18/5/09
Today we headed for Pisa. It was a bad start to the day when "Norma" kept sending us round and round in circles and we went past the same garage 3 times. There is no easy way to get off the freeways once you are on them! We decided it was time to ask for help so I went into the local deli that sold lovely bread and salamis and asked for directions. It was quite awhile before I finally managed to get a lady who could speak English and point us in the right directions. We were keen to get going as we had wasted a fair bit of time but when we went to start the van the battery was flat as Jim had left the lights on. A nice young man jump started us and we finally got on the track.
We were paranoid about taking the wrong road on the freeway and ending up in Florence but with the lady's directions and "Norma" finally getting her act together we ended up right at the front gate of the caravan park. The park was within walking distance of the leaning Tower of Pisa so we went with the NZ's to explore the sites. It is certainly a magical site and fortunately we were there before all the tourists.
19/5/09
We left the caravan park at 7.30am for a photo shoot at the tower before the crowd built up. You are not supposed to drive and park where we did but the local police turned a blind eye and told us to be quick and move on. Not sure whether the pictures will turn out as the sun was in the wrong position.
It was a lovely drive to Garlenda via Genoa along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. We went through lots and lots of tunnels and we lost GPS coverage many times. We ended up in Genoa because Norma died on us and we did not know which turn off to take. A little sidetrack through the busy streets of Genoa and then we were back on the Autostrade headed for Garlenda. Garlenda is a very small town with a population of 1000 people nestled in a valley. It is the headquarters of the Fiat 500 club and is very well supported throughout Italy and the World. Each year they hold a rally for the Fiats and people come from everywhere. Bev and Lang had been there in 2006 on their trip around the World in a Fiat hence the friendship they have formed with Sandro and his wife.
Sandro had arranged for us to camp on the sporting ground and use its facilities. (Cold showers, brrrr). That night we followed behind the local band in a few of the vehicles and went up the main street to the Fiat Museum. It was quite a procession and a lot of the townspeople came out to see us go past. We had a tour of the Fiat Museum and then went over the tennis club for drinks and dinner.
The local women had made lots of delicious pizzas and finger food for us to have with our drinks. We then went into the clubhouse where they served us with lots of wine, cold meats, pesta and desert. They had speech after speech and kept interrupting each other (just like in the comedy movies) and we couldn't stop laughing. They spoilt us with lots of gifts and made our night very special. True Italian hospitality.
We got to bed after 11.00pm with a tummy full of food.
20/5/09
Today we headed for the beautiful city of Torino. Part of our drive was over the road that we had travelled the previous day but it was so pretty and we saw things that we had not seen the day before. Most of the journey was on the Autostrade so it was easy and enjoyable. We saw snow on the mountains in the distance and lots of churches and old buildings in little villages and everything was lush and green. We obviously went through the agricultural district as there were lots of cereal crops growing.
We caught a taxi into the central square of Torino with the McKinneys to look at the magnificent buildings - driving is certainly not recommended as you have to contend with trams as well as the vehicles. The drive to the caravan park was an experience in itself as it was at the top of a hill via a windy road. The shops around the main square were all too expensive for us as they were all designer labels - we couldn't even get the guys to look in the windows. There did not appear to be many people in the shops looking or buying.
Sandro had arranged for us to camp on the sporting ground and use its facilities. (Cold showers, brrrr). That night we followed behind the local band in a few of the vehicles and went up the main street to the Fiat Museum. It was quite a procession and a lot of the townspeople came out to see us go past. We had a tour of the Fiat Museum and then went over the tennis club for drinks and dinner.
The local women had made lots of delicious pizzas and finger food for us to have with our drinks. We then went into the clubhouse where they served us with lots of wine, cold meats, pesta and desert. They had speech after speech and kept interrupting each other (just like in the comedy movies) and we couldn't stop laughing. They spoilt us with lots of gifts and made our night very special. True Italian hospitality.
We got to bed after 11.00pm with a tummy full of food.
20/5/09
Today we headed for the beautiful city of Torino. Part of our drive was over the road that we had travelled the previous day but it was so pretty and we saw things that we had not seen the day before. Most of the journey was on the Autostrade so it was easy and enjoyable. We saw snow on the mountains in the distance and lots of churches and old buildings in little villages and everything was lush and green. We obviously went through the agricultural district as there were lots of cereal crops growing.
We caught a taxi into the central square of Torino with the McKinneys to look at the magnificent buildings - driving is certainly not recommended as you have to contend with trams as well as the vehicles. The drive to the caravan park was an experience in itself as it was at the top of a hill via a windy road. The shops around the main square were all too expensive for us as they were all designer labels - we couldn't even get the guys to look in the windows. There did not appear to be many people in the shops looking or buying.
Torino is a very beautiful place and one could spend a month just looking at all the old buildings. Unfortunately we did not have that sort of time to spare.
Four of us are sitting on a bench in the dark in the park and getting eating by mosquitoes just to keep in touch with the outside world.
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