T R A V E L   :  I T A L Y   2 0 0 6 

Saturday 8th July 2006

Photos I took: 6

An Early Start

"Paula, it's time to get up!" I said, gently shaking her.

"OK," she murmured.

It was 4:35am. We were flying to Italy for a two week holiday. We drove to Cardiff to pick up Rachel, my sister, and then on to Bristol International Airport, where we met up with my mother, father and grandmother. This was a family holiday to have a good time after a losing three grandparents in 12 months a while back. We had originally been going to the Lake Como area, but the villa we had paid the deposit for fell through. Well, more accurately, it appears the guy did a runner with the £150 and wouldn't answer email, SMS or phone calls. I found a farmhouse in Valle d'Aosta, in the Italian Alps, which was available and my dad booked it with just seven days to spare. Talk about a close call! We did get a very good deal though and it was half the price of the other one. My uncle was supposed to join us as well, but he decided not to come. Families!

Causing Confusion

The first bit of confusion I caused was at Purple Parking, where my car wasn't booked into the system so they weren't expecting me, but that was easily solved. We were driven the 500 metres to the airport and took our luggage to the fast check-in desk - I had checked everyone in online the morning before. With our luggage gone, we went through the security and into the departure lounge, where we sat and waited for our plane to board.

Then came the second bit of confusion. At the gate I handed the lady my boarding pass, which she scanned and then scanned again. It appeared that I was already onboard, which was a surprise to both me and her! The assistant told her what to do and we walked to the bus. Once full, the bus took us to a plane, which was tinier than we had expected. Standing upright was only just possible and there were two seats on one side and just one on the other.

The flight to Milan was smooth and uneventful - I even managed to sleep! We landed, collected our luggage and went to the car rental place. Then began our third bit of confusion. The cars we had been allocated were far better than we had booked, which meant there was a discrepancy in the price, so the lady had to call the manager over to ask what to do. Once it was all sorted, we were given our keys - I had a brand new Volkswagen Passat 1.9tdi and my dad and Paula had an older 1.9dci Renault Scenic. I'd been given the better car :-) It took us a while to figure out how to start the car as there wasn't any key, but with that problem solved we left the cars and went to buy lunch at the supermarket.

First Italian Drive

After a quick bite to eat we set off to try and find our way onto the motorway. My father navigated me and Paula followed. In the UK we drive on the left hand side of the road, but in Europe they drive on the right hand side, which meant I had to change gear with my right hand rather than my left hand. I did get used to it eventually! The electronic handbrake caused a little confusion but we eventually worked out that it took itself off if you tried to drive away with it on - most of the time...

We soon discovered that the Italian drivers had no regard for the speed limit and it wasn't uncommon to drive 80Km/h through a 50Km/h speed limit. Once on the motorway, unsure of the speed limit, I stuck at 110-120Km/h. Some cars overtook us pretty fast. I found out later that the speed limit on motorways is 130Km/h. I also found out afterwards that it is now law to have dipped headlights on outside of cities and towns - that explained why most other cars had their lights on.

We arrived in Valle d'Aosta after driving through some longish tunnels - something that isn't easy whilst wearing sunglasses! The farmhouse we were staying in was on the mountain just out of Aosta. We found the road with ease and started up the hairpin bends, passing straight by where we were staying without noticing. The instructions said it was just past the 7Km marker. By the 9Km marker we knew for sure we had gone wrong, but trying to turn around on the mountain road wasn't easy! We eventually managed it and got back to where we should have been, or so we thought. We drove down the dirt track to a house which was the wrong one. The owner didn't seem to know where the house was, even though it was the next consecutive house number. Leaving the cars there, Dad and I went to find it - it was just across the road - the map we had been sent had the wrong house circled!

Home From Home

We backed up the steep drive, which was on the corner of a bend (but not hairpin) itself. When all the luggage was inside, we decided who was sleeping where. Mum and Dad slept in the downstairs bedroom and Rachel slept in the downstairs living/dining room. Grandma slept in the middle level twin bedroom, whilst Paula and I had the main living/dining room where we all spent the most time.

With that sorted, Rachel, Dad and I headed back into Aosta to find a supermarket. We had been planning to go out for a meal, but were so tired that we decided to eat at home instead. Buying the food was an experience, with everything in Italian. Even the choosing of fruit and vegetables was different - plastic gloves had to be worn and once bagged it had to be taken to a counter to be weighed and tagged by staff who must get extremely bored with their job.

Wine, Wine, Wine

Back home, Paula and I cooked pasta with onions, mushrooms and tomato mush (we weren't sure exactly what it was, but mush describes it very well!) We sat down gratefully at the table and began to eat and drink wine (except Paula who doesn't normally drink alcohol). Once tea was over, we stood outside for a while amidst the racket of the crickets and grasshoppers. After a while, we adjourned back inside and played Extreme Uno and drank more wine - well, Dad and I did! Between me and him, we got through two bottles save for a glass or two my mother had. It was nice to unwind and relax after the stress of travelling.

It poured with rain whilst we played, which was a pleasant sound outside. Afterwards, we went outside and admired the view again. The rain had stopped, although it had started to get dark. Inspired by the view, I tried some long exposure photos of the Aosta town with mountain towering above it.

Looking down onto Aosta

Feeling very tired after the long day, we all went to bed. Unfortunately, Paula and I had moved the bedding into my grandmother’s bedroom earlier in the evening for more space, but she had already gone to bed, so we had to do without. Instead we used cushions and the throw from the sofa-bed. I was nice and warm, but Paula felt cold during the night.