Travelling through Italy.

My intended meander down from Como to Pisa was not much fun, I did not use motorways in the hope of seeing some of the countryside what I had not realised was that Northern Italy is highly industrialised and is really just one huge urban wasteland. I eventually reached Pisa in the rain. The tower has not straightened itself out yet, and I did not go for the pizza after all, I dined at a popular restaurant on an industrial estate where I was the only foreigner, the set three course meal with wine was excellent and only €12.00. The contained journey from Pisa to Rocchetta a Volturno in the mountains was a constant battle with my Tomtom Coleen, she was definitely having an off day and tried to give directions through towns and onto toll roads but at the end I let her take me on the last 18 mile leg, I swear she was trying to get her own back for all my interference because as soon as I let her take over we came off a dual carriageway onto mountain roads but after driving in Wales and Cyprus these roads were a dream and the surface was better than of the motorways I had been driving on. That last leg was wonderful I think I saw three cars in the whole trip and the flowering trees and wildlife were amazing, there were lilac, laburnum, lots of different fruit trees and huge displays of wisteria which had been trained into a form of hedging, I also saw deer, goats both with and without goatherds, kites and masses of jays they are not as shy as the ones at home. I will be based here in Rocchetta for a week and the rain is forecast to stop tonight so I am looking forward to exploring this untouristy area as well as popping down to Pompeii and maybe Rome.

Prince is dead long live the Queen.

A long day behind the wheel, over 400 miles from Luxembourg to Como in Italy. The drive was OK I had Colin Blunstone along for the ride as well as three discs of 50s rock and roll that were new to me. Colin brought back memories whilst the other discs made me realise how many 60s and 70s pop hits were not originals also they told my life history with tracks like 'Run around Sue' and 'Brown Eyed Handsome Man'. Switzerland was a bit of a shock, they took forty euros off me for road tax, can you imagine the furore if each of the European nations charged the Swiss forty euros when they drove over an EEC border. The other ouch was spending a penny at a Swiss motorway services costs one euro. I had expected Como to be a little like Garda but it is definitey not, I tried to visit the lake shore but it is hugely built up, everything is out of bounds to anyone but residents - fines threatened and although it was fun driving like an Italian for a while, after half an hour I was worn out with concentrating so much, I felt like a WWll Spitfire pilot after a dogfight, so tonight's dinner came from Carrefour and the wine from the hotel bar but you can't complain at a bottle of Pinot for €5.00. Tomorrow I plan to meander down to Pisa and hopefully try the real thing after having a look at the tower, but saying that I will probably cover another 300 to 400 miles and the same for Saturday l think Saturday evening and Sunday may just be an extended chill session.

The joy of travel.

Today started well and on plan, we got to Waterloo on time after a quick diversion to view the location of Hugaumont Farm. The Waterloo experience was good, most of the museum/experience was filling in the background to the rise of Napoleon and the lead up to the battle but the 4d film was good and the panorama painted in 1912 was excellent for giving a perspective of the view both commanders had of the battle it was also good preparation for the view from the top of the Lion Mound. The route to the top of the Lion Mound is straight up 226 steps. I am pleased to say that the British won again despite the two Frenchmen in front of me, they gave up and let me pass at about the halfway mark. I didn't let them see how knackered I was at the top. From Waterloo I drove to my "hotel" in Luxenbourg city. Honestly I thought I had gone through a time warp right back to my first stay in Monmartre I n Paris in 1971, the bed was the same, the carpet was the same and 'though the shower was not in a tin enclosure it still had the droopy head that some previous occupant had remedied with a piece of string attached to the extractor vent, just have to see if breakfast is delivered to my room without any warning! Keira and Kay took me out for a meal last week and when the waitress delivered our second round of drinks she lost her balance with the tray and left me wearing a full pint of Lowenbrau, the staff swiftly rallied around and mopped up and we got on with the evening. Tonight in a local restaurant a lady knocked over her wine glass, the waiter sprinted over and collected the broken glass and reported the matter to the head waiter who then went to get the little old lady out of the cupboard to mop up the health and safety risk, in the meantime the waiter disposed of the broken glass and reappeared with a clean tablecloth. Wonderful to watch, but by that time I had thoroughly confused the waiter by mostly speaking Spanish, (I knew what I had wanted to say but the French words would not appear on my tongue), he got his own back on me by speaking to me in Italian so a really memorable day. Tomorrow is a long long drive down to Lake Como.

Wallowing in the ambiance.

Today's cultural experience was at the 'in Flanders Field Museaum' and the Ieper Municipal Museum where I discovered the pastel drawing brilliance of Louise De Hem, being a total Philistine I have never bothered to look at pastels before, I was amazed at the definition and also the ability of pastels to show details of fine fabrics, if I hadn't been better edumacated I would say I was blown away or even gobsmacked by this artist's skill but I hate both of those expressions so I won't use them. After lunch I went over to Tyne Cot Cemetery, 9000+ graves and the names of over 30,000 soldiers who lie in unmarked graves, again a moving experience but still very hard for me to comprehend the scale of death that occurred in such a small portion of the front. My thoughts go out to all the families of the soldiers in unmarked graves, they have no place to go to say goodbye and have no hope of closure. Lunch today was a brootjie, at least that is how I think it is spelt, basically half a French stick filled with whatever you fancy. After all my excursions I went back to the square I visited yesterday for dinner and it was pleasant to sit in the sun sampling Belgian beers whilst reading my new book. Tomorrow is Waterloo and then Luxembourg.

Belgium.

My first impression of Belgium was my God this place is flat, it would have been a horrible place to hide from snipers, no wonder the trench system was established so quickly during the First World War. I had always thought that the majority of WWl was fought in France imagine how chagrined I felt to discover that a great part of the territory contested by the British and Commonwealth troops was actually in Belgium. I have been exploring and the sheer number of military graves here plus the knowledge that there are nearly 100,000 men whose graves are not known shocked me. I have seen the cemeteries on films and the news, but to stand in the actual cemetery just brings it all home, that and the ceremony at the Menin Gate tonight was what I will remember about my first day in Ypres. I always feel sad when I hear the Last Post played especially when I remember former comrades who are no longer here but to hear it played in that place after having visited a number of cemeteries today memories of Pete Reford, Stan Lewis, Neil Sheldon and Chris Lawson all came flooding back to me and I don't mind admitting tears were rolling down my cheeks, in fact I am filling up again while writing this.

The adventure begins.

A great start, up before the alarm and on the road at 05:30, no delays on the M25 and we were in Dover 4 hours early so We got a place on the 08:00 ferry at no extra charge. Seeing all the girls was great but I feel that getting wasted every time I see Keira and Kay is not really setting the example I should as their father. I missed Taylor because he was working, he is a night auditor and receptionist in a Heathrow hotel, well done mate and good luck. We should dock at 11am local time in Dunkirk and tonight we are staying for the next two nights in Ypres in Belgium giving me the opportunity to visit the Menin gate evening ceremony and WWl cemeterys and museums.........

Transport issues.

I bought Edith two and a half years ago in a rush for my first European road trip and she fulfilled her role admirably, coasting through Spain, Portugal and France without a hitch but lately she has been showing hints of her Gallic ancestry by occasional displays of petulance, she is also slowing down but that could be her age. I could not trust her on another extended road trip so I have found a new girl for my next trip, her name is Magda and she is a younger Teutonic model which fits well with my itinerary of traveling through German speaking countries on my way to and from Italy and Greece. The adventure begins on Monday when I catch the ferry from Dover to Dieppe at midday.