Done, ciao Napoli

We have almost reached the end of our adventure. Maureen has been handed over to the people who will put her out to grass...

Goldie is being good waiting for his first trip on an aeroplane. Time for a beer I think..

Its been great.  

Maureen

She did us proud, over 2100 miles on just over £200 of fuel.

Now for the things that really could have caused issues but we went with it anyway.....

• Tracking was out causing wheel judder at 50+mph.
• Wheel judder loosened something behind the steering wheel which caused more steering wheel judder.
• Electric windows had a mind of their own and would do some random things.
• Shocker bump stops left the car somewhere on route so the back end clunked on bumps (so all of Italy).
• Something was loose on the back end and made some odd noises on sharp corners.
• Brakes squeeked.
• Turbo was none existent.
• Steering was occasionally a bit "interesting" the car wondered on the road.
• For the last day when locking the car the suspension decided what it's ride height would be, sometimes up at the front sometimes the back.... 

But that said she started, drove(ish) and got us to the finish and the airport.

I'd like to say she'll be sadly missed but the reality is it's time she got scrapped. A real banger for a banger challenge.

An early start

Not for any other reason than nature called after a night with a couple of beers...

Heading down to Pompei today for the official rally finish, via Rome and Mount Versuvious.

Rome was great went to the collosium on a park and ride

Then to Basilica s Paulo which was not on the places to visit but sounded interesting, the basilica was a great place off and the stop was nice. You can see where the churches money went over the years...

And Mike insisted we check out the world renouned McDonalds to sample the double cheeseburger which he can happily report to be just like the English one but with better tomato sauce.

Day 6 questions

Hope everyone's having some fun with these questions? Anyway here's day 6's quiz sheet.

Made it to Pisa

So we parked on the outskirts of Pisa and decided to have a walk into the walled area around the tower.

It's a fantastic sight and has a significant lean

The building behind the tower is equally magnificent.

Day 5 questions

Thanks for the support on the questions, it's very much appreciated. Here are today's brain teasers...

Day 5

A slower day today with only 235km to do to a place on the edge of the sea called Porto Stefano.

The day started early with a trip to a local go karting place which was fun.

The weather suggests there's a huge storm due to hit Florence so we are heading through it down to Pisa which should be better weather..

Mike's decided we are experiencing rural Italy by not using any toll roads or motorways, so we are mingling with the locals....

The thing sounded like it was flat out And struggling to get above 15kph... Maybe it's next year's banger???

Rural roads are a little more "rustic" so the suspension which is knocking more than it did before is getting a workout.

Oh and driving is fine, indicators and speed limits are seemingly unnecessary and people mingle on roadabouts, why have 2 lanes when you can just about fit 3...

Alps, Italy, motorway prices

Set off this morning at about 8, obligatory croissants from the first boulangerie we found.  Made our way round lake Geneva and into Switzerland. €40 for a road tax sticker and into the mountains.. 

Poor Maureen, 2200 metre climb to the top of the St Bernard pass, most of the climb in first or second gear, but she made it, a bit hot, a bit of a weep at the top, but cool enough in 20 minutes to top the radiator up. 

The view from the top is spectacular, the weather was perfect, warm sun, still and the air chilly and clear.  We stopped for a bit. Coffee and a moment to absorb the majestic beauty. Its truly fabulous. 

The procession of the ralliers down into Italy has been filmed for a documentary program that will be shown on Netflix, 40 or so of the cars made it to the top, some showing signs if the strain of getting to the top, some lost gears, some like us bolied, others were smoking badly, but the good humour and cheerfulness of our fellow rally goers was a testament to the enjoyment we had all has getting to the top. The road is worth travelling, I'm going to come back and do it again for sure.

The descent went on for a long time, when we made it to the motorway, the road still kept on down hill. 

Now, just past Milan, the motorways are busier than any we have encountered up to now, and the costs of using them is astronomic. €26 for 150k or thereabouts. 

Goldie made some friends, and enjoyed the scenery too. 

Fortunately we had brought our sofa with us so we could amire the view.