Leaving Florence we head south through the rolling Tuscan hills toward Siena, passing through Greve in Chianti where Maddy and Curl Haslem will be staying at the end of this month, we stopped in and tried to warn the locals to be on the lookout. Unfortunately we were unaware that the siesta here starts at 11.00 and finishes at 16.30, although we did find one good coffee shop that also sells gelato so we had a good break.
That night we found ourselves in a marvelous town, Castelini in Chianti, no camp ground but there was free camper parking on the edge of town with fantastic views over the valley. We set up and walked into town and had a lovely time strolling through the medieval streets and enjoying the marvelous views over the valley. We tracked down the post office next morning to post some long overdue postcards, while we were waiting for Deb to buy stamps in her best Italian accent (that’s with her hands) I kept the Daniel amused by sticking a rose thorn on my nose pretending to be a rhinoceros, while Daniel was amused Cointha was horrified as an old local woman came very close staring at my nose trying to figure out just what disease I must be carrying. When I had finished amusing the locals we took the short trip to Siena where we covered the same distance around town in search of a parking spot. As you can imagine, parking in cities is one thing but trying to find a spot big enough for a 6.4 meter long motor home is even more difficult. After a few journeys through very narrow alleys and up cobbled pathways I decided to head a bit further from the centre before we became wedged or ran over some ancient artifact.
We found a supermarket and parked there then climbed the hills, steps and pathways leading back into the city. Was it worth it? My oath it is, The architecture, shopping and food of Siena draws you in and you wander the curved streets wondering what might be just around the corner. Giant Pizzas, that’s what is around the corner, I could not believe the size of these things, I think we were in HOMER HEAVEN. They were the size of a four piece outdoor setting and the flavour is as big as the pizza.
We spent the night 20 k/ms from Siena in a campground with a beautiful view over a huge Tuscan valley which looks like a giant salad bowl.
Its still 200 kms to Rome so we decide to stay the night at Montefiascone, we found a free camper parking bay which had a beautiful view over Lago di Bolsena. Excellent as the view was we had to move after tea as the wind threatened to blow us over the edge of ravine so we pushed back into the shelter of the winery that the car park was situated. I feel this was a good move as we spent the night dreaming we were in a washing machine so I shudder to think what may have been out in the open where we were.
We hit one of our few motorways for the trip into Rome and arrive about 14.00 after negotiating some very confusing signs due to roadwork’s on the motorway. We spend the afternoon catching up on emails and contacts now that communications have been restored, for how long we are not sure so we make the most of it.
The colosseum is our first target in Rome and we discover that it is International day of the woman so if you are a woman or you resemble a woman you receive free admittance.
Try as I might my argument at the ticket office that he was discriminating against me as I was an ugly woman with a deep voice was not enough for me to gain free entry although they did believe Debbie.
Considering we only paid for me to get in I would have gladly paid for the other guys as it is just mind blowing walking in the footsteps of ancient Romans and imagining the atmosphere that was created by the festivities here in 80 AD when it was opened.
When you look at the size of the Colosseum and think that it held 70000 people cheering on there favourite Christian or Lion depending on whichever side you barracked for, I find it hard to relate that to a Collingwood – Essendon game.
Walking the streets of Rome in winter would normally be a pleasant experience but we found this day quite frustrating as the crowds were like summer crowds and there were tourists everywhere, how dare they upset our adventure. We were beginning to think that tourist season had started early but it seems that weekends are not the time to visit capital cities in Europe as people take advantage of cheap flights and accommodation in the off season so we head back to camp and decide to have Sunday off.
Monday we were able to see everything we wanted without the queues or hustle and bustle and enjoy a wonderful day strolling the highpoints that we noted for our return.
Cointha and Debbie particularly wished to return to the Torre Argentina where we saw over a hundred cats living amongst the ruins and as we discovered there is a sanctuary which cares for over 250 cats. It reminded me of the Melbourne Zoo when I was a kid where the lions would sit on the boulders looking over there domain, only these cats sat on columns and buildings over 2000 years old.
A trip to Rome is not complete without the obligratory tossing of a coin into the Trevi Fountain and visiting the Vatican with a walk around the Museum and the Sistine Chapel.
The art work is just fantastic and was a highlight for Cointha and Daniel who have been fascinated by the art work and loved the work of Michel Angelo.
Pompeii is our next destination where we will take in some more ruins and enter an entire city that has been excavated from the ashes of a volcanic eruption from Mt Vesuvius in 79AD.
That night we found ourselves in a marvelous town, Castelini in Chianti, no camp ground but there was free camper parking on the edge of town with fantastic views over the valley. We set up and walked into town and had a lovely time strolling through the medieval streets and enjoying the marvelous views over the valley. We tracked down the post office next morning to post some long overdue postcards, while we were waiting for Deb to buy stamps in her best Italian accent (that’s with her hands) I kept the Daniel amused by sticking a rose thorn on my nose pretending to be a rhinoceros, while Daniel was amused Cointha was horrified as an old local woman came very close staring at my nose trying to figure out just what disease I must be carrying. When I had finished amusing the locals we took the short trip to Siena where we covered the same distance around town in search of a parking spot. As you can imagine, parking in cities is one thing but trying to find a spot big enough for a 6.4 meter long motor home is even more difficult. After a few journeys through very narrow alleys and up cobbled pathways I decided to head a bit further from the centre before we became wedged or ran over some ancient artifact.
We found a supermarket and parked there then climbed the hills, steps and pathways leading back into the city. Was it worth it? My oath it is, The architecture, shopping and food of Siena draws you in and you wander the curved streets wondering what might be just around the corner. Giant Pizzas, that’s what is around the corner, I could not believe the size of these things, I think we were in HOMER HEAVEN. They were the size of a four piece outdoor setting and the flavour is as big as the pizza.
We spent the night 20 k/ms from Siena in a campground with a beautiful view over a huge Tuscan valley which looks like a giant salad bowl.
Its still 200 kms to Rome so we decide to stay the night at Montefiascone, we found a free camper parking bay which had a beautiful view over Lago di Bolsena. Excellent as the view was we had to move after tea as the wind threatened to blow us over the edge of ravine so we pushed back into the shelter of the winery that the car park was situated. I feel this was a good move as we spent the night dreaming we were in a washing machine so I shudder to think what may have been out in the open where we were.
We hit one of our few motorways for the trip into Rome and arrive about 14.00 after negotiating some very confusing signs due to roadwork’s on the motorway. We spend the afternoon catching up on emails and contacts now that communications have been restored, for how long we are not sure so we make the most of it.
The colosseum is our first target in Rome and we discover that it is International day of the woman so if you are a woman or you resemble a woman you receive free admittance.
Try as I might my argument at the ticket office that he was discriminating against me as I was an ugly woman with a deep voice was not enough for me to gain free entry although they did believe Debbie.
Considering we only paid for me to get in I would have gladly paid for the other guys as it is just mind blowing walking in the footsteps of ancient Romans and imagining the atmosphere that was created by the festivities here in 80 AD when it was opened.
When you look at the size of the Colosseum and think that it held 70000 people cheering on there favourite Christian or Lion depending on whichever side you barracked for, I find it hard to relate that to a Collingwood – Essendon game.
Walking the streets of Rome in winter would normally be a pleasant experience but we found this day quite frustrating as the crowds were like summer crowds and there were tourists everywhere, how dare they upset our adventure. We were beginning to think that tourist season had started early but it seems that weekends are not the time to visit capital cities in Europe as people take advantage of cheap flights and accommodation in the off season so we head back to camp and decide to have Sunday off.
Monday we were able to see everything we wanted without the queues or hustle and bustle and enjoy a wonderful day strolling the highpoints that we noted for our return.
Cointha and Debbie particularly wished to return to the Torre Argentina where we saw over a hundred cats living amongst the ruins and as we discovered there is a sanctuary which cares for over 250 cats. It reminded me of the Melbourne Zoo when I was a kid where the lions would sit on the boulders looking over there domain, only these cats sat on columns and buildings over 2000 years old.
A trip to Rome is not complete without the obligratory tossing of a coin into the Trevi Fountain and visiting the Vatican with a walk around the Museum and the Sistine Chapel.
The art work is just fantastic and was a highlight for Cointha and Daniel who have been fascinated by the art work and loved the work of Michel Angelo.
Pompeii is our next destination where we will take in some more ruins and enter an entire city that has been excavated from the ashes of a volcanic eruption from Mt Vesuvius in 79AD.
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