Tell me about it. I was fighting off a bit of cellulitis before we came away and then it turned into Vasculitis. This is treated with steroids and they give me chronic insomnia and hot/cold sweats. My wife loves me at the moment, but saves buying red bull for any long drives!
Our euro trip - diary after every day.. Follow us!
- Thread starter itguy
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, oh I really miss Germany a lot now 
Interesting read, cheers. Looking at doing a trip myself, down through France and to the coast and Monaco.Day 3 - Bregenz
Today has been a sight seeing day at Bregenz and the local area. After breakfast we headed up to the Bregenz quay area to get a boat across the lake to nearby Lindau (Germany). The crossing was about 20 mins and gave us a real flavour of what the lake is like, so tranquil and quiet.
Had a bit of a wonder round Lindau, did nothing in particular then got the tram back to Bregenz just after lunch. We had thought we'd hire bikes this afternoon to go exploring but the temp has been a bit low (around 10c), so we opted for a nice walk instead. We were hoping to find somewhere which would sell a hotdog, but no joy. After our walk we had a pizza, then visited the old town just behind where our hotel is. We then returned to our room for a hot bath to warm up, and consequently fell asleep for an hour!
Decided to go out at about 7.30 to get some dinner, and we thought we'd fill the car up in preparation for the long drive tomorrow. Left carpark, filled up then returned to carpark entrance road to find that it had been closed due to a fire in a flat next door to the carpark!!! Damn it, we thought we'd go exploring in the car to find something for dinner.
Guess what.... Only thing for miles... A McD! What a lovely treat
Spent as long as we could eating it to give the local fire people enough time to sort their lives out and then returned to the carpark - thankfully all now open again, parked up and back in the room.
All packed ready for an early start tomorrow, we need to be leaving at 8am.
Today has been a sight seeing day at Bregenz and the local area. After breakfast we headed up to the Bregenz quay area to get a boat across the lake to nearby Lindau (Germany). The crossing was about 20 mins and gave us a real flavour of what the lake is like, so tranquil and quiet.
Had a bit of a wonder round Lindau, did nothing in particular then got the tram back to Bregenz just after lunch. We had thought we'd hire bikes this afternoon to go exploring but the temp has been a bit low (around 10c), so we opted for a nice walk instead. We were hoping to find somewhere which would sell a hotdog, but no joy. After our walk we had a pizza, then visited the old town just behind where our hotel is. We then returned to our room for a hot bath to warm up, and consequently fell asleep for an hour!
Decided to go out at about 7.30 to get some dinner, and we thought we'd fill the car up in preparation for the long drive tomorrow. Left carpark, filled up then returned to carpark entrance road to find that it had been closed due to a fire in a flat next door to the carpark!!! Damn it, we thought we'd go exploring in the car to find something for dinner.
Guess what.... Only thing for miles... A McD! What a lovely treat
Spent as long as we could eating it to give the local fire people enough time to sort their lives out and then returned to the carpark - thankfully all now open again, parked up and back in the room.
All packed ready for an early start tomorrow, we need to be leaving at 8am.
Day 4 - Bregenz - Davos - Stelvio - Bologna
Right then, this should be the day I have been looking forward to, but its been a bit of a disaster (more later).
Had a really rough night going hot/cold, think I might have a virus or infection so barely got any sleep. No appetite either.
Anyway, got in the car at 8.15 as there is a lot of kms to do today.
First stretch from Bregenz to Davos was uneventful - beautiful Swiss scenery.
The the fun began - we took the Flüela Pass to get over towards Stelvio. To say it was stunning was an understatement. I need to get the pics off the camera, they really are stunning.
Then we followed the road to get to the bottom of the Stelvio north side to find that Stelvio was SHUT! Disaster!!
So, we carried on the main road thanking our lucky stars that the Flüela Pass had been open.
I started to feel really bad so Sarah took over the driving as we started to head down through Italy. We nursed the window/roof down and then back up again too ok. The rest of the trip to Bologna was a bit of a blur Unfortunatly - I was going hot and cold, shivering like crazy and running a temperature. Sarah drove the whole way - 302kms right into the heart of Bologna to our hotel which has parking too in a secure courtyard.
We followed the satnav totally and it was 100% again - right to the door of the hotel. It really is amazing.
Then the fun started. I really am in bad way so we decided to call an emergency doctor out to the hotel, I can't continue like this.
He came to our hotel room and saw me, I was sweating one minute then shivering the next with a whacking headache. He said its either a virus or infection, so he's given me paracetomol for the high temp (39.5), ibuprofen to calm the effects of the virus generally, antibiotics in case it's an infection and also some antihistamines for the prickles for the shivering. (now €70 lighter + meds)
He also prescribed bed rest
At least this hotel has decent wifi.
We ordered a takeout pizza to be delivered to our room, as the doc also said to ensure I eat and drink as much as I can. It was belissimo! Our first Italian authentic meal in Italy - a takeout pizza!!
Sarah has now gone out to have a look around the sights of Bologna, leaving me to write this.
I just hope these meds all start to kick in so I can enjoy the rest of the trip - and so we don't have to contemplate coming home early!
What a day
Right then, this should be the day I have been looking forward to, but its been a bit of a disaster (more later).
Had a really rough night going hot/cold, think I might have a virus or infection so barely got any sleep. No appetite either.
Anyway, got in the car at 8.15 as there is a lot of kms to do today.
First stretch from Bregenz to Davos was uneventful - beautiful Swiss scenery.
The the fun began - we took the Flüela Pass to get over towards Stelvio. To say it was stunning was an understatement. I need to get the pics off the camera, they really are stunning.
Then we followed the road to get to the bottom of the Stelvio north side to find that Stelvio was SHUT! Disaster!!
So, we carried on the main road thanking our lucky stars that the Flüela Pass had been open.
I started to feel really bad so Sarah took over the driving as we started to head down through Italy. We nursed the window/roof down and then back up again too ok. The rest of the trip to Bologna was a bit of a blur Unfortunatly - I was going hot and cold, shivering like crazy and running a temperature. Sarah drove the whole way - 302kms right into the heart of Bologna to our hotel which has parking too in a secure courtyard.
We followed the satnav totally and it was 100% again - right to the door of the hotel. It really is amazing.
Then the fun started. I really am in bad way so we decided to call an emergency doctor out to the hotel, I can't continue like this.
He came to our hotel room and saw me, I was sweating one minute then shivering the next with a whacking headache. He said its either a virus or infection, so he's given me paracetomol for the high temp (39.5), ibuprofen to calm the effects of the virus generally, antibiotics in case it's an infection and also some antihistamines for the prickles for the shivering. (now €70 lighter + meds)
He also prescribed bed rest
At least this hotel has decent wifi.
We ordered a takeout pizza to be delivered to our room, as the doc also said to ensure I eat and drink as much as I can. It was belissimo! Our first Italian authentic meal in Italy - a takeout pizza!!
Sarah has now gone out to have a look around the sights of Bologna, leaving me to write this.
I just hope these meds all start to kick in so I can enjoy the rest of the trip - and so we don't have to contemplate coming home early!
What a day
Day 5 - Bologna - Florence
Well, I had a bit of a better night, slept quite well but fainted momentarily in the bathroom at 4am, coming to a heap on the ground crashing into the shower door and bidet! Told Sarah I slipped as I didn't want her to worry. Meds are starting to work I think so we're game on thank goodness.
So first thing after checking out was a quick wonder round Bologna as I didn't manage it yesterday and then off to our factory tour of the Ducati Factory, with a visit to their museum and the factory outlet store. These were all great, Bologna is very pretty and not at all touristy, felt very genuine Italian.
Ducati - fantastic to see exactly how they are put together, tested etc etc before they are released to the customer. One of the most interesting things I found was that they dyno test every single bike before release. There was an 1199 Panny on the rollers as we went past the booth and it took it to the redline in every gear right up to 300kms/hr at the back wheel. Lesson learnt - ignore ducati's "treat it gently" claim ! Someone has already thrashed it for you!
Museum was good, superbikes and GP bikes too.
Factory outlet a little disappointing, but I don't really know what I was expecting though, bought a cap, magnet and pencil!
Next we drove down the infamous EVO test road they use when they borrow cars from Modena, the SS65 from Bologna to Florence.
My goodness ive never been on a road with so many bends! It literally is left right left right all the way for 80ish kms. We skipped the very last bit as we both were feeling a bit queasy and just wanted to get to Florence (and we needed to find a toilet!). Good road though, not fast - you struggle to get above 40-50mph but a challenging and fun drive.
So we arrive at the carpark we wanted to park in for Florence which is just outside and opposite a tram station. Hop on the tram and get into the centre. Walk around a bit with a paper map looking for our hotel and bingo, we're here.
Nice period room, decent double glazing too which should help with street noise.
My first impressions of Florence are that it has some beautiful buildings and architecture, on the verge of being totally overshaddowed by how many Americans there here and how much tourist tat /street sellers / "3 courses for €10" resturants there are. I expect my view may change tomorrow as we see some more, but Americans are EVERYWHERE! None of the Italian shop staff, restaurant staff etc even attempt to speak italian to you, they just assume English and bring you an English menu. This is disappointing to us, this surely shouldn't be right?
Anyway, we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant just down from our hotel, very fresh food and great tasting. Thankfully I've also got my appetite back now too!
Another couple of quick points - fuel is really expensive in Italy - typically around 1.90 euros for super 98ron and 1.75 for normal cooking unleaded. The main problem being that not many stations on the 65 road we went down stocked 98! So cooking it was, and boy can I feel the difference - I've been running on 98 now in various forms for at least 2000 miles and the car had zero hesitations and the engine was silky smooth. Now back on 95 I am getting lift off stutter and wide open throttle hunt a bit - I'm sure it's because the knock sensors had learnt to expect 98 but then started to detect a bit of a pink and have been knocking the ignition back a bit. Car has also dropped to 38mpg too.
I'm also really glad we filled up the washer fluid with prestone bugwash - it really does shift them and doesn't leave any streaks or smears like some screen washes. Expensive at £5 per 4.5ltr but well worth it on a long road trip like this.
Well, I had a bit of a better night, slept quite well but fainted momentarily in the bathroom at 4am, coming to a heap on the ground crashing into the shower door and bidet! Told Sarah I slipped as I didn't want her to worry. Meds are starting to work I think so we're game on thank goodness.
So first thing after checking out was a quick wonder round Bologna as I didn't manage it yesterday and then off to our factory tour of the Ducati Factory, with a visit to their museum and the factory outlet store. These were all great, Bologna is very pretty and not at all touristy, felt very genuine Italian.
Ducati - fantastic to see exactly how they are put together, tested etc etc before they are released to the customer. One of the most interesting things I found was that they dyno test every single bike before release. There was an 1199 Panny on the rollers as we went past the booth and it took it to the redline in every gear right up to 300kms/hr at the back wheel. Lesson learnt - ignore ducati's "treat it gently" claim ! Someone has already thrashed it for you!
Museum was good, superbikes and GP bikes too.
Factory outlet a little disappointing, but I don't really know what I was expecting though, bought a cap, magnet and pencil!
Next we drove down the infamous EVO test road they use when they borrow cars from Modena, the SS65 from Bologna to Florence.
My goodness ive never been on a road with so many bends! It literally is left right left right all the way for 80ish kms. We skipped the very last bit as we both were feeling a bit queasy and just wanted to get to Florence (and we needed to find a toilet!). Good road though, not fast - you struggle to get above 40-50mph but a challenging and fun drive.
So we arrive at the carpark we wanted to park in for Florence which is just outside and opposite a tram station. Hop on the tram and get into the centre. Walk around a bit with a paper map looking for our hotel and bingo, we're here.
Nice period room, decent double glazing too which should help with street noise.
My first impressions of Florence are that it has some beautiful buildings and architecture, on the verge of being totally overshaddowed by how many Americans there here and how much tourist tat /street sellers / "3 courses for €10" resturants there are. I expect my view may change tomorrow as we see some more, but Americans are EVERYWHERE! None of the Italian shop staff, restaurant staff etc even attempt to speak italian to you, they just assume English and bring you an English menu. This is disappointing to us, this surely shouldn't be right?
Anyway, we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant just down from our hotel, very fresh food and great tasting. Thankfully I've also got my appetite back now too!
Another couple of quick points - fuel is really expensive in Italy - typically around 1.90 euros for super 98ron and 1.75 for normal cooking unleaded. The main problem being that not many stations on the 65 road we went down stocked 98! So cooking it was, and boy can I feel the difference - I've been running on 98 now in various forms for at least 2000 miles and the car had zero hesitations and the engine was silky smooth. Now back on 95 I am getting lift off stutter and wide open throttle hunt a bit - I'm sure it's because the knock sensors had learnt to expect 98 but then started to detect a bit of a pink and have been knocking the ignition back a bit. Car has also dropped to 38mpg too.
I'm also really glad we filled up the washer fluid with prestone bugwash - it really does shift them and doesn't leave any streaks or smears like some screen washes. Expensive at £5 per 4.5ltr but well worth it on a long road trip like this.