{"id":1901,"date":"2013-05-24T17:17:21","date_gmt":"2013-05-24T16:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=1901"},"modified":"2026-05-25T06:47:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T05:47:00","slug":"frustrations-with-this-and-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2013\/05\/24\/frustrations-with-this-and-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Frustrations With This And That"},"content":{"rendered":"

On day one of week seven there was a great plan in place:<\/p>\n

Get up to date on computer stuff, \u00a0read books and The Daily Telegraph magazine, swim in the pool for some exercise, cycle in to Antibes late afternoon for a final mooch around and a dinner somewhere nice.\u00a0 That plan never happened.<\/p>\n

Day one of week seven actually went like this:<\/p>\n

Got up late and spent hours and hours on the computer, didn\u2019t get much reading done, finally walked over to the pool at 3pm, spread my towel out on a sunbed, just as a massive black cloud came over.\u00a0 The pool water was heated but not very warm, so I packed up my towel after only 10 minutes as the temperatures plummeted and got back to the campervan just as the thunder began to roll.\u00a0 Chairs and table, cushions and tablecloth were all grabbed and chucked inside before they got wet.\u00a0 We sat inside for an hour or so and decided that this was not a passing shower.\u00a0 There was not going to be a nice cycle ride in to Antibes for dinner, so I threw a frozen lasagne in the oven and we spent the whole evening feeling grumpy indoors.\u00a0 If only we had gone for lunch in Antibes, we could have had a nice time earlier and then shut ourselves in when the rain came over.\u00a0 The forecast had been for a ‘perfectly sunny day with no chance of rain’, dang!\u00a0 At this point I would type some swear words but I want to keep this blog clean\u2026.<\/p>\n

Thursday would be a better day, so we fixed our cheery smiles on our faces and checked out of the campsite.\u00a0 Today would be a major \u2018treasure hunt\u2019, there were things we had to obtain before even thinking about where we would end up, at the end of the day.\u00a0 We needed to get diesel and LPG for Eileen, a bank for some cash, a post office before the border, a supermarket for a lot of food (supplies were running very low) and we needed somewhere that would sell us a 50cm square red and white reflective aluminium warning panel to hang on our bikes.\u00a0 We had just discovered, the night before, that we couldn\u2019t drive without one in Italy, if we wanted to carry our bikes on the rear bike carrier.\u00a0 So we set off fairly early knowing that each one of these requirements could turn out to be a drama in France.<\/p>\n

We set off south along the coast and found a petrol station selling both diesel and LGP; a good start.\u00a0 Only problem here was that the nozzle didn\u2019t reach round Eileen to fill the LPG tank, so Rodney had to manoeuvre around in the driveway, avoiding cars that were trying to go in the opposite direction, to park the other way around and fill her up.\u00a0 At Villeneuve Loubet we found a hardware store and the lads there tried to be super helpful by advising us to buy a piece of aluminium that was too big and a few rolls of reflective red and white tape.\u00a0 They couldn\u2019t cut the aluminium to 50cm square and neither could we, so we thought we would compromise with a piece of perspex in the right size and stick the tape on it; fingers crossed the Italian police might not notice that it isn\u2019t aluminium.\u00a0 After sitting in the car-park a while and working out how much tape would cover the perspex, Rodney went back in to buy another roll of tape.\u00a0 \u20ac45 spent and we\u2019re not sure if it\u2019s even going to work.\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t work, we\u2019ll head back to France and go to Switzerland instead; we don\u2019t want to pay a \u20ac150 fine by not have an obligatory warning sign on the back.\u00a0 Next stop the supermarket, where we couldn\u2019t get any decent fruit, so hopefully we\u2019ll find a market soon, but at least they had a teller machine, so we managed to get some cash without searching for a bank.\u00a0 After stowing all the food and locking the fridge, we managed to squeeze both bikes inside between the two sofas and the fridge and hoped they wouldn\u2019t roll around too much, or damage the upholstery.\u00a0 We wanted to get on to the p\u00e9age, but still needed a post office, so with directions from a local tourist office, we found one, on a roundabout, so with a bit of dangerous parking, the last job was completed.<\/p>\n

We hit the p\u00e9age and started clocking up the toll fees.\u00a0 \u00a0With English translations and clear signage, we pumped the cash in at each toll booth and then pulled off at a viewpoint above Monaco. \u00a0As we stepped out on to the pavement we could hear the sound of the Formula 1 cars driving the roads below on practice day and through a gap in the buildings, we could see the cars zipping past the stands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Monaco
Monaco from above<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The view over Beausoleil and Cap Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It seemed like a lovely spot for lunch with views out the other side looking down on Beausoleil and Cap Martin.\u00a0 From there we got back on to the p\u00e9age and drove further along the coast.\u00a0 As we drove in to the Tunnel de la Giraude, we fare-welled France and when we came out of the other end of the tunnel, we were in Italy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Au
Au revoir France<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here comes the next drama.\u00a0 The first Italian toll booth was completely blank, no instructions, nothing with arrows pointing this way or that, no illuminations and no human being to talk to. \u00a0I leaned right out of the window to see if I could make out anything to help tell me where to put the cash, the truck driver behind beeped his horn, Rodney started shouting to hurry up, but I was totally flummoxed and starting to lose my cool.\u00a0 So I pressed the big red button that had \u2018Emergence\u2019 written above it, the only thing with any instruction, and a small cardboard ticket came out.\u00a0 No cash required, yet\u2026\u2026welcome to Italy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Viaducts
Viaducts and tunnels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The road along this section was an amazing continual flow of viaduct to tunnel, viaduct to tunnel and on it went; we hardly drove a section of road that wasn\u2019t over a viaduct or in a tunnel.\u00a0 When we left the autostrada, I managed to work out how to pay the next \u20ac11.30 bill and we drove along the scenic coast road from Andora, through Laigueglia, Alassio and Vigo.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"On
On the coast road towards Laigueglia and Alassio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We had sussed out a campsite that looked ok and then managed to drive straight past it on a sharp bend.\u00a0 We drove in to Albenga, twice, trying to find the same route back south; it looks like a nice town, even if it is hard to access its campsite.\u00a0 Finally, we entered the gates at 3:20pm to find they don\u2019t open until 3:30pm; looks like lunch \u2018hours\u2019 are even longer in Italy.\u00a0 So we sat by the front gate and waited until 3:30pm to check in.\u00a0 The campsite manager parked us right next to fields of cultivated flowers and greenhouses.\u00a0 He told us that flowers from here are sold all over the world, including Holland.\u00a0 The area also grows a special purple asparagus that is sent to the Queen of England.\u00a0 He says it\u2019s delicious, so we\u2019ll have to try and buy some tomorrow.\u00a0 After he left us, we couldn\u2019t get the electricity connection to work, but when we got him back and moved cables around, we managed to get it going, phew.\u00a0 Finally, having purchased some internet time from Mr Campsite, we discovered that we have to go over to the caf\u00e9 to get it to work.\u00a0 This has to be the last of the day\u2019s dramas\u2026.please!!!\u00a0 After dinner we may go over to the caf\u00e9 and see if we can find him for a chat; he\u2019s already informed us of lots of interesting things, including the news that Italian politics are currently ‘a comedy’.\u00a0 Oh hang on; I\u2019ve left the Italian phrase book in Sydney\u2026\u2026\u00a0 We\u2019ll try fixing our cheery smiles on our faces again tomorrow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Last
Last view of Monaco at lunchtime<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

My first introduction to Italian campsite showers was not good.\u00a0 You can only have a warm shower here if you put 50c in a slot machine outside by the door, and then there is no indication of how long the warm water will last.\u00a0 I slipped 50c in to the slot, pressed the button and watched a lot of cold water flow down the drain.\u00a0 After leaning over and washing my face in the cold water, some lukewarm water started to come through.\u00a0 One minute later and with me covered in soap, my 50c ran out.\u00a0 I slipped in another coin and \u2018enjoyed\u2019 a full 3 minutes of warm water.\u00a0 It’s really not a good way to start a chilly day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We cycled in to Albenga with a map in hand which was kindly marked with an \u2018X\u2019 by Mr Campsite.\u00a0 We found our way to \u2018X\u2019, Rodney popped in to the shop and came out the proud owner of a \u20ac43.80 genuine 50cm square red and white reflective aluminium warning panel to hang on our bikes.\u00a0 Thank goodness we can now put the bikes back on the rack and move around inside Eileen.\u00a0 Being always well prepared, I had brought along a large beach bag to carry it in and Rodney somehow managed to cycle around town with it swinging on his handlebars.\u00a0 Next stop was a Vodafone shop, where we managed to use my mobile phone to translate the need to purchase a sim card for internet access in Italy.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t test it in the shop because it takes 2 hours for them to set-up in their system; more news on that later\u2026..<\/p>\n

\"Albenga\"
Albenga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After the success with the purchase of the aluminium panel and a sim card, we treated ourselves to buying a couple of fruit tarts for afternoon tea and a small pane for lunch; no more pain, we\u2019re no longer in France.\u00a0 We wandered around inside the old walled section of Albenga; most of the Roman remains have long gone, but there are a number of tall square mediaeval towers in the centre, one of which has a lot of greenery growing out of the side; not sure how much longer that one will be standing, but the Gothic cathedral also has a very tall tower which is lovely. Everything was starting to close for lunch, and I mean everything: the churches, the museums, the shops, the lot, so with little reason to hang around and too cold to be laying on a beach, we cycled back to the campsite.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Piazza
Piazza San Michele, Albenga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After lunch, we walked over to the caf\u00e9 to use the campsite internet, to set up the sim we had just bought from Vodafone.\u00a0 Andy, in England, had very kindly given us pages of instructions, but we were still prepared to be unable to make it work and to be heading back to the Vodafone shop the next day.\u00a0 After a few false starts, we did it! \u00a0We got it working!\u00a0 Major thanks are on route to you, Andy.\u00a0 Now we have a sim card and 5gb of wi-fi in Italy for \u20ac25 and that’s a lot cheaper than in France, where it cost us \u20ac25 for 2gb this year.\u00a0 Tonight we might celebrate with a real Italian pizza at the campsite, before we move on further south tomorrow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Chiesa
Chiesa di Santa Maria in Fontibus, Albenga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On day one of week seven there was a great plan in place: Get up to date on computer stuff, \u00a0read books and The Daily Telegraph magazine, swim in the pool for some exercise, cycle in to Antibes late afternoon for a final mooch around and a dinner somewhere nice.\u00a0 That plan never happened. Day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8401,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901\/revisions\/8401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}