EmmJays Travel Journal

October 1968

My travel companions and I had been on the road in Europe since September. Our last stop was Trieste, Italy. Camping in Europe turned out to be a great decision and we were all looking forward to the second half of our trek. Venice loomed on the horizon...

Venice, Italy

On reaching our campground in Venice we gathered around the juke box and just had a lot of fun. Venice presented us with quite a challenge. Here the main streets were canals or waterways. We piled into a vaporetto (little steamer) to San Marco, which took us along the Grand Canal. The houses lined the canals and some were adorned with the days' laundry. We walked all day after that. Leather goods were very inexpensive and beautifully made. The markets were very colourful and bursting with goods.

San Marco square was covered with pigeons. There were artists painting the cathedral and you could hear a violinist playing in one of the restaurants that lined the square. In the evening we ate in one of the sidewalk cafes. The air was fresh and crisp and it ended up a lovely evening in town. On the way back down the canals to P.Roma we took a fast steamer via different route then the one we came in. Venice was so unusual and it had a special atmosphere to it that was hard to describe. Maybe romantic is the best descriptor.

Once more on the autostada between the Swiss border and Italy we stopped just outside Padua at an autogrill for coffee. The autogrills are bridges that cross Europe's' motorways. On the bridges which are all enclosed with huge glass windows one can buy anything from an orange juice to a full course meal. Most autogrills have supermarkets in them too. After coffee we headed for Milan.

Milan, Italy

We pulled into the city slap bang in front of the Milan Cathedral. Without hesitation I would say that this is one of the most magnificent cathedrals that I have ever seen. The stain glass windows were amazing. I spent so much time inside this incredible structure that by the time I got to La Scala Opera House, it was closed. I wanted to see this too, but we had set very little time aside for exploring Milan as it is primarily an industrial city. We all decided that we would cross into Switzerland instead of setting up camp in Milan.

Italy to Switzerland

There is doubt that some of the most spectacular scenery in the world is in the Swiss Alps, especially in autumn. It was October and the colours were of the highest quality. We climbed to approximately 7000' before making our first descent through the Sunpeon Pass. In winter this pass is often closed due to avalanches or just heavy snow fall. There was snow on the ground but as the sun peeked through the tall trees some of the snow had melted. There were massive waterfalls cascading down the face of the mountains.

The van was really pulling hard so we decided it deserved a rest so we set up camp at Matigmy. The proprietor of the campground had two Ethiopian baboons on the premises, one of which was expecting twins. With typical Swiss hospitality the camp officials showed us all an interesting and fun filled evening. The following morning we were headed for Geneva.

Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva is situated on a large lake. The city reminded me of a neighbourhood of doll's houses. Even the roads looked as though they had been scrubbed. We spent the day just walking around looking at everything.

Switzerland to France

We had dinner in the mountains and made a camp fire to boil water for tea and coffee. With our tummies all filled with Swiss bread and salad we headed on through the Alps heading for France. The scenery was beginning to change from forested mountains to hills and then eventually flat countryside. The motorway allowed us to do the maximum speed our van was capable of, which was slow compared to the other motorists on the road.

Paris, France

Paris was lit up when we rolled in. There were cars darting in all directions. The French appeared to be constantly in a hurry and the horn was their favourite toy. Around and around L'arc de Triomphe we went, trying to find a driver who would let us cut across traffic into the lane we needed to exit. It took a while.

The campsite at Pont du Neuilly was really nice. It was located in Bois du Boulogne in the heart of Paris. In the morning we left the van at the camp and made it on foot through the streets of Paris. A friendly Parisian gave us a lift to the Eiffel Tower where we spent quite some time. A fellow traveller, Little John, who was over six feet tall, walked with me through Paris over the days we were there to places that included the Military Academy, Le Louvre, Pantheon, Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, Madelm, L'arc de Triomphe Elysees and Napoleon's Tomb. We took the metro quite a bit to these places of interest and we also had coffee and a bite to eat at some of the side walk cafes by the Seine.

We squeezed a lot into our stay in Paris. The metro amazed me... the trains had rubber wheels making it totally sound proof. The ride was smooth and enjoyable. The Latin Quarter was completely over run with students. There had been a terrible riot in this location a week or two prior to our arrival and there were still a lot of police milling around. The police did not look aggressive but I am sure they could be fierce if need be. We did find just about everything ridiculously expensive but all so exciting nonetheless.

We left Paris at 7:30pm for an all night drive to Belgium, via Ostende.

Zeebrugge, Belguim to London England

We arrived in Zeebrugge in time to have a coffee in the snak-a-go-go. The ferry left at 4am and we touched down in Dover at 10am for our drive back to London.

Altogether we travelled 6000 miles.