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Part Twelve: Heading Home Across Europe |
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Written by Matt Parkhouse
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Monday, 01 November 1999 |
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The next morning in Pisa, we awoke to sunlight, as the demented man finally retired, ending his all night yelling and banging on walls. We decided to give the trip one more chance. I found a very nice pension, cheap, clean and friendly; about a block from the Leaning Tower, on the edge of the University student district. As soon as we checked in, my girlfriend crashed, I went exploring about the area. Later, the two of us viewed the tower and nearby sights. A quiet, easy day of rest and recovery. Next morning, still sunny, we headed north towards the Italian Riviera on a toll (well worth the price) auto-strada. Gorgeous road. Countless series of bridge-tunnel-open road, with spectacular views of the Mediterranean. The sun warmed bodies and spirits as we rolled north and then west along the Riviera. We dropped of at Finale Ligure, looking for a youth hostel in a castle. It was closed, of course, but we quickly found a very reasonable pension off the main resort road. This is, after all, early December, near the bottom of the off-season. Once again, we were the only guests. Stayed through the weekend, it was the patron saint of the town's day and there was a carnival on the beach. Between picnics on the beach, family restaurants and the pension, our three day stay on the Riviera was downright reasonable. On to France. Back on the auto strada to Monaco. Dropped off to look around Monte Carlo. Needless to say, we had neglected to pack the required formal wear to enter the casinos. Still, it was fun to motor and wander about the tiny country. Crossed into France, the land of youth hostels that stay open all year! First night was outside of Cannes, then we stayed two days in Frejus, in Provence. Lovely area. The sun continued to steadily shine. Spectacular Roman aqueducts, castles, town markets, and cities on mountain tops kept us busy for a day. The last night in France was in a massive hostel in Perignan, in French Catalonia, near the border with Spain. The sun is still shining, but is feeling a little thin; the promise of warmth in Spain hurries us along.
Spain did feel warmer. Perhaps a sign of this was our first open campground in a long time. We also started to encounter British ex-pats, living in small campers on the Spanish beaches. As one laid-off Midlands coal miner told me, "This sure beats working underground 12 hours a day". As our return to the US was set for January 20; we decided to spend as much time in this warm part of the world as possible. We dropped anchor in a campground in the town of Mojacar to spend two weeks, which would include Christmas. We quickly became part of the community of 20 or so British people hanging out there. A well traveled lot, the conversations were slow paced and interesting. One very interesting conversation I had was with a Swiss fellow who had shipped his car to the US several times on sea-going ferries. I'd never heard of such a thing. He didn't have the particulars, but I made a mental note: "they leave from Southhampton." To be continued... Matt Parkhouse |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 July 2005 )
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