Saturday 12 November 2011
After a good night's sleep in our bunk beds and a hot shower (right next to the toilet with no curtain or door, just water going down a drain), we had a quick coffee and cake then checked out of Camping Villagio Venezia and were picked up by Luca, the son of the mechanic who had fixed our starter.
We were told by Giorgio, the mechanic, that the refurbished starter had a one year guarantee, which of course wouldn't do us any good after leaving Venice but at least he seemed to back up his work... to the tune of about $540! As Dian backed out she heard the hated fan belt "squeal" so he tightened the housing, and with a slip of paper for insurance purposes explaining that he couldn't get all the parts to completely fix the van in three days, we were off with fingers crossed.
Charles had sacrificed his day in Venice to babysit the van the day before so while Nicole and Dian waited in a nearby gas station that was closed, he took the Grand Canal boat ride ("best six and a half euros I ever spent." he said) and thoroughly enjoyed his two and a half hour whirlwind tour of Venice. On his year-long trip 40 years ago Venice was skipped, so he did not want that to happen again. Together with the couple of evening hours he squeezed in the night before, it was enough.
By 4:40 PM we were headed to Lugano on the autostrada, about six hours away. Since the van didn't sound quite right, we were eager to get to there and "deliver" Nicole to her friend Lisa before anything else broke down. Charles had been in touch with our German ace mechanic and he was trying to figure out the best solution for a van that had had four tows in four months. Along the way were beautiful, over the top Christmas decorations on giant malls, but other than that the drive was uneventful and not very picturesque.
At 8 PM we entered our 19th country, Switzerland. Without a greeting of welcome or even a smile from the border guards, we were told to buy a vignette (highway pass) which cost $52, the most expensive one yet. This was our first clue as to the pricey nature of the Swiss lifestyle. Since only francs are used we had to change money at the border and then continue on past Lake Como glittering in the night air and finally to Lisa's dormitory at Franklin College in Sorengo. Unfortunately, as Charles was turning the van around the van stalled sideways in the middle of the street AND WOULD NOT START! In a Fellini-esque moment Dian saw Lisa running up the hill in slow motion while Nicole and Charles looked frozen in the middle of the road. Just in time (before a line of cars came careening around the corner to Dian's waving arms), the van came alive and we drove to the lower lot of the campus, saving our hugs and hellos till we could relax. Would Clifford ever start again?
When Nicole left to sleep in Lisa's dorm room, Charles and Dian braved their first night in below 40 (F) weather in the van.
After a good night's sleep in our bunk beds and a hot shower (right next to the toilet with no curtain or door, just water going down a drain), we had a quick coffee and cake then checked out of Camping Villagio Venezia and were picked up by Luca, the son of the mechanic who had fixed our starter.
We were told by Giorgio, the mechanic, that the refurbished starter had a one year guarantee, which of course wouldn't do us any good after leaving Venice but at least he seemed to back up his work... to the tune of about $540! As Dian backed out she heard the hated fan belt "squeal" so he tightened the housing, and with a slip of paper for insurance purposes explaining that he couldn't get all the parts to completely fix the van in three days, we were off with fingers crossed.
Charles had sacrificed his day in Venice to babysit the van the day before so while Nicole and Dian waited in a nearby gas station that was closed, he took the Grand Canal boat ride ("best six and a half euros I ever spent." he said) and thoroughly enjoyed his two and a half hour whirlwind tour of Venice. On his year-long trip 40 years ago Venice was skipped, so he did not want that to happen again. Together with the couple of evening hours he squeezed in the night before, it was enough.
By 4:40 PM we were headed to Lugano on the autostrada, about six hours away. Since the van didn't sound quite right, we were eager to get to there and "deliver" Nicole to her friend Lisa before anything else broke down. Charles had been in touch with our German ace mechanic and he was trying to figure out the best solution for a van that had had four tows in four months. Along the way were beautiful, over the top Christmas decorations on giant malls, but other than that the drive was uneventful and not very picturesque.
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| Lisa's gift from us, a vintage Luney Toons Speedy Gonzales brush and comb |
When Nicole left to sleep in Lisa's dorm room, Charles and Dian braved their first night in below 40 (F) weather in the van.
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