Italy 2 - Still Lake Como, But With Other Bits Added

And once again, hello from Lake Como. Yes, we are still here in the small village of Sorico at the La Riva campsite. We have found it so relaxing we added a night to our stay; the campsite has seen so many touring vehicles leave in the last 24 hours, so it is quieter and a lovely location, and that is why we have stayed another night.

I messaged my sister back in Scotland last night, and I told her I had never felt so relaxed, and that is irrespective of how many times I have been bitten on this holiday. For some reason the bugs, mossies, or whatever they are usually leave me alone and just go for the co-pilot instead, but not this time. I think they are making up for the previous holidays when they left me alone!

I mentioned the lack of laybys in a previous post when we were in France, but I must mention another absence, one that is very refreshing compared to the UK. And that is the lack of rubbish along the roads, any roads, any country. Sure, you will see bits here and there. But compared to the UK, the difference in France and Italy, like the potholes, is massive. Maybe it’s because people are brought up better; maybe it’s because they have more respect for their country and countryside. Who knows? Maybe it’s both. But, UK, learn a lesson, and in just over five weeks, I have not seen one instance of fly-tipping!

I am still using the translation app, even here in Italy. Locals see I struggle and are quite happy to talk English if they can to help out; if not, they join in talking into the phone for the app to translate. It's all good fun and friendly, but what I don’t understand is people who walk in somewhere and just start speaking English, expecting the other person to be able to communicate. If it were me and being the cynical type, I would just pretend I couldn’t speak English, except to say they were in France or Italy, and see what they did then? If we are in their country, we should at least make an effort to communicate in their language. I think many Brits just expect people to speak our language, which in this industry, many do, and that is fortunate for those who won’t or can’t even try!

And I am now going onto a subject I have covered previously, and that is toilets. But before we go any further, I do not have a thing about toilets. I am merely trying to pass on information to help others – honest!

Many may just assume they are the same throughout Europe, but as we know from France, that isn’t the case, and it’s not the same in Italy either. Let’s start with flushing; it may be obvious when you first go and have a look around, but how many people expect a foot pedal to flush?

And talking foot pedals, how many would expect to use them to get water at the sink? All obvious for cold and hot with blue and red, but the first time I went to a sink, I didn’t see them and assumed the tap was motion-sensitive as we see more and more of in the UK these days, especially at motorway services! It wasn’t obvious until I stood back scratching my head wondering what I was doing wrong that I saw another guy come in, stand beside me, and start using them!

And how about the showers? I can’t help thinking that the site we are on is a touch expensive and we are paying for its location, and that’s fine, as it is very nice. The main area can get very crowded with vehicles, but we are off to the side in a dog-leg location off that main area, and I believe we have struck lucky, as after the weekend it has become even quieter than it was!

Anyway, with it being expensive, it was a bit frustrating to be asked for even the €1 for a shower, and with our extra night, it did mean another €8, which won’t break the bank, but I don’t think it’s a charge we should have to pay with the cost of staying being high enough!

I was told you get 4 minutes of water, so assume that means you can turn it off and on as you want, but I haven’t tried; 4 minutes in one go is enough for me to get a good wash all over!

I have to admit though, on my first visit, I went in and got myself ready, switched on the tap in front of me, and the water was cold, and it stayed cold. I never have and never will take cold showers, unless of course there is no option, and it looked like that might be the case until I noticed the black button behind me, and by pushing it the water got slightly warmer.

Then it clicked: turn off the tap in front of me, which was the cold one, and press the black button, which was the hot water. Both taps together mixed hot and cold. Now I will be honest and say that was a quick shower, as I only had about a minute left by the time I had sussed it out and got the desired temperature, but I was happy enough, as I was clean enough by the time I came out!

At least I didn’t have to wear a swimming cap as everyone must do in the swimming pool, and there was another €3 for the co-pilot's swimming cap, but she enjoyed the dip as she had the pool to herself this morning, and she is worth it – honest!

Last but not least, the outdoor urinals, admittedly on the gents' side, but they are still there for everyone to see

And finally, in this post, back to what we are doing wrong? Maybe attention to detail, as in my last post; it's pretty obvious, really. Getting it wrong in Chamonix, as I mentioned, and maybe Annecy too. Looking back, I would have stayed an extra night in Annecy to cycle around the lake, especially after my bike hire experience here in Italy, which I enjoyed!

But on that note, we also need to shop around a bit more. I paid €40 for a day’s hire for the e-bike, which I thought was a reasonable rate, maybe a touch expensive, but then I remembered the area, and the number was taken off a poster on a door in a bar in town. I hope it wasn’t the two pints that got to me, but I did a deal for the bike, and it wasn’t until after my cycle that I realised I could have gotten one from the campsite for half the price. Frustrating, but unlike the Mont Blanc tunnel or the toll road,to not overly expensive!

But we are learning as we start week six, and a reason for writing these posts. As with anything I write, if it helps one person, it was worth writing!

So should you plan or shouldn’t you. I believe you need to have a route that you specifically want to take, or a rough idea, you need a few apps for maps and campsites. Aires or stopovers, maybe a road atlas, and a list of the specific things or places, if any that you want to see or visit.

We have done quite a bit of planning and gotten it wrong, we have winged it and it’s worked out just fine so I say ‘mix and match.’ For instance we planned the first two weeks around the north and west and to take in the Normandy beaches, and we planned down into the Loire Valley, to be on a campsite for a public holiday, and since then we have looked at the map, looked where the road takes us and used the apps to find a campsite or Aire, depending on how many hours I feel like driving.

We have done these last few weeks knowing we were coming to Lake Como, and ‘winging it’ along the way has generally worked for us. A couple of times when we were planning to find a parking area or Aire, we had to give in and go to a campsite, which was mainly for safety reasons, but we’re here and chilling out and we have planned our next stop as we are starting to head north and ultimately home over the next two weeks or so. The site is in the town of Chur in Switzerland about a 2.5-hour drive away. My app tells me no tolls are required so we will see how it goes!

Thanks for reading

DJ