EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 31 LAUTERBRUNNEN TO HIELDELBERG SAT 6-AUG-05 Raining. Very pretty drive out. 20 minutes waiting at the border to Germany but no boarding. 100m over the boarder we had a quick service stop then on till we reached the town. Spent 3 hours in the student city of Hieldelberg. 1.5 hours on the net researching my Italian passport opportunities and emailing. 1.5 hours walking and at the pastry shop. This place is such a lively Cosmopolitan city and so beautiful. My kind of beautiful. Classic castle and grand university b [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 29 MUNICH TO LAUTERBRUNNEN THU 4-AUG-05 Via Leichenstein - passport stamp, chocolate and postcard. Lion in the Rock - tribute to the Swiss Guards (world known for their neutral stance) killed whilst trying to protect French King Louis XVI and wife Marie Antoinette (both of whom had already escaped so the soldiers died for no reason). Very sad. In Switzerland to the Swiss Watch and pocketknife shop. Owing to my need since losing my previous timepiece in Corfu, I spoiled myself with a beautifully fab Swiss watch. I l [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 27 VIENNA TO MUNICH TUE 2-AUG-05 Early 5.30am start. First special stop at Mauthoussen for 2 hours. The last concentration camp closed from WW2. Saw the quarry and barracks. There was a very good film describing the events leading up to, the life during and the end of WW2. I do not wish to offend anyone but for some time I have wanted to know the 'German side'. How it comes to the point where people think and act the way that they did. This film helped me to understand better the Germans [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 25 VENICE TO VIENNA SUN 31-JUL-05 Earlish start. Annoyed due to lack of quality sleep. Very long bus ride. Wrote bus to bus messages to the other camping tour (on 21 days) but they were all asleep! > Smile if you had sex last night > Doesn't red go faster? (Their coach driver has red hair...) > Wake up your tour's almost over! Got to campsite and pitched tents then.. PRATA!! The oldest amusement park in Europe with the oldest European ferris wheel! I revelled in my youthful enthusiasm for [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 23 VENICE FRI 29-JUL-05 8am Breakfast. Stood out on the back deck for pretty views of Venice. Even the derilict run down buildings are pretty. Docked at Trieste. First stop on the coach was at Grada for 2 hours. Shopping & gelati. Oh yeah, that space age button pushing sensoring squat toilet. Let's move right along.. Onto Verona, home of Juliet's balcony. Legend or mythology (or whatever) has it if you rub her right breast you'll have good luck in love. (Honestly who makes this stuff up?) Spent 3 hours in Verona [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 18 CORFU SUN 24-JUL-05 Arrived from our overnight ferry from Italy. Drove straight to campsite, set up, quick breakfast then left for George's boat. Very sunny weather so packed on the sunscreen. "No Rules" says George. We went to swimming spots, 'skinny-dippy island' -(put those binoculars away!), sang our National Anthems, tried 'strawpedos' and learnt the Greek dance the 'Fuka Huka'. All with hand motions. No I'm not writing down here what it actually meant either. Back to camp. Felt sad to be alone in such a gor [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 15 ROME TO SORRENTO THU 21-JUL-05 Long drive. Stopped at the ancient city of Pompeii. This was a city buried under thick layers of ash from an eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvios around 300AD and only uncovered in the 1700s. Totally amazing city. I was impressed by how civilized it seemed for it's time. Roads paved with marble cat's eyes. Bakerys, summer & winter houses, theatres (a large one for comedies and plays and a smaller one (having better acoustics) for musical shows) and also a school and gym yard. Our camps [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 12 FLORENCE TO ROME MON 18-JUL-05 Woke up feeling hungover except I didn't have anything to drink the whole previous day. (I swear I didn't.) Must be the heat affecting me. A few hours drive to Rome and our very good looking campsite - great pool! Pitched tents around midday. Quiet a few tempers were shortened in the heat which was not helped out by the incredibly hard ground. Anyways, the tents were eventually put up and we had a little free time before the opportunity to go into Rome with Claudia. Tour [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 10 ANTIBES TO FLORENCE SAT 16-JUL-05 08.30 Left campsite 11.00 Entered Italy 13.20 Service stop at pizza station. Italian services are different. You see the food section, decide what you want, go to another counter and pay for it, get a ticket then bring it back to the food counter, hand it over and then get what you want. Now add 40+ people who don't speak Italian into this mix and you can spend 15-20 minutes in line. The pizza here was bloody huge though. About 4 euro for a quarter slice and [View Full Entry]

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EUROPEAN CAMPING TOUR 35 DAYS 12 COUNTRIES DAY 8 BARCELONA TO ANTIBES - FRENCH RIVERIA THU 14-JUL-05 Very long bus ride through the dry country really reminded me of Oz. Slept nearly all the way. We had a lunch stop at the medieval walled city of Aigues Morte which is in France. It's just a relatively little town but well, inside a enormously high wall. Something to see if you're in the area and pretty unique from what else I've seen but unless it's 'your thing' I wouldn’t break my back to get there. It's a quaint place but my original [View Full Entry]

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