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Charlie’s great adventure

Charlie Charleston’s safely back in the UK, after covering more countries in 10 days than we managed in 18 months! Here’s his whirlwind story, as told by Sara’s brother, Kevin.

 

A few weeks ago I got a call from Sara to say that she and Geoff were planning to go to Australia in the New Year and asking if I could give Charlie Charleston a bit of garage space for a few months. I said of course I can where is he? Er Athens said Sara but it would be fun driving back to England. I thought about it briefly and decided it would be fun, recruited my son Charles as co-driver and flew out to Athens on New Years Eve.

 

Saturday 3rd January 2015

Charlie Charleston’s first day under new management was a 520 kilometre jaunt from Athens north through Greece to Sarande in Albania, where we were told the authorities are difficult and the roads bad, ooer!

 

Leaving Athens, Greece

Leaving Athens, Greece

 

We headed out of Athens at 08:00 in the morning and Charlie motored happily along the coast past Corinth and Aigio and towards the Antirrio Rio Bridge over the gulf of Patras. However we were motoring a bit too happily and got stopped for speeding by the Greek rozzers. A puzzled policeman took one look at the heavily loaded, Dutch registered, French car, driven by Englishmen and waved us on our way with a smile. We crossed the impressive bridge and headed North towards Ioannina.

Gulf of Corinth, Greece

Gulf of Corinth, Greece

Antirrio rio bridge, Greece

Antirrio rio bridge, Greece

 

Just a note here for the Greeks; stop throwing crap out of your cars, especially plastic water bottles. The ditches are full and it looks terrible, have a bit of pride in your country.

All along the roads we passed numerous shrines, some of which are extravagantly decorated and contain pictures and mementos.

 

Roadside shrine near Amvrakia, Greece

Roadside shrine near Amvrakia, Greece

 

These, I am glad to say, given the number, aren’t just for road casualties but are mostly memorials for friends and relatives from the nearby towns and villages.

As evening fell we arrived, with some trepidation, at the Albanian border. I hopped out of the car to present our documents to the dour looking official in the booth. After a full range of frowning, humming, tutting and tooth sucking he looked up and asked with a smile if we would like stamps in our passports. We were in.

 

Sunset in Albania

Sunset in Albania

 

Sunday 4th January

Our overnight stop was in Ksamil with the friendly Altin. This is a new development area on a former military site just down the road from Sarande.

 

Sarande, Albania

Sarande, Albania

 

Like much of Albania there are large numbers of unfinished buildings in and around Sarande, but it is clean and the people are friendly, even the cops wave as we go by. Just off the coast is Corfu and I think in a few years time this could be a holiday destination.

A friendly Albanian

A friendly Albanian

 

Our next leg was about 530 kilometres to Kotor in Montenegro.

Driving in Albania was a novel experience. There are brand new petrol stations everywhere, open all hours and people standing on every street corner. Judging by the stares we got most of them have never seen a 2CV before. Many wave.

We decided to take the coast road north over the mountains, ideal for a 2CV. The scenery was spectacular and some of the roads were very good. There were also some epic potholes and bits of road, which were no longer road.

 

Re-surfacing required in Albania

Re-surfacing required in Albania

 

That and the fact that the entire farmyard had been let loose on the highway kept us alert. We avoided goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, horses, chickens, turkeys, dogs and a pig.

Goats in Albania

Goats in Albania

 

After slogging around 800 metres up the, almost continuous, hairpins, much of it in first gear we had stopped somewhere past Himare, to take a photo of Charlie, when a man on a bicycle towing a trailer came down the hill, calling out in Dutch!

 

Meeting Johan in the Albanian mountains

Meeting Johan in the Albanian mountains

 Johan from the Netherlands, on the side of a road in Albania

Johan from the Netherlands, on the side of a road in Albania

 

Johan from Maastricht had been on the road on his bike for the past 25 months and after chatting to him for a while we left him with a bottle of Coke and carried on up the mountain wondering if his brakes were good enough for the miles of steep downhill he faced, come to think of it how the hell did he ride a bike and trailer up there in the first place?

Down the other side of the snowy mountains we came into the seaside city of Vlorë, the former capital of Albania. Again the half finished buildings and palm-lined pavements suggest that this is a place with potential. In the meantime the chaotic traffic, and massive holes you have to dodge were all quite good fun. Nobody seemed to be getting uptight about it, not even the slightly scary looking guys in big black Mercedes.

 

 Vlore resident, Albania

Vlore resident, Albania

Vlore road, Albania

Vlore road, Albania

 

The Sat Nav led us out of the city on the old, ruined and virtually disused road instead of the nice new dual carriageway, which is alarmingly 2 way on each side when it suits the locals. This would have been a pain in the bum but it was worth it for the fabulous communist style mural on the city boundary.

 

Vlore city mural, Albania

Vlore city mural, Albania

 

The sun was setting as we drove through Fier and Durres on our way to Montenegro. At the border we had a problem with Charlie’s insurance papers, which 15 Euros ironed out and we drove on into the night looking forward to a beer in Kotor.

When we arrived at the snow covered town of Cetinje, little did we know that we were only about 45 minutes away from Kotor via the attractive town of Budva, but the Sat Nav decided the best route was over a mountain pass. Charlie ploughed gamely through the snow-covered streets and off up the ever narrowing, steep, dark, snowy mountainside.

Only 20 kilometres to go the Sat Nav said and it looked as though we were reaching the summit – no chance! After saying several times to each other that this surely couldn’t be the right way we finally could go no further as the wheels spun on the ice covered road.

 

The end of the road in the mountains above Cetijne, Albania

The end of the road in the mountains above Cetijne, Albania

 

Ignoring the sat Nav’s attempts to send us up a goat track we went back down to Cetinje but we just could not find a way out of the town. Every road the Sat Nav sent us down was blocked with snow and it was not until a passing couple drew us a map that we were able to escape. We finally arrived in Kotor after 14 hours on the road.

 

Monday 5th January

From the balcony of our riverside apartment in Kotor we were looking up at the massive rocky cliffs that soar up above the walled town and harbor. Kotor’s castle is built clinging to the cliffs with walls, turrets and chapels rising hundreds of feet up the cliffside, like something from Game of Thrones.

 

Charlie outside Kotor apartment, Montenegro

Charlie outside Kotor apartment, Montenegro

 

Kotor itself is a beautiful walled town with a harbor, in the gorgeous winding bay of Kotor, which is known as Boka. The market was in full swing when we walked around the town, which has bars, cafes and shops and is a proper functioning place that seems quite vibrant and inviting. I want to go back and sail around the bay.

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor bay, Montenegro

Kotor bay, Montenegro

 

This day’s drive was 320 kilometres up the coast, into Croatia, stopping off at Dubrovnik and then through Bosnia-Herzegovina and back into Croatia ending up in Split.

The first part of the journey was along the glorious, empty, winding road around the bay of Kotor in the winter sunshine. It was like going back in time and driving along the Cote d’Azur in the 1950’s Fab!

Not far up the road the joy of the day was rather spoiled when we come upon the traffic jam at the Croatian Border. These are both EU countries but this is a Police check and it takes one and a half frustrating hours to reach the front of the queue and to be waved through after a brief question.

Note to the Croatians, I would rather spend my time and money in one of your great cities than in a crummy traffic jam at the border, get it sorted out!

Our next stop was the old city of Dubrovnik, which was spectacularly empty, with the exception of a Japanese coach party. The old walled city is fascinating but is really a museum for tourists rather than a functioning city. There are bullet holes and other reminders of the 90’s Balkan conflict, which might explain the delays at the Montenegro border.

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Bullet holes in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Bullet holes in Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

We carried on up the coast road to Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has a 20km strip of coastline, which we passed through without incident.

Arriving at the Croatian border there was another queue of traffic. No one seemed to be using the right hand lane with the green light so Charles zoomed straight up to the window by the barrier, only to be told off for running the police checkpoint! Luckily they decided it was too much hassle to send us back to the queue and so they let us go – result.

Later than we should have done thanks to the Police checks we arrived in Split.

 

Sunset on the Croatian coast

Sunset on the Croatian coast

 

Tuesday 6th January

Split looked fantastic in the morning sun, with the white stone buildings and green palm trees of the waterfront highlighted by the clear blue skies.

Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia

 

We walked along the quayside, which is lined with bars and cafes and was bustling with people enjoying the Croatian National holiday. The old city and waterfront is lively and attractive and another place for the must re-visit list.

 

Split, Croatia, with Charles

Split, Croatia, with Charles

Graffitti artist, Split, Croatia

Graffitti artist, Split, Croatia

 

In order to spend some time in Split we decided to take the motorway to Zagreb, our next destination 410 kilometres away. Croatia is a mountainous country and to drive cross-country would have taken too long.

The journey was pretty boring. Charlie could only maintain about 85km per hour on the flat and much less on the uphill sections.

As we headed inland it became colder with more snow lying on the ground and even along the sides of the motorway and by the time we arrived it was around minus 3.

Our apartment for the night was only a ten minute walk from the city centre but when we pulled up outside the rather grim looking block covered in graffiti we were a bit concerned especially at the prospect of leaving Charlie out in the street overnight.

Our overnight apartment in Zagreb

Our overnight apartment in Zagreb

 

However our host Bo reassured us that the area was OK and then opened up the doors to the apartment block to reveal Charlie’s off street parking spot.

Following Bo’s suggestion we walked up to the old city and had a very good meal in a local bar, which brewed it’s own excellent beer.

 

Zagreb bar at night

Zagreb bar at night

 

The city is quite compact with a great atmosphere and is fantastic value for money.

 

Charlie in Zagreb

Charlie in Zagreb

Zagreb station as featured in James Bond's From Russia with Love

Zagreb station as featured in James Bond’s From Russia with Love

Trams in Zagreb

Trams in Zagreb

 

The following morning we did a speed tour of the city, loved the trams and the old town and the world’s biggest (and best) hot dog. In fact I think Zagreb is my new favourite city, it would be a perfect place to spend Christmas.

 

Wednesday 7th January

We spent the morning in Zagreb and then headed off for our shortest drive of the trip, a mere 140 kilometres to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.

The weather was wintry, with snow lying all around and it was after dark when we reached the city.

Charlie outside the National theatre

Charlie outside the National theatre

 

The Historic centre of Ljubljana straddles the river Ljubljanica and is overlooked by the hilltop castle Ljublianski Grad. The old city centre is very attractive and was festooned with the most fantastic Christmas lights I have ever seen.

 

Ljubljana lights

Ljubljana lights

The lights were strung all along the streets and the riverside and the theme of the Christmas lights was Astrophysics! There were stars, spiral galaxies and meteor showers. Physics equations and graphs of string theory were all represented in the light displays hanging across the streets and squares and reflected in the river. It was coordinated, stylish and clever and definitely rocket science!

 

Ljubljana lights stars and galaxies

Ljubljana lights stars and galaxies

 Ljubljana lights meteors

Ljubljana lights meteors

Ljubljana lights

Ljubljana lights

Ljubljana lights  physics graphs

Ljubljana lights physics graphs

Ljubljana lights

Ljubljana lights

 

After a brisk walk around the city centre we stopped at a riverside bar for a drink. It was very cold and sitting outside might seem like a daft idea but the seats were covered in sheepskin and we sat under an electric heater with blankets over our knees, very cosy!

 

Thursday 8th January

We made an early start on the 250 kilometre drive from Ljubljana to Venice. It was cold and frosty in the morning, but as we drove into Italy the weather started to warm up and after 2000 kilometres of hills and mountains Charlie was enjoying the flat roads.

We crossed the bridge into Venice and tucked Charlie away on the seventh Piano of the multi-storey car park and lugged our bags to our apartment near the Campo del Ghetto, the original Jewish Ghetto area of the city.

 

Venice

Venice

Venetian dress shop - should fit

Venetian dress shop – should fit

 

Venice is fabulous of course and, as every good tourist should, we caught the No.1 Vaporetto along the Grand Canal. It seemed expensive at 7 euros, but in fact it is quite a long and very slow cruise down Venice’s premier waterway and compared to everything else it is actually quite good value.

 

Venice

Venice

Venice

Venice

 

I had promised Charles the most expensive cup of coffee in the country and we duly headed for St Mark’s square and parked ourselves outside the Café Quadri in the watery sunlight. Unfortunately there was no orchestra playing, but then we were almost the only customers. A coffee a chocolate and two sandwiches for 48 Euros!

 

48 Euros worth in St Marks Square, Venice!

48 Euros worth in St Marks Square, Venice!

 

Feeling faint from the drain on my wallet we left St Marks and spent a few more hours wandering the streets of Venice, seeing as much of the city as we could in between essential beer stops. Just around the corner from the stunning Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti was a most unusual art gallery that caught our attention, have a look at the photos.

Mad art gallery  in Venice

Mad art gallery in Venice

Mad art gallery  in Venice

Mad art gallery in Venice

 Venice Silly picture  in the mad art gallery  in Venice

Venice Silly picture in the mad art gallery in Venice

 

We rounded the day off with a Pizza in a restaurant on the Grand Canal.

 

Friday 9th January

Today’s journey was around 400 kilometres to the ancient port of Genoa via Mantua and Cremona.

The day started off in bright sunshine but we very soon ran into thick fog. For the most part we saw nothing of the landscape, although I am told we didn’t miss much, it being rather industrialised and dreary. However the odd interesting town like Montagnana loomed out of the mist.

 

Charlie in Montagnana, Italy

Charlie in Montagnana, Italy

 

By the time we arrived at Mantua the fog had cleared. This beautiful, unspoiled medieval town is known to the Italians as La Bella Addormentata (Sleeping beauty). It is almost entirely surrounded by lakes and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

Piazza Sordello, Mantua, Italy

Piazza Sordello, Mantua, Italy

 

We chugged into town and having had a quick look around decided to take some photos of Charlie in the Piazza Sordello at the heart of the old city, where there were a couple of cafes. There we met Mad Massimo, the motor mouth of Mantua. He was outside drumming up customers for the café, in his peaked hat. He never stopped talking and kept us entertained with his mad conspiracy theories and other fanciful stories whilst we enjoyed a sandwich and coffee.

 

Mad Massimo of Mantua, Italy

Mad Massimo of Mantua, Italy

Massimo again

Massimo again

 

Our next stop an hour or so down the road was the city of Cremona. The central area of the city with its cobbled streets and ancient buildings is delightful. It boasts the third highest brick bell tower in Europe and a Romanesque cathedral with a 13th Century façade, which you can sit and contemplate from the handy café in Piazza Stradivari. This city is in fact renowned for violin manufacturers, the most famous of which is good old Stradivari himself. There are still violin makers working in the city and you can catch a glimpse of their craft in some of shops around the Piazza.

 

Brick bell tower Piazza Stradivari, Cremona, Itlaly

Brick bell tower Piazza Stradivari, Cremona, Italy

Bell tower clock,  Piazza Stradivari, Mantua, Italy

Bell tower clock, Piazza Stradivari, Mantua, Italy

 

From here we headed off toward Genoa. Having spent most of the day enjoying flat roads we had to climb over the coastal mountains as night fell and with Charlie’s brakes smoking slightly we rolled down the steep winding road into Genoa.

View from near our apartment , Genoa, Italy

View from near our apartment , Genoa, Italy

Genoa skyline, Italy

Genoa skyline, Italy

 

Our overnight stop was a chic apartment in a pretty hilltop square overlooking more or less the whole of Genoa, including Via Garibaldi, part of the UNESCO World heritage site. We set off for an evening stroll along the street of extraordinary palaces and down to the Porto Antico.

 

Via Garibaldi, Genoa, Italy

Via Garibaldi, Genoa, Italy

 

Genoa is an attractive city sandwiched between the sea and the mountains. There are some steep streets and steps and we liked it, although it is slightly run down with a few dubious looking characters lurking in some of the alleyways and a fair amount of graffiti on some the world heritage buildings.

Stop spraying graffiti on historic buildings you philistines and get the place cleaned up, it’s a world heritage site and you need to make more effort!

 

Genoa, Italy

Genoa, Italy

Genoa Palace, Italy

Genoa Palace, Italy

Genoa old customs house, Italy

Genoa old customs house, Italy

Genoa Porto Antico, Italy

Genoa Porto Antico, Italy

 

The Porto Antico isn’t. I’ve got shirts older than most of the stuff there. It is a renovated and pedestrianised harbor, which has been done quite nicely but it was rather quiet for a Friday night, I guess it is essentially a tourist area and the locals go elsewhere to eat and drink.

 

Saturday 10th January

The next morning we drove through Genoa and took the motorway towards France and our lunchtime stop in Monte Carlo. The weather was warm and sunny, what a change from a few days ago.

The motorway from Genoa is one of the more interesting ones, winding as it does along the coast with tunnels through the rocks at frequent intervals and views down to the sea in between. We got off the motorway at Ventimiglia and motored through the stylish town of Menton and along the winding roads to Monaco.

With the roof down Charlie set a new record around the Monte Carlo Grand Prix circuit, the slowest ever lap by a car. You can watch it on the video at the end of this blog!

 

Charlie takes on the Monte Carlo Grand Prix circuit

Charlie takes on the Monte Carlo Grand Prix circuit

 

However we did get more looks than the common or garden Ferraris, which were pretty much everywhere, wedged between the Bentleys and Rolls Royce. In fact we had seen our first 2CV on the road earlier in the day and kept a count. By the end of our trip we had seen 8 2CVs and 15 Ferraris. So exclusive car, exclusive town, we fitted right in.

 

Charlie outside the casino, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Charlie outside the casino, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Charles outside the casino, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Charles outside the casino, Monte Carlo, Monaco

 

After a bite to eat and a drink in a café overlooking the harbor full of extravagant Yachts we took a walk around (faster lap time than Charlie) and then set off along the Cote d’Azur towards Cannes where we planned to watch the sun set over the sea.

 

Charles at sunset, Cannes, France

Charles at sunset, Cannes, France

Charlie at sunset, Cannes, France

Charlie at sunset, Cannes, France

 

The drive was really pleasant until we got near Antibes, where despite being mid winter, the road was snarled up with traffic. We eventually crept into Cannes just in time and after a walk along the beach settled into our seats in an overpriced pavement café to watch the sun set. Apart from the annoying Russian drunk and the lousy service it was perfect.

 

Watching the world go by, Cannes, France

Watching the world go by, Cannes, France

 

From Cannes we had an uneventful trip to Aix en Provence to complete the 370 kilometre journey.

 

Sunday 11th January

We left our overnight halt in Aix en Provence early for the 280 kilometre trip via Nimes, which is a rather beautiful little city, to our main objective for the day, which was the Millau Viaduct.

 

Millau Bridge, France

Millau Bridge, France

 

I had always wanted to drive over this 10 year old bridge, which for those of you who are not familiar with it is one of the biggest in the world. Designed by Norman Foster it is nearly 2.5 km long and 343 metres high – that’s more than 1,100 feet high!

 

Small car big bridge, Millau Bridge, France

Small car big bridge, Millau Bridge, France

 

I had forgotten how much fun driving in France could be if you avoid the motorways and main roads. Through Provence and along the virtually empty winding roads of the Languedoc countryside slow was definitely the way to go.

 

We are all Charlie! On the Millau Bridge, France

We are all Charlie! On the Millau Bridge, France

 

We had to get back onto the motorway to cross the Millau Viaduct. It’s BIG! It’s a long way down to the valley below from which the bridge looks even more impressive.

Well what did you expect!

Well what did you expect!

 

Having driven across and paid our toll we headed down to the valley to take some photos, where we came upon John from Performance Bike magazine doing the same thing. It’s a kind of tourist industry all of it’s own.

 

Kevin Taking pics for Performance Bike Magazine, Millau Bridge, France

Kevin Taking pics for Performance Bike Magazine, Millau Bridge, France

 

From Millau we drove north toward the Auvergne and our overnight stop in a farmhouse, 800 metres up in the Lozere mountains.

 

Cold comfortable farm, France

Cold comfortable farm, France

 

On the way there we were intrigued by a sign for “Pointe Sublime” and decided to follow it. A few kilometers later and wow! It really was a “Pointe Sublime” perched a thousand feet above the Gorges of the Tarn, which cut through the landscape like a small scale Grand canyon is a viewing area from which we watched the sun go down.

 

Monday 12th January.

It was a very frosty morning and it took some time to warm up an icy Charlie before we could bid goodbye to our charming host and set off for today’s journey of just under 500 kilometres.

Chilly Charlie, France

Chilly Charlie, France

 

It was miles before the white covering finally melted from Charlie’s bonnet, by which time we were well on our way to the Volcanoes of the Auvergne.

 

Chilly Charlie and the frosty view. France

Chilly Charlie and the frosty view. France

 

Again we were chugging through lovely countryside along virtually empty roads and through the mountainous volcanic region to the highest point on the trip at 1,145 metres.

 

The high point of the trip!

The high point of the trip!

 

From there we continued north into the Massif Central and past the spectacular wrought iron Garabit railway viaduct designed in the 1880’s by Monsieur Eiffel of the tower fame.

 

One of Monsieur Eiffel's efforts. Garabit, France

One of Monsieur Eiffel’s efforts. Garabit, France

Just before sunset we arrived at our friend Jackie’s house a little way north of Limoges to be welcomed with a gin and tonic, perfect.

 

Tuesday 13th January

 

From Jackie’s it was a fairly straightforward run home of 670 kilometres, a journey that I had done many times, although usually much faster.

 

Homeward bound

Homeward bound

 

Charlie doesn’t really like motorways and so we kept to the country roads. It was going to be a long day’s drive with the wind and rain increasing. Luckily the wind was mostly behind us, you modern car drivers have no idea what a difference a strong headwind can make to a 2CV.

 

Tee hee!

Tee hee!

 

Apart from a shock absorber coming loose, which we were quickly able to rectify, it was a fairly uneventful drive, we even made it to the Eurotunnel early and although we got a few slightly puzzled looks made it through customs without incident.

Charlie is now recovering from his pan European New Year sprint in his temporary garage home. After 4,500 kilometres through 10 countries in 10 days he deserves it.

Our whistle-stop tour looks even more impressive at high speed. HIgh speed video, that is.. not high speed Charlie! If you are built more for comfort than speed – you can enjoy the sedate pace of the photo slideshow after the movie!

 

 

Kevin Holden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Our next adventure begins

 

A new year and two new continents beckon and vagabonding goes East! Tomorrow we fly to Thailand for six weeks and then to Australia for a few months. 

There will be one team member missing though…. Charlie Charleston is staying in Europe for now. Our trusty car has carried us for 40,000 kilometers and is now breaking out on a new journey – being driven back to the UK by Sara’s brother and nephew, Kevin & Charles, for a well earned rest!

Don’t worry – we’ll be reunited with Charlie once we have finished our jaunt around Australia.

Meanwhile, we know that the little 2CV has many fans – so here’s a montage of some of Charlie’s more adventurous moments over the last 18 months.

 

 

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Flaming like a meteor we hit the coast..

 a road high, high above the blue sea, that hooked and corkscrewed on the edge of nothing. A road carefully designed to be a little narrower than two cars side by side.  And on this road, the buses, the trucks, the motor scooters and the assorted livestock. In the back seat my wife and I lay clutched in each other’s arms, weeping hysterically, while in the front seat Signor Bassano gestured with both hands.

Once during the war I came up this same lovely coast in the American destroyer Knight. We came fast. Germans threw shells at us from the hills and aircrafts splashed bombs at us and submarines unknown tried to lay torpedoes on us. I swear I think it was much safer than that drive with Signor Bassano.

This is how John Steinbeck described the wonders of the Amalfi coast road,which reduced him to a quivering wreck, back in 1953.

Forty-four years later that same road – yes, a road – was declared a World Heritage site  by UNESCO, as….

an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its dramatic topography and historical evolution.

We are made of sterner stuff than Steinbeck, and thought it was a perfect place to blast around in Charlie Charleston and on a couple of scooters . The sun shone, the views are stunning and the cliff-clinging towns are gorgeous. Drive it, ride it, walk or take the bus – above all, enjoy the ride!

 

 

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Faster than a hurricane

A twenty-four hour 2CV race, the chance to drive the track in Charlie Charleston, oh, and a hurricane for good measure. Yes, it was all as daft as it sounds.

It all started in a lay-by in Leicestershire. That’s pronounced Lester-sheer in case you are not sure – not Lie-cester-shire as it may look. That is just one small example of the curiosity that is the English language and place names, but more on that another day.

So, there we were, bonnet up and Geoff fiddling with a loose hose. Behind us a motor-home pulled up and Graham and Dawn Daniels hopped out to check if we were okay. “We’ve got one of those too” they said – nodding toward Charlie.  Offers of coffee and general chat followed and they told us of the meeting of the 2CV GB club at the end of August, including a 24-hour race. They left us with their phone number, address, email, an offer to stay if we passed their way and a promise that if we needed anything while we were in the UK, to give them a call and they would find a 2CV club member to help us, wherever we were.

Well – if they’re all as nice as the Daniels, then we should go to the meeting and it sounds like a laugh anyway, we thought. We joined the club and booked the next day! Fast forward a few weeks and this was us,

Under stormy skies Charlie Charleston & co. thunder down the race track!

Under stormy skies Charlie Charleston & co. thunder down the race track!

 

roaring(!) around the Anglesey race track in North Wales, with a hundred or so fellow 2CV owners. The owners parade, to which they came in all disguises, was prelude to the real day and night race.

 

Getting ready for a spin around the race track

Getting ready for a spin around the race track

They came in all colours

They came in all colours

They came in every design

They came in every design

We all queued up for a chance to ride the circuit

We all queued up for a chance to ride the circuit

Let's get ready to rumble!

Let’s get ready to rumble!

2CVs as far as the eye could see

2CVs as far as the eye could see

What a sight!

What a sight!

Our car  has done more than 30,000km in the last year. The yellow and black one on the right has done less than 300km!

Our car has done more than 30,000km in the last year. The yellow and black one on the right has done less than 300km!

 

After our turn around the track it was time for the real racers to begin. Not only were traditional 2CVs racing, but also the crazily adapted European cars – complete with BMW motorbike engines almost double the size of a regular 2CV and with all kinds of custom bodywork designs.

 

And they're off - only 24hours and 900 laps to go

And they’re off – only 24hours and 900 laps to go

The crazy euro-cars, with BMW engines and bodywork all their own!

The crazy euro-cars, with BMW engines and bodywork all their own!

 

In the middle of all of that were, rather incongruously, three Mini Coopers as well – apparently there to make up the numbers and we were all secretly slightly amused to see the lead Mini get side-swiped by a 2CV on the very first corner.

 

The white mini got pranged here on the first corner of the race

The white mini got pranged here on the first corner of the race

 

Now, thirty-plus cars with 600cc engines zooming around a race track in Wales might not sound like everyone’s idea of an exciting weekend away, but it was surprisingly dramatic, with suitable doses of comic too.

 

Wacky races

Wacky races

Looping around the circuit

Looping around the circuit

 

The sight of the cars almost lifting off as they cleared the hill at the top of the turn, the two-wheeled, downhill cornering, complete with squealing brakes and smoking tyres, made it real racing, regardless of the engine size.

 

Two-wheeled cornering

Two-wheeled cornering

Bumper to bumper for 24 hours

Bumper to bumper for 24 hours

 

Even the racing marshalls, used to seeing a rather larger cc fly past them at Anglesey looked impressed and admittedly, occasionally amused.

 

The Anglesey Circuit marshals had never seen anything like this racing before!

The Anglesey Circuit marshals had never seen anything like this racing before!

 

In the pits the sheer endurance of the four-driver teams and their support crew was amazing.

 

Back at the pits it's as professional as any race team

Back at the pits it’s as professional as any race team

 

All through the night they powered on, through until the following afternoon.

 

Four drivers took turns over 24hours - gruelling by any standards

Four drivers took turns over 24hours – gruelling by any standards

Night riders

Night riders

The circuit has spectacular views out to sea and great sunsets

The circuit has spectacular views out to sea and great sunsets

Charging over the hill - the eventual winner already in the lead as night falls

Charging over the hill – the eventual winner already in the lead as night falls

Midnight moves

Midnight moves

Oops! Not all of them made the corner

Oops! Not all of them made the corner

Lit up for the night racing

Lit up for the night racing

Faster than the speed of light!

Faster than the speed of light!

 

For some it was harder going than other – Herbie Boy scored 25 pit stops in 24 hours, but by the end, the winning cars in each category had rounded the track more than nine hundred times, driven more than 1200km, and many had worn out two complete sets of tyres each.

 

The chequered flag

The chequered flag

 

Two full sets of tyres in 24 hours

Two full sets of tyres in 24 hours

The morning after the night before

The morning after the night before

All had competed relentlessly and impressively.

Hailing the conquering heroes

Hailing the conquering heroes

The victory pen

The victory pen

 

Talking of impressive – about that hurricane. North Wales is not known for its balmy summer temperatures and Anglesey racetrack is rather dramatically perched on the western edge of the island, looking out to the Atlantic. As we wrestled to put up the tent, we almost snapped the poles, ripped the nylon and generally feared that our home might not make it through the night.  “Is it always this windy?” we asked. “It’s been like this all week. The locals say if the wind stops it’s the end of the world,” a cheery young lady marshall in shorts and a t-shirt beamed at us! It wasn’t until two days later that someone confessed we had been putting up our tent as the tail-end of a hurricane passed over – the locals must have been in heaven!

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A quart into a pint pot

Houdini and a coffin – phah. The TARDIS, yeah, yeah. Geoff Nimmo, our gear for a year and a 2CV – now THAT is a magic trick worth seeing.

Read on and you might even win something!

So, this is all we own.

ALL WE OWN 2

ALL WE OWN (2)

Yes, we did actually unpack it all and arrange it – for YOU!  Now you too can see just how many underpants and how much nail varnish you need to travel the world!

This is all we own, packed into bags.

 

ALL WE PACKED

ALL WE PACKED

 

This is the boot (trunk if you are American) of our 2CV – with 6 eggs and a coffee pot for scale.

 

ALL WE HAVE ROOM FOR IN THE BOOT

ALL WE HAVE ROOM FOR IN THE BOOT

 

All we own goes in there and on the back seat…. It really does. See!

 

ALL WE STACKED

ALL WE STACKED

 

Sardines quiver at the mention of Geoff Nimmo’s name.

We are often asked how we decided what to pack, so just for fun, we thought we would not just show you all we are travelling with on our Grand Tour, but give you a chance to profit too.

In the spirit of ‘guess the weight of the pig” – we challenge you to guess the amount in the ugly duck!  Using the first photo from this blog and the close-ups below, see if you can guess (or count if you have small children you can bribe, are off work sick or have no friends and nothing else to do) how many items we fit into Charlie Charleston.

We are going to run this little competition until the end of June, and whoever gets closest to the number will get a nice bottle of whiskey/wine/perfume/video/book or something else of their choosing.

Post your number in the comment section below, or on our Facebook page. In the spirit of full disclosure, we should add that since these photographs were taken, we have bought a toaster, a pressure cooker, two new therma-rests, two camel and goat hair blankets and a hot water bottle (there was still snow on the Atlas  mountains), but thankfully Geoff did get rid of five pairs of socks to make room.

BEDS

BEDS

CLOTHES & TOILETRIES (ALL)

CLOTHES & TOILETRIES (ALL)

 

CLOTHES (GEOFF 1)

CLOTHES (GEOFF 1)

CLOTHES (GEOFF 2)

CLOTHES (GEOFF 2)

CLOTHES (SARA 1)

CLOTHES (SARA 1)

CLOTHES (SARA 2)

CLOTHES (SARA 2)

CLOTHES (SARA JEWELLERY)

CLOTHES (SARA JEWELLERY)

CLOTHES (TOILETRIES)

CLOTHES (TOILETRIES)

COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS

COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS

KITCHEN (ALL)

KITCHEN (ALL)

KITCHEN (CLOSE-UP 1)

KITCHEN (CLOSE-UP 1)

KITCHEN (CLOSE-UP 2)

KITCHEN (CLOSE-UP 2)

KITCHEN (CUTLERY & PLATES)

KITCHEN (CUTLERY & PLATES)

KITCHEN (TOAST TOPPING)

KITCHEN (TOAST TOPPING)

MAPS

MAPS

STORAGE (CUPBOARD & BAGS)

STORAGE (CUPBOARD & BAGS)

STORAGE (SAFES & BAG)

STORAGE (SAFES & BAG)

TOOLS (ROPES, SPADES,CABLES)

TOOLS (ROPES, SPADES,CABLES)

TOOLS

TOOLS

 

 

 

 

 

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Broken Charlie

One minute we were laughing about our day in Pisa, the next moment a loud bang and lurch had Charlie’s back end virtually on the tarmac and us going nowhere.

Our little car has conquered the highest mountain passes in Morocco, but a simple bend in the road in Italy was all it took to snap part of the suspension. It didn’t look good.

 

Midnight nightmare - a broken car in a strange town

Midnight nightmare – a broken car in a strange town

 

Here’s the technical bit – the knife edge, or suspension end piece, has snapped in half.

 

Down at heel - Charlie's rear end is virtually on the road

Down at heel – Charlie’s rear end is virtually on the road

Geoff getting the car jack from under the bonnet

Geoff getting the car jack from under the bonnet

Geoff gets under a jacked-up Charlie to see the damage

Geoff gets under a jacked-up Charlie to see the damage

 

This little thing is all it has taken to stop us in our tracks.

 

This is the offending item

This is the offending item

 

It might sound bad, but if bad is going to happen, it couldn’t have been better. We weren’t on a snowy mountain road in Morocco. We weren’t three days away from our visas for Morocco running out. We weren’t somewhere where parts cannot be delivered, or mechanics will just make up a number and add two zeros because we are tourists. We weren’t hurt and Charlie is not terminally damaged. But there is more.

Our overnight in Livorno may be turning into a slightly longer stay, but Italy is already weaving its magic.

We broke down at midnight, outside a pizzeria that was just closing. Despite the lateness of the hour, our lack of Italian and their lack of English, our combined mime routines meant they called us a taxi, wrote a note to put on the car so it would not get towed and promised to watch over Charlie and all our gear.

The owners of Villa Panicucci, the lovely B&B  in Montenero in the hills above Livorno in which we are staying, also could not have been more helpful.

Gianfranco and Betty Messina had already stayed up until 2am the night before because our ferry was horribly delayed from Morocco. News of our car nightmare got them organising a place to stay for us that night, as they were fully booked. They put us in their grandmother’s cottage up the road, until we could return to the B&B the next night. They drove us to the train station so we could get to Pisa to pick up a hire care. Last night they were having friends over for dinner and Geoff was introduced to one of guests who spoke fluent English and offered to go to the garage with Geoff and act as translator.

Turns out that not only is he nice man who is generous with his time and linguistic skills, he is also Carlo Falcone – a top Italian classic car racer, owner of the Antigua Yacht Club Marina, father of America’s Cup winner Shannon, and fresh from the San Remo rally where he and his Porsche came second. First thing Monday morning Carlo drove his Shelby GT500 Mustang down to where Charlie was parked, and as he stepped out of the most powerful production V8 car in the world, he took one look at all 600ccs of Charlie Charleston and declared him a beautiful car in his favourite colours!

We think Charlie will be well taken care of at the local garage. Take a moment to imagine the look on the face of the mechanic, when an Italian racing car hero marched into his shop at 08.30 on a Monday morning, to act as translator for an Aussie dude with a broken 2CV. It was a picture!

On Sunday, before all of that excitement, we went to Lucca, a nearby ancient walled city. We would not have gone if we had not been stranded here. We discovered that it is the birthplace of Puccini and very pretty.

 

The house of Pucinni's birth

The house of Pucinni’s birth

The ancient eliptical piazza

The ancient eliptical piazza

Pretty Lucca

Pretty Lucca

 

But there is more!

As we tucked into a most delicious lunch of freshly made ravioli, risotto and scallopini in the main piazza,  a salsa dance troupe appeared and put on an impromptu show.

Impromptu dancing in the Piazza

Impromptu dancing in the Piazza

 

Later, strolling back to our hire care, we spotted a performance of arias from Madam Butterfly was on, for one day only, starting at 17.00. It was 16.50 and they had two tickets left.  We couldn’t believe that pure chance would have us listening to Madam Butterfly in the concert hall of Puccini’s home town!

The stage is set

The stage is set

 

Driving back to Montenero, we stopped to check on Charlie and eat pizza with his guardians at Pizzeria Rosticceria.

Keeping Charlie's position on GPS

Keeping Charlie’s position on GPS

 

As well as their own small, dish-baked pizzas with whatever topping you want, we had the local speciality ‘torta de ceci’, a savoury pancake made from chickpea flour, and ‘il ponce’– a delicious local coffee liqueur with rum, sugar and lemon, said to have been invented to warm the cockles of stranded sailors when the weather was too bad for sailing. It is said that Il Ponce is ‘capable of comforting the soul and helping in difficult moments”. How appropriate for us! The restaurant staff greeted us with open arms and promised again to keep looking out for the car until we got it to the garage.  If you are ever in Livorno go to this pizzeria on Via de Monternero 28. They are charming, smiling and generous people and their pizzas are delicious!

So what better place to be waiting for Charlie to be repaired.

The view from our B&B in Montenero, overlooking Livorno

The view from our B&B in Montenero, overlooking Livorno

Our unexpected home from home in Montenero, Livorno

Our unexpected home from home in Montenero, Livorno

Lazy daisy days in Livorno

Lazy daisy days in Livorno

The very orange bees in the garden

The very orange bees in the garden

One of the long-toed friendly geckos

One of the long-toed friendly geckos

 

All of this human warmth and good fortune has come from one small broken piece of metal. So although we wouldn’t wish any more trouble on poor old Charlie, we count ourselves very lucky indeed. Grazia mille to all of those who have helped us in these last few days and if this is what Italy is like, then we are going to like it a lot!