2nd
Oct 2015
Rain, fog,
mountains……and Tuscany !
Today was a short
day interest-wise for us, and therefore a short day for you too. I was still sound asleep at 8.15 when Janet
shook me awake, having already showered and dressed. So by the time I had showered we were a bit
late getting moving, and unfortunately it started to drizzle a bit before we
were completely packed up, Everything
was a bit wet and muddy anyway, but that doesn’t really matter as long as you
put everything up each night. It is only when you store it away damp for
several days that it is an issue. Anyway
we eventually got out of the 2nd hand caravan yard we seemed to be
staying in, and hit the road.
Despite the rain,
which was getting heavier as we left, we decided to drive into central Modena
and see what was there. After a couple
of false starts because I didn’t set the Garmin correctly (we nearly went back
to Pavarotti’s place before I realized my error !), we found ourselves in the
centre…..and in trouble. At a T junction on narrow cobbled streets, there was a
No Entry to the right, and “only bicycles and taxis” to the left !! So we went
up the “only bicycles and taxis” road considering it to be the lesser of two
evils – And round the corner was a cop who had pulled over another car for
presumably doing the same thing ! I thought I was about to be stopped too, but
luckily the policeman and the driver of the car were having such a heated
“discussion” that the cop didn’t have time to say anything before I snuck past,
and away ! Needless to say that was the
end of our visit to downtown Modena – You really need to walk in to these old
town centres, and in the rain today, that just wouldn’t have been any fun. So we followed the signs out of town towards
Bologna, and this time, in this weather, we decided to take the Autostrada.
When we arrived
at the Autostrada, we came to the toll gates – And being our first Autostrada,
we hadn’t yet sussed out the system.
While Janet was scrabbling for money, and I was trying to work out which
lane I was supposed to be in, a Ferrari came up in the lane beside us covered
in white plastic paper and tape – It was a test car testing out some new
modification to the bodywork, and they had covered it up to disguise the changes
before official release. I tried to get
a photo but what with everything else going on it doesn’t really show much of
the car, and is blurred. But I saw
enough to know (after my exposure to all those Ferraris yesterday) that it was
probably a LaFerrari, the one with Kers.
We saw a similarly disguised Ferrari on the roads around Modena
yesterday, and now realize it was probably undergoing similar testing.
Anyway, once all
that excitement was over, we realized we didn’t need any money – We just had to
take a ticket. We would pay when we got
off ! So off we went to Bologna, with
everyone doing about 130 kmh while we doddled along in the truck lane at their
speed – 90 -100 kmh ! Oh, these
Autostradas are so BORING ! They may get
you to your destination quicker, but your mind will be numb by the time you get
there !! After about 40 minutes I saw a
Carrefour Supermarket beside the road, so I dove off at the next exit so we
could make a quick stop for some bread and milk etc, but unfortunately all it did
was take us off to another Autostrada heading in a completely different
direction !! Hmmm. And of course this meant we had to exit and
pay ! The unmanned toll booths have two
sets of pay buttons – One up high for trucks, and one down low for cars. Unfortunately Troopie is right in between the
two, and however close I got, Janet couldn’t reach either without opening her
door and climbing almost totally out of the car ! And then she dropped the coins……..
Suffice it to say
that half an hour later we found our way back to the correct Autostrada and
continued our way past Bologna and on towards Florence. It was a road over the Appenines, and we went
up over 600 metres – But we didn’t see a thing because it was not only raining
heavily, but we were in thick fog for an hour or more, and the trucks in the
right hand lane were nose to tail because they are not permitted in the LH lane
for overtaking (GOOD rule !!), but it did mean that we could keep motoring at a
reasonable speed – Although in the conditions it took a lot of
concentration.
At the top of the
mountain we pulled off into a Autostrada fuel and restaurant stop, and as those
of you who have travelled on Italian Autostradas will know, the food on them is
usually pretty good. I needed a break and
enjoyed Chicken Scallopine al Funghi which was excellent, and Janet had Pasta
of some kind which was good, but mine was better ! After a pleasant meal break, we headed off
down the mountain, and the rain stopped and the sun actually came out ! And from there on, weather-wise and scenery
wise, the day got better. It still
rained a bit, but soon after Florence we got off the Autostrada (Janet still
couldn’t reach the buttons etc !), and we were back on the B roads. Scenery wise they weren’t much, but we found
diesel for €1.29 per litre (compared to up to €1.79 on the Autostrada !!), we
found a supermarket so we could get bread etc, and it was a lot more relaxing
to drive on for me. We drove down beside
the Autostrada for much of the way, almost into Arezzo, then round a ring road
and off to the south towards Cortona.
Some 12 years ago
(?!), when we were living in Aberdeen, the Skidmores and us came to Italy for a
couple of weeks, and one of those weeks we spent in an apartment just outside
Cortona. It is a delightful Etruscan city, 8th C BC (ie pre-Roman
for any who do not know their history !), and has a lovely piazza where, on
warm summer evenings, everyone sits out drinking and eating, while the young
parade around and sit up on the steps of the church, trying to strike up
conversations. It is also a great
centre point for trips to Sienna and
elsewhere. So to suddenly find ourselves
back here without really planning to be is a pleasure. Tonight we saw the walls and towers of old
Cortona up on the hill as we passed below – Unfortunately we could find no
camping site near Cortona, but did find some down around the shores of Lake
Trasimeno just 10 kms down the road. So we headed there.
Lake Trasimeno is
the 4th largest lake in Italy. In 217 BC this area witnessed one of
the bloodiest battles in Roman history as Hannibal’s Cathaginians routed Roman
troops under Consul Flaminius, killing 16,000,
The battlefield extended from Cortona and Ossaia (Place of Bones) to the
small town of Sanguineto (The Bloody), just north of the lake. So our campsite tonight just west of
Passignano was right in the middle of where that battle was fought !
We stopped first
at a camp site on the NW corner of the lake, but were told it was closed –
Today in the 2nd October and apparently a lot of places close at the
end of September. But the guy was very
helpful, rang another campsite just 8 kms up the road to confirm they were
still open, and then gave us directions. Just as we were getting directions, a
German Mercedes 4WD pulled in, looking for camping too ! So we just told them
to follow us, and off we went.
This camp site
too was looking very empty – Apparently they close on 15th
October. So we got a site right down on
the edge of Lake Trasimeno, and just managed to set up camp before a sudden
rain squall came in over the lake and drenched everything – But we were snug
and dry inside ! So after sausages and
chicken for dinner, we settled in for the night – Tomorrow a quick visit up to
Cortona, and then to Roma for a few days.
Photos are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0374ModenaToLakeTrasimeno?authkey=Gv1sRgCMv2vdiStOPyMQ
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