Roosink's Europe Road Trip 2013: June 2013

Hello again everyone :)

Well we have been busy since the last post! We left off on the morning of Fynn's 4th birthday. Probably not what he was expecting on such a day but we tackled a gorge. His little legs managed the rocky steep stairs over a good hour's trek down to some stunning waterfalls and swimming pools to CAVA GRANDE! A little bit Grand Canyon-esque and well worth the hike, don't you think?

a big jump for the birthday boy

MT ETNA

The tourist draw card of Sicily.

MT ETNA
by bike to the station to catch the Circumetnea narrow gauge railway which circumnavigates the base of Mt Etna for 110km.

Mt Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, at 3323m altitude

Fertile volcanic soils with plenty of orchards and vineyards

Two sides of Mt Etna. Smoke lingering over the top and eternal ice can be seen.

Randazzo, 15km from Mt Etna on the railway line. They had celebrations today. These fireworks went off at midday!

The day after the train trip we drove up as far as we could and with lava underfoot we scrambled up the sides of two sites which previously have errupted. This one from 2001.

Calabria, southern Italy, the toe of Italy's boot. After a dry Sicily it was pleasing to see so much green. We were lucky enough to see some of the stunning AMALFI COAST! Sheer rugged cliffs jammed with restaurants and stairways down to the beaches below. It required some concentration to manoeuvre the tight winding road. We came away with a 'nudge' from a truck on a corner on a bridge. Nothing that a bit of washing detergent and some elbow grease couldn't remove though.

Amongst other close calls we can add the last bridge we went under in Italy and the first without a sign stating its height. This one possibly should have read Height: 316m. With the van halfway through I was reluctant to keep encouraging Arno to move forward but he continued on being waved through happily by a helpful Italian fellow motorist .. the height of our campervan is 314cm.

Farm Stay "Canalicchio"
With the GPS once again 'confused' we were sent this way and that but no campings to be found. Come 7pm we were happy to see some signs to an 'Agriturismo', or Farm Stay. This one looking like a castle and perched high in the mountains. The sign had a picture of a campervan but on arrival there were no large flat areas as required. Our host just shrugged his shoulders and motioned us to park in pretty much THE only place possible, directly in front of the restaurant's doors. True stumble distance home which was quite handy really knowing the usual flow of wine and food.

wine cellar

meats and cheeses galore

We had just finished our brekky here the next morning when we were surprised with breads, jams, coffee and hot chocolates :) Fynn got his chubby cheeks squeezed and a big kiss on our departure.

liqours - grappa and limoncello

From Mt Etna in Sicily .... to Mt Vesuvius, on mainlain Italy

POMPEII

a whole city marvellously preserved since Mt Vesuvius errupted 2000 years ago. The town itself existed 1000 years before this event.

scene of sacrifice of a bull

Look closely - one of the people 'frozen' in time. From the spaces found in the ashes they have been able to recreate the people at the moment of Mt Vesuvius's erruption by filling the spaces with a liquid which then hardens.

modern day statues ;)

Old grinding mills. Donkeys were used to rotate these to grind the wheat for making bread.

Horse carriage marks left in the old stones

bench where hot food would be served

THE oldest amphitheatre known to mankind anywhere, dating from 70 BC.

Ciao Italy! ...

Next stop MONTENEGRO !

Hello again everyone,

Since signing off last time we have had a well earned 4 days at a beach on the southern coast of Sardinia at a camping with "the works". Unabashedly bumming around and not playing the tourist. The life of a nomad can be wearisome! In total, 29 campings in the last 6 weeks. I can hear you all commiserating and sighing a collective 'ohhhhhhh'. But you'll be glad to know we managed to recharge ourselves over those days with the help of a beach at our doorstep which kept the kids busy, internet, cafe, restaurant and the best showers to date. Although with today, being around 40 degrees, we are all fine with a cold shower! By the way, we keep an online map updated with every camp site, special camper park or other place we have stayed overnight during our trip. Check it out here (the red stars are the places we have stayed overnight).

Summer has well and truly arrived and with it almost the rush of peak season as the summer break is almost on us. Regardless of that however, it is now Friday night and it is bound to be chockers at every campsite as every Italian and his dog heads off in their own campervan for the weekend. A few nights ago we arrived at 6.30pm on a Sunday night at a campsite and had to wait an hour for a place. It was FULL! It wasn't until 11.45pm until the last Italian campervan left the campsite! That is certainly getting the most out of your weekend.

Departing from Cagliari in Sardinia by boat we again missed spending some time in the port we either departed or arrived in. So we rectified this with a justified stay in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. After a 10 hour overnight boat trip to Palermo we immediately took to the task of finding a 'Camper Contact'. These are basically car parks with water and toilet services for campers, rampant throughout Italy due to their own passion for campervan travelling

Good Morning Palermo, SICILY!

Plenty were leaving as we were arriving in Palermo. Everything but the kitchen sink

PALERMO, one particularly quiet street early Saturday morning not representing the general chaos at all!

Negotiating the narrow roads of a large town was harrowing to say the least at 7.30am on a Saturday morning. On top of that our GPS was sending us on a goose chase. Finally we found a car park just several km's out of town. We had a hunch, from the look of our surroundings, which was confirmed by the owner who warned us of Romanians and robberies. Our camper was however safe for the night he promised as he himself slept there with his wife in their own camper.

Saturday morning and bingo, markets on our doorstep! We exited the campsite into the swirl of people and purchased dinner and fruit and veggies. The swordfish was tempting!

Looooong zuchini

look closely, a swordfish, sword and all! A Sicilian delicacy.

mussels

just 3 euros, who could resist?

Someone passionate decided to rename this street: Bicycle Street

We spent our afternoon siesta at some gardens in Palermo

We then saw the town by bus while fighting off the numerous offers to travel by horse and carriage

The sights of Palermo :

Our 'catch' from the market for dinner :)

The 'scenic' Camper Contact park 2km from centre of Palermo.

post haircut Italian style.

The hilltop town of Monreal, a stone's throw from Palermo. We arrived during the Monreal Marathon!

nuts ...

Noah's Ark

mosaics from the cathedral

Adam and Eve

was impressive to arrive on a Sunday morning during a sermon. Less impressive arriving with 3 kids who had just received balloons filled with rice on a rubber band to bounce around.

view from Monreal

? THE best gelato to date ?

Garlic, the staple

An aquatic park spotted from a distance which couldn't be resisted on a hot day. But how cruel to arrive during 'siesta' - enforced at the fun park!! No swimming for an hour :(