Italy - The Top Bit

In the last post we had a marvelous time in the Tivoli gardens but had enough of sleeping in town car parks. So that afternoon we moved to a hill top in Lazio which gave free water, emptying and electricity. So it was an afternoon of domestic activity, cleaning the van and ourselves (showers).

Next day we continued the theme, not traveling far but winding over the hilly countryside to Castiglioni de Orcia - in the Tuscan hills on the Franciscan pilgrims route to Rome. The drive had been slow and we continued to experience the frustration of a road surface so poor that even when the speed limit was higher than 40miles an hour it was hard to drive beyond that speed.

How ever, the trip was worth it for the views and charming small village. It had a bit of a mix between tourist and locals but with two castles and on a pilgrim route also had some nice places. These included a wine bar with a selection of many wines and some unusual beers. We decided we deserved a mid-afternoon drink and rest so popped in. As was often the case the snacks presented with the (quite expensive) drinks were enough to 'do for lunch'.

That evening we had a great meal of a simple pasta followed by the traditional steak - wonderful, first meal out for a while. A litre of red wine was EU 9.00 and not too bad.

Next day the hills were shrouded in mist and we had to wrap up warm (to start with). A longish cross country trip to Gubbio once again to spend two days getting to know the area and to have a good meal out in true Umbrian style.

In Gubbio there was an exhibition in three places - the art was OK but the buildings were wonderful. Here we see evidence of a 'Ginger Christ' so who knew?

We walked around the town to places we had not yet been to, which included a strange sort of cable car. This had small cages which could take two standing adults and you had to walk up to speed and step on (and off at the other end) so that the whole thing did not have to stop. It was 6 EU and you saved 2 EU if you walked back down from the monastery 2km and 600meters above you.

 By now you may have gathered that we quite like Gubbio, the site is still just a car park, but dedicated to camper-vans (unless used as an overflow for large coaches and their bladder challenged drivers), along with enough trees to give pleasant shade. By the time we got back from our wanderings the road to the site had been blocked off by police - it was right by the football ground and the local derby between Gubbio and another small town was noisily but good naturedly getting underway. We choose our moment to go back up the hill during the first half. Our target restaurant was one we had gone to and really enjoyed on our first visit nearly 10 years ago. However, when we sat down we were asked to sit near the loo by a corridor and the whole place seemed threadbare but still expensive. After a few awkward moments, and after we had been served with some fizzy water, Cathy decided it was not the place we wanted to be and so we left. After a rather dazed walk around the streets we came across the 'Lupa' which was one of the top restaurants in Gubbio - fortunately they had a 'day menu' at a fraction of the typical price and so we went in. This was a wonderful place, in an old crypt with very traditional features, including an 'old retainer' who pushed a trolley around for every delivery or pick up from the table. Great food and reasonably priced local wine.

Next day we cycled out about 8km down the Franciscan pilgrim path to Assisi. The day was sunny but not hot and we walked about 5 km going up all the time into the hills.

Above, Cathy with a drinking fountain for pilgrims, and a shot of Gubbio in the distance, below is a picture from our lunch stop of a tracker bar and water.

 Gubbio and the Roman forum. The reason why Gubbio is on the hill rather than in the valley in the old Roman city is the increase in raiders and warring tribes - its always other people who are the problem ... 

After the long walk (16km cycle and 10km walking) and great scenery we went back to the 'Jolly Bar' and had a bottle of our favorite Umbrian wine along with some aperitivo, which again pretty much sorted out supper.

Next day we were off to Sansepuclro - a short journey but we managed to have a few minor disasters. Having had showers on board I emptied the washing up water to hear a squeak from the loo cubical. Waste water was backing up from the shower plug hole.    We quickly emptied the over full tank and washed everything down (including an indignant Cathy's socks) - no real harm done. Next in a supermarket car park the recently filled loo flush would not shut off. 15 liters of pink water went straight into the loo cassette (fortunately empty and with a 20 l capacity - amazing how quick you can do simple maths when the situation requires it). It appeared that water had got into the switch and only by opening the sealed unit and disconnecting the power did it switch off - about a minute or so after the last drop of water had been pumped out. So we returned to Gubbio, re-emptied a now very clean toilet cassette and from then on used a bottle of water to flush the loo. 

On a more tranquil note - here was our breakfast, containing all the major food groups of pastry, chocolate and coffee.

Sansepulcro is a nice mix between an old centre and a more 'real' area just outside. Here is a picture taken from Piero De la Francesca's old house. He, along with his less well known pupil Luca, established the principles of perspective and wrote the definitive book on the subject (in about 1450). Luca was a mathematician who also invented double entry book keeping (but we'll forgive him that). We really liked this town and spent some time wandering around and had a great Campari Spritz in a bar well away from the old centre.







Our next stop was Urbino, after usual traffic problems, and a GPS error that had us circling the city twice we found a quite spot to park at the bottom of a 1.6km hill up to the city.

Urbino is a great mix of ancient buildings and a vibrant university. Here we see a group of students, one is wearing a wreath of laurels as an indication of being awarded his degree - we think doctoral or postgrad. The town was full of groups of students, friends and family laughing and singing 'doctori, doctori ...'

We had a bite of lunch and went to the Ducal palace - this was the home of the classic Umbrian patriarch, who you only see painted from one side as he is missing a chunk of nose. This had some good artworks but the 'best bit' was the scriptorium, where the wood inlay played tricks with perspective, making you think it was in 3D.

No, this is not a real cupboard, the whole thing is an illusion in wood.
Here is one for 'Lord Henry' (Enrico's cat).

The churches in this area also had great frescos, where was often an interesting detail, see if you can spot the dog licking its bits at the top of this picture.

We had a nice meal out in a traditional trattoria, where we got the last available table (first time we had seen anything nearly full all trip). Great wild boar in juniper sauce.

Traffic on the way up the coast past Rimini and Ravenna - a long travel day (ugh). The small resort we stopped at had the capacity for 200 motor homes but had only 4 when we arrived. Needless to say the season was well and truly over as we neared mid October. It was nice to walk (and run) on the beach and get some fresh air after the city and travelling. Next day on to Udine.

A classical town with many architectural themes from Venice - including the ability to get you continually lost really easily. Even with google maps and a paper map, the surprising one way system and disappearing bike lanes made our short trip from our parking spot (outside a large hospital) quite taxing. However, the meals we had made up for this - particularly the setting by one of the small canal sections,

We now quite tired and happy to trundle up to Gremona where we had first stopped on our way into Italy. We went back to the church that had been rebuilt and Cathy managed to have a Campari Spritz to make up for the one she didn't have (as she was on antibiotics) when she was last here. Unfortunately, this spot is really convenient for traveling up to Austria and Germany and we had a few late night arrivals and early starts so a disturbed night before we had a long trip back to Moson in Hungary.