Italy

From: Marc Cooper

Well here we are again ready for the off from Cornwall, we decided this time to use the tunnel so we travel to Ashford for an overnight stop and catch the early morning train and I have got to say this is certainly the best, quickest and cheapest way to cross the channel, 35 mins and we were in France.

Day one we did around 300 miles to Chaumont with a stop at the Formule one (not bad this one with a good restaurant out through the rear gate). Up the next morning for a shorter run to Annecy and another stop at the Formule one (this one was ok but on an industrial site so a trip to the hyper market and we had our own cheese and wine party in the grounds of the hotel).

Next morning we went along the length of Annecy and off towards Mont Blanc, travelling through the pass and villages took a bit longer than using the Auto route but was worth it.

We payed our 22 euro toll and went through the Mont Blanc tunnel which seemed to go on for ever with the heat in the middle almost unbearable, after a quick stop on the other side and Mandy discovering the pit toilet with no loo roll (knew the toll ticket would be useful) we carried on into Italy through about another 5 or 6 tunnels and on to the Autostrada.

Never having been to Italy before we did not know what to expect but as far as I am concerned the Autostrada is just Lorry jam and very boring and expensive at best, be very aware if you use them as lorries in cruise control with feet on the dash is the norm with very little regard for any one else. We also nearly got caught out with very short slip roads (next to no run off into service areas).

After a very long run and several GPS problems we arrived at our site Pra Del Torri near Caorle on the Adriatic coast. We again booked with Siblu and were not disappointed with the site, only hiccup was the site wanting to charge 70 Euros to park a second bike by the chalet, we argued 2 bikes only take up the space of one car and refused to pay.

We stayed here for 7 days and visited Venice which was only 30 miles away, we went by coach and boat spending the day exploring the canals and alleys               

It was a very stunning city but was very expensive with 45 mins in a gondola being charged at 120 Euros, needless to say we declined the trip and spent the day site seeing until we departed by coach and boat back to the camp site. The weather during the stay was very hot with any rain always during the night when the temp cooled down.

We left the site for the run back home which we planned to do over three days and with hindsight this was not long enough to stop and take in the scenery along with the GPS which basically did not have enough memory to store detailed mapping for all the route, when it became confused it took us on the most direct route hence we went from Italy up Lake Garda and into Austria (here we stayed overnight in a 4 star hotel and for the extra cost it was worth it), Germany (we hit Friedberg in rush hour, what a nightmare, 3 hours to do 5 miles), Luxembourg, Belgium and finally France stopping overnight in Strasburg (Fomule one hotel just across the bridge as you cross the border with a good restaurant next door).

The following morning we departed on our way for an overnight stop at St Omar before catching the train back to the UK and the 300 mile run back to Cornwall.

All in all we had a good holiday but we did not allow enough travel time up and down to Italy with 4 days giving more time to sight see and allow an easier travel speed to keep to our schedule.

Did not like the Autostrada at all very dangerous and very boring, when we did get off the roads felt like one big industrial estate full of mad drivers. And also very expensive.

Austria and Southern Germany looked stunning and we have vowed to return and tour properly.

We have decided also next trip to go more up market with hotels, Formule one are ok but having used several now and the quality and cleanliness of some are questionable. (YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR).

Belgium surprised us with the drivers there as bad as Italy particularly on the motorways in bad weather.

Austria, don't forget to get your Vignette, 4.40 Euros covers a bike for 10 days and you can get them in the service stations when you cross the border.

The gps played up but this was due to it being an old Street pilot 3 and the memory card capacity not being enough for such a long trip, hence a new Garmin Zumo has been ordered with lifetime updates for a one off charge of £99 and also the capability to receive traffic reports and re route around jams automatically. (When I have had a good play I'll let you know what I think.)

We also stayed for a week on the campsite this time instead of 4 days, we all agreed this was far to long in one place and should have moved on to Austria earlier.

Both bikes performed well again with only the Pan popping both front fork seals, cunningly repaired with some black tape and Tena lady's to stop the excess oil running down the forks to the brakes. (If asked when stopped what it was we swore blind it was a Honda modification!).

We did take hydration back packs this time (cheap from Argos) and these we really got on well with, only tip fill them with the flavoured still water as this disguises the plasticy taste.

We covered just under 3000 miles through 6 countries and learnt a lot from this trip so we will see if we improve next time.

Marc and Mandy Cooper, Tim and Tina Milden