28th March 2016
Today we head southwards towards Pisa. Our intention is to stick to the old main roads and avoid all toll roads for two reasons:
- Because we don’t like paying tolls.
- Because you don’t see the real country from an Autoroute.
The road from Casaleggio Boiro to our intended stop at Viareggio was about 230 kilometres (145 miles), I should have smelt a rat when I saw that it was timed at about 5.5 hours. Well, we seemed to climb every mountain and drive through every narrow town that Northern Italy could throw at us. Eventually, with 65 kilometres to go, I relented and used the toll motorway. Italian roads are so bad that I had to stop at one point to switch off the collision sensor on the Dash Cam as it was constantly switching to emergency recording. The route was worse than any that we had selected before including the Alps, Pyrenese, and Scandinavia. The decision was made: all journeys in Italy would be via Autoroutes to protect our sanity.
We eventually arrived at our site; Camping Pineta at Viareggio. It is a typical Southern European camp site; very small pitches, ours is about 60 sq metres. The first pitch that was offered was not suitable for a British motorhome as it would not be possible to open the awning. The third pitch was just big enough, there are inches all around between us and the various trees. As usual, most of the site comprised of larger pitches occupied by touring caravans with full awnings and then a canopy covering the full outfit. Under this canopy was often a shed, barbeque etc. Proper tourers are paid lip service as they are a necessary evil to maintain the licence.
29th March 2016
A quiet day wandering around Viareggio. Footpaths are very noticeable by their absence, we have also noticed that there is a rule for crossing on a pedestrian crossing: GO, evidently the traffic will stop and it certainly seems to do so.
Viareggio seems to be a town without a real purpose, the streets are again untidy and unloved. Where there are footpaths, they are in bad repair and in places dangerous. There is the customary dog shit everywhere. There are signs indicating days for a street cleaning rota, but no evidence of it having done for months. It is a sad town that seems to be typical of the area.
30th March 2016
This is a day for a day trip to Pisa, the Leaning Tower and all that.
We decided to walk to the station as there is no formal bus route from the site. The walk took about 40 minutes and was fraught to say the least. Buying a ticket was simple, there is an automated machine with clear instructions in English. The fare was 3.50 Euros per person each way and the trains run about every 15 minutes. The journey took about 20 minutes, the Tourist Information Office in Viareggio had advised us to go to Pisa San Rossore station, and their advice was good. A 5 minutte walk from the station took you to the Square of Miracles, where the Cathedral and Leaning Tower are situated.
Now don’t get me wrong, this is a remarkable place and the Tower is one of those must see places, but this is a money pit. The largest signs everywhere are directing you to Ticket Offices, even the only public toilet charges and has a queue for the very restricted facilities available. There is even the point where MacDonalds will not allow you to use their toilets without the code printed on your receipt.
The buildings are fantastic and truly magnificent, all white marble and in amazing condition. We went into the Cathedral, which is free; although you still need a ticket, which gives you a time for your visit. The paintings and carvings are amazing and we are glad that we had the opportunity to see them. The leaning tower is a true work of art, especially considering that the main reason for its fame is that it was poorly built in the first place. The building had started to sink before the foundations had been laid. It is possible to visit and to climb the stairs to the top, but with 294 stairs and a strict time limit of 30 minutes from entry to exit, we didn’t bother. Now here’s a tip: If you are visiting off season, don’t buy your ticket in advance; the prices are 24Euros from the Pisa website, but only 18Euros from the ticket office in the square.
All in all it was a good days visit, but could be a very expensive one if you insist on paying all of the various entrance fees. There are also many more opportunities to spend money, at either end of the square are the biggest souvenir markets that we have ever seen, selling all of the expected tat.
31st March 2016
Travelling time again, but this time it is the toll Autostrade for us. Our destination for today is Rome, there is a Motorhome park about 5 kilometres from the centre of Rome with easy access to the bus and tram system just outside the gate.
The journey was a revelation, the Autostrade was fast and smooth, but still had plenty of views along the way. The biggest surprise came as we paid the toll just before entering Rome: over 200 miles and the fee was just 25.40 Euros (About £20.00). Once into the outskirts of Rome the roads again became a roller coaster ride, but this time there was extra excitement: we also had to compete with Roman city drivers. They are closer to God than you or I and are prepared to show that their faith will protect them no matter what.
The Motorhome park was easy to find and well organised, an excellent base for our tour of Rome.
1st April 2016
Time to see what Rome has in store for us; there are lots of sights to see and it would be impossible to visit and enter all in one day. We are opposed to the often extortionate entrance charges for many sights, especially in view of the queues often involved. And we have found so often that the real gems are off the main tourist itinerary.
Our ticket for the day was 7 Euros each, that gave us unlimited travel on all of the public transport in Rome for 24 hours, excellent value.
Our first port of call was The Vatican, on the theory that the crowds will get worse as the day went on. From the moment that we exited the Metro, we were hounded by ticket and tour sellers trying to get us into The Vatican and the Cistine Chapel. Outside St Peter’s Square, we were offered a fast track into the Basillica for 41 Euros each, NO was our answer to that. The queues were 90 minutes at this time, but we had no intention of going in.
From St Peter’s Square, we found the Trevi Fountain, packed as usual, but we managed to get a few photo opportunities. They say that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, then you are sure to return to Rome. Needless to say, it didn’t get a coin from us. Evidently, they collect about 3,000 Euros per day from the Trevi Fountain alone, but I wonder where it all goes; certainly not into the upkeep of Rome.
The gem of our day came next with a visit to the Pantheon, a magnificent 16th Century Church. The interior is something to behold, fabulous renaissance paintings and frescos covering almost every inch of walls. Where there was no painting, there were the most ornate carvings, absolutely fantastic and free.
After lunch we headed to the Colosseum, but on the way we stopped and toured the City Museum; once again a massive, ornate building completely in white marble. This led us onto the Ancient Corner of the City where the Colosseum and the Ancient buildings are to be found. The Colosseum is exactly as you expect, but even bigger. The queues are again intolerable and expensive. Once again there are touts many of whom have the unenviable reputation of selling tickets that do not exist.
A very tiring day visiting Rome, a City that has so much to offer, but fails due to the generally filthy condition of the city and lack of any care for the infrastructure. This is a city that should be rich beyond imagination, but decades of corruption have robbed it of investment.
2nd April 2016
Time for us to move on again. Our destination today is our objective for this trip; Pompei. This is the largest and most complete of the cities lost in the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. We have read lots of reviews of camp sites around Pompei and they are very rarely good, so we travel with some trepidation. One site that has been recommended is Camping Spartacus as being probably the better of a poor bunch, although other reviews complain about pitch sizes.
The journey from Rome to Pompei is easy as the Autostrade goes right into Pompei. Camping Spartacus is a short distance from the Autostrade and easy to find. On arrival we were assured that they had a pitch big enough for us and also offered us ACSI discounted rates even though we were two days before the discount period. We were directed to pitch 4 and were very surprised at the size, in fact I had to check that it was all ours. We have plenty of room for motorhome, awning and washing line without having to compromise on space at all.
During the evening we took a stroll into Pompei town to find that it was very much alive and vibrant. The church was open as there was a service in progress, but we were invited in.The atmosphere was electric and we were made to feel very welcome, this is unusual in Italy. The decoration inside the church was amongst the best that we have seen anywhere. At last we were starting to enjoy our surroundings and starting to relax.
3rd April
It’s Sunday, and in Pompei that means Museum Sunday. Today we visit the Ruined City of Pompei. It was completely engulfed by the dust from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. This was a very rich and important trading city at the time and the evidence of that can be seen in the ruins. There is still large scale excavation work being carried out here and with new science it is becoming possible to gain a better picture of life in the days of the Roman Empire. The expanse of the ruins is massive, before you come here it is not possible to realise just how large this city was. In modern terms, the area excavated so far is about the size of a dozen football pitches. The area is so large that although you have a map of the site, it only shows the main roads, the side streets are too numerous to show.
The detail of what has been excavated is incredible, there are clear and intricate frescos, mosaics and ornaments. Statues of immense proportions cast in bronze are aplenty, most of them of naked men and women who are obviously proud of their bodies. Drainage and sewer systems have been preserved and would match our modern facilities. The roadways are exactly as they were discovered, very worn granite and very uneven, no pandering to health and safety here.
We came away from the site after 5 hours of walking feeling somewhat awe struck, This is certainly one of the must see sites in Europe: not for it’s splendour, nor for it’s poignancy, but for it’s immense scale.
