From the Camargue area we drove north-east between flat vineyards on D135, interrupted by literally dozens of new roundabouts (an English invention only recently adopted by the French) , bypassing Nimes whose towerblocks filled the sky to our left. After 15 miles, we turned east on D999 – a good road, apart from the continuing plethora of roundabouts. The Mistral buffeted us from the north as we climbed gently, past the charming 12th century stone Chapel of St Laurent, isolated in a field. A new ring road swung south of Beaucaire, crossing the Canal du Rhone and then over the mighty Rhone itself, leaving the Languedoc Region and entering Provence.

More roundabouts punctuated the D99 to Cavaillon, where we refuelled and put some air in one of the tyres before crossing the River Durance and turning south-east on D973 for Pertuis. We were in higher limestone country now, about 300 ft, with the cliffs of the Luberon National Park to the north, sheltering us from the wind. By the time we stopped for lunch, among the olive groves and vineyards of Les Borrys at 400 ft, we felt the warmth of the sun and knew we were at last in the south of France.

The road climbed through Pertuis (700 ft, 78 miles from Vauvert) and continued up to la Bastidonne (1,130 ft). From the col at 1,350 ft we had views of the snow in the Verdon National Park, before dropping to Mirabeau and turning south to cross the Durance (88 miles out). East again along the narrow Defile de Mirabeau on D952, to St-Paul-les-Durance and on to Vinon. The verges were still frosty in the shade, at 835 ft.

We entered the Verdon National Park at Vinon-sur-Verdon and turned south-east to climb up D554 to 1,170 ft, then down to La Verdiere and east on D30. The first road sign for Aups '19 km' was spotted after 110 miles driving, at 1,756 ft. After the village of Regusse, past the turn for Moissac, the D9 led the last few miles to Aups: Village de Caractere, at about 1,500 ft.

We squeezed along impossibly narrow lanes for a couple of miles to reach the cabinot of our old friends Martin & Clare, spending a second winter in their new home. A warm welcome awaited us in the cosy little stone cottage, set amid an acre of olive trees - a wood-burning stove, a pot of tea, travellers' tales, a lengthy meal, while our motorhome rested in their garden among the scented thyme and rosemary.

January 5/6     At AUPS     Chez Martin & Clare

Walking, talking and feasting

We learnt a little about olives, watched the birds feeding, fed a bonfire and caught up with events in the lives of Martin & Clare and their family. An afternoon walk through the woods into Aups (3 miles), returning along the lanes (1.75 miles), brought a glow to the cheeks. It's a lovely little town, with a Thursday morning truffle market at this time of year. The 400-year-old church is solidly designed by an English architect and the local speciality (apart from wild boar and truffles) is fougasse – a sweet lemony bread, sampled from the bakery.

We also admired Clare's handicraft, in the colourful shapes of crochet work, and Martin's handiwork, ranging from carpentry to setting up a website for Clare's wares, on www.wiltshire.eu.com.  

January 7   103 miles     AUPS – MONTE CARLO (Cote d'Azur)

Round the Cote d'Azur and along the Autoroute, almost to the Italian Border

Farewell to Martin and Clare, then we edged our way through Aups (Saturday morning produce market in the square!) and downhill on D31 for 7 miles to Salernes, at 900 ft. We turned east on D560 and D557 for Draguignan, a large town 14 miles further at 550 ft. We joined the N7 at Le Muy and followed it eastwards, parallel with the A8 motorway (la Provencale), which has tolls.

Round a detour in Puget-sur-Argens and into Frejus (41 miles from Aups), where we reached sea level. Bypassing St Raphael somehow (it was badly signed for those of us over 3.5 tons), we regained the Mediterranean at Agay, 10 miles later and thanks to the GPS. From there, the N98 road round the Corniche de l'Esterel hugged the rocky coast, with hills leaping up just inland. The few parking areas were all occupied by Italian motorhomes, travelling in threes, and the corniche was shared with a railway line. After 5 miles of this, we finally found a place to stop for lunch, with a view of the dull blue Med at Pointe du Cap Roux, with the TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) whistling by.

Just another mile to the border of the Var Dept of Provence and the Alpes Maritimes Dept of the Cote d'Azur region (which seems to have only the one Department). The road was fairly quiet until Cannes (64 miles from Aups), where the Shopping Festival of the January Sales was being celebrated. A few hardy surfers were on the beach and the sun was breaking through. From here we took the N7 to Antibes, as the N98 (which runs nearer the sea via Juan les Pins) has a 3.5 ton limit.

Turning north to Cagnes, we joined the A8 motorway towards Nice, judging it worth the toll now the roads had become congested. Just before Nice, we turned north on the motorway for Monaco and Italy, climbing through tunnels to emerge at 650 ft above the sea. Continuing across bridges and through tunnels, this magnificent Autoroute runs high above the tortuous coast road, with Monaco below and serious snow-capped mountains to the north.

We parked at dusk on the last service station before the Italian border, the Aire de Beausoleil at 1,353 ft, with the lights of Monte Carlo below, a pair of cruise liners in the harbour. Warned by other motorhomers of robberies on French services, we used 2 chains on each cab door, bolted the windows and dead-locked the side door. No problems.

Margaret used her remaining French phone card to check on Italy-Greece ferries (frustrating and inconclusive!) and to ring her Mother.

January 8     262 miles     MONTE CARLO – FLORENCE, ITALY

A long drive on the Autostrada to Tuscany

A bright sunny start, through more tunnels, past the last French exit on the A10 (for Menton) and into Italy after 7 miles, up at 570 ft. The first Italian toll booth appeared 4 miles later, by the exit for Ventimiglia, and we collected a ticket to pay on leaving. In Italy the charges are less than in France and (in our opinion) good value if you want to make smooth progress!

The Autostrada kept high (reaching over 800 ft), on bridges or through many a tunnel, and the hillsides to our right, between us and the sea, were covered in greenhouses, with olive groves to our left. The glasshouses eventually gave way to terraces of vines. By 10 am, the temperature reached 10 degrees C (50 F). Noticing that all vehicles had their headlights on, we quickly complied with the new law (for motorways and dual carriageways, apparently). There were no lorries on the road (this being a Sunday), but long lines of Italian cars and motorhomes were returning from France after the Christmas/New Year break.

Many Italian service stations have motorhome dump points and we joined the queue at Rio Conioli, 23 miles after the border. Diesel is more expensive than in France, but you can save a couple of cents by using the self-service pumps (use the one labelled 'Self', not 'Servizio'). LPG conversely costs a little less than in France. Paying with a British 'Visa' card was no problem (unlike France). Even the parking layby, 10 miles on, had a dump point and tap.

63 miles from the border, we passed the exit for the large port of Savona (for 'Corsican Ferries' boats) and 33 miles further we passed the even larger port of Genoa, 70 ft below, where we once arrived on a 'Moby Lines' ferry from Corsica. Guida con Prudenza (drive with care) warned the signs, as the motorway junction got complicated. Here, at the end of the A10, we took the A12 continuing east towards Livorno (and not the A7 north for Milan). We had gone through so many tunnels that our GPS mileage was lagging 18 miles behind the motorhome speedometer (no satellite signals in the tunnels).

We had lunch at a service station, 15 miles after Genoa, where we met a British truck carrying Dylan (from Halifax), his Irish wife and daughter (born in Holland). They were returning with another 'ride' to their travelling fair's winter quarters at Taranto, after Christmas in England. We were reminded of the Australian song – “The Travelling Showman” and the line where his dog can never find the bone that it buried!

170 miles from the French border, we crossed from Liguria into Tuscany at Carrara. At Viareggio, we left the A12 to turn east on A11. A few miles before Florence, darkness fell and we were pleased we had explored its treasures on 2 previous visits. Tonight we turned onto the A1, which crosses the Arno River and bypasses the city to the west and south.

We reached the large service station after the exit for Florence South (Firenze Sud) by 6.15 pm. Amazingly, the Autogrill complex included a Burger King counter, so supper was easy!

January 9    227 miles     FLORENCE – ROSETO (Abruzzo)

Before setting off we made more phone calls to Greek ferry offices and established that none of the lines sailing from Ancona (Superfast, Minoan or ANEK) now have 'camping on board' in the winter months. Indeed, Superfast have banned it altogether, while the other two allow it from the beginning of April. Since the price of a cabin more than doubles the fare (not to mention buying meals), we decided to head down to Brindisi, with the possibility of a shorter daytime crossing to Igoumenitsa, or camping on board to Patras, with MyWay or Agoudimos lines. This determined our onward route, and we continued down a much quieter A1, the Italians being back at work/school/college after the Christmas break.

After 50 miles (up at 800 ft) we left the motorway system at Bettolle, paid our toll and drove east into Umbria on the free dual carriageway towards Perugia. The sun was finally bright enough for the driver to wear shades (and to wonder why headlights were still necessary!) For 10 miles the road skirted the north shore of the large Lake Trasimeno, at 900 ft. Another 30 miles to the town of Perugia, where we took SS75 past lovely Assisi, nestled below the snow-line on the slopes of Monte Subasio. The castle, Basilica of St Francis and cathedral were all resplendent in the sunshine, reminding us of an earlier visit, based at the excellent Camping Internazionale (open Easter-October only).

At Foligno (16 miles after Perugia) we took SS77, which quickly climbs on a good 2-lane road, reaching 1,470 ft in 4 miles at Colle San Lorenzo. The villages in these hills were severely damaged by the earthquake which struck Assisi in the late 1990's. When we drove through in 2001, people were still in temporary refuges, but now appear to have been rehoused, though cranes are still rebuilding older houses and churches.

Lunch in a hotel car park at Sustino, another 4 miles up at 1,635 ft, with frost and ice on the stream. We reached the snowline 8 miles later, on the pass of Valico Colfiorito at 2,660 ft (sign '826 m'), where a couple of vans were selling local produce (potatoes, onions, dried beans). Sadly, there was nowhere for us to park, to buy or to take a photograph.

Over the pass, we stayed high, only dropping about 200 ft, and the sun was left behind. About 4 miles from the top we crossed from Umbria into Marche, where dark clouds threatened and the snow lay thicker. Through the village of Serravalle di Chienti at 2,150 ft, then down to Muccia, 13 miles from the pass, where snow still lay at 1,470 ft. Five miles later, the road became a new dual carriageway and 10 miles further on, at Tolentino, there was no sign of snow, down at 690 ft.

After 175 miles of driving, just past a new service area where we stopped to brew up, we met the A14 motorway, which runs down Italy's east coast parallel with SS16 (the Via Adriatica) and a railway line. We turned south onto it – we were at sea level, in sight of the Adriatic. 32 miles along, after San Benedetto, we crossed the river Tronto from Marche into Abruzzo.

We stopped for the night at the service station before the Roseto exit, having climbed to 290 ft through many short tunnels. We made yet another phone call to Agoudimos Lines, to check on 'camping on board' on their ferry from Bari to Patras. 'Officially, no' said the girl, 'but it depends on the crew'! MyWay, from Brindisi to Patras, had given us a definite 'Yes, it's OK', so they would probably be Our Way, again.

All was peaceful – until a small British motorhome (built by Timberland) pulled alongside. By an amazing coincidence, we now met Don and Maureen Madge, the MMM Travel Consultants for Cyprus (among much else). We knew them by name and by email – in fact, Don had recently contacted us to ask if we might meet in Turkey, where they are headed, to witness a solar eclipse at Antalya at the end of March! It was lovely to put faces to names, as we shared experiences for 3 hours over a pot of tea in our motorhome.

Don showed us his email from MyWay ferries, stating the official position – No Camping on Board – and Margaret repeated the assurance on the telephone that it was OK! The daytime Agoudimos ferry, Brindisi to Igoumenitsa, looks like the answer!