So here we are -back on the road again, with Buster now being truly ours. Brought after our last Covid adventure from Elddis. We have during the time we have owned Buster made some adjustments, which we hope will be investments as well, more of that later.
Obviously, with Brexit I cannot do the year long journeys like we did before, but thanks to kindness of the French giving me a French visa, I can be away for 6 months rather than the 3 that Brexit dictates. This is of course just me, as David is Irish and so can still travel around Europe as he pleases and since we have not got married since our last journey and blog, my rights remain the same! Bridesmaids remain on standby.
Anyway, moving on as we have since leaving the UK on the 22nd March 23, we headed to Calais in rain. Despite being nice to me, the French then decided to throw the first curve ball and what should have been an hour long ferry journey ended up as a 4 hour one, due to work to rule by the French port authorities- hey ho.
Our journey was to be swift to visit D’s cousin and wife in Switzerland, and so with the rain as ever beating down on us we made an overnight in the beautiful historic town of Nancy. After parking up at a city aire we walked to the main square- Place Stanisias. It would indeed have been impressive, pretty, call it what you will if the riot police weren’t fighting with the Pension demonstrators and a heavy layer of gas hung over the place. We saw little and weren’t allowed even to enter the square, not that given the tear gas we wanted to. So, we can say that France really had been a gas for us!!
Our weekend just outside Geneva catching up with D’s family was lovely and as ever they were so hospitable to us.
It was at this point we began to realise some of our rookie errors with the van, and as ever so many things began to play hide and seek with us. The amount of food we are carrying is almost at catering level and I’m just so glad that I never brought the icing sugar with me as well!.
One of the investments we made was lithium-ion batteries, in theory allowing us to stay ‘off grid’ longer or just not pay the price for electric hook up. By the time we got to Geneva and the sun hadn’t shone we realised something was awry. Alarms literally were going off everywhere, the fridge was screaming, water wasn’t running, we felt like absolute beginners. After a good bit of support time from the installers, who we cannot fault there is an issue, but we are managing it and will delve further into it when we hit Spain and there are more dealers available to look at the system thoroughly. However, our other investment was air suspension and that has helped enormously with Buster’s big bum issue, lifting it off the ground substantially.
We are currently in the Piedmont region of Italy, having spent 4 nights in Turin. The campsite was excellent and just 6k’s from the historic centre. This could be done by bike or walking along a dedicated path into the town or by various options on public transport. Just what you want from a city stop. The dreaded C word stopped us from visiting Turin last time when we were in the area, but this time Turin gave us it’s all. One of the highlights was the gelato from Alberto Marchetti, divine and that’s from not an ice cream fan. Shallow, possibly given the piazza’s, church’s culture etc but it was sooo good and cheap €7 for 2 cones and you could mix your flavours.
We are currently sitting on a delightful aire €7 (incl. electricity) in small town called Maranello. We are here because this is super car valley, home to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani. So, over the last 3 days we have visited 3 car museums and I can say that along with being super-cars they do charge super entry fees as well. Lamborghini being the worse culprit and being close to a super model myself they are not a car you want to get in and out of with lovely long pins (Penny Lancaster -her worse car!)
It is also the region of parmesan and balsamic vinegar, so we are hoping to perhaps visit a few of those producers while we are here.
Our current plan is to head to Lucca to see the infamous Mark before leaving Italy for Spain on the 13th April (not a Friday thankfully, given we are sailing with a shipping company that gets worse ratings then GRIM-aldi lines).
Money these days is an issue for everyone and we as The GreyGappers motorhomers are known for our spending skills, and so since we are giving this more consideration we have decided to give a detailed spend each week. We are hiding our drinking skills under subsistence rather than entertainment, that will cover museum etc entries.
Anyway, it’s been a gas thus far and so arrivederci for now.
Subs £329 Petrol-gas, tolls £213 Entertainment £110 Accom £104. Sun 26/3 to Sat 1/4/23
Vincent says
Excellent and informative. Enjoy
S says
Wonderful to see you back 🙂