Driving on a
Sunday morning in Italy is a delight. Up until mid-afternoon the
Italians seem to be at church or with their families for Sunday lunch
as the roads are quiet and the town and village streets deserted. We
drove through pretty villages and past ancient farms until we arrived
at that giant of a river – the Po. A vital trade route for
millennia, the Po also poses a risk to the local inhabitants with
serious flooding having occurred on many occasions. As a result, the
Italians have built massive banks to keep the water from the
surrounding land. In 2011 we stayed on an aire on the flood defences
overlooking the Po. It was a lovely position and we really enjoyed
our stay so, as it was now time for lunch, we decided to see if we
could find a picnic spot. Just outside Melara we took a road straight
up the bank following a sign to a car park. This turned out to be
just over the other side of the bank and held a large number of
picnic tables, two barbecue emplacements and a large number of cats.
A larger number of cats than you would expect to find in the middle
of nowhere!
It turned out
that a local charity had set up a refuge for abandoned cats. It was
very well organised with two sheds as living accommodation and plenty
of food in evidence. The cats looked very well fed and healthy and
did not pester us at all while we ate. Signs in many languages told
us that the adults were sterilised to ensure that they were not
overrun with more cats!
On again until
we reached the city of Ravenna, full of history and interest, we
hoped!
There are a
number of motorhome aires in the city and we found the first one that
had water and dumping facilities. It was however on a one-way system
and was obviously going to be quite noisy on weekday mornings and
evenings. We parked up and set off on foot to find another aire that
was very close. Failing miserably, Jane spotted a Tourist Information
Office next to the Mausoleum of Theodorico and we asked about the
aires. The staff were very helpful, telling us all about the best
sites in the city and also about the different aires. It turned out
that the second aire that we were trying to find was just behind the
office and was in a very quiet position. We picked up Henrietta and
headed to the new aire.
We were told
of a few restaurants by the tourist office lady and chose one
slightly out of the centre and about 10 – 15 minutes walk from the
aire. The Ristorante Pizzeria Naif was an excellent choice. They
offered a tasting plate with melon & ham, skewers of prawns &
baby squid, lasagne, roast pork and vegetables. They were simple
dishes but wonderfully flavoured and together with some of their
house wine, it was just what we wanted – a real taste of Italy.
Photos: The
picnic site on the River Po taken from the road along the
flood-prevention bank; A view of the Po from the picnic site –
people were sunbathing on the beach on the opposite bank and the
large sign is to inform people cruising on the river that there is a
tourist attraction in 500m!
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