Day 30 - Lac de Chalain, France

07/07/2016

After driving to Annecy, James recognised a wood shop he had visited where his Dad wanted some utensils from. We decided it would be an okay distance to cycle so we packed our bags and hit the road, we realised it was longer than we first thought. We were pedalling for what felt like hours and it was so hot we were sweating so much, we passed a sign and hoped we finally arrived and we did. We pulled over straight into the shade then had a sudden thought, looked over and it was closed. The heat was too much so we rode back to the campsite and headed back to the rock to cool off. The journey back was way quicker, as it was mainly downhill.

Say cheeseeeee! .. or hang your tongue out like a dog

We had food back at the Caravan and then headed to the campsite bar again.

Day 29 - Cascades du Herisson, France

06/07/2016

Today we planned to head to some waterfalls that James had visited before when he came here with his family. We cycled down the road to the shop and toilets and locked the bikes, after a long trek around we came to the edge of a cliff and decided to sit and eat lunch on the side of it. Any pictures we took just didn't give it justice just how high up we were, the view was incredible and the waterfall we passed at the start looked like a tiny dot from where we were sat.

Nice and relaxing lunch spot..

Loads of little waterfalls as we walked along the path

Cascade de L'Eventail

We found a waterfall with a decent depth to swim in so hopped straight in as the heat mixed with the long walk was unbearable. Shortly after another family followed us in and Luke found a rock just under the waterfall you could sit on and jump off which was a good laugh.

After a refreshing swim we walked back to the bikes to head home and have some food then hit the bar. 

Day 28 - Annecy, France

05/07/2016

My first nights sleep in Lac de Chalain and it was weird, it was very cold at night but luckily I had my quilt to keep me warm. It was so hot in the day and at night it was freezing. After breakfast I headed over to the Caravan and we were off into Annecy, France in the car. Annecy was Venice look a like with the small canals running through.

Annecy, France

Annecy, France

Annecy, France

Chillin' in the park after a huge ice cream

After a long day in Annecy, we didn't get back to the Campsite until lake. We got the bikes out and looked at a few restaurants up the road until we decided to go with Restaurant La Sarrazine. As we entered and were seated neither us nor the owner could understand each other. The owner tried to describe to us the set menu is broken English and bringing the dishes out to show us. We decided to go for it and I had the starter which was some sausage on toasted French stick with melted cheese on top with a side salad and dressing. My main was fish, that was all I knew at the time but when it came out it looked like Tuna and it tasted amazing, finished with a dessert of chocolate tart which had nuts and caramel in and that was awesome. We headed back to the campsite bar with our bellies full ready for a couple of pints.

Day 27 - Lac de Chalain, France

04/07/2016

Today the plan was so make my way closer to Lac de Chalain, and to pull in at one of the free camperstops for the evening and to meet the others the next morning. I did a big shop in Lidl on route and tried to find a camperstop but I was struggling, I went to two and they were full and I'd be driving away from the Lake so I decided to just go and book in for 6 nights. I arrived after 2pm and had loads of washing to do, after heading back to reception to confirm my pitch I could tell James and Luke had already found me as the wipers were sticking up and the passenger side mirror was pushed in. I also found an Ice lolly stick on the bike rack but I didn't think that was them two.

Pulled up at a lake just round the corner from Lac de Chalain

Just as I finished setting up the awning James and Luke appeared as I was unpacking and we dug out the kayaks and yellow dinghy and headed straight for the lake. We paddled over to a rock they found to dive off and on the way the dinghy was half deflated so Luke decided to just swim.

Nice size pitch, Lake was directly behind me taking the picture

After a day of sunbathing, diving and kayaking I bought some chips on route to James and Luke's Caravan to have with pizza and beer. The chips took ages! I thought 10 minutes would easily be enough but I was stood waiting for over 25 minutes but they eventually came.

Day 26 - Verzasca Dam & Martigny, Switzerland

03/07/2016

I fired up the van and was excited to be stopping off at Verzasca Dam which is where 007 Goldeneye was filmed. Most of the journey was pretty standard with a few hills until I took a wrong turn (following the satnav) and ended up and a ridiculously steep road with a dead end at the end. The van crawled all the way up in first gear but I was now purched on the side trying to decided whether to reverse back down or try spin it round. After nearly mounting the pavement and a burnt clutch I somehow managed to squeeze it round and go back down facing the right way, which was definitely a good idea!

Verzasca Dam, Switzerland

After wandering on the dam for an hour and watching some people bungy jump off it, it was time to hit the road again. I was very tempted to book on and try it out but the cost was 250CHF which worked out at £200 which was too much for me. Maybe that was my excuse haha. The roads were pretty tough on the van chuggin' up and over the mountains and winding around the side of them. It was a day spent mostly doing 20 mph as the roads twisted around so much and the slow gradual ascent meant the van was giving all it had. I'm impressed it didn't overheat considering what it went through!

Truckin' through Switzerland

Coffee break on Simplon Pass

Got a bit carried away on my break

After easing the van the last bit of the journey I found the first free spot in Saillon which was quiet and decent side spot however it was very exposed to the elements. I already wasn't keen on popping up the roof and the sun was directly on the van. After a short debate I decided to try the next one along in Martigny.

First spot in Saillon, which was better than paying for a campsite

Next spot in Martigny, Switzerland

I decided to opt for the second spot as it was in a big parking area in the town of Martigny. I went for a long walk around the town and it had a very busy square. Once I was back it was time to get some food cooking, I opted for a Carrot and Corriander tin of soup I brought with me which was very nice.

Carrot & Corriander Soup

The car park was completely packed by 9pm and it turned out I was on a museum parking where they were holding a Picasso Exhibition. It felt weird lay in bed reading my book whilst people were all dressed up off to see an Exhibition. One lady walked straight into my wing mirror who was parked next to me, maybe she had a few too many.

Day 25 - 02/07/2016

02/07/2016

This morning was another filled with debate over breakfast as the thunder and lightning returned along with heavy showers. My plan was to start making my way towards Lac de Chalain to meet James and Luke but the rain was so hard I was unsure whether it was a good idea driving in it. The facilities weren't great at this site and the spot wasn't so enjoyable anymore so I decided to carry on with my plan to head to the next place. The other thing that swayed me to go is that tomorrow is Sunday and the van fuel gauge is on 1/4 which wouldn't get me very far. As I was leaving I paid up and the cost was €50 for two nights! It's an awesome spot but I'd expect the facilities to be better for that money.

Truckin' around Lake Como

I set the satnav to take me to a free camper spot over the other side of Lake Como which would put me closer as this journey alone was 50 miles. The satnav was doing my head in as it took me to a ferry which didn't seem fit for the big van and wouldn't load a different route so I had to just drive off in the direction I thought was faster when it then rerouted. Unfortunately the direction in terms of distance was quicker, however there was an accident in the direction I was going causing standstill traffic for 2 hours. Eventually I made it through and around to the free spot which was nice and quiet with a handful of other motorhomes parked up.

I didn't arrive until late so I chilled in the van reading and catching up on the blog.

Day 24 - Lecco, Italy

01/07/2016

Today was another day of chilling by the van, by mid morning I also received an email from my University confirming the classification of my degree. I kayaked across to the other side of the lake and had a paddle around. 

Breakfast

Slacklife keeping me busy

Floating about sunbathing

Perfect spot to catch up on reading