First days on the road..

After 14 days on the road Chris and I find ourselves just north of Venice in northern Italy. Our journey so far has taken us the length of France, the width of Italy and through mountain range and valley.

            The journey began with a few days at the world famous 24 hours of Le Mans which provided us with a good stepping stone through northern France and a reliable campsite for our first nights in the van. Although the race was one of the most exciting in recent years we found ourselves itching to continue our journey and were back on the road only 5 minutes after the race finished!

After a restful 48 hours or so with family in the Dordogne we continued south towards the Millau bridge, which we reached after 2 relaxed (and somewhat shorter than before) days on the road. The views of the bridge certainly lived up to expectations and the chief photographer got some good snaps on our way over. The day continued with our discovery of an incredible mountain road which we spent a few hours on, stopping every so often to take photos.

            Continuing on south through France, eventually brought us to the coast and some warmer weather. Our first city sleep was in Marseille which we loved. We happened to arrive just in time for the fete de panniers which is a massive street party in the back streets of the city where the locals all come out and sell food from their houses while live bands and DJs play music from anywhere and everywhere. Moving on from Marseille we stuck to the coast and after some obligatory hours on the beach and a relaxing few days on the road, we found our way to St Tropez. Our bed for the night was up a first gear hill, near the citadel, just a hundred meters or so from a Buggatti Veyron and right on the edge of the old town. After a beer in the van we headed in to town to see for ourselves the infamous town. A few hours and at least one 10 euro beer later we were back in the van and ready for a good night’s sleep.

            Over the next few days we continued east along the coast, taking in the major towns and some incredible views of the blue blue sea. Notable highlights included taking breakfast on the sea front in the morning and sampling the local beer by night. As we neared the Italian border we were greeted with the Principality of Monaco which we had both heard much about but didn’t really know what to expect. We arrived at about 10 in the evening and had a brief wander around before deciding we could not come all this way without going in the casino. 20 mins later we were changed into the best clothes we had (some dodgy old boots for me and some trainers for chris – classy enough, I think so!) and we were in. Without over elaborating, the building is one of the most intimidating I have ever been in but I am pleased to say that we, well, broke even.

            We left Monaco that night and made it across the Italian border without even seeing a border guard before heading to bed just inside Italy in a campervan car park at about 2. From there we have headed north east, towards the Slovenian border which we are less than a day away from as I type. We have enjoyed Italy save for the Italian drivers, the poor quality of the roads and the lack of WIFI. Our best day yet was spent by a river in the back country of the central north of the country which we found by accident. It was completely deserted and we spent our 24 hours there skimming stones, swimming and jumping off rocks into pools of freezing cold water; exactly what this trip is about for me. After a brief time in Verona yesterday we are now by a lake in the Dolomites and Chris is about to give kite boarding a go. Talking of which I best go get some photographic evidence..

Until soon,

Marcus

Stats of the moment:

Days on the road: 14

Miles covered: 1900

Showers taken: 9

Run ins with the Police: 0 (touch wood!)

Money spent on accommodation: 0.00 (excluding Le Mans)