We set out from Canet on Sunday 22nd to give us a possible three days to reach Venice for the ferry. On one of the motorway stops we noticed water in the passenger foot-well, just as had happened last year when the air-conditioning outlet needed to be fixed, so that was that! No AC till we could get it seen by a Fiat dealer. (As the electric cool box had also decided to break down a few days previously and the temperature was soaring we were a shade warm!)
On that basis we drove solidly through much of Sunday (most trucks banned then!) and made it to Le Cannet on the outskirts of Cannes. There is supposed to be a brand new Premiere Classe there, but we couldn't find it- (largely because it does not exist!!!) Instead we treated ourselves to the Etap Hotel with this view tothe sea. It is on an inpenetrable network of urban motorway and restricted turns, so our hunt for a modest beer after booking in turned into a Gallic fiasco of diesel-wasting navigational errors and recrimination, including an unwanted ascent to a historic village with one-way corniche car-park and 3 euros for a tiny bottle of Heineken. Next morning the Fiat dealer could be seen but not attained from the hotel, so we drove on with windows open!
Traffic on a Monday morning on the Cote d'Azur and in Northern Italy was heavy, and we saw a monstrous tailback in the opposite direction as a result of an accident in a tunnel. We kept on steadily in the knowledge that it would be just possible to get to the Venice campsite, sparing us the dreaded quest for an Italian hotel, and giving us most of the next day at leisure and the possibility of a Fiat dealer. We were doing well, including on the very busy autostrada from Verona, when the flashing signs started about an accident at Padua. Soon the traffic was at a halt. We decided to leave the autostrada and find an alternative route to the campsite. Still very congested and certainly adding time and distance, we will never know if it was the right thing to do! We made it to the campsite after a total journey of 350 miles. Immediately the owner's son bought us a beer and brought out his Dad for a chat, so that we were putting up the (small) tent at dusk. Next morning the consequence was clear. We were both smothered with mosquito bites. (Ruth had 35 on each leg!) That day they fumigated - but too late for us!
In the morning we drove to a small town outside Venice and found the Fiat dealer, who was very very helpful but could not replicate the problem - neither could we! It remains a mystery and we have been running the AC! We killed time back at the campsite and then went into Venice, being boarded early and taking possession our our very expensive cabin. Unlike last year we would have two nights aboard, so slumming it seemed silly! Also unlike last year we left from the proper port and so had the glorious early evening cruise along the Grand Canal! A good voyage, with room in the pool to bathe and only slightly "off" wine!