Full circle through Europe, after nearly 8000km, back to Amsterdam.

We checked in at the Clayton Hotel. Parking across the canal at QPark – not cheap in the city, for a few days. Tight fit. Several EV charging points. The nearby Albert Heijn store stocked Australian Lindermans wine. Charging: No need to charge. We’ll return the car in a few days. UFODRIVE only requires 20% charge when returning the EV. Much better than the typical rental petrol car full tank requirement.

We drove from France, through Belgium, back to Amsterdam.

First stop, in Lesquin France, at a McDonalds for lunch. This was our first and only fast food chain stop while in Europe. We were curious to see if it was much different to home. The French fries on the menu are, of course, just called “fries” (or “frites”, in French). They also offer plant based chicken nuggets. Charging: We parked next door to McDonald’s, at the Tesla Supercharger, which filled us up from 7% arrival, while we had lunch. We tried a Shell charger at a highway service station, while we were stopped for a few minutes toilet break. Another toilet break at a KFC offered us a few minutes to top up at the Tesla Supercharger there. Charging is what the car does while you’re doing something else.

We arrived last night in this delightful B&B, in the small French town of Flavy-Le-Martel.

Our host shared breakfast time with us, telling us the history. She bought the derelict house, which had been abandoned for thirty years. She moved from Paris, and spent a decade rebuilding it, with help from contractors, but mostly herself, with instructions from YouTube videos. Very impressive. We loved being back on rural roads.

Goodbye Paris. A quick wave as we passed the Arc de Triomphe and the Moulin Rouge.

Northward to Sant-Quentin, France, for a traditional… Indian dinner. Charging: We lazily just let the Tesla guide us to a supercharger along the way. For the first time in our two years of driving a Tesla, there was actually a queue. Fascinated by the novelty, we hung around, wondering how it’s sorted. A line of cars had formed at one end, so we drove around to join. We waited over 20 minutes. Not a novelty anymore. But I can say I’ve done it now. It turned out to be some end of holiday high demand rush. If we had it again, I would have picked a less busy charger along the route

Lunch at la Petit Palais (the Little Palace).

Much more inviting, friendly and accessible than most palatial attractions.

We strolled around Paris, checking out some more of the architecture.

Quite a few different types of electric vehicles in Paris, including cars, buses, vans…

…, buses, vans, boats, motorcycles, e-bikes, even unicycles! The inner region of the city now requires vehicles to register and display an emissions sticker. The less polluting the vehicle, the cheaper the permit. The result: noticeably improved air quality, with obvious benefits to health. There are also many electric charging options. The future is looking good.

How many photos can we take of the Eiffel Tower?

Eiffel Tower? We tried our best, over a couple of days, while we stayed a few blocks away, in Paris.

We used the last of our Luxury Escapes credit to book a couple of nights at this hotel in…

…Paris, a few blocks walk from the Eiffel Tower and the river. Parking on site, but it was a tight fit. The toilets were in the basement, with an impressive arched roof of stones. Many enticing patisseries nearby, even just outside our window. First task was to buy some croissants to have in our room. Then a walk to the Eiffel Tower, and some dinner out, in Paris. As you do 😉.

A lazy day after two days of tackling traffic to and from Versailles.

We drove through some of the poorer high density suburbs around us, stopping in a park with a random ruin. Filled with families playing bocci, other ball games, and just enjoying life. Lunch options were difficult to find. We discovered that it was “All Saints Day”, with many businesses closed. We ate at a pub, still Halloween themed, including dismembered body parts. We opted for vegetarian 😉. Tomorrow we’re heading to Paris.

Back to the Palace of Versailles.

We got to go inside this time, having finally snapped up tickets. Interior decorating overload. Amazing, ostentatious, a bit crowded. The stairs have a well worn groove from so many visitors. The traffic home seemed busier than yesterday. A long slow drive to get back. We later discovered that tomorrow is a public holiday “All Saints Day”. So, we were driving out of Paris suburbs in peak hour, just before a long weekend. We stopped by Best Wok again for dinner, and snapped a photo with the robot waiter. Charging: Tesla Superchargers next to Best Wok. The car was charged before we finished our first course of dinner. We could have also charged at or accommodation. So many options.

Our Versailles string of mishaps continued.

First the good news. We finally got out of Versailles and the busy night time suburbs of Paris, heading south east towards our accommodation. Overdue for some dinner, and the EV needing a charge, we looked on the Tesla’s navigation for a stop along the way for both. We picked one of several options along the way, a bank of “V4” Tesla superchargers. We parked, plugged in, and walked next door to “Best Wok” – an all you can eat buffet restaurant. Once we started talking, the designated English speaking staff member came over to help us. The staff were all lovely. Even the robot that collected the dirty plates and delivered drinks, had a smile. Marvin better lift his game 😉. So many food options. We were overjoyed to have fresh veggies. We plated a pile of ingredients, handed them to the wok cook, and watched him fry it up. Fun and delicious. We didn’t have escargot or frogs legs, but this was such a joyful meal to have in France. Returning to our car, all the other EVs had left. We soon…

Our second run in with police in Europe. This time in France.

After exploring the gardens around the Palace of Versailles, in the evening we drove through the southern suburbs of Paris towards the accommodation we had booked earlier that day. The navigation said to take an exit in 300m, but there were two close together, and I mistakenly took the one, which took us back in the wrong direction, through a low clearance long tunnel with a €12 fee., adding another hour to our trip. This was not going well. We exited the tunnel, back in the suburbs, driving through Versailles. Slow traffic, single lane in each direction. We could hear a siren somewhere getting closer. Suddenly, there was a police car on the wrong side of the road heading straight for our rental Tesla. In addition to flashers and sirens, they started flashing high beams. We stopped, checked rear vision cameras and mirror, and slowly reversed to the side. Bang! We hit something. We felt and heard it. “Shit shit shit” I said as I immediately thought of the €2000 excess that would soon…

We arrived at at the Palace of Versailles, passed the golden gates and the armed guards…

…only to discover that tickets to the actual palace were completely sold out for today. So, we spent the afternoon wandering the magnificent gardens (which also required tickets). But first, lunch at one of the restaurants, which turned out to be big plate (and bill), small meal. Fancy and delicious, though. We bought tickets to the palace for tomorrow, which means another trip back here from our accommodation on the other side of Paris. Charging: We looked for a nearby EV charger, which would have also given us free parking, but they were taken. So, we paid about $30 for parking near the front gate. We’ll charge on the way to our accommodation, while having dinner.

Having finished the laundry and exhausted our hour of parking, we shuffled our now clean…

…clothes into the frunk, drove to the other end of town, plugged into a destination charger, and proceeded to fold our clothes and pack them into our suitcases. Life in Europe is so glamorous! Next to the charger is possibly Cluny’s main attraction: The Cluny Abbey. We felt obliged to visit it. Charging: Later that evening, I popped out for a walk from our accommodation to collect the car, which was fully charged for our trip towards Paris tomorrow.

Inching closer to Paris, we stopped overnight at a B&B in Saint-Clement.

Breakfast was a hamper delivery in the morning. Dinner was a regretted kebab from across the road. On the way to Saint Clement, we stopped at a patisserie for lunch, followed by Halloween themed cake. Charging: There was a destination charger over the road I didn’t think to use it until the next morning while we had breakfast. It was a bit of a drama to get it working, as you can tell from the screenshots.

We stopped in Cluny, France, for a couple of nights, at this B&B, hosted by Cedric.

sted by Cedric. Beautiful historic town. A few streets adorned with strings of bras, which we were told are in support of breast cancer research fund raising. Parking in the narrow cobblestone roads is a challenge. It took a couple of attempts to find somewhere that didn’t block a turning area or garage. On any road trip, the laundry eventually catches up with us. We started some machines going in the local laundrette while we enjoyed some lunch nearby. Then we laid the clean clothes in the Tesla’s frunk to sort out a bit later. Charging: No EV chargers in this historic lane. Our host chargers his Fiat in the single car driveway from a standard power point. There’s a destination charger in town, which we used while exploring the abbey (see separate post).

A brief drive through Lyon, heading north west towards Cluny and Paris.

Parking was at a premium. Then we thought to look on the Tesla navigation for an EV charger, which of course comes with parking. Great! We found one a few blocks away – an Australian brand “Tritium”. One bay way taken, so we parked in the spare bay and had a brief wander in the central park. Again, the toilets disappointed, so back to the car to get toilet paper. Again, EV chargers are easier to find than functioning toilets, in much of Europe. Charging: The first EV in Lyon hadn’t moved by the time we returned, so we checked the navigation for somewhere to charge along the highway, on our way to Cluny. The next stop was also a dud, with the available charger not working. This has been rare for us to see. The next stop worked fine.

We left our B&B, detouring on our way to Paris, to check out this “palace” suggested by…

…our hosts. What a quirky place. Built by a postman, over several decades, with no particular artistic or engineering skills. It’s kind of like a large sandcastle sculpture. Along the way, we snapped a photo next to a wind turbine. Notice how the crops are planted right up to the edge of it. A great way to keep agricultural land and still generate power. Charging: A destination charger in the car park, which was handy because this route doesn’t have many options, unlike the suggested route to Paris, on the navigation.

Day trip back towards the French Alps, along some sections of road carved into the side…

…of a mountain. Beautiful hike along the stream to a waterfall. The restaurant on the map was not a functioning option when we arrived, so we made do with snacks we happened to have in the car. The toilet turned out to be BYO toilet paper, so we became popular with other hikers when we showed up with a spare roll. Be prepared.

We followed our usual pattern: at about 4pm we looked on Booking.com for somewhere to…

…or somewhere to stay, generally in our direction of travel. We stayed at this lovely B&B house in La Tour-du-Pin, a medium sized town in France. The owner, her visiting daughter, and her young son looked after us, with breakfast and tips on local attractions. And music played on an old style record player. When we told a few locals we are from Australia, they each asked “why did you come here?” I don’t think they get many passing through 😉. For dinner, we were really needing some veggies. So, we bypassed the traditional French cuisine, and opted instead, both nights, for Asian style food from nearby “Marco Polo Cuisine du Monde”. The (French) manager was thrilled to put a second pin into Australia on his world map of visitors (pictured).

First stop (on the return northbound trip) in France.

Time for a break and afternoon tea, so we just looked in our general direction on the navigation map for something random worth the stop. Waterfall and cafe – perfect! This cafe’s decorations showed that Halloween is surprisingly big in random places across Europe. Crepes with sugar frosting. Mum: I think your crepes are better 😋. We spotted another EV parked there too – a Porsche Taycan, which costs about three to four times our Tesla. Charging: No EV charger here. We charged earlier while stopping for a cuppa, just before we crossed the border from Italy.

Leaving Italy. So many toll booths, with different systems.

Some give you a ticket to insert at the other end, then pay. Some require payment up front with a tap on. Some don’t do tap on, so you have to use a physical card. Different booths for different payments. We reversed out of a few. Not a fan. After that, we turned on “Avoid Toll Roads” in the navigation. The most expensive toll of the whole trip was leaving Italy through a long tunnel to France. This toll booth was actually staffed. When he said “€55”, I asked “Is that just for this road?” Yes it was. The cafe had very little. We settled for a croissant and cuppa. We passed on the pokies. French/Italian alps along the way. Beautiful scenery. Charging: We plugged into the Tesla Superchargers just before the border crossing tunnel, while grabbing a cuppa. A couple of trucks had almost ICEd our access, but we managed to do some reverse precision driving around them.

October 17 - 22: We stayed for a few nights in a flat, 40 minutes from Rome.

Great view from the balcony. Our hosts Antonio and Roberta were lovely. They live in the flat on the ground floor. We had several conversations through the Google Translate app. For the first time, our accommodation included an adapter for Australian plugs. They even brought up their microwave for us to use. Dinners in our flat included: 1. The first night, when we arrived, we were a bit wrecked. So, cereal for dinner. 2. Francis cooked up a delicious veg pasta, which, thanks to the microwave, fed us two nights. 3. Tom tracked down a local pizza shop and ordered a dessert from the menu. The pizza was great. The “dessert” turned out to be spinach and chili something, which was inedible. Definitely failed with the translation there. Charging: Parking was on the street. No EV charger here, but a few options nearby. Well just charge when the opportunity arises.

We headed north from Lucca, stopping on the coast at the little town of Lerici, for a…

…cuppa and a stretch. The toilet at the cafe was just a seat over a hole in the floor, so we looked elsewhere. The public toilet required coins, but after coins failed, a local told just that you can just open the door. BYO toilet paper. Charging: Much easier to find a charger than a toilet. We stopped along the highway near Ronco Scrivia and grabbed some lunch while the car connected to fast charging.

We found this lovely B&B in the Italian countryside, just past Alessandria.

Our host, Greta, was equally lovely, making our breakfast and having a good chat. She confessed that part of this was procrastination over study 😉. Charging: No EV charging here, but we charged earlier along the highway.

We explored the walled town of Lucca.

Charging: Free car parking at a nearby charger. Nice.

Possibly the best thing about visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa is seeing how many…

…people pose for a photo to hold it up. Charging: We looked for a nearby EV charger on the Chargemap app, and found one within a short walk of the tower. As a bonus, the parking is free at the charger, but paid in the other spots. The Enel X system was again a bit of a hurdle. I started to resort to trying the website, but eventually discovered that I just need to hold the payment card on the machine for longer.

Starting our return northward journey, from Rome towards Lucca, near Pisa.

We turned on “Avoid Toll Roads” and took some rural roads near the west coast of Italy. We stumbled across this cute little cafe in the middle of nowhere, with a family of welcoming cats. Charging: Right next to the cafe was a bank of Tesla Superchargers, so our EV filled up while we had a coffee.

We grabbed a few glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea as we drove north along the Italian…

…Coast, towards Lucca, near Pisa. Charging: On the map, a charger near the coast looked like a good place to stretch our legs. On arrival, it was in a shopping center car park, not near anything interesting. I had a stretch, short charge, and we kept going. The UFODRIVE app warned us that we have exceeded the 5000km included with our rental. I underestimated our total Europe driving by about 40%.

We’re staying in Lucca. W

ing in Lucca. We live on the second floor. We live upstairs from you. Yes, I think you’ve seen us before. 🎼 If you hear something late at night Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight Just don't ask me what it was Ok, throwback song lyrics aside, “something late at night” was me trying to find some nearby food outlet. First was Asian. Second night was getting pizza from across the road in the pouring rain, after waiting under an awning for the pizza shop to open. When I returned, drenched, our host Maria had given us some snacks and wine for our movie night in. Very kind. When we arrived, carrying Fran’s pillow, Maria laughed that we’d brought a pillow all the way from Australia and asked if her pillows weren’t good enough. We stayed in the Kind Arthur room, complete with a mural of him on the wall. Breakfast on site, prepared by the lovely Nadia. The hearts on the coffee were the virtual icing in the cake. Charging: No EV charger at the premises, but Maria offered to arrange for us…

At the Pantheon. And recovering nearby with a fruit drink, in part to gain a QR code to…

…use a toilet 🤪. The walk through Rome continues…

Stop two, on our wander through Rome.

No line. No fee. No reconstruction barriers. Probably the most spectacularly decorated church (or building in general) I have ever seen.

Rome in a day, part one. We noted that the Trevi fountain was undergoing renovations, so…

…we instead headed for the Plaza Navona… which was also obscured by renovations. Walking through the streets is an adventure of its own. Grabbed some lunch. Now, onward through the streets of Rome. Hopefully we can find the Tesla on our return, parked in a station, almost under the Vatican.

One last church before the walk towards the Vatican.

We ended our walk through Rome with a visit to St Peter’s Basilica, at The Vatican.

We found an EV charge point tucked away behind security in St Peter’s Square (see photo). It wasn’t open to the public, so perhaps it’s used by the Pope Mobile or the several police cars that patrol the square (fume free – yay!). Dinner at a nearby restaurant. Then a walk through a few tunnels to try to find the car park. Charging: We stopped at some random fast charger along the highway on the way back to our accommodation. We stopped for about ten minutes to top up.

We’re on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond, in Italy, 20 years after filming. F

rancis is a big fan, and we both loved that Season 5 double episode. We found the location for where they stayed, where Robert met Stephania, at the gelato shop, where Ray bought the best pizza he’d ever eaten (which is no longer a pizza shop). We couldn’t find Robert’s wallet next to the wharf.

We left the serenity of our Tuscan villa and headed into the chaos of Florence alleyways.

We tried to park in a small parking lot, but they needed a key (or card) in case they need to move it. Our UFODRIVE rental doesn’t provide us with the Tesla car card, so we couldn’t park there. Fortunately, we were able to squeeze into a street parking spot, 10m further down the alleyway. We grabbed some breakfast at the cafe next to us, mainly so we had access to a toilet. I tried to order a ham and cheese toastie, but ended up with a ham and cheese omelette. One of the waitresses smiled at me (Tom) and blew me a kiss. I won’t spoil the story by revealing more details. We walked for a while to the basilica, figured out where the line started, and grabbed a gelato to eat while we waited. We managed to finish it off just in time. Total queuing was about 30 minutes. All roads lead to Rome. Back into the Tesla, we headed south.

Random shopping observations in Italy

tions in Italy: For even mild drugs like paracetamol, you have to go to a pharmacy, and queue. Some have a dispenser chute from upstairs, as pictured. When we start speaking English, they will usually laugh, say “no”, and call over their designated English speaking staff. In an earlier town, while trying to buy a lactose intolerance pill, I nearly bought a lactose pill. That could have been nasty. You have to be very careful with translations. We bought some fruit, veg and snacks at a local “Coop” grocery store. At the checkout, the operator had to take our fruit back to the fruit section, weigh them, choose the price per kg, print a sticker, bring it back to the checkout. We were apparently supposed to do that, but she was forgiving. Rubbish is sorted into several bins. One of our hosts told us that government contracts to properly dispose of waste are fraudulently controlled by the mafia who transport it to other countries to dump it 😧. Charging: PlugShare doesn’t show all the…

A pretty chilled day in Tuscany.

Early morning work meeting for Tom in the Tesla and some work (coding) overlooking the valley. Pretty great office view. Breakfast provided on site. There was no “or” on the menu, but they did request no waste. Francis had an afternoon nap to recover from not feeling well, only to be suddenly woken by the cleaner who missed the “do not disturb” sign. Whoops! While we enjoyed the view, Marvin’s (our home mower) Italian cousins scurried around, keeping the lawn trim. I only ventured out in the Tesla to grab some pizza for dinner. I tried the parking spots until I found one where the car fit. Only to then see that the Land Rover next to me had taken three spots at once. (It’s much bigger than the photo perspective suggests). Charging: All charged up from the destination charger at our accommodation.

Time to leave Venice, but not before the famed gondola ride.

It was high tide, so the bridge clearance was tight. That required some tilting of the gondola and movement of the ballast (us passengers) to navigate through some places. The angled view of the water and impending gravitational pull did not make the ride as relaxing as we had imagined. But, it was a lot of fun (all thrills, thankfully no spills). Next: all roads lead to Rome. On our way, we stopped just off the highway for a late lunch at a restaurant. We had missed their lunch window, so it was down to having some snacks in the car. Charging: Our Tesla had sat in the car park on the mainland for a couple of days. We neglected to check if they had charging available. The restaurant had Tesla Superchargers outside, which charged us up while we found the toilet, that we’d missed the lunch window, and grabbed some snackage.

We’re spending a couple of nights in Tuscany at this gorgeous villa, in Buggiano, part…

…way between Florence and Pisa. More stairs, and tiny entrance (while carrying bags), but great views. Dinner at the nearby restaurant (Ristaurante Pizzeria S Elena) included cat cuddles. Francis is missing Archie back at home. The villa has three robot mowers, to help Tom, missing Marvin at home. Charging: Two of the six parking spots include a destination charger for EVs. Score! With a view of the castle on the hill!

A whole day in Venice. Exploring the laneways.

Watching staff sweep the water from the hotel porch. Navigating the crowds near the cathedral and square. Chilling with fruit salad and a quartet paying Ed Sheeren, the Titanic theme, and classical music. Love the violin and cello.

We arrived in Venice! I’ll let the photos speak to the beauty and hustle bustle of the…

…place. Best to view them in landscape, full screen, and zoom in. It’s gorgeous. The chaos and fumes of narrow roads is gone – replaced with similar in canals. The walks through town are delightful. So many shops and things going on. It was supposed to be an easy transition for us today, with a one hour drive from our previous night’s stay near Verona. But it ended up being a big day. Here’s a list of our challenges and goofs today: 1. The police escort through Verona. That deserves its own post. Stay tuned. 2. We searched Booking.com for accommodation in Venice that included parking. We were aware that you can drive to Venice but not into Venice. We hoped to find accommodation that provided some parking so we wouldn’t have to arrange a shuttle, repack and lug bags too far. It was a long shot, but we found a match. It wasn’t until after we booked it that communication with the coordinator revealed that the “parking” was actually on the mainland, before the 4km bridge to Venice, and it…

Parking, parking, where for art thou parking?

We planned to visit the historical part of Verona again, as we passed through this morning. We drove towards Juliet’s Balcony, hoping to get a park nearby. The usual chaotic traffic and tiny lanes reached a new level, as we emerged in small streets covered with pedestrians. Nowhere to go. One person looked at us and said good morning in Dutch “goedemorgen”, recognising our Netherland licence plates. Another person politely asked if we were okay and told us we couldn’t drive through there. We sat at the intersection for a few minutes, with another clueless motorist behind us, so we couldn’t reverse out. In front of us, as luck would have it, was a police car. One officer eventually came over, and kindly offered to have us follow them out of the bedlam. Francis probably would have followed him and his accent anywhere. Police escort through Verona! We looked for a parking option along the way, but in the end just laughed and headed towards Venice.

One night stay, by the river, in a suburb of Verona.

Our host, Ariana, helped us reset our booking, since we’d somehow picked the wrong date in Booking.com. We squeezed into possibly the smallest lift we’ve ever seen. Fortunately, we had grabbed only our next day’s clothes from our large suitcases, in the back of the Tesla. Breakfast included, which was delightful, along with interaction with friendly staff and a three generation Italian family of guests. On our drive here from Lake Como, we stopped at a shopping center along the highway. It’s amazingly just like the ones at home in Australia, except, of course, everything is in Italian. The Tesla Autopilot driver monitoring is over cautious. Even with my hands on the wheel and eyes ahead, it often complains that I’m not paying attention, until I wiggle the steering. On this trip, it counted three strikes and disabled Autopilot until I parked 🖕. Charging: The shopping center has Tesla Superchargers. We arrived with about 8% and just plugged in while we had lunch. Normally, my Tesla app…

After checking into our accommodation near Verona, Italy, we discovered that there aren’t…

…many dinner options, other than pizza, open before 7pm. So, we ventured into a Verona to find some Asian cuisine. The roads are still pretty crazy. After doing a few laps of busy roads and one way alleyways, dodging pedestrians and motorists, we found a park (I think it was a park). Takeaway noodles on the river overlooking the castle bridge turned out to be a romantic location. Charging: We stopped for lunch, earlier that day, along the freeway, and fully charged from a Tesla Supercharger.

Late yesterday, we arrived in the small town of Dervio, Italy, after crossing the border…

…uneventfully, from Switzerland. Our host, Eleen, was delightful, and walked us through our small flat at Residence Antico Torchio. Road space and parking are tight. We had to move the car to a tiny roadside parking spot between poles, which took some careful seven point turn reversing. The best way to walk through town is via the many alleyways between buildings. At the train crossing that bisects the town, a sign asks motorists to turn off their engines while waiting. Like most rules in Italy, the locals seem to ignore them, so the street often fills with car fumes, punctuated by cigarette smoke. But away from the traffic, the walks are beautiful. We grabbed some local pizza for dinner, after translating the menu. We bought a couple of things in the local store, via communication with the staff that was mostly laughs, but not many understood words in either direction. Whenever we tell someone we’re from Australia, the usual response is “wow, so far!” Washing time again. The on site…

A beautiful walk around Lake Como (well, a fraction of it, near Dervio, Italy).

Fancy lunch at the Urban Fish restaurant, as recommended by our host, Ariana. Not so fancy heated supermarket dinner, served by Tom. Resorted to using pots and a stove, since there’s no microwave over here, or in many places we’ve stayed so far.

Stopped for lunch just before the border, in a very Italian part of Switzerland, on Lake…

…Lugano. The best eggplant parmigiana I’ve ever had. The textures and flavours were amazing. I tried to thank the chef through the language barrier. Parking in the car park took a few attempts. This average size Australian car feels big here. We eventually found out that these particular spaces, marked in pink, are reserved for women, for safety at night. Charging: There were probably EV chargers further down the car park, but we didn’t bother. We fully charged the car last night at our accommodation in Switzerland.