Europe in 40 days

Left for Lyon this morning at aroud 9.15, luckily the car was still intact but did have a handwritten notice on it stating private parking space, oops.

Clives phone decided to play silly buggers and not charge so we had to go back 50 years and use a map and road signs, piece of cake and the German detour was very pretty but we eventually got to where w

e wanted to go.

We stopped a a little boulangerie (bakery I believe and your word for today and you need to speak it with phlegm) where we purchased croissants for breakfast and a huge salad roll each for lunch. We ate the croissants about 10 minutes later on the side of the motorway with a coffee from our flask, thought we would get our moneys worth as the toll was 25 euro, robbing b******s

We eventually got to our destination, a lovely typically French farmhouse with chickens so we felt at home unfortunately Madame and Monsiour were not at home so we had to converse with their 13 year old son who knew nothing about us in broken English and French I said ‘Je mon tap le cul par terre a number of times under my breath

Anyway a double gin and tonic later and I’m feeling g a bit more mellow, Clive’s phone decided after a good kicking to charge so we got it to around 30 percent and tried to phone my doctor in the UK. Je mon tap le cul par Terre. Ms receptionist was told that I had a broken arm and had had an operation in Italy and was told by a French doctor that it is an urgent case and he would operate if we had more time in Marseilles. Ms receptionist was asked if we could book an urgent appointment for the 8th as we weren’t back until the 7th. She said ‘theres no appointments available for those days’ je mon tap le cul par terre, Clive said ‘she has a broken arm can we book an emergency appointment for the 8th’ ‘No’ she said you have to phone on the day for an emergency appointment’ oh great je mon tap le cul par terre. Good old NHS I got better service in Europe on my

There is a cat here, he obviously doesn’t speak French or English he just ignores us.

Continue reading “Lyon beyond and the NHS.”

Arrived in Marseilles at 5 PM after our stop off at St Tropez, after a lot of searching we found our shed on the beach which actually isn’t a shed on the beach but a shed in a back garden and a street away from the beach.Considering it’s our most expensive stay, it’s also the most disappointing. To be be fair it’s very nicely decorated but lacks sockets, wifi is poor, space is very difficult with a broken arm, we can only swing half a cat in here. We have searched for one but only came up with half a mouse which some cat had probably worried to deathWe have had to park several streets away in what can only be described as a ghetto, we were pleased when we got back to the car to see that the windows were still intact. We set off for a walk in search of food but most places were shut expect the Irish pub where you would wipe your feet on the way out. We eventually walked back and decided to drive in.The drive in which was several miles revealed that parking in Marseilles is a major problem, spaces were non existent, the drivers are terrible, the motorcyclists all have a death wish. We decided to give up and return to the shed and have a bag of crisps between us until Clive swerved in after spotting a kebab shop, 2 bags of chips later we were satisfied. We headed home and a G&T each later we were in the land of nod.We got up in the morning and went to find the car and were chuffed to bits that the windows and tyres were still in tact, so got in and proceeded on our way to Palais Longchamps.Palais Longchamps was very grand even though the museum bit was closed on Sundays the building itself was extraordinary, I would liken it to the Trevi fountain in Rome. We had a wander around it gardens and then decided to make our way to the old port which sounded interestingThe Old Port was very beautiful with views of the old fort and the Notre Dame as well as a lovely harbour which was full of expensive boats. We found a nice little vegetarian restaurant with a lovely waitress who told us to catch the number 60 bus to visit the Notre Dame as it was 2 euro whereas the tourist bus was 20 euro, what a rip off.We took her advice and the number 60 bus and 10 minutes later we arrived. The views were stunning.The Notre Dame itself was stunning and we had a good wander around outside and in the church.will post more pics on Facebook as the internet is intermittent here.While we were here I had a feeling there was something going on with my Italian job arm and thought we should visit the local hospital for a check, lucky we did as the bone had split open again. Doctor said i need another op to fix it, so ive opted to keep it very still and do something once we get back to the UK in 2 days, very disappointing I thought I was well on the mend.After the hospital we went back to the Old Port just to do some people watching and watch the world go by. Our pints of lager cost 8 euro each, ouch that hurt more than the arm.Tomorrow we are of to Lyon

Today we ventured out to explore Cote d’azur, we set the sat nav for Cannes and off we went, the first place we stopped off at was Mandelieu-la-Napoule with it’s pretty beaches and Chateau de la Napoule.

We then moved on to Cannes where we went in search of Clint Eastwoods hand prints in the walk of fame, unfortunately it was hidden behind some temporary structure, what shame Clive would have loved a photograph. We did see some not so famous ones such as Angelina Jolie, Ben Kingsley and Dennis Hopper, we thought you had to be as famous as Clint to be there.

We had a look along the beach front and then ate our picnic on the steps where they hold the film festival. Here I did my own piece of modern art, it’s called ‘A perfectly positioned flip flop on film festival steps’, its comparable with works by Tracey Emin.

We saw a few strange things along the road including giant cockerels made with fingers and hands and cars with doors that lift up instead of out, the Fiat Doblo fitted in really well.

Here is the barrier on Cannes beach which allows the peasant scum on this side to peep through and admire the wealth of those shaded from the sun on the other side. (reminds me of the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969, I was one of the peasants who was kept from getting anywhere near the wealthy prince, whilst his consorts shouted ‘Keep them away the peasant scum’ or something to that effect).

The crowded part of Cannes beach reminded of Barry Island beach in the 60’s where we used to go as children. There wasn’t enough room to put a handkerchief between the towels scattered on the sand. In those days you could buy an ice cream for 3 old pennies, today in Cannes you wouldn’t get much change from 30 euros, bloody scandalous.

Tired after our day out mingling with the stars we decided to take the coast road back to Saint Raphael, what a beautiful coastline but still not a patch on Fethiye and Calis.

As promised, it is now time for a French lesson.

Je mon tap le cul par terre, a loose translation of this is ‘well I’ll be buggered’, actual translation is ‘I slap my ass on the floor’ please learn this as I shall be using it frequently over the next week

Some more pics from today

Last day at the campsite today after a fun filled evening of Okey last night where Sue won her first ever game – Hooray, playing okay by lamplight is a bit different as you cant see any colours lol

We proceeded to demolish the tent, Robert had told us ‘Once you have opened it you will never get it back in the original bag’. Challenge accepted by Clive because I’m useless with my Italian job arm. So Clive and Sue folded and scrubbed and folded and scrubbed and removed all the mud from the storm we had. Some precision folding later the tent entered the the bag fully with room to spare. But where was Robert to watch this amazing feat, he had disappeared to wash the bucket out not wanting to be present in Clive’s moment of glory.

Clive – tent before and after

Robert – same tent – after pic

So after saying our goodbyes we left and started our voyage to Genoa, the last leg of the Italian journey. We lost count of the number of tunnels we had to pass through it seemed like hundreds. We did the first hour by A road and the rest by motorway, €22 tolls shocking.

Genoa was amazing hundreds and hundreds of skyscrapers built on every inch of land possible, it was jaw dropping. We made our way to the coast which was less built up but filled with cruise ships, private yachts and sailing boats. The coastline is lovely with pebbled beaches and magnificently tiled cordons, there were skaters and joggers and body beautifuls (that was me and Clive). We took some pictures and headed to our accommodation for the night. Who took that first pic? It wasn’t me!

Caterina and Sabrina were our hosts and led us up too many steps, then down too many, then up a hill until we got to the building, then more steps up to the lift. The building was an old monastery and very beautiful.

The apartment was amazing with even more amazing views of the sea and the dock yard, even more so at night.

We ventured out for food at one of the recommended restaurants which happened to be one of the first ones we came to. Had a pleasant meal with a bottle of wine which then rendered us useless so we tromped our way back up to the apartment and went to bed.

Up next morning at 6AM ready for the day, our last day in Italy and I must say you have all picked up the language admirably so later you can have your last lesson, then on to French, I have a starter lesson ready for you.

Anyway off we trot at 9.30 am to seek out the French Riviera. We started out on the coast road but ended up on the motorway to save some time. Arrived at our destination at 3pm after having a good look around the area and discovering a Lidl nearby. We checked in to our Airbnb and went to do some shopping.

Loaded up with grub we went back home and prepared a lovely salad then after a glass of wine collapsed into bed, it is so nice to be sleeping in a real bed.

Here is your Italian lesson be sure to add all those a,e,I and o ‘s

https://youtu.be/sFacWGBJ_cs

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fter all that rain the campsite was only suitable for hippos and there was nothing glorious about it, so out it is then. Scenic route to Siena. We like to put the sat nav to no motorways so we then get the scenic country routes.

It was great to have the weather a few degrees cooler as it had been 40 for the past couple of days but the torrential rain had put paid to that so off we went. After about 45 mins we came across a small castle in the middle of a village and thought we would try to get in, to no avail but came across a little country road so took that and fell upon this charming little church with cemetery, I love the way the Italians pay homage to their dead it’s so pretty and uplifting not gloomy at all.

So onward we go up the country lanes and then we find this view

What a bummer wouldn’t want to look at that all day

Anyway we went as far as we could and came to a small hamlet which was a dead end so had to turn back, passed the scualabus sign which sounds so Welshy it made us laugh.

Then the school sign, dont these children look happy running along hop, skip and a jumping whereas reality is their parents have been screaming at the little buggers for 2 hours to get washed, dressed and fed and not to even look at their siblings for fear of an early morning fight and tantrum, then the drama of getting into the car, he got in first yesterday it’s my turn to get in first, get out of the car, get back in the car, I’ve forgotten my gym kit, I’ve forgotten my sandwiches and on and on.

The castle it was imposing, but we couldn’t find how to get in, so this is the castle with a shrine in front, no idea why but we liked it.

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Now we were hungry and were looking for somewhere to eat and found this place, they made their own pasta with or without eggs, Brill. I ordered tomato and basil it was delicious, dont know how they do it its fab and looks like theres nothing on it, need to look these simple recipes up on line.

We needed to continue on to Siena another beautiful part of the country

On the way we were discussing favorite things, I said my favorite thing in the world is sun dried tomatoes, I looked at Clive’s face which looked particularly sad and said ‘after you of course’ he smiled and said ‘correct answer’ but I think he knew the truth.

Siena from a distance is like the magical cities you dream of when reading books as an 11 year old. It’s terra-cotta coloured brick and kind of castley and full of mystery, it’s a bit like that when you get there too all lovely and wandery with lovely shops in castle walls, but we are on a budget so didn’t stop to look but would have loved to have spent money on wispy bits of chiffon with pearly bits on or beautiful bowls that would look pretty with olives in, fripperies as my nan would have said but she died when I was 3 so I can only imagine she would have used the word fripperies.

Eventually we made our way home and settled down to warm up some lentil soup for supper but were joined by Rob and Sue who brought pink gin so unfortunately had to forgoe the lentil soup and were forced to drink 2 pink gin and tonics before collapsing in to bed

Some pics from the day

I have to say this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, it is as if the government has told its citizens the more straight your grapevines and the more varied your crops as long as they are artistic, we will pay you to plant them.The houses are amazing, there are castles round every corner, chateaux everywhere and empty buildings galore, makes us want to visit the estate agent to check out the prices though the cost of living is oppressive petrol is higher priced than the UK, only the alcohol is cheap, hmmm may have to re think that one.Today we went on a mystery tour, just got in the car and drove. It was cooler today so we felt a bit more adventurous and toured about a bit looking for an elusive castle that Sue remembered from years before. After driving for 40 minutes or so, Sue said ‘ I think that’s it,’ we looked across the valley and there it was, beautiful, surrounded with cypress trees at the very top of the hill. We got there in 15 minutes or so and got some pics then went looking for food.Some time later we found a family run pizzeria in a small village and decided to give it a go. On the one side they served cold meats and hams that looked about 100 years old and on the other side the pizzeria, only they weren’t serving pizza they had a short daytime menu which we chose from Clive and Sue chose Panzanella which was cold, made with day old bread and vegetables, it was amazing. Roberto chose spaghetti with ragu and mine was with a tomato sauce, bloody lovely. It all came with Italian bread and parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Yummy. Everyone was happy and of course a litre of wine to accompany it. The bill came 8.75 euro each, result.We thought we would drive around a bit more but then it started raining, my God never seen anything like it, we though best get back to the tents, Clive had given ours a bit of a reinforce in the morning so we were happy but flipping heck when we got inside we thought we were going to take off, there were 2 storms going on at the same time the thunder and lightening were giving all this and all that not realising we are Welsh and thought ‘Is that that the best you can do’?This is on the outside filmed from inside

It didn’t look like the rain was going to stop so Clive cooked some vegan kofte and it was bloody lovely too. It looks like I need to have accidents to have this kind of service. Suddenly the the rain decided to stop for 10 minutes enough for Clive to run around, do the dishes and fill the tent with alcohol and now all he needs to do is give me an all over body massage being very gentle on my arm but a bit tougher on my feet. I have promised to reciprocate this in the future but I am hoping he will forget, bugger as I speak he making a note on his diary.Some more pics from today sorry not having any great success with uploading pics may have to put on facebook

Decided to take a trip to Livorno today one because of the beautiful scenery and two because the car has aircon and the temperature is 40 degrees. Set off around 10am and took it nice and slowly and saw some beautiful scenery, lots of vineyards, lots of sunflower fields all planted in perfectly straight lines.

Arrived at Livorno around 1pm and discovered it was an industrial port and also cruise ships waiting to spill their passengers into the town. There is an area called little venice filled with lots of canals and boats.

The minute we stepped out I wish we hadn’t as it was scorchio. We headed for the nearest restaurant and had a fantastic pizza each and half a bottle of wine and some refreshing water. We were amazed by the amount of food the Italians put away, the couple next to us had ravioli which looked like a main course followed by some sort of savoury crepe followed by something with spinach followed by a huge piece of water melon along with water and wine, they had eaten all this before we had even eaten half of our pizza. Then the tallest man in the world walked in followed by the second tallest man in the world. They sat down then the actual second tallest man in the world walked in and sat down down with the other tallest men. After our lunch we drove back home and took pictures of the incredible scenery along the way.

We arrived back at camp to a welcome pink gin and tonic of Rob and Sue, which went down a treat. This evening we Invited our Dutch neighbours over for some drinks as they are leaving tomorrow we exchanged stories which was nice. Love you and leave you for today gonna get some arm rest xx

Woke at 5 am to hippo noises we do not know where they were coming from but we have a good inkling they might be coming from next door (guess who)

Went to check out the pool and the toilet, shower facilities and they were all ok, lots of snory sleepy people but next door was the worst. Due to my fluency in Italian I have decided to call my neighbour Roberto who is an Englishman a nice new name segaiolo it a has a quaint translation of playful person, please use Google translate to get accurate translation and pronunciation

Went to Certaldo today, lovely cable car to take us up to the top, great pics have to post on Facebook not blog as fab.

Went to the Coop ha ha memories of green shield stamps and the divi lol. Wonderful selection of vegan and vegetarian food and the alcohol, Clive was like a kiddie in a sweet shop

– rum €4.50, martini €2.50, whisky €4.50 and 10 litres of wine €10, the car is full lol

Went for a swim, when we got back as it was so hot I thought I would die climbing the steps to anywhere, the shower by the pool was freezing it was lush apparently the temp was 38 degrees today the pool was amazing we stayed a while.

This evening we went for a pasta and wine evening, very disappointing cold pasta but the wine was ok, Segaiolo had double helpings of everything just for himself I might add because he is such a flirt, although she did give us a bit of extra wine. 10 euros, robbing b******a

Played sequence with Segaiolo and Sue, me and Segaiolo won 2 games to one. Segaiolo and Sue retired for bed so me and Clive decided to go to the toilets first where I tripped over a tent guy rope flat on my face, I tried to get up but quickly realised I had hurt my right arm. The secretary said I should go to the hospital as my arm felt strangely loose, hospital into the phone and off we went very gingerly because the pain was so bad, but I didn’t cry. 30 minutes at the hospital where an x-ray was taken to find out I had a severe break in my humerus which definitely wasn’t funny at the time. The hospital were very good and said I would need an operation to fix it (this was all in Italian but due to my fluency in the language since Tuesday I understood it all). I was admitted to a ward, settled in for the night. Clive returned the following morning after informing Rob & Sue of the drama. I was then taken down for the operation which took 6 hours, some pins and screws later the break was fixed, no plaster needed but very sore, nearly as bad as manflu so Clive informed me. Another night in hospital. Clive arrived the following morning and I was then discharged from the hospital. I have to say the Italian service for me has been second to none, no payment necessary due to the European Health card, lovely staff.

On our way back to the campsite we stopped off for a meal in what I imagined an authentic Italian restaurant would have looked like in the 50’s we were just waiting foR Al Capone to pop his head round the door.

So we are going to miss Andre after all I shall weep in my sleepa. But i didnt cry when i broke my arm

The ferry eventually pulled in at 12.30 Monday morning. Boarding was quick and easy and we were up to our cabin in no time. Felt a bit like a prison cell to be honest, two single beds with nasty itchy blankets on them and not much else really, although there were 2 towels each to use in the tiny bathroom with the tiniest shower I have ever had to fit myself into.

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We had a look around the ship and then had a glass of wine and went to bed. Woke up this morning at 8.30am got dressed and went to the restaurant for a coffee and discovered it was 7.30 am so had an extra hour of life to enjoy. The ship is pretty boring and so is the landscape, just sea sea and more sea not a bit of land anywhere and guess what else there isn’t, Internet.

I asked Clive, ‘ Why do men walk around with their collars up’. He replied ‘they are real men, especially if they have a football logo or an advert under their collar when in the upright position’ I said ‘Well all these years and I didnt realise, why didnt I find this out before’. There were two real men on our ferry, I managed to get a pic of one before a hoard of 10,000 women carried him off

We have discovered that there are many strange people on ferry boats not to mention a number of celebrities too. We saw Coco the clown, Mark knoffler, Francis Rossi, Madonna and if you remember the the coastguard advert from years ago where husband and wife Petunia looking out to sea waving to drowning man, the husband was here also my favourite of all Jiminey Cricket from Pinoccio, he posed for a photo but I resisted asking for an autograph. He was about 5 inches long.

FRANCIS

Petunia’s husband Joe

Please click for original below

COCO

Highlight of day on board was the lunch experience, we asked if there was vegan or vegetarian and he said no and walked off, lovely. We did find a really nice salad and a plate of chips though so made do with them. We then sat in the lounge and watched the antic of some twins learning to walk it was delightful, falling over, standing up and wobbling then falling over again their parents were ecstatic cheering them on a clapping and laughing. They were about 17 and must have been on the Raz the night before God knows what sort of bruising they must have.

I have discovered that along with my extensive driving knowledge skills I am proficient in Italian. I have been listening intently to the Italians in the supermarket and realise I am fluent. The secret is to add an A E I or O to every word and there you have it, I will give you all a short lesson so you get the hang of it. I asked the guy in the supermarket this question.

Canna youa passa mea thea pasta froma thea topa shelfa and he did, he gave me a bit of a funny look I think I haven’t quite perfected the accent yet but I’m getting there, amazing here are some words you must learn I must emphasise it is imperative you speak with an Italian accent or it will not work

Margarita (this is a type of pizza with cheesea and tomatoa)

Pizza (this is a pizza)

Towera ova pizza (this a famous place)

Maria this is my name and you must pronounce it as follows Mar ree arr

Tossa this is Clives name you can try this with your own.

Mamma this is your mother

Pappa this is your dad

Cuppa coffee this is similar to Welsh

Aero Porto this means airport but they put 2 O’s in it this time

Restaurante this is where you find food possibly a Margarita pizza (did you see what I did there)

Any word though just add a vowel and you have it

So there you have it fluency in a nutshell, I will teach you French next week, missed the Greek as were having trouble with the spelling

We reached Ancona at 6 o clocka, it looks like a city worth visiting, beautiful buildings, clocktowers and castles maybe one day in the future, today though, sadly, just passing through.

Four hours later we get to the campsite to be greeted by Rob and Sue, they got us in and the tent up in record time and before we knew we had been served a cold beer and a spaghetti bolognese, wonderful. Thank you to them both x

Some more pics, look at this dogs face I love it

Up at 7 this morning, Clive made us a cuppa and went out on the balcony to drink it, the apartment was great for a one night break and we will give Aris the owner a good review when we get internet again after all the worry he went through yesterday

Went for a 2 hour walk around Thessaloniki this morning very nice too. Walked along the sea front past all the little bistros and cafes facing the sea down to the little castle at the end of the pier and back again. We had a soy latte in a quaint seaside bistro it was amazing, we dont normally buy non dairy milk in Turkey as it is expensive.

Took this pic of toys for our good friend Christopher, he likes model toys, helicopters, trains and barbies.

This was Clives favourite shop

Fantastic fruit and nut shop on the high street couldn’t resist a few pics

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Today I decided to give Clive a little lecture on driving. It went like this…

Number 1 The speed limit is just that, a limit, not a target.

Number 2 Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule, I only mention this rule because whilst driving on the motorway yesterday I could see the speedometer of the car in front and it read 120 kph

Number 3 your hands should be on the wheel at quarter to 3 or 10 to 2 not 25 to 5 or 25 to nothing and the other hand on the gearstick.

I know he appreciated my motoring knowledge from the little cheeky grimacey smile he gave me when I winked knowingly at him, but I didnt get the noise coming from his mouth, I said ‘What’s that noise’ he replied ‘just grinding my teeth dear’ I said ‘well if driving is that stressful you should let me take over more often…..’

The drive through the Greek mountains was amazing, not only because of the beautiful scenery, but also the amazing tunnel system they have in place. We must have driven through around 50 tunnels the longest being three and a half kilometres. All the tunnels are named and each one has the distance on a sign before you enter it. The most impressive one went uphill and downhill in the same tunnel an amazing feat of engineering.

Along with the tunnels there were some extremely high bridges linking one mountain to another all in all an amazing journey. We saw storks flying and a sign for bears but unfortunately didnt see any in real life.

Anyway off to Ingoumanitsa for the ferry. It’s a bit of a dump really, loads of cafes and bars all empty went to get our tickets and the man said I had to go through the Internal gates and Clive was to drive the car and meet me round the back, so needless to say we didnt listen to him and we both went in the car together, no problem a very nice man checked our tickets and the boot of the car and waved us through. Went to park where Rob and Sue told us and the man there said ‘No! You can leave the car but you have to go to the bar’ So we didnt listen to him either and sat in the car for a bit instead.

When we were allowed into the queuing area we set up our table and chairs and prepared a lovely salad much to the amusement of the others in the queue (jealous) and we also downed a bottle of wine and a sangria, very nice too.

Some more pics from today