It wasn’t long after sunrise as the ferry from Tunis headed into Salerno. It was Sunday morning and I was hoping to have the chance to ride the famous Amalfi Coast Road without its infamous bumper to bumper traffic.
The wish came true for most of the morning and a long stretch of the road.
But by 11 the traffic was thick and it was time to leave the coast road and into the mountains.
The mountains above Amalfi as beautiful as the coast with small villages, wonderful views and mountain walks.
From here its a lovely ride through the mountains to Ottaviano at the base of Mount Vesuvius.
And onto Naples its beautiful trattoria and fellow guzzista.
Mid September 2024, Storm Boris was brewing on the Adriatic Sea, making the best path south to Civitavechia and the ferry to Tunisia over the mountains via Bologna into Tuscany.
And it’s beautiful hilltop towns and cities.
One of the most spectacular of the hill top cities is San Gimignano
It’s popular to visit but not as busy as nearby Florence that I visited back in 2022.
In the city, it’s all walking and full of activity.
Across a little valley from San Gimignano there’s a campground in the little village of Santa Lucia
With a terrace where you can watch a balloon rise over San Gimignano.
As it was coming to the end of the season, so finding a place to camp at Principina a Mare right near the beach.
The beach at Principina has amazing beach shelters made from driftwood.
Out of Tuscany and into Lazio, there was time for a lunchtime time stop in Tarquinia.
The blog above and this are an attempt to catch up on telling tales of 2024’s adventure in Italy and Tunisia.
Padova is a beautiful university city. Not far from Venice, the city captures Venician elegance without the crowds.
The central plaza contains statues of thee great philosophers and is flanked by magnificent Cathedrals. The second oldest University in Europe and sumptuous Italian food.
Chioggia, is at the southern end of the Venice Lagoon. A commercial fishing port with canals and historic building and beautiful seafood.
D’Ababo is a Terme Centre to the west of Padova. People come from all over Italy to soaking the therapeutic waters and hot mud baths.
The town in named after Pietro D’Abano who commenced the medicinal use of the water and mud back in the 1200s.
The town is modern and lively especially in the Terme apart of town and a good market in the residential area.
From D’Adano it was across the mountains of Emilia-Romagna into Tuscany.
It’s been a while since I last wrote, and much has happened. The most momentus was the coming of a grand daughter. Quite a little distraction!!
Back to the last European Summer and some of its great ranges.
Rioja is one of Spain’s great wine regions and Horrow. The wines and food make it a beautiful gastronomic stop.
The Pyrenees.
It’s a short hop into the Pyrenees and the beautiful city of Torla.
This little village sits just below the Spanish/France Frontier and is an the border of the Ordesay-Monte Perdido NP
Montserrat
The mountain trip across Spain ended at the amazing Montserrat.
Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso
Gran Paradiso rates amongst my favourite national parks in Europe. Once the King’s hunting ground, it was then gifted to the people after the unification of Italy. From a breeding program at Gran Paradiso, the Europen Ibix has been re established in the European Alps.
There are some beautiful views on the walks.
There is often a beautiful mountain and mountainous road in Europe, but these were lovely mountains indeed
It was late September, and with my adventure in the Balkans complete, I bordered the overnight ferry from Split to Ancona.
From Ancona, it was an easy ride across Italy to Civitavechia, the Port of Rome to catch the ferry to Barcelona.
A restful way to travel and 14,000 km touring.
The village of Civitavechia is a little way from the port, but it is a nice place for a bit of sightseeing while waiting for the ferry.
There is a certain chaos at Italian ferry ports. There are no electronic tickets, and the ticket office always seems to be placed a long way from the ferry dock with a myriad of one way unmarked lanes to be negotiated between the two.
But the Italian ferries are relatively inexpensive, and it was a restful 20 hour crossing from Rome to Barcelona.
From Barcelona, I took a route across the Pyrenees through Andorra. Agh the beautiful Pyrenees.
I stopped for the night at Ax les Termes in the Midi Pyrenees. A beautiful hot spring village. With public hot foot baths.
My next destination was to Cahors and its famous bridge. Travelling along the tree lined back roads, past the Midi Canal, rivers, and beautiful villages.
Cohors is a vibrant city. To complement the famous bridge.
My last stop in Europe for this trip was the port city of St Malo, with its old walled town right on the Atlantic Ocean
Of course I had to join in for a swim!!!
For lovers of the maritime world the port at St Malo is a treasure.
The overnight ferry had me soon back in England and my sister’s house in London.
Before boarding the flight back to Australia, I caught up with a mate for lunch in the Cottswalds. A beautiful part of England and reputedly an inspiration for the writing of ‘The Hobbit’ and the ‘Lord of the Rings’.
It’s February in Australia as I reminisce about last year. There are some adventures to be had here at home, but my mind keeps back to a sign at Civitavechia.
I’ve been to Spain (Spagna). Ive been to Greece (Grecia), Sardinia (Sargegna), and Sicily (Sicilia): but I haven’t been to Tunisia.
