Off at 10:00 today bound for Livorno or just beyond.
I thought that we had gone through a lot of tunnels yesterday but today we had gone though more than 100 in the first two hours! I was beginning to feel like a supercharged troglodyte! The motorway was also very windy with narrow lanes and no hard shoulder, meaning that concentration levels had to be high. In what seemed to be the rare occasions that we got glimpses of the outside world, we saw steep terraced hillsides with hamlets clinging to the slopes and the tree-clad mountains behind. Towards the coast we saw more densely-packed coastal towns with the deep blue sea beyond.
I was very pleased when we got close to La Spezia and the road became more level and straight and the driving was much more relaxed. Shortly afterwards we drove round (thankfully not through) the Carrara Mountains with their tiered quarry faces looking for all the world like snow. Brooding clouds obscured the Carrara peaks but we continued our journey in bright sunshine.
We chose a services to stop for a quick bite of lunch and decided that we would push on further than Livorno. Jane had identified a camperstop in a nature park and we decided to try to find it. The book showed it as being between Castiglion della Pascaia and Marina di Grosseto and we found it easily. The camperstop did not have the water and dumping facilities noted in the book, but it was free and well positioned. We arrived at 16:00 and after a long day of travelling, we wanted to stretch our legs. We crossed under the road next to the camperstop to 'Oasi San Felice' and walked beside a river through a wood down to the sea. This was part of the nature park and the walk, opened in 2007, had many information boards explaining the flora and fauna. Unfortunately, we didn't see any Ospreys but we did see Jays and waterfowl on the lake. We then arrived at the dunes and a huge sandy beach with views across to Elba (no sign of Napoleon!). We followed the walk through the forest and ended up at the other end of the camperstop, confirming that the definitely weren't any water or dumping facilities unless they were extremely well hidden. The fresh air and exercise were great and we felt prepared for the last leg of the journey to Rome tomorrow.
Photos: The 'Oasi San Felice' freshwater lake; The 'Umbrella Pines' (if they are not called that, then they should be) in the wood; Lizard tracks on the sand dunes.
I thought that we had gone through a lot of tunnels yesterday but today we had gone though more than 100 in the first two hours! I was beginning to feel like a supercharged troglodyte! The motorway was also very windy with narrow lanes and no hard shoulder, meaning that concentration levels had to be high. In what seemed to be the rare occasions that we got glimpses of the outside world, we saw steep terraced hillsides with hamlets clinging to the slopes and the tree-clad mountains behind. Towards the coast we saw more densely-packed coastal towns with the deep blue sea beyond.
I was very pleased when we got close to La Spezia and the road became more level and straight and the driving was much more relaxed. Shortly afterwards we drove round (thankfully not through) the Carrara Mountains with their tiered quarry faces looking for all the world like snow. Brooding clouds obscured the Carrara peaks but we continued our journey in bright sunshine.
We chose a services to stop for a quick bite of lunch and decided that we would push on further than Livorno. Jane had identified a camperstop in a nature park and we decided to try to find it. The book showed it as being between Castiglion della Pascaia and Marina di Grosseto and we found it easily. The camperstop did not have the water and dumping facilities noted in the book, but it was free and well positioned. We arrived at 16:00 and after a long day of travelling, we wanted to stretch our legs. We crossed under the road next to the camperstop to 'Oasi San Felice' and walked beside a river through a wood down to the sea. This was part of the nature park and the walk, opened in 2007, had many information boards explaining the flora and fauna. Unfortunately, we didn't see any Ospreys but we did see Jays and waterfowl on the lake. We then arrived at the dunes and a huge sandy beach with views across to Elba (no sign of Napoleon!). We followed the walk through the forest and ended up at the other end of the camperstop, confirming that the definitely weren't any water or dumping facilities unless they were extremely well hidden. The fresh air and exercise were great and we felt prepared for the last leg of the journey to Rome tomorrow.
Photos: The 'Oasi San Felice' freshwater lake; The 'Umbrella Pines' (if they are not called that, then they should be) in the wood; Lizard tracks on the sand dunes.
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