Things on the go

Well after six weeks back in northern France, I can't believe how fast the time has gone by and that there are only nine days before we fly to India. I had such good intentions of using this down time to get fitter, finish a painting promised to a friend and put a concerted effort in to learning enough French to get by. I haven't entirely failed in all of these things. The odd bike ride here and there hasn't hurt, as well as enough horseriding that I'm now comfortable if not confident trotting bareback; spending two weeks labelling little jam pots with the French workers at Eli's company has helped on the language front and the intentions of painting the picture are still there even if the inspiration isn't.

I have grown a little older in the interim; I celebrated my 28th birthday with not one but two yummy cakes (a mille feuille and a caramel cheesecake) made by our in-house chef, Henry. We also moved into a gorgeous house in a village called Tortefontaine (or twisted fountain) and have all been busy with unpacking, painting the odd worn-out bit of furniture and cooking and eating three times a day. So here are a few pictures of the house and its surroundings - Claudia and I the morning after we partied at the house with friends from London and Paris; Maude the cat stuck on top of a ladder (we rescued her after this picture); me and my birthday cakes; the Landy happy in its new home; our bovine neighbors and the crucifix on the road outside our house.

Please excuse the bad formatting, I'll get the hang of it soon I hope!
Next stop: Bangalore...

Almost Carcassonne

For those who read this with a view to making sure we are still alive and haven't driven over a cliff, apologies for the silence. While I'm in an apologising mood, sorry about the lack of pictures so far, I have finally copied most of them onto my computer and will go back and add them to the blog soon! We are very much alive and back in St Remy and the Euro trip has come to a slightly premature end.

A few days after Barcelona, we set off from Conat (shown in the picture is the view from the house window of the whole town) towards Carcassonne, where a university friend of Eli's, Steve was heading to visit his mom for two nights from Hong Kong. All was going brilliantly until, with an hour to go 'til Steve's mom's place, the Landy popped out of gear and much whirring and grinding ensued. We pulled over onto a conveniently placed gravel patch and thus our days in the Landy were unceremoniously over. As good as Eli is at fixing these things, this thing was a bit too serious (we think), and something had gone wrong in the gearbox (possibly) or in the clutch (conceivably), and was not something Eli thought was easily or affordably remedied. So, we had the darling car towed a few km's back to a garage we had filled up at 10 minutes before the breakdown by the mildly amused garage owner (who had been chatting to Eli about the Landy while we filled up), and asked Steve's mom if she wouldn't mind terribly coming to get us. This she kindly did, along with her boyfriend, the less-than-amused town butcher who had to be up for work in 5 hours (it was already 11pm). So we had made it to Carcassonne (well to Puicheric close by), albeit sans Landy.

We had a great weekend though with Steve, Paula his mom, Modeste the butcher and Tiffany the dog, who with three walks a day is probably the luckiest mutt in France. We spent Saturday night at the Puicheric fete, which was a grand affair for such a tiny village, with a pretty impressive cover band and full-on carnival on the go. On Sunday we tagged along to a lunch in a nearby village with three British couples who live in the area, and who were all very entertaining with the hosts having owned a restaurant in LA, which was frequented by the rich and famous, as evidenced by birthday notes from Leonard Cohen and relaxed impromptu photo's of Mick Jagger and others hanging on the walls. On Monday Steve had to leave for a wedding in England which he sadly didn't get to as there was a family emergency in Hong Kong and Steve and Paula both had to fly over as soon as they could. We stayed on in the house with Modeste for a few days and walked Tiffany and organised to get the Landy towed back up north and eventually got on the train headed for Pas de Calais.

We didn't quite end the holiday there, as we drove 7 hours back down to the bottom of Normandy a few days after arriving home for 3 days on a little island called Noirmoutier with some of Eli's Parisian friends, as well as Dave from England who had been on a parallel adventure to ours, but who had been working on farms instead of touring the motorways. The weather wasn't amazing and so we had one good beachy day and two wet indoor days playing UNO, then headed home again via Paris for one night, where we had to go to apply for our visas to India for the end of October.

So, there are still exciting times ahead...about a week to go before Eli, his brother Henry, Henry's friend Gaultier and I move into a brand new house in Tortefontaine, a village about 10km from where we are now. Only 2 months later we head off for brand new travels in India!!! Watch this space...

Barcelona!

We made it into Spain finally, it turns out the 2 hour traffic jam we had endured sans roof in the midday sun was because of a little frontier town which sold tax-free booze and smokes and all sorts of other tat so people were heading not to Spain itself, but merely the border. So the trip into Barcelona was jam free after that. We parked and walked to Park Guell, designed by Gaudi and within which are buildings and fountains of his signature organic style. We then drove down and had a quick look at his Segrada Familia, which we could barely make out behind all the scaffolding. Since we hadn't organised a place to stay for the night, we found somewhere central and busy for the car to sleep and for us to use as a base, then walked around looking for a nice bar. Finally in a tiny side street we stumbled upon 'Nevermind', a grungy grimy little bar with incredibly cheap beer. We were happy. Three hours later and wishing we had paced ourselves we thought a nap was in order so we covered the Landy with the tarp and curled up awkwardly in the front seat for a few zzz's. At around midnight we woke and wandered around some more until 3ish, then fetched the car and found a tiny cul-de-sac where we slept some more. I would have loved to spend more time in Barcelona as the atmosphere is great and we didn't see much of it, but thatll have to wait I guess. We arrived back in tiny Conat around 10am and were accosted by a little old man urging us to go and watch the concert on the go in the village's church. So dirty and tired we crept into the back and watched a few brilliant classical performances in the beautiful little building built with the local pink marble, before sneaking out and back to the house for a sleep.
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Conat & The Pyrenees

We have spent the last 5 days or so in a tiny village in the French Pyrenees called Conat. A friend of Eli's family had kindly said we could stay in her house there during our trip and it has been a very welcome break for both of us, mainly because we have come to realise just how close we have come to total brokeness after most of the campsites have charged more than we expected, and so a financial rest as well as a physical one has been just what we've needed. The village is so small that only 45 people live there all year round, but its a bit busier now, in Summer, because it is the starting point for quite a few walking trails into the mountains. We have mostly been hanging out at the house, I've finally finished reading Shalimar the Clown and have started on another book, have cooked my first ever ratatouille and been doing a little bit of painting. We went for a cycle into the next town yesterday, uphill all the way there but obviously a nice breezy downhill all the way back! Today we are heading across the border into Spain to hopefully spend the night in Barcelona. I say hopefully because we have been in the most ridiculous traffic jam for about 2 hours and it doesn't show any sign of clearing up. Bleh.
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Monaco, Nice, Cannes, the Landy and me

Monaco may be great for formula 1 but not so much so for Land Rovers; there is a very steep little road leading into it which was packed with cars when we arrived and we had to manoeuvre very carefully so as not to bump into anything else! Once in town though the roads were easier and after a sneaky photo op for the car on the roundabout in front of the casino where all the Lambo's and Bugatti's hang out, we walked around for half an hour, had a very expensive coke and set off for Nice. Despite its name, nice it isn't. At the beginning of our trip, I was probably most excited about the south of France but now I can understand Eli's reluctance to stay any length of time there. Granted the view of the Med is great, but the little strip of beach looked packed with people and on one beach entrance I saw a sign saying Journee la Plage: 14 euro. Maybe its great out of season though! We drove on to Cannes, only a little further along the coast, where Eli's friend's parents had kindly found us a bed for the night, and who also took us out for dinner and walked around Cannes a bit with us. After a long day driving in the heat and a long two weeks in a tent, it was most appreciated! The next morning we were keen to get away from the holiday beaches and decided to go to the Camargue, the largest river delta in Europe at the mouth of the Rhone and where the white Camargue horses run wild! We wanted to stop at St Tropez on the way, which sounded easy enough but actually involved at least 3 hours of almost stationary traffic in the glaring sun on the only road leading there. Once we arrived, very hot and sticky, we had a beer with Eli's client who works at a very fancy hotel in Ramatuelle next to St Tropez and he drove us around the hotel grounds a bit and showed us the incredible view. The Landy started acting up a little just before we reached the Camargue, so we found a campsite closer to where we were which turned out to be really cheap and cheerful and apart from it being right next to a high speed train track, pretty peaceful too. We unpacked the car the next morning and drove into the Camargue national park where we saw some of the famed wild horses and some not so wild ones all saddled up and ready to ride. The Camargue is also famous for bull breeding and apparently bull fighting too. Apparently unlike Spanish bullfights, these ones are not destined to die during the spectacle though. Still sounds like the poor animal must be frightened half to death. This too is the only place in Europe where they have flamingos living in the wild. We saw quite a few strutting around in the marshes along with loads of other birds. Makes me wish I was a birdwatcher so I could tell what they were! Anyway it is an incredible, unspoilt place and we were about to experience its other claim to fame because the Landy sputtered and died while we were still in the reserve. I guess if you're going to drive a very old car halfway around Europe you should know what can go wrong with it. Luckily (for me), Eli has replaced or repaired most of the car and so knows it very well. So I had faith in him finding out what the problem was. He did eventually and we were on our merry way after about 3 hours, but not before the Camargue's notorious mosquitoes had had their merry way with us. Cheeky buggers. Anyway today we are itching our way along towards a place called Prades which we will call home for about the next week. It sounds lovely and remote and a good place to rest for a few days.
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Deiva Marina and the world's best campsite

We have spent the past three nights in Deiva Marina at a campsite which seems to be a well-kept Italian secret. Whereas all the previous sites we have stayed at have been host to mainly Dutch and French campers, this one was almost completely full of Italian families who have probably been spending their holidays there for generations. It is on a secluded spot of coastline and you have to drive through an old railway tunnel to get to it, so it is kept happily separate from the town's main beach, which is packed with grids of matching umbrellas and men in speedos. Our tent was perched on an outcrop with the turquoise waves lapping at the rocks below - bliss! Our first day was spent lazing on the beach and swimming in the beautiful clear ocean, then a quick cycle into town for supplies and a very successful steak and egg on ciabatta dinner. Then yesterday we took a train to Corniglia which is one of the Cinque Terre or 'five lands', and from where we walked along the coastal trail to Riomaggiore, stopping for a swim in the sea on the way. Between Manarola and Riomaggiore is the Via Dell'Amore, the 'lovers' road', where countless padlocks have been locked onto the railings and everywhere else by couples who have walked along it. Eavesdropping a guide in front of us, we gathered that this tradition comes from an old Italian movie about a 'bad boy' who falls in love with a rich girl and so they were kept apart by locks, or something to that effect. Despite having brought about 20 different padlocks of various colours and sizes on this trip, we didn't have a spare with us, so will have to return one day to leave our mark, but the view of the rocky outcrops along the mediterranean and the old towns with houses virtually piled on top of one another was unforgettable, so the Cinque Terre have certainly left theirs! Once in Riomaggiore, we hired some snorkelling gear and went out on a boat with about 6 other people to the most protected area along this bit of coast. It was wonderful to swim around and look at the shoals of little fish and down into the deep blue beyond. Eli did well for a first-time snorkeller, maybe one of these days I'll get him into some SCUBA gear! Back at the camp we managed to cool a few beers down to a vaguely acceptable temperature, and enjoyed them with gnocchi from the supermarket which was pretty divine. Today we bid Italy arrivederci and head for Monaco to show off our pimp ride amongst the Ferrari's and Lamborghini's!
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Pisa, Lucca and the Cinque Terre

We left Siena this morning and drove through some amazing Tuscan countryside towards Pisa, where we parked the car and walked 20 minutes in the wrong direction looking for the tower. Eventually we found our way and spent all of 5 minutes in the park by the leaning tower and cathedral watching everyone set up their shots pushing against the tower, hands resting on the tower etc etc. We can also confirm that yes, it is definitely leaning. We had to get back to the car though before the meter ran out so that was it for the leaning tower and us! Off to Lucca where we cycled the 4km around the fortified town walls and saw glimpses of the renaissance-era monuments and churches. Lucca has played an important part in Italian history and I'll definitely try to learn more about it once we get back! For now though, the ocean calls and we will be arriving in Portofino in half an hour to unpack then head to the beach!
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Siena

Yesterday once we had arrived at the campsite we cycled into Siena and walked around in awe of the streets and houses which have remained unchanged throughout the centuries. Il Campo, the main square, is the scene of the annual palio horserace, which sounds rather cruel but must be fascinating to watch. We visited the Duomo and were amazed at the detail in every corner - it is an incredible place to behold. The library, tucked away in a corner, holds manuscripts from the 14th century which are painted with amazing skill and in great detail. I was also given my birthday present from Eli 6 weeks early, a gorgeous Italian leather handbag! Back at the campsite we had a swim in the best campsite pool so far, it was 4m deep and 25m long! As for today, right now I am lying in a hammock tied on one side to the Landy and on the other to a tree, with two bungee cords stretched above me with wet washing on them. Today has been incredibly chilled, its been a bit windy and threatening to rain all day so we didn't go back into Siena itself but to a tiny medieval village, Monteriggioni, just north of it which is a fortified town and set amongst the scene of many battles between Siena and Florence in days gone by - some of the buildings date back to the 11th century. We then found a little off-road track, actually an 11th century pilgrimage route which stretches from Canterbury to Rome, where we did a little greenlaning and where we stopped to eat our smoked-salmon and ciabatta lunch and watched the ominous clouds blow past us (thankfully). Dinnertime now and an early morning for the drive to Pisa, Lecco and towards the Cinque Terre tomorrow!
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Photos from the last 10 days

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Florence to Siena

We are on the road for the 100km or so to Siena, the last two nights were spent camping atop a hillside 5km from Florence. We rode our bikes into town yesterday and it seems we are suffering from cultural overload as well as summer-tourist-rip-off syndrome, as we were quite exhausted at the prospect of all the sights one has to see. So we didn't see the real David, but numerous copies served well enough I think; the Duomo is breathtaking, and there are so many old churches and palazzo's scattered around that we could have stayed a week (and spent a fortune). After the hike up to the Piazalle Michelangelo and having a last look at the gorgeous city however, we headed back to the camp with a quick stop at a deli for some parma ham and bread, which was so good we cycled back down to it later for more ham and some well-deserved beers! It has been nice and cool up on the hill until this morning- it mustve been 35 degrees by 10am - so we are hoping that the Landy handles it ok! So far so good apart from a few warning jerks a few minutes ago and we can see Siena already so we should be ok! Eeek!
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On the road to Florence

We spent a few hours today walking around Bologne, ate the requisite Ragu with tagliettelli- it didn't blow my mind but it was good...granted my expectations were pretty high! We had been reading the lonely planet guide which recommended a gelateria as one of the best in Italy, and after an hour of walking to find it, it tasted pretty amazing! I don't know whether Ill ever be happy with normal old ice cream again after this trip. Aside from food, Bologne has beautiful arcades down all the main roads and I imagine that being a university town, during term-time it must have a great vibe too. We didn't get to check out any of the bars though as we are now en route to Florence and about to start the search for a campsite. In case anyone wants to know, Eli and I have one swollen foot each from vicious Venetian mosquitoes!
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July 24

July 24
We took our time driving to Venice, (well, a campsite 7km from Venice itself) and once unpacked got a bus into the town after being quite disappointed that bicycles aren't allowed. I can definitely see why though, some of the streets are only about a metre wide, and most of the others are packed with tourists so any cyclists would be a serious hazard. Im sure everyone has seen all the pictures of the canals and gondolas so Ill refrain from describing it, except to say that it is gorgeous and romantic, as well as expensive and very full of people! We spent yesterday afternoon and a few hours today wandering around, had a good pizza and some very good gelato, took a water-bus thing (we certainly weren't going to fork out 100euro for a gondola ride!) and are now back the campsite, getting ready to cook some garlicky spinach on our funny little stove, and head off to Bologna tomorrow. Fun times!

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July 23

July 23
We set off early and headed for another lake close to Como from where we planned to go on to Venice. Lake Garda is surrounded by more gorgeous villas and bursting with colour, and it was great driving through with the roof off the Landy (The 'roof' we have is called a bikini, and only sortof covers the two front seats – so we don't have windows or anything covering our backs even when it's on). After another quick business meeting at a hotel, we were on our way when it started raining quite softly, and then got quickly heavier and we were getting soaked. We pulled over and put the bikini back on and a tarp over all our stuff in the back just in time because it turned into quite a crazy downpour, which isn't easy or fun to drive in in that car. You have to hope the tiny little motors on the windscreen wipers don't give up on you, while frantically wiping the spray from the back of the car off the inside of the windscreen. We had been warned that Lake Garda had a microclimate, and we were happily soon out of the monsoon and back to moaning about the heat. We decided to stop over in Verona for the night and found the only campsite close by, with less than friendly staff but it would have to do. We cycled back down the hill into the old town of Verona and it was absolutely stunning and quite fun to roll through all the tiny streets – but we were starving and FINALLY found a nice looking restaurant, had barely put the last bite into our mouths when a massive gust of wind started knocking the tables over and slamming all the pretty little shutters in the square. We looked at what was coming over the hill, then thought of the steep winding hill we still had to cycle back up to the campsite and thought it best done very quickly before the approaching storm arrived…we were exhausted when we reached the top but dry and lightning-strike free. It was an impressive storm though!
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July 22

July 22
A long, fast downhill cycle took us from the campsite to Como Lago (lake), where we arrived already very sweaty. Apparently the thing to do in Italy is drink Café's wherever and whenever, which I can't fathom in this heat, so I stick to Coke or water. Anyway Eli is getting his Italy on, so he has the coffee. After that we headed up one of the hills bordering the lake in the funicular, a funny kind of slanty train. The view of the lake was obviously stunning, but the houses in the village were like little fairytales to me. All stones and hydrangeas and lizards flitting about, and dense forest as we headed higher up the hill, it was all so pretty! Back at the bottom, we took a ride around the lake and since I had my heart set on having a swim in lake Como, we carried on and on looking for somewhere it was allowed. Eli asked a few old Italian men where we could go, and the pointed us further along saying it was another 3km to go. Turns out it was a very steep 3km (although incredibly beautiful!), and by the time got there I had a splitting headache (probably from sweating out twice as much liquid as I was drinking), and they wanted us to pay 5 euros for the pleasure of taking a dip. We thought we would rather go find water to drink and trekked up the longest , steepest cobblestone pathway I have ever seen until we arrived at a little drinking fountain in a tiny piazza, where we downed about a litre of water each and lay down to recover. Luckily the journey back was mostly downhill back to Como, after which we wisely took the train back to the campsite.

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July 21

July 21
We packed up early and heading into the dreaded Alps to get to Italy. Poor Landy was tyres all a-shiver at the thought of it, but she certainly manned up and did the job, and showed us some incredible scenery. It must've been 35 degrees most of the way, but there were snow-capped mountains all around us. It was such an awesome sight, and not nearly as scary as I had expected, although Eli was driving and might not agree. Once over the mountains – (2100m high at some points) – we headed for Como, through some landscapes that reminded me of Fourways (only Joburg people will understand). Finally we got to the campsite and realised that it will be a long time before we see another proper bed. Italy is incredibly hot in July, but Im sure everyone knows this already.

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July 20

July 20
We drove a few hours until we reached Grenoble, back in France once again, where we had a quick drink with Eli's friend from university and then over to Bridgette's flat where we were going to stay the night. It was really great to see Bridgette after about 8 years and catch up and talk about Joburg and all things South African. Her dad had visited her recently and brought vuvuzelas for her and her boyfriend Fabio, and she was definitely the better woman when it came to playing it! She also brought out some droewors and amarula cream, and reminded me why I can't wait to get home, even though the European adventures (and surely the Landy trip of a lifetime) have just begun.

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July 19

July 19
AK had gone off to work, it being Monday in the real world, and Deniz had to pack for a wedding in Turkey (where they both are from, and where they have known eachother their whole lives), so Eli and I rambled down to lake Geneva on our bikes. We found a little swimming spot on the lake, complete with Northern Englishmen with bad tans, where we swam and sat around on the rocks for a bit, to try and fix up our own bad tans. Eli had a client to see at a fancy hotel on the lake, so I sat by the pool and waited while he talked jam, after which we cycled back around the lake to a very full 'beach', where the swimming was great until I spotted something that looked slightly dodgy in the water, and I didn't feel quite right swimming after that.

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July 18

July 18
We decided to catch a ride with AK & Deniz on one of the big boats that cruise around Lake Geneva. After a 2 hour cruise of lovely sun and looking out at the distant Alps and Mont Blanc we reached Yvoire, an incredibly beautiful Medieval village on the lake (and in France, not Switzerland). Tiny steep cobbled streets are lined with stone buildings and flowerbeds bursting with brilliant colours. We wandered around for an hour or two and ate a bit too much ice-cream and then caught the boat back to Geneva. It was less sunny this time, and cold in the wind, but we made up for that by sneaking up onto the first class decks and made like we were hanging with the rich folk. Geneva is not known for its nightlife but there was a small section of tents pumping out cheesy disco tunes complete with flashing laser lights when we got back. We decided that we'd had enough after about half an hour though and stomped back up to the flat.

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July 17

July 17
Troyes is in the champagne region of France and we thought we should pick up a bottle of two for our hosts in Geneva, AK and Deniz. We soon realised that this was unlikely on a Saturday morning during the summer holidays as everything was closed and I had a big sulk when I realised that my fantasy of sipping Moet & Chandon amongst its parent plants was not to be. Soon after the vineyards faded into the distance though, I cheered up as we were heading into the mountains, with steep winding roads and little French villages every few kilometres. The Jura mountain range took us up about 630m, which we thought was quite an achievement for the Landy at the time. Coming down the other side was pretty scary. The GPS looked like a big red scribble, and Eli's face looked more terrified with every steep slope and sharp turn as we crawled down, being overtaken by some seriously crazy Swiss drivers. After the scary descent, we had another half an hour until we were in Geneva, at AK & Deniz's flat, where we gave AK's brand new braai a go and went to bed happy and full.

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July 16

July 16
Eli, the Landy and I set off from a cloudy St Remy au Bois at about 10am and trundled through northern France farmlands most of the day (except for a brief breakdown after 160kms!) The landscape is much like that in St Remy, fields and cows and the occasional bad smell, but very pretty all the same. After 8 hours (and only 350km!) we arrived at our campsite in Troyes (pronounced Trwah). We set up our tent – a very cool readymade thing that you throw at the ground and which lands ready to inhabit – and set off on our bicycles into town. Troyes is beautiful, the houses mainly have wooden frameworks which are visible with plastered sections in between. I'm sure there's a name for that but I don't know it – similar to Tudor houses but a bit more wonky. A very good pizza and pint later, we went off back to the campsite for the first night in the tent!

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Blog's up!

Well. We have been on the road for 8 days now and I am finally writing down some of what has been done in that time. Apologies to those who have been waiting for some updates; we have now set up a better system so that I can email updates to post here , so I will try to do that while we're on the road instead of trying to find WiFi at campsites!

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