November

Happier having found a home (brand new apartment in Dalston Square) and Jess once again working we launched into November. It was Liamś birthday early in the month so we joined him for an after work beer in Camden before he made his way on to a hip hop gig and we slunk off home.

We also got introduced to "meat" via Aimee, her boyfriend Steve and our part time flatmate Lucy (who spent the rest of her time at her actual house in Jersey.) There are loads of Turkish restaurants in Dalston and they reckoned they knew the best one. It was basic but packed with one man cooking the meat over a hot coal stove in the centre of the restaurant. Watch out for stray coals! There was more than enough meat to go around and after feeling sufficiently full we retired to a proper local East End boozer for a few drinks before wandering back home.

The next night there was a meet the neighbours event in our apartment block so we decided it would be rude not to go along and meet some people over a couple of wines. As it turns out the complex was full of young people, all whom seemed really nice and laid back. It was also bonfire night so Steve and Aimee took us out to a local fireworks display at Weavers' Fields. With many of the Councilś canceling their displays due to budget cuts we weren't expecting too much and although it was nice enough it wasn't the most spectacular thing we had ever seen. We then found a spot at the local pub, the Marquis of Cornwallis, another East End boozer and apparently a former haunt of the notorious Cray Twins. We chatted with the locals and had a great night. The night ended with sprint races down the hallway and sparklers on the deck. We agreed that a move east was the right thing to do.

We also had a chance to meet more of our neighbours the following weekend. One of the people we had met the week before was having a flatwarming and had invited us along. We hoped it hadn't just been the wine talking so we took him up on his offer. Turns out there were a few other people from the building there so we got to put some names to people we might otherwise only see in the lift or at the gym (not much chance of that though...)

Social outings continued as the following weekend we were lucky enough to get to see our friends Daryl and George performing in Piccadilly with their band Throwing Needles. We had missed their previous gig as we were on our van trip so it was great to get to see them live. It was also great that all of the local troops had come out in support too. It was a fun night listening to them play and they were easily the best band playing that night (in our biased opinion anyway.)

The next night we were out with the same crew again for Tree's Birthday at the Queen's Head in Camden. We had never been there and assumed it was a bit of a standard big pub. Turns out it is one of the most popular places in Islington with a big dance floor upstairs. It was a good night out but we took our leave before the party really started cranking and there was no chance of us getting away.

It was back to Islington with Tree again that week for an old hobby, the pub quiz. Tree had a group of friends who were meeting and had invited us to tag along. As usual our lack of British Sport/TV/History knowledge ruled us out of any chance of winning something but it was still good fun anyway.

We ended the month on a more serious note, heading down to the New Zealand embassy to participate in democracy by casting our votes in New Zealand National Election. It was a bit weird being surrounded by so many New Zealand accents but we took it all in our stride. The next day we joined some of our friends to watch the results live on the big screen via the internet at a pub in Kentish Town. It being a Green Party event (not any indication of how we voted) there was a sad mood in the air from some of the attendees but it was still good to be with other Kiwis as the results came in.

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October

It was somewhat like deja vu as we returned to London after our long trip. We had arrived in London 2 1/2 years ago looking for somewhere to live and somewhere to work. This time it wasn't all new and exciting however. Also, sleeping in a van on the streets of London wasn't nearly as pleasant as the various campsites we had been staying at around Europe. We were fortunate that even though our old flat only had one person left who we knew, they allowed us to shower and cook and keep warm there. We were also fortunate that Marcus was able to go back to his job. Jess was not so lucky and had the unenviable task of trying to find somewhere to live and somewhere to work.

It wasn't all doom and gloom though. The world seemed to be intrigued by the beard that Marcus had grown on our time away. Even our bearded friends were impressed with the sheer size and bushiness of it. It was starting to itch however, and eating anything with cream in was impossible, so after a week (enough time for people to see it) Marcus got out the neglected razor and off it came (in stages of course, to show what is possible if he ever tries to grow facial hair again.)

In that first week back we made the journey down south to Wandsworth to catch up with Anna and Perry. The temperature was cold but they took us out for some very tasty Thai food. Was good to see them again and tell them all about our adventures away.

We also managed to coax a few people away from the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest to come and meet us for welcome back drinks at the Camden Head. When people stopped freaking out at the size of Marcus' beard we caught up for a good natter. Unfortunately they stopped doing food early and with a group that size the only option was a round of decidedly average Nandos. At least it was warm...

Cleanly shaved we caught up with an old friend of Marcus' from law school, Fionna, who had been living in Cambridge but happened to be down in London to do her citizenship test, just around the corner. The sun was out so we spent the afternoon at the the Lord Clyde catching up over a few drinks. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and a reminder that we should catch up with people who we like more often.

The rest of the month was spent tripping from flat to flat trying to find somewhere that would have us. The novelty of van sleep was well and truly wearing off. As the last week of October arrived we were seriously considering calling it a day in London, when it all came together. Jess managed to score a job working for Brent Council and we also secured a very nice apartment with a very nice girl called Aimee in Dalston. We were off to Hackney!

In typical October fashion the end of the month came and our old flat was having a Halloween party. Never ones to say no dress ups the grim reaper and the corpse bride made their appearance and Tree even made an appearance (being the flatmate of our old flatmates brother...don't think too much about it...) There were zombies and vampires and tigers and ghouls, all seeing in all hallows eve. There were some sore heads the next day...some more than others...

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Van Trip Part 7 - Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands

Lake Bled

Although we had done and seen a lot in Italy we were pleased to be moving on to somewhere new. As we headed North from Venice we could tell we were leaving Italy. The road began to climb as the mountains grew higher around us. We came to the Austrian border and the mountains continued to rise. Spectacular and green all around us. We headed through the mountains and before long we were joining a queue to enter the Karawanken tunnel. We weren't sure why traffic was still but before long it was moving. The tunnel was down to one lane for Roadworks bug we slowly made our way through and eventually came out the other side in the former Yugoslav country of Slovenia. It was definitely Eastern Europe with big concrete buildings filling the valleys as we passed along beside them, however once we got off the motorway and into the hills we passed through pretty villages on our way to Lake Bled. The roads became narrower but all of a sudden we came around a corner and the pretty lake opened up to our left. We followed it round before arriving at the camping ground. The camping ground even had Glamping (Glamourous Camping) although we decided to stick to the trusty Iceberg. It was a lovely sunny afternoon so we decide to go for a walk around the lake. Apparently it only takes about an hour and a half to walk around. It isn't very big. We started off on the lakeside path stopping to admire the clear fresh water from the various vantage points around the lake. It was all very serene and relaxing. In the middle of the lake there is a small island with a church on it. The only way to get there is on an ornate wooden boat which they pull along a rope which stretches from one end of the lake to the other. However the boats left from the other side of the lake so we decided to admire the island from afar. Jess had heard that there is a famous cake in Bled so, never one to pass up cake, we found a place serving the famous Kremsnita. We sat down with all the tourists and they brought us each a.....custard square. The famous Lake Bled cake is a custard square with a layer of cream in it and it was delicious. Lucky we were out for a walk cause we had just packed on a fair few calories each.  We continued around through the small town on the lake front under Bled Castle, perched on the cliff above town and slowly wandered our way back to the camping ground. It was sunny (although not exactly hot) so we decided to try a dip in the lake water. It was fresh but nice not to covered in salt when we came out of the water (which wasn't that much longer after we went in. Brrrrr.) We grabbed some smoked Slovenian sausages and pickled beetroot for dinner and very happy with our day at Lake Bled we wrapped up warm and went to bed.

Konigsee

A shame we didn't have longer to spend in Slovenia but with dew on the grass we set off in the van back towards the Karawanken tunnel to Austria. There was not much of a queue this time but the man in the Booth told us we would have to wait before being allowed through. Our attempts to find out how long were not successful. Luckily we had plenty of German language learning podcasts to keep us occupied for the next hour. The queue built behind us but before long we were away and back into Austria again. Austria was not our final destination however as we motored along the wide Austrian motorway through the middle of the country, up into the mountains with remnants of snow around us, cows in the fields and traditional wooden houses with pretty flower boxes watching us drive by. Eventually we came into the Alps and crossed the border into Germany. We wound our way through some country roads over the hills and eventually found our way to the beautiful lake of Königsee, much larger than the day before. After getting a bit lost we found the camping ground. The sign said to park up and they would be around later to collect payment (all those years of German pad off.)   We followed the nearby river down to the lake. You could see this place was a tourist haven/trap. Before we even saw the lake there was a large car park, stalls selling cowbells and hats with feathers and of course Würst, which Marcus made the most of. You could catch a ferry out across the lake and past the St Bartholomä church. We decided that we would instead go for a walk past the boatsheds along ghetto lake edge and then up into the hills around the shore of the lake. There was no prospect of us walking around this lake like yesterday and we weren't up to the task of climbing the mountainous path the whole way, so after a while of walking and checking out the view across the lake we made our way back to the camp ground. After a quick break we decided to walk up the river the other way in search of supplies for dinner. We found a supermarket, stocked up on meat and beer and made our way back to the van. Outside eating was no longer an option though as the cold in the mountains set in once the sun set.

Innsbruck

The next day we dropped back down out of and then along the foot of the Alps before crossing the border into Austria again. This time we were planning on staying. We followed the motorway as the mountains rose around us, the steepest yet. Before long we were passing the ski resort city of Innsbruck. Our camp ground was up on the hills above the valley but was pretty empty again so we had our choice of places to park. Once we were set up we wandered down the road till we found the bus stop to take us in to the centre of the city. The town centre is quite compact with picturesque mountains on one side, a river running through it, typical old Austrian buildings and plenty of areas for walking around. We wandered up the pedestrianised street, stopping to watch kids playing with a fire hose until we arrived at the Golden Roof, a building built in 1500 with a gold tiled roof. We continued to walk through town, which was busy with locals and tourists alike enjoying the sun. We found a local food market where we picked up some Knödel (dumplings) and Strohm (sweet grape juice made when they make wine) for dinner. There was a market outside too so we planted ourselves on a bench and grabbed some Würst and beer and soaked up the sun. After wandering around town some more we picked up some Apricot Schnapps and when found the bus back to the campsite. As we were up in the mountains it didn't take long for it to get cold after the sun went down so we were pleased to have dinner early. Warming up with a Schnapps was not the best idea (it tasted dreadful) but at least it got the job done before we snuggled up tight in the van, pleased that it was lined with bats.

Lichtenstein

Nestled between the mountains on the border of Austria and Switzerland is the tiny tax dodging principality of Liechtenstein. After a few wrong turns we finally found the correct road to take us through the capital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz, catching a glimpse of the palace on the hill above town but carrying on our way to the other side of the country where we managed to find a camping ground. As usual now the office was closed but there was a note telling us to park up and we could pay later. Fortunately there was a restaurant at the same place so we treated ourselves to some Spätzle, little fried potato things kind of like gnocchi. It was served with venison (the thing from the mountains with horns), tasty sauce and some yummy local beer. We were up for a walk after lunch but rather than head up into the mountains we ventured along the back roads back towards Vaduz. After about an hour we decided we would probably run out of sun before we got to Vaduz so jumped on the local bus which got us there much quicker, along with local school children reading out the bus stops along the way (they weren't in the bus. Their voices had been recorded.) We arrived at Vaduz and checked out the town square including the stone marking the centre of the country (which had been moved to make way for a building before so probably not the middle any more.) It was pretty quiet but there was some activity going on with ladies and huge balls of yarn. They were all over the place but we never quite worked out what they were all about. The palace is somewhat uninspiring but architecture in general across Liechtenstein is not particularly interesting. The views landscape across the valley is pretty spectacular, although actually it turns out that that was Switzerland...we picked up a bottle of wine made from grapes grown by the royal family and then jumped on the bus back to the camp ground as it was getting dark.

Lucerne

It was a quick trip to the border today and we were in Switzerland. We weaved our way over hills and around mountains until arriving in the lakeside city of Lucerne. We had to travel through the middle of the city which was pretty busy for a Sunday but we navigated the traffic and made our way around the edge of the lake until we arrived at camp ground which was located just out of the centre of town and just near the lake. The sun was shining and the sky was blue so after getting parked we wandered our way along the edge of the lake back towards the city centre. There were boats out on the lake and people walking along the lakefront or just sitting back enjoying a coffee in the sun. Before long were in the picturesque city centre with it's old buildings, cobbled streets and the Reuss river running through the middle of it. There are plenty of bridges crossing the river, one of which is a covered pedestrian bridge made out of wood, the Kapellbrücke. It curves over the river and up in the roof are a series of paintings depicting all manner of things from Lucerne's history. We make our way through the bridge, wandered up the river and then crossed back over bridge on the hunt for some food. Unfortunately, it being a Sunday, most of the shops were closed. We did manage to find ourselves a bakery so grabbed some cakes and bread to keep ourselves going. After soaking up some sun on the river bank as we ate we wandered up the hill past some wee Swiss kuhs and proceeded to walk along the city wall. You can walk on top of the wall and also go up into some of the towers along it. Each of the towers has a story but we liked the little man statue tower. After checking out the Swiss Army knives in a shop that was open we journeyed across town to see the Lion Monument, a sad looking statue of a dying lion which was carved into the cliff face in 1820. It was impressive and interesting go see something a bit different. We visited the bakery again to get some food for dinner before making our way back along the lake front to pick up our books for some reading in the park by the lake. Once the sun went down it was cold, but we filled ourselves on tasty bread before going to sleep.

Basel

Our next destination was the city of Basel. We didn't know much about it other than it was close to the border with Germany. We found a camping ground and managed to get in before they closed for the middle of the day. After leaving the Iceberg we found the nearby tram station. A friendly local man changed our money so we could buy tickets and before long the tram was weaving it's way into central Basel. As in any European town we made our way to the main square. This one had a big red brick town hall on one side and pretty painted stone buildings on the others. It also had a food market so we got ourselves some cake and würst to keep us going. We strolled down to the river and crossed to the other side. We grabbed a drink and planted ourselves on the steps on the shore of the river and watching the people swimming by. That's right there were people swimming down the river. We weren't quite sure of the whole deal but it seemed to be that people would jump into the water with a buoy further up and then let the current carry them down a ways, passing all the old buildings and under the bridges before coming back to shore further down. The sun was shining but it was still a bit chilly for us to consider jumping in. We walked along the river, past cafes and parks before climbing up another bridge and across back to the other side. We wandered through old town and checked out the local churches and painted buildings, but didn't go in to any of them. We found a local supermarket where we stocked up on supplies and then wandered back through the town again to the tram stop. We checked out a crazy fountain along the way with moving statues that sprayed water all over the place out of various pipes and hoses. We jumped on the tram and it carried us back to the campsite as it was getting dark before snuggling in for our last night in Switzerland.

Lake Constance

We discovered in Basel that we had an extra night we hadn't planned for before we were due to visit the Black Forrest so after a bit of research  we decided Constance was worth a visit just a quick jump across the border into Germany. We drove through town on the hunt for a camping ground. We did manage to find one right on the lake. Like all grounds lately though it didn't seem to be attended and was more or less just a big field. After grabbing a spot for the van we crossed a row of trees between the camping ground and the lake shore. There was a heavy fog sitting over the lake so we couldn't really tell how far away the other side was. There seemed to be a path around the shore so we set off in one direction in hope of finding something. After walking for about half an hour we found a ferry terminal. This also appeared to be the end of the path. There was a queue of cars stretching back up the road but no sign of a ferry. Hunger was starting to set in so we cut back away from the lake in hunt of food. We wandered through pleasant green suburbs with wide roads until we were on our way back towards the town centre. We crossed a bridge and before long were in the town centre with cobbled pedestrianised lanes and old fashioned stone buildings. There seemed to be plenty of options for food. Before long we arrived at the main square, which was full of tables from the restaurants surrounding it. We grabbed one of the tables in the sun and ordered some hearty German fare, washed down with some German wine. We now felt much more relaxed so after sitting for a while we continue on through the town. There were a fair amount of people around enjoying the various shops or just sitting in the sun. There wasn't really much in the way of sights to check out but it was just nice wandering around the town. We had trouble finding a supermarket so see decided to try out the organic supermarket. We came away well stocked with fruit and veges, meat, bread and wine. The sun was still shining so we made our way to the lake and walked back to the campsite along the lake front. We passed people walking, children playing and sunbathers, some getting the most sun exposure possible (if you know what we mean...)

The Black Forest

It was a bit of a longer drive today as we headed north into the roads winding their way through the hills of the black forest. There didn't seem to be many camping grounds.around but we eventually found one up a narrow valley, far from the nearest town. After leaving the van to deal with the formalities later we began walking through the countryside up the valley in search of that nearest town. There was a small track which followed the road, crossing over a stream and past fields with cows in them and big houses with bright flowers in their windows. We came to bigger roads and a bigger river which we followed until we arrived at the small town of Wolfach. There was a pretty main road which showed the aftermath of a market having just finished, although there weren't too many people around. We managed to find a restaurant by the river. I think it was Greek, but we tried the Flammkuchen, a type of German Pizza with creme fraiche, onions and Bacon. Yummy but no Margherita from Naples. We checked out some woodcuttings which a history of the region (unsurprisingly lots of forestry) and then meandered through the back streets into the town again. We had nothing else we wanted.to see so decided to stop for a drink and a massive slice each of black forest gateau. Lucky we were walking back to the campsite to work off all that cream and chocolate. Mmmmmmmm. The sun was still out as we went back to the campground. We got the lowdown on what to come the next day before catching the last of the sun from our camp spot on the hill.

The Black Forest

As there was no public transport for miles our only way to get further into the forest was to take the van. So we packed up our things and made our way back down the valley before heading south again on the hunt for cuckoo clocks and Germany's longest waterfall. We passed through a few small towns and past clock factories.  Clearly geared up to receive tour buses full of people until we reached the town of Triberg. The town made its way up a hill which we followed until we came out the other side. We were looking for the world's largest cuckoo clock. We found it, a house shaped like a cuckoo clock in the middle of a street of normal houses but unfortunately for us it was closed. We took some photos and then ventured back into town where we took a walk up the hill alongside Germany's longest waterfall. Being the New Zealanders that we are we decided to try the difficult walk up as opposed to to the easy one. However the 6 year old who skipped past us in the other direction made us wonder about the signage. It was certainly nice to be out in the forest and we got some good views as the path crossed back and forth over the waterfall as it made its way down the hill. It was more of a steep downhill river than a dramatic waterfall but was still pretty cool. We climbed up a path above the waterfall and got a view out over the valley before making our way back down again in hunt of some food. We found ourselves a coffee house where we went for another Black Forest Gatteau. Mmmmm, chocolately. On our way back to the van we checked out the local tourist shops but unfortunately our budget didn't stretch far enough to pick up a cuckoo clock but we didn't make our way back empty handed as we picked up some heidelberry wine on the way back, complete with black forest "Hexe".

Heidelberg

We continued north and into the interior of Germany to the picture postcard perfect city of Heidelberg, sitting in a valley on the river Neckar. We easily found a camp ground just out of town, and down on the river. It was another beautiful day so we walked a way up the river before crossing over and catching a bus into town. Once in town we walked down the longest pedestrianised street in Germany. It was quite long... Again there were plenty of people checking out the shops. We picked up some tasty Brezel and had a wander around the huge Kathe Wohlfahrt shop, specialising entirely in Christmas Decorations. It was all very festive but as we knew what it was actually like at German Christmas we decided not to get any decorations. After the shop we wandered back up the street and looked at the markt platz and kornmarkt. We then wandered up the hill behind the main town to the castle looking out over the valley. It was pretty steep getting up there but nice enough. There were plenty of tourists around the place and we joined them checking out the grounds of the castle including the world's largest wine barrel. It was quite large...After checking out Heidelberg we caught the bus back to camp ground via the supermarket. It was a nice afternoon for reading in the sun. Marcus also used the time to call Ulrika, his host mother from when he was an exchange student just to remind her that we were coming to visit the next day. Lucky he did because she didn't know anything about it!! All sorted, but only by the skin of our teeth...

Neunkirchen am Brand

Moving on we headed to meet up with Marcus' German host family - the Schramms. Although Christian couldn't be there and through some misunderstandings they only knew the day before that we were arriving they seemed pleased to see us.  Things started becoming more familiar to Marcus as we got closer to Neunkirchen although the TomTom still managed to take us through some random back alleys to arrive at the Schramms' house. Marcus observed that it wasn't as white as the last time he was there as we caught up over brautworst and Saurkraut in the sunny garden. We went for a quick wander around the town of Neunkirchen so Marcus could do some reminiscing. There wasn't much going on in the town except what looked like it was going to be a fair but that was still being set up. After our walk Ulrika took us to the nearby town of Erlangen, which is the major town in the area.  Marcus enjoyed looking around trying to remember what it was like but memories were all pretty vague.  We stopped and had a drink in the sunny square before returning to the house to collect Helmut, who had been busy doing chores, and on to the beer cellar.  Earlier he had asked us if we knew the difference between a beer cellar and a beer garden but we did not.  A beer cellar is where cave cellars have been built into the side of a hill where they used to bring ice from the nearby rivers to keep the beer cold. They have tables outside and serve beer and local food. Ulrika talked them into letting us have a look in one of the caves before we settled town with our big beers and some local food.  We had a keller platter, some pork stuff and some cheese eggy thing.   It was very cool to do something local and we were lucky to be able to do so as they were only open in summer and usually would have been closed the week before.  Julianna joined us back at the house for a drink after her long drive from Switzerland which was a nice surprise.

Wurzburg

The next day we had a traditional German breakfast with the family  - meats, cheeses, bread, fruit and of course cake ( a yummy plum one).  Then we went for a drive to Wurzburg where we looked around the town with a bridge with lots of statues on it and a monastery which we climbed up the many stairs to, stopping to look at the Stations of the Cross along the way, like when we were in Portugal. We had a drink and some snacks at a restaurant in an old pump house overlooking the river. It was then back in the car and we went to look at a house (more like a vineyard) which was a brightly coloured building by the Austrian architect Hundertwasser. It was quite cool we thought it wouldn't look out of place at a Vineyard in the Hawkes Bay. It was then a short drive to a little town where the Schramms like to buy their wine.   We enjoyed having a Feder Weisser (white) which is like strom - somewhere between juice and wine.  For food I had a yummy smoked trout and Marcus had crab. The place was humming with people, some of them even dressed in traditional clothes. Afterwards we sampled some of the wines from the winemaker  before purchasing a few bottles to take home with us. We would have bought cases full if we had had room in the van. Before heading back we headed around the corner to another winemaker for some traditional onion cake and another Feder Weisser. Back at their house we discovered that on his first visit to Germany is favourite word was Bademister (life guard, although he couldn't for the life of him remember why).

The Rhein Valley
After another tasty breakfast and stocking up on Meat and Bread (turns out it was a national holiday so all shops were shut) we bid farewell to the Schramms, thanking them for a great weekend before heading back West again towards the Rhein river. We had a few plans to try and find a camping ground in the Rhein Valley near the river. Unfortunately the first place we found looked awful and we weren't sure if it was a camping ground or a paddock full of squatters. We decided to keep moving and try another one nearby but when we reached that one it was a caravan park, with fences and gardens and even street names. Again, not the place for us. Getting frustrated we decided that maybe we should at least drive along next to the river so that we could see the Valley even if we didn't get to stay there. It certainly was picturesque with the river running down through the middle of the valley, vineyards up on the hills on either side with villages and castles scattered along. Eagle eye Jess managed to spot a sign pointing to a camping ground so we thought we would give it a try. We pulled off the main road and through some tiny narrow streets until we arrived at a camping ground right next to the river. We managed to secure a site right next to the river itself here we parked up and didn't move for the rest of the afternoon. After all that driving back and forth all morning we just needed to chill out and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. There was a restaurant and bar at the camping ground and although we decided not to go there there were plenty of German people enjoying the long weekend.

Luxembourg

It was time for another small principality in Europe. This time, in between Germany and France is the small kingdom of Luxembourg (although it is significantly larger than the other ones we had been to.) We found a tidy but quiet camping ground on the outskirts of the capital city, also called Luxembourg. There was a bus stop just outside and before long we were on our way into the city. The main part of the old city is built up on a hill with a little gorge in between it and other parts of the city, including the Royal Palace. We started out in the shopping area where we grabbed some baguettes for lunch in the main square. With the hunger demons safely at bay we carried on through the shopping district. There were plenty of nice shops and old but well kept buildings. We weren't the only tourists in town but we did our best to try and avoid the big groups traveling around the place.We made our way out to the ruins of the city walls. There isn't that much above ground but there is a whole network of tunnels under the ground where the army used to house themselves and protect the country from foreign invaders. You had to use your imagination a little bit because the furniture and decorations were all long gone but it was lit up pretty well and just kept going down and down and got narrower and narrower. There were some points where you didn't want to run to anyone else because you knew you would have to go all the way back to squeeze past them. We eventually emerged back into the light. The caves looked over the old town down in a little valley, but we were getting tired and we weren't sure about the large clouds which were starting to loom over the town so instead we wandered back up the hill and along past the palace before cutting back into town where we found a supermarket to stock up before catching the bus back out to the camping ground again.

Maastricht

The rain had come overnight so it was a damp start to the day as we headed north through Luxembourg until we crossed the border into the Netherlands to visit the town of Maastricht. Again we were struck by a case of closed camping grounds, but we did eventually find one after the TomTom took the Iceberg on a crazy back country tour through tiny villages with narrow lanes. We discovered that that was completely unnecessary as there was a great big main road that took you directly into town so we jumped on the bus to see what Maastrict had to offer. It is a university city and you can tell, with all the young people everywhere, trendy shops and cafes and an overall fun vibe. The rain was still spitting on and off so we had to duck in and out of shops to avoid getting too wet. The city is either side of the Meuse river but there are plenty of bridges to get you from one side to the other. The old town was across the river and there were cute cobbled streets free of cars but full of people checking things out. There was also a big market in the main square where you could try all sorts of food. We went for some tasty sandwiches to keep us going. We visited the Saint Servitius Basilica which was Gothic and pretty but not dissimilar to hundreds of other churches we had seen by now. We cut back into the town and did some more wandering around the streets, all of which seemed to curve rather than go in straight lines. After a few more shops we wandered back to the bus stop and caught the bus back out to the camping ground. Back at the camping ground we watched people successfully (and less successfully) knock the ripe apples off the trees which were peppered about the camping ground. We were staying the mountain region of the Netherlands, however we thought the odd hill didn't really count as a mountain. The Netherlands is FLAT.

Utrecht

We continued north to the city of Utrecht. Marcus' parents had spent some time here so we had high hopes. Also, we were going to have come company on this leg of the trip as Jon and Lobke had generously offered that we could stay with them. We made our way into town without too much trouble and found a place to park the Iceberg outside of what we hoped was Jon and Lobke's place. We wandered up the road to the train station. We missed the train but luckily a bus came along and before long were arriving at the central train station. We misjudged our directions at the station and came out at what appeared to be a pretty dull looking square. A check of the map and we turned ourselves around and came out to the other side which was a much nicer city, again with old fashioned buildings and cobbled streets and pretty of people wandering around. We stopped for some Frittes and wandered the streets, checking out the buildings, the shops and the canals, all the while dodging the cyclist. We knew we were in the Netherlands. It was a nice place where you could happily wander the streets without feeling you had to rush around and see all the sights. Nonetheless we went and had a look at the Utrecht Central Museum, which was a little away from the centre of town. There was a mixture of historical artefacts, like a massive wooden boat which had been excavated from under the city, and artwork. The whole reason we went there, though, was across the street at the Dick Bruna House. It is the house where he lived. Who is he? He is the creator of that beloved cartoon character, Miffy! (Nope, she isn't just friends with Hello Kitty.) The house has been converted into a shrine to Miffy with books, toys, statues and an exhibit upstairs about the history of Miffy and Dick Bruna's other books. There was even a Miffy fashion show. We picked up our obligatory Miffy book and wandered back along the canal into town. We had some time up our sleeves before meeting John and Lobke so stopped in at a bar where we had some local beer and some local cake. Mmmmmm. It was then time to meet up with Jon and Lobke who were finishing work (work? What's that?) It was nice to see them and they took us out to a cool restaurant in the basement of a building. It had stone walls, wood furnishings a low ceiling, live music, menus on old record covers, Dutch beers and tasty food. It was a really fun night and was great to be spending some time with friends. We caught the train back to their place (while Lobke rode her bike) and had a few more wines with them before going to bed.

Utrecht Day 2

Lobke was away visiting her family in her home town the next day and Jon had to work. But they had drawn us up a list of places nearby which we should go see. So after grabbing some breakfast (Biscuit Spread!) we were off to check out what was around. There was still rain on and off around the place but we couldn't let that deter us. Our first stop was Castle de Haar, a big red castle with gothic tours and arches all surrounded by a moat. It was very cool and the sort of place you imagine from fairy tales. As we had seen the insides of plenty of castles by now we decided we would just go for a wander around the gardens, taking in the woods, the lakes and gardens. There was a mixture of wild and manicured and it was a  nice place to stretch our legs, although the rain eventually drove us back to the van. We carried along our way to the town of Breukelen where we stopped and went for a wander around the local market. We had some very tasty waffles that the man made fresh for us. All gooey and warm. Much better than the boring hard ones you buy in the supermarkets. We then went for a walk along the canal, the other side of which seemed to be best place to buy a mansion around these parts. Clearly a popular place for the rich and famous to live. We returned to the Iceberg and continued on our drive. There were plenty more mansions lining the streets as we drove toward the Loosdrechtse Plassen, a lake around which many villages are gathered and where the rich go to sail their yachts. Not only did we drive toward the Loosdrechtse Plassen, we also drove through it (sort of...). An artificial road had been built up over the lake by way of a narrow land bridge that traveled through the middle with the odd building scattered to the side when there was room, before sharply turning left and then sharply turning right where the land narrowed out slightly so that there could be buildings on either side of the road. This was the town of Old Loosdrecht. We parked up here and went for a walk past the mixture of thatch roof cottages and ultra modern buildings bunched up tight together. It was very pretty but the buildings made it a bit hard to get a good view of the Lake. We carried on driving heading along the road where it took us past houses built on stilts over the marshes around the lake. These weren't the little huts you imagine when you think of stilt houses, but probably four and five bedroom jobs with the Mercedes parked in the driveway. We continued on driving through various little towns to the town of Bilthoven, where there were rowboats tied up on the river through the town and on the outskirts of town we found some proper Dutch landscape...Windmills! We drove through a little country lane to get a good view. It got narrower and narrower until eventually we got to a point where we couldn't go any further, even though the road we wanted to reach was only the other side of a paddock. Not wanting to risk getting stuck in the mud the Iceberg managed a hundred point turn around and we were on our way again. Happy with what we had seen driving around we made our way back to Jon and Lobke's for a rest. Jon joined us later and cooked us a yummy dinner, including some tasty syrup cake, and then had us work the dinner off with some playing on the Xbox 360 Kinect. We made proper fools of ourselves kicking soccer balls, filling holes in diving tanks and dancing around. All recorded by the built in camera....After all that working out we were  happy for a well earned rest.

Bruge

The next morning we big our host farewell before he journeyed down to see Lobke's family too as we continued on what now felt like the very end of our journey. It was goodbye to the Netherlands and hello to Belgium. After all those new sights we had been filling our senses with we needed some familiarity so drove to somewhere we knew we had enjoyed the first time round, the town of Bruge. There was a camping ground a few kilometres from the old town, so we parked up the van and set on walking into town. As we had been here before it was nice to take a bit of trip down memory lane and do some of the things we had enjoyed the first time around. Although it was much chillier than the first time we had been there we still enjoyed some frittes from the square (not as good as last time) and a glass of Garre at de Garre (just as good as last time). We got chatting to some people from Birmingham at de Garre and it really started to set in that we were not far away from London again. Did we want to go back?! We went for a bit more of a walk but the weeks on the road were catching up with us so we wandered back to the camp ground for our last night on the road...

London
We awoke on the last day of our trip to pouring rain. We piled in to the van and set off towards Calais. The rain poured around us, almost a sign that Europe had had enough of us. We arrived at the ferry in plenty of time and queued up with all the other cars waiting to board. The French border control were easy to pass, but the woman at the UK border seemed like she had something to prove. "What's in the back of your van?" "Um, a bed, some clothes some food...it's a campervan..." "Sure it is....Go park over there. My colleague is going to search your van." Her colleague was much more relaxed. He opened the door, looked inside for about 3 seconds and let us go on our way. We boarded the ferry and headed up to settle in for the trip across the Channel. Again, another sign that it was time to be returning, the rain was left behind in France and the blue sky was out over the white cliffs of Dover. We exited the ferry, back on the left side of the road, and took the motorway back to Londontown...back to the real world....

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Van Trip Part 6 - Italy

2/9 Genoa

Today we left France and moved on to Italy. The Tom Tom was misbehaving which made the journey difficult and challenged Jess´navigating skills to the max as we spent time driving round and round Genoa trying to guess the way. We did eventually arrive at the campsite in Bogliasco, to the east of Genoa, around 1 ½ hours later than planned. We decided not to venture into Genoa itself so enjoyed a swim at the beach. It had nice crashy water and very hot stones for sitting on. We then went for a walk around the town which had some pretty views along the coast and stopped for a nice beer in the sunshine before heading back to the campsite for a chill out and dinner of local specialities, foccacia, pesto and ravioli with walnut sauce.

3/9 Lake Como

The TomTom decided to work this morning (yay) so we were back on track on our way to Lake Como. Unfortunately we were stuck in a traffic jam for ages due to road works closer to our destination,Unno on the Lecco side of Como. The first campground we found was full but there was another one 1km down the road where we got a pitchright next to the lake! We had a stunning the lake and mountains. We chilled out in the sun until we were brave enough to go for a swim in the lake. It wasn't too bad once we were under(although as usual it took Marcus a little while to get in). There were a lot of fish in the water trying to nibble our toes. After our dip we walked to the next town, Vasenna, along the road with no footpath. It was a little scary with the Italian drivers zooming around the narrow roads. We got our nights supply of pasta and wine before heading back to camp. Luckily we didn't plan a night out on the town as there were massive thunder storms. We think there were about 4 separate storms that we were in the middle of. We enjoyed our dinner in front of the van nice and dry inside as the thunder and lightning roared and flashed around us lighting up the lake and the mountains in the distance.

4/9 Lake Como Day 2 - Bellagio

As there wasn´t much around where we were we decided to head to the down of Bellagio further along the lake. The bus seemed to come at irregular time (maybe about every 2 hours) so we decided to walk.In hindsight this probably wasn't the smartest idea as for most of the way we walked along a windy narrow road with no foot path and pushy Italians in cars, trucks and on motorbikes and bicycles. We walked 9.5km in around 1 hour and 40 minutes which we think was alright. Bellagio was very nice and fancy but also very touristy. We walked around the town and had lunch. Jess had an anchovy pizza while Marcus had a quarto stuchious (ham, cheese, onion and capsicum panini). Marcus also decided that while in Italy he should do as theItalians do and have a coffee. Jess suggested a latte while she had espresso. Marcus thought it tasted like coffee and didn't feel the need to have another. The rain started to comedown again so we walked around the shops in town and brought some yummy food in the deli before heading to the bus stop to get the bus. Luckily we were early as the bus driver tried to explain (not so pleasantly) that we needed to buy tickets before we boarded from a shop. We tried 3 shops before finding the right one and raced back to the bus to sit for another 15minutes before he decided to depart. It continued to rain for the rest of the afternoon so for the first time on the trip we felt compelled to watch some programmes on the laptop before having an early night.

5/9 Milan

We left Como and drove to Milan and found a camping ground next to a water slide park (although not open), The campsite also had apetting zoo which had a huge ugly sheep and goats and birds.  We caught the bus and the metro into Milan where we looked at the Duomodi Milano, a massive cathedral which we thought was really impressive- probably our favourite traditional cathedral so far. We particularly liked the stained glass windows. Next we went to the Galleria, an old fashioned shopping arcade, which had a cool glassdome. Marcus did as the practice suggests and spun on his heel on the bulls' balls to gain virility. Although plenty of women did this too Jess thought it made more sense to leave it to the men. Then we walked round the town a bit more before getting a gelato. Jess had raspberry and lemon, Marcus campari (ooooh yuck says Jess) and white chocolate. Refreshed we had a look around the outside of the palace before taking a break in the park. Once we regained our energy we headed off to look at some shops in the area which was meant to be not so expensive as all the designer shops in town. We didn't manage to buy anything as many were closed and a market was just packing up.We did see some nice apartment buildings with lovely courtyards.Although it has some nice sights Milan seems to be a place where people either live or come to spend lots of money at the shops. Not necessarily our sort of place but nice nonetheless.

6/9 Levanto - Cinque Terre

We decided to skip our scheduled stop to Parma and went straight to the Cinque Terra which Jess had particularly been looking forward to. We stayed at a campsite nearby in Levanto which had a horse and lots of bugs. That day we decided to look around the town and planned a full day for the next which we discovered was just as well as that day there was a train strike. So we enjoyed a wander to town to the waterfront and beach as well as picking up some train tickets for the next day. The beach was plenty busy but we decided to leave taking a dip for another day.

7/9 Cinque Terre

We head off early and caught the 9.30 train to the Cinque Terre(aka the 5 lands). The Cinque Terre are five villages that used to be only accessible by water and were famous for their rugged beauty, We decided to start with the furthest village away - Riomaggorie and walk back through each town. The first walk was the Della Amore - the walk of love. It was nice although there were a lot of tourists and the path was paved the whole way (we wanted some proper walks). The walk took us to the next town Manrula which we looked around. The towns are all perched on a series of cliffs over the water although the building of the railway and roads means that now it is mostly little restaurants and tourist shops. The next part of the easiest walks was closed so we had the option of taking the train back to the next town or do the hard walk (2 1/2 hours). After the first was was an easy 15 minute walk we were up for the challenge. So we headed up many steps (1 hour continuously uphill) giving our muscles a good work out and then we got to walk along through vineyards with stunning views of the town. This was (pant) more (pant) what (pant)we (pant) were after (gasp!). Where's the water? Maybe all the local food and drink we had been sampling had affected our fitness. It was all worth it though and we felt very satisfied at the end of it,particularly as we didn't have the walking poles that all the other tourists felt were necessary. Corgnilia was the town we next arrived in where we stopped for a snack and a sugary drink in front of a freaky mermanish statue. Back to the blue route we then walked to Vernazza. It may be that our muscles were feeling the pain from the last walk but this definitely was harder than the first with uneven paths and hills. At Vernazza we stopped for more water at the waterfront and were envious of the people swimming at the port. The sun had really come out now so it was rather sweltering. The final walk was to Monterosso which was another 2 hours of walking, again with some very step paths but we made it! We think we did at least 5 1/2hours of proper walking that day before reaching the campsite at 6.30pm. Pretty decent compared to the exercise we get in London. Exhausted back at the campsite we ate a well deserved Gnochi for dinner before collapsing into bed.

8/9 Pisa and Florence

Next on to Pisa where we are glad we decided only to stop long enough to see the leaning tower as there were many hustlers and we were very concerned that our van might not still be there when we got back as we didn't give any change to the lady who was begging by the parking meter. It was good to cross another obligatory tourist attraction off our to do list before moving onto Florence.

We got caught in a traffic jam on the way to Florence due to an accident, probably due to the Italians erratic driving. But it was worth the wait as the campsite was nice with views out over Florence.Chores were done; Jess - washing and Marcus - fixing the van door. We also met an English couple (we were not very good at meeting people on our trip) from the West Midlands who were nice to chat to. Turned out they had travelled the world in campervans and modified vans into campers for a living. We then headed out to have a look around Florence and Marcus bought an Italian Leather Belt (a belated anniversary present). We walked through the main square, checking out all of the imitation statues (although they are all still old in their own right) and the pont de ververe (a famous bridge with buildings on it, like in Bath and took the long way home up and down a hill next to a big wall. Once it was dark we headed back to Piazza Michaelagelo (where we had earlier seen a copy of David) to get a night view of Florence and all its pretty lights. It was just next to the camp ground so was an easy trip home to bed (although the Contiki at the bar above had other plans as the music went all night.)

9/9 Florence Day 2

Today we headed off early to see the Statue of David at Retiat'Accademia. The queue wasn't too bad (although perhaps we have just go used to all the queuing in England). He was rather impressive. Much bigger than you expect. Most of the other work at the gallery was ok but not amazing. Maybe we have just seen too much fine art? Next we walked around the Dumuo which is white, red and green marble on the outside. The queue was massive so we decided we had seen enough cathedrals and not to bother going inside. We explored the town some more and looked around some markets. Jess rubbed the nose of a hog at the leather market which is meant to bring good luck. It sure helped her buy a new wallet at the market (also a belated anniversary present) before we tucked into some lunch. Florentine steak and capperchio sword fish, of course with a Chianti to wash it all down.It was very good considering there were a lot of really touristy restaurants around. The food and service at the one we found was great. We then wandered through the streets of the city again before heading back to camp for a restful evening.

10/9 San Gimigano

Today we travelled into the Tuscan countryside to visit the town of San Gimignano. It is a nice town with heaps of olive groves and vineyards around it. It is typical picturesque Tuscan countryside so of course it is heaving with tourists. After heading the wrong way on the bus from the campground we made it into town. It is a walled city with various towers, built by the medieval families competing with one another to have the best. Many have gone to ruin over the years but there are still about a dozen dominating the skyline. It didn't take long to get our full of the town but we enjoyed looking around and get a few gifts and some tasty artisan chocolate before heading back to camp. We had a beer in the sun and thought it might be noisy night as there was a Royal Enfield motorcycle reunion happening, however we didn't have any trouble and all the noise had stopped by a reasonable hour. (Yes, we are getting old.)

11/9 Sienna

Today was a short drive up the road to the town of Sienna . Once there we caught the bus into town again a walled medieval city. We were impressed with the ornate light fittings with red white and blue patterns. We later discovered that the whole of Sienna wasn't the same. We walked towards the centre of town where we saw a group of locals all wearing yellow scarfs with yellow and blue tights, they were all chanting and drumming. We weren't sure if this was some type of religious festival or what. We later discovered that Sienna is split into 17 different districts and this was one group of them. In each area of the town they display their local flags and the street signs and street light fittings each match the colours. It is to do with (we think anyway) the bare back horse races and the yellow people were celebrating a win. Marcus decided to buy a flag to join the winning team although none of them were particularly interested in sharing their winnings with him. We continued to wander around the town and we went into a large cathedral decorated all in brown, white and black tiles - Duomo di Siena. It made an interesting change from the usual cathedrals we had seen during our travels. We went and satin the main square, Piazza del Campo, the site of the bareback horse race and had some sandwiches. Sufficiently impressed with Sienna,but feeling the Italian heat we went back for a swim at the campsite´s pool (along with many other people.) We met another lady who had heard our accents and used the opportunity to offload her book which she had finished on us. She said her husband would be pleased. He would have probably been less pleased that we gave her four books we had finished in return...

12/9 Rome

Onwards to a big city today, Roma. We decided to stay at camping Tiber which was to the North but with transport into the centre. We didn´t quite realise that the road to get there was a popular stopping place for truck drivers looking for...company... Once we arrived at the campsite (pretty empty as the end of the camping season was now upon us) we headed into town by train for a look around. We made our way to the Spanish Steps - however no writers or artists wanted to make either of us their muse and the only attention we got was from the hawkers. On to the next site, the Trevi fountain(the real deal, not the one we had previously seen in Las Vegas.) It was much busier and bigger than at Las Vegas. We were impressed. Jess managed to squeeze in between the masses of people in order to throw her coin over her shoulder to ensure her return to Rome. Marcus didn't do it this time as we think a second coin means you will getan Italian lover - which Jess decided her husband did not need. Next we walked through the streets to the Pantheon a big roman temple which had been converted into a cathedral. The artist Rapheal was burried (although they had to dig him up once to prove it to non-believers). Through Rome we stolled along to a piazza with a statue with the man in the red blanker... We continued along the river before looking at an Egyptian Square and picking up some food for dinner. Pretty good going for our first day in Rome.

13/9 Rome Day 2

Today we decided to head to Vatican City for some religious enlightenment. We were expecting a huge queue but we were inside within 15 minutes. The Vatican museum was rather overwhelming with alot of art to see. Jess particularly liked the map room with all sorts of ancient maps of the world and it cities (at least the ones they knew about. The Vatican Museum is kind of like the British Museum in that it shows all of the “treasures” pillaged by the catholic church over the years. It is worth getting to the end of it though, as that is the famed Sistine Chapel, with Michaelangelo´s famous masterpiece painted on the ceiling. 4 painstaking years of hard work. It has recently been restored, so the colours are bright,but the crowds make it difficult to get a proper look. After some authentic(ish) Italian for lunch we wandered down the road to St Peter´s Cathedral. (Sorry St Pauls, but it is significantly more impressive with the massive square out the front.) We got inside and decided before visiting the inside of the Cathedral we would climb up the dome to have a look around the city. You could get a lift up halfway, but being cheap and determined we decided we would walk the whole way up the spiral staircase. The first half wasn´t too bad,with a wide spiral staircase and plenty of room. However the higher we got the hotter it got, the tighter it got (walking on a lean) and the more crowded it got with the pace moving at a crawl. However an hour or so later we were at the top checking out the impressive vie wall around the city of Rome. The fresh air was also appreciated on our sweaty bodies. As always the trip down was quicker and before we knew it we were visiting the inside of the Cathedral we had just been on top of. The place is huge inside, being barely able to see from one end to the other, but what more would you expect from the home of Catholicism. Even the alter covering the remains of St Peter(apparently) is huge. Somewhat exhausted and feeling sufficiently spiritualised we made our way back out to the campsite and collapsed into bed.

14/9 Rome Day 3

It was a big one to start our final day in Rome, the Colosseum.The queue we had been waiting for had finally arrived so we stood dutifully under the arches waiting for our turn to buy tickets as other people shoved and pushed in around us. It was worth the wait, however, as we emerged into the sunlit amphitheatre, home of many gladiatorial combats of the past. The place really is huge and although you have to use your imagination to see what it would have looked like in operation (as it is really only the stone part that is left) that isn´t too difficult a task. We did the circuit and then checked out the exhibitions inside. Nero seemed to be the man to read about at the moment and although he was famous for fiddling while Rome burned, in fact he was responsible for much of the building work which is now considered of historical significance.After our visit to the Colosseum we crossed the square to the Roman Forum, the centre of life in ancient Rome. This area is full of ruins of various temples and other important buildings of ancient Roman times. The area it takes up is pretty massive and there are all sorts of columns and arches to keep a historyphile happy. As some of the ruins are very ruined you do have use your imagination more than a little to guess what it was all like though.

After our trip around the forum in the blazing sun we ventured up the Palatine Hill, the area on the hill above the forum now populated by the ruins of the homes of the rich and famous during Roman times, including Nero. As interesting as this all was we were starting to suffer some ruin fatigue, so after looking at the main buildings (and a few more because we couldn't find the exit) we left the Palatine Hill, grabbed a Gelato and jumped on the train back to the campsite. It was now the perfect time for a swim at the campsite pool before settling in for an early night.

15/9 Perguia

Today we bid farewell to Rome and made our way North again to the hilltop town of Perugia. We were a bit worried on arriving to find that our planned campsite had closed for the season, but fortunately we were able to find another one further up the road. It must have been close to closing with only us and one other person staying there. We managed to catch the local bus and this took us into the town and up the hill to where Perugia's old centre was located. Unfortunately we arrived right when everything was closed, so we did a few laps of the town, looking at the nice old buildings and streets and churches, but couldn't help feeling it was more of the same that we had already had. We checked out the view over the countryside, indulged in some local cakes and generally took it easy. The bus didn't run either for several more hours so we didn't have much else to do but chill out. When the bus did come people were starting to appear into the town again, but by this time we had had our fill of Perugia so instead made our way back to the campsite.

16/9 Bologna

Having learnt our lesson from the day before, we waited around at the campsite for a while before heading into Bologna so that we would arrive a bit later in the day. What a difference a few hours makes. Upon arriving in the city centre the place was teeming with activity. After checking out the bookshop where we bought some English language classics we wandered down the main road toward the centre of town. It was full of designer shops, and markets in the side streets, and had cool little archways which covered the footpaths in places. This was very welcome as there was a touch of rain around the the place. The main square featured the impressive Fountain of Neptune and had pretty buildings and lanes all around it. We made our way down one of the little lanes and it was full of shops selling all sorts of local food. Our mouths dripped as we stared through the windows but our budget only stretched to a couple of Cannoli each. Yum! One of Bologna's landmarks are two towers next to each other which tower above their neighbours. They could be cool, but unfortunately are situated right in the middle of a roundabout with power lines all around them so you don't get much of a view. They are nearby the university so we had a quick look around the ancient university buildings. They were a hive of activity as this was the start of the university year so there were people selling books, looking for flats and generally hanging around. We ventured back through the middle of town to St Dominic's Basilica which has a statue high on a pillar in front of it and has a beautiful white interior with ornate paintings throughout. Happy that we had spent our afternoon well we sat back at a restaurant on the main square for a couple of drinks before finding the bus to take us back to the campsite.

17/9 Verona

We continued our trip north. We had intended to visit Verona but a mistake in TomTom programming meant we ended up at Lake Garda. However, after driving around the town of Peschiera del Garda for a while and not finding anywhere to stay we decided that our initial plan was the one to go with so carried on down the motorway to Verona. We were a bit concerned upon reaching Verona, driving along the beautiful riverside, up the hill above town to where we thought the campsite was, only to discover that it was closed. Fortunately it was only closed until 2pm when people could check in. We parked up next to the various other campervans that were there and took the short walk down the hill to the river and then across the beautiful old bridge which took us through the city walls and into the old town of Verona. Verona had many more tourists in it than other places we had visited, but the place was definitely picture postcard material, with narrow streets, balconies looking over pretty squares and people trying to sell you stuff. It was still nice to wander around within the city walls, taking in the atmosphere. We reached the main square, full of people and with a big old Colosseum in it. Unlike in Rome, this one is still in regular use, hosting concerts and other events for locals and tourists alike. Instead of joining them we found ourselves a local cafe to sit down for a drink and watch the world go by. We saw every second person was drinking a bright orange drink out of wine glass. It looked a bit like Fanta but we assumed it had to be something else. Turns out it was something called Aperol Spritz and we thoroughly enjoyed ours. Conscious of the time we made our way back to the camping ground where we were able to check in. The place was really built for tent campers so we squeezed our van between two trees, wondering how we would get it out again in a couple of days...After some dinner we went for a walk to the citadel up the hill where we got a fantastic view of the city all lit up at night. Very pretty and you can see why Shakespeare chose this as the setting for his most famous love story.

18/9 Verona Day 2

As Verona is the setting of Romeo and Juliet, the city has taken this opportunity to capitalise on it from a tourism perspective. All the major sites from the play are represented somewhere in the city and we decided to take ourselves on a tour around them. Most of them are just pretty buildings which had previously been lived in by their various namesakes from the play, so Romeo's house, although pretty, was not open to look around. Juliet's house is something different all together and the tourists were there in their droves. As you enter through the archway the place is full of graffiti from lovers writing messages to each other. Jess was keen to profess our love. Marcus felt defiling of private property was not really romantic...In the square pas the entrance way there is a statue of Juliet, situated below the 'famous' balcony. It has had its fair share of hands rubbed across, the bosoms seeming to be the most popular point. We made our way into the museum which, considering the hordes of people outside, was very empty. It was pleasant enough, giving us some insight of what life must have been like for people living at that time, interspersed with the fiction of Romeo and Juliet around the house. Jess stood out on the balcony, but with nobody serenading her she had to stay with Marcus. We made our way away from Juliet's house checking out the city walls and the ancient Roman ruins along the way to Juliet's tomb. We weren't really sure what this was going to be, but it turns out it is an old monastery that has been rebuilt after being largely destroyed in WWII. It now houses a collection of Italian religious artwork, both old and modern which we had a look around. At the end of the tour is a downstairs crypt with an empty tomb in it. This was Juliet's tomb. We weren't sure it was worth the walk but at least we saw some art. We wandered back into town and through the main square again to check out the city walls on the other side of town, by the river. They were pretty impressive, with fortifications to keep invaders at bay. There was something in the air though, rain, and lots of it. It started pouring down and eventually we decided we were not gong to see any more so walked back up to the campsite. The rain stuck around all afternoon so we passed our time in the common room. The campsite was packed out with people looking for somewhere dry. We met any American family who were big Flight of the Conchords fans and couldn't believe they were meeting real NZers. Their kids seemed a bit disappointed that we were not personal friends with Murray though...

20/9 Venice Day 1

The rain was lifting in Verona in the morning but it was time to move on to our last destination in Italy, Venice. The drive wasn´t too far and before we knew it we were setting up camp at Camping Fusina (Marcus had some vague memories from last time he was there.) After a few chores we were in the ferry and on our way across the water to the magical city. There were ominous clouds in the distance so we crossed our fingers that we wouldn´t get too drenched. The ferry pulled in and we started weaving our way through the narrow lanes and squares of Venice. We didn't really know where we were going but just followed the crowds past all the little shops and over the canals until.we reached St Marks Square, the centre of Venice and site of the round domed St Mark's cathedral, the Torre dell'Orologio and many many pigeons. We carried on a little further until we got to the market on the Rialto Bridge but those clouds were getting ever closer so we decided to instead pick up some bread, prosciutto and Fragolino (yummy Strawberry wine) for dinner. After a few wrong turns we made our way back to the ferry to the mainland before the rain arrived. There were a few spots of rain on the ferry ride, unfortunately the storm had beat us back to the mainland and we had to make a dash from the pier back to the van through the pouring rain. We were well and truly soaked by the time we arrived, as was the washing we had put out before going out. After putting the clothes and ourselves through the dryer we put together some dinner and watched the storm continue to erupt over Venice from the safety of the van.

21/9 Venice Day 2

 Fortunately the rain had cleared by the morning so were able to get on the ferry again and have another go at looking around Venice. As we were not in a hurry today we took the roundabout way to get through town, stopping at the shops and galleries along the way. We wandered along the canals and through the market on Rialto bridge to take us through the quieter area on the other side of the Grand Canal. It was still very touristy but somehow Venice is so magical that it gets away with it. We stopped at an Italian restaurant we had read about and although it was chock full of tourists the personal attention from the owner helped it feel authentic. He recommended us some very tasty local white wine and we tucked into excellent seafood pasta, complete with squid ink which ended up all over Marcus' face...This was easily the best meal we had in Italy. We did eventually have to leave and carried on deeper into Venice, now into the Jewish quarter, which was a bit more normal, being largely devoid of all the tourist trappings. Jess attempted to befriend a cat (on advice from Marcus) but the cat wasn't having any of it, and Jess wondered if her stance against cats was still the right one. We pondered getting a ride on a Gondola, but the price and obvious lack of interest of the Gondoliers made us decide to spend our money elsewhere. Satisfied with our time in Italy, we wandered back through the streets, a bit more leisurely than the previous day, and caught the ferry back to the campsite.
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