Chilly Italy

With poor weather affecting this north western corner of Italy as well as through Switzerland I had to adapt my plans accordingly.

The UNESCO recognised rolling hills and vineyards of Piedmont were indeed beautiful with many opportunities to taste the world recognised red wines produced in abundance. I headed to Saluzzo where a very well maintained aire near to the centre provided free overnight parking and a metered but very cheap hook up. It's been over a month since I was last on mains power and the leisure battery has done sterling work providing for all my power needs as well as firing up the heater which has seen regular use  in the cold conditions. Once running the power consumption is quite low as it purrs quietly in the background and it's best left running on low rather than cycling as the glow plug is heavy on juice (and costs £90 at service time) and the unit only uses 100ml of diesel per hour so perhaps half a litre over the evening and a quick early morning blast. The fuel take off from the vehicle tank is situated so that it won't leave you stranded and of course the leisure battery is totally separate to the starter battery for the same reason. As I'm not moving on many miles per day there is limited time for the alternator to top things up and the shorter, cooler days are limiting the use of the solar panels. However everything has functioned satisfactorily but two nights on mains gave me a chance to ensure everything was up to scratch whilst I walked up to the town's castle, historic civic buildings and traffic free centre.

A less attractive but equally useful parking spot in Giavenno offered a chance to cycle over in to the Susa valley and head west towards the border Alps with the lofty Monastero di San Michele towering above and reached amongst other ways by a very tempting looking via ferrata. It was a chilly afternoon and snow lay on some of the lower slopes whilst the tops had had quite a fall.

Heading to Susa and the Fort D'Exiles the following day heavy rain was falling and turning to snow so I decided to head away from the mountains and stay at Ivrea a town with strong links to the Olivetti family of typewriter fame. The Museum of Modern Architecture which included the original factory plus old and current headquarters rather passed over my head, looking as they did rather like Slough in the days of The Office.

Unfortunately en route on a section of motorway something struck and cracked the screen (fortunately not in the field of view) so I hope it will hold out for the rest of the trip. A couple of years ago I had the screen replaced whilst getting some rust treated and a couple of weeks later found the floor mats saturated so I would prefer to address the issue back in Sheffield next summer to ensure that there isn't a repeat performance.

The local canoe club very kindly provide a free aire (donations accepted) right by their slalom course on the river and it was good to see youngsters demonstrating their skills on the fast flowing waters. An hours train journey in to Turin seemed the best way to visit a large and busy city with no doubt a shortage of parking, especially for a longer vehicle not able to use underground or multi storey car parks. From the new central station I walked along the Po valley through parkland to the Auto Museum, grabbed a coffee and a cake and spent a couple of hours immersed in all things car related.
It was very well put together and covered history, design, manufacturing, sport, leisure and the future.

As I walked back through the city my decision to take the train was confirmed as a good one with the rush hour traffic crawling in a cacophony of horns and over revving. I am far from a city lover but these occasional forays do provide their rewards in this case I came across the week long Chocolate Festival with dozens of brightly lit stalls lining the main square and following Via Roma with its extensive high end cloistered shopfronts. I could have stood for hours listening to a saxophonist busking as well heeled shoppers thronged the streets but as always felt very humbled by the beggars and homeless who were ever present.

From Ivrea I headed towards the Italian Lakes and took a twisting road to a chapel high above Lago D'Orta with good views down across the lake to snow covered mountains and a very peaceful overnight stop. Unfortunately heavy rain set in overnight and continued the following day, the same weather system had left a lot of snow further west in Susa and Aosta so I was glad to have moved out of those areas.

With my return to the UK fast approaching I began preparations for leaving the van for 3 weeks with a packing list made, maps swapped in the GPS, old maps to be taken home put in the rucksack and all fresh food used up. I have parked up alongside Lago Di Comabbio where the lakeside hotel allows stays for £8 a night with unmetered power giving me a chance to charge everything fully once more, ensure the fabric and contents of the van are as dry as possible and on a grey but dry day enjoy 30 miles around this and Lago Di Varese.

Finally the WC tank has been emptied and cleaned thoroughly, water and waste tanks will be emptied in the morning and the fridge cleaned and turned off.
Parking and hire car arrangements are all confirmed and my health insurance renewed for a very reasonable £180 or so. 
For the first time Europcar have asked for a DVLA code - available online - as without the paper licences of old they have no idea of your driving history, but it is a straightforward procedure. I have also taken an annual policy with ICarHire 4 U to cover any claims during the hire period, a more cost effective solution than their own in house offering and so now just have a forty minute drive in the morning to the covered parking arranged near Malpensa airport and a flight at 14.00.

Back in 3 weeks with a possibility of an update from Cumbria so until then piccies are here.

South for some Sun and across in to Italy

A wet day in Sassenages allowed me to update the blog but things had cleared up the next day (a French National Holiday, All Saints) so I followed the Isere on a level cycle track covering 40 or so miles before returning and dealing with the van utilities as these are accessed through the rear tailgate that is a bit too heavy to safely lift and support singlehandedly when both bikes are on.
With the remnants of Storm Amelie that had caused damage back at Bordeaux sitting over my next intended destination : the Ecrins NP I decided to make full use of my flexible schedule and lifestyle and headed south to hopefully warmer climes.
In the Verdon Gorge I settled at a lovely aire above the Ste Croix Lake which the following day I circled on the bike dropping in to two picturesque villages and finishing with a heart busting climb out of Moustiere to the plateau back to Sainte Croix passing fields with rows of recently harvested lavender bushes. The 43 miles ended as the sun set and temperatures dropped under the clear skies so once again the cosy Eber did the job.

Following the Verdon Gorge east I stopped in Moustiere to climb up to the Chapelle but it was only later looking back at photos from the past that I discovered I had spent over a week in the village some 12 years ago - I don't think this is a failing memory but reflects how very full and varied the intervening decade and more has been.




Entrevaux  in the Var valley provided the perfect aire : quiet parking alongside a quiet railway on the edge of a small village with the old medieval village across the river and dominated by a lofty castle. 
I set up and then paid the £3 to pass the turnstile and begin the steep series of hairpin bends that took the track up to the impressive semi derelict fortress. It was a dramatic place with several levels, hidden passage ways, gateways protected by heavy pivoted doors and a reminder of more recent history with some very miserable looking cells that had held German Officer POWs from the First World War. From the top battlements I watched one of the colourful two car trains that link Nice and Digne a couple of times a day chug along the valley floor and decided to take a trip the next day.
Down in the old town I was reminded of the souks and medinas of Morocco as I wandered through the maze of narrow walkways and alleys with the tall buildings almost meeting overhead.

Thus at 10.30 the next day I was hopping aboard the northbound train to Saint Andre les Alpes and enjoyed a trip reminiscent of the Ardeche steam train with stunning scenery and a steady pace. I'm surprised the line stays open as it has very few trains per day but £21 million was being spent on modernisation and upgrades to the 16 stations so I guess it is busier in the summer.

As a result of this engineering work the last section was by bus and left me 3 hours in St Andre to enjoy a superb lunch washed down with a couple of beers as I wasn't driving before the return train headed south as empty as before. At Annott I noticed one carriage wrapped up under blue tarpaulin that still failed to disguise its twisted, deformed state - a quick Google discovered that four years ago the train had been hit by a boulder the size of a house that derailed it and killed two people, one a Russian tourist.



With warm sunshine and clear skies I decided to head towards the Mercantour and Europe's highest road the Col de la Bonnnette so followed the impressively narrow Tinee Gorge towards Roubion diverting en route up a steep series of hairpins to Bairols beautifully straddling a craggy ridge. The streets were too narrow for cars and from the church the views were impressive. Alongside a memorial to the fallen of WW1 showed the devastating effect such carnage must have had on a small village and in particular two families who had lost several sons or husbands.
Above Roubion at a small ski centre I parked up on the lofty aire and then walked back down to the village which clung to the mountain side. The autumnal colours were stunning but the village very quiet apart from workmen digging up the cobbles to relay water pipes in what looked to be a very complex undertaking. The old wash house was interesting and many of the houses had carefully decorated doors and windows but seemed shut up for the winter. I walked out to inspect a via ferrata on the edge of the village but decided it would be foolish to attempt a solo trip and returned to the van for what would prove to be the coldest night so far - what would you expect at a ski resort...
Anyway with thermal screens in place, the heater for the evening and a double down bag overnight all was well.

However the snows left by Amelie had closed all the high passes so I dropped back via the remarkable Daluis Gorge passing through 17 tight tunnels before returning to Entrevaux for a shop and to use the laundry kiosk outside the store - all washing done and dried in under an hour for £8 - before I returned to Entrevaux station once more and admired a very clever two ball quad trailer that was secured rigidly behind a large camper - two castor wheels at the back rotated fully and incorporated suspension and loading was courtesy of two aluminium ramps.
Following the Dar Valley down to Nice I stayed off the motorways as tolls are surprisingly more for a high top van and enjoyed the coast road with its views of the sparkling Med.
Monaco was congested due to road works to the point that at one stage I turned round grateful to be only just over 5m in length as a road was closed off but I was soon over the border and in to Italy with no delay.
I then took two mountain roads across to Triora via Pigna and was again grateful for modest dimensions as some of the hairpins were too tight to get round on a first attempt. The 2.4l 5 cylinder engine that is so refined compared to my old 1.9ABL had plenty of power to cope with the long ascents and I was glad that my pre trip overhaul had seen new pads, discs and hoses for the brakes as they dealt with equally long descents.
Triora has a long history associated with witchcraft and more recently was a stronghold for the partisan resistance until Nazi troops succeeded in overpowering the cliff side village and destroyed many of its houses. Thus nowadays the narrow alleys and covered walkways have many collapsed houses but many people do live there and certainly properties were cheap - half reasonable doer uppers at £25k - if you fancy a challenge.
The aire above town behind I think a disused convent was simple and very quiet but more than adequate and I enjoyed a cosy night.
Again roads to the north were snowbound so I took the more direct route down to the Ligurian coast and joined the sea at San Remo. A nearby marina in Santo Steffano al Mare provided two cylinders of Campingaz at £23 each, not bad for a prime location but the cylinders have a different paint and labelling scheme to those in France and the UK so I hope they will be exchangeable elsewhere.
If my plans go as hoped I will be in Italy until early March after the last 8 weeks in France so it shouldn't be an issue for a while. Beyond that in Greece, Turkey and most of eastern Europe Campingaz won't be available anyway so I am likely to resort to the small genny I carry, hook up in the unlikely event that it is available or I have a plan to buy a local larger cylinder plus regulator and just keep that outside the van with the piping entering in through one of the drop vents in the gas cupboard that can then easily be linked up to the existing fixed pipe junction. 
Having dropped the thermostat down on the Truma from 70 to 50 (something I should have thought of ages ago) should mean each cylinder does a fortnight and warmer weather will mean less cooked food and less water heating. The option of a fixed refillable cylinder has been considered but I wouldn't want to reduce my already low ground clearance and the availability of filling points is something of a mixed bag in various countries so I guess the petrol in the genny is a useful catch all and will charge up the leisure battery as well.
Anyway back to the Med. where just outside the marina a parking area permitted overnight stays right next to the coastal cycle path for a very reasonable £8 (my first paid night in five weeks) so I pulled up overlooking the sea, pointed the solar panel to the south and took off on the bike for a 20 mile round trip to San Remo passing a marina on the way where a Saudi billionaire's yacht 'Kingdom 5KR was berthed dwarfing other million dollar and more vessels. The track passed through stylish San Remo and after a long illuminated tunnel finished at Ospedalettii that once held Grand Prix fixtures on a street circuit.

After returning to the van I watched a spectacular thunderstorm breaking out to sea and after dark walked around the marina where no one challenged me and millions of pounds of floating wealth sat rocking gently on the waters. Some were occupied and I reflected with some amusement that the presumably affluent occupants were still largely just sitting aboard with Saturday night telly for entertainment.

Yesterday I stopped in Albenga for a walk round its historic centre and on a fresh day was tempted by a cosy trattoria to indulge in an excellent pizza, profiteroles and coffee before heading a few miles up in to the hills to Zuccarello where I overnighted outside the village. The cloistered streets were deserted but surprisingly I did meet two old friends from near Brecon resting on a bench and walked up to the castello which lay high above the village.

Today I have left Liguria and entered the UNESCO titled part of Piedmonte so honoured due to its remarkable landscape of hills and valleys dominated by acres of yellowing vines. It has been a dampish day but tomorrow bodes well so I have taken advantage of a data passport to update the blog and will catch up on some TV tonight - I too can live the millionaire lifestyle!

Pics here.... enjoy.