Well we did it again! It’s actually beginning to worry me now! A long time ago K &K came to see us and said we have just bought these very lightweight squares which fit together like a jigsaw, they are perfect for outside your van door. They presented us with two and we have used them ever since, and they are the last thing we put away when we move. Well that is until today when we just drove away and left them lying at the campsite in Frejus, stupid! We had gone to our usual site as we failed to find the site we were searching for and frankly it was getting late. It was soo nice to be back. It’s not a perfect site but we like it and were actually tempted to stay a few days. In the event we didn’t as we had promised to meet K&K and as it turned out it was a good job we did as the site was rapidly filling up as we arrived.
The chosen campsite was fairly easy to find and while we have been here we have sorted out why the sat nav has not been getting the right places all the time. The classic was when it showed us we needed to make a right turn instead of a left which put us in the sea about 200yds out!
Having been offered two sites next to each other, we chose the smaller as K&K’s van is larger and reserved the other for them. 15 minutes later another van was being directed in! We rushed out and the site owner said, oh ok, and moved them, but from then on we had to keep a watch and every time another van appeared we nipped out. K&K had elected to travel on the coast road so had taken several hours longer than us. When they finally arrived the place was packed and still more people were arriving!
Travel in Italy is either very quick on a motorway which you pay for, or through the towns and cities. Now travel in most towns and cities is difficult enough but in Italy there are a whole new set of rules and it seems rule number one is, THERE ARE NO RULES! Pedestrians suddenly leap out and look surprised to see you, then, hesitate in front of you, while cars coming the other way don’t give way, so you stop. Then a scooter cuts across and nips between the cars just as the van/car in front stops to hurl abuse or a friendly greeting to a pal sitting outside a cafe. All of this is done in a sort of friendly way, but I am glad I don’t suffer from high blood pressure. Thank God we chose the motorway, the €24 toll was well worth it.
Friday 28th this really is a nice little site although it is impossible to convey how they manage to cram vans, caravans and tents in and yet it all works..
Today we have been to Albenga, a 7 mile round trip which hopefully will help keep us fit. In the old part there are some really ancient buildings but it was also school visiting day so we had a quick look around and beat a hasty retreat After lunch I played my clarinet and Joan got her paints out and did a really superb hand painted birthday card for Sam, Julie and Khaled’s son who is 21 in a few days and she could not find a suitable card so decided to send one of her masterpieces.
Saturday 29th K&K went off on a
long ride while Joan and I cycled to Ceriale had a walk along the front and visited the little cafe in the square we knew from 2008. On our ride back we saw a hardware shop and managed to get a low voltage kettle, hurrah.
Then I erected my red & white barber’s pole and set about colouring both the girls’ hair.
I must confess a little trepidation about doing Kathleen’s as her hair rules her life and I hate to see grown women cry.As things turned out both of them looked great when it was all done and Kathleen was so full of bonhomie she offered to buy a round of drinks! Phew!
Sunday 30th Today is go to church day and we (Ken and I) have been looking forward to it as we get to sit in the cafe in the square and drink till they come out. A drink in Italy isn’t just a drink. When it comes they bring plates of crisps, peanuts and olives. Last time we were here it was even better, as each drink arrived so they added things and by the time the girls came out and joined us we were given a plate of finger food, which they promptly scoffed. This time we had decided to visit our favourite restaurant for a pizza and forgo dinner so we only had a glass of wine each and left.
We were greeted like long lost brothers by the chap at the restaurant when we indicated we had been before and he promptly started to put on a show for Joan & Kathleen, totally over the top. Delicious hot bread and complementary Campari & sodas arrived, then having studied the menu for some time and Ken managing to find something Kathleen would like, we were ready to order...................No Pizza in the afternoon, he announced, in German, French and Italian! I’ve gone into all this detail about a meal because it not only lasted over two hours but was a hoot from start to finish. As we tried our Italian, Kathleen tried a bit of German and we all put in some French. In the end the food was superb and our appreciation of it was welcomed by the father (owner) and other son.
Fatally Joan saw a sweet being delivered to another table and drew Kathleen’s attention to it, so they had to have one of course. They were promptly led into the main restaurant and shown what was available. The portions were huge and pronounced delicious, this resulted in complimentary glasses of Limonccello. By now we had had a glass of wine in the square, a Campari & soda, a carafe of wine with the meal and a Limonccello.
Imagine our surprise when I asked for the bill and it arrived with a larger complimentary Limonccello!! As to the bill, we were amazed at how small it was and even more amazed when the waiter returned and tried to give us some of the tip back saying it was too much!
Somehow we managed to cycle back, and after a snooze Joan put the finishing touches to her painting and started another, while I played my clarinet. It is amazing just how many people praise Joan’s work as they pass.
Her best compliment to date was, “this is just like a Van Gough”, WOW!
So there we go, thanks to Stephen again, you will hopefully see the pictures in the right places not sure how we would get on without our top computer man helping us.
So that’s it we leave tomorrow heading towards Pisa So not sure when we will blog again.
Lots of love Joan & Bryan xxxx
Happy Birthday John! X
1 comment:
Smashing picture, Grandma.
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