Our grand tour.

[berni109]

We eventually got to go into st Peter's but from my point of view an almost total waste of a day. What an ostentatious obscene display of the churches wealth and power.
Don't intend getting up at that time again on this holiday. Talk about a pi$$ up in a brewery the Vatican can't even organise a service in a church. Everyone u ask has a different version of what's supposed to happen when. I went off a coffee and a cake and 2hrs later when I got back she was still waiting in the queue in exactly the same spot. I have to say the Italians really do have brass necks as far a queue jumping is concerned.
The saving grace was a nice late lunch in the 'Jewish ghetto' (can u say that nowadays) but at €70 for a shared starter 2mains and 2 small wines a tad expensive.
I suppose you have to do Rome when in Italy but having been here in the 80's and again now - never again.

 

[nicholsong]

We eventually got to go into st Peter's but from my point of view an almost total waste of a day. What an ostentatious obscene display of the churches wealth and power.
Don't intend getting up at that time again on this holiday. Talk about a pi$$ up in a brewery the Vatican can't even organise a service in a church. Everyone u ask has a different version of what's supposed to happen when. I went off a coffee and a cake and 2hrs later when I got back she was still waiting in the queue in exactly the same spot. I have to say the Italians really do have brass necks as far a queue jumping is concerned.
The saving grace was a nice late lunch in the 'Jewish ghetto' (can u say that nowadays) but at €70 for a shared starter 2mains and 2 small wines a tad expensive.
I suppose you have to do Rome when in Italy but having been here in the 80's and again now - never again.

I went to St. Peters some 40 years ago my impressions were -

Ostentatious, too much gilt.

Constant babble of tourists, mostly not of a Christian Religious background.

I left and went to the Vatican Museum next door, where I saw some fine artefacts, including some wonderful animal sculptures in marble, and all in complete quiet.

I much preferred Santa Maria Maggiore to St. Peters. Much simpler and serene.

 

[berni109]

nicholsong agree the museum is a treasure house of artifacts as I remember from my visit in the 80's.
We meet a couple who went yesterday and they said they were headed through like cattle. No time to admire the beauty of the exhibits.

Royaly ripped off on checkout this morning. On arrival asked for ACSI - "no sorry this is our high season". After a long drive just accepted the comment. Checked the book before checkout and it clearly showed NOT.
Questioned at c/out and told ah! but u did not have an ASCI pitch. Showed him booking at €130 Ah! But your booking was for a camping pitch. Now it's €170but that does include tourist tax. Thanks a lot!
Rome (even if I was young enough to contemplate returning) never again.

 

[nicholsong]

berni109

When I went to the Vatican Museum I just wandered around on my own, but that was 40 years ago. I had the advantage of having studied Latin so I could make sense of the exhibit labels.

The only part of Rome that I really enjoyed was Trestevere, for relaxed restaurants.

Like you I have no desire to go back and fortunately Basia does not like cities.

 

[berni109]

Win win situation there then.

On a quirky little site at the marina for Vico Equense now and they are ACSI. Yeh!
Walked up into town - 220 steps according to the boss so rewarded myself with a gelato. Knee is a little sore after the 220 back down again.

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[berni109]

Sorry forgot to say thanks 'funster' for the recommendation. Can remember off the top of my head who u are.

 

[berni109]

Italy where the expected never happens. In my experience so far.
Campsite said bus to station 09:00 timetable said 9:35. 10:10 gave up which was just as well because there were roadworks and the bus was not running. Campsite owner kindly ran us and a German couple up in his car. Top man!
We have all probably experienced the tram lines in our motorways caused by heavy lorries.

Just imagine getting your horse and cart stuck in those.
And as for sleeping policemen or road humps fancy finding one of these in the road.

The Pompeii'ans knew how to stop their boy racers.

 

[berni109]

You could have knocked me down with a feather. Bus scheduled for 8 and it arrived on time and train waiting at the station for us to take us to Sorrento.
Then another bus to Amalfi. What a great journey with someone else driving. Those bus drivers know their vehicles to the inch and take no prisoners with their driving style . Not to be attempted if u suffer from motion sickness or vertigo. Why anyone would risk taking a motorhome along that cliff side road is totally beyond me but I saw a couple.
I have come to the conclusion that u need to spend a serious amount of money if you want a half decent meal in Italy but then both places we visited today are typical tourist traps all that was missing were the 'kiss me quick' hats.

 

[berni109]

Forgot the photos earlier.

From the campsite gateway.

Amalfi church and the little shop bottom right where we got a new number for our house.

 

[berni109]

This bloke takes the biscuit.

Napoli was a mad house today. Football fans everywhere cars and scooters zooming about with horns blaring. Think they won the Italian league.
Just before our last decent of the 220 steps got a photo of our van.

It's the white one with the solar panels in the trees behind the football pitches. (U might need to zoom in a little)

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[Grianan]

I wish I’d seen this earlier. We holidayed in Vico Equense. There’s a pizza by the metre place (L’Universita de la Pizza) which is amazing and also a traditional Pizza place called Pizzeria Da Franco. Seafood at Cubo apartments restaurants is best we’ve ever had.
Train to Herculaneum, Pompeii and Naples and visit https://naplespompeii.com/archaeological-museum.html which had all the arefacts they removed from Pompeii. Best museum I’ve ever visited. We also took train from Naples to Paestum fabulous amazingly preserved Greek temples and brilliant museum.

 

[berni109]

We've use the rail link in both direction and the fares are cheap and the trains run a regular service. However, the state of the rolling stock is appalling inside and out. Almost as bad as the suburban line we used in Rome.
Having been to Pompeii I now wish we had gone to Herculaneum instead as I understand it's more manageable in a day.
U live and learn.

 

[Grianan]

We've use the rail link in both direction and the fares are cheap and the trains run a regular service. However, the state of the rolling stock is appalling inside and out. Almost as bad as the suburban line we used in Rome.
Having been to Pompeii I now wish we had gone to Herculaneum instead as I understand it's more manageable in a day.
U live and learn.

We did Herculaneum rather than Pompeii for 2 reasons. We were with my parents and my dad had limited mobility. He was so determined to see everything that he walked his legs off. 11 months later he was dead from cancer so I was very happy he had seen something he had always wanted to. The other reason we chose Herculaneum is that, although smaller, it is more intact with frescoes etc.

You are correct about the clunky and graffiti covered rolling stock. Appalling but ever so useful. It allowed us to visit the local area without a car (or MH).

 

[berni109]

The weather forecast was threatening rain yesterday but all we had were a few spots. Today made up for that with heavy rain for most of the day.
Can't beat a quick pack up at a campsite with water trickling down your neck. €100 for 4 nights stay with ACSI card which I thought was ok considering some camps we have stayed at.
Stop go traffic for miles and an ambulance came past but the only thing that seemed to be causing the hold up was the toll station. Why don't Italians use toll tags - we sailed through when we eventually got there. Thanks to whoever flagged up that offer last year.
First stop today was at Campagna a small village in the foothills. Had earmarked this a a possible stopover but after a walk around in the drizzle decided to move on. On a sunny day it's probably full of charm and character. Plus would have needed the ramps out for a good night's sleep. Next up Satriano di Lucania - famous for the murals painted on houses. If it's dry enough will get a photo tomorrow. Fortuitously the motorway off ramp was closed and the next one took us to a large supermarket that was open on a bank holiday so not going to starve for a few days. As u can imagine that was not what I said as we sailed past where we should have been turning off.

 

[Reallyretired]

Think the kids are a bit old for that 35 to 42 and I am a bit long in the tooth as well.
So a question on french mw toll gates? We have a frulli tag and the gate does eventually open but can't see any charges on my online account. So is this a case of a french operator thinking stupid Brits I will let them through and send them a fine or do charges take a while to appear on your account?
We are now parked up at the swimming bath Aire €9 no services in Weil am Rhein and went into Basel on the tram. Stop 100yds from Aire.
Lovely old city but soooo expensive.
Bought some street food and a couple of beers hate to think how much it was ,plastic is your friend .
Went a bit too far on motorway and pulled off just before the vignette was needed. SF45. The girl I purchased it off looked official but who knows.
Quick update on popit SIM. Been working ok until we got here. Don't think it can decide if we are in Germany which we are or in Switzerland which is about a mile away. Could be very weak phone signal or it needs some settings tweaking. Will update if we get an answer.

The fulli tag has worked fine for us especially the 30 lanes where you dont need to stop. The charge appears on the fulli app after about 3 days but is only charged to your account monthly.

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[berni109]

Took more than 3 days to catch-up with me for France. Been in Italy about 3 wks now and nothing on my account yet. I'm sure all the toll charges will eventually appear.
Greece soon where the tag won't work so keeping all our change.

 

[berni109]

Not sure how many photos I can post in one go but here are a few we took this morning before the rain started again.

Odd paintings of someone painting a painting.

Folk tails, religious and abstract art quite a mixed bag.

Something about even the young know how chillies are good for you .

 

[berni109]

Couldn't figure the last 2 out. Something about dropping a baby down a well?
If anyone knows please post on here.

 

[berni109]

Called into Potenza on our way by. Hugh blocks of flats everywhere and the old town is right at the top of a very steep hill. Aire in a scruffy area but free with services. parked up for a couple of hours and had a wander in the rain. Seems coffee and cake gets cheaper the further south we go.
Intended destination today was Castlemezzano.

Stopped for lunch in a P4N spot on the way up which was great until the local bus turned up to park in the spot we were in. Carried on up the hill but only parking we could find was on outskirts and needed to take up 2 spaces. Poured with rain the whole time we were there although 2 coffees for €2.50 was an unexpected bonus. Thought about stopping overnight but then decided we would return to the P4N spot. Little did we know another local bus also parked there in the only other flat space. Spending the night in a disused station carpark instead.
Hope the trains don't start running too early.
Weather forecast abysmal for the next couple of days. Ho joy!

 

[berni109]

Decided to have a break from motorways yesterday and cut cross country to Matera. Another lesson learned - if it had been in the UK the worst part of the road would have been closed to all traffic. Rollercoaster ride but very slowly.
Rain most of the journey and now at the go-cart track site outside Matera.

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[berni109]

Very helpful friendly guy runs the site. He's full of information on what to see and where to go and runs a shuttle service into town . Had a very good authentic meal at lunch time on his recommendation (no doubt he's on commission or free meals). Only €80 but that included a couple of glasses of wine.
Matera is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Original inhabitants lived in caves along the gorge which u can make out in the photo.

Over the millennia they have been building and cutting into the soft rock untill it looks like this.

Doubt anyone worried about disposal of black waste back in the middle ages. Probably up to your ankles in those hovels at the bottom.

Just look at this rain water plumbing. Clay tiles and pipes exactly the same as the Romans used to use. Original or enforced to keep the tourists happy who knows?

This is the towns disused water cistern under the main square. It was left abandoned after piped water was introduced. Now tourists pay a few euros to descend into its depths and marvel at the ingenuity of ancient man.

 

[berni109]

Paid up for our 2 nights and left this morning after filling and emptying. €55 including 2 loads of washing. Was expecting it to be more with the shuttle service but who am I to argue. Noticed fuel at €1.68 and that's the cheapest seen. Popit SIM still working fine.
More later.

 

[berni109]

Now in the camper park in among the olive trees at Alberobello €20 p/n normal services and electric. Uneventful drive over apart from one pothole which I spotted just in time. Think it might have swallowed the van had we gone into it.
Couple of photos from the many taken

This will make u laugh. Wandering around as you do we stopped in for a coffee which was reasonable and a bit later on happened upon a bar that turned out to be a specialist wine shop little did we know. Two glasses of wine and €21 lighter. Worked out the white was about €6 and my red was the €15 balance. It was a beautifully smooth wine I was almost tempted to a bottle at €68. Yeh right!

 

[Grianan]

Now in the camper park in among the olive trees at Alberobello €20 p/n normal services and electric. Uneventful drive over apart from one pothole which I spotted just in time. Think it might have swallowed the van had we gone into it.
Couple of photos from the many taken
View attachment 748414

View attachment 748418
This will make u laugh. Wandering around as you do we stopped in for a coffee which was reasonable and a bit later on happened upon a bar that turned out to be a specialist wine shop little did we know. Two glasses of wine and €21 lighter. Worked out the white was about €6 and my red was the €15 balance. It was a beautifully smooth wine I was almost tempted to a bottle at €68. Yeh right!

Looks like an amazing place.

 

[berni109]

Yeh its really surprising that so many of these old houses still exist. Built out of materials lying about in the fields. Local Baron let his peasants build these single room dwelling in the fourteenth century but they weren't allowed to use cement to make them permeant so he didn't have to pay tax. Or so the story goes

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[berni109]

Got the wrong century yesterday it was the 15th.
Having another wander we found another area with these weird and wonderful dwellings.

Went to Castellana Grotte for a tour of the cave system there. Really good - a few kilometers long and really deep.

Here is a tip if you ever get there ignore the parking sign in the middle of the road and save €7 - head towards the caves go round the roundabout and park by the side of the road. The parking area is 7 for 24hrs and u can stay in the parking field with a few olive trees scattered about.
We moved on to Monopoli not a games board in sight but there is an interesting old town, harbour and fortifications.

Here is a new street for the board game. (It's probably where I will end up after my comments about st Peter's.)

Must be cheaper than old Kent road!

 

[berni109]

I had a peaceful night but the carpark we stayed in was full with everybody going into town on Saturday night. I was told they were a bit rowdy when they returned - didn't hear a thing.
Ventured just up the coast to polignano a mare - luckily quite early as parking was virtually empty and found 1 spot we could fit into.
Bought 3 hrs parking and then promptly lost the ticket as it fell out of the stupid clip fiat fit and disappeared into the dashboard. Oh bother! or words to that effect.
That place is supposed to be the jewel on this bit of coast. Nice and sunny today and the hordes had descended by the time we left just managed to get out of the carpark.

That's about the best bit of interesting architectural heritage we saw.
Moved on to Bari as ferry tomorrow.
Staying at the back of a caravan and motorhome storage yard on the outskirts. Couldn't find much else nearby. Would have preferred views of open countryside or maybe a nice beach. We have a telephone mast 3 mts from the door. Will probably fry our brains overnight but the reception is excellent on all our SIM cards.
Saw diesel for €1.64 on our travels today. Maybe should fill up before Greece.

 

[berni109]

Waiting to start boarding for ferry to Greece. Arrived early which was just as well because what I thought were the tickets were just vouchers to obtain the tickets with. Saved a mad panic when we got to the control at 5.
Jumped on the cruise liner free shuttle bus for a ride to the old town area. Fortunately nobody said a word. Had a walk around the old town again (came yesterday on the bus) but saw nothing new and had what must have been our most expensive coffee and cake since leaving Switzerland.

Part of the old castle which is massive as the result of several extensions which the church (again) instigated. Built originally in the 12C by a Norman king and I suspect funded by the crusaders. I couldn't understand why as a defensive structure it was away from the sea front but it used to be right on the coast.

 

[berni109]

Uneventful crossing to Greece nice and smooth. Meals on the superfast boat were ok nothing special but still managed to spent close to €60. Can't take it with you though eh!
I said when in Rome we would not be getting up early again on this trip but forgot the ferry docked at 5:30 and the tannoy was bleating at least an hour before that. Driving out into the darkness on the motorway was a bit odd not having driven anywhere in the dark for ages. Weather forecast for NW Greece was rain setting in from the west later so we went straight (as in immediately because the road was anything but) to Vicos to marvel at the forces of nature that created the gorge.

Really spectacular scenery way up in the mountains. It was so early after we had a walk around that even the coffee shop was not yet open.
Next stop Meteora trying to stay ahead of the rain. It was a long journey with more twists and turns than an afro hairstyle. Evidence of the new motorway being built but it looks years from completion.
The weather was still threatening rain and I was too tired to drive so we bought a guided tour. (Don't ask how much the memory is too painful.) As it turned out it was the best thing to do with a knowledgeable English speaking taxi driver.

One of the 6 remaining monasteries there were more but they can get the staff nowadays. Online gaming is apparently more interesting than monking for an existence.
While we were on our tour spotted the ideal overnight spot high up with a great view. Just as we arrived the cloud came down and you couldn't see more than 6 ft. Same situation this morning with rain so left early before the tour coaches started arriving. Not used the fog lights on the van before .
Topped up with fuel €1.49 which seems to be the going rate.
Popit SIM still performing well.
Trikala and Larisa were both on our list for a wander or perhaps an overnight but after spending 30 mins trying to find parking we just moved on. Stopped for lunch at a drab and dreary seaside town which was reflected in the food and the rain started again. Decided to get the washing done and P4N came up trumps with Katerini launderette.
While we waited all I wanted was a proper Greek (well Turkish) coffee and a baklava cake. No bloody chance everywhere you look it's coffee chains or trendy cafes who would not dream of serving such a peasant as me with a real taste of Greece.

 

[berni109]

Spent last night near Methoni on a P4N carpark right on the edge of the sea. Had a very good fish meal with a glass of wine for €33 which was excellent value.
Finding black waste dumps seems a problem here in Northern Greece. We drove quite a way past our intended stop just to get emptied at a caravan dealers but it was free.
Thessaloniki has a free parking area right on the sea near the concert hall P4N again. Short bus ride into town #5 or #6 for a euro.

White tower right on the sea front.

Another landmark the rotunda set back behind a Roman triumphal arch that has seen better days.
Just across the road down a side street from the rotunda we had the best meal of our holiday so far for the princely sum of €25 including the tip. Real Greek food with a free small desert and coffee.
Noticed fuel @ €1.44 today and gas was €0.81.

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