Arrivederci

On the road, for the last time in Europe 16, this time with Pietro Due.  As we had a late flight from Fiumicino Airport there were limited choices on what we could do.  Should we carry our bags around on the cobblestone streets? Should we try to check them at the train station. or should we use the new service available that will collect and deliver them to the airport for you? The last was one preferred option but in the end we selected renting Pietro Due. A Black Fiat Panda.

Time for a bit of Gnocchi

It was a little sad to say goodbye to our faithful Pietro this morning in Arezzo.  We have had him for 17 days and traveled over 2500 km.  He was a pleasure to drive from lane ways in town to the Autostrada doing 130km/h.

We often parked where other tourists in larger cars couldn't and were always left with coin in the pocket when refilling the diesel tank. When in Italy we will be hiring a car again and selecting the fiat Panda, a perfect accompaniment to a couple traveling in this country. (I would like to trade in my Barina when I get home for my own Fiat Panda - Katie)

When the plans fail, there is always dinner

Even the best laid out travel plans can sometimes have unexpected 'road bumps' that get in the way. Today for us, that was the weather. While we expected we might get a little rain, we got a whole lot more. The plan was to visit Mt Amiata - highest point in Tuscany, for beautiful views. Somewhere along the journey Shannon thought it would be better to visit a small town first and get to the mountain a little later to avoid cloud coverage.

Timeless Toscana

Today was less about ticking off the attractions and must see items and more about spending time in Tuscany with each other, enjoying the locations and reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be here.

San Gimignano and Siena

Our plan for today was to revisit two places we had been to and loved. San Gimignano was one of my favourite hill top towns from our first visit to Tuscany and Shannon was keen to see Siena again, especially because we didn't have enough time to see the cathedral in 2012.

On the road again

We have had only a couple of long days on the road and today was one of them, from Arcola to Castiglion Fiorentino.  It was with slight sadness that we were to leave our host Giacomo this morning, he was a pleasure to stay with and could not come with a more higher recommendation from us.  His knowledge of the area and hospitality was second to none, thanks Giacomo. If we are ever in the LaSpezia area again we will stay at Villa Ducci.

Heading for the hills!

After having spent the last five days exploring the coast, we decided it was time for a change in scenery and so headed for the hills. After breakfast Giaccumo spent time planning an itinerary with us for the day. We ended up with quite a list of small towns to visit.

Porto Venere

Video of us in Porto Venere

The long and winding road

Levanto is the next town north from the Cinque Terre and was recommended to us as a place to go and see.  This journey however required Pietro to climb over some of the most mountainous terrain we have covered, yet.

Leaving La Spezia we passed through a couple of tunnels and then the curvy and narrow roads began.

Genoa and prostitutes

It turns out we made the best decision to stay in tiny Arcola. It has proved to be a great base spot for exploring the coast. There are many options for places to explore along the coast and hills. We opted for a drive to Genoa today, about an hour and a half from Arcola.

We had an interesting drive on the Autostrada which ran through the hills, which meant we drove through many tunnels. We found a park and walked in the old town, which is

Mountains of marble

What a day, we started on the road a lot later than the last few days.  Katie did remind me when on holidays a sleep in is a good thing too, she was right.

View from the lounge window

Motoring, music and mountians

Leaving early from the lovely town of Modena we chose to drive the local roads to Parma.  Driving on the AutoStrada is a great way to get from one place to another fast, but so many sights are passed and missed.

Generally the road we followed from Modena to Parma

Lovely leather, fine Ferrari's and powerful Pavarotti

Today was our last full day in Modena. We wondered in to the centre after breakfast and dropped in the visitor information centre, to make sure we hadn't missed anything important. We stopped in

Fitting the pieces together.

Up and early today and we were in little Pietro before 7:20 and headed for the Autrostrada and Ravenna.
A little after 9am we arrived at our destination, Ravenna. I must say using the SatNav sure makes

Leaving Bologna at 8X speed.

Here is a video of us leaving Bologna at 8X speed.