On the road again
Saturday, May 31, 2008
It took us four days to travel through France and to reach the Cinque Terre. Like I’ve said before, France is huge. We began our trek in the northeast corner of the country, heading south. We went through the Alsace again, sticking close to the German border then headed inland a bit driving through the Vosges and Jura regions near Switzerland. We flirted with Switzerland but in the end decided to end the relationship before it began – almost all major roads in Switzerland are tolls and the Swiss charge a road tax just to drive in their country. We’ve make it a rule not to pay to drive so that was enough to dissuade us from going there. As it was, Sir Gar, our GPS, screwed us up and put us on a toll road once – it cost us €4.60 before we could get off – and that was for less than 10km
On our third day we reached the French Alps and began our journey across them to enter Italy. We were following the river Arc that was gushing downstream. It was swollen and dirty and we thought it interesting that there was still so much snow runoff coming from the mountains (which still had snow on them even in late May). We had camped near the river the previous night and had a little rain to contend with in the middle of the night but thought little of it.
As we climbed the Alps the river got more and more violent, hurtling itself into its banks and ripping at the soil, trees, bushes and shoving them before it. People were out, cameras in hand taking photos and it took us a while to realize there was far too much interest for this to be the norm. Continuing uphill we began encountering the French equivalent of DOT (Dept. of Transportation) workers surveying the river. Somewhere along the way, it began raining; the water was just beneath bridges and we finally decided maybe this wasn’t just snow runoff.
Less than 20 kilometers from the Italian border (we were so close), we were told by the Gendarmes to turn around; the road was closed ahead. We returned to the town we had just passed through and tried another route. It was closed too. We were left with one alternative: the hated toll road. We approached it with trepidation – we hated having to pay, but what if it was closed too? We’d be backtracking a serious number of kilometers to find another way into Italy. Fortunately it was open to us and with no charge, due to the circumstances, although all semi-trucks were being turned back. I can imagine their frustration at being stuck in the middle of the Alps with no alternatives open to them but to wait or return the way they came.
We were directed off the toll road at the next exit opportunity, passing into a small town where we had our picnic lunch (sandwiches inside Lily). Our way into Italy was a 13km long tunnel (toll - €47) running through a big mountain that straddled the border between France and Italy. Exiting the tunnel and entering Italy, we were surprised by another raging river charging downstream. Once again road workers were carefully monitoring the river’s status and we realized we were witnessing something extraordinary.
After our entry into Italy we drove 34 km on Hwy 24 into the medieval town of Susa, Kathi and Larry’s first chance to see an old Italian town. The center of town (always the core) was eclipsed by the raging river that ran right through the middle of the town.The town’s inhabitants were out along the banks taking photos and studying the height of the water beneath the bridges.
Stopping for our first Italian Gelato we finally learned what was going on. It had been raining for 10 solid days and over a meter of water had fallen. Since this was the Alps, the water had nowhere to go but downhill, and on both sides of the border the rivers were wreaking havoc as they sped downstream.
The river flowing through Susa was not due to crest until later in the afternoon and everyone was worried because it had almost exceeded its banks already.
Finally we knew what was going on!
We contined down the mountains into the flatlands of the Piedmont region and into, then through Torino (of shroud fame).
As in the past, Bruce is doing a fabulous job driving and adjusting to the driving habits of each country we are in. Italy is always the most challenging and chaotic but Stefano Andretti Fitzmauricio has returned and is in good form. Italian driving is intense what with two lane streets being squeezed into four lanes and intersections become a race to see who can cross first, but he is adjusting amazingly fast.
We got through Torino in just the fashion described and found a camping in the town of Asti (of Asti Spumante fame). We spent the night under a large carport because the pitch was so soggy from rain the manager feared we might get stuck. Late in the night a thunderstorm went by but we were cozily dry under the roof.
Friday, our last day on the road took us through Genova and Larry and Kathi got their first chance to see a real Italian city. Genova is a burnt sienna, ochra, brick red and green colored city. Trompe l’oiel is a method of painting that deceives the eye and Liguria is known for it. The plain walled buildings are painted to look like they have stone corners or columns and cornices or dormers around windows and they look so real you want to touch them to prove to yourself they are an illusion. Most windows have green shutters to accent the colors.
A lot of the buildings we passed were large beautiful homes overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This was Kathi and Larry’s first view of the Med, a body of water Bruce and I are absolutely bonkers about. It wasn’t at its best that day, gray clouds reflected on the sea giving it a drab look rather than the lovely azure blue it often is, but it was the Med.
We followed the coast on the Via Aurelia, the 2000+ year old road once traversed by Roman Legionnaires, past Genoa up into the hills beyond Portofino, Rapallo, Sestri Levante and eventually to Levanto, our base for visiting the Cinque Terre. We camped at Agua Dolce, the same camping we stayed at 8 years ago. This time it was a bit more expensive at €42/night for 4.
Saturday, May 30, 2008
The Cinque Terre is an area in Liguria that encases five (cinque) villages lying along the cliffy coastline of the sea. Each village begins on a hill covered in vineyards then trickles down to the sea and a small harbor where the tiny blue and white colored fishing fleets anchor. Traditionally the economic basis of the five villages was fishing and winemaking.
Rick Steves, the backdoor travel writer has championed the quaint, sleepy villages of the Cinque Terre for years and finally the towns have been discovered so much that Italy turned them into a national park to help preserve them. They are also listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Bruce and I had the pleasure of visiting the Cinque Terre eight years ago when they were still relatively undiscovered and found our visit to be one of the highlights of our trip. We were excited to share it with Larry and Kathi.
The best way to get to the five towns of the Cinque Terre is by a quick train ride. In between villages the railroad runs through tunnels then pops out into the light of day at each town. The effect is striking: darkness then light; darkness then light.
We decided to take two days to see the towns. We hopped a train to the furthest town, Riomaggiore and Bruce and I immediately found a difference in the atmosphere. The creation of the national park has infused money into the area and with that a more commercial atmosphere. I think it is a two-edged sword; great the for the townships but not so good for me, the visitor.
We spent two days visiting the villages sharing the experience with a jillion holidaying Italians – (things get crowded when the Italians are on holiday – for some reason they seem to want to go to all the tourist areas we want to see). Our second day, besides being a holiday weekend, included a train transportation strike so we and all the holidaying Italians took a ferry to the villages. Our ticket included a trip to La Spezia and on the way we found our own backdoor village where, despite the holiday, it was not inundated with tourists. It was a new discovery for us and it was fabulous – we enjoyed it far more than the Cinque Terre. Next time we’ll go there, we could easily spend a week in that area (I’m not sharing its name and I ain’t telling Rick Steves, for sure!)
Sunday night we joined the Levantians as they celebrated…we’re not sure what, but they had a drum band leading flag throwers – a medieval tradition that continues today (see the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" for a more complete understanding of what I’m talking about); a capella singers – both men and women groups; discos and fund raising dinners of sliced some-sorta-meat that looked and smelt delicious. The party didn’t begin until 8pm and continued into the wee hours (we assume – we quit by 10:30).
Monday June 2, 2008
We drove out of Levanto early in the morning and once again following the old SS1 (via Aurelia) we passed the marble quarries of Cararra and arrived in Pisa by 1:30.
The old Torre Pendente Camping, where we stayed on our previous trip, is 800 meters from the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) where the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre Pendente) resides. In photos I’d always seen, the Leaning Tower was an independent entity famous for its lean. In real life the Tower is one of a four part component: Entering the large enclosure through an arched walled entrance, you are treated to the view of the cylindrical baptistery, the incredibly beautiful four-storied marble Duomo and the leaning bell tower behind it. Behind them is the Camposanto or cemetery, claiming to have soil from the Holy Land brought back by the crusaders.
A big difference on this trip is everywhere we’ve been, there is an entry fee. To walk the trails of the Cinque Terre is a fee; to enter any of the four elements in Pisa requires a ticket. Evidently churches in Italy are now requiring entry fees (this when the Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest entities in the civilized world – oh, that’s why).
We paid to enter the Duomo (having had the opportunity to visit all four previously, we felt you get more bang for your buck there) and once again got our socks knocked off. The interior of the cathedral was stunning with 68 columns and multi-colored marble in evidence throughout. A mosaic depiction of "Christ In Majesty" in the apse, completed in 1302 survived a devastating fire in the 1500s along with a few other exceptional pieces of art. A magnificently carved marble pulpit depicting scenes from Jesus’ life is one of them. An upper gallery, perhaps forty feet high, extends along both sides of the nave and we learned that in centuries past this is where the women were made to worship. You can’t appreciate the devotion of those women until you see what they were willing to endure (like maybe nosebleeds?) to worship. Meanwhile the men had it easy, staying at ground floor level. (As Kathi said – they’ve been messing with us for a long, long time.)
The Campo dei Miracoli is about all we find worthwhile in Pisa so after a night camping – where we enjoyed fireflies flitting about the camp as we watched a movie at our very own drive-in (sit-in) courtesy of our laptop and some DVDs we brought – we hopped into Lily and made for Firenze.
On Tuesday, it only took us three hours to go 70 kilometers (I swear to goodness 1 kilometer equals 3 miles, not .62). We got lost leaving Pisa, then followed the Arno River east to Firenze where we got lost reaching Camping Michelangelo, the only place to stay in Firenze for camping. Our approach to the camping ended down a narrow, steep road right across from the camping.
(We have a theory on why Sir Gar – our GPS – occasionally insists on taking us down strange paths. We will input a destination and Sir Gar computes it. Sometimes he is wrong as far as we are concerned, so we change course. At some point we divert back to his directions and then the trouble begins. He is pissed off that we ignored him and he will get his revenge. We have been dragged down tiny lanes in the middle of big cities (Torino, Genova, Pisa and now Firenze) and across open country paralleling bigger roads that we can’t quite connect with. Because we are not familiar with the areas (especially the cities) we are at his mercy and he has none.) Finally, after I fearfully rebelled and begged Bruce not to follow Gar’s directions to go down the steep, narrow road as our final approach (instead I walked the road and decided Lily could make it – but it was that close) we reached the camping.
Camping Michelangelo is all about location. It is right next to Piazza Michelangelo, famous for its views overlooking the city. (Most photos in those coffee table books, looking down upon the city are shot from the piazza.) It is about a 5 minute walk down the hill into town. Once we set up camp we took that 5 minute walk and introduced Kathi and Larry to Firenze. We walked across Pont Vecchio, Firenze’s oldest bridge and one of only three covered bridges in all of Europe.
Pont Vecchio was once the butchers quarter but sometime in the Medici reign the rulers decided the offal from the slaughtered animals was polluting the river Arno and the butchers were replaced with jewelers who have been there ever since. There is a lot of gold on that bridge now.
We overviewed the Uffizi Gallery where resides one of greatest museums in the world and continued to Piazza del Signoria the square where much of Firenze’s political life took place. Michelangelo sculpted his David for this square and here it stood for a couple of centuries until it was moved to the Accademie for safety and preservation sake.
Florence is a beautiful city of red tiled roofs and old, old buildings dating from Dante’s era – the 1200s to modern, but the downtown is almost exclusively Renaissance era.
We wandered around the city for a couple of hours then purchased tickets for the Uffizi for Wednesday.
Wednesday, June 5, 2008
This was Uffizi Gallery day. Our reserved entrance time was 1:00-1:15 pm and we didn’t leave until after 4pm. The Uffizi with its emphasis on Italian Renaissance art is one of my favorite museums. It shows the evolution of painting from Byzantine styles through high Renaissance. Many, many of the great artists are represented here including Giotto, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, (everyone knows his Birth of Venus), Caraveggio, and Fra Filippo Lippi who’s Madonna painting is one of my very favorites.
The boys were done with the museum sooner than Kathi and I and they waited outside patiently for us to complete our tour. Then we hurried out to find a sandwich because we were all starving. After satisfying that itch, we walked toward the Duomo, checking out shops along the Via Calzaiuoli (kind of the Rodeo Drive of Firenze).
Around 6pm we returned to the camping, taking bus #13 right to the entrance.
Again, I must stress - internet access in Italy is hard and wifi almost impossible - they passed some law requiring everyone who accesses the internet to register so the government can trace you. It is a terrorist thing for them and a major inconvenience to travelers, but we do what we must.
So far we are using Internet cafes (at ridiculous rates, too) and we will update when we can.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
On Friday, we left Firenze and traveled through a bit of
Tuscany and a lot of Umbria on our way to Assisi. Umbria, long considered the
plain sister to its neighboring province Tuscany, is beginning to be recognized
for its lovely gently forested rolling hills, patchwork fields spotted with
tall cypresses and charming walled towns with a tower and a church spire near
their centers.
Assisi is the home town of St. Francis, founder of the Franciscan Order within the Catholic Church. It is a rose and white marble hilltown spilling down the side of Mt Subasio in the Umbrian foothills. It is an absolutely stunning sight that has had a dramatic impact since the days of Roman greatness.
We revisited Camping Villagio Assisi, a mere 4 km from Assisi and set up camp. The camping provides a shuttle to and from Assisi and we planned to use it to spend Saturday in the town. Kathi’s father’s patron saint was St. Francis and she was going to develop a particular fondness for the town.
St. Francis died in 1226 at the age of 45, after living a
simple and radically nonmaterialistic lifestyle. His preachings were so
successful he was almost immediately canonized and a short 2 years after his
death the basilica which holds his tomb was begun. He was buried in the
basilica two years after the work began. There was an argument among his
followers; some wanted a simple church while others believed Francis should be
remembered in a sumptuous manner. The result is two churches; an upper and a
lower one.
People go to Assisi on pilgrimage to see the basilica which
was decorated by the top artists of the pre-Renaissance world. Frescoes in the
upper church by Giotto display Francis’ life. The lower church also contains
frescoes along with painted vaulted ceilings and Francis tomb.
An earthquake in 1997 caused considerable damage to the
upper church but it has since been repaired. That same earthquake damaged the
town and took longer to repair although it now seems complete.
And speaking of the town – what an exquisite jewel of a hilltown Assisi is; cobbled streets with stairs leading up and down the mountainside take you all around the town and flowering windows boxes add bright splotches of color to the lovely light rose colored marble. Churches and museums and shops will keep you busy all day long and all the walking you get it will work off all the gelato you can consume as you shop.
We had a lovely day.
Sunday, June 8
We started for Rome but first we visited Santa Maria degli Angeli, today a modern town just below Assisi, and 800 years ago, the place Francis died. A great basilica has been erected over the site of his first chapel as well as the small hut where he died. Jeez, you wonder what he, a man who promoted the simple life, would think to see the two extravagant basilicas built in his name.
We drove to Deruta, an artisan town that specializes in the richly colored and intensely patterned pottery that Italy is known for. We saw so many lovely (and expensive) pieces but Bruce and I settled on a Christmas ornament and Kathi and Larry found a lovely little bowl with handles, both with similar designs.
And finally, around 1:30 pm we headed towards Rome. For the first time this trip, we actually arrived in a reasonable time without getting lost or losing time due to slow roads. We drove the 154km in about 2.5 hours – a record – arriving at Via Flaminia Camping (another campground we visited 8 years ago). The Camping offers an internet special of 5 nights for the cost of 3. It is a pleasant surprise since it has upgraded the toilet/shower blocks and offers wifi for just 2euro for 3 days – a major bargain!
Monday June 9, 2008
For our first day in Rome, we took the 10 minute train ride into Piazza del Popolo and began a five-hour walkabout for a little overview of the city. We visited the Spanish Steps, walked the Via Corso (a major boulevard) to the Pantheon – the Roman temple turned Catholic Church (and thusly saved from pagan destruction) and current movie set for “Angels and Demons” the Dan Brown book set in Rome (we missed Tom Hanks by minutes).
The Pantheon has a domed roof that the artist/architect Brunelleschi studied in hopes of rediscovering the ability to engineer a dome (he obviously succeeded when he built Firenze’s Duomo dome – first since antiquity). It is also where the artist Raphael is interred.
We tried to get to St. Ignacious Loyola Basilica to see the unbelievable interior but it was closed for lunch and we’ll have to try another day.
We continued down the Via Corso to the Vittorio Emmanuel II
monument (aka the Wedding Cake or Typewriter – as the Romans call it) the
gargantuan white marble monument to the successful unification of Italy in
1870. Climb the stairs to the top and you see great views of the city.
Then we walked past the Roman forum (we didn’t peek ‘cuz that is for tomorrow) to the colosseum and the Metro which we jumped to return to the train station to return to our camping. We were pretty pooped when we got back but we stopped at a supermercato and picked up hamburger fixings for dinner, then went back to our pitch where some of us took naps while others (me) typed journals. Larry woke this morning with a stomach ailment but despite that (and with the help of some Imodium) he stayed the course over the 13.5 kilometers we walked today. He was due for an early night though.
Mamma Mia – That’s a Bigga Churcha
Friday June 13, 2008
Late Monday night Bruce came down with whatever it is that Larry had contracted earlier that day and spent some serious time staying close to the toilets. Around 10-ish Tuesday morning we got going again, taking the train from our local station, Due Ponte, into Piazza de Popolo station where we transferred to the metro taking it to the colloseum. Our plan was to “do” the Roman Forum and then go to St. Pietro’s Basilica.
The Roman Forum was the center of Rome’s political for 1000
years beginning around 500BC. When you think of the Roman Civilization and
things that happened in Rome, you are thinking of the Forum. Victorious
generals paraded their spoils along the Via Sacra through the Forum as excited
spectators cheered them on. Cicero, the famous orator of ancient Rome was put
to death (for pissing off Augustus Caesar) and his hands and head displayed at
the Rostra, the dais where public speakers spoke. Mark Antony stood on that
rostra and spoke to the crowds after Julius Caesar’s murder: “Friends, Romans,
Countrymen”…(well actually that was Shakespeare, but you get the point).
Bruce and I totally enjoyed our touring of the Forum in 2001 and we couldn’t wait to take Kathi and Larry through it. We walked around the Coloseum first, marveling at the size of the 2000-year-old ampitheater that could entertain 80,000 Romans in its heyday. Even today when all that is left is a giant ruin, it is an impressive symbol of Rome.
We walked to Constantine’s Triumphal Arch, across from the Coloseum and from there headed up the Via Sacra (oldest road in Rome, the mother of road building) towards the Forum.
We got a nasty surprise when we saw the road was fenced off with signs directing us to an entry gate 200 meters away. At the entry gate we learned we must pay 11 euro each to visit the Forum. I threw a minor tantrum – our last visit entry was free and this time the Rick Steves Italy book said free entry (I re-read it and saw the overlooked word that makes all the difference – “winter”) – and we decided that $16.00US was a little steep to walk the Via Sacra through the Forum, no matter how cool I thought it was. If it had been 3-4 euro we would have popped for it, but damn – 11 euro???
It took me a while to get over it, but we decided to continue to St. Peter’s and hopped the metro (again) to the Basilica exit.
Following Via di Porta Angelica we entered Piazza St. Pietro from the side – walking through the giant marble double-rowed columns that encircle the immense plaza and towards the fountains and obelisk near the center. Above the dual columns larger-than-life statues of saints and popes stand sentinel over the piazza.
Bernini, the renowned Renaissance artist/architect who put
so strong a mark on Rome, designed the Piazza so it looks like two arms
embracing the Christian world. The piazza can embrace an unbelievable
quarter-million people + within those arms while the Basilica’s six acre
footprint can accomodate 60,000 worshippers at once.To enter St. Peter’s one must pass through metal detectors
then up steps to reach the portico (porch) that covers three entrances to the
basilica. 
The middle doorway is the entrance, past high relief bronze doors into the basilica itself, so large that the side chapels are the size of regular churches. In the right front corner of the interior church, you will find Michelangelo’s rightfully famous Pieta – the lovely sculpture of the eternally young Mary holding her adult dead baby in her lap. Quite the contrast from so much art portraying Mary and her infant son – this depiction of the mother and lifeless child is heartbreaking.
The basilica is filled with monuments to popes and saints and has great mosaics of famous paintings done by famous artists. Almost every well known artist across the centuries has contributed to the collections of the Catholic Church and much of it is displayed in this house of worship.
The place is huge: looking far down the nave from the
entrance you see in the distance Bernini’s (there he is again!) high alter; a
canopy made from bronze taken from the Pantheon ceiling and rising a
magnificent 29 meters (over 95 feet) in the air. Beneath the high alter is the
tomb of St. Peter himself. The dome designed by Michelangelo (and completed
after his death) is the largest in Christendom and was modeled after the
Firenze dome and the Pantheon’s. It rests on four pillars surrounding the high
alter. These pillars are so large (to bear the weight of the dome) they are
barely recognizable as pillars but instead, to the uninitiated eye, look to be
recessed walls filled with huge statues of evangelists and figures from the
Passion of Christ.
I am sure the basilica was designed to overwhelm the visitor because it truly does.
Our sightseeing days last about 6-7 hours: we start around 10 after our showers, then coffee and croissants and around 4 pm we begin our return journey to camp. We spend a lot of time walking about and - between sights - trying out the local pizzas, gelatos and pastries. You will see me expanding in the photos (and hopefully contracting as we get out of Italy).
We had two more days before Kathi and Larry were scheduled to leave and we had hopes of seeing the Vatican Museum on Thursday but Wednesday we visited the Capuchin Chapel, Trevi Fountain and St. Paul beyond the Walls Basilica.
The Capuchins are a religious order who, 400 years ago,
began a very strange custom of dismembering their deceased brothers and using
the bones to decorate the chapel. About 4000 brothers (or their bones) are on
display here. Skulls were piled into arches around skeletons in monks robes.
Arm bones were tied together to make lamps. Vertebrae wired together to make
floral (?) designs on the ceilings. Five chapels were decorated in this manner.
Why these guys did this, I don’t understand but their testament is (to
paraphrase) “Once we were like you and one day you’ll be like us.” Whereas the
Parisian Catacombs were creeping yet interesting and with a purpose (had to be
moved from diseased graveyards), the Capuchin custom is just bizarre and it's
too bad they couldn’t have become famous for their other contribution to
society – the Cappuccino coffee.
A couple of blocks from the Capuchins is the Trevi Fountain – the most famous fountain in Rome. The “3 Coins in a Fountain” fountain. It stands where a water source enters the city and was built later in the cities history – in the 18th century. Massive in design it shows Neptune standing majestically surveying his surrounds while tritons struggle with seahorses and a couple of non-mythical beings jump into the scene for the fun of it. If you throw a coin in the fountain tradition says you’ll return to Rome (and the coin joins others in the Roman coffers – Rome thanks you).
Lastly on Wednesday we visited Basilica St. Paul Beyond the Walls, an elegant church that marks the tomb of Paul of Tarsus – the greatest evangelist of the early Christian church. My favorite, this church rebuilt in 1845 is an exact replica of the basilica begun in 390AD and burned down by a careless carpenter (how do you think he must have felt?). Tall and airy and filled with mosaics depicting Christ in Splendor and all the popes (Benedict’s picture is spotlighted), the basilica has rows of columns marching towards the high alter and St. Paul’s tomb.
Alabaster windows, rather than stained glass,
lend an elegantly muted air to the interior. Before St. Peter’s was built this was the largest church in
the world – and while not nearly as large as St. Peters it is quite imposing
yet tasteful at the same time.
Thursday we woke to rain – a lot of it – so we canceled our Vatican Museum trip and stayed home prepping for the Goodman’s departure. The day would only have been a half-day sightseeing one since they had to pack for early Friday morning ride to the airport. We missed the museum but it felt good to relax. And it rained most of the day so we were more comfortable at camp rather than tramping through the soggy streets of Rome.
Friday morning we finished packing and departed Camping Flaminia for Leonardo da Vinci Airport where we dropped Kathi and Larry off around 10 am so they could catch their flight to Frankfurt, Germany for their last 3 days before heading home on the 16th. It was sad to see them go, we have had a lot of fun together these last three weeks.
The airport is very close to Ostia Antiqua – a city of Roman ruins and where Bruce’s brother Bill and other friends are arriving after a 2-week cruise on the Med. We hope to see them Sunday before they leave for home so we drove through the maze of coastal towns searching out a camping near their hotel, finally alighting at Camping Castelfusnal – a so-so campground a few blocks from the sea and about 3km from the hotel.
And now for something new…
Monday, June 17, 2008
We spent Sunday with brother Bill, Karen and the Plafkers who had just disembarked from a 2-week Mediterranean cruise. Since they had been to Venice (and we haven’t yet) they gave us some good tips on how to manage our visit. After a couple of hours on the beach we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant by their hotel then Bruce and I returned to our camping.
Monday morning we said goodbye to a great Australian couple we met at the camping, George and Pam. They too are on a 5 month “grand tour” of Europe. We exchanged personal cards and invited each other to our homes if ever visiting respective countries.
And then we got back on the road. It was almost a month that we were traveling with the Goodmans and now we are adjusting to just the two of us; relearning our driver/navigator roles and getting used to traveling together again.
This portion of the trip will be all new territory for us and the first thing to see was Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli about 25 km east of Rome.
I am lucky enough to say I’ve been to Rome three times now, but never have I gotten to Hadrian’s Villa.
In about 180-200AD the Emperor Hadrian, whose Wall we have walked in northernmost England, built a fabulous villa as his summer home. At one time it encompassed more land than Imperial Rome and was made up of amphitheaters, reflection pools, thermal baths, palaces and administrative buildings, stadiums and the like. Hadrian was an inveterate traveler across the Roman Empire and had copies of things that impressed him made for the villa. Today it, like ancient Rome, is in ruins: the marble, statues, fountains, mosaic floors, tile work and anything else salvageable has been plundered and used elsewhere but the brick skeletal remains are impressive. The one drawback was, we received no map of the grounds when we paid our 10 euro so we had a lot of trouble making our way around. Lonely Planet guidebook says be prepared to spend 4 hours traipsing around and now we understand why – you backtrack a lot walking into dead ends trying to go from one part to another.
I have wanted to see this Villa for decades – really! –
and now I can say I’ve seen Hadrian’s
Wall and Hadrian’s Villa.
After exploring the villa for 3 hours, we left around 2 pm and began an easterly drive through the Lazio region towards Le Marche and the coast of Mare Adriatico. We followed the S636 until it reached the SS4 which took us to the coast at San Benedetto del Tronto. We saw more of the exquisite countryside that makes Italy “La Bella Italia.” Rolling hills planted with olive orchards and vineyards gave way to forested low-lying mountains; hilltowns sitting perfectly a top of their hills stood sentinel over their fields. We were delighted.
I was in charge of finding a camping and all of our resources showed me nothing until we reached the coast – about 100km further than we had intended to drive that day. By the time we reached the coast it was 7pm and we were tired and getting a little cranky. I had driven a great deal of the SS4 but when we reached the coast we switched drivers – Bruce didn’t like how I was driving the cramped beach towns and I didn’t like how he was navigating (eg; not searching for a camping). Using our Italian camping book I began plugging addresses into Sir Gar who was not finding anything. I was getting desperate as I kept having to search further and further up the coast to find a camping when we drove right by a Camping (that Gar had refused to acknowledge). I made Bruce pull right into Don Diego Camping in Grottammare just across the street from the (mostly) private club beaches of the Adriatic.
The cost was 29.50 euro so we decided this would be a one-nighter. It was getting late, I was tired, Bruce’s back was aching – we were done for the day.
We found a pitch near the shower block, our usual mode, and checked out the “sanitairies.”
Oh Crap (and I really mean that!) – all they had were squatters (with no TP); then we realized the water in the wash-up area was non-potable (how does one brush one’s teeth?); then we saw the dish washing area only had cold (non-potable) water – so where do we find fresh water? Then a train blew by the camping only 50 meters (if that) behind us.
We got all this “love” for $45US a night.
But wait – there’s more…
At 9PM a live DJ’d disco began – one pitch away from us. I kinda went ballistic. Bruce walked (ran?) up to the reception office and asked what the Sam Hill was going on?
“Hey – It’s Dance Night! – We’re cranking up the sounds” as the owner turned up the sound system!
Oh god – just what we needed – there was no way we were going to sleep through that – we thought the trains were bad – those had become the good old days.
While Bruce was learning about Dance Night I searched the other direction of the camping and found a pitch where the disco sounds were blocked and all we had to listen to was the train and street traffic. It was blessedly quiet. When Bruce returned, we moved to that pitch, immediately made our bed and within 15 minutes of lying down were out for the night.
Tuesday morning as I type this – the whole thing is damned amusing, but last night we weren’t quite as well humored.
Perhaps we should listen to Sir Gar next time he refuses to acknowledge an address. He certainly proved right about that camping.
Tuesday was spent driving along the coast of the Adriatic on the SS1 coastal road as much as possible and when not, on the SS16 – sorta equivalent to Highways 1 and 101 in California. On our right was the sea and on our left a continuation of the beautiful valleys, hills and hilltowns that highlighted our day yesterday. The coastal towns are terribly congested and obviously geared for the tourist trade with lots of high-rise hotels and apt. complexes.
Just outside of Ferme a town only 20km from the start of our
driving day, we figured out how to camp cheaply in Italy. Those campercar dump
signs that indicated the Aires in France (where we could camp for free) are
symbols in Italy for low cost camping, at least on the Adriatic. For 10-15 euro
they provide showers, WCs and electricity. We saw a perfect one, with its own
beach for 15 euro. The problem? It was only 10am and we’d been driving for less
than an hour. I couldn’t convince Bruce to stop so early in the day so we lost
what turned out to be the best deal of the day.
Passing Ancona, a major port city, we stopped in Senigallia but couldn’t find an Aire or a campground that was at all decent. So we are dry camping in a lot along with 4 other Italian campers. We were warned against wild-camping in Italy but we are rather enchanted with our experiences so far and we have rigged an alarm system in case anyone were to try and open the doors while we sleep. We feel quite secure.
Wednesday we continued north along the Adriatic. Of course our Aires (or what ever you call them in Italy) have become infrequent and the campings are geared for permanent or long term caravans and bungalows so our pickings have become very slim. Early in the day just north of Pesaro we found Camping Misano and decided not to press our luck. It is right on the coast with a small public beach wedged between several private beaches. The camping has good facilities and at €24 it is acceptable. The weather is perfect – clear blue skies and lots of sun but not yet so hot as to scorch you. We hope to stay for 2-3 days to relax.
All through Europe we’ve been amazed at the number of motorhomes we’ve seen this trip. Granted, they are not the size of American Class As but the number of Class Cs is amazing. We’ve been saying the next thing the Europeans will get are slideouts and sure enough, at this camping we found a 30’Class C with 3 slides. It is an American rig – the company is American MotorhomesinUK.com. It looks so out of place over here but I’m willing to bet it will become the next must-have for the Europeans, even though it is a most inappropriate vehicle for their roads. It is good for major roads only, but maybe the Europeans aren’t interested in the points in-between their destinations since they sure as hell won’t be seeing them in a rig that size.
Friday June 20, 2008
We are on our third day at Camping Misano and while it is very relaxing, we have found the heat. I think I mentioned scorching earlier in this posting – we (Bruce actually) have been scorched. The sun is direct and strong and our skin is no longer conditioned to it. I’ve been applying sunscreen but Bruce has not and now he is burnt. We were wondering when we were going to find the heat and now we have. How hot is it? It’s damn hot. It’s hot enough we are ready (almost) to pack up and head north only we don’t know what the weather conditions are there. And we’ve heard of a little horse race in Siena on July 2 that we are hoping to bet on if things work out, so we may have to stick around a while longer.
We are about 25 km from the little principality of San Marino and Urbino, a Renaissance hilltown of some renown is also quite near; on our way to Siena we plan to visit both places. M Hopefully this heat wave will break and we can get back into the comfortable 70s we prefer. After Siena we’ll continue towards Venice and parts northeast.