded up with his tent, sleeping bag, oven, clothes etc. He has cycled from Germany and is just going wherever the whim takes him. I have his card and have just logged onto his blog (which will translate roughly). I find the idea of just cycling around with all your stuff just brilliant. 

He has caught my imagination though, this could be the next adventure....but not for a while yet!!

Check him out though on www.bike-outdoor.ch 

It's a pleasure to meet people who are doing what they want to do, having an adventure and living a life! I just need to brush up on my German though.

Ed

Another ordinary day!!!

I know that I've written about ordinary days before and they do happen quite frequently. As a result of somehow making the ordinary sound remotely interesting, several people have commented and emailed us about "ordinary day" saying it's their favourite blog so far!!! Well today has been another ordinary day (with a few pleasant surprises along the way!)

We started with school, which as we are now "living" beach side, was of course surrounded by sand. As the sun was shining so brightly some of us even needed sunglasses!!! Maya and Jasper worked hard on their maths and competed a page each before playtime was declared!!!

Naturally this took place on the beach, where else?

Two loads of washing had been done, and so a long drying line was constructed between the trees.

Soon full, with a slight sea breeze, the usual assortment of garments blew in the warm air and dried nicely. Some of us are still wearing shorts, but there are also jeans and trousers for those that feel the cold a bit! FYI stripy sock lovers, there were also socks, but they were drying elsewhere!!! 

An afternoon on the beach followed, interspersed with chats with our German neighbours Gabi and Norbert who run an organic fruit and veg box business back home. They are aiming to travel further south in Italy than we are now and they hope to cross to Sicily for Christmas. We are all heading to the local market tomorrow to sample the local produce! They kindly gave us some fresh local oranges and mandarins this afternoon, so we've had a really good dose of vitamin C.

Finally, we had afternoon tea and enjoyed the last few rays of sunshine watching the fishermen hauling in their nets. 

Another ordinary day for the Clements family on tour!

Clare

X

Daddy, daddy, there's a flying boat!

This was a view we had out to sea today. You can see where Maya was coming from!

The reflection of the sky on the dead calm waters made for this weird bit of imagery. Either that, or the boat was happily flying though the sky. This was followed by the waters breaking as a pod of dolphins arced their way across the sea to the shouts of "Daddy, daddy, dolphins".

Even though we are slowing down, little bits of magic still seem to happen every so often.

Ed

The Littlest Hobo

A bit of nostaglia here for me, but some of you may remember the kids TV series 'The Littlest Hobo', all about a stray dog that befriends someone in America then teaches them a lesson in life (not like Flipper who just squeaked his way to to alert the next danger).
It was a great series that I have been reminded of over our last few weeks in Italy. The stray dogs keep popping up all over the place. They were even up Vesuvius where I passed a couple of labradors that had taken over a ramshackled restaurant and had made it there own. I'm not kidding, a lovely place for two dogs I thought.Anyway, I was reminded again today as we stopped on our journey for lunch. A small thing (sorry, not good with the makes of dog!) was giving us sad eyes and all that sort of stuff. Didn't wash with me mind. He's not getting my cheese and bread!For those that remember the TV series, it had such a memorable song. I suspect that many of you may now Itunes it to see what it sounds like again. To help you on your way it's by 'Terry Bush and it's called Maybe tomorrow.' The lyrics are a bit like where we are at though at the moment. Here you go:

There's a voice that keeps on calling me                              (that's Clare)
Down the road, that's where I'll always be.                          (new roads all the time!)
Every stop I make, I make a new friend,                             (done that loads ....met some lovely people)
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again        (always the next place to get to)

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,                            (Yep, would be nice to stop for a bit!)
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.                              (not quite there yet)

Down this road that never seems to end,                             (that was Spain, blooming massive long roads)
Where new adventure lies just around the bend.                  (lots of that too!)
So if you want to join me for a while,                                  (so who's going to have a go at this? Anyone inspired?)
Just grab your hat, come travel light, that's hobo style.         ( Apparently you only need a hat)

Maybe tomorrow I'll want to settle down,                            (he's alreay said this...)
Until tomorrow, the whole world is my home.

So if you want to join me for a while,                                  ( and this....yep, you only need a hat!)
Just grab your hat, come travel light, that's hobo style

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,                           (he was struggling for lyrics at this point)
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,                           ( if a lyric is good, keep singing it)
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

There's a world that's waiting to unfold,                              (We've realised this)  
A brand new tale no-one has ever told.                               (Oh yes!)
We've journeyed far far and know it won't be long;              (6500 miles, around 4000 to go)
We're almost there, and we've paid our fare with our hobo song. (Almost there.....we've done 4 months, when will it end?)

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,                            (It's a good lyric but ....)
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

So if you want to join me for a while,                                    (ditto)
Just grab your hat, come travel light, that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll find what I call home, Until tomorrow, you know I'm free to roam

So there you go, a bit of nostalgia from me. Apologies, but the dog reminded me of it earlier. The lyrics weren't as inspirational as I remember but there you go. i've enjoyed finding it and listening back to it. You might too. if you have no idea about anything I have written then you can a) ignore it as waffle or b) google it in the hope that it may furnish you with pub quiz info.

Ed

The best road in Italy....so far

I have found the smoothest tarmac, a road which makes all others cry. This road was found on my cycle today. I managed to ride up Vesuvius, a climb of some 3500ft or so. It took me a while, but the mind is still strong enough to tell the body to keep going. A cycle through downtown Napoli revealed terrible roads, terrible manners, crazily busy streets, no apparent priority in the road for anything, rising decayed concrete flats with the next load of washing all drying outside, street sellers once again, roundabouts ignored by all, pointless traffic lights, pot holes, mopeds riding down the paths and just an endless hubbub of horns, chatter, engines sprinting to the next stop and the occasional clatter of train tracks. Not the easiest of riding, a real onslaught to the senses.

Once I found the correct road up the volcano, traffic began to dissipate and the riding didn't get easier but did get quieter. The climb from the bottom to the top was 6.8 miles, someone had handily marked on km markings on the road. About 2 km in, the road transformed into this beautifully smooth piece of craftsmanship. Someone had taken time, done a proper job and the results were brilliant to ride on. 3 thoughts weren't lost on me however. 

1. If you can make good roads, why can't you make them everywhere?

2. If you can make good roads, why don't you make them where there is most traffic?

3. If you can make your best road, why did you choose to make it on the most unstable platform of a volcano?

I'm no road planner, but surely someone in the meeting that decided to put this ribbon of road up Vesuvius had encountered really bad roads to the meeting and might have said that the money could be best used elsewhere.

Regardless, it made my ride much more pleasant. I passed 5 other cyclists as I went up, took in some stunning views out to the bay of Naples and was quite pleased with myself for getting to the top, having never done any sort of ride like this ever.

I suppose I should mention that I made an attempt to ride up Vesuvius 2 days ago. This hulking great volcano sits hugely in our view. I rode toward it, I started riding up it, but quite amazingly, I couldn't find a way to the top. Yes, I couldn't get up the mountain that was right in front of me. That has made today's cycle much more pleasing!

Ed

Winding down

Come the end of this week, we will have been travelling for 4 months/18 weeks. It is at this stage that we are winding down and things are happening much more slowly in life. In a weeks time we will have a new reality to get used to.....a house with walls and real rooms. More to follow on the house when we get there. 

However, as we see this appearing on our horizon, the thoughts of a bath are becoming too good.

 We feel we have worked hard to cram in as much into this 'life experience' as we can, and whatever the outcomes that are to be when we eventually return, we feel rightly proud of everything we have done. Life now though is all about the last 450 miles or so of travel to go before we STOP for a good rest. I guess this is an advance warning too, that all readers of the blog can have a rest too. Posts will be fewer and further between. More to follow on this, but there is a definite travel wind down! 

Ed

Napoli....Crapoli!

Quite a harsh judgement here you may think, but today was just a day for a Saturday trundle into 'town' and a look about. If anywhere was going to put you off Italy, then this was the place. Clare and I were gobsmacked. We have never seen so much litter, literally a filthy, dirty place.

This was a fortunate area, as it actually had a bin, and most of the rubbish was in the bin and not just scattered everywhere else! 

We have never seen so much dereliction in buildings, including an eye opening journey from Pompei Scavi station into Napoli Garibaldi terminal. The endless crammed concrete flats all stacked up against each other gave a real vision of what life in parts of Italy is like.

 

The feeling of deprivation and sadness was experienced even more with parents and their children playing accordions, drums and tambourines to backing tracks on the trains and begging for what little cash they could get. A very terrible experience for us all to see. I asked Jasper if he was happy with his home. He said yes. I then said, "yes, we've got a nice little cottage haven't we" to which he responded, "no, its a van and a good van too".

We have never seen so many apparent illegal dealings, street vendors, men approaching us asking for money etc. One man even asked Jasper and Maya if they wanted a lighter to play with!!! The support for any type of pedestrian activity seems next to nil with us crossing on crossings that have no legal ruling.

The 'Broken Britain' headlines seem a long way away when you see the poverty and complete failings of the Italian infrastructure that we have witnessed today. If all of this wasn't bad enough, there is also an abundance of what can only be described as "shanty towns" as well along side the railway tracks. Literally sheds made of cardboard boxes and old pieces of boards, corrugated sheets, whatever was handy we guess. We've seen these on several occasions and at first glance assumed it was an illegal tip. Not a nice thought that some people have to live there. 

So whatever happens on our trip, we remind ourselves that we are fortunate and lucky to live where we do (well, when we get back to lovely Somerset!) and Napoli will also serve to remind us, that even in times of 'van' hardship, we are all ok.

On the up side, we did find a restaurant that did some lovely Napoli pizzas and they are supposed to be THE pizzas to eat in Italy!

They were really good! We also met a lovely couple from Doncaster in one of the many wild and vivid markets, which actually were quite a sight that we won't forget (the markets that is, not the couple from Doncaster.) In fact the markets were a good place to be in order to see a "normal" Saturday in Napoli.

We saw loads of live shell fish just wallowing about in pans of water and escaping over the edges of these dishes. We even saw one octopus making a 'run' for it down the pavement. He had got out of his dish and was off back to the sea! He only got 30cm though before he was picked up and placed back in the bowl.

So all in all, quite an experience for us today! We really do have some tales to tell! And we are truly grateful for small mercies.

Ed and Clare

The numbers game continued...

6321 miles covered

119 days

80% on campsites (20% free camping!)

8 countries including principalities visited

8 capital cities visited

2 new tyres

53.2 average miles per day

182.7 family miles completed on the bikes ...slowed up due to weather constraints!

0 baths for 3 of us

95% -estimated amount of this trip we have got right!

Longest drive to next stay - 241 miles

Shortest drive to next stay - 1 mile

450 - Average miles per tank of fuel 

14 tanks of fuel

Cheapest diesel - Andorra - 0.89€ per litre

Most expensive diesel - Italy A1 services - 1.79€ per litre

10kg of gas used

8 times we have used the heating

1 birthday had whilst away

6 in van showers have been had

1 shelf failure in the 'library'

0 roast dinners

1 set of keys lost

236 Blog posts

9775 Blog post views in total

Lost count of good people we have met

100% - how much I would recommend doing this to someone else!

Shaken AND stirred!

Today has been another fabulous day! We knew that we were going to go up Mount Vesuvius, but the way in which we did it exceeded all of our expectations. Yesterday Ed had visited the bus station to see what the bus service was like. In short, the bus to the visitors car park of Vesuvius was 10€ each return, plus the 8€ entry to the National Park to get to the top. There was also a flyer for a 4x4 trip, billed as "an exciting excursion to Mount Vesuvius" costing 22€ for adults and 7€ for children. It looked amazing! The 4x4 was no ordinary one, from the photos it was basically an army truck with seats. You can guess which bus we chose!!!

We got on the first bus, and as it was quite old, it shook and wobbled us about quite a lot on the Italian roads as we made our way to the foothills of the National Park.

I fact I got a total fit of the giggles as from where Maya and I were sitting, we could see Ed and Jasper being thrown about, whilst the driver was cooly driving with one hand whilst gesticulating with the other and having a full blown animated conversation with another guy (our guide?) who simply clung onto a pole for the entire journey. The noise was immense; at one point I couldn't hear what Maya was saying to me even though she was right next to me! We have some very amusing videos of the ride which we will share on request!

At the end of that journey, at the checkpoint, we were told to get off and climb in the Eco bus, a huge monster of a truck, a Mercedes Unimog with wheels the height of Maya and 3 massive steps to climb up into it! 

We got in, noted that the front cab was on a different suspension to the main part, and fastened our seat belts. I'm so glad it had them! Once the engine had started it was like an assault on the senses. The height of it was one thing, which made it sway about on the road, then the noise, then the smell, and add to that the fact that the road wasn't really road at all, more a sort of rough gravel track with the occasional bit of cobbled section for good measure. No other vehicle would have been able to get us up there. Honestly, it was exciting beyond belief! The drivers seat was on some sort of massive spring, so on every bump he bounced up and down in pure comfort as the rest of us gradually got pulled in tighter and tighter as the seatbelts did their job!!!

We then arrived at the second drop off point, and the guide led us through the gate to the start of the path. It took about 30 mins for us to walk up the path to the very top. We had to keep stopping, not to gather breath, although it was very steep in parts, but to look at the amazing view of Pompei, the Gulf of Naples, and the surrounding area far below us. At the top, our next guide Sasa gave us some useful information about the Mountain, including the fact that it wasn't Vesuvius that erupted and covered Pompei in volcanic ash in 79AD, it was actually the previous volcano called Somma which was much bigger than Vesuvius.

We saw the remains of Somma, which still partly encircles Vesuvius today. All the while Sasa was talking, Jasper and Maya were looking into the crater. They had noticed wisps of smoke coming out of the rocks and were getting a bit worried!!! 

Anyway, after a good look around, and after hundreds of photos had been taken, oh, and the purchase of Vesuvius postcards from the shop at the top (yes, we were surprised too!) we made the descent on foot and then the reverse trip to the checkpoint then down hill to Pompei happened. Although it had cost us several euros more than we had bargained for, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and highly recommend the 'Busvia del Vesuvio' tour if you are ever in the area!

Clare

X

Key nightmare -the saga continues

We have invested much time, money and emotion into trying to get our keys back. UPS were the company of choice. The long and short of it is, that as we stay here in Pompei, we have also been waiting to receive the parcel. Expectations were low. The result today is that we have found out that the keys are not on their way. I did however have an amusing response from the lady at UPS when having a web chat. See if you can spot it?

I know we are not fully qualified travellers, nor are we near 1% Worldly wise, but I'm reasonably sure that such general knowledge isn't really that difficult!!!

No wonder we haven't get our parcel!

How can you not know where Italy is when you work for a logistics company?!?!

Ed

Italian roads

Having done a report on all other countries road systems, it only seems fair that I continue this theme. Here are the observations then.

1. The A1 is terrific. The main arterial route down through Italy is smooth, quick and easy. The only negative is that as with all Italian motorways, it is a toll road.

2. Everything else (thus far) is just pot luck. The general trend is that the roads are woefully unkept. And when they are, there are multiple repairs to one area, none of which are level or smooth. As a result business opportunities have sprung easily to mind in Italy: a tarmacing company, a shock absorber salesman, a tyre workshop amongst others.

3. The topography of the country means that a road network is difficult. From entering Italy the road was essentially tunnels and bridges with no real natural land on which to place a road. An amazing feat, but the tunnels need cheering up, and the bridges need their expansion points all sorting out. Another opportunity perhaps for a business.

4. Italian drivers part 1. We have got used to the urban swarm of mopeds. It is all rather crackers and dangerous. They just come at you from all directions. In addition, as you go to avoid the next pothole, you then realise as you swerve out that there is a moped there. Not easy and not always fun.

5. Italian drivers part 2. Indication, it doesn't happen. Roundabouts are like a big roulette wheel.

6. Italian drivers part 3. Lane discipline. Variable results here for different reasons. Motorways we have realised don't have cats eyes in the road. Therefore much wandering of vehicles especially tired lorry drivers is evident. All other traffic just has to cope. At times we have had no motorway markings at all creating a bit of a free for all. In some city urban driving there is a lack of indication of how many lanes there are, so you can easily end up being nudged into a non existent lane.

7. Italian drivers part 4. Parking. Do what you like, park where you want! Bonkers, crazy absolutely mad!

8. Italian drivers part 5. Manners. I think I am just a stick in the mud who thinks that manners helps wherever you go. Drive a lovely Somerset lane, meet a car and there is lot of waving of thanks and gratitude. Not one single Italian driver has thanked or gestured approval for being let out of a junction or for giving space to pull in or whatever.

9. Crossing the road is like a game of Frogger (1980s electronic game), where you had to safely guide your frog across a busy road of 5/6 lines of traffic without getting the little amphibian splodged. The zebra crossing does not mean a free and easy smooth passage across the road here in Italy. It's more so an indication that 'yes, I am a pedestrian and I will be risking my life to cross the road whilst you all continue to drive around me'. Having children has helped stop traffic though, but watching others cross the road is amazing. It really is like Frogger!

10. Signage. To be honest, I think we have wasted more fuel in Italy as opposed to Spain. The signage is bad for newcomers. Satnav is a must for most I would guess. 

11. Monte Cassino must get a special mention. We stopped here briefly to get some shopping but to also try and soak up the atmosphere of the place 70 years ago. The battle of Monte Cassino was a pivotal battle as the Allies pushed back the German forces during WW2. Grandad Clements was in the area and involved in this battle which pretty much destroyed the place. This gave us something to think about in the dramatic landscape that it sits in. Sadly, Monte Cassino is THE place for one of the worst roads I have ever come across. A slipway that leads into the town was more like a heavily pitted mud road that had been covered with Tarmac as a quick solution. I have never come across anything quite so bad for what is a main road. Shocking!

12. It is almost imperative to drive whilst on the phone. Everyone does it, including the wasp like moped riders. Even the police do it!

13. If your car has a bumper that is not cracked, be proud of it, because it won't last long!

14. If in doubt...BEEP loads. The longer you beep, the better you are.

15. On a single lane highway with oncoming traffic in the other lane, you need to be aware that there is a magic and invisible 3rd lane. Anyone can use it, it's like Platform 9 3/4 in Harry Potter, you just need to drive fast towards it and it allows you to overtake everyone in complete safety!!!!!

Out of all of this it is worth pointing out that we have survived and have got this far. Without the roads, that would not have happened! I'm looking forward to looking at the British roads now with fresh eyes and seeing now they stack up in the Tarmac charts!

Ed

Ps. Sue McElroy, you wanted to know what it was like driving in Italy. Basically, budget for the motorway (have "cash" on you as cards don't always work), but remember it doesn't necessarily guarantee a smooth passage. All other roads treat as shocking, and be pleasantly surprised if they are better.

"What are eyeballs made of?"

Previous to today, my only knowledge of Pompeii relied upon Frankie Howerd and his 1970's comedy show loosely based upon Pompeii. As a result, today has been a real revelation and a fantastic day for all of us which gave us all much food for thought.

Being just 100m from the entry to Pompeii meant that we didn't have to rush at all to get in, and so it was, that we ambled in just after lunch having done some school work in the morning. I think Clare and I were just expecting to see acres of land that used to be foundations of buildings and such like. Preconceptions are great, especially when they get blown away by reality. For Jasper and Maya, it was just another place that they had never heard of, but it really ignited an inquisitive part of Jasper's brain in particular. 

For our 22€ family entry, (children are free!) we have had an absolutely fabulous afternoon. Basked in the increasing sun of the day beneath the ever present and looming Vesuvius we began our wander around the Roman town without the aid of the safety net of the ubiquitous audio guide. Our free-styling around Pompeii was great though. I think the amazing thing to say is that the story it tells about the Roman lifestyle is so easy to see and a tangible grip on its history is easy to read. If you are ever studying the Romans, this sorts it all out in one afternoons visit. A stunning network of roads, paths, buildings, frescos, mosaics, ruins, etc gives such a vivid reality to how the Romans lived. Because of it's uniqueness, in a way, it is more impressive than Rome itself. Both Jasper and Maya were asking questions all the way around. 

Some we could answer, some we couldn't and need to research, but as in Rome, the history of such places that we have been to really makes things special and memorable. That includes Pont Du Gard, the Roman theatre at Orange, Segovia, Salamanca, Carnac, Normandy, Orce, Pont D'Avignon, Pisa, Arromanches, etc.

A stunning day that we really needed. A perfect way to round off the day happened at tea time. A beautiful lasagne with Italian fried potatoes made by Clare under van conditions was lovely. The tea time discussions went on as usual discussing all of what we have seen. Then, out of the blue, completely nothing do to with all the fantastic things we have seen, Maya pips up with, "What are eyeballs made of?"

We had no answer to this really. I just loved it though, regardless of what we have been to see and do, our children are still very much children learning about the world, and so the events of Pompeii the best part of 2000 years ago, are just as relevant as "What are eyeballs made of?"

If anyone can properly answer this question, then please email Maya with the answer!

Ed

Colosseum

Today we went on a bus to the colossuem. It is in Rome. It ŵas made by the Romans. We have been in it and it is a oval shape. It is free for under 10 year olds.

Maya

Jasper's diary entry 16th November - his birthday!

Today I woke up extra early and opened some of my presents. One of them was Lavertus's flying helicopter and another one was Equila's eagle crawler (Lego Chima). We had breakfast and I had Cheerios, we put up some disco lights and partied. We got to Rome and walked to the Colosseum and went in, it was amazing. We walked to a restaurant and had spaghetti bolognese for lunch.  We went to a place which called the Pantheon which had an open roof top. We went back to the campsite and had a wonderful tea.

Jasper

We all make mistakes!

Leaving Rome was the main aim. Diesel was the second aim. Shopping was the third aim. Travelling to Pompei was the next aim. We had completed all of those with relative ease. A sizeable dent in the wallet occurred today, but at least we achieved what we set out to do. So, why the title? The weather has been good, in fact warm and dry and the roads, the A1 in particular has been super. 

Will let me explain this as delicately as I can! 

After the third aim was completed I realised something was amiss with the van. No thieves thank goodness, just that the water tanker cover was missing. A moment of thinking took me back some 2 hours previously when we were filling up the water tanks at the last site in Rome. Quite some distance had been covered as we realised that .....well.....believe it or not.......and I'm not smiling whilst I write this....but.....hee hee.....chortle chortle......Clare made a mistake!

I had to laugh because any other reaction would've made the problem worse. Poor Clare was mortified. You are probably wondering at this time, why Clare may have been so speechless, sad and gutted. The water tanker cover is a lockable device, which she had unlocked with the spare keys to the van. If you're going to make a mistake, the good idea is to make it a memorable one. This is most definitely one! Eventually once the problem is resolved, we will remember Pompeii for other reasons other than the ruined town.

The resolution is underway though. I think I have booked a courier to pick it up and deliver it here. Who knows really what will happen. The people at the campsite where it has been found were very helpful on the phone, but really didn't want to put the stuff in and envelope or a bag, so we'll see what happens there too!

Whatever does happen, it will be resolved with our own parts returning, or spare keys being cut and spare parts being delivered.

 I've had fun writing this though!

Ed

Just 'Pope-ing' back into the town for another look

Back into Rome today to the Vatican City. Passports at the ready for border control was hugely disappointing. Just a stroll past more "selfie selfie" men. More 'Roman' around led us easily to Piazza San Pietro. Once in the main part, the bit we've seen on TV, we realised that we were not going to be doing much touristy in the Vatican City. The queues were amazing, the prices were stifling and to be honest we probably wouldn't really have appreciated most of it. Therefore a quick scoot around was good enough for us. Another 'country' ticked off! 

In reponse to my 'Selfie selfie?' post, here is one long armed attempt of us in front of St Peter's.

Outside, the Vatican City resembled HM prison at Wakefield (all bar the rounded tops of the walls!). It is quite a distinct signal to everyone. 

What cheered the children up was the fancy garb that the guards were dressed in. This cheery chap is apparently defending the place. I wasn't sure if he would jester me to the ground or tickle me if I tried to get past? Very fancy outfits though and quite distinctive in what came across as a very quiet and sombre place (inside the main square part!)

For us though, Rome is done now. Next task is to wait for a nice day and to romp up Vesuvius. If all goes to plan, then I will blog photos of the romp turning into a slog!

Ed

A new flippy book idea

We have bought a lovely book about Rome that has transparent overlays that show over a modern photograph, what the picture would've looked like in Roman times.

This is a great idea and a fantastic book that we all just love. It makes understanding Rome much easier.

I do have a suggestion though for Rome. They need to do the same book. The photos of the famous monuments would be the starting point. The transparencies would then show what the famous place looks like without scaffolding. Many historic landmarks in the capital are covered with scaffolding. I joked to Clare today as we walked to see the famous Trevi fountain "I'd laugh if it was covered in scaffolding!"

Lo and behold, we rounded the next corner, and there it was in all it's pole and bracket format. A beautiful scene of horizontal and vertical lines. It was a pretty comprehensive covering too. Not too much to see really. I guess it would've been easier to use google street view to get a better glimpse.

As I say, underneath all of this is a famous monument you would all recognise! Got to laugh!

Ed

Selfie selfie?

"Selfie, selfie?"

"No-ie, no-ie"

"Brolley, brolley?"

"No-ie, no-ie"

Another 500 barrages of street vendors trying to sell me a piece of tat that I don't need. I actually got to the point with one vendor, as he followed us presuming he'd get a sale, of explaining that my arms are long enough that I can take our own selfie without the use of a stick that he was trying to sell me. We have 4 months worth of selfies and if he really wanted that sale, I should've invited him back to sift through our many a thousand photos to prove that a) they were fine, or b) they were inadequate and that he was indeed correct in following me chanting "selfie selfie."

As you may determine from this, Rome has too many people trying to sell you a pile of gubbins, and that I don't really have time for them. There seemed to be an inordanent amount of people trying various ruses to get money out of all the tourists too. We saw one "elderly lady" attack another man with an umbrella. As people stopped to help them, we marched on by, not wishing to be pick-pocketed. At least we know where she got her umbrella from!

So, selfie selfie became no-ie no-ie!

It is only fair to point out that when in Lisbon, and the deluges came I did in fact buy two brolleys off a street vendor, but at least I went and asked him. I didn't shout in his face "BROLLEY BROLLEY!" These brolleys have been marvellous in their value but not their quality. Well used in the last two days as this photo shows.

Ed

A special birthday!

"....yes Grandad, I've had a really brilliant day" said Jasper when on the phone to Grandad George. A pleasing result for a birthday unlike any other. Trying to have a good birthday, a memorable one for an 8 year old, whilst living in a small van, keeping things secret, with the continuous onslaught of rain has not been easy, but Jasper's message to his Grandad was a reassuring thing to hear.

His birthday was preceded by an evening of putting banners and bunting throughout the van (in amongst the washing that we are trying to dry), wrapping presents and also putting up some mega fairy lights that Clare had found in the supermarket. Our van has a 'wow' factor, although for those looking in, it just looks mad, but for us and especially Jasper, it has been a super day where our little space has become special.

Not only that, but the special day was enhanced by a dry start in Rome. We ventured into Rome with ease really. We emerged by the Colosseum as our introduction to the city. It certainly has the wow factor too and engaged us all quite quickly. The wow factor was removed by the Italian queuing system for entry which resorted in a scrum like bodge by the ticket office, where the electricity supply kept failing too. Once ticketed though, the place was quite amazing to see in the real. A free rein gives you the scope to enjoy your visit. Architecturally and technologically, this place must have just been an amazing stadium to see in the fully completed version.

Onwards through the Roman forum. Walking through all these places felt fine. The only problem was that there were 101 street vendors selling phone holders that help you take 'selfies' or later on they all had umbrellas. My estimate of 101 is way short though. There must have been one guy every 10 metres or so as we walked from the Colosseum to our eventual destination at Flaminio Metro station.

Back to the Roman forum though. The crumbling mass of history that makes up the Roman forum is quite amazing. You can just walk all over this history. An immersive experience with also a feeling of 'this place must have been quite something!'

A birthday lunch was then had for the boy in a lovely restaurant. Lots of spaghetti and pizzas had. Fully refuelled, we continued down the back streets to the Pantheon. The skies began to darken as we entered it. A huge domed Roman temple that has a hole in the top of the dome to let in natural light.

The wet floor also indicated that it wasn't much use as a roof during wet spells. Conveniently, the marble floor was sloped in such a manner that water ran towards a small central drain. Quite a spectacular building.

 As we left, our day became surreal as we found ourselves trapped in a square as a Bolivian carnival came past. Crazy music, brilliant costumes and vivid colours is the best way to describe it. Did we understand it? Not at all, but it was fun.

As the storm clouds began to thoroughly empty we came back home. A party tea with party ring biscuits and party music was had and two tired children went to bed late. A very happy boy. Thanks to all for messages and birthday wishes. He's had a 'really brilliant day' which he will never forget.

Ed

The Great Granada conker contest......in Rome!

A month or so ago, we were ambling around the Alhambra in Granada. It was a beautiful day with burning blue skies with dazzling brightness. As we ambled around the vast area that it covers, we walked through a terraced section that had chestnut trees. In that moment as a child, I would've longed for the experience we had. Always longingly looking up and throwing stick to try and knock down the best conkers. The Alhambran experience was quite different. The chestnuts were just dropping and bouncing here, there and everywhere. A glut, a deluge, a whatever you want to call it. For that moment, we forgot the amazing Alhambra and just collected conkers. Pockets full of them gathered in a freebie scavenger type mode. We promised conker fights, and stored them away until we found some string.

San Remo; that's where Jasper continued his scavenge and found some good quality string. Our rush, and busy time since then has not allowed us to complete this task...until today...in Rome.

The Toolkit came out and the conkers were bored out and strung ready for the magnificent battle of Rome in what was hopefully going to be an injury free zone.

Some practice rounds were had, then conkers were chosen. I played Jasper first, and managed to get my eye in quickly. After a lengthy affair, his conker was cleanly deposited on the ground in bits.

Great satisfaction was had. But he wanted more. A fresh Granadan conker was chosen and round two was on.

Another lengthy game resulted in a win for Jasper. At this moment, Maya waltzed over and wanted to play. A small delicate conker was chosen, and the two of them were left to inflict conker sized bruises on each other. This was avoided thank goodness, but Jasper had won once again. Games continued with much enthusiasm, so much so that I forget who has won what and what the score is. What I do know is that much fun has been had with conkers! No safety goggles or safety gloves. Common sense with an element of danger... I like that! Good to revive a game I haven't played for probably 30 years or so!

Ed

Reflections

We have spent some time today by a beautiful lake being quiet and just thinking about Grandad Astin who sadly passed away last week.

A Normandy veteran, he was a true gentleman through and through. He always had time for us, and greatly enjoyed seeing Jasper and Maya on the last occasion we saw him in May. 

Our thoughts and love are with the rest of the family at his time. 

Xxxx

Squeaky new shoes

One of us has new shoes. 

One of us has new shoes that squeak with newness.

One of us is very happy about it.

One of us has super comfortable feet now.

One of us isn't gloating though.

One of us will not be having any more shoes for the trip though.

One of us won't be slip sliding anymore.

A Roman treat for dear old Hugo. We entered the north side of Rome and took on the road network and Roman drivers to try and get him some new boots. We had had a long and 'thoughtful' day and so were physically and emotionally tired, but the looming window of 15th November had meant that Hugo needed new boots ready for the Italian winter by law. An eventful struggle with no Satnav and relying on Italian road signs eventually led us to follow our noses from my research the previous day, to find the tyre place. It was on an impossible road too. In addition, to this, the forecourt was just madness. People pulling in, driving off, parking 3 or 4 deep at all angles. I stayed safe and parked up the road whilst doing the negotiating. Jasper and I handled the negotiations well and I seemed to have been placed on a clipboard list under the name 'Cooper'. Eventually my time came. I was dutifully beckoned to get the van and return to the yard, where a space was saved. I did so and returned. I managed to block the Roman asphalt in all directions as the forecourt was full when I returned. I sat broadside in the traffic with horns honking and people waving. I think they were waving? Eventually, after a few minutes of traffic stalemate, I was guided into the forecourt of the 'Gommister'. Hugo was then treated to his new shoes, all tyres including the spare were thoroughly checked and then it was time to depart. 

At this point I asked for assistance. I reversed out onto the road with 2/3 tyre men flapping around in all directions. For the second time in an hour I had managed to block  the Roman capital....well at least this part of it! After having made so many Roman friends on the roads I gve a cheery pip of the horn in reply to their waving and beeping, and made my way to collect Clare and Maya who had had their own personal dramas in the supermarket. Thankfully, we are now safe, secure and looking forward to a rest, a birthday, and some Roman history!

Ed

Responses to a bit of sun

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (yes, skies are blue!)

I know that Ed has already said this, but I also have to admit that I've not been impressed so far with Italy. Sorry to all those who recommended it to us, but for our purposes, it's not lived up to the hype and expectation! Weather, campsites, roads. All terrible so far! We've been desperately hoping this would improve, and the sight of a rainbow over our van early the other morning gave us some renewed optimism.

Since that event, we have met several people who, though total strangers to us, have been really kind and helpful, and have gone out of their way to help us out a little.

Take Klaus and Christa, who we met at the Parcheggio in Marina di Pisa. They offered us the loan of a book with several suitable Aires/Sosta Camping sites along the coast where we would be able to camp safely for a reduced rate, sometimes with electric hook up, and sometimes even with shower and WC facilities. On leaving Pisa, we aimed for one of these Sostas. Sadly, we missed the first one in Marina di Bobbina (poor Italian road signs, not my map reading, honest!), the second one in Marina di Castagnetto was closed, but third time lucky, we found an excellent "agriturismo" Sosta called Isolotto, along the coast from Torre Mozza which was 10€ per night (approx £8) for all of us, with electricity, showers and toilets!!! We did feel a bit smug that night! In fact we liked it so much that we stayed for 2 nights! And there we met a lovely couple from Germany who told us of a lovely seaside walk, offered us the over night loan of guidebooks and maps of Rome, and also gave us an ADAC card, which like the ACSI card we bought gives reduced rates at certain campsites. For free! Total strangers being kind beyond belief!

Today we have taken advice from both these lovely couples. We headed to a Sosta on a strange piece of land called Monte Argentario. On completing the maths, the Sosta was proving to be costly for us- 36€ the night, and the facilities were very poor compared to Isolotto. Along the way on this trip, if we have learnt nothing else, we have at least learnt that sometimes saying "NO" is actually a good option, so we moved on to another recommendation by Klaus and Christa. 

The Terme di Saturnia is a naturally occurring underground water way where the water runs at a constant temperature, about 34 degrees. It's free to swim/bathe/steam yourself in it, or you can pay to go into the Hotel Spa and be pampered. We arrived at the car park, which actually turned out to be a Sosta! Hurray! 14€ per night. Quite reasonable, and within walking distance of the spa. However, due to all the rain there has been lately in Italy (have we mentioned that yet?) the main bathing area is currently closed as a new wall is being built. We set off on our afternoon jaunt to have a look. Along the track, we met an Italian couple in their dressing gowns. They looked at us in shock as we were fully clothed. "Are you not going to bathe" they asked. They told us the river was always open, and that we just needed to walk to the Hotel Spa, but take a right turn through the field across the mud, and into the river. Well, another good recommendation from total strangers as we spent the rest of the afternoon just messing about in the river!!!

Lots of fun had by all! It's now 111 days since we left home, and therefore 111 days since we've had baths! Unlike a bath, the temperature remained the same for the whole hour we were in there!!!

Clare

X

In addition to this post we must not forget to mention the kindness of Mr Agip. Mr Agip, another stranger whose real name we do not know sadly, was a true star today and sadly we never got to say a proper thankyou! As well as taking a much needed bath today, we started the search for 2 new tyres for Hugo, whose shoes seem to be a little thread bare shall we say. We drove into Grosseto with the optimism of happening across a place for "Duo nuevo gomme". Our luck was out, therefore we pulled onto the Agip petrol forecourt. Mr Agip was standing by his moped unloading shopping from every available place that you could imagine. He was the only man apparently working on the forecourt. Ed stumbled into the conversation with him, and I could see the two of them trying to work out what each other was saying. He seemed to realise what we wanted, and then quickly continued to take bread and bags off his bike. Then he strapped his helmet on, jumped on his bike, and was literally gone, whilst beckoning us. A rather comical situation began as we tried to 'follow that bike' as he wasped his way around the streets of Grosetto. We managed to keep with him as he took us to his friend's garage for 2 new tyres. Sadly his friend didn't have the appropriate tyres, but as soon as we had found that out, Mr Agip had already disappeared like an angel of motoring assistance. Thanks to Mr Agip! Also, thanks Italy, we are beginning to get you a little now. Feeling much happier overall. Must be that rainbow!