VIVA LA FRANCE

Monaco – Aix En Provence

We left Italy after our visit to Cinque Terre and travelled by motorway to Monaco - an incredible road with 170 tunnels and countless bridges, quite often interchanging between tunnel and bridge several times without any conventional road in between.

The Monaco Grand Prix track was not built for motorhomes.  We paused for some spectacular views overlooking Monaco where the wealth of the city meets the beautiful blue of the Mediterranean Sea, with numerous ‘large’ boats floating on the water.

Parking our home on wheels eluded us in Monaco, and when we had no luck in Nice either, we decided to try our luck at grocery shopping.  We had a fight with Mrs Tom-Tom’s directions and ended up going through the same toll three times   ...   frustrating.  However, about an hour later things really got frustrating - we all bundled out of the motorhome at the grocery store, found a trolley and headed towards the shop when suddenly it dawned on us it was SUNDAY and nothing was open   ...   "aaarrrrggggghhhhh".

Aix En Provence – Nimes

Forgetting the trials and tribulations of the previous day, we awoke to a beautiful blue sky morning and headed off to explore Aix en Provence and Avignon, two French cities with a wonderful ambience.

Avignon was the home of the Catholic Church for about 60 years when Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome in 1309.

A later pope moved it back to Rome but Avignon installed its own rival pope and for about 40 years there were two disputed popes.

Our next stop was Pont du Gard (bridge) which was part of a Roman aqueduct that ran from Uzes to feed the Roman city of Nimes.  The 50km long system of canals dropped on average 24mm every 100m, and 20,000 cubic metres of water flowed per day (about an Olympic swimming pool every hour).

It was an incredible feat of engineering brilliance - the bridge is amazing with its three lines of diminishing arches, the main arch measuring 24 metres across.

Nimes – La Roque Gageac

The old Roman city of Nimes has the world’s only fully preserved Roman temple.  Raised up on its podium, La Maison Carree would have dominated the forum of the ancient city with its columned portico and spacious square.

The temple was built in the 1^st Century AD and was dedicated to the adopted grandsons of Emperor Augustus, the first Roman emperor.  It stands there still today in remarkable condition, showing the finesse of its architectural finish.

Nimes’ amphitheatre, similar to the Colosseum in Rome but much smaller in size, is also well preserved.

Inside, spectators numbering 20,000 were able to watch the clashes of the gladiators against man and beast.  Today the amphitheatre is used for spectacular bull fights.

Also worth visiting were the centrally located Nimes Gardens, dotted with old Roman buildings and displaying the abundance of water brought about by Roman engineering.

La Roque Gageac – Les Eyzies

The beautiful village of La Roque Gageac is perched above the Dordogne River and has been inhabited since prehistoric times.

The troglodytic (cave) dwellings some 40m up in the cliffs and most of the honey coloured stone houses date back to the 12^th century.  The village’s location turns it virtually into a natural solarium and this has made possible the creation of extraordinary exotic gardens filled with such plants as bananas and passionfruit.

It was a lazy morning wandering through the tiny laneways absorbing the ambience of the village.  Vid, Georgia and Tom went for a canoe adventure in the afternoon paddling up and down the shallow but fast flowing Dordogne River.

The next morning we travelled through more of the picturesque countryside of the Dordognes and spent the day in about 15,000 BC.  The area is rich in prehistoric findings including caves, skeletons, tools, cave paintings and sculptures.

After visiting a prehistoric park we learnt about the inhabitants of this region, from prehistoric times right up until the late 1900’s.  Walking amongst cave (wo)men, woolly mammoths and wolves, we saw ancient cave sculpturing of horses and cows, and cool limestone caves of stalactites and stalagmites.

There was a magnificent display of 17,000 year old cave paintings at Lascaux II, although it is now only possible to view the replicas.  The original cave was closed in 1966 to the public as it was discovered that micro-organisms being brought in by humans were destroying the paintings.  The copy of the original cave has been produced with absolute precision, using the same painting materials and techniques in a cave moulded to the same shape as the original.

Les Eyzies – Montresor

The 16^th century Chateau de Chenonceau (Chenonow), in the Loire Valley, is surrounded by a moat, turrets, towers and beautiful sweeping gardens.

Sarah and Georgia had a fabulous time wandering the grand halls and rooms of the chateau.  Many snippets of French history were learnt about King Henri II & his wife, Catherine (parents-in-law to Mary Queen of Scots), and the affair that the King had with a lady Diane de Poitiers.

The king gave this chateau to his ‘girlfriend’ which one can imagine may not have gone down too well with his wife.  Hours were spent walking through the symmetrical gardens, a 16^th century farm, an enormous vegetable garden and having races through a hedge maze.

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WEEK TWO IN ITALY

Rome – Siena

Away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, we headed into the hills of Tuscany, first stopping at Orvieto, an old hilltop city perched on a plateau of tufa rock.  The Duomo (church), a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, had an amazing facade with beautiful frescoes and carvings and dazzling mosaics.

The side walls were unlike anything we had seen before with stripes of black and white marble.  We still have not tired of the cobblestone streets and the little laneways with quaint shops selling their wares.

The drive from Orvieto to Siena was through beautiful rolling hills cloaked in terraced rows of vines and olives, and peppered with cypress-shrouded farm houses and abbeys – just like the picture books.

Siena’s warren of dark narrow streets led us to Piazza del Duomo (one of the city's squares) and a Duomo built in similar style to Orvieto’s, though about 100 years older (1195-1215).  Nearby was Piazza del Campo with its distinctive shell shape and where the famous annual bareback horse race (Il Palio) is held.  The sloping slippery cobblestones around the square must add a degree of craziness to the race.

Siena – Florence

Another day driving through the Tuscan countryside visiting historic towns.  Monteriggioni, a tiny medieval village fortified with towers and built on a hillock, was gorgeous.

It was very small yet it was incredible to think of the historical role it played in protecting Tuscany against Florentine (Florence) attempting to gain more territory.  We joked that surely they could have just gone around it.

A short drive brought us to San Gimignano, another hilltop town, with its 14 towers piercing the skyline.  This tiny town was adorned with beautiful little shops of wine, leather, toys and cafes all set in original shopfronts.

Characteristics of the area included red rooves, stone buildings, shutters, decorative front doors, cobblestone streets, narrow alleys and breathtaking views over the wall.  Tuscany is definitely an area of the world worth visiting.

Florence

Florence was everything we imagined it to be and made all the more sweeter as we slept in a HOUSE for three nights.  We stayed with Vid’s cousin Wendy and her family who live in a spacious apartment only a short walk from the city centre, and with amazing views over the housetops of Florence towards the enormous Duomo.  The children loved the space and Yuri and Karina welcomed them with open arms – Xbox, Lego and toys galore.

Our suspicions were confirmed, Wendy is a sensational chef – we ate three course dinners every night of a pasta, a meat dish and a sensational dessert.  Wendy and Franco both shared a wealth of local knowledge with us, both being our tour guides at some point over the few days.

A taste of Florence is what we sampled, starting with a local food market with interesting parts of animals being displayed.  The Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria) was easily identifiable with its tiered red, green and white marble facade and the enormous dome.  Begun in 1294, it is one of the world’s largest cathedrals.

Next was the Town Hall, complete with Michelangelo's portrait doodling on the wall, and the replica statue of daVID (standing in the original position of the statue).  After lunch we paid a visit to Pitti Palace (home of the Boboli Gardens), featuring an incredible collection by the Medici family of art and sculptures.

Unfortunately the Heaths could not fully appreciate the works so all we did was admire.  Ellie kept us entertained by mimicking the statues in each room.

The following day found us at the Academia Gallery where the real statue of David resides.  It holds a fascinating story about the competition offered to artists centuries ago to create something out of this enormous block of marble with a difficult fault line to contend with.

That afternoon we visited the Galileo Museum which was an excellent exhibition of old instruments, everything from sun dials and telescopes to globes and scientific experimental instruments.

Although we were looking forward to the rest of our Italian adventure, it was sad to be leaving a perfectly good house and such generous hosts.  Two nights later we sat around the table almost in tears after failing to find a grocery shop in time and consequently dining on the remains of our pantry – bread with bottled tomato pasta sauce mixed with tin corn, tin tuna and olives   ...   what a let down after eating like royalty.

Florence – France

Before leaving Italy we paid a visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It was an astonishing site to see first hand, even though we had seen it so many times before in pictures.

It stands in defiance of the laws of gravity at a rather alarming angle, and it is rather cute that they changed the angle of the last tier to try and rebalance the building.  We were unaware just how beautiful the tower was with its pale marble and architectural design.

Our plans were to spend the rest of our day at Cinque Terre (five seaside villages on the Mediterranean) but the weather closed in and time escaped us.  We  managed to visit one village, Manderola, with its unique pastel coloured buildings clinging to the edge of a rugged coastline.

 

Arrivederci Italy.

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ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

Montreaux - Verona

Our first day in Italy was spent behind the wheel, driving from the north-west corner to Verona, towards Venice.  On this occasion we followed the motorways to ensure our fastest route, although at times all you could see were cars and trucks.  Just as we entered Italy we were hit with our first toll of about $55AUD, so we feared what the balance of the trip would be like.  Thankfully the cost of the tolls have eased substantially. 

The Swiss Alps disappeared quickly in our rear vision mirror and we were soon driving through flatish farmland.  We stayed the night at Verona and awoke to a beautiful morning in "Little Rome".  It was enjoyable wandering the streets, somewhat in isolation, as the city slept.  We walked around the 1st century Roman ampitheatre, known as the Arena, window shopped down some premier shopping strips, and walked to Casa di Giulietta, the famed balcony from Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

Verona - Venice

On to Venice, and by lunch time we were cruising down the waterways to this romantic city.  It truly is like no other city - 117 islands, 150 canals, 400 bridges and 3 million pidgeons.  Piazzo San Marco, the political centre of the Venetian Republic, was enormous, and the Doge's Palace and Basilica San Marco added to the magnificent area.  We walked through the prison cells in the Bridge of Sighs (where Casanova was incarcerated) and couldn't resist a ride in a famed gondola down the narrow and smelly canals.

Walking to the Grand Canal tested our orientation skills, down streets that went this way and that, over ornate bridges and along narrow alleys with houses so close together they blocked out the direct sunlight.  It was here that we felt the mystery of Venice.

Venice - Assisi

Approaching Assisi, the impressive white columned structure of Basilica San Franceco stood out on the hillside of this medieval walled city.

Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis, was a fascinating city with monks and nuns at every turn.  One could easily have felt the clocks had been turned back in time if it weren't for the threat of being run over by some crazed Italian driver as we ambled through the narrow cobblestone streets.

Unfortunately the rain set in late morning so we made a mad dash back to the safety of our home on wheels and headed off for Pompeii, via Tivoli.

Assisi - Pompeii

It was our intention to visit two famous villas in Tivoli but left seeing NOTHING.  Couldn't find them   ...   and when Mrs Tom-Tom very politely informed us to turn left down an extremely narrow, long, one-way street that twisted and turned, and had every Italian on the sidewalk making frantic arm gestures at us, we decided for self-preservation purposes we should move on.  Vid likened it to Apollo 13's mission, a "successful failure", as although we failed to complete our mission, we managed to return with all crew members alive and our rocket still in one piece.

Here began our introductory course to the Italian driver in southern Italy - crazy, mad, no fear and no regard for themselves or fellow mankind.  Most vehicles have scratches or dents and some were celloplastered together.  Stop signs meant accelerate, give way meant only look in one direction and traffic lights were just completely ignored.  The navigator was stressed and poor Vid just held onto the steering wheel and tried to "when in Rome do as the Roman's do".  We drove around the fringes of Naples and as we approached our destination we soon realised that our images of an isolated Pompeii were only in our ill informed minds - the ruins are in the middle of dirty chaotic streets, with plenty of Italian traffic.

Our campsite was in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and conveniently only 50 metres from the ruins.

The next morning we set off to explore the ruins of Pompeii.

On the 24th August 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii under a layer of lapilli (burning fragments of pumice stone) and ash.

The excavation work is extensive with 44 hectares of temples, forums, shops, houses, baths, a wonderful ampitheatre and sports ground, and frescoes and pottery.  An astonishing excavation site and very memorable visit.

Herculaneum was on the agenda the following morning.  Like Pompeii, it was a victim of Mt Vesuvius, but unlike Pompeii, it was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow (an avalanche of hot ash, pumice, rock fragments and volcanic gas) that rushed down the side of the mountain at speeds of up to 100 km/hr.  Consequently it was buried very quickly, thus preserving the town in a better state.  The carbonized wood, frescoes and mosaics were amazing.

Pompeii - Ostia

Off to Ostia Antica   ...   but not before the children had a swim in the Mediterranean Sea.  The most notable and somewhat disconcerting feature was the almost black sand.  When wet, it looked like silty mud and stuck to the children like mud - we are definitely spoilt by our golden beaches in Australia.

Ostia Antica was the ancient port of Rome at, back then, the mouth of the Tiber River.  However, as the river changed course and Rome outgrew the port, the city was abandoned.  Again it was another interesting site into a civilisation of amazing ingenuity and ability.

When we were all "ruined" we headed down any old road as we had been told that "all roads lead to Rome".  And they were right.

Ostia - Rome

Painters, popes, pasta, pizza, piazzas, palazzos, polizamen and podiums (I would say gelato too but   ...   ).

A big day was planned for today - starting with a visit to Rome's iconic monument, the Colosseum.

As we walked out of the Metro station, there was the Roman Empire's most feared arena - the magnificent arches looming above us.  It's construction was begun in 72 AD and during its use approximately 700,000 lives were lost (gladiators, criminals and Christians) in man to man combat, man to beast combat and in executions.

At one stage approximately one third of the Roman Empire's income was spent in entertaining the masses in the Colosseum.  It was an extraordinary feat of engineering with an intriging and barbaric history.

Circus Maximus is now nothing more than a grassy bank surrounding what was once an area designed for racing chariots.  Even though the grand stadiums, statues and columns do not exist now, one could feel the energy which the 250,000 strong crowd would have felt as they cheered on their favourite chariot team over 2,500 years ago.

A walk through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum was fascinating, though it was difficult to take in all the history of the sites as our brains were getting full.  We walked on to the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, which was commenced in 1911 and was built from 110,000 tons of white marble.  Very impressive building.

We watched and laughed at a very serious policeman who kept blowing his whistle as he really didn't like anyone sitting down on the massive steps.

Our second day in Rome was less crowded as we headed to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps.  It was an uneventful but pleasant morning wandering the streets of Rome.  The Pantheon, the best preserved of ancient Rome's great monuments was fascinating and again we tried to pause for a moment and absorb the history of the building.

The dome, 23 feet thick at its base, is the largest masonry vault ever built and so sophisticated that had it been built with modern concrete, it would have collapsed under its own weight.  The massive marble columns were brought from Egypt and when they arrived they were found to be the wrong size   ...   ooopps.

A few blocks west at the Piazza Navonna we admired the many artists with their wares on display.  The children sat for a caricature, which was rather novel, and we then trained back for a relaxing afternoon at our campsite.

Our next door "motorhome" neighbours in Rome were a family from Toronto, Canada, who uncanningly enough are on a 3 month adventure through Europe with their 10, 9 and 5 year olds.  The children have been having a great time together and we have enjoyed some English speaking company.  We were even lucky enough to be invited for birthday cake yesterday afternoon for their youngest.

The Vatican City was on our agenda for our third day in Rome and we certainly weren't disappointed.  The two hour guided tour was incredibly fascinating as we walked past statues, paintings and other artifacts in the very extensive museums.

Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel was breathtaking and the stories of his slant on the paintings very interesting.  St Peter's Basilica, Italy's biggest, richest and most spectacular church, is built over the spot where St Peter was buried.

The sheer size of the building and the marble floor were overwhelming let alone everything above the ankles.

Off to Tuscany for some more history lessons and maybe a glass of wine.

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CHEESE, WATCHES, ARMY KNIVES & CHOCOLATE

Buchs - Mt Titlis - Lucerne

After spending our first night in Switzerland, on the border of Leichenstein, we drove a few hours to Mt Titlis (elevation 3238 m) and caught four cable cars to the summit, including a revolving car.  We passed over picture perfect green valleys full of sheep, goats and cows with bells around their necks. Unfortunately we were not blessed with the perfect 360 degree views from the top but we had glimpses of the valley below and HEAPS of snow.  So of course there was another snow fight.

We had a walk through a glacier cave (carved into a slow moving glacier) and caught a chair lift to a summer snow park, where we could go tobogganing on all kinds of contraptions, and tube riding down big huge massive ginormous carved slippery dips.

Luckily there was no wind and we were able to stay out on the slopes for hours.  Finally driven by a nagging mother, a food deprived three year old and after ten renditions of "just one more", we made our way back down to the base mid afternoon.

The next day we strolled the streets of the old city of Lucerne.

The number of bakery/coffee shops and Swatch and Swiss army knife shops were astounding.  The bakery/coffee shops were beautifully presented with fresh bread, exquisite cakes and chocolates.  We resisted the chocolate urge from our taste buds and opted for a more filling morning tea - scrumptious toblerone and custard pastries and   ...   sorry   ...   you really don't need to know.

We walked past historic buildings decorated with ornate frescoes and through a number of picturesque squares.  The 14th century wooden Chapel and Spreuer Bridges join the city's banks.

The Lion Monument below was hewn out of natural rock in memory of the heroic death of Swiss mercenaries in 1792 and has been described as "the saddest and the most moving piece of rock in the world".

Lucerne - Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen

An open air museum of more than a 100 century old buildings depicting different areas of Switzerland with their domesticated animals, crafts, livelihoods and plant life was a fascinating way for us all to learn about Switzerland.  The children had a great time playing traditional Swiss games and attempting various wood crafts, and seeing the animals and old machinery (especially the working watermill-driven crosscut saw).

The drive to Lauterbrunnen in the glacier carved valley of the 72 waterfalls created a few 'oohs' and 'aahhhs'.

We followed a green alpine river along the valley to the base of Trummelbach Falls.  These falls are a series of 10 glacial waterfalls, accessible to the tourists through a tunnel-lift and plenty of steps.  It carries 20,000 litres of water (about a semi-trailer load) per second and the water has carved tunnels deep into the rock and smoothed its surface as it has changed course over the thousands of years it has been flowing.  Very noisy and spectacular.


Lauterbrunnen - Bern

We could have spent much longer in Bern exploring the old city.  After visiting the famous bear pits (Bern was supposedly named after bears) we walked the city centre, full of sandstone houses with gorgeous balconies, cobblestone streets, fountains and clock towers   ...   and all with a medieval atmosphere.

That afternoon we spent a few hours in the Einstein Museum (Einstein was living in Bern from 1903-05 when he formulated the E=MC^2 theory) which was an excellent exhibition on the life of Einstein and included simplified examples of his work, including his Relativity Theory.  There was VERY interesting documentation on his association with the development of the atomic bomb.

Tom in particular was fascinated by it all and is nearly ready to write his first edition of "Quantum Physics for Dummies".


Bern - Gruyeres - Montreaux

Cheese and CHOCOLATE day.  Today began with a tour of the cheese museum in Gruyere which demonstrated the making of Gruyere cheese.  The tour began with an informative display on milk production in the area, and later led us through the working cheese factory and extensive cellars of stored cheeses.

We moved onto the Cailler/Nestle chocolate factory in Broc, another guided tour which ended in a room full of chocolate to sample.  There appeared no end to the chocolate variety and it was our tummies that let us down in the end.

The soft chocolate delicacies that just melted in your mouth   ...   whoops, just dribbled on the keyboard again.

The Chateau de Chillon on the banks of Lake Geneva was our last stop in Switzerland.  Unlike other castles we have visited, we were free to wander into our own world of history as we could go wherever we pleased - exploring the myriad of courtyards, towers, dungeons and 40 rooms filled with displays of armour, period furniture and art.

A farewell to Switzerland as we drove down narrow valleys surrounded by snow capped mountains and through 3,659,899,984 tunnels.

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AUSTRIA - THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

Munich - Salzburg - Obersalzburg (Germany)

We left behind the scenic rolling hills of Germany and were suddenly confronted with the Northern Limestone Alps of Austria.  A massive uprising of rock that left us all with stiff necks from looking up so high.

Our first stop in Austria was Schloss Hellbrunn which is a magnificent manor surrounded by beautiful open parkland.

The summer palace was built by an Archbishop (who controlled this area of Salzburg) not as a residence but as a place of amusement as he had organised a series of 'trick' fountains.  Georgia, Tom and Ellie were targeted as they were the only children in the guided tour.  Plenty of giggles and some very wet children as water sprayed out of seats, statues, stairs and walkways - no one was safe.

We found the Pavilion from the Sound of Music and the girls had their moment of singing "I am 16 going on 17".  Needless to say - it cleared the park   ...

Salzburg was fascinating:  Hohensalzburg (castle pictured below) with its history, artwork, firing towers, and dungeons; Getreidegasse, an old narrow cobblestone street lined with beautiful shops; the Dom Cathedral with its majestic interior, and Mirabell Gardens.

Unfortunately the rain set in late afternoon and we ran to catch the bus back to our home on wheels.  Something got lost in the translation and we got to see a lot of Salzburg on the wrong bus, heading in the wrong direction.  An hour and a half later we had found our home and headed to Konnigsee (Konnig Lake) near Obersalzburg.

The rain was stubborn and we waited until mid-morning for it to clear a little as we wished to go to Hitler's Eagles Nest (a hideout on top of a mountain with a brass elevator lift inside the mountain for the last 124 m) to witness the spectacular views.  We caught the bus up and fortunately the views were clear on our trip but when we got to the top the soupy cloud was thick.

On the upside, there was SNOW at the top and we certainly took advantage of it.  There was no mercy shown and everyone got icy cold hands.



Obersalzburg - Heilgenblut - Lienz - Fussen (Germany)

We headed south back into Austria to Grossglockner Pass (Grossglockner is Austria's highest mountain) but to our dismay, due to snow falls within the past 24 hours, the pass was shut for the next few days.  We thought Austria's most scenic drive was going to elude us   ...   however   ...   we stayed that night nearby and next morning we woke to blue skies and the Pass being OPEN.

Absolutely breathtaking scenery and all the more beautiful with fresh snow on the rugged mountain tops.  We saw Grossglockner and the Kaiser-Franz-Josef glacier and plenty of cute cheeky little marmots (furry animal with beaver like face and teeth).

We were in three countries today - Austria, Italy and Germany. 



Fussen - Buchs (Switzerland)

Our campground, beside a lake, had views of the fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein, which Walt Disney based his magical castle on.  This was our first destination on our itinerary for the day.

The castle, which was built by King Ludwig II, was a monument to medieval culture and kingship with its turrets, bastions, towers and artwork.  The throne room floor alone had 2 million tiny mosiacs laid.

The next part of the day will live in Georgia's and Ellie's memories forever - we caught a horse drawn carriage down the hill and Georgia got to hold the reins.

Off to Switzerland   ...

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