Motorhome trip UK to Greece. Our third trip. Journey to Ancona ferry to Igoumenitsa

Motorhome trip 2023 from UK to Greece via the ferry from Ancona, in a Frankia I680 Holiday, bought in 2008 This stage is Chester to Ancona travelling through France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. We had 13 overnight stops. Canterbury, (Dover), Ypres, Dinant, Trier, Haguenau, Badbellingham, (Basel) Lake Sursee, Lake Lugana, Iseo, Chioggia, Revenns, Sa Marino, Pesaro and (Ancona).

[Music] oh well of course that’s all very well but first we had to get there and the distance from Chester to anona is 1,300 miles and we had 13 stops and we allowed 21 days to get there was a bit odd really cuz we weren’t quite sure whether this was a holiday or part of the journey so we always had that pressure and want to make sure we could get there in time we got to Greece we had 10 stops and really basically this is when our holiday started um first stop Fargo we had five days on our main stop was at Gooba where we had two weeks after 275 5 Mile Journey from Chester to Canterbury we had a brief stop and then in the morning we hopped over to DOA to catch the ferry bit of a gray day but there’s the famous Cliffs soon we were in Cal and we’re on our way to our first Continental stop Eeps stayed here many times whoa I don’t think we’ve had this before this is really unusual we’ve never had to book before in September and I think mainly it’s because since Co there has been so many Vans sold that it’s got so much busier in October even anyway there’s a road just by the air that we could park up here you couldn’t stay the night but it was great we just walked into EES to have a look around we’d found an air about a mile from the city center some trenches have been well preserved they may look nicely preserved now but they weren’t like this when my grandfather was there they were just full of water and when they were relieved from the particular part of Duty they were taken back to bit of RNR but my grandfather said they took their uniforms up and and H them because to kill all the ticks in their clothes and he used to say you can hear they tick tick tick and he said I give you you buggers one particular hurrying night he was with his best mate on guard and his mate turned to him and said hey up Lou you better move back these getting a bit close and as he stepped back there was a huge bang and when he woke up his friend couldn’t see his friend and he found him in the water submerged in the water with his head well half his head blown off it’s a testy really to the stupidity of human race and it’s very sobering area to visit for the devastation is still obvious today was just outside eats at a campus stop and this is just down the road and these are the north staff’s regiment which is the Regiment of my grandfather served in and lucky to survive really oh yeah the 1917 19 20 19s very young people can you imagine somebody today being killed at 19 for stupid War anette’s grandfather also served here and miring he survived too IA itself was absolutely decimated and the famous cloth Hall that dominates the city today was complet destroyed the buildings you see today were rebuilt after World War I to the original design anyway to continue our journey this is the air we found and you could cycle into EA or you could actually [Music] walk [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] after driving through the town we found this amazing spot completely free just about enough room for about four motor homes and from here it’s just a short walk into town we did our usual thing we walked into town had a coffee did some exploring and there’s lots to do here and has amazing history dinant is a city in Belgium’s wallow region it’s on the banks of the M River and backed by steep Cliffs perched on an outcrop above the town is a centuries Old 45 Citadel it’s now Museum and it’s got swooping views of the Town below sitting below it is the gothic colic church with its unique onion Dome and Lantern dinant was also the birthplace of Adolf sax the inventor of the saxophone beautiful as this spot is we didn’t stay here because it was so noisy motorbikes that were passing by really would have driven us mad in the night so we didn’t think we’d sleep we found another place about 2 miles away we looked it up on park for night and who would have thought that it was going to take us through this very isolated but beautiful countryside it leads to a tiny little village and who would have thought that in the middle of there it would be an air motor homes I mean there’s nothing there I it was very nice when we got there but it just makes you wonder it doesn’t happen in the UK does it it is beautiful countryside though isn’t it and as always as you travel through a village like this you never see anybody you just wonder where they are really there is a bus stop so obviously there is some activity in life um you know why is this Village here it’s just in the middle of nowhere anyway here we are at our uh Camp stop we were the only people there but it was very very quiet peaceful [Music] [Music] after leaving din this is where we stayed the night it was a very very quiet a comfortable spot you might wonder how we choose our spots they’re not all pre bought but basically we have a rough idea of rout we decide how much we’re going to travel each day and that will normally choose a place thinks of interesting and then I’ll go and look up park for night search for site and then choose a campsite the campsite is by the Melle and it is a 20 minute walk into town as you can see there’s lots to do such it’s a great place to [Music] visit I suppose the best thing to see in Tria is the famous Roman gate the pterra it’s all also known as the black gate it’s one of the best preserved Roman gates in the world and considered one of the best things to do in Tria the gate dates back to 170 ad St Peter’s cathedral in tier is the oldest church in Germany is thought to be commissioned by constant the great Roman Emperor from ad 306 to 337 and he the first emperor to convert to Christianity when it was built it was The grandest Ensemble of Church structures in the west outside of Rome of course it was allowed to go to ruin by the Franks but then rebuilt and then was destroyed Again by the Vikings in 882 these Vikings get everywhere look what they did to Britain today the cathedral is magnificent and a worthy visit try and join a walking tour you learn so much more this Roman Bridge goes back to 144 ad originally it was made of wood so that it could be set on fire in terms of War constructions started on the Roman bass in 300 ad however they were never completed and were made into a castle in the Middle Ages a visit to trier’s Amphitheater over some 1,700 years ago would push our senses to the Limit today the animal cages have gone and there were no more public executions of prisoners sentenced to death here the masses would come in their drov for it guaranteed a whole day of top entertainment visitors could enjoyed the theater performances and jungling acts Jer at the fights between BS and lions bears and Bs listen to the music which accompanied the dancers and of course the highlight of the afternoon would be when the Gladius came out to fight treer has a lot to offer it’s not just its history it’s a wonderful shopping area and as you can seeth there aren’t many boats in at the moment it is a major staging part for all the river cruises so now sadly it’s time to say goodbye to Tre and we’re off to hago we met two English couples there and we solve the mystery of what was in the Box they were Towing [Music] so we’re continuing our trip and the reason why I’ve lumped these uh stops together is because basically we wanted to get some miles under our belt now for those people who watched previous video or want to know what was in the trailer that of the English people were met on heno it was this now if you ever want to get attention get one of these these people had so much fun everybody wanted to stop them and find out what it was where they’d been where they were going our next stop was about Bellingham and we only chose this because Anette was having trouble with her teeth and she booked a dentist in the heart of Basil now that was a challenge in itself luckily bule isn’t in a low emission Zone but looking at the map I could see some of the streets look very narrow for our motor home so I was a bit concerned the sat up took us directly to the door and after I dropped to net off I found this wonderful spot right down by the river it was only about 15 minutes away whilst I was waiting for a net I walked into town and I could see straight away that basil was well worth a visit and one we must come back to unfortunately we had to crack on the last 5 days we’ve done one night stops it’s not something we normally do so now we’re really ready for a break and what an amazing campsite we found this is what we bumped into give you one more kiss I the [Music] sea me to it wasn’t all noise there was plenty of quiet places and wonderful walks around the lake we were very sorry to leave but our next stop was Lake lugana we’re now traveling through the main Italian lakes and I’ve highlighted those main ones we stayed at Lake lugana first as you can see they are truly remarkable and absolutely stunning and R beautiful a great place to [Music] it so we left Lake lugana and headed for Lake isio and this is another occasion where we found that the campsites on the edge of the lake by the town were all full so we had to go out of town to camping sassenbach and actually you look at it it had fabulous facilities unfortunately it was the end of the season and everything was closed before we got there we thought we’d have a quick look at one of these sites on the front and yes they are well worth moving to their restaurants and sites all Overlook the lake and they have great views when we got to Camp assassin B you can see that plenty of spaces um I don’t know why they choose some peculiar ones for us we had to go back can same C part they were too big and they didn’t they didn’t care really just par anywhere it’s an enormous site and you can see in the height of the summer this must be packed yeah they have a fantastic swiming pool lots of restaurants on the site and with a short walk you are right on the edge of Lake isio even so there was a lot going on got third day we’re on our way to choia and we chose this campsite because it’s very near Venice uh We’ve not been here before and you can get a water taxi straight into Venice we’re arriving at camping at drao and it was very busy and as you can see quite disciplined we had um an organized uh tour well the guy led us to our pitch just as well actually cuz it’s a very tight [Music] [Music] uh [Music] well I haven’t taken the bikes off for such a long time and it’s a bit funny really but you see that great big bulge down there that’s water that must have been collected while it’s been standing I had no idea it’s there been carrying that with us all the way through to Italy that was so heavy I couldn’t even lift it leaving that problem aside we were very happy with the campsite had a lovely restaurant we ate there twice and was excellent food so why should we choose chog here well obviously it’s very near Venice and you can get there by water taxi and by staying in choga you get the taste of Venice but in a much smaller way and you avoid all the masses of crowds that you get in Venice I think like most places like that it’s spoiled by its popularity it gets too crowded so choga has got a wonderful Beach um on one side and then you’ve got the old city on the other we have 10 km of beach here and on on the left are all these beach resorts which are cording off areas each one’s got his own restaurant and masses of masses of chairs and umbrellas and stuff it’s probably not advisable to come here in High season because it looks as if there’ be so many people from our campsite to the heart of chogo was 3.1 km and you’ve got to like walking orbit I suggest to use a bicycle it’s much easier to get in and you’ll see a lot more there are bicycle tracks everywhere and it’s very safe until you get into the old city of course shog is older than Venice and historically fishing was the main livelihood and it still remains a very important part of the city today the vgo bridge dates back to at least 1379 and it’s probably the most photographed monument in chogo Chio is beautiful in its own right and I let these few pictures speak for [Music] themselves [Music] this is the Hub of the old city the road is corser Del [Music] opolo it’s full of shops restaurants cafes museums churches Etc most famous inhabitant of course is a clock tower and it’s reputedly supposed to be the oldest working clock in the world although I understand there is a dispute with clock in Saints with Cathedral the building stands on remant from the Roman and Byzantine times and originally used as a watchtower [Music] the clock tower is used as the bell tower for the Church of St Andrea which is next door you certainly have some challenges when you come to leave these sites I mean I’ve got to get through that Gap somehow it’s not easy I couldn’t and uh reversed all the way on the other access to the junction where an Italian family put all their chairs and tables out and seemed quite reluctant to move it honestly some [Music] people our next stop was r and we chose this because well it was on our route and Annette had found that it was a very interesting place to visit from an Italian guide book that she has and boy were we in for a [Music] treat we found a great spot on par for night uh with only half an hours walk into the city center it had water and a gray water dump and then we came up again this honestly this was so complicated I could not get to understand how I could put in 24 hours for the night it was only until I saw the top that I sorted it out and I wasn’t the only one see where we parked right next to this machine and I must have helped eight people that night who still struggled just like I did R is a great City and if you’ve not been there should definitely put it on your list so very nice relaxed typical Mediterranean atmosphere but before we go and Sample the Delights we obviously have to have a coffee and an ice cream it’s very pleasant just even walking around but the real Delight are within these buildings what you come to see are these incredible mosaics and they date from the 6th Century around about 570 ad so the mosaics that we can appreciate and admire in Rana today are more than 1,400 years old the style of these mosaics is known as bantine these amazing mosaics where their vibrant colors are a major tourist attraction and they are spread across eight buildings these magnificent artworks are now part of the UNESCO so world heritage [Music] sites you walk into these what look like ordinary buildings and when you get inside you have a wow moment these are absolutely amazing and there’s so much for the brain to take in that you really I’m sure you could visit Riva over and over again and still not get all that it has to offer I don’t have enough knowledge uh to be able to explain these Mosaic and I suggest and this is what I would do if we came here again is definitely take uh a guide and I’m sure that enrich our experience but for now I’ll just let these mosaics speak for themselves [Music] aome [Music] h [Music] we didn’t have enough time to really explore Reena and it is a place we must come back to but anyway on to our next stop San Marino and that didn’t turn out quite as we [Music] expected [Music] see [Music] see [Music] [Music] [Music] singing [Music] [Music] [Music] s [Music] [Music] so what’s with all the dramatic music I think what we’re trying to convey is our high EXP expectations of what Sarina was going to be like after all it’s the oldest Republic since ad. 301 and it’s the smallest independent state in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco so with its history fine buildings and amazing views it should tickle the boxes so why didn’t it work for us well I think the reason is that the principal Revenue for samarino is the Tourist industry as such I think it’s lost its heart there are lots of typical shops you would find solely aimed at the tourist watch shops Jewelers shops tourist tat so I think it’s lost its authenticity so would we visit again probably not there are quite a lot of airs for camper bans or motor homes to use use we used pugio p13 that was on Multi teres had all facilities except electricity and the good thing it was within about 20 minutes walk of the gondola up a very Steep Hill I might add you could find electricity if you drove around to the other side of the hill where you could pay two I think for an hour’s electricity maybe we didn’t do San Marino justice but that’s the good thing about being in a motor home you can always move on to the next stop and we’re looking forward to [Music] pizaro our normal rule of thumb is that we always stay two nights at the stops that gives us plenty of time to see and explore the area but because we’ve got this deadline for the Ferry we’ve done a lot of one day stops and so by the time we got to zaro we actually really were’re looking forward to a bit of a chill out and rest and it is a perfect spot we’re so lucky we’ve had wonderful weather it’s been actually too hot and by the time we got here is beginning to get to more comfortable 28° hello well this is what they’re doing outside the van looks very healthy we’re just going to play ball okay as you can see quite a tight bit here a bit of surreptitious uh wood cutting very handy to have a good saw with us and we’re here beautiful spot right on our own little private doorway you right let’s [Music] [Music] [Music] go sh [Music] [Music] pap very nice in there I me it’s great on the way to the ferry we stopped at the the out here restaurant was recommended to it by a friend and what a wonderful spot it is I had a great meal Anette said hers wasn’t as good it’s one we’ definitely go back to just for the position I think alone up okay [Music] [Music] t let let let let oh man yeah he want [Music] just go back left [Music] leg [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] n