Wednesday 28th November 2007

Took the bus into Aix en Provence for a quick walking tour of the town before we moved on. The campsite had provided a map and brief guide to the sights of the town and we picked out the ones that we wanted to see. Aix is a Roman town although, with the exception of the scant remains of the Roman baths on display at the modern Thermes Sextius, there is little to see. It does however have a very pleasant centre with some interesting architecture, cathedral (currently undergoing internal restoration work) and many small shops. It also has a tower in the main square housing am astronomical clock that has statues representing the four seasons that appear at the relevant time of the year - Autumn was on display holding a bunch of grapes. One of the main streets 'Cours Mirabeau' has a series of fountains, one of which reminded me of the fountain of Dulcote, near Wells, Somerset. Just like Dulcote, the 'Le Fontaine D'Eau Caude' is fed from a spring and a small spray of water issues out on to a grassy rock in the middle of the road. The difference is that the Aix fountain, as its name suggests, is fed from a hot spring and the water is indeed warm.
We returned to the campsite and, after lunch, left just after 13:00. Our destination was Avignon, just 90 minutes away and we enjoyed the non-motorway journey, stopping off at a hypermarket and wondering at the huge array of food available, and buying some!
We arrived in Avignon as the sun was beginning to set and this must be the best tine to see Avignon. I had obviously heard about the bridge, but I had no idea how attractive the town is. The walls are magnificent and the late, golden sun highlighted the walls and the bridge with a lovely yellow glow. I went to take photographs whilst Jane registered at the campsite and by the time that we had parked and walked back, the light had changed completely. Whilst I was taking the photographs, I met a French woman and we exchanged thoughts about the beauty of the view. She explained that she was a local inhabitant but had never seen that view in such a beautiful light.
Photos: Aix en Provence – clock tower in La Place de la Marie; Aix - La Fontaine d'Eau Chaude' (The Hot Water Fountain); Avignon walls and bridge in the late evening sun.

Tuesday 27th November 2007

Having paid our dues for the camper stop, we set off for the journey to Aix-en-Provence. The only sensible route into France at this point is by motorway as the route along the coast would be long and arduous. The authorities obviously know this as the Italian and French tolls amount to €16.50 before we leave the motorway at Frejus. This allowed to drive slowly through Provence admiring the countryside, the tree-lined roads and the architecture of the towns and villages. The Garmin satnav came up trumps this time taking us precisely to the entrance of the campsite .... and it was open!
The campsite (Camping Chantecler), 2 km outside Aix-en-Provence, is wooded and, in the Summer heat, this would be a great advantage. The site is not spectacular and the noise from the motorway below could be a problem if you pitch is close to the edge of the hill. We chose a pitch away from the noise and walked up to the back of the hill to look over the higher bare limestone hills behind – a very pretty view.
Dinner was cooked by Jane – pork cutlets cooked in white wine with apple, basil, potatoes and cabbage.
Photos: Hills of Provence; View from Aix en Provence campsite.

Monday 26th November 2007

The morning dawned clear and bright and breakfast consisted of a plum! Before we left I wanted to have another quick walk and admire the scenery.
Today was quite different, it was very clear in the distance and the Alps had appeared, covering the whole of the northern horizon with snow-clad peaks. However, looking down into the valleys was another matter with the cotton wool fog filling every dip. This made the scene incredibly picturesque with villages and hills appearing like islands out of the mist. The scenery here is fantastic and it must change at each season making it a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year.
This has certainly been one of the best stays of The Odyssey, but we must move on and we have a long journey today so by 10:00 we are bidding a reluctant farewell to Ai Cuivin and Castiglione Tinella. The scenery was lovely on the early part of the journey – Castiglione Tinella is quite high (over 700m) and this gave us views to the mountains and down the valleys until we descended by hairpin bends to Santo Stefano Belbo. Here we purchased supplies and found a very helpful butcher who spoke some English. We bought some steak and pork cutlets and asked his advice on some pasta that we bought from him. The ravioli was stuffed with cheese and nuts and he advised serving it with some sage fried in butter with perhaps a little shaved cheese such as Parmesan – we must not serve it with a tomato-based sauce! This sounded great but we didn't have any sage on any way of obtaining any. The butcher however realised this and dashed out to the back of the shop and returned with a sprig of sage – what service!
We wound our way over hills and down valleys until we joined the motorway to Savona. As we approached the coast, it became Autumn again with the trees still retaining their gloriously orange and brown leaves. I was somewhat confused by the fact that the motorway only appeared to have one carriageway until I noticed that the road over the other side of the forested valley only had traffic going in the opposite direction. This was the first time that I had seen a motorway split by a very deep valley, but it made a great deal of sense given that the steepness of the valley made any road construction very difficult. Our carriageway was originally a single lane in each direction and the opening of the new road on the other side must have been a dramatic improvement.
The road descended through many tunnels, at one point crossing underneath itself with a tunnel underneath another tunnel, until it reached the coast.
The journey to San Remo on another motorway was also full of tunnels with glimpses of the sea and many resorts full of hotels. Italian campsites on this coast are expensive and, given that we were only staying one night and moving on early the next morning, we decided to use a camper stop. The Camperstop Europe book showed a free site on the edge of San Remo right on the coast and this seemed ideal. I would not be without this book but its accuracy leaves something to be desired - it actually turned out to cost €7 but this was still very good value.
We arrived in Sanremo (rather than San Remo, which seems to be the English version of the name) quite early, so we decided to investigate the town. It was much warmer than it had been of late (around 17°C according to our somewhat unreliable thermometer) and I walked in a shirt and light jacket. We came across the Tourist Information Office and made the mistake of obtaining a map. We had intended to simply walk along the promenade and back, but now we realised that we investigate the old town. As members of the BAGS walking group will testify, one of my favourite hobbies is getting lost and we did that in style! I only accept joint responsibility here, I did not have my reading glasses and Jane had the map but we walked up very steep zig-zag roads for some time before Jane announced the bad news – we were on hill the west of the town, a long way from where we should have been. At this point we cut our losses and found a much more direct route back down to the promenade and back to Henrietta.
Neither of us felt like eating meat after yesterday's excesses, so we had the pasta with the sage and butter – it was delicious. Many thanks to the butcher in Santo Stefano Belbo – we will go there again next time that we visit the town!
Photos: Mist and mountains; Vineyards from Ai Ciuvin; Close up view of Castiglione Tinella; Pitch at Sanremo; Bocciofilo at Sanremo; The coast at Sanremo.

Sunday 25th November 2007

We slept well – no rain to keep us awake and a very peaceful dawn with just the sound of the birds and the bells of two local churches. When we looked out, we saw sun, some blue sky and the suggestion of views. Plan A was put in place, we would go for a walk before lunch. We anticipated a large lunch and the walk would help our appetites.
We guessed that the scenery would be good but had not anticipated how dramatic it was. This was the scenery of guide books, holiday brochures and paintings – rolling high hills, deep valleys and hilltop villages. There was barely a square metre not covered in vines and the skyline was dotted by towers and large villas. It was still misty and low cloud flowed over the hills and down the valleys. My photographs do not do justice to the beauty of the views and I just hope that we will be able to return when the weather is better. The walk back up the hill was really warm with the air temperature at about 17°C and the sun shining on us, we began to strip off layers in order to keep cool.
One o'clock came and we made our way to the restaurant, just a few metres from Henrietta and it was very pleasant not to have to wear a coat. Our table already had bread, about 10 packets of breadsticks, red wine, still and sparkling water. Very soon, the food started to arrive and, if you are feeling hungry, I suggest that you don't read the next section. The meal was as follows:-
Anti-pasta
1) Salami and ham accompanied by fried doughy batter sprinkled with salt and served, like bread, in a basket.
2) Parma ham and parmigiana cheese shavings with olive oil. This was delicious and I even took up the offer of a second helping – I didn't know what was coming!
3) Thin slices of veal served with a tuna sauce. A very tasty dish and a combination that I would never have thought of.
4) Savoury pancake stuffed with asparagus and ham and covered with a mild cheese sauce. By this time it is 14:00 and we haven't got to the 'secondi' (the main course).
5) A dish of very small sausages in a meat and rosemary sauce served with a savoury egg custard looking similar to a small crème caramel.
6) Asparagus risotto. At this point we were both feeling full, I was refusing frequent offers of second helpings and we were restricting the portions being given to us. However, at least this must be the equivalent of the pasta course, so the secondi must be next.
Pasta
7) Wrong! The pasta course arrived – ravioli stuffed with vegetables and served with a meat sauce. By this stage out waistlines had expanded considerably and we were on our second bottles of red wine and water.
Secondi
8) Slow-roasted beef, roasted tiny new potatoes and roasted tiny carrots. Delicious but neither of us could finish it all. Time now 15:20 and we are glad that we have had time between courses. I am not alone in having had two walks around the courtyard in an attempt to create room for the next course.
Dolce (sweet)
9)An intense chocolate blancmange with a nougat-type ice cream. Time is now 15:45.
Coffee
10) A break followed before an expresso and a complimentary Grappa from the owner.
We finished the meal at 16:30 after settling the bill - €40 including two nights stay for the motorhome. They refused payment for the second night, that would have been an extra €10. To put this in context, this was less than it cost us to stay for two nights at Lake Garda without any meals!
The combination of the location, beautiful views and excellent home cooking made this a wonderful stay.
I would recommend anyone visiting this area in a motorhome to make a diversion and stay at 'Ai Ciuvin' but I suggest that you book first (see www.camperonline.it/aiciuvin.htm tel: (+39) 0141 855 253) and take the directions from the website. Our Garmin satnav would not accept the GPS coordinates on the Ai Ciuvin website and I suggest that you use N 44° 43' 59.7 E 8° 10' 53.6, which is what the Garmin read when we were on site.
Needless to say, neither of us felt like having any tea and, the way I feel at the moment, I don't think that I will want any breakfast in the morning!
Photos: The village of Castiglione Tinella across the valley from Ai Ciuvin; Castiglione Tinella at night.

Saturday 24th November 2007

Well, it rained continuously and hard for 18 hours, not stopping until 10:30. Being right in the centre of Cremona, we had parked on the far side of the car park away from the roads that might be noisy during the night. As luck would have it, the rain had the advantage of masking any traffic noise and, being constant, the rain didn't keep us awake.
At 10:45 the rain started again, admittedly lighter than before but still enough to make us decide not to see the sights of Cremona but to head slowly on to our our next stop. Jane had cleverly spotted an 'agroturism' site in the wine producing area of Piedmont, not far from Asti of Asti Spumante fame. The Agroturism sites in the Camperstop Europe book normally provide cheap or even free camping with the hope that you will purchase some of their produce. In this case the cost was €10 (£7 ish) but this was not charged if you had a meal in their restaurant. This sounded like a very good deal and, being in the countryside, we hoped that we could experience some good traditional local cuisine.
If we have time, we always prefer to avoid motorways and major roads, enjoying the relaxed and more interesting rural routes. We did that today and, although it took longer it was a very interesting journey. We nicknamed it the 'day of cemeteries' as we must have passed twenty large cemeteries, which, it was interesting to note, all conformed to the ancient Roman standards, being outside the boundaries of the village or town. They are often very large structures with multi-storey charnel houses storing the bones of the deceased in cupboards similar to left luggage lockers at airports or railway stations. The more wealthy or important (in their own view?) families have family vaults either in the ground or in one of those high-rise blocks.
At the end, the Garmin satnav took us on rather a strange route but, given that it was very dim, raining and the low cloud was almost on the ground, we decided to follow its instructions. At one point we had to go between two enormous barns with a clearance of no more than 15 cm each side, but we arrived safely in the village of Castiglione Tinella. We had entered the exact address into the Garmin and were rather surprised when it directed us down a very small unsurfaced track with no signs to the campsite. At this point we lost confidence and decided to drive on. We eventually found a sign to 'Ai Ciuvin' pointing back in the direction that we had come and turned around. We arrived back at the unsurfaced track without any other signs and at this point we gave up hope and decided to head for another Camperstop a few miles away. However, I kept my eyes open and a mile later, on a different road to the one on which we had entered the village, I suddenly saw the entrance to 'Ai Ciuvin'. We rang the bell and were directed to the parking places just above the main building where five motorhomes were already parked, with another two following close behind us. The site had toilets, showers, water and electricity (3 amps only).
When we enquired about dinner, we were told that Saturday evening was fully booked but we could have Sunday lunch the next day at 13:00. We were glad to be able to be able to stop and decided to book Sunday lunch and stay for two nights. We saw huge numbers of vineyards on the way and judged from the hills that the scenery was dramatic but, given the conditions we were unable to see any of it. We hoped that the weather and the views would be better in the morning.
The restaurant was obviously popular and many cars appeared in the evening. The weather improved slightly during the evening with the rain becoming more sporadic.
Photos: Henrietta at Ai Cuvin.

Friday 23rd November 2007

It rained all day yesterday and as we went to bed, it was still raining. However, it stopped raining during the night and, just after 7 o'clock when I woke, there was no rain and I had high hopes for the day. Approximately one minute before the alarm sounded, it started to rain gently and hopes evaporated.
The good news was that today we can see the lake and the other coast fro the campsite, so it is clearer, but still raining. After breakfast, the rain eases and then stops so we decide to adopt Plan A and head for Mantova (Mantua) and then on to Cremona for the night.
Jane has decided that we must leave Mantova by 14:30 – I don't believe that it is practical, but I don't say anything. Given that we don't park in Mantova until 12:30, 14:30 is definitely not practical and Jane accepts this. Mantova is shrouded in mist, bordering on fog and there are certainly no views to be seen down the river. However, the view of the town as we cross the River Mincio is impressive and we are keen to investigate it.
The motorhome car park is next to the monumental cemetery on the outskirts of the town and we have to catch a bus into the centre. Tickets for Italian buses normally have to be bought in tobacconists shops but they can also be purchased on the bus for a higher price. We had no choice but to buy the ticket on the bus. The bus driver acknowledged the request and asked to wait “one minute please” but, arriving in the centre, we still hadn't paid and attempting to pay the driver, he simply wished us “arrivederci”. We made sure that we bought some tickets for the return journey.
It still wasn't raining when we made our way to the Palazzo Ducale and, given that we had no map of the town, the Garmin satnav in pedestrian mode was very useful in guiding us.
Lunch was a hastily eaten ice cream (the best chocolate cherry ice cream that I have ever had) and some pieces of delicious Sbrisolona, a local, very large (10 cm?), thick biscuit made with whole and ground almonds.
We bought a combined ticket for the castle and the Palazzo and went to the castle first. This housed an exhibition of modern sculpture and drawings that we found uninspiring and also some impressive 15th century frescoes by Mantegna, Raphael's star pupil. For conservation reasons, only 20 people are allowed in the room and there is a time limit of 5 minutes for viewing the frescoes and, although this was not being enforced (there were only 3 other people there), 5 minute was sufficient. Although they were impressive, we have seen much better.
So, there was not as much to see at the castle as we expected, the Palazzo Ducale was quite the opposite! It was enormous and whenever we thought we were getting to the end, a whole load more rooms appeared. It was also freezing cold – there was no heating and the damp cold sunk into the bones. The paintings were very good and the ceilings were ornate and beautiful. They represented nearly 400 years of ownership by the Gonzaga dynasty before the city was sacked by the Habsbergs in 1708. However, after the first 20 massive frescoes showing naked frolicking females and puttis (those very annoying plump cherub-like figures), it does become a little tedious. We met no other visitors as we walked around the Palazzo and it must have been very boring and very cold for the large number of staff that they had on duty guarding the rooms. It was very noticeable that they were all wrapped up in many layers and constantly on the move trying to keep warm.
It started raining again as we were making our way back to the car park and during the 90 minute journey to Cremona, the rain increased in intensity. As I write this at 22:00, it is still pouring and we are glad that we are parked on asphalt rather than glass. We hope for better weather tomorrow, but without any great conviction.
Photos: None.

Thursday 22nd November 2007

Getting the tea this morning was a more pleasant experience this morning as it was much warmer – 11C rather than the typically 5C of recent mornings. This was good news but the bad news was that the warm weather brought rain with it. It started raining at 05:00 and rained continuously right up to the late afternoon when I posted this entry. This was the first day of the Odyssey where the weather really stopped us from doing what we wanted to do. For us, visiting Lake Garda is all about the views and today there were even less views than yesterday. Sirmione at the southern end of Garda was tempting but it is no fun wandering around a town in the rain. We decided to have another quiet day and will probably move on tomorrow.
Photos: View of the Amici Lazise campsite through Henrietta's rain soaked windscreen – regular readers will understand that we have had much better views and much better weather!

Wednesday 21st November 2007

We had read in the Camperstop Europe book that Lazise had a very large market on a Wednesday morning and, although we intended to have a quiet day, we wanted to see Lazise and its market. The campsite owner only spoke Italian but we managed to establish that the town was about 3 km from the campsite but we were unable to establish the route. We guessed the route correctly, although it was inland and not along the lake side. It appears that the lakeside is dominated by campsites and it is not possible to walk along the shore. On the walk into Lazise we passed a succession of campsites, some huge, all with swimming pools, water slides and large numbers of permanent cabins rented out in the season. They were all closed and undergoing improvements – new buildings, swimming pools etc. Lorries passed us taking away soil from the excavations and concrete mixer lorries went the other way to fill in the excavations. It was good to know that the sites would be able to extract even more money from the tourists next season. We had read before we set off on the Odyssey that the Italian campsites had the smallest pitches and highest prices in continental Europe. Our experiences agreed with that – some Slovenian sites were more expensive but these were thermal baths and included all of those facilities in the price. We didn't have a problem with the pitch size because there wasn't anyone else there but in season it would be very cramped. On the Amici Lazise site we would not been able to fully extend our awning at the side and Henrietta's front would have been right up the back of the motorhome in front.
We arrived at Lazise, after a pleasant walk of more like 4 km, to find an impressive walled town with towers. The inside of the town did not have the array of impressive buildings that we had seen in other towns but it was pleasant enough and the market covered most of the centre in every square and street. We purchased some rabbit, veal escalope and two types of cheese including Asiago Vecchio. Asiago, north west of Bassano, was another of Alex's suggestions but, given that it was in the mountains and the weather was very hazy, we decided to give it a miss. At least we were able to try the cheese, also recommended by Alex.
At this point, Lake Garda is over 10 miles across, but even if it was only 100m across we would not have been able to see the other side. The haze hung over the lake like a net curtain, obscuring all but the very large number of waterfowl near the shores. I have never seen so many coots (over 100) in one place and there were also little grebes and black-necked grebes. Although the air wasn't clear, the water was and it was great to watch the grebes diving to the bottom of the lake (approx. 5m), picking some grasses and bringing them to the surface where they picked out the small part that they wanted and left the green parts floating on the surface.
After a coffee overlooking the mist and waterfowl, we did a final tour of the walls and set off for the walk back to Henrietta. Just as we left a very slight breeze sprung up (it had been totally still up to then) and the view over the lake cleared slightly but this was to be short-lived and it began to spot with rain. As we eat a late lunch in Henrietta, the drizzle became more persistent and we were glad that we had done the walk in the morning.
Photos: Lazise walls.

Tuesday 20th November 2007

Next on Alex's list was Vicenza. We knew that the Villa La Rotonda was on the outskirts of the city but we wanted to Poladio's city and opted for the city centre tour. W e parked in the car park in the Camperstop book that also allowed an overnight stay, although we intended to move on that afternoon. The cost of €7.70 covered the motorhome (without an overnight stay) and a bus pass for up to 5 people for 24 hours – very reasonable, we thought. We caught the bus in to the town and were surprised to find that we were at the other side of the town in no time. The reason for this became apparent later – we were not in the car park that we thought we were from the Fodor Italy Guide map.
The Italians (and / or the EU?) must be investing a fortune in renovating and cleaning historical buildings and some of the Vicenza buildings were receiving the treatment. Palazzo della Ragione in the Piazza dei Signori was such a case but it was very scruffy and will look fantastic when the work has been completed – make a note to see it in 2008 or 2009. We visited the Teatro Olimpico and were complete taken by it. As you will see from the photographs, the stage is amazing with its permanent backdrop of streets and the many statues. We were delighted to find that the entrance ticket allowed us entry to 5 other buildings including the civic museum (also Paladio's Palazzo Chiericati ), the archaeological museum and the Palazzo Leoni Montanari. We were are to pay all of these a visit even if they were briefer than we would have liked.
Although we concentrated on the Paladio buildings, we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the city and there are many beautiful buildings by architects other than Paladio.
We got horribly lost on the way back to the (wrong) car park but eventually realised our mistake and arrived back safe and sound, but tired and hungry, at Henrietta.
After a very late lunch we set of for Lake Garda and Camping Amici di Lazise. The motorway was the quickest way to get there but the number of lorries on the route made it less pleasant. This motorway along the northern Adriatic coast is a very important trade route and the number of lorries of every nationality (except British) is quite incredible.
We arrived at dusk at the campsite and, as normal at this time of the year, had our choice of pitch. The campsite is small (unusual for Lake Garda, which has many huge campsites) and must be very crowded in the summer.
A great culinary success was had in the evening. We had so enjoyed the Radiccho Risotto that we had in Treviso and I wanted to try to recreate the dish. The Treviso Tourist Board had published a recipe in their leaflet "Wines and Flavours" and, although, it missed out a vital measure (the quantity of liquid), by combining it with a different recipe in Italian on the rice packet, I was able to cook it. It really was very good, not quite as good as the Treviso restaurant but that was almost certainly down to the lack of good stock. I will certainly cook it again but I suspect that it will have to be in Italy as I will struggle to find radicchio in the UK.
Photos: Teatro Olimpico stage; and arena; Palazzo Chiericati ceiling showing Phaethon and his chariot – the sharp-eyed amongst you will spot that the horses are stallions and that Phaethon's style of dress is similar to kilted Scotsmen!; Roman sandal in the Vicenza archaeological museum.

Monday 19th November 2007

We selected our next stop from the Camperstop Europe book – Bassano del Grappa. This was one of Alex's recommendations but we wanted to visit another one first – Marostica.
As we drove from Bassano to Marostica, I spotted a fortified hill in the distance and this turned out to be Marostica. We then lost sight of it until we got very close and then we saw it in all of its glory. The town at the bottom of the hill is totally walled and the walls run right up both of the sides of the south-facing slope of the hill to a castle on the top. The sight is absolutely stunning as almost all of the walls have been restored and cleaned resulting in them stand out beautifully in the sunshine.
We followed signs to the car park for motorhomes and found another camper stop not in the Camperstop Europe book. We didn't need to stay overnight but it was a very good parking place, very close to the West Gate of the town and free of charge (English local authorities please note).
One of Marostica's claims to fame is that it has a massive chess board laid out in its main square and every even numbered year in September a pageant is played out in the form of a chess game with real people. We saw some photographs of this and it looks spectacular but it seemed like a long time to wait, so we decided to forgo the experience. Yet another reason to return – in a September of an even-numbered year.
The town was very pleasant and we then climbed on the long, steep, zig-zag path to the castle on the hill. Once again, it was very hazy, so we were denied the lovely view but we could see a little way and the rolling hills (glacial deposits?) below the higher hills and mountains were covered in vineyards. The castle at the top was very small and, once again, only the outer walls remained. However, within these walls, in a spectacular position was a restaurant and we could imagine how popular it would be in the summer, catching the breeze on those very hot days. Resisting the temptation, we returned to the town and Henrietta.
After lunch, we travelled the short distance to Bassano del Grappa. We had the GPS co-ordinates plugged into the sat nav and as we approached the point, we saw signs to the correct car park but despite all of our efforts, we couldn't find it. We did a second circuit and still couldn't find it but I had spotted another potential car park on the circuit and we return to it. Sure enough, there were lots of motorhomes parked there and we parked up and I attempted to buy a ticket. I fell at the first hurdle! I selected English as the language and the machine instructed me to enter my "license plate" in a very strong American accent. I entered our vehicle registration number and the machine happily replied "you have entered an invalid license plate". It was objecting because out registration number was not in Italian format. A minor design problem – the instructions were in many languages but it only worked if you had an Italian vehicle! The car park was very scruffy and we didn't fancy spending the night there. One of the main reasons for going to Bassano was to taste Grappa and the mezzo-e-mezzo (aperitivo rosso and rhubarb liqueur) at Nardini's and that was closed on a Monday, therefore not being able to stay overnight was a problem! So we decided to return to the lovely town of Marostica for the night after taking a quick look at the famous 'Ponte degli Alpini' bridge (after Paladio's design) over the river Brenta.
Photos: Marostica South Gate; Marostica square with chessboard; Poster showing Marostica Chess Pageant; Marostica square by night.

Sunday 18th November 2007

Alex Rubbo, a friend and colleague from Aggregate Industries provided me with some suggestions for places to visit in this area. Alex is Italian and comes from this area and there is nothing better than to have recommendations from a local.
Although we don't have the time to visit all of the locations that Alex suggested, we were determined to visit some of them. We started by travelling to Asolo, with the intention of visiting the Villa Barbaro at Maser in the afternoon and then stopping in a camper stop in Bassano del Grappa that night. It didn't quite work out that way.
When we arrived in Asolo they had closed the town centre and we hoped that this meant that there was some sort of event happening. When we parked in the car park, we were accosted by a man carrying an official identity card who desperately tried to explain something to us in Italian. This was one of the many cases where sign language let us down but we understood that we had to park in a special motorhome area and pay 7 Euro for the privilege. We were duly let through the barrier into the area and found a very good camper site with BBQ, fresh water, waste water dumping facilities and, most surprisingly, electricity. We were not expecting this as the Camperstop book showed the site as allowing overnight parking but not having any facilities.
When we got into the village, we discovered the reason for the road closure – they were putting up the municipal Christmas decorations! Asolo is a charming hillside village full of villas and with wonderful views over the lowlands to the sea. Unfortunately, it was a hazy day but we could see enough to appreciate how good the views would have been had it been clear. We had a very pleasant time wandering around the village and then climbed the many steps up to the fortress. The outer walls are all that are left of the castle but the reason that people visit it is the views from the walls. Walking around the walls there are fantastic views of the hills and snow-capped mountains behind as well as even better views towards the sea.
We were enjoying Asolo so much that we decided not to rush on to Maser but to spend more time in there. This meant that we would have to miss Maser as it is only open at weekends at this time of the year, but it meant that we could have a relaxing evening in Asolo. We visited the local museum and saw photographs of and by Freya Stark (1893 - 1993), a well-known English traveller and travel writer. She lived in Asolo in a lovely villa and always returned here after her many travels to far flung places. She wrote a large number of books published and still available both in English and translated into Italian. She is buried in the village cemetery close to Eleonora Duse, known as 'Divine', a famous Italian actress who also lived here. Robert Browning stayed here and wrote poetry and the main street of the village is named after him. It became a haunt for poets, writers and artists. This all started at the end of the 15thcentury when Venetian-born Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, was exiled here from Venice in order to stop her meddling in the affairs of Cyprus. She establish a very lively court in Asolo and this lead to many famous people building villas on the hillside – something that has continued until the present day.
We visited a local bar where we tried two different types of Grappa – both local, one a traditional straight Grappa and a strawberry Grappa. There were both very good and very warming – we were positively glowing when we walked back to Henrietta.
Photos: Asolo town and fortress; View from Asolo fortress – if only it was clear!; Asolo castle.

Saturday 17th November 2007

The night was surprisingly quiet on the whole and it wasn't until six or six thirty that we were woken by the trains. It must have been very close to freezing over night and it was still very cold. A quick dash from the bed allowed me to put on the gas heating, fill the saucepan with water and light the gas. The low-power electric kettle takes ages to boil and this gives the heating time to warm things up but the gas boils much faster and it was still very cold when I filled the teapot. A relaxed two cups of tea allowed Henrietta time to warm up before breakfast.
We decided that we would stay for another night so that we could watch the rugby and I could enjoy a drink. We enquired about buses at the tourist information and discovered that they were every 20 minutes from the city centre. We had a quick snack on the hoof and caught the bus to the stadium. Unlike Bath, we arrived just over 1 hour before the game and the stadium was deserted apart from a coach of Perpignan supporters in the car park. For 16 Euro (£11.20) we had covered 'seating' in the main stand, very close to the halfway line. I had the foresight to buy two natty Benneton Traviso cushions (2 Euro each) because the 'seats' turned out to be concrete and, without the cushions, we would have had totally frozen bums by the end of the first half.
We tried some beer whilst we were waiting for the kick-off but that was far too cold and they brought out some hot mulled wine, which seemed like a good idea. This kept us going though the very cold first half and a top-up at half-time made the second half bearable.
The match was excellent but, although we were neutrals, we really wanted Treviso to win. They lost 29 – 17 and Perpignan thoroughly deserved their victory. Their small band of supporters, with the mandatory two large very noisy drums, were delighted. We got talking to some of their supporters after the match – they were, understandably confused by the fact that there were two Bath supporters in Italy watching Treviso v Perpignan. They had lost to Newport Dragons by 5 points the previous week in Perpignan in what they described as "a very hard match", so victory was sweet this week. I have to say that, on that performance, Bath could have beaten both of these teams, but it was a very enjoyable match to watch.
We caught the bus back to the city centre and had a meal in 'Toni del Spin', a traditional trattoria. We had the local speciality of 'Risotto al Radicchio' as a first course. For those that are not familiar with it, radicchio looks like a red lettuce and is grown and used extensively in the Veneto region, Treviso being the main area of production. In addition to risotto, it can also be found in ravioli, as a vegetable accompanying a main course or even in deserts. The slight bitterness and crunchy texture was ideal in the risotto. I had guinea fowl served with a liver, heart and salami sauce served with polenta. Polenta is very popular here and at least a third of all of the main courses, including Jane's chicken Treviso style, were served with it. After rice and polenta, we couldn't face desert, with or without radicchio! The whole meal came to £31 (44 Euro) and it was very refreshing that a good restaurant did not load the price of the wine - £2.80 (4 Euro) for half a litre of good red wine.
After my comments yesterday about flowery tourist information brochures, I would like to share this Province of Treviso brochure description of Radicchio:-
}An intense red wine... with a pleasant bitter taste yet of a crunchy consistency, radicchio of Treviso has a kind of vertical vocation, aimed directly at the sky, according to a gothic line... the other from Castlefranco entirely golden, with its Baroque extravagance, has the joyfulness of a magnificent open flower". Even allowing from the translation, that has got to be total rubbish!
Photos: Right in the centre of Treviso is this mill and behind is the fish market on an island in the river; Perpignan fans nervously await the kick-off; the Perpignan scrum half passes the ball from the break-down.

Friday 16th November 2007

Set off for Treviso, partly to visit the city and partly hunting for rugby. We haven't seen any live live rugby this season, so we are getting withdrawal symptoms! The Camperstop Europe book didn't show a stop in Trevisio and, needless to say, there weren't any proper campsites open at this time of the year. We had, however, identified at least two camper stops not far from Treviso where we could stay. We did a tour of the car parks in the centre without finding anywhere with spaces that would take a motorhome but, by going down side roads, we eventually managed to find some (free) off-road parking only 10 minutes walk from the centre. We wanted to find the tourist information office but didn't know where it was. A pleasant tour of the city followed and we took in the sites whilst trying to locate the tourism office. As normal, it was closed when we arrived but opened again at 14:00 and it being 13:00, we decided to have some lunch.
Jane spotted a poster advertising Treviso v Perpignan tomorrow and we decided that we would definitely go to the match. We asked the tourist information lady about campsites and she confirmed that they were all closed but she told us about a free camper stop in a Treviso car park, complete with water, waste water and WC disposal. This is exactly what we needed and we headed for it. It turned out to be in a different place from the position shown on the tourist information map, which caused some rather rushed driving decisions, but we got there in one piece and parked up with 3 other motorhomes. We chose a place on the other side of the small car park from the other vans and settled down for the evening. Then we discovered the detail that we hadn't been told and, being dark, that we hadn't seen. The rear of Henrietta was about 10 metres from a railway line and an extremely long and very noisy train came past. It was at this point that we understood why all of the other motorhomes had parked over the other side – we moved!On our walk we came across an unusual fountain.
Jane spotted a poster advertising Treviso v Perpignan tomorrow and we decided that we would definitely go to the match. We asked the tourist information lady about campsites and she confirmed that they were all closed but she told us about a free camper stop in a Treviso car park, complete with water, waste water and WC disposal. This is exactly what we needed and we headed for it. It turned out to be in a different place from the position shown on the tourist information map, which caused some rather rushed driving decisions, but we got there in one piece and parked up with 3 other motorhomes. We chose a place on the other side of the small car park from the other vans and settled down for the evening. Then we discovered the detail that we hadn't been told and, being dark, that we hadn't seen. The rear of Henrietta was about 10 metres from a railway line and an extremely long and very noisy train came past. It was at this point that we understood why all of the other motorhomes had parked over the other side – we moved!
On our walk in the morning we came across an unusual fountain and later found it highlighted in the tourist information brochure. The normal tourist information brochure would describe it in the following terms "The fountain by Famousi Sculptori clearly embodies the spirit of the Trevigiani (inhabitants of Treviso), reflecting the bounty of this fertile area whilst referencing the many sculptures and paintings of Our Lady feeding the Christ Child". This brochure, refreshingly and bluntly describes it as "The Fountain Of Tits". The water is drinkable too - quite the most interesting drinking fountain that I have seen!
Photos: Ship passing the Fusina campsite; River flowing through Treviso; The Fountain of Tits.

Thursday 15th November 2007

Venice was gorgeous. We caught the No. 16 (boat) and arrived in Venice in the way that you should – by sea. It was cold but bright, which allowed us to see the city at its best. Venice is busy at all times of the year and this was no exception. St. Mark's Square was heaving and the restoration work on the pillars in front of Ducal Palace rather spoiled the view. The Rialto bridge, although crowded, looked as graceful as ever from a distance and the boats and gondolas added to the picture. As soon as we got away from the main tourist trails, we were in amongst the locals and out of the crowds. Venice was as intriguing as ever with its mixture of run-down buildings, magnificent churches and beautiful palazzos and piazzas. It really is a city to wander around and we never tire of doing so – we had seen all of the major sites on our last visit, so we just enjoyed wandering.
We have been having many problems using the Barclays Travel Money card over the last few months and now our debit card was being rejected. Running low on cash, it was time to ring Barclays! The debit card was not a problem and was actually quite encouraging. They had spotted that we were using it abroad and not at home and wanted to check that it was us using it. We had also used it in Hungary and there has been incidents of fraud in that country. After Jane had convinced them that she was the genuine Jane, all was well. The Travel Money Card was much more frustrating with a very long phone call with lots of time on hold. Despite the fact that the card was being continually rejected even for small amounts, Barclays insisted that there wasn't a problem with it. Surprise, surprise, when we tried it later it worked, so they obviously did something to solve the problem even if they didn't tell us. This is not how we wanted to spend time in Venice, but it had to be done.
After fitting in a few minutes on the Internet, it was time to catch the last No. 16 back at the rather early time of 18:30. It was lovely to watch the lights of Venice fading as the boat sped across the water to Fusina. The crew were obviously keen to finish their day's work as the journey back only took 13 minutes compared to 20 minutes on the way out!
Photos: Fusina Campsite with the industrial area next door; Arriving in Venice by sea; Venetian ambulance speeding down a canal with blue lights flashing and sirens sounding; Rialto Bridge; Frustrating phone call to Barclays – the warning triangle sign on the door reads "It is prayed not to be based here" - we hope that we obeyed!; Venice looks completely different at night.

Wednesday 14th November 2007

Ciro had promised to tell me about two vineyards that he buys wine from and that we could visit for wine tasting and buying. Both of these are great hobbies of mine, so I was keen to meet up with him at 08:00. Our Europe map is not detailed enough to locate the vineyards but with the addresses provided by Ciro, we will be able to find them using the Garmin.
Ciro is submitting a paper to an international conference that will be held early next year. It has to be submitted in English and he asked me if I would be willing to check it over – from an English point of view, not an academic point of view! Ciro's English is excellent and we made very few corrections but it was very interesting to read even the incomplete paper. Ciro has proposed a method of costing the impact on the environment of an action such as the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest in order to grow crops. He will be publishing the paper later on his blog (http://ecosistemi.blogspot.com/) and there is already material on there, so go and take a look. I am looking forward to being able to read the finished paper. Ciro also put forward a very thought-provoking and persuasive argument that, in the light of world population growth, society needs to start to design cities to minimise the effect on the environment. This is likely to mean the creation of new cities in order to ensure that the population is close to the services and employment that it requires thus minimising travel and energy use. This is particularly relevant in the UK where, I would suggest, public transport is poor and the average distance between home and work is high. That combined with the distance travelled in private transport for services (shopping, schools etc.) and our very congested roads, must make us very inefficient in fuel usage.
I can honestly say that this is the first time that I have ever met an environmental economist running an organic farm and it was great! Ciro was not only a very pleasant person, he was one of the rare breed of academics with real practical knowledge. I hope that we will be able to call back in March when we intend to come back through Italy so that we can find out how the paper was received. We will also ensure that it is at a weekend so that we can taste the fruits of his labour. I only hope that Ciro will forgive me for dropping the trap door of the waste tank into the tank!
Before we left, we did a quick tour of the farm to see all of the animals. The wild boar were great and the buffalo just stood with their noses in the air looking very snooty. They were very large and I didn't fancy the idea of milking them!
We set off from La Via Antigua and the speedometer was working! We decided to visit Ciro's first recommendation of the Ornella Molon vineyard at Campo di Pietra. We arrived to the minute at the time that they closed for their two-hour lunch break. There wasn't much to see in the village but we noticed that the 'Osteria' attached to the winery was very popular, especially with manual workers – lorry drivers, builders etc. This is normally the sign of a restaurant that serves good food at reasonable prices and so we went in. There were no menus, just a set meal with three choices for first and main courses. Water was included in the price and probably wine as well, although we stuck with water. For the first course I had penne with bacon and tomato sauce and Jane had a vegetable soup. For the second course, I had liver and onions with spinach and Jane had escalope of pork with wild mushrooms and peas. It was very good quality food and, at 10 euros each, very good value.
The winery was now open and we were able to test the wines. We only had one sample of each wine between us and as I was driving, Jane had to drink more than me (a real hardship!). Their young, fresh wines were very good but we were not impressed by their barrel-aged wines. These were very deep in colour but were somehow too strongly flavoured. We came away with three bottles of their Merlot and three of their Traminer. The latter is a beautifully fragrant wine similar to the Alsace Gewurztraminer but without the spice of the Alsace wine.
The journey to the Venice campsite was not the most exciting that we have had – huge number of lorries and very congested motorway. The approach to the campsite ('Camping Fusina') is not inspiring as it is highly industrial and also one of the main lorry routes to the port. However, providing that you look forward from our pitch, the view is really good – over the lagoon to Venice. Unfortunately, Venice is distinctly lacking in hills, so it appears only as a small line on the horizon. The good news is that the ferry to Venice leaves from a pier only approx. 100 metres from the campsite entrance. Tomorrow it is Venice re-visted – hopefully warmer than it was when we visited it in December 2005.
Photos: Wild Boar in heaven; Inquisitive pig; Snooty buffalo.

Tuesday 13th November 2007

A gentle start, then dump grey water, take on fresh water and empty chemical toilet before paying the bill and setting off. We wanted to try one of the many Agritourism sites listed in the Camperstop Europe book and had chosen one on the way to Venice. This was only a relatively short drive, so we decided to take a diversion to a town marked on our Europe map with a blue underline, indicating that there was something of interest there. This was the only reason that we had stopped at Venzone and that had worked well.
The journey started inauspiciously when the speedometer resolutely refused to move from zero as we pulled off. This turned out not to be a momentary problem and I had to estimate the speed using the rev counter. I had, however, remembered that the Garmin could be set to display the speed and so I stopped and fiddled with the settings until I could see the speed. This turned out to be very efficient and made things much easier. We then spent the journey deciding where we would take it into a garage and keeping an eye out for Ford garages – there weren't any!
Cividale del Friuli turned out to be another medieval town with Roman roots and we drove right through the town, often down rather narrow, medieval streets, to find a large car park on the other side of the river. Like Venzone, the tourist board had helpfully provided a guide to the town available free from a dispenser in the car park. A short walk took us over the river on Il Ponte del Diavolo (The Devils Bridge) and into the town and we followed the map to view the sites. There is an archaeological museum in the centre of the town and we took the opportunity to visit it. The Roman town was founded in 50 BC and, being a very important military base, it was elevated to the status of a 'Civitas' and this was corrupted over the years to become 'Cividale'. There was not a great deal of Roman material on display as most of the Roman remains are buried under the modern town but the highlight of the museum were the grave goods from a number of 7th and 8th century graves from cemeteries within the town. These showed a strong Celtic influence with Celtic patterns on the brooches and dress fastenings. These and the other jewellery were beautiful and in excellent condition after expert restoration. Unfortunately, the only English translations in the museum were two boards about the early church architecture, probably the least interesting area. I must try to improve my Italian and Friulano!
We intended to have a snack at lunch time and chose 5 euro (£3.50) pizzas at a small, very popular restaurant. Well, it would have been a snack if we had one pizza between the two of us – they were enormous. We simply couldn't finish them all and, like most other people in the restaurant, we left the less interesting parts of the rim. Dinner was cancelled that night and we just had a snack!
One of the places that we visited was the 'Celtic Hypogeum', which is a complex of man-made interconnected grottos with many niches cut into the rock at different heights and reached by steep steps down from the road level. Some experts believe that they were used for Celtic funeral rites, others that they were prisons used by the Romans and Longobards. The more likely explanation is they they were Jewish ritual bathing places used between the 13th and 17th centuries and associated with a nearby synagogue. Still the Celtic explanation sounds much more exciting!
A miracle then happened – when we set off from Cividale, the speedometer worked! So, we decided to wait for a few days to see if the problem returned.
We used the Garmin to direct us to the Agritourism site using the address in the Camperstop book. The book also has GPS coordinates but when I entered these, it indicated a place 5 km away from the address. The Camperstop book was published with an erratum correcting some of the GPS coordinates for the UK and France, so it was quite likely that these coordinates were also wrong. They proved to be incorrect as using the address took us right to La Via Antigua at Torre di Mosto including one kilometre down a dirt track. We were greeted by barking dogs (Jane wasn't at all keen) and the owner Ciro. After completing the paperwork Ciro offered us a glass of local organic wine and we chatted about his business and our travels. After studying Economics at university, Ciro became a business consultant before giving that up at the age of 35 to take over his parents' farm. He now runs an organic farm and restaurant with a few camping places and also spends time studying. That however is a much too simplistic description.
On his farm, Ciro has pigs, wild boar, pig / wild boar crosses, two types of moufflon, sheep, goats and buffalo. He also grows cereals and vegetables – all organic and all for the table. He also has dogs and horses but, I hope, these are not for eating. Ciro is also interested in cross breeding and hopes to purchase mountain goats from Austria to cross breed with his goats. He even has his own mill, made in Austria, that uses proper millstones. As you can see, he is a real enthusiast!
Unfortunately, the restaurant is only open at weekends, otherwise we would have certainly had a meal. Instead, it was back to Henrietta and a non-organic tuna salad.
Photos: Cividale - river and town walls; Lovers' padlocks with The Devil's Bridge in the background; Celtic Hypogeum.

Monday 12th November 2007

It was time to say a reluctant “goodbye” to Slovenia (we will definitely return) but were also looking forward to visiting Italy. We shall miss that fantastic view of Triglev and its surrounding peaks, surely the best view of all of the campsites so far. We certainly recommend Camping Kamne to anyone travelling in this area and, given that it is open all year, it is also very useful out of season. The site is very busy in the main season and you will need to book but out of season there shouldn't be a problem. The facilities were quite basic when we were there but this was largely due to the fact that they were extending the shower block, so they will be much better next season.
The Garmin satellite navigation wanted to take us back towards Ljubljana and then through a toll motorway tunnel into Austria and then down into Italy, despite the fact that there is a major crossing directly into Italy just down the road. The Garmin mapping in Slovenia is very poor and unless you want to go somewhere on very major roads, it is worse than useless. Let's face it, if you want to use the major roads, they are very well signposted and if your destination is not on a major route then the Garmin is likely to take you on a totally inappropriate route. Needless to say, we ignored the directions, which resulted in many “recalculating” announcements from the Garmin. Once we crossed the border into Italy, it suddenly knew where the roads were and the directions became sensible again - mapping in Western Europe is good. We took the opportunity of filling up with diesel before we left Slovenia as the price here (1.03 Euros per litre) is cheaper than anywhere else that we have travelled.
We had a very short journey to our next site at Gemona del Friuli, so we took the non-motorway route and stopped off at Venzone. This is a pretty and interesting medieval town with a pre-Roman origin but also an important strategic site in Roman times. According to the tourist brochure, after the Roman times, it was successively invaded by “the Guards, the Marcmanns, the Visigoths, the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, the Longoboards and the Carolingians”. Half of those, I hadn't even heard of but it doesn't sound like it was a good time to live there!
We had lunch in a small café / restaurant in the square near the main church and were able to sample excellent local food. We only wanted something small and I chose Frico Misto on the basis that I had no idea what it was. I was impressed when it arrived – cheese had been melted into a thin sheet and then shaped into a basket, rather like the brandy snap baskets that used to be popular in England. In addition, there was a small cheese and potato(?) omelette (or something like one) and a slice of fried polenta. It was delicious and turned out to be a traditional Friulian dish.
I had noticed that the tourist guide (free and available near the car park) had Italian, English, and German translations but also had a language and a flag that I didn't recognise. I asked the café owner about it (in sign language!) and he indicated that it was Friulano. Although there are some common words with Italian, this is much more than just an Italian dialect and I found out later that it has a Celtic root from one of the many invading hoards that overran the area.
We had seen quite a lot of the town before we found out the details of its recent history. At 09:00 on 6th May 1976 the area of Friuli was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale. Out of the 600,000 inhabitants of Friuli, 1,000 were killed and 3,000 were injured. The damage to the towns and villages was enormous – 1,500 buildings destroyed and 70,000 damaged. Over 100,000 people where left homeless. While the inhabitants were attempting to rebuild their houses and lives, further tremors shook the area until, on 15th September, a second major earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, destroyed what remained of the standing buildings. When we first read in the tourist leaflet that Venzone had been “destroyed” by the earthquakes, we assumed that this was a quirk of the translation and that it had probably been badly damaged. It was only when we saw the photographs that we realised the scale of the devastation – 90% of the buildings were destroyed.
What followed the destruction was quite remarkable. The residents of Venzone lobbied their government to have the old town completely rebuilt as it was before the earthquakes and that is exactly what was done. Walking through the town, it was difficult to believe that it had once been destroyed and it was only inside the church that it became clear how much had been achieved. There were pictures of the areas where the stones of the church were stored in neat rows indicating where they had come from. Of course, much of the ornate stonework and the frescoes were damaged or destroyed but where possible they had used the original materials and replaced missing stonework with new carved stone. Venzone is heralded as an example of how to deal with rebuilding historical sites after such devastation but the cost must have been huge.
One of the delights of travelling when you have plenty of time is discovering unexpected treasures like Venzone.
On then to Gemona del Friuli and Ai Pioppi a small site tucked behind a bar next to the fire station. We had arrived quite early, so we took a walk around the town and again came across references to the damage caused by the 1976 earthquakes. Gemona was a pleasant enough place but did not have the historical heritage of Venzone.
Photos: Venzone church after May 1976 earthquake; Venzone church after September 1976 earthquake; Venzone church today; Sculpture to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the earthquakes – carved from a single tree trunk;

Sunday 11th November 2007

Our plans were weather dependent today – move on to Italy if it was bad, stay one more night if it was good. We decided to stay another night as the sun was shining and it was even slightly warmer than yesterday. Lake Bohinj was our destination, about 30 km beyond Lake Bled but as the crow flies (or, more probably, the eagle flies) only 12 km from the campsite on the other side of Triglev.
We parked at Zlatorog, at the far end of the lake near to the cable car station. Although a trip on the cable car with the associated from Vogel mountain was tempting, we really wanted to walk. Zlatorog was the starting point for a walk up to Slap Savice (the Savice Waterfall – what a great word for a waterfall – Slap!!), but we had already seen waterfalls in the area and the guidebook said that it was closed at this time of the year. It was a one and a half hour round trip to the falls and we didn't want to get there and find that we couldn't see it. So, option three was the circumnavigation of the lake on foot and that is what we went for.
Unlike Bled, Bohinj has more dramatic mountains close to the lake with very steep mountain slopes, popular with mountaineers, just a few hundred metres away from the northern shore. When we arrived, there was no wind and the surface of the lake was like glass and gave the most wonderful reflections of the mountains (see photos). It was the northern shore where we started our walk. At this time of the year, sunlight in areas surrounded by mountains is very restricted and we knew that the whole shoreline would be in the shade by mid-afternoon. The northern shore was bathed in sunlight and, given that the air temperature was about 5°C, this made the walk much more pleasant. We were surprised by the number of people that we met on the walk having been used to meeting very few people at other times. It was Sunday and locals and those from further afield, especially Ljubljana, were taking advantage of the sunny weather and beautiful scenery. It was good to see that the 'walkers' code' was followed here – almost everyone that we met said hello or rather 'Dober dan'. We found a bench in the sun and stopped for a picnic with a super view (see photo) and completed the round trip in about 4 hours at a very gentle (Jane's) pace.
We drove through the villages of Stara Fuzina, Studor, Vas and Cesnjica on the way back and admired their typical rural Slovenian village architecture. Everywhere in the Slovenian countryside you will see many hay drying racks in field and near farms. Recently, the summers have become hot and dry but, even 20 years ago, the pattern would be hot mornings with a thunderstorm in the afternoon. This caused a problem for hay production – the hay must be completely dry before being stored in the barns ready for the winter cattle feed. The Slovenian solution was to create drying racks where the farmers would hang the hay to dry, sheltered from the rain by a small roof. Most of the racks are single but the double hay racks, called 'toplars', are unique to Slovenia.
The drive back to Dovje was beautiful – with the sun setting behind us, all of the snow-covered mountain peaks on the journey were turned a lovely shade of pink, accentuated by dark clouds above and behind them.
Photos: Bohinja reflection with boat; Bohinja reflection without boat; Bohinja picnic view.