Unfortunately the GPS Tracker we have fitted has failed.
However you can keep up to date of our progress on Facebook link above.
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Day 24 – Saturday 25th May 2013
The last day of our incredible journey and today is the most beautiful weather we could wish for! After another leisurely breakfast, we went with Geoff and Carole’s daughter, Emma, and Carole, in search of doggie supplies as Emma is getting a new Cockerpoo puppy in a couple of weeks time. We went to a local garden centre with a pet department, and also a Pets At Home store, and got Emma pretty much sorted with what she needs for when Barney arrives! We headed off from Geoff and Carole’s after saying our goodbyes and thank-yous, and arrived in Liverpool to absolute chaos as they have a festival on for commemorating the war of the Atlantic with a number of visiting ships, aircraft and helicopter display stands, etc. With the beautiful weather, the crowds were just crazy, coupled with a number of closed roads, made actually getting to the check-in area for the IOM Steam Packet something of a challenge as the main attractions seemed to be in and around the check-in loading area – interesting! Coupled with the fact that the place became swarming with motorbikes due to the TT traffic, you can imagine the chaos! On the plus side, as we were there very early (ie, 4+ hours early!), we were first in the queue with the swarms of people filing past, and the Mini got continual glances, comments, people taking photographs, etc, which was good exposure for our supporters’ adverts! Ian was in his element, talking to various total strangers about the Mini and our Italian Job adventures! We eventually boarded a very busy boat, found our seats, and had an extremely calm and pleasant evening’s sail over the Irish Sea to home.
Day 23 – Friday 24th May 2013
After a leisurely breakfast and meeting Geoff and Carole’s son, daughter-in-law and delightful grandaughter, we went to Roydon Park to meet up with our very dear friend, Eileen and went for a walk with Eileen and her two gorgeous golden retrievers Cosmo and Sparticus. We then went to see our Mini friend and one of our IJ supporters, Bill Bell, and after that and a potter around a few of the shops, returned to Geoff and Carole’s for a lovely dinner. As it is the start of TT fortnight on the Isle of Man, all of the boats are fully booked and we are unable to change our sailing to any earlier, but it’s good to have the opportunity to catch up with some old friends while we’re here.
Day 22 – Thursday 23rd May 2013
We were up at 5.30am this morning for a quick breakfast then off for our last relatively short journey of 177km to Calais for our 10.15am sailing to Dover. The weather was extremely mixed along the way, ranging from hail to bright sunshine! Approx 10 minutes from Calais, in a particularly heavy rain downpour, the Mini started spluttering a bit after getting spray from the lorry in front of us into the electrics. We managed to get to Calais in plenty of time with only a few splutters and, after a quick spray of WD40, she was happy enough. We had a very pleasant crossing and set off for our journey to the Wirral. The Satnav took us the opposite way, clockwise, around the M25 going south of London, which we later found had been very fortunate as there’d been major road closures and hold-ups on the north side and M1 which we would have otherwise taken. After a quick change of plugs at a services on the M25, the Mini was much more ‘on song’ and, after that, she flew like a bird the rest of the journey, arriving late afternoon at Geoff and Carole’s home on the Wirral where, after a Chinese take-out and seeing Geoff and Carole’s daughter, Emma, us weiry travellers crashed for some much needed kip!
Day 21 – Wednesday 22nd May 2013
We were up bright and early this morning at 6.30am for our long 660km journey today to St Quentin. After breakfast at 7.30am, we were off on the road and, after fuel for Geoff and Carole in Annecy, we were on the motorway and away. The weather was very mixed along the way and at times was very wet and sometimes low visibility with low clouds, but it dried up as the day progressed. We stopped for fuel mid-morning and again, with a quick bite to eat and much-needed leg stretch for poor long-legged Ian, at lunch time. After a final quick re-fuel stop and leg stretch mid-afternoon, we arrived in St Quentin late afternoon and found our hotel no problem and settled in. We then went for a walk around this town, down to the river and for a bite to eat, then back to our hotel for an early night for us weiry travellers after our long day and ready for our very early start tomorrow for the last hop to Calais (177km), for our ferry leaving at 10.15am. For the last time for this trip, Bon nuit!
Day 20 – Tuesday 21st May 2013
Day 2 of our scheduled days in Annecy en route home. After breakfast, Ian and Geoff set about replacing the clutch master cylinder in Geoff and Carole’s Mini in the underground car park of the hotel. This went without a hitch and was done in about 1.5 hours, however, after noticing that the engine was rather wobbly, it was discovered a nut from one of the engine stabiliser brackets mountings appeared to have fallen off, hardly surprising with some of the desperate roads these poor Minis have had to endure. Geoff and Carole then went in search of a replacement nut and/or nut and bolt, whilst we went for quite a long walk around various parts of Annecy. Once back, replacement nut and bolt were fitted then, as it was raining, we ate in a nearby Italian restaurant in the cinema next door and returned to pack for our rather long journey tomorrow of 660km (about 450ish miles) for our final night’s stay on the continent in St Quentin, north of Reims.
Day 19 – Monday 20th May 2013
The first of our two days in Annecy. We decided we’d like to drive around the perimeter of the lake, but Geoff and Carole decided to stay in Annecy as they’re clutch is dodgy until the replacement hopefully arrives this evening with Roger and Yvonne Hunt from the IMM. We set off circumnavigating the lake in an anti-clockwise direction and, after finding fuel, continued down the west side leaving Annecy at the top of the lake. It is extremely beautiful, with high mountain ledges to the east of it, from which many parachuters jump and land on the opposite side of the lake in a nearby flat area. We stopped for a while and watched a number of them coming in to land, then continued around the southern tip of the lake and up the east side. Once back at the hotel, we parked up and went for a walk around Annecy, arriving at the lakeside which was very busy as it was a bank holiday and a lovely sunny day and there appeared to be lots going on. We decided to go for a 40 mins boat ride around the north half of the lake which was lovely and also rather refreshing! Later on, we walked to Roger and Yvonne’s hotel at the Best Western and got the required parts, and the six of us then went into the old town for a bite to eat at a pleasant restaurant. The other travelling members of Roger and Yvonne’s party were quite far behind them as Bill Handley was towing a trailer that experienced a few problems en route, but we caught up with them back at the hotel later on shortly after they arrived at about 9.45pm. We popped round the corner to a local Indian restaurant and got them some take-out food as they hadn’t eaten all day with their various traumas, the fun of it all, hey!
Day 18 – Sunday 19th May 2013
The weather was much improved this morning for the continuation of our jaunt further north, although still quite a fresh breeze and relatively chilly. After a pleasant breakfast and saying goodbye to our host family, who were very pleasant and had two lovely children, and taking photographs of the surrounding views from their property which overlooks Ovada, we set off. The motorways were beautifully quiet on this sunny Sunday morning, we made excellent progress and the plan was to go ‘over the top’ of the Alps rather than tackle the very long Frejus tunnel. When we reached the point for opting for the ‘over the top’ route, we found that the road appeared to be closed due to snow, so we took the Grand Saint Bernard tunnel, only about 5km long, and immediately before the entrance to that, we crossed the border into Switzerland. We also had to stop just prior to the tunnel as Geoff and Carole’s clutch started giving further problems, and after stopping to top up fluids, we continued for a short while, stopping just after the tunnel for a drink and bite to eat, during which we made a number of phone calls and enquiries to see what options were available to obtain a replacement clutch master cylinder. We eventually found the best course of action, after speaking with various fellow Jobbers, etc, was that Roger and Yvonne Hunt are still in the region of the IMM, and can hopefully obtain a replacement master cylinder, and associated ancillary parts required to replace same, from the IMM show, and their destination for tomorrow (Monday) is where we are heading today (Annecy), we are proposing to be there for 2 days, departing on Wednesday morning, so hopefully there will be time to fit a replacement on Tuesday 🙂
We continued our journey north in very mixed weather, circumnavigating Lake Lausanne, which was huge and lovely. After crossing the border into France, we arrived at Annecy, eventually found our hotel and settled in. We then went for a pleasant walk down to the river and old town and ate at a very pleasant restaurant.
Day 17 – Saturday 18th May 2013
Woke up bright and early and got cracking as we’re off today for the start of our long haul back north, homeward bound. After breakfast, we did a couple of photoshoots of the Minis in front of the hotel, then we were off. Good weather to start with, we decided en route that, as we were skirting around the outskirts of Pisa, it would be worthwhile doing a brief deviation to take in the sight of the Leaning Tower. We found this without any probllem, although as with so many of the touist attractions we found in Rome, the place was swarming with people on the streets trying to sell various items, we were hassled by some as soon as we arrived trying to direct us where to park, etc. We therefore decided that it was not a good idea to leave the Minis unattended in their ‘care’, so we just took a very brief look in turns, took a couple of photos, and left!
The weather considerably deteriorated in the afternoon, so that by the time we arrived at our destination of Ovada, just north of Genova, it was throwing it down. Our accommodation for this evening was a B&B in a farmhouse setting, remote would be something of an under-statement, we were directed by the Satnav up a dirt-track green lane where we were thinking it couldn’t possibly be right. We continued onto a private track with a barrier where we were eventually directed by a local even further up the track until, hey presto!, we found our destination, which looked very pleasant. After checking in with the very pleasant owner there, we ventured into the centre of Ovada, where we eventually found, in the torrentially pouring rain, a very pleasant Pizzeria and had some yummie pizzas. Following the Satnavs, we then managed to get totally lost, we believe it took us to what was presumably the other end of said greenlane, again through somebody’s private residence with ‘beware of the dog’ signs! The green lane from this end looked pretty impassable for the Minis, that had been bottoming out on the other way in earlier on, so we turned around, getting quite stressed by this time! After remembering (eventually!), in our stress, to drive on the correct side of the road (always helps!!), we eventually managed to negotate our way to the ‘correct’ end of the lane and eventually found our way back to our accommodation, another eventful day drawing to a close!
Day 16 – Friday 17th May 2013
After another leisurely start and breakfast, we got the 11am hotel shuttle bus into Rome, again being dropped off close to the Vatican. We then walked to the nearest pick-up point for the open top city tour bus ride and got tickets for this which was quite amusing as rival bus companies were heckling people stood in their rival’s queues telling them how they were being wripped off, they were cheaper, they didn’t lie about their tours, etc, etc. We travelled around on the bus seeing various places and then got off close to the Colosseum where we walked around for a while, then we continued on foot past some other nearby places of interest, street traders and the most amazingly talented street artist painting brilliant pictures using only aerosol paint tins, ending up in a local market where we stopped for a drink after having a look around the market. We continued and got to the pick-up place for the hotel shuttle bus, and returned to the hotel to start our packing for leaving tomorrow morning for the start of our journey north to return home. Ian gave the Mini a much-needed and much-deserved wash, we then ate quite early in the hotel restaurant, and then got a taxi from the hotel back into Rome centre where we found the cars gathered that were taking part in the Mille Miglia event and, boy, what posh cars they were. Firstly there was the modern Ferraris, etc, very posh, very impressive and very noisy! After a bit of a wait, there were the classic old cars and again, very impressive and well worth the wait, the atmosphere is Rome was incredible and it was a lovely evening, the city looks so different in the dark, awesome! We eventually managed to hail a cab and returned to the hotel for a nightcap and then a welcome bed once again.
Day 15 – Thursday 16th May 2013
The first day of the last third of our adventure, following the end of the Italian Job event last night. We said our goodbyes to everyone as they left after breakfast, although some had made a very early start to make good progress up through Europe to get back home asap. A few others are going to the International Mini Meet that this year is being held at Mugello Race Circuit, where we were a few days ago, however, we have opted to stay for an extra two days in Rome to take in more of what Rome has to offer, and also to re-charge our batteries for a couple of days after the fun and games of the Italian Job and some of its rather early starts. After a leisurely breakfast, we took the hotel shuttle bus into Rome, which dropped us off nearby the Vatican. We walked from there into the shopping area, with Ian, AKA our tour guide, navigating brilliantly with the help of his phone! We did a few bits of shopping, and then found a McDonalds, so called in there for a drink and quick snack, not Ian’s favourite place in the World, wherever in the World he may be, but we all survived! A big plus was it was comfortable in there, whereas the weather was wet, overcast and decidedly humid at times. Afterwards, we continued walking and found the Trevi Fountain, and then continued to the Spanish Steps, then after finding out details about the open top city tour buses that we are planning to go on tomorrow, we hailed a taxi back to the hotel. Our taxi driver was a typical driver for Rome, late braking doesn’t even start to describe it, but we eventually arrived back just about still in one piece, even if our life expectancies may have been shortened by a heart attack or two along the way! After a couple of hours of R&R and then eating in the hotel bar, we crashed out after another tiring day!
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