2018-03-27 Northern Italy and Southern France San Bartolomeo and Cervo

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Northern Italy and Southern France by Hymer Motorhome

A day pleasing ourselves at San Bartolomeo

Today we are NOT going on the organised coach journey, even if we have to pay for it. After so much coach travel we cannot take another day of it. At breakfast Gill tells the group leader, she is more diplomatic than I. Another couple have decided that they will not go either.

Of the days we spent in San Bartolomeo this one was good, it was market day as I discovered. Having been away from home for 11 days we had laundry to wash, so I located a coin laundry using google maps and set off with two huge bags of dirty clothes. When I reached the laundrette it was surrounded by a huge street market where there were stalls selling everything you could imagine. First I set the laundry to wash, €4 for a wash and €2 for the drying, very reasonable indeed. While the machine did the work I went and explored the market.

I bought cheeses direct from the producer, one was a poorly dressed man whose cheeses were just thrown into wooden boxes and stacked up. We communicated in a mixture of Italian, French and English, what a great experience it was. The bargaining was different. This man had no scales to weigh the cheese, he just picked up a couple of pieces, judged the weight in his hands and said a price, two cheeses €10, then he swapped one of the cheeses for a larger piece and said €12; when I agreed he added another slightly smaller piece and went up to €15. I handed over the cash and put the cheeses in a bag, they turned out to be wonderful cheese.

I returned to the washing and transferred it to a dryer then back to the market. I sampled various chutneys and pickles, most of which were far too strong for my liking. Then I discovered a man selling his cheeses that are made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep milk, all covered in blue mould. I purchased a piece and later wished I had bought a much larger piece, it was simply delicious. Also bought half a kilo of sun dried tomatoes for €5. The day became much warmer as I walked slowly back, only just able to carry the purchases and bags of laundry.

Gill and I had lunch in the Hymer, a simple meal of Italian hard cheeses with oatcakes, absolutely delicious, the best thing we have eaten since entering Italy. Why didn’t I buy more of that cheese!

After lunch we walked along the seafront towards the hilltop town of Cervo, Gill bought a straw hat for me along the way. Cervo is a typical town on a steep hill, church at the top, narrow streets houses both sides pressing in on the street. A maze of narrow passages. On the square we stopped and enjoyed a glass of Vermentino a white wine that was new to us, but has now become a favourite, we sat in the warm sunshine sipping wine eating a plate of corn chips and salsa looking out over the ocean. We did spare a thought for the other dancers who had gone on the coach trip, but not for long.

Last night in the hotel tonight, tomorrow we get to begin our adventure touring France