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.