Rimor lovers from around the world: La Casa Viaggiante (The Travelling House)
Tell us about yourselves
We’re Sara, Francesco, Giorgia e Edoardo, a family from the province of Milan. Mum and dad have been together forever, and almost from day one they have been travelling in a motorhome (borrowed from Francesco’s generous and trusting parents). Travelling is not just about going to places far from home, travelling is about seeing things from a different perspective, growing up with a more open mind and becoming aware of how big and diverse the world is. It’s something that has always brought us together and it’s a virtue we want to instil in our children.
Sara is a classic troubled soul. She’s got a thousand projects on her mind and never has enough time to bring them all to fruition. In addition to her full-time job, she’s also decided to start what’s now become her second, our blog.
Francesco is the handyman in the family – if there’s something to be fixed, built or created, he’s the guy you want to get it done.
Giorgia is nine years old and is a nice mix between a woodland fairy and a little rebel. Creative, introspective and sensitive, but also a bit resistant to authority. She doesn’t go dancing, she skates.
Edoardo is six years old and somewhere between a cuddly teddy bear and a truck driver. With his wild outings he makes us laugh at least as much as he drives us crazy by ignoring us when we call him.
Your Rimor’s ID card:
- Model: Katamarano 1
- Birth year: 2006
- Km travelled: 55.000
- Nickname: La Casa Viaggiante (The Travelling House)
The 3 advantages of travelling in a motorhome
○ Flexibility: Especially for those with children, this is the biggest advantage of a motorhome. Everyone knows children can fall ill at the most inopportune times, usually just before leaving. With a motorhome this problem isn’t so much better, but at least it’s easily taken care of without losing deposits or having to cancel train, flight or hotel bookings. Even the weather forecasts are less likely to ruin our trips with a motorhome. We’re going to Liguria and the forecast calls for rain? No worries, we’ll head to the lake instead!
○ Freedom: being able to stop off in nature for a meal with a view of the surroundings, or seeing a little secluded area while driving that inspires us and deciding to stop for a bit. Or when a day trip gets extended because we’ve fallen in love with the place. Travelling in a motorhome gives us a type of freedom that is unthinkable when travelling by any other means.
○ Safety: this was an aspect we’d never given much thought to until about a year ago. Since the pandemic began, our motorhome has become a means not only of being free, but also of being safe and travelling in peace. Guaranteed social distancing, your own bathroom at your disposal and basically the safety of your own home transported on wheels around the world.
The strangest encounter on one of your trips
It’s not really a strange encounter, or rather, it isn’t if we think about it today, but for us it was quite significant. During our very first motorhome trip (France and Spain in Francesco’s parents’ motorhome when the two of us were barely twenty) in Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava, we met a couple of rather elderly French gentlemen. They were over seventy and living permanently in a motorhome and were spending a few months there before moving to the south of Spain. It was the first time we had met a full-timer.
At the time, the term wasn’t even used, or at least it wasn’t as widespread as it is now, and I remember how impressed we were by the idea of being able to live on the road all year round. Since then, I (Sara) have been trying every now and then to propose it to Francesco, who doesn’t have the same sort of perpetual wanderlust that I have and prefers to have a house made of bricks – in addition to our Travelling House!
First and last trip with your Rimor
○ The first trip with our Rimor was a nice tour of Tuscany, a region we love, with some dipping into Umbria and Lazio – small villages in the hills, art cities and of course a bit of sea and nature. Giorgia was three, Edoardo wasn’t even one, yet it was one of those beautiful trips on the road, with several stages, as we motorhomers like. It was a trip that made us discover places we’d never seen before and others that we’d seen in a new light. Some people had said that the trip would be too demanding with small children, but it was a wonderful experience. It helped us realise that travelling with children is possible – or rather, it could be – and that travelling is a great way to learn about life. This trip also confirmed for us that travelling by motorhome could be wonderful not only as a couple, but above all as a family, for all the reasons mentioned above. Since then, there have been many trips both in our wonderful Italy and abroad, including Holland, Greece, Corsica and France.
○ Our last trip was once again to Italy (owing to the pandemic), which never ceases to amaze. We went to discover Abruzzo, a region we didn’t know and turned out to be a real surprise. Wild and still largely unspoilt nature, wonderful landscapes and a wonderful feeling of freedom. Campo Imperatore is one of the milestones for us motorhomers, and once you are there, you understand why. Not to be excluded is the Costa dei Trabocchi – villages that seem to be suspended in time and the wonders of the nature parks gave us some truly memorable moments.
Tell us about your favourite trip with your motorhome ever
Every place is special, but if I had to choose one of our motorhome trips, I would say mainland Greece. We discovered an authentic Greece where unspoilt nature, history and culture come together to make for a truly varied trip. We swam on semi-deserted beaches, visited the Meteora which is one of the most incredible places we’ve ever seen, went back in time at archaeological sites, walked through quiet, picturesque villages and admired natural beauty. Of course, the roads made us break out in a cold sweat at times, but it’s a destination that really gave us a lot and made for some great memories.
Who is/was the best travelling companion? How about the worst?
We have always travelled alone, partly because it’s important for us to spend time together as we work full time and don’t have much time in our daily routine to really be in each other’s company. We also like to manage our trips our way. Since we only have a few weeks’ holiday a year, we want to make the most of them according to our needs and wants. Not to mention that among our acquaintances we would struggle to find other families willing to follow us in our rather intense pace! That’s why we couldn’t really say who was our best or worst travelling companion – unless we chose them from within the family. For example, when Sara gets in a bad mood because she can’t visit all the places she wants to, or Francesco when he gets stubborn when unexpected events or changes of programme happen, or the children when they complain about some long walk or activity they don’t find very exciting. At the same time, however, we are also the best travelling companions we could wish for each other. Being together in our motorhome and discovering new places is what makes us the happiest!
3 pieces of advice you would give to someone thinking about getting into the world of motorhomes
1 | First of all, I would advise you to give it a try and see if it ‘clicks’ with you. We are die-hard motorhomers and in love with this style of travel, but we are also aware that it’s not for everyone – just as motorbike trips or cruises are not for everyone. In our opinion, it’s a bit like being with a partner, you have to feel the spark, and the easiest and least risky way to find out if a motorhome is right for you is to try it out, more than once if possible, because one date isn’t enough to know if you’ve found your soul mate, just as two days aren’t enough to know if investing in a motorhome is right for you.
2 | The second piece of advice is to work on our awareness as motorhomers. Sometimes we improvise a bit too much. It can be good to ‘throw yourselves’ into a new adventure such as becoming a motorhomer, but doing it with full knowledge of the facts is fundamental. We must always be aware of our environmental impact, local regulations and customs, what can be done and what is best avoided. The health of our planet is at stake, as well as the image and perception of motorhomers in general.
3 | The last piece of advice I would give is flexibility. One of the aspects I mentioned among the advantages of motorhomes is also a characteristic that we motorhomers should always have in the first place. Travelling in a motorhome means always being ready for some change of plans, unexpected event or change of itinerary. It’s important to try and confront these aspects calmly so our experience can be more pleasant.
Which do you prefer: free camping v. well-equipped structure?
On our trips we always do a mix of different types of stopovers. A few nights in a free stopover, some equipped areas and a few nights in equipped campsites. This last choice in particular is to keep the children happy. They always appreciate well-organised facilities, perhaps with activities organised for them or with a nice swimming pool which they can swim and play in. We’re still trying to grasp this strange law of children. We can be in the place with the most beautiful sea in the world, but they’ll always be excited about a swimming pool!
We might stay at campsites for a few nights, opening up the awning, unleashing the barbecue and taking it easy for a few stops aimed at ‘winding down’. When we’re on the road, we prefer ‘easy’ stops with a smaller budget, partly because for those we only need to sleep and then get back on the road.
What are 3 of the most beautiful and functional features of your Rimor?
- The double wardrobe is definitely one of our favourite features. There are four of us and though we try to travel light and limit ourselves to the bare essentials, even those still take up a lot of space!
- Then the bathroom with separate shower, very comfortable and functional
- And finally, the four beds that are always ready (we have the double bed in the overcab and the bunk bed in the back).
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