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The dogs and I have had a quiet day today. I had to breakdown and put on the air conditioner last night and part of the day today so far. It’s been partly to mostly cloudy for the early part of the day but the sun is now out and it’s gotten hot.

When I said before that it was “sort of a marina” I certainly didn’t know what I was talking about! I took the dogs for a longer walk around the riverfront and it’s a HUGE marina. The riverfront feeds into the Ligurian Sea. I had no idea! There was even one of those super-yachts moored there. Gorgeous boats. It’s just a shame I can’t hook up with some handsome, single Italian captain!😜

I’ve made a reservation at the posh-y restaurant for dinner tonight. Can’t wait to see what that’s like and what’s on the menu. More to follow on that…

Ok, so had dinner at the restaurant but honestly, was not impressed. As a woman dining alone I’m used to being somewhat overlooked but this time I was not even asked if I wanted to sit on the terrace or inside. I was shown to a table set for one off in a corner. Although I did receive my drink and food after a fashion, I was completely ignored for the rest of the meal and the food wasn’t great except for my appetizer (about 8 HUGE grilled shrimp). I asked for a coffee after my meal which I never received. It went so far that I had to go to the bartender to ask for my check after waiting, sitting at a table that had not even been cleared of dirty dishes, in order to pay the bill. Needless to say, I won’t go again. Very disappointed.

We’ve arrived at our next stop which is in Sarzana, just outside La Spezia. It was a really tiring drive up and down the mountains again, but along the coast this time. I had a glimpse of some beautiful views here and there (remember the car ride in Monaco along the sea with its twists and turns in the movie To Catch a Thief?) It was exactly like that only with lots of tunnels thrown in. Unfortunately, all the lay-bys were occupied by semi trailers so no stopping for photos. My fabulous Transition glasses unfortunately don’t adjust as quickly from light to dark as I could’ve hoped for. Going from bright sunlight into one of these not-so-well-lit tunnels I found myself completely blind for the first 5-6 seconds. Scared the crap out of me! I’ve learned to take them off before entering. Better that my vision is a little blurry than non-existent for a few seconds.

I didn’t realize that this area is really close to the Cinque Terre which is where all the tourist go. There is a bus to the beach and then I think you can get a bus to walk along this stretch of coastline. It’s supposed to be magnificent. We’re here for several days so I might try to go.

it was warm earlier. Some of the readings I saw were only 26-29 degrees Celsius because it was overcast but it has cooled off quite a bit now. I don’t mind saying I prayed it wouldn’t rain while I was driving up and down those mountains. I don’t think I could’ve handled it! This campsite is called Iron Gate Marina 3-B and it really is a marina of sorts. There are more boats on the other side of this river (the Magra) but there is a harbor here. There’s also a pool and a pretty fancy restaurant that you have to have a reservation to eat at. The campsite itself is all trees and grass with graveled areas marked as “streets”. We’re only one row back from the river but that’s okay with me because I suspect the mosquitoes will hit the folks in the first row before they get to us!

A view of the river and a tiny bit of the marina.

Apparently there is a food market that opens up near the restaurant at 8:30 in the morning and I need to do a bit of restocking. The dogs have already crashed and I’m about to do the same.

Today was laundry and cleaning day. At some point over the last few days all my plants, which had been in the bathroom, got tipped over. I’ve lost most of them except for my hearty chives and a spider plant. One piece of the Wandering Jew and a piece of the Pothos might make it but too soon to tell.

The refrigerator was stinky. I had a lot of stuff to throw away and it’s much better now. Of course, I have almost no fresh food left but maybe there’ll be a grocery store of some kind at the next stop.

We are literally across the street from the sea. I’ve walked the dogs down there a couple of times but unlike the Spanish beaches the ones here in Italy are quite rocky. Amazingly enough their version of a dog beach is only about 15 meters from where we exit the campground so it’s been good 🐕

Sorry, those of you in Spain, but the temperatures here have been lovely. Really warm but with a fantastic breeze off the sea. Haven’t had to use the air conditioner and hardly use the fans. I’m sure that’s going to change as we move further inland but I’m really enjoying it at the moment!

Tomorrow we set off for La Spezia, so still along the coast. We’re there for 5-6 days the head to Florence. I’m NOT looking forward to driving this monster over the Appinnes Mountains.

Please keep me in your thought and prayers if you have them that the van runs smoothly from here on out. Thanks! 🥰

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I wrote anything. The stay at La Botanic was fabulous. And that’s where the good times ended.

When I got up in the morning my cell service was no longer working. Therefore I had no GPS. I was eventually able to find a store that sold SIM cards and after a small investment we got back on the road. Of course this stop delayed everything by about an hour.

About an hour after this, while I was nearing Marseille, one of my tires blew as I was getting on an on ramp to one of the major roadways. I was able to very slowly back up enough so that I was not blocking anything and there I sat. Of corse it was a Saturday afternoon. I could not get in touch with Roadside Assistance. I didn’t know the local police number and it was getting hotter by the minute. After about 20 minutes a car stopped with 3 kids in it, one guy, 2 girls and they offered to help. One of the girls called the police while the young guy got under the van to get at the spare tire. It was then that we discovered I had no jack and no lug wrench to remove the bolts. The kids tried waving down cars to ask for the use of a jack but no go. Thirty minutes later another caravan pulled up and a guy got out asking what was the problem. Fortunately for me he spoke Spanish. He helped search the entire van but we never found a jack or wrench. He said he was on his way to pick up his girlfriend from the bus station but that after he collected her he’d be back. The kids in the other car took off and so did here. This all happened starting at around 2:30 pm. At roughly 3:15 before everyone had left an emergency response vehicle stopped, said “sorry, there was nothing he could do” and drove off.

Polly, Henry and I sat in the van (no one else ever stopped) until 9:00. It was dark by then and I thought we’d have to spend the night on the side of the road when my hero returned with his girlfriend. To make a long story short, they took us to a hotel and promised to come back in the morning. I locked up the van, certain that in the morning only a shell would left, and off we went. Well, it turns out to not be so easy to find an auto supply place open on a a Sunday. Eventually successful, the pair agreed to let me treat them to dinner. The restaurant we picked let me bring the dogs in but it would be almost an hour before the kitchen open. My new friends, Gonzalo (who is Portuguese) and Sadaf (who is Iranian), thought that was enough time for them to go, change the tire and bring the van to the restaurant. WRONG AGAIN. They cam back in a little over 2 hours with the news that my spare tire had a broken valve and wouldn’t hold air. Another night at the hotel. Monday Gonzalo found a tire place, bought a new tire, went back and put it on the van, brought the van to the hotel. It was mid afternoon and too late for me to get to the next campsite. Gonsalo was adamant that I could not leave Marseille until I had a spare tire. Another night in the hotel. Those two people were absolutely angels brought to help me.

Tuesday I found the tire place which was an hour in the opposite direction I was going in. I got there, had a long wait, bought another tire and finally left there after 4:00. It should have only taken 2 hours to get to the campsite but 1) the traffic was horrendous. There a lot of tolls through France and when we got to Nice lines of cars were backed up almost a kilometer on both sides of the toll booths. Then, 2) there were small (I think) forest fires everywhere. I had to drive through acrid smoke and for a long time all I heard were the sirens from emergency vehicles. At any rate, we crossed into Italy a little after 7:00 pm and reached the campsite in Sanremo around 8:00. Hallelujah and praise God!!

We’re not moving from here for the next three days. Right on the sea and a fabulous little restaurant on site. That’s it for me. Quite a saga, right??

This is a view of the town as we passed through – typically Italian!

I had written a huge blog page for today but before I could send it I somehow lost it so here we go again.

I have a lot of time to think when I’m driving. No radio distraction (just a voice in my ear telling me to get off at the next exit, etc) so except for times when Henry and Polly get restless and start to whine, I think. First of all the drivers are crazy, especially big trucks. They change lanes on a moment’s notice without an indicators. The (I assume here) old farts who will drive at 15 Kim below the speed limit in the left hand lane with trucks in the right lanes, going up a mountain while blocking traffic for a km. or more because everyone else has to slow down too! It’s enough to make you crazy (er). I also am having issues with the new GPS I bought specifically for this trip. The damn thing can’t seem to find any destination I ask for, and, if I don’t remember to turn it off, it somehow know what my speed is and is incessantly telling me “you’re over the speed limit, you’re over the speed limit” even when I am definitely under the speed limit. It drives me nuts and I find myself saying really mean things to it and cursing at it. I really do have to remind myself that the little fucker is really not a person.

Anyway, we left out last campsite in Spain (Lloret Blau), which was totally forgettable, and crossed into France at 1:00 pm. Immediately after crossing into France I smelled nothing but manure for 10 minutes! It was great. Lots and lots of up and down mountains. We arrived at the new campsite called La Botanic and it is just like the name sounds. In the countryside, very pretty, everything surrounded by trees and meadows. I’m totally psyched because they have a dog park!! I took the dogs in there for awhile tonight but it was getting late. We’ll be back in there tomorrow for sure.

My pitch is great – it’s got huge rocks behind it! Nicely shaded, too. I went to Le Snack for dinner because reception told me they had a special tonight so I thought “what the hell” and got it for my dinner because when you’re in Rome….right? Well, dinner was a salted pancake/crepe, brown, filled with ham and cheese. I can’t say I’d ever order it again but it was filling.

Were only here for one more night then on to our next stop in France, Camping Le Beaux Veze outside Toulon. BTW, the 7 years of French I took in school apparently did not sink in because outside “please” and “thank you” I’ve got nothing.