Trying to muffle the muffler.

Friday, 28 August

On starting the motor on Tuesday morning, I knew something wasn’t right. It started fine but it was just LOUD. We moved out of Geneva, the city of perpetual red lights, and onto the highway entering France and free camping for those so informed.

After a half hour, I pulled over and checked the exhaust (or Auspuff in German) system. It looked OK but I noticed a crack very close to where the exhaust connects to the engine. Bugger. Since it was raining, I didn’t want to spend too much time outside and we kept on going to our end destination at Cogin les Gorges.

I can only speculate that the crack was caused when the Bologna mechanics lifted the muffler too high to the body of Springy. It could have also been damaged by poor hangers (the rubber rings that hold up the muffler). Any which way, it was beyond my abilities to fix, so we took her to the local mechanic just down the road from our night’s stop.

The mechanic was able to weld close some of the cracked muffler but not the top part of the pipe as he couldn’t reach it. At least it was going to stay on for a bit longer. We found the camp site and met the owner, a lovely lady who became a Godsend for us over the next few days.

We visited another local mechanic (our new friend’s mechanic) and they organized to have the required bits sent and they would have it all fixed the following day. Facing the fact we were here for a couple of days, the camper owner took us to the local sites of the Abbey of St Anthony, where you could still see his bones and up into the mountains where the WWII French Resistance fighters were based.

Unfortunately, the mechanic couldn’t fit the new pipe to Springy, something about it being incompatible with her due to her age. It was a bit confusing to me as I couldn’t see the actual connector to the engine with the parts that were shipped. I then asked if the top part of the crack could be welded close if the pipe was removed. They could have a go but we had to bring Springy in the next day.

With that decided, we spent the day relaxing at our friend’s place waiting for the phone call from the mechanics. It was quite a relaxing day overall. I even started and finished making one medieval shoe, something I had been hoping to do for quite a while. We even watched, ‘Monsters Vs Aliens’ in French which was quite entertaining as we had seen it a thousand times before and wanted to listen to the translated version.

With the phone call from the mechanic, we picked up Springy. They were able to weld up the crack but they said it was still a bit loud. Turning on Springy, she sounded just as quite as she was before and we were all quite relieved. That night we celebrated our time with our friend by going to a very nice local restaurant. They even made me drive her left hand drive manual car, something that I had never done before. I thought I went fairly well.

Unfortunately, we now had to change our plans and not visit Spain at all since we had lost so many days. We’ll spend the rest of our time in France and maybe come back to the UK a day or so earlier.

Friday morning came and we had to finally say goodbye to our new friend. There were tears from the girls but we will keep in touch, even if we have to do it old school via email as she doesn’t have Facebook.

As the highway trip from Geneva to Cognin leg Gorges cost us 32 Euro in tolls, we decide to keep off them whenever possible. This will save us some money and Dee can enjoy more of the countryside. It’ll just take us longer to get to the end point in the afternoon. And wear me out a bit as highway driving is less mentally taxing compared to narrower streets, mad on-coming drivers and constant roundabouts

Along the way we visited an amazing antique shop which tempted us greatly, more so if we actually lived in the area and hand a few more dollars.

We also pulled off the road and found a shady area near 2 rivers to have lunch and bit of a siesta. Even though it wasn’t a main road, there did seem to be a bit of traffic some of it very close to us.  As we recovered from our kip we realised the locals were thinking we were prostitutes (remembering in Bologna some prostitutes were making good us of Springy-like campers) We quickly packed up because Dee was starting to panic that someone was going to proposition us, even though she was still saying ‘Bonjour’ to everyone who came by making it sound like she was a welcoming prostitute…..

And someone was practicing with automatic fire somewhere in the locality (not at or near us though).

AT 5.30pm, we finally arrived at Vallon Pont d’Arc (A little valley with the arched bridge). 20 years previous a massive cave system with beautiful 36,000 year-old drawings was found. What the French government had done was create an amazing replica of the site so you can visit the area without damaging any of the actual structure or paintings. I think the last book from ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ series actually uses the site as part of the story. We didn’t have dinner until 8.30 at night.

Tomorrow, we travel to Beziers the sight of a Crusade where the Gnostic faith was eradicated back in the 12^th century.

Saturday, 29 August

With an 8am start, we saw the Pont d’Arc, a natural landmark of the area. Water has eroded a hole through one side of a valley wall and has created an arch the current river goes through. They have evidence the area has been used for over 36,000 years and I’m has been used a clear reference point since then. It’s nice to think that almost all of the people I know should have ancestors who went, ‘Oh! Ahh!’ just like us.

The back roads to Beziers were nice and we saw some lovely country side but it took ages……

We found antique shops and large Saturday market just outside of Ales. I was able to find a set of small screwdriver heads which was exactly what I was looking for. The supporting screw for our water heater was loose (I blame the Eastern Bloc roads) and I couldn’t tighten it as it’s in a very confined space. With a short screwdriver head and my multi grips, I was able to get some tightness to it. Tomorrow we’ll see how much it rattles.

We made the executive decision and get a French gas bottle. I don’t believe our last English gas bottle has enough inside it to last the next fortnight. After the normal charades I had signed a contract for a bottle and then found out they were out of full bottles for the one I wanted. I then signed another contract for a different bottle, received my gas regulator then went in search for an adaptor to connect my rubber gas hose to the new regulator. I had to buy a complete, outdated, regulator to get the little piece I needed to connect to the hose.

After all that, I decided we’re going on the highway for the last leg (bliss) and we’re now parked in an olive farm in Beziers.

Australians in Austria

Well, I think we're in the Alps? Lots of mountains and it's cool? That'll do!
:)

As we drove to Austria, we passed the area where the 'Otzi the Ice Man' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi) was found. It's amzing to think that this area was populated for so may thousands of years.

Innsbruck was great. A nice wander around and enjoy the sights. The ongoing fun of trying to find a non-undercover parking spot for Springy and local businesses that don't want your business because I don't speak their language were the only mars of the day.

We also found some Mustache wax.....
:)


We found some cheap but awesome apple juice that is thick and tastes amazing. We noticed a bee had come in and was making circles around an empty bottle of one, so I put a dreg of juice in the lid and set it aside for the bee who fell upon it and had his fill. Within half an hour, we had 3 more bees in the camper, so I moved the lid outside.

As we were getting ready to leave Innsbruck, we struck up a conversation with another Aussie who was travelling with his wife. It's amazing how good it feels to listen to a person with the same accent as you.

The mountains are still awesome and gene has secretly fallen in love them.

We made our way to Lichtenstein and stayed in the nation's capital in the parking lot of their soccer stadium. We even had a clear view of the Royal abode.

Today, we drove to Lucern in Switzerland, hoping to see a library of medieval books that we saw in the 1999 trip. Our memory must be failing on us as the library is in St Gallon instead. Bugger. It's still a beautiful town. I took Gene for a walk to find the library that didn't exist and found awesome stuff instead as Dee had an afternoon rest.

We decided to stay the night in Lucern and push on to Geneva tomorrow so we're at CERN bright and early for the Monday morning tour we're on.

I even did some laundry, de-rusted bits of Springy, fixed the exhaust pipe and did the washing up. Quite a balanced day of chores.
:)

Leaving Italy

Today, Dee was released from hospital at about 4.30pm with a nifty bag of drugs that will almost get her through to our return to Australia. It was a bit of a decision whether to stay in Bologna for another night or head towards Austria. In the end, Dee was happy to move on, so we did. It's great to be all together again.

She's taking it very carefully and we're not letting her do anything stupid.

Once we were on the highway, we noticed the smell of exhaust fumes in Springy and Gene was saying how hot the back was, even when it was quite cool. We pulled over for dinner and I realised when the mechanics looked at the exhaust pipe, they used the small rubber hangers that hold the exhaust pipe up. The problem was it was too high up and fumes and heat were coming in. I took off 2 of the rubber rings, lowering it down to where it was before. No problems with heat an fumes now but it still needs good long rings to keep it at the distance required and stable.

The mountains we're passing between are amazing with castles and medieval towns all along the way.

We found our campsite for the night, a place at the top of another mountain, this time with wet roads.It's a nice place but horribly expensive due to the high season. We should be in Innsbruck, Austria tomorrow.

Prepare for the confusion of having Australians in Austria!

It all sounds like Baloney

Tuesday, 18 August

The days have been filled with visiting Dee twice a day, getting various bits of Springy seen to and trying to rest. It hasn’t been bad, just not static.

The good news is that Dee is being released tomorrow but we don’t know when. We’re hoping it’s before lunch but you can never tell.

I love making connection to English words from the local words. Whilst Dee is in hospital, I found out that 'Floor' in Italian is 'Piano' and 'Room' is 'Camera'.

One of our friends, who has been taking care of our place whilst we’re gone was a Godsend today. To ensure we didn’t have to pay any of the hospital costs and allow the reciprocal arrangement between Italy and Australia national health services occur, we had to provide Dee’s Medicare card. First I thought it was in Dee’s purse that was stolen in Hungary but Dee had left it back in Australia with all the other bits and pieces she normally carries. Our friend was able to get to our place at night and find it (the latter bit the major concern, trying to remember where we put it 4 months ago), take a photo of the card and email the hospital. It was a massive relief.

The current plan is pick up Dee and start driving to Austria. We’re hoping its cooler up in the Italian Alps.

With Gene and I driving the length and longth of Bologna visiting Dee ad doing various odd jobs, 2 things have gained our notice.

1. Roadside prostitution is quite common in the city. Not only are they at various roundabout and such but they have campervans.  I think it’s quite inventive but they all look like the same style and age as Springy. I would hate for anyone to think of me as fat, furry man whore judging me by the vehicle I drive. It was also a good opportunity to talk to Gene about prostitution in today’s society.

2. Traffic light windscreen wipers. These guys come out when you’ve stopped at the red light and ask if you want your windscreen wiped. Even if you say, ‘No’, they still do it and then ask for money. Canberra has them but if you say no, they don’t wash your windscreen or do it and not ask for money. These Buggers do and it drives me insane. I picked up the local technique of stopping about 5m from before where I’m supposed to stop and when they come up to my window, I drive forward, leaving them behind me. The fact that I still had suds on my window from the previous window washer should indicate that I don’t need his services. I don’t mind beggars though, they are a bit different. They don’t provide a service you don’t want and then expect payment.

I’d rather see more prostitutes on the road than window wipers.

Today, we also found a locksmith to try to open the safety box we found underneath our cupboards drawers. We have no idea what’s in it as we never received a key. Unfortunately, he couldn’t open it, so the mystery continues.

I love the idea of businesses closing for the summer break but I do hate the fact that all the businesses that provide items for camper vans and caravans are closed during the high season  when caravans and campervans are visiting and require a bit of TLC.

Now for some stupidity from me.

About a fortnight ago I wrote above our water tank port ‘Lock’ and ‘Unlock’ with arrows pointing in the relevant directions as the girls could never figure out how to open. Then they got miffed that I wrote it as it indicated that they couldn’t open a locked nozzle which they couldn’t. I also did the same with the little back hatch that holds our water hose and fold up chairs). The next time I tried to open the port, I thought I opened it the wrong way and I had written the lock and unlock directions the opposite way. Today, I tried to open the port doing the opposite of the incorrect markings for quite a while but to no avail. I thought the lock was busted somehow and I had even prepared to visit a professional the following morning to sort it out. Then I tried following the actual arrow directions I had originally drawn and it opened easily. So I was smart to draw it in the first place but an idiot (twice over) to think I had drawn it wrong then follow my incorrect assumption. The good thing is I know now which way is correct…….

Ever since we bought Springy, we had been using gas to run the fridge when we were stationary and the leisure battery when we were on the road. Most of our overnight stops didn’t supply external power, so we didn’t worry about that third option. Coming into countries that didn’t condone free parking, we tried the external power but it didn’t seem to work. We just figured that the fridge just didn’t work that way and we just accepted it (figuring the cost of getting the electrical system was a bit too much). When we replaced the fridge, we realised it didn’t run on external electrical as well, reinforcing our original thoughts. About a week or so later, Dee is sorting out her clothes cupboard which is situated next to the fridge and notices a power point at the back with a cable half plugged in and the switch turned off. When she pointed it out it finally clicked that the fridge wasn’t hardwired into the electrical system but just plugged in. Plugging the plug in and throwing the switch gave us a cold fridge in a couple of hours.

Gene now has a Hello Kitty Wonder Woman watch thanks to a McDonalds Happy Meal.

Big Hearted Dee

Monday, 17 August

With Dee resting in the hospital, Gene and I have all this free time to explore the city of Bologna. Apart from the Twin Towers (a building one of the characters in the Percy Jackson books talks about), we didn’t know what to see and really we wanted to rest between visiting hours with Dee.

The weekend is upon us and with a public holiday on Saturday (I thought that was a bit strange), the city was pretty deserted. It made driving through an Italian city pleasurable.

Bologna has a hospital precinct with hospitals building for each specialisation (cardiac, Pediatric, ocular, etc). One of the patients told me that Bologna was one of the best places to be sick in as they have the best hospitals in the area. It’s great the amount of care given but it makes it a bugger to walk to and from a car park that can take a camper. Such is life! It’s my exercise for the day.

Gene has been great throughout the whole experience, taking things as they come.

The hospital staff have ben lovely but not many people speak English which has been a bit frustrating for Dee, being a rather chatty sort of girl.

We have Springy for a quick see to. It’s been 10,000km since the last service but the mechanic says these vehicles should be right for one every 15,000. That’s great but I still need somethings looked at.

Our kitchen cabinet catch has finally failed on us and we have to rely on masking tape to hold it close until I can find a place to buy a new one (and possibly some spares). It makes going around sharp corners fun.

I was able to contact our travel insurance people and they are onto any possible hospital bills. We’re lucky that Australia and Italy have reciprocal medical agreements and any medical costs should be nil. That is a relief. We were worried that we may have to pay out the costs then seek reimbursement.

We’re currently hiding in McDonalds trying to use their wifi but to no avail, so I’m tpying this blog on a word document and I’ll copy and paste it later.

I was also hoping to see a few businesses about purchasing the correct shelves for our fridge but no-one is answering their phones. I have a sneaking suspicion that many businesses have a Sunday-Monday weekend.

We reviewed our trip and we don’t think we can make Venice now. Once Dee is released (hopefully today) we’ll be heading north to Innsbruck in Austria then West to Lichtenstein and Switzerland over the next week.

The weather has been much cooler over the last few days and we’re hoping it will continue as we head towards autumn. I even had to use a doona last night.

With the evening upon us, we have been informed that Dee has an enlarged heart (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/enlarged-heart/basics/definition/con-20034346). I always knew she had a big heart but not in this way.

No idea what caused it or what type it is so far but we have a meeting tomorrow morning with the Chief Doctor to discuss it. There is medication they want to put her on which will involve being monitored in hospital for a couple of days.

The funny thing is we had to travel halfway around the world to find out what was wrong.

The good bits of the day are:

We now know what’s wrong.

We can begin treating / managing it and last and least

Springy had a bit of a service and is running much better.

Thank you to all the messages and well wishes, they are wonderful.

Pisa, the Hotel California and hospitals.

One of biggest problems we’ve had so far is trying to find a mechanic who can service Springy. It seems that all viable options occur on the weekends. Yesterday evening, we thought we had found one so we packed up everything this morning. We thought we were a bit early, so we did the daily shop to find the business still closed. After trying to interpret the various notices, we realised the mechanics were closed for the holidays.......

With only a sigh, we drove to Pisa and did the touristy thing around the most famous architectural failures in recent history. You don't want it lean to far as it might fall over and no-one will visit the town. You don't want to straighten it as it just becomes the ex-Leaning Tower of Pisa which also doesn't draw the crowds.

Before we get too carried away with the trip, I realised we hadn't planned to see Assisi the home St Francis and where we bought Dee's wedding ring. looking at the map, we realised we had missed it already as we were travelling north to the left off Perugia and Assisi is on the right. To turn back would be a 2 day trip from where we were. We weren't too happy about that. Where we pulled over was the drive of the Hotel California. We hoped it wasn't an omen...............

Currently, Pisa must be the easiest Italian city to enter and look at the sights and get out again. Even the road side sellers were incredibly helpful. They pointed out the car park that was just about to open up and helped me reverse park Springy in. It was worth buying 2 hand woven bracelets of him for 5 Euro. I also considered them our unofficial security for Springy as they seem to have selling rights there. If any of the cars were broken into, they would be the first to be fingered, so they keep a watchful eye out.

The Tower looked much better than we last saw it in 99. The surrounding religious buildings also had scaffolding taken away. The main attraction was all the tourist taking photos of them and the Tower, pushing it up or over, kicking it or pretending it's their genitalia.

Suitably impressed and with a picnic lunch under our belts we travelled on. The GPS had a camping ground called 'Piccolo Paradiso' near our finish point for the day, just before Bologna. Things are going well, we get off the highway and are looking to be there is 15 minutes. Excellent! 

Dee sees another camping sign. Is that a comment or a request to depart from the planned end? We go on and soon see a sign for 'Piccolo Paradiso' that is not along the GPS route which isn't a bad thing as we've been led along a longer path following the GPS on several occasions before.

Following the road with 2-3 signs so far is good. Then the signs stop. The road loops around and we're back to the start again. Puzzled, we follow the GPS again.

We've found camping sites in the weirdest of places during our travels. So, when we start going uphill a bit, I'm not too concerned. When it becomes a narrow road and then gravel, I'm concerned and start looking for a place to conduct a 3 (or 15) point turn.

We turned around and looked at the GPS again. There are 2 listings for the site. I scribble the addresses down and choose the one I didn't pick originally. Surely this is the right one!

We figured we must have missed something with the signs as the GPS was pointing in the same direction, so we went back, stopping at a petrol station to confirm directions and tried the signed path again This time I noticed above the sign was another sign of a different font with 'Piscene' on it. At an intersection, there was only one sign, this one with Piscene on it. Trying my luck, I followed that sign to Picadillo Paradiso. 

It didn't look right. I couldn't see any campers. I got out and found the main serving area to see a pool, play equipment and a basketball court. Whatever it was now, it isn't a camping spot any longer. The lady behind the snack bar then confirms this saying it hasn't been one for years. I try to point out that not only is it in my GPS as a camping spot, there is 2 listings, one being at the top of a nearby empty mountain. The breakdown of the language barrier strikes again.

We go back to the sign Dee saw originally and followed that. Surely it can't be too far. So we drive. And drive. I can't recall missing any signs and we spot a camping sign, so we continue on. And on. 

We finally arrive and it doesn't look like any campsite we've ever seen. It has a high locked wooden gate with an intercom. I ring and the gentlemen says he'll be down in a minute. I look at the sign and the name of the camping site. I think about how far it is from everything else. Another car drives up and is very happy to see us, just as the manager shows up. Both are from the Netherlands and perhaps partners. I ask and my suspicions are confirmed. It's a nudist camp....

Now, I do't have any problem with nudity but I was fairly sure that Dee did with Gene with us. Thanking them for their time, we drove off heading towards Bologna to see if the camping site there was something more than a fantasy.

As it was about 6pm by this stage and we had been on the road for about 10 hours, I suggested we stop at the next open restaurant and have something for dinner and bugger the expense. It was around that point we drove past the petrol station I asked direction from and hour or so previously. We had completed a massive winding loop......

All the restaurants were closed. It was then I proposed the hypothesis we actually died somewhere along the road (like Hotel California) but instead were doomed to travel the roads looking for camping sites that didn't exist and look for dining that was closed.

For at the last week, the weather has been uncomfortably hot with the only respites when it rains making it cooler but humid.With this long day of just bizarre situations, it became too much for Dee.

About half an hour outside of Bologna, Dee asked to be taken to a hospital. Previously, Dee has had chest pains and they have never been deemed heart attacks after the lengthy testing that was conducted. I thought this is the same but I wasn't taking any chances. Gene loaded the GPS for the nearest hospital and we were off. I didn't fully know where we were and I didn't feel confident the operator, if we called, would be able to send an ambulance.

We made it to the hospital and Dee was admitted. It was then we found out it was a orthopedic hospital....

After confirming that things look OK, they organised to have her moved by ambulance to the General hospital for better care.

The Bolgona Medical services are great. What surprised me was the separate buildings for the different specialisations (orthopedic, cardiac, pediatric, etc). It also makes it a bugger trying to find the right hospital to find Dee.

We finally found the General Hospital and had enough coinage to dine on 2 packets of chips and biscuits. Dee stayed at the General Hospital that night and was moved to the Cardiac hospital the following morning. Gene and I slept in Springy on the road near the medical precinct as it was 10pm by then and tried to park closer in the morning.

The doctors are keeping her in hospital until they can perform  a  stress test on her on Monday, Gene and I spent most of this morning walking and driving around trying to find closer parking spots for a camper, seeing the Twin Towers of Bologna and finding the camping site for the night.

Tomorrow should be a relaxing day...............

Crossing the Rubicon

With a fond farewell to Rome, we joined the frantic highway travellers and headed north to Florence. Almost at once, I realised that Springy wasn't being her normal, cheerful self. Any speed over 90km brought on a very bumpy ride reminiscent of the roads in the eastern bloc countries. Pulling over to a highway mechanic, they pointed out her front right tyre was fatigued and needed replacement. An hour and half and 170 Euro later, we were back on the road and looking for the night's lodgings.

The ongoing problem with camping sites is the GPS, camping guides and local signs generally don't match up (that would hit us badly the following day in the next post). I had a camp site programmed in from the GPS that seemed to be around the area we wanted to stay for the night. As we left the highway, Dee saw a camping sign with a pool next to it and insisted we go to that one. At this point in time, I didn't really care where I went and started following the camping signs and turned off the GPS. And we followed the signs. And followed the signs. We eventually arrived and thanks to the language barrier we told the pool wasn't for us. Then it was for us but you had to pay an extra 5 Euro each. Then I saw it was just a deposit when others returned their swimming dog tags. The girls then found out the swimming caps that were mandatory had to be purchased from the bar. It was just frustrating but at least I have a fabulous white and purple swimming cap that probably won't be required in any other pool in our journey and/or lifetime.

Although the site was very helpful with providing an address of a business that specialises in servicing campervans We decided to visit them early the following morning before heading to Pisa.

Rome (Day 2 or the chase for Angels and Demons)

Wednesday, 12 Aug

With the second day of Rome upon us, Gene and I braved the streets of Rome to view ancient buildings and hunt down the 3 remaining clues given in Dan Brown’s book, ‘Angels and Demons’ that would involve us travelling us through the streets and subways of Rome. Dee declined the offer and stayed home.

The Roman Forum and Emperor’s palace was great. The history that occurred in that small area is amazing.  We looked down upon Circus Maximus and saw just a sandy stretch of land, all that remains of an impressive building 2,000 years ago. Gene was very patient with me and we were off looking for her clues.

It started well as we headed north-west by foot, to Piazza Navona. One turn took us away from our destination but we righted ourselves to munch our lunch in the shade overlooking the Egyptian Obelisk with the dove of peace capping its top. The fountain at its base looked cool and inviting but out of bounds like all of Rome’s fountains. It was also where the cardinal was drowned in the book.

Heading north directly up Via Della Scrota which changed to Via Di Ripetta we found Piazza Del Popolo, the area where we could find the second clue, the skeleton mosaic in the floor of a Church. We were at a quandary, we could see 2 identical Churches but neither had the right name. Asking a police constable, we found out that they were opened at only 4pm, still an hour and half away.

Instead of waiting, we decided to move to the third clue as we could take the train, find it and come back to the second clue before making our way back home. As we navigated around the Piazza’s Egyptian Obelisk which was being repaired, we saw another Church. Was this the one we were after? Closer examination indicated it was so. To the right of the Church was a display of Leonardo De Vinci’s work. It was rumoured, he was Illuminati and we took this as confirmation. To escape the heat, we had fun looking at the display being able to play with the items drawn by the great man himself.

We bought a copy of ‘The Last Supper’, a painting of much controversy. The more you looked, the more saw Mary Magelan sitting at Jesus’ right with Peter making a slashing motion past her throat. The change we received had the Visturi Man image engraved on the face of coin. Surely a sign!

Catching the Metro to Barberini Station, we found the Fontana di Trevi. It wasn’t the third clue but it was ice cold and a welcome respite. We moved on looking for the Church of Santa Maria Della Vittoria, and the statue of The Ecstacy of St Agnes. The Church wasn’t in the Piazza or on any of the maps we could find (I later found out that the place was moved in the book). The police came minutes after we left the fountain, herding the people away from the water we recently cooled ourselves with.

We explored the Church near the Piazza, hoping it was incorrectly named in the book but to no avail. I then used my charm on a female local and she was able to Google Maps the Church, only 9 minutes away. With lightness of foot, we were away!

The Church, like many others in Rome, was small but heavily decorated in marble and gold. There we found St Agnes writhing in ‘Ecstasy’. You decide why…..

Time was running short but we had enough to find the last clue and home by 5pm. The train was caught and the Church entered 10 minutes after it was opened to the public. We found the apse and saw a mosaic of a skeleton but was it sneering? A search of the Church confirmed it being the only skeletal mosaic, sneering or not. We put it down to artistic interpretation. All the clues were found! We were tired, hot and sweaty but now we could return home satisfied of job well done.

 Police consulted and avoided, no attempts made by Gypsies and success with our challenge but foiled at the end by the bus system. When was it due? Every 30 minutes. When was the last one? He didn’t know. So we sat and waited in the shade, sipping our dwindling supply of water. Finally, the bus arrived and we bolted from our seats though the summer sun to the air conditioned bliss of the bus that took us to the doorstop of the caravan park and to an over heated Dee.

Veni, Expectavi, Vidi, Habeo vexatis pedibus

Tuesday, 11 Aug

Just to get it over with, it’s hot and dispersed throughout this post is the hunt for water, cold drinks, drinking of said drinks, sweating and looking for shade and air con. But let’s start 16 years ago when Dee and I visited Rome. *insert lulling music and fade out screen shot*

It was the summer of 99 and I didn't have a grey hair in my head. We were heading toward the Vatican and realise we are not attired in accordance with the dress regulations to enter. At the local market we find a suitable dress for Dee and buy this awesome shirt with a collar and we visit the spectacle that is the Vatican. *fade back in*

As we get ready for our visit to the Vatican with Gene, I put on this awesome shirt with a collar. A bit frayed and worn out but at least I look better than the shirt. Just....
:)

With a successful journey on Roma’s public transport without being molested, mugged or lost, we embraced the Colosseum. It hadn't changed much but there was less scaffolding but more people trying to sell you guided tours.

As Dee still had a sore, sprained ankle from her trip in Herculenuem, I lent he my awesome walking stick I acquired on the trip. As the walking stick can unscrew into 3 sections, I wondered if it was the same for the head as well as the head felt slightly loose. To my great surprise, it did unscrew and, to my even greater surprise, out popped a spring mounted corked vial from within the cane. How amazingly cool is that??? Unfortunately, where I unscrewed the head of the cane was where the bronze joined with the wood and it wouldn't stay together after that (I glued it back together one we came home but I did a quick fix with sticky tape borrowed from a souvenir stand). Unfortunately Dee dropped the vial half an hour later and broke it but we can get another one. Goodness knows what the cleaning personnel (and possibly security) thought of visitors with vials secreted in canes........

We headed towards the Vatican's Museum and proceeded to wait in a 400m long line to get inside. Some idiot wanted to bring his dog inside but was told no (since it wasn't a guide dog or anything).

As Dee had visited 20+ years before, I followed her lead into the museum and that's when things went awry. After seeing the largest bronze pine cone eva, Dee told us once we see the Sistine Chapel, we get funneled out of the museum. I didn't really want that, so we saw the other side of the museum which was quite boring and not at all air conditioned.

We then started heading past the 'No Entry' sign and against the flow of other visitors. I felt very salmony at this point. After a while of looking at cool things, Dee decided to turn about and go with the flow which led us back and down the stairs to the boring bit where the cafeteria was. A great opportunity for a rest and recharge of the frazzled batteries. We then bit the bullet and went with the flow of all the other visitors and started to see amazing art.

We finally saw the Sistine Chapel and were suitably impressed. I was also amused by the security guards with the loudspeaker telling everyone to be quite. Oh the irony.

We finally escaped the museum and headed towards St Peter's square (which is round unlike a boxing ring which is square) with the hoped of getting into the Basilica. Unfortunately, the line up to get in, with on 1 1/2 hours before closing, was halfway around the circumference of the square. That was at least 400m.

We decided to skip that bit. Gene and I went to the obelix at the centre of the square and found the item mentioned in the Dan Brown thriller 'Angels and Demons'. It was the start of the following days adventure.

By then, the rain had started to come so we enjoyed a rather expensive dinner while the heavens opened. Making our way back to the bus stop, we were informed that our bus now goes every hour instead of every 15 minutes and so it would be faster to catch 2 trams. While we were waiting for the tram our bus showed up, so we bolted to catch it.

A big day out that we won't forget in a hurry.

The next day Dee stayed at home and gene and I continued the search for the remaining clues.

A trip to Herculaneum

Sunday, 09 Aug

We can now ticket off from our bucket list, ‘Sleeping in a Sulphur pit’. Being in a more active volcano was interesting, the bonus being the pool was a nice temperature due to the bubbling magma just meters under our feet *turning off hyperbole system now*.

We conducted our morning routine reasonably quickly and headed towards Herculaneum, a posh seaside town that was buried by 20m of volcanic ash from Mt Vesuvius in 79AD. We decided to visit that site instead of Pompeii as it was in better condition although Pompeii is a much larger site due to it being buried with only 4m of ash.

Dee had a bit of fall when she misjudged a step and twisted her ankle and skinned both her knees. The way she was grasping her leg, I thought she had broken something and started to look for a staff member but she called me back. It was then I realised all the site’s staff are at the front building and not actually at the site itself. Lazy buggers.

The town itself was amazing. There were quite a few mosaics and painting in the buildings and walking down the streets was a fantastic experience. A few comments were made by the girls that they were getting tired of all the old stuff we’re seeing and they hadn’t seen a single dead body yet. They finally did see quite a few at the end but they were casts of the originals. For some reason, Gene was a bit disappointed in that.

We were finished by 11am and that was enough for the day. As it was a Sunday, there was a market ‘somewhere’ and Dee wanted to visit. The problem with this is we didn’t know if it was within walking distance or we had to drive to it and try and find a parking spot would be hell. I thought we weren’t going to try for it and head for the night’s camping site but Dee thought I’d drive around looking for it. Remembering the first cardinal rule, we headed for the camping site situated on Mt Vesuvius. 

After a quite picturesque or terrifying drive up (mine was the former, Dee’s was the latter), we figured the camping site was no longer in business. We stopped at a café, took some terrifying or picturesque photos and confirmed that the buggers had indeed closed up shop. With the option of driving towards Rome looking for a camping site (with none recorded on the GPS) or further south to Pompeii where there were, we opted for Pompeii.

Tomorrow we head for Rome! Luckily, it’s a thriving metropolis and they’ll hardly see any old stuff there………..

Sleeping in Volcanos

Thursday, 06 Aug (continued)

With a disregard to the consequences, we continued onto the port and our booked crossing to Italy. Luckily, there was very little need to use the brakes on the way as it was mainly highway.

We found the port and, after a bit of mucking around, we were booked in. We grabbed a quick dinner and loaded Springy onto the ferry.

The extra cost of having an actual bed instead of just ‘deck’ accommodation was worth it. We had air con, our own toilet and shower and single beds. Gene was quick to point out that her bed is actually smaller than the bed she normally sleeps in in Springy. Life is hard for her. The poor buggers who booked a deck trip basically had that. If you could find a chair, that was lucky. There were some people who came prepared and brought deck chairs.

As I get nauseous on a fast moving elevator, we bought some sea sick tablets from a chemist who couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I think I was interrupting some groundwork with a lady who was there. Luckily, the 13+ hour trip was perfect. I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been so far. Only one more crossing to go!

Our GPS found us the nearest mechanic in Bari but it took us a bit longer to actually get to one who; existed, had a business accessible by car and not mentioned 3 times on the GPS. We finally did the smart thing and looked for a fiat mechanic. It took us about 2 hours but we had new brake pads and new wipers (bonus) for quite a reasonable price. We even used their air con and wifi!

Assessing our options, we decided to get the hell out of Bari and start heading for Napoli, although not intending to get there that night.

If anyone remembers the movie ‘Demolition Man’, there’s the ongoing joke about Stallone not knowing about the 3 shells. That’s how we felt about the Italian highway tolls. We couldn’t figure out if it was cash, card, mandatory electronic billing or sacrificing small animals to a the respective Roman God(s). I think we’ve figured it out though. You need to get a ticket when you enter the highway and when you leave you present the ticket with money to the toll worker when you leave it. I guess it isn’t a bad system but you have no idea how much you’re paying for any trip.

We found the night’s camp site with the extra bonus that it’s in the middle of an extinct volcano. It was wonderfully cool and gave us a respite to do some much needed laundry.

Saturday, 08 August

With the sale of Springy only over a month away, we took photos of her from various angled and states of undress, err, set up for driving and sleeping. Hopefully, we’ll get the for sale sign up soon on gumtree and ebay in the next few days.

The drive to Napoli wasn’t so bad but the Italian Summer is definitely upon us. When we finally camped at the end of the day, it was 38 degrees inside. To escape the heat, we're staying in a volcano....

We had read up a little bit on Napoli and decided to see one museum and hide out of the sun. After finding the museum and realizing we had just broken the first cardinal rule of campervans (don’t take them into old European cities) and we couldn’t find a park. After losing a little bit of skin we decided that Napoli sucks and we just want to rest. We’ve found the camping spot (in another volcano but not as dormant) and trying to relax.

We can feel the build-up for another rain storm.

It’s taken me ages to find wifi access within this volcano…….

This is Sparta

Wednesday, 05 Aug

I woke especially early and walked into cosmopolitan Sparta for a bit of exercise before the expected long day ahead of us. Sparta was quite nice, no one tried to kick me into a well as the unofficial ambassador of Australia. The view of the mountain ranges either side of Sparta are truly impressive. It’s quite understandable how the town of Sparta was never sacked as it’s situated in a natural fortress.

We had planned to leave Greece at Igoumensitsa by ferry on the 7^th and arrive in Italy the following day. Unfortuntely, that day’s ferries were fully booked or leaving at the wrong time, so we decide to leave a day earlier but drive an extra 100km for the next 2 days to make up the distance.

We packed up and drove to Mystras, a 13^th Century Byzantine fortress only a few km from where we slept. It’s a truly impressive construction with many beautiful, still standing buildings and pieces of art. The views were also amazing. It was quite hot still so we only visited the bottom part of the fortress and gaped at middle and upper buildings. We had morning tea in Sparta and had a great conversation with an older gentlemen who spoke with a Greek/American accent. He had lived in Chicago for 45 years but came back after his wife passed away.

The intent was to visit Olympia, the home of the Olympic Games, during the day and end up at Patra , a city about halfway to the ferry port. The GPS took us through a scenic route to arrive at the west coast of Greece and then head north. That took ages and started to stretch the day out. We stopped at some small town for lunch and was served by a lady from Florida who had moved to Greece with her daughter when she was divorced. You could tell that she didn’t like it there but it seemed to us she was trapped.

Somewhere after Mystras, Springy lost her bathroom wind up skylight. It probably wasn’t wound down after Mystras and blew off on the road. We’re on the hunt for a replacement. Luckily, it isn’t as important as a damaged side window or the 2 other skylights in the main part of the van.

We also had quite a bad discussion about rest stops during the trip as any places where we stay for 2 nights involve a fair bit of exhausting walking about seeing the sights. My point of view was it is a travelling holiday and the sitting in the van while I drive a few hours each day while they read, rest or sleep seemed quite a good deal. The end result is a week of travelling will be taken out of the trip for rest days and we won’t be able to make it down as far as the Straights of Gibraltar but have to see a third less of Spain than originally planned. I’m sure the summer heat played a part in the discussion.

For the last few days Dee has been managing a headache, possibly due to the heat. It was different to any of the headaches and migraines she normally has and the normal treatment didn’t seem to work. We decided to backtrack a little bit to a hospital and see what a doctor could do. After a drip of some medication, an x-ray of her neck and finally an injection of something, Dee was released at about 7pm, feeling not much better than arriving. We drove for another hour to a camping site at Olympia.

Greece has a shocking low level of co-ordination in advertising their camping sites. Using 3 different books and maps we’re only seeing a third of the camping sites and most of them haven’t addresses.

Thursday, 06 Aug

Due to the necessary hospital visit, we weren’t able to get to the halfway point the previous day so we had to make up for it today with about a 5 ½ hour drive. That didn’t stop us from visiting Olympia at 8 in the morning though.

The museum and site were great. The artifacts were amazing and it was a very special feeling to walk the Olympic running track. I’m sure some people expected me to do a traditional nudie run.
J

For the last few days I had noticed that Springy ha acquired a squeak in her front right brake pad but I wasn’t concerned too much until today when it had more of a grinding noise at low speed when passing through a town. Suitably alarmed, I made sure nothing was falling off or dragging behind. I was able to take to a petrol station and the local mechanic was able to confirm that the brake pad was touching the brake disc but it wasn’t his type of vehicle and recommended that I drive Springy to Petras, a town not too far away and, thankfully, still on the path to the ferry.

We arrived in Petras and realised we could be looking for a needle in a haystack when it came to a mechanic. Our options were at that point:

1.       1. Look for a mechanic at Petras who could see to Springy but almost guarantee we would be late for the ferry and be charged a fee for changing our booking or lose our $600 booking altogether, or,

2.      2.  Push onto the terminal to catch our ferry and have a mechanic look at Springy in Bari when we disembark but running the risk of damaging the brake sufficiently to not reach the terminal or causing a level of damage to the brake that may require extensive and costly work.

You’ll find out our decision and what happens in the next blog post.

For whom the road Tolls

Tuesday, 04 August

On our drive through Greece so far we've clocked up $135 of road tolls. I don't mind helping out the economy and I appreciate the good roads, I just didn't anticipate the cost which is coming out of the daily budget. We're not really wanting for anything but it's worth the whinge.
:)

As I've mentioned, the heat has been punishing over the last week. This afternoon the storm has finally come and has cooled things wonderfully.

Yesterday afternoon, Dee noticed that Springy's exhaust was hanging a bit low and when I took look underneath, she had only 1 rubber hanger holding the exhaust pipe. I knew she had lost one recently but now 3 were gone. This morning I went on the search for replacements. I even Googled the question I had and translated it into Greek.

First up, I realised after taking to an actual Greek that the translated Greek work for 'muffler' is 'silencer' and if I used the word 'exhaust pipe' things would have been a bit easier for me.It felt like I was on some sort of 'Davinci Code' search with mechanics and spare parts businesses. After being bounced from one place to another, I was finally sent to a exhaust mechanic and had the job done in minutes. That whole experience took 4 hours of my morning away.

The flow effect of this was we didn't leave Athens until almost lunch and into Sparta until late afternoon. We were in no mood to visit anything by then and just relaxed at the camping ground which was blessedly easy to find.

Driving into the Peloponnese was great. Massive mountain ranges with roads negotiating between them. I don't believe the basic path we took today (and the last few days) has changed much over the last 3,000 years. It's things like that I enjoy.

On our drive south to Athens we passed the town of Thermoplylae, famous for 300 Spartans (plus another 6,500 troops but we won't worry about them). I don't know what problem the Persians had, we got through fine.
:P
Due to my geographic ignorance, I didn't realise I was coming close to the site until I saw the turn off and then it was too late. We had the same with Delphi. After a quick Google Maps search, I realised that the distance from Sparta to Thermoplylae was 400km, at least 2 weeks (probably 3) of marching to get there. Just the planning required to enact this on the potentially aged information is amazing.

Tomorrow, we'll visit the ancient city of Mystras, just down the road from Sparta and start our trip north along the west coast to Patra. The weather for the rest of the week is still low 30's but more rain and clouds forecast, something we're looking forward to.

Athens

Athens is great.

In the morning, I finally dragged my fat arse out for a walk up and down the main road near the camping ground. I even lumbered into a run for almost 10 minutes. The things I do to use the second last hole in my belt instead of the last one.....

Another hot day in Greece but only to 34 degrees. We all took hats, sunglasses and water and sought out public transport.Overall, it was an easy trip to get to the centre of Athens once you figured out where you were and what train station you were standing at.And the tourist map didn't show all the train stations, like the one we came out of, so we were trying to figure out where we were for a few minutes.

As a side note, I think Athenian motorcyclists are insane. They don't drive any worse than I've seen before but half of them don't wear helmets. I'm not talking about puttering around but a bike carrying 2 people going at least 120km/hour.

We thought we did the smart thing and bought tickets for the 'hop on/ hop off' bus tours through Athens and not have to walk everywhere.We decided to visit the Acropolis first to avoid the heat of the day but where we joined the tour involved us taking 3/4 of the tour to get there.

Even though we were there before 11am, it was quite hot and slushy lemonade drinks were the call of the day. The site was great and we took some time to rest in the shade and enjoy the 2,500 years of Greek architecture.

We ambled down but missed the tour bus by minutes, so we decided to have lunch in the air conditioned bliss of a nearby restaurant and re-evaluate the second half of the day. I wanted to see the archaeological museum and Dee wanted to see the markets we passed when travelling to the Acropolis. I didn't seeing both but we didn't have time for that sort of nonsense. We finished lunch and had only 7 minutes before the next bus but the waiter took his time and we missed it. That gave us another 30 minutes to sort out when, where and how to meet up. That done, we caught the bus and I stepped off at the museum and Dee and Gene stayed on to explore the markets.

The Museum was great, the highlight was the death mask of Agamemnon.And the air con. I finished early, so I waited at the pickup point enjoying an ice cream and cold drink. I realised the bus was late and I'm sure it didn't pass me by. I started to text the girls that I was still waiting when the texted me saying that I'm not on the bus. From the tone of the text I thought they had jumped on the bus and I had this thought we would be circling each other through Athens on differing buses.

I tried to text but it failed (This isn't the time for a long drawn-out rant about our International mobiles but let's say I'm not impressed), so I tried to ring several times but I only received a recorded message in some foreign language. The texting and calls used up all my credit and it took a while to get that sorted.

I finally arrived at the stop where I was supposed to meet the girls and I couldn't see them but I had assumed they may be at the next stop. I had just sorted out the credit on the phone, rang Gene and, amazingly, got through. Even though I didn't see them and they didn't see me, they were still there. I got off at the next stop, walked the 500m back and found them.

Safely reunited, we caught a couple of trains and a bus and made home, a bit frazzled and weary but together.

That gave us a few hours to rest, have cool showers, wash the days clothes and play on the computer for a bit. I also realised we have only 1 out of 4 rubber, muffler hangers left. I we lose the last one, I can only imagine what would happen. That's job for tomorrow morning before we leave for SPARTA!