We left France and crossed over into Italy, a most interesting trip with lovely scenery and a huge tunnel, which due to our registration as a truck, not a camper, cost us €200 Euros!!!!! We were somewhat stunned but paid up. The hardest part was that the lady in the toll booth kept demanding different registration papers. Turns out that she was desperately searching for any document that would allow her to charge the lower rate. We, on the other hand, were panicking that we would not be able to cross. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fréjus_Road_Tunnel) Once though the 13 km of tunnel, we headed for an agricampeggio, or campsite at a small farm, way up the mountain above Asti.  (Another first gear grind on a one lane road.) We did not make it into the town of Asti, as we had a number of maintenance issues to accomplish. We de-limed the boiler of the Webasto heating system, which took a while!  We also cleaned and checked the bicycles so as to be able to use them, if the opportunity presented.

We left about 3 PM on the third day and headed for Genoa where we were booked on the evening ferry to Palermo.  It proved to be a pleasant drive.

The descent into Genoa involved a thousand tunnels, bridges, and bewildering on and off ramps. But Miss Neverlost (TomTom GPS) was spot on and the boarding process was actually very easy. 

One of the marshalers was actually a West Cameroonian! We were loading about 100 – 150 vehicles this evening; easy. In high summer it would be 800 and much more chaotic. As always, the actual parking inside the ship is traumatic as they want you closer to the bulkhead, closer to the vehicle in front of you, and there are a thousand people shouting “Faster, faster!” But we survived.

Our cabin was small but adequate for sleeping. It was, however, freezing and, as we had brought the wrong clothes, we ended up sleeping in our coats!

The ferry was quite empty, so finding a seat to view the sea while drinking a cappuccino was easy.  The restaurant served excellent pizza also!  The Mediterranean Sea was calm and we arrived in Palermo a little early.  We had booked a downtown sosta, which had been recommended to us with the proviso that it totally lacked charm but was practical for sightseeing.  The drive was the usual challenge, unexpected one way streets, double parked cars, bus lanes, traffic, and darkness, but we made it. Our space was tight but we did manage to get our ladder down.  And once in, we did not move the truck until we left!

Palermo was interesting and we enjoyed our visit except for the constant rain.  We managed to miss some of it by ducking into a coffee shop for morning coffee and a restaurant for an excellent meal at lunch time.  We started at the Quattro Canti, the four corners.  This is officially known as Piazza Vigliena, and is a Baroque square.  It is considered the center of the Historic District and is the intersection of the two major streets in Palermo.  

We never pass up a cathedral.

Lunch was at a very nice little restaurant on a side street, leading to the theatre.

We visited the amazing Norman Palace with its Palatine Chapel, famous for detailed mosaics telling various Bible stories.  Unfortunately the State rooms were closed as they are used by the Senate of Sicily.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_dei_Normanni#:~:text=The%20Palazzo%20dei%20Normanni%20(%22Norman,the%20subsequent%20rulers%20of%20Sicily.)

We then got absolutely soaked walking back to the camper as it thundered, it hailed, and it poured. 

We had planned to stay another day to visit Monreale but a similar weather forecast inspired us to head south where it looked to be a bit drier.

So we headed to Agrigento, where we hoped to see the Valley of the Temples.  It was pouring, so we had to stay an extra day there in order to get a dry day for visiting the temples, and what a day it was. Cloudless skies gave us a real appreciation for what it must be like to visit in July. It was actually warm enough to enjoy a gelato. The Greek temple ruins were amazing and stretched out over two miles or so. So walking both ways was a healthy four miles. We enjoyed the exercise! (Not!)

The local bus took us up the hill to the temples but we cheated and took a taxi back. expensive, but worth every penny!

Other than the visit, we did two loads of laundry on “dry” afternoons that poured with rain so we ended up with the camper full of damp clothes!

We flew into Heathrow from Oslo and made our way to Yatton to pick up the camper for what may be the last time.  The night we arrived, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with some old friends who made the effort to come down from Bristol and see us in our hotel.  It was a joy to see them after too many years.  The next morning we had a ride to the camper with the owner of the storage lot, Motorhome Matt. (https://www.motorhomematt.co.uk) Matt has truly given us service above and beyond. Then after loading everything up we set out for Chichester and Denise’s brother’s house.

Denise’s sister took us on the rounds of the stores to stock the camper. She also organized an excellent family lunch and get together in amazingly good weather for England in early March. Fred even washed the truck!

After a great weekend we set out for the north and the annual visit to Atkinson Vos.  There were a number of issues to address, including the installation of new headlights as ours had drowned in the constant rain of the previous winter storage. 

Real people don’t get misty eyed at the prospect of not returning to a garage, but Atkinson Vos have simply been wonderful. It is hard to imagine that we will probably not be back.

Soon, all was accomplished and we headed south to spend time with an old friend from Botswana, in Glossop in the Derbyshire Peaks.  Each time we cross the moors in Yorkshire, the Peaks in Derbyshire or the South Downs, we are reminded how beautiful England is.

Next stop was Mansfield for servicing of the Webasto Dual Top. We were welcomed back like old friends. They replaced some pieces and we learned that our Dual Top had the worst encrustation of lime scale that they had ever seen! Fred made a run to a near by store for a case of descaling solution.

And then it was on, to Derby, where we stopped at a wonderful Mercedes Benz truck dealership to try to get a front end alignment.  Unfortunately, this could not be done, as we need a new part which is unavailable anywhere in Europe as it is obsolete. Amazingly, the dealership refused any payment. We did persuade them to accept a bottle of firewater – for their Christmas Party.  Fred is working the part problem.  We shall eventually solve it but it may take a while. As our Belgian supplier noted, “We have over 60,000 MAN and Mercedes Benz parts, but we ain’t got that one!” (Liberal, idiomatic translation.) While the truck was on the rack, we made a walking visit to our first UK Costco, about a mile away. Truly wild to compare and contrast with a US Costco! The real challenge was getting all of our purchases into our shopping bags and then carrying them the mile back to the truck. Many rest stops were required!

Our next stop after Derby was Havant, near Portsmouth, back in the south of England.  Amazingly Denise could attend an informal annual reunion with the girls from her year of the Northern Grammar School for Girls in Portsmouth.  She had left the school in 1966 to go to Australia, where her father had been assigned with the Royal Navy.

Denise was surprised how many of the ladies remembered her and she had a wonderful time. As there was no place to park at the pub, Fred passed the time on a scenic overlook on Portsdown Hill, watching for French invaders.

We then headed on to visit Denise’s sister and brother in law in Kingsfold, in West Sussex. We all went for dinner at the local pub, which let us camp for the night. Another great evening!  The next day we headed to the coast and took the Shuttle to Calais.  First stop was the Cite de L’Europe for a shopping expedition at the monster Carrefour!  Always a happy place!

The larders stocked with French goodies, we headed out to an aire we had located in the town of Aire-sur-la-Lys.  This turned out to be a municipal aire, run by the town, and right beside a canal basin full of boats.  (Seems like a joke – we stayed at an aire in Aire.)

Quite lovely and we could have stayed longer, but we set off the next day and stopped at Troyes. We arrived in time for a walk into town. 

Troyes had been recommended as a quaint place, famous for its very English looking half-timbered buildings. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troyes) Denise has a talent for finding lesser known places to stop.

A whole town of houses from the 14th and 15th centuries, some of which had fallen down, some of which were half way there, and some of which looked like they had been built yesterday.

Our final stop in France was in the Beaujolais region.  We stopped at a winery called Domaine Philippe Aufranc, just above (literally) the village of Fleurie.  This is the first of our many camping sites at the top of mountains and was an exercise in a first gear grind up a narrow, one lane road. (No traffic on a dark Saturday evening.) The winery was closed on the Saturday in the late afternoon when we arrived; there was nobody there. Not hard to find a roomy spot.

However, we were able to touch base with the owner the next morning and enjoyed a private tasting. At least Denise did, Fred was driving. We bought several bottles. We were literally just up the hill from the famous George le Boeuf vineyard, so the neighborhood was good for wine.

And then, on into Italy.