Licques again

Saturday 26th April

As we didn't have many miles to cover today, we took advantage of the bright sunny (and chilly) morning to go for a quick geocaching walk around the village of Seraucourt le Grand.  We found 4 fairly near to each other that were part of a series following a pilgrimage route and another close to a British WWI Cemetery.  So sad to know that all the fields around here saw such terrible fighting with so many soldiers dying.  We had a wander among the beautifully-kept flower beds and headstones, many marking the life of an unknown young man.

After the usual pre-home shopping, we got on our way again, tonight staying where our journey began, at the campsite in Licques.  It seems much chillier than where we've been ......

Home tomorrow after ferry and quick meal with Peter and family. 

Seraucourt-le-Grand, France

Friday 25th April

These are pictures of our campsite last night at Villey-le-Sec.  We are not quite sure why it is 'le sec' because the Moselle is rather a large river that we think is rather wet! C'est la vie.
 

 
Today we've come a bit further on, to Seraucourt-le-Grand (actually a very tiny village) just south of St. Quentin.  We are pitched on a strip of land between two fishing lakes.  Shame we've moved into the land of grey skies though. 

Tomorrow we shall make time to do some shopping to bring home.  If anyone has any special requests, please send us a text.

Villey-le-Sec, France

Wednesday 23rd April/Thursday 24th April

We left Lake Maggiore this morning (Wednesday), again bathed in beautiful sunshine, to begin the journey home.  To keep the mileage down and to avoid the extortionate cost of camping in Switzerland, John decided that we would get all the way through to France in one day.  250 miles may not sound a huge trip to many, but with the speed that we can do in the van, road works and heavy traffic at times (particularly around Basel), meant that we were on the road for 6-7 hours.  We still had some Swiss Francs that we would have spent travelling back more slowly, so we stopped soon after Locarno at an Aldi (originally it was just a handy carpark to have a cup of coffee) but had a great time spending some of it, buying biscuits and chocs to bring home - Holbrook Housegroup may get most of the benefit of these!

Last views of the lake

Swiss Alps

So we came back to the Alsace, trying another new site for us at Herrlisheim, just south of Colmar.  No wifi though!

Now Thursday evening, we've come another 113 miles to a rather lovely spot beside the River Moselle at Villey-le-Sec. To get a tiny trickle of wifi here, we had to sit outside the reception office, just to check emails and see if there were any geos in the area.  Surprisingly there was one a short way back up the road over the disused railway crossing, so now we are well on our way to our 3000th cache!!  On the opposite river bank, we've watched several cyclists enjoying the path that runs for a few miles through the trees following the river - we shall have to come back some day.


Just changed our ferry booking to return on Sunday.

Gardens of Villa Taranto

Tuesday 22nd April

Today has been a lovely day, with beautiful sunshine, but we have just received the sad news that our dear friend Judith passed away this evening.  She is at peace at last, following several years with so many health problems.  She has been a great friend to us and we will remember so many happy times and laughter shared together.  We will be shortening our holiday and will start on our journey home tomorrow.

We are so glad that we decided to go today to the Gardens of Villa Taranto - for us now there will always be a link between this beautiful place and Judith.  The paths take you up a hillside, seeing the amazing varieties of plants and trees including tulips in bloom (80,000 of them apparently), azaleas, rhododendrons, plus ponds and water features, all with a backdrop of lake and mountains.  Wow...  We had lunch at the cafe there and then walked on the roads surrounding the gardens, through the narrow streets uphill till we reached the little stone church of San Remigio.  We went there because there was a geocache to be found tucked into a little wall at the back of the church - a very special find because it was our 2000th cache!! - and what a view from up there.

San Remigio

Our 2000th geocache!

The view over Lake Maggiore from the chuch

Verbania

Monday 21st April

Although we do plan to move on from here eventually, we are finding that there are so many possibilities of places to visit from here and we have a very pleasant pitch on a lovely site only costing 16E a night. This morning we went for the bus at 9.43 to Intra (part of Verbania a short way north along the lake), but UK's Easter Sunday rain arrived here for the Italian Bank Holiday today.  We watched the ferry boats in and out for a while, walked a couple of miles along the lakeside, found 2 geocaches and had a hot drink and dry out in a cafe. Our plan was to have lunch out and visit the gardens at Villa Taranto, but there were only 2 buses back home at either 12.10 or 17.10 (Sunday service) and the persistent rain made the decision for us - back 'home' for lunch and try again on a sunnier day.

Thank you Wendy for your Easter greetings, also Helen for reporting on the wet Easter day at home!

We'll be thinking of Emilie and Adam tomorrow morning as they go back to school - they will have so much news to tell their teachers!

Easter Sunday

 Sunday 20th April

Happy Easter everyone. After hanging the washing out in the sunshine, we walked the short way to Feriolo church. 
We'd noted the time of the service today as 11.15 (from the notice on the door), but when we got there at that time, it seemed like it had started rather earlier.... Undeterred, we went in, to find it packed to the gunnels.  We joined the big crowd standing at the back as the elderly priest began his sermon.  It would have been helpful to have understood the Italian, but we recognised some words here and there and knew from the tone of his voice and gesticulations, that he was rejoicing in the risen Christ. The singing was led by a lady on guitar and we again recognised some words - hosanna, alelulia, amen(!) - and joined in the sharing of the peace.  We also liked the way the robed children came all through the congregation to shake hands with as many people as possible.  The friendly Swiss family camping opposite us gets bigger every day.  They live just over the border and various
members of the family come and go - today it seemed they were all here - I think I counted 14 of them at lunch-time.  We miss Hannah, who could converse with them in German, but we get by with smiles, especially with the small children.This afternoon we got on our bikes and rode through the woods to the little beach we discovered at the beginning of the week.

 I had a paddle, but just watched when a young chap went for a swim in the lake - the water was too cold for that!  The air temperature has warmed up a bit after the last couple of days and John cooked us a tasty risotto outside and we sat out till almost 8.30. 

To Malpensa Airport (and back)

Saturday 19th April

This evening we have received the great news that our friend Judith is showing signs of improvement and has been out of intensive care for a few days.  Our mutual friend Terry, printed our photo of Adam lighting a candle in the chapel on the hillside near Stresa and took it to Judith yesterday.  She was delighted to receive it.

Here by Lago Maggiore, our weather has turned upside down.  We knew that rain was expected and late last night it came with a vengeance - thunder and lightning included.  The children had not long gone to bed, so they were well asleep during the noisiest time.  The rain continued all through this morning - my new brolly had its first airing while helping Hannah to finish her packing and tidying the cabin by 10 and moving everything into our van - including the children.  Then after scrambled eggs on toast, we set off with them to Malpensa Airport for their flight home to Gatwick.  The children were very excited to be going on a plane as this was a first for them.  (Actually a second time for Emilie, but she was only 7 months old at the time.)  Big hugs later, we waved them goodbye as we drove back via the lakeside road rather than the motorway.  Not that the views were very impressive on such a dull day, but what was noticeable was that the mountain-tops were covered in a lot more snow. 

Camping friends will know that we have a small storage tent that we use when staying in one place for several days - well, it is possibly no more.  When we returned, the wind was quite strong and it had snapped one of the supporting rods on the roof, so was flapping about rather a lot.  So we had to dismantle it and put all the stuff we keep in there back in the van underneath storage.  John will see if it can be repaired when the weather is calmer again. 

So we are spending a very quiet evening indoors - oh boy, do we miss our grandchildren ... and Peter and Hannah of course.

Feriolo

Friday 18th April

All this fresh air must be catching up on us, because none of us surfaced until after 9 this morning.  The day has been rather overcast (we are expecting rain tonight and tomorrow), so we had a lazy day, playing games, having our main meal at lunch time and going for a stroll through our village and along the waterfront, coming back to a cafe that we hadn't yet visited for the inevitable ice creams.  The boys team won the Kings Game championship - but only by a whisker - and we played our last round of Newmarket before bedtime tonight.  Hannah has done most of their packing as they need to be out of their cabin by 10 tomorrow.  Then we shall take them in the van to Malpensa Airport at lunch-time, for their flight home.  We have had such a lovely time with them this week and will have so many memories to share.  Not thinking about missing them yet .....

We are expecting to hear how our friend Judith is in the next day or so - we know she is still fighting.  She is forever in our thoughts.

Isole Borromee (with added photos)

Thursday 17th April

We understand from the weather forecast that today was to be the last day of sunshine until Sunday/Monday, so we took adantage of the complete lack of wind and caught the bus again into Stresa with the plan of visiting the islands of Borromeo.  Off the bus, across the road, walking towards the Tourist Office, a representative of 'Lake Tours' accosted me to lure us onto one of his boats.  We had decided to visit Isola Pescatori and Isola Bella - there is a third island, Isola Madre, but very small and not much to see - he straight away gave us his price and wait by the boat with the yellow flag - boat leaves at 11.15.  This proved to be a really good choice (not that we gave any of the other companies a look in) as the boat was small (about 18 of us on board) and fast and it took us first to Madre to drop people off who had paid for 3 islands, then dropped us at Pescatori.  Trinket stalls lined the harbour-front, but above them we found a network of tiny alleyways, up steps, around corners between classy souvenir shops and restaurants.  We also walked all around the island at lake level, had drinks at a pretty cafe, spent a few minutes in the church, the children spent their pocket money and we sat on a seat to eat our picnic - from every direction a beautiful view.  We caught the next 'Lake Tours' boat for the 5 minute journey to Isola Bella.  Here there are some shops and restaurants, but the main attraction is the Palazzo of the
Borromeo family, built in C17.  The palace is very grand and we all loved it - Adam so much so that he kept saying that he wanted to live there!  After all the amazing rooms and grottos (low ceiling rooms with the walls, floors and ceilings covered with small stone mosaics) we went out into the gardens.  We had seen from Stresa that the garden looked like a wedding cake and to walk up through the many terraces amongst the colourful flower beds, the grassy lawns with white peacocks, and walls covered with trees of various citrus fruits made the children even more determined to live there!  By this time Adam was the King and Emilie the Grand Duchess of the island and making important decisions on what the servants' duties would be ....  Then we came the corner of the garden with a little cafe with ice cream in all the tempting flavours - things were just getting better and better. Soon the time came to leave 'Adam's Palace' as it has now been renamed, but we can't help thinking that there will be a return visit one day, especially as Daddy has missed being there with us. On Tuesday when we visited Stresa, we'd hoped to find the one and only geocache there, but the wind and the waves prevented us from getting down the set of steps to the water's edge.  This afternoon, with the calm water, wewere a ble to reach it, plus the children had a long play in the 'playground with the best view ever', before catching the bus back to Feriolo.  Tiredness and hunger were getting the better of us, so we stopped at one of the cafes (the one surrounded by masses of yellow and purple pansies) for our evening meal on the way home.
 

Isola Pescatori

Adam's Palace, Isola Bella

Lago Orta

Wednesday 16th April

Peter was up and gone well before we surfaced this morning.  5.17 it was apparently, so the first report of his progress we knew was when he was already through Switzerland and into France.  Hannah received updates of his progress through the day until 9.30 this evening, when he drove out of Eurotunnel into England - 7 countries in one day! 

We just took it easy this morning and then took the van out for a run, first to the hypermarket for supplies and then to Lake Orta, to the west of Maggiore.  It is quite a small lake in comparison, just as beautiful, but the lakeside isn't at all accessible.  We were hoping to find somewhere to park so we could find a picnic spot.  It took us till we reached the southern end of the lake before we found a place to stop and although there was a patch of grass and a beach, it was fenced off.  It was very quiet and peaceful, so undeterred, we found that a track led to a small jetty with stone steps beside it - perfect for enjoying the view and eating our lunch.  If you have managed to 'spot the difference' in our previous post, then you will see that during our time there, a girl arrived, totally ignorning us, carrying a fold-up lounger and small rucksack, who proceeded to set up her lounger, strip off to her itsy-bitsy yellow (no polka dot) bikini and plug into her Iplayer!  Emilie and Adam just carried on playing their imagination game of a shipwreck leaping 
between 3 large boulders in the water.


So far this week, Adam has managed to fall off his bike, hurt a finger, bash his hand and today - graze his knees (lots of blood involved in this one), drop his new pen (bought in Stresa yesterday) over a wall down about a meter into long grass (safely retrieved by Daddad using his extendable geocaching tool with magnet on the end) and discovered that boomerangs don't always come back - they land on top of the awning of a nearby caravan and needed Daddad again - this time using the awning wind-up pole!  Boys will be boys!

Our campsite has had a steady stream of new arrivals today.  They have filled all the front pitches by the lake - it's true they have the constant view, but we are happier in our quiet corner with just a friendly Swiss family

near us. 

PUZZLE TIME

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

Small prize for the first correct answer!

Stresa

Tuesday 15th April

Another sunny day, this time without the haze over the mountains, but with a cool breeze.  We all walked along the road to catch the bus which took us through Baveno to Stresa.  We'd been told what a beautiful place this was and we weren't disappointed.  As we stepped off the bus, we found that the Feriolo breeze was a Stresa wind, so we strode along the prom to keep warm, sometimes feeling the spray from the big waves rolling in. The views across the lake are spectacular with a backdrop of the snowy mountains and we marvelled at the super-smart hotels overlooking the water.  After coffees we climbed uphill through narrow cobbled streets and paths to a small church and viewpoint at the Oratorio di Passera.  In the church, the children lit candles and we said prayers for God to take care of Judith and for Peter to have a safe drive home tomorrow.  (This was planned as he has to be back at work on Thursday for a long weekend of railway signalling at Rochester.)  Away from the windy lake, the sun was as warm as ever, and we had lunch at one of the pavement restaurants in the central square, gazing at the clear blue sky.  What a lovely day out.

Bike Ride

 Monday 14th April

Today was exercise day!  Peter and Adam had been out for a quick bike ride yesterday afternoon to see if there were good tracks to ride on - none of us fancied being on the roads.  They'd found a way through a foresty area that led to the lakeside towards Verbania, so that was where we headed loaded with our groundsheet and picnic.  We stopped at a tiny sandy beach to eat, paddle, watch the ducks and swan (he was actually watching us), and marvel at the black and green striped frogs basking on a log (until our shadows disturbed them and they all plopped into the water).  The children had a great time playing in the sand and Adam (being 7) got his shorts wet.  We then followed a track by the river away from the lake, passing the most amazing azelias in full colourful bloom - pinks, reds, purples, yellow and white.  We carried on hoping to come to a cafe or shop, but eventually decided to turn back and Peter went off the track towards a road to see what he could find.  He came back for us all and led us across a very busy road that led to .... wait for it .... the Verbania railway station cafe!  (Forever a railway boy!)  So we had some refreshment - and saw a goods train.  Back at the site John's GPS told us we had cycled just over 9 miles - pretty good for 7 and 9 yr olds - and the OAPs!  We ended the day with a tasty barbecue dinner and a game of Newmarket.  It's great that the children are old enough now to be able play card games for themselves - until now the trickiest bit has been holding the cards. 

The sunshine, exercise and good food (and wine) should make us all sleep well tonight.

Camping Orchidea, Feriolo, Italy

Sunday 13th April

Today has been a wonderful but also a very heart-wrenching day.  We have made the final stage of our journey into Italy and met up with part of our lovely family - Peter and Hannah, Emilie and Adam, but have also received the news that our dear friend Judith is drawing close to the end of her life.  We are sorry not to be by her side, but she knows we love her and are holding her very close even though we are so far away from home.  Last Monday she gave us her blessing to come on this trip ....

Although we had heard that there could be a long wait to enter the Gotthard Tunnel, this morning it was a piece of cake - no holdup at all and not a lot of traffic in either direction.  We were also pleasantly surprised to find that there was no toll to pay (unlike the Mont Blanc tunnel we understand).  Patches of snow on the hillsides added to the beauty of the countryside as we made our way south to Lake Maggiore.  The morning haze had lifted and the lake glistened in the sunshine.  The road that follows the lakeside on the western side was a trifle narrow for the likes of us in places, especially when it twisted and turned around rocky outcrops, but soon the road widened towards Verbania, until we reached our destination - Camping Orchidea at Feriolo.

Emilie and Adam threw themselves into our arms - what a lovely greeting.  They soon showed us round their little cabin and we parked up on the grassy pitch next door.  A leisurely lunch together was followed by a stroll to the little sandy beach and along the promenade beside the lake to sample the local gelato.  So much icecream was piled on our cornets that it overhung the sides.  Mmmmm.  Then we looked at the menus of all the restaurants to choose which one to visit later - so many decisions to be made when you are on holiday!  Of course, we had to try real Italian pizzas - another mmmmmm.

Turckheim and Lurcerne

Here is a catch-up from the last two days as there was no wifi at the Lucerne campsite either.


Friday 11th April

..... after catching up on emails, blog and geocaching outside the TI in Turckheim, we went across the square for a coffee/hot chocolate in the sunshine, then wandered around the small market.  Behind the little town is a steep hillside covered in vines.  After lunch we decided we needed some exercise, so put on the boots and set off up the steep steps and joined the network of paths between the vines. The plants are just sprouting some new shoots, and workers were busy strimming the grass between the lines .  There are a series of geocaches up there, and we followed a path into the woods, steadily climbing all the time (about 600ft), to find 3 of them and another when nearly back down in Turckheim.  We thought we were a little bit crazy going uphill on a hot day, but at least we weren't quite as sweaty as some of the joggers we met up there!  All that effort was rewarded by a lovely meal out at local hostelry.  For all its smartness, we didn't go a bundle on their lampshades of dangling material offcuts (see photo)!

AboveTurckheim

Hotel des Voges on left

Cheap lampshades!!

Saturday 12th April

We sadly said goodbye to the very friendly lady in the office (not only wifi not working today, but her computer, printer and card reader, so cash only) and 'George', our stork, for our next stage of the journey.  We entered Switzerland by the St. Johann Tunnel and this involved being issued with our vignette for vehicles over 3.5T and means that for 32.50 Swiss Francs, we can spend up to 10 days in the country - not necessarily consecutive.  We have to produce our duplicate forms when driving in and we expect, on the way out.  So we signed up for today and tomorrow and continued on our way to Lucerne.  Very soon we could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance and around lunch-time we were on our pitch beside an inlet of Lake Lucerne. 

Turckheim

Wednesday 9th April
After a chilly night, we woke to beautiful sunshine.  We were hoping for a text from Carolyn to say that Baby King had been born and around lunchtime we were delighted to know that Tilly Rose had arrived (at last) this morning.  Our journey today took us south-east through northern France to an Aire (overnight parking place for motorhomes) that we had been to several years ago.  It is on top of a wooded hill and has all the facilities of a campsite, but only costs 5 Euros. A walk in warm sunshine through the woods was in silence except for a persistent cuckoo.

Thursday 10th April
Another sunny morning for more travelling.  We stayed on autoroutes and major roads all the way to the Alsace, passing through the tunnel at Ste-Marie-aux-Mines.  This is one of our favourite regions, so often come this way - this time staying at Turckheim, near Colmar on the eastern edge of the Vosges mountains.  The rise in temperature is amazing – so lovely to sit out in the sunshine for our dinner.  The campsite only opened today so we are amongst its first customers of the season.  They seem to have all systems running except for the wifi!  We are having a rest day here tomorrow, moving on on Saturday, so will see if we can post this at the Tourist Information office in the morning. 
Always on our minds as we journey on, is our dear friend Judith.  She was taken into East Surrey Hospital last Friday night with severe pain in her side and was not improving when we visited her on Saturday and Monday.  She has so many problems besides this one, so we are very concerned, especially as we have now heard that she is being transferred to Intensive Care.  Other close friends have taken over our caring role and are keeping in touch. 




Friday 11th April

We've come into the beautiful little town of Turkheim to post this blog sitting outside the TI beside the fountain in this picture.  Today to be continued ......

Turckheim

Our Stork!

Licques, France

We managed to get away to time this morning, despite John's awaited new lenses arriving at the opticians today!  He had them fitted to his old frames, returned home and off we set.  Travelling on the ferry can be full of surprise entertainment.  Climbing the staircase from the car deck we were surrounded by 50 excited 10/11yr olds, who we soon discovered were on a 3-day trip to Paris and Eurodisney.  We settled into a nice quiet lounge and when I came back from the loo, all the lot of them had found it too (the lounge not the loo)!  John chatted to their very patient teacher who soon rounded them all up again to go off to the cafe.  We had noticed a small group of student-aged people all wearing orange sweatshirts, bearing the words "Bummit Croatia".  We soon got to know what that meant as they approached all the other passengers, requesting lifts (we assume in the general direction of Croatia). We couldn't help them as we were only coming 25 miles from Calais today, but 3 of them got a yes from a Dutch chap sitting near us and spent the whole crossing getting to know each other.  We think they were being sponsored for charity to be very resourceful in making their way across Europe, probably the cheapest way possible.  Soon, along came a chap in a smart suit holding a clipboard.  He stopped by me and said that he was doing a survey, questioning every 10th person about their destination and length of stay.  I was possibly the first one to give the answers - Italy and 5 weeks!!  Back came the children, even more bubbly after their fizzy drinks and bags of crisps, but they were very well behaved - just couldn't stop chattering, some on their mobile phones!

We were soon out in the sunshine on our way out of Calais and the short drive to Licques to a new campsite to us.  It was while we were pootling through the pretty country lanes, I had a thought.  I would get out the campsite book to check the directions.  It then occurred to me that I didn't put the (several) campsite books in the van - er, neither did John .... they must still be at home in the study!  Once upon a time this would have been a disaster, but my super-techy-hubby soon reassured me that all the information we shall be needing is on an app on the tablet (who would have understood this language a few years ago?), so we'll be fine.  France is excellent at signs to their campsites anyway, so we trust that Italy does the same.

Spending a very relaxing evening now at this quiet and pretty site.  Had a text from Peter to say that they were thoroughly enjoying Center Parcs - had an exhausting day playing minigolf and swimming.

Italian adventure starts tomorrow

Spent my birthday packing and doing all those last-minute jobs, but did take time out for a super lunch at one of our favourite haunts, the Old Tollgate at Bramber.
Peter and Hannah and children set off this morning and while queueing for the channel tunnel, Emilie and Adam phoned and sang 'happy birthday' to me. Ahhh.  We meet up with them next weekend by Lake Maggiore .....