7th November
We left Rome in reasonable time and decided to head towards the Cinque Terre so we set Heidi to take us to Lucca.
On the way we had a number of stops at Service Areas. These provide parking facilities, fuel, food and limited shopping. Some interesting features of these are:
Provision of a space for dogs to rest outside their car, motorhome or truck while their owners are stopped
A new feature in the Service Areas on the road north from Rome was the appearance of solar panels. These were erected over the car parking spaces fulfilling two purposes. The generation of electricity for the Service Area and providing shade to motorists
Another set at a different Service Area
As we drove further north it was easy to see when we were entering Tuscany again. Villages and castles started to appear on hilltops or rocky promontories.
Typical small village on a rocky tor
Some were draped along a ridge
Others occupied a hilltop and dribbled down the sides
We arrived in Lucca just as the heavens had opened and were thankful to find the parking spot, which was very clean, organised, and initially we were the only ones in the camp but shortly after another camper arrived. We intended to stay the night and explore Lucca in the morning. But first dinner, after a long days driving we were both pretty damn shattered, the custodian told us that there was a bar/restaurant across the road that made pretty good pizzas so off we trotted to a very unobtrusive wee place. We were greeted by the owner and told that they were just setting up but would take our order if we wanted to either come back in 30 mins or wait there. We decided to wait, and were offered a “typical Italian aperitif” that I now cannot remember the name of, but it comprised a liqueur of some kind (coloured bright orange), topped with sparkling wine and soda. Well, we had not tried this before so why not? The first sip and we were not sure, it had a distinct Bitters taste to it, but after a couple more sips……! Our pizzas were ready by the time we had finished our second round of drinks so we collected them and headed back to the van. We would have stayed at the restaurant but they had a private group function on. What amazingly simple but delicious pizzas they were, the bases were incredible as they were thin and crisp but at the same time chewy and dense. With just simple toppings cooked very quickly, they were absolutely divine.
8th November
Woke to rain absolutely pouring down, so we decided to forget about exploring Lucca and getting soaked, we would head over to La Spezia on the coast in the hope we could catch a boat trip to view the Cinque Terre. Along the way we passed through Carrara, home of marble.
Marble mountains beyond Carrara
Marble storage and cutting alongside the Autostrada
We arrived in La Spezia to not only pouring rain but to gale force winds as well. Um, the boat trip was a definite no go, and the thought of driving along the coast road did not thrill either of us, so we headed back to the Autostrada to go up the coast to the top end of the Cinque Terre in the hope of better weather. Along the way we stopped to refuel, and on consideration of all factors, thought that we would forget the Cinque Terre and instead head back inland to Parma and Modena. So Heidi was reset and off we headed. We ended up on the outskirts of south Modena for the night, although the weather had cleared we were told that it was due to rain overnight. At least we both had free wifi access here so we were able to catch up on emails, news etc. It was on checking the news that we read about the collapse of a building at Pompeii just two days after we were there, and we had walked along that street as well. We also read of flash floods and landslides with people killed in Carrara just a few days earlier as well.
9th November.
Woke to the promised arrival of more rain, and were off to do some Balsamic Tasting. The first bit of excitement was trying to get out of the driveway of the camp ground and onto the road! The campground was situated in a loop of one of the on ramps to the Autostrada, easy to get into but almost impossible to get out of without driving onto the Autostrada. A left turn was out of the question. So a right turn onto the Autostrada and off to Spilamberto where there are a number of Balsamic producers clustered.
Traffic stopped on the Autostrada heading into Modena, obviously an accident of some sort. We did see a recovery vehicle with two cars on it one with it’s front smashed, the other with its back pushed in the result of a nose to tail. Notice the almost continuous line of trucks often side by side.
We came across one producer where we got to not only try all the different types but also got a very good education on all aspects of Balsamic from a very obliging young man who spoke excellent English. We purchased a few items form him and then it was off to the next one. However, along the way, we found a Parmigiano Reggiano co-op so it was there for a tasting as well. With another number of purchases made (MMmmm, parmesan with balsamic), we were off to find another balsamic producer. By this time the rain was pelting down, the traffic horrendous, we both looked at each other and said “I’ve had enough, lets get out of here”. Heidi was quickly reprogrammed to take us to Alessandria, the name sounded somewhat familiar!
Along the way we stopped for a bite to eat and made another decision to change tack and head over towards Genoa and Savona. So that is exactly what we did. Going along the Autostrada the whole way made life less stressful for the driver and also the co pilot as well as being a hell of a lot quicker.
As close as we got!!
From the time we left Modena until well passed the Alessandria turn off we had been on flat ground. This was the largest flat area we found in all our travels in Italy. Then of course it all tilted up and up to cross the hills to get to the coast. On the stretch of Autostrada through the hills we passed through over twenty tunnels ranging in length from 60 metres to 3 km. More often than not these were linked with bridges some extremely far above the valley bottoms and again ranging in length from 20 metres to 1km. The classic was entering a tunnel to come out the other end for all of 10 metres and straight into another one. And, of course, most of the tunnels were either curved or sloping up or down, or both. The bridges were also the same. In parts the road was a concrete shelf built into the side of the hills. Incredible engineering and an absolute time saver for travelling long distances.
Typical bridge/viaduct exiting one tunnel and curving round to enter the next
Another viaduct to be crossed, unfortunately the depth of the valley below is not visible, but it was a long way down!!
Another handy feature spotted on the Autostrada is the price comparison boards displaying fuel prices at the next few Service Areas so motorists can choose where to stop.
Ruined castle on the road to Finale Ligure
We headed along the coast to try and find somewhere to stay, the first place we came to, Finale Ligure, the camp ground entrance was so steep that the bum of the van was scraping the ground, so we gave up on that one and reset Heidi for the next town. finally found a site in a town called Loana, have settled here for the night, tomorrow it will be back onto the Autostrada and we are heading for France. We have suddenly realised that we only have 4 1/2 weeks left in the van and we have lots we still want to see, so its serious mode now to get underway. A review of Italy will follow.
The Vanninis' Manoeuvres 