Arrivederci l'Italie

Last night was disasterous. Once we arrived at Lake Como we visited the campeggio we had intended to stay at to pitch up. It was disgusting so we didnt bother staying and went for something to eat. Whilst eating, we scanned the map and saw plenty of campsites around Como en route to Lecco - perfect, not too far from Milano so things could still go as planned today.

Wrong again. We had a hard enough time getting through Como - the Italians seem to have a habit of flooding the roadside with signs that are full of words, pictures and arrows that mean absolutely nothing. On the road to Lecco, there were absolutely no signs of any campsites - despite what the map said.

Then, from nowhere a field that was full of campervans appeared. We entered on the nearest road and was directed by an Italian in a high vis jacket, which we thought was strange for a campsite. Next thing we knew, we were ushered to a parking space by a man obsessed with his whistle. It was then we realised that this must be some sort of cult gathering or concert - probably for the Hoff - so we made our way out to the loud, excited whistles of the parking man because we had upset his parking system.

After about an hours further driving in circles, following meaningless signs, we stumbled accross a hotel and headed straight for it.

The hotel, "Il Corazziere", was really nice, no complaints. We helped ourselves to soap and shampoo - its rude not to -and then had a continental breakfast this morning - are they ever nice and/or satisfying?

As we write we are heading for the border, fed up with Italian life already. Not to mention the uncivilized roads and the sheer amount of original Fiat Pandas around. Hopefully, we will be in Austria by about mid-afternoon and, if it lives up to our expectations, starndards will be far beyond the reach of Italy, or France for that matter, and we will be back to a Swiss-like luxury.

1262 miles... Lake Como

We left Switzerland to the south this morning and descended upon the Alps. Metro struggled up some of the inclines, but on the whole did very well and we steadily made our climb to the top. He was mainly disadvantaged by the lower oxygen levels and the heat. Halfway up we stopped to let him cool down.

The heights were signed as we passed them and the highest we got was 3km above sea level - not sure what that is in English?

The Alps themselves were huge. Covered in ice and snow at the top, and below this we found either trees galore or sheer cliff faces. The views we had were phenomenal.

As we dropped into Italy, the climate became hot and humid at 32 degrees - not the same feeling we got in Switzerland.

On arrival to Italy we were pulled by customs to have Metro searched and passports checked. We then made our way to Lake Como, about fifteen miles north of Milano. Tommorrow, we will make our way down there to do some sightseeing and window shopping and to give Metro a rest!

Auf Wiedersehen Suisse

We're currently headed for the Alps and will be driving over them, making our way south to drop into Northern Italy.

Metro is still running faultlessly and we have even managed to stud him for a scenic photo or two before we cross the border.

Switzerland has, most definitely, provided us with the best experience so far in terms of hospitality, driving conditions and of course the stunning views we have seen. We will definitely be back...

Thuner See and Brienzer See

This morning we awoke to sun-drenched, snow-capped mountains. We have spent the day so far driving around the two local lakes and visiting both Interlaken and Thun.

For lunch, we sat on a terrace alongside Thuner See and watched ducklings learn to swim against the tide whilst struggling ourselves to order food from a German menu.

Nothing much else to report - setting off for Milano in the morning, so should have some good alpine photos of the journey to upload tomorrow. As yet there haven't been any signs to welcome us to France, Germany or Switzerland for us to have Metro posed against. As soon as we find one, Metro will be pulling his Vogue face!

1004 miles... Thun

Strasbourg wasnt what we expected yesterday. Whilst the campsite was nice and we did find a lovely little 'boulangerie' for 'pain au chocolate et cafè', the rest of the city was far too busy, full of traffic and generally confusing.

Considering this, we decided to leave asap and headed for the border. We made our way down a German Autobahn to get to Switzerland.

Germany/Switzerland is noticeably different to France in terms of cleanliness and general civility. Everything seems to have a purpose and is more upkept.

We headed for the next city on the route and set our sights for Bern. However, considering how idyllic the scenery of Switzerland is (of which we have seen very little so far) we decided that perhaps city life wasnt for us so headed for what looked like lakes and mountains (at least on our Michelin maps - courtesy of Denise).

Some hours later, in the distance appeared mountains in the clouds and we knew we were on to a winner. We picked the small town of Thun, next to Lake Thun (think Bala lake only with mountains 4 times the size and water like its out of a tap, Janice, Iain & the kids).

The campsite is right on the lake with ducks walking round. We visited the camp restaurant for a meal (all German staff and all German menu). James remembered that Schweine was pork, so thats what we ordered! Great staff, really friendly - not a word of English, but hey we're no better!

Having done over 500 miles in the last 36hrs, we've decided to stay here and do things Suisse for a day or two

Metro had a milestone today and, in the depths of a Swiss Valley, he drove his fifty thousandth mile! Well done Mr Half Century! Oh, and he did another phenomenal 47.6mpg again - good old British Leyland theres an achievement the press didn't wish to share with us...

900 miles from home, yet...

... Taxi drivers still drive like tools
... Buses think they own the road so therefore pull out whenever they please
... White van men get as close as they physically can
... Wherever you go, you get a wonky table that needs fixing with a beer mat

793 miles... Strasbourg

France is so much nicer than Paris. Once we left (which was an ordeal in itself due to Boulevard Periphique) we found that prices dropped, people got friendlier and there was a significant reduction in the number of Smart Cars on the roads.

The journey to Strasbourg was long which was mainly due to avoiding being fleeced by toll roads. The scenery wasn't much to write home about in the mid country - farm upon farm upon field upon field. However, as we left Champagne and got to Alsace, things quickly took on a more Germanic feel - you can tell we're smack on the border.

Strasbourg was originally only picked as a halfway house between Paris and Bern. Yet, as it turns out it looks quite promising. The campsite is very welcoming, leafy and green with all mod cons in a great location for investigating Strasbourg tomorrow.

As we write, we're sat under a tree drinking a 1.5 litre vin du table - all of £1! Just tucking in to suprisingly tasty tinned Canneloni with French bread - or are we just weary, tired and hungry?

Metro today hasn't, of course, caused any problems and, despite the warmer climate, has boasted an uber-frugal 47.6 mpg!

Gay Paris...

Woke up this morning at 9, sun was shining and we set off on public transport to see the the sights of Paris. We trekked the length and breadth of the city centre and saw the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe (surrounded by the worlds most chaotic roundabout), the Champs Elysees and then trudged round the Louvre.

We then headed off to Notre Dame where the sore feet and hunger hit us so we settled for a meal and a few bottles on the banks of the Seine instead.

Absolutely knackered now... Metro has been sat at the campsite all day and lapped up the sun...

We'll be escaping this mad city in the morning... Next stop, Strasbourg

485miles... Paris et le camping

We arrived at Calais and the weather wasnt much different than Dover, if not worse. Driving on the wrong side of the road came naturally, but forking out 17 euros for a toll road took the piss. The roads aren't bad - we've come to the conclusion that although the French can't build decent cars, they can do good roads - their difficulties lie in the ability to drive on them with any degree of sanity. Metro has, of course, been faultless.

So far, any signs of cheaper prices has eluded us - petrol is the same if not more expensive and we have yet to find anywhere that resembles a supermarket - with the exception of 'le expensiv mini-marche' on the campsite

282miles... Dover

Well, last night was disappointing... The Dome is, after all, still just a tent - although AEG and O2 have done a good job decking it out. As it was 'The Premiere', they planned Peter Kay (telling the same jokes from both his DVDs and wearing that same suit and blue shirt - Garlic Bread!), Tom Jones (who managed to murder each of his own songs) followed by the Kaiser Chiefs and Basement Jaxx (neither of which we saw because, like so many others, we got sick of Tom Jones' screeching and left)

This morning, we've had an uneventful journey, the weather hasnt been the best but we got here from London in about 2hrs. We did see a couple of Mk1 and 2 Escorts as well as an Allegro Sport!

As I write, were sat watching Sea France purge its loins ready to take us aboard.
Next stop, Calais and then onto Paris...

Das Boot...

As I write, were blitzing down the M6 Toll, and £4 lighter for the privilege. The sat nav tells us that we've got just over 100 miles til we get to London. Once we arrive, we'll check into our Thistle hotel and then head off to The O2 Premiere, the launch party of the Millenium Dome as something useful. So were told, theres an action packed afternoon and evening planned for us, so we'll keep you updated.

The biggest escapade this week (apart from fitting and sealing a new sunroof seal) has been packing - mainly working out what we needed, what we already had and what we needed to beg, borrow or steal to get. As it happens, the majority of the kit was packed in Das Boot by Thursday evening - with the exception of a fire extinguisher that we have yet to purchase! It really was surprising just how much we have managed to fit in to the boot... Half of the reason we didn't get a Mini, Steve. Oh the sophistication of a modern British hatch! Haha

The Route...

The route that we came up with was just thrown together as we didn't have any specific plans to visit any of the cities that we are en route to, with the exception of Prague. With that, we had a blank canvas of the whole of Western Europe that is reachable in a two and a half week space in a car, logic makes the route a circle so we aren't having to dump the car or have too long a boat ride back to England.

The begining of the route (with the exceptions of Cleckheaton and Widnes) is London, for The O2 Premiere. We will be driving to London on Saturday 23rd June for a night in "The O2" (Millenium Dome) courtesy of O2, seeing Tom Jones, The Kaiser Chiefs and Basement Jaxx. The next day, Sunday, we picked the cheapest ferry crossing to get to the continent, which was Dover to Calais - leaving at 1100hrs.

The task was then to think of an interesting way to get to Prague (and back again!), seeing as many sites as possible... So here we have it...

• London, England


• Paris, France


• Strasbourg, France


• Bern, Switzerland


• Milan, Italy


• Salzburg, Austria


• Prague, Czech Republic


• Berlin, Germany


• Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The rough planning around the route has given us on the whole a days driving, sleep over, day in a city, sleep over, leave for the next place. We haven't booked any campsites, hotels, hostels, anything at all en route, so everything will be off the cuff. The only thing we have booked is the ferry back to England, leaving the Hook of Holland at 1445 on 11/07/07, and arriving at Harwich at 2015 on 11/07/07 - leaving a final four hour journey back to Cleckheaton.

The Car...

Well, after trawling ebay and the autotrader for a couple of weeks and a couple of visits to see shoddy Metros, we finally had it narrowed down to three prospective cars.

The first one was an Austin Metro Vanden Plas from Birmingham, it looked nice, leather seats, leccy windows, the works - however, it was from 1985 and a quick call to the owner told us it wouldnt be reliable enough for a jaunt around Europe. Gutted, luxury would have been good, but not as good as a car that will get us around in one piece!

The second was a red Rover Metro Manhattan from Skipton. We liked the look of this on autotrader, but when we came to view it, it had already sold.

Last but not least was Rochdale's Rover Metro Tahiti Special. This had a 1.1 engine, five gears, three doors, a sunroof and the bodywork was in great condition. This is what we went for, for the princely sum of £500. The deal was done and there we go, owners of a Metro... All we needed then was somewhere to go in it!

The Idea...

The idea first came to us just before Christmas when flicking around the Internet, we came across the Crumball Rally (http://crumballrally.com/)... Involving a 3-day roadtrip across Europe, in a "banger" (ideally a Metro) that cost under £200 to buy...

With this idea, we set out on a mission to find an el cheapo Metro for less than £200 to go on the roadtrip with... However, places started to fill up fast and the entry costs to go onto the Crumball Rally was around £120 per team, not including accommodation... Just for three days...

With that idea, I set around planning a roadtrip around Europe that would just have the two of us on, going to places that we wanted to go to and lasting as long as we wanted it to...

The Plan...

One car...
Two passengers...
Eight countries...
Nine cities...
Sixteen days...

Roadtrip round Europe in a Rover Metro Tahiti Special!