Wednesday 19th March 2008

We had a quiet day today catching up on chores. The area around the campsite consists entirely of private beaches with cafes and restaurants attached. There are no shops and the nearest place for this is Ostia. We walked for 25 minutes to the Metro station and purchased weekly tickets for €16, which will gives us unlimited travel in Rome on the Metro, buses, trams and suburban railways – very good value, especially considering the journey that we will have to make into the city.
We took the Metro into Ostia, did the shopping and then returned to the campsite by Metro and bus.
Photos: A butterfly enjoying the wild flowers in the campsite.

Tuesday 18th March 2008

Only a three and a half hour drive today and we planned an interesting diversion on the way. To indulge our interest in archaeology, we stopped at the Etruscan necropolis of Tarquinia.
I had first stumbled across the Etruscans when we toured Tuscany many years ago and they fascinated me. They were a civilisation that lived for a thousand years from the 11th century BC in an area equating roughly from Tuscany and Umbria down to the northern shores of the Tiber near Rome. Much mystery and debate surrounds their origin but the latest thinking is that they were created from an amalgamation of Greeks and the local indigenous population. They were certainly very influenced by the Greeks and used a Greek script but wrote it from right to left. Unfortunately they didn't do much writing and left no historical record of their origins. What they did leave us was a wonderfully rich collection of artefacts, sites and tombs. It was the tombs, complete with paintings and rich grave goods that we had come to see today.
The necropolis stretches for 3 km on a ridge opposite the hill where the Etruscan city was sited and between it and the sea. There are excellent views to the see and inland from the site and it is easy to see why they chose this position. So far they have discovered almost 6,000 since the 15th century (and over 40,000 in the wider area around Tarquinia) and more than 60 are painted. In order to protect the tombs, only 15 are open to the public and these are all within a small area. The tombs are rock cut and covered with a stone capping and a tumulus. The tumuli have been removed at Tarquinia, small buildings erected over the tomb entrances and glass panels erected at the burial chamber entrances in order to protect them. Apart from a few school parties, it was quite quiet when we were there and we simply arranged our route to avoid the school children. We paid for audio guides that we could listen to whilst viewing the tombs and, given there was only room for two people to stand in front of the glass panels, we were glad that it was quiet! The tombs were very impressive and I could have included many photographs but I have restricted myself to two (described below).
We grabbed a quick bite of lunch in Henrietta and then walked the 2 km into the medieval town of Tarquinia to the museum. This was full of Etruscan finds from Tarquinia and the surrounding area – beautifully carved stone and terracotta tombs, funerary urns (from the earlier years) and grave objects. The Etruscans believed that the dead 'lived' where they were buried and therefore they painted friends, family, musicians, feasts, sports and entertainment on the tombs so that they would be with them in the afterlife. Likewise the valuable grave objects were left for their use. Many of the graves have been plundered over the years and the valuable grave objects stolen, even parts of the wall paintings were removed but still sufficient have been saved to show the quality of craftsmanship especially in pottery, painting and bronze work. One surprising exhibit in the museum was parts of an umbrella, complete with copies of paintings showing the use of umbrellas by the Etrucans.
After a most enjoyable visit, we drove on to Castel Fusano and the campsite.
Photos: The Taquinia necropolis – you have to imagine 3 km of ground covered with the mounds of tumuli; Tomb 5356 (dated to the 3rd century BC) showing a funerary procession Caronte, the keeper of the underworld is shown seated on the left with two dead members of the family (already in Hades) greeting the deceased. He is precede by a child and is being lead by Vanth the female Etruscan demon of death who is carrying a torch to light the way. Note that they even had mini-skirts in Estrucan days although it only seemed to be men and female demons that wore them!; The Tomb of the Leopards (approx. 470 BC). The scene, typical of this period, shows the funerary banquet with the guests reclining, attended by naked servants with over servants carrying drinking vessels (on the left) and entertained by musicians and dancers (on the right). The tomb is named after the leopards depicted above the banquet scene. The paintings have recently been restored but only by cleaning and fixing the plaster to the wall. No extra paint was added, so these colours have survived for nearly two and a half thousand years!; Engraved bronze mirror from 4th century BC.

Monday 17th March 2008

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.

Sunday 16th March 2008

After two nights in France, our destination today was a camperstop in Diano Marina, just 60 or so kilometres into Italy. We knew that we would have to use toll motorways again for the four hour journey but, out of interest, I set the sat nav to 'no tolls' to see how long it would take - six and a half hours! And it would have had the considerable extra hassle of driving through many resorts such as Cannes, Antibes, Monaco, Monte-Carlo etc.
The journey started with easy driving with the mountains in the distance but as we approached Cannes, the mountains came down to meet us and there were many snow-capped peaks. All of the resorts along this stretch, French and Italian, are huge sprawling towns with every spare centimetre covered by apartment blocks, houses and hotels. We went through over 60 tunnels and a similar number of viaducts and from these we had views of the resorts with the town often spilling up the steep valley under and beyond the viaduct. This is definitely not my choice of location and I was glad to be driving passed them!
We arrived at the camperstop at Diano Marina just after 14:00 and had a late lunch. The camperstop was a glorified car park attached to a bowling alley but was guarded and had water, dumping facilities and, a luxury for a camperstop, electricity. At €12 for the night, it was very good value and all we needed for a single night stay.
We had time to walk down to the promenade and the sea. Being a Sunday, it was very busy with families taking part in the traditional Italian promenade, meeting friends, seeing and being seen.
Photos: It was not very warm but the children were still enjoying playing in the sand on Diano Marina beach.

Saturday 15th March 2008

A welcome rest day in our journey to Rome and an opportunity to investigate the city of Arles. The weather was a real contrast to yesterday when I spent the whole day in shorts and a T-shirt. Today was overcast and cool and it was coats and jumpers for the whole day. At this time of the year, the sun makes a huge difference to the temperature and today we didn't see the sun at all.
The campsite exhibits a number of typical small French campsite traits – it has rather a scruffy look about it, the toilets are unisex (although a set of western bar swing doors provide some degree of protection to the men using the urinals) and the women's shower room has a note on it directing the ladies to the men's shower room. Having said that the shower room is heated and there is plenty of hot water. However, this is still early season and I suspect that things will be very different in the Summer. The jury is still out as to whether we brave the campsite showers or use Henrietta's excellent (and private) facilities!
Arles was a Roman centre and there are Roman ruins scattered around the city. We took the bus from the stop just 200m from the campsite and this took us into the centre of the city. With great restraint, we ignored the huge market and instead we visited the Roman baths, theatre, amphitheatre, circus (only scant remains) and the archaeological museum amongst other sights. The theatre was being extensively restored and this has been ongoing since 2002 and, judging by what they plan to do, will continue for a number of years.
The amphitheatre was absolutely intriguing. It was in a very good state of preservation for the same reasons as Diocletian's Palace in Split – it was adapted for use over the centuries rather than being used as a quarry. The amphitheatre was capable of seating 20,000 spectators seated on 34 tiers and held gladiatorial and animal fights and hunting spectacles but, before is was cleared between 1826 and 1830, there were 212 houses and 2 churches within the monument! Considering this, the state of preservation was remarkable. As we walked around, we were able to see the holes in the walls that supported joists used in the houses. Of course, some of the building had been demolished and used in other buildings such as the Mediaeval defensive towers built within the walls. Since 1830, the building has been used for a purpose very similar to that of Roman times – a spectacle of man versus animal, now in the form of a bullring. Unlike the Spanish bullfights, the bull here is not killed but revered by the crowd with the famous bulls pampered in a long retirement after their fighting days are over.
We had an excellent lunch of rabbit at a restaurant run by a young couple. It had only been open for eight months and they were extremely enthusiastic and helpful. The main course rabbit was excellent, served with polenta, french beans (fried in olive oil and garlic) and courgettes baked in a cream and cheese sauce. It was served with a gorgeous tapenade (olive) sauce. I am drooling as I write this!
After visiting the very interesting, but confusingly laid out archaeological museum we went back into the city centre to use the McDonalds free WiFi Internet access. We checked before we ordered our coffee only to be told that they did have WiFi but it wasn't working. However, the café next to McDonalds also had WiFi and they confirmed that theirs was working. We ordered two coffees and then discovered that my laptop would not connect to their wireless network and I had no idea why (and nor had they). However there was compensation – they had rugby on their television and it was the England v Ireland game. I had genuinely forgotten that the match was on but we watched the whole of the second half and enjoyed seeing England put on a convincing performance, winning 33 – 10. We then discovered that the Wales v France match was being covered directly after the English match. Having had two coffees each, we decided to start on the alcohol and kept drinking until the last bus back to the campsite. This sounds somewhat decadent but the last bus left at 19:00, so we were only able to have one drink and missed the second half of the match. The first half was hard fought, low scoring and attritional but Wales definitely had the better of it. It would have been interesting to watch the second half but this would have meant a long walk back and we had already walked miles around the city.
Despite being thwarted in our attempt to use the Internet, we had an excellent day.
Photos: Model of Arles amphitheatre (in Arles Archaeological Museum); Amphitheatre arena; Amphitheatre passage showing marks of the buildings that once occupied the interior; The meaning of this sign is not immediately obvious, so someone has thoughtfully provided a translation especially for British dogs!

Friday 14th March 2008

We had a later start today with a journey of just under four hours. This again was almost totally on toll motorways but this time, after the first few miles, was in France. We had not filled with LPG (for cooking and heating) since January as it is very difficult to find garages that stock it in Portugal and Spain. We therefore stopped at the very first motorway service station in France as it advertised LPG. As I was filling up, another motorhome pulled up behind us and I did a double-take when I looked at the occupants. They were a couple that we had camped next to at Orgiva before we had to fly back to England. They were as surprised as I was when I said hello! We had a good chat whilst I showed him how to use the pump as this was the first time that he had filled his tank. It was an amazing coincidence, especially given that they left Orgiva more than a week before us. We went our separate ways with best wishes for our respective journeys and perhaps our paths will cross again in the future.
The French are very good at providing rest areas on major roads and we must have passed one every 20 kilometres or so. We missed a lovely one overlooking a château but stopped for lunch at another just a bit further on. This one was called the Aire de Fitou and had views over the Etang (Lake) de Leucate and the sea. It was provided with toilets, picnic tables and a set of orientation tiles that explained what could be seen from the site. All of this was clean and had not been vandalised – I can't imagine that being the case in England.
Photos: View of the Etang de Leucate from the Aire de Fitou.

Thursday 13th March 2008

A good start today, on the road at 09:20. Somewhat disconcerted by large sign as we approached the motorway from Peniscola - 'Penis Verde'. I thought at first that this was some dire Spanish disease but it turned out to be a garden centre.
It was motorway almost all the way today for four hours. Around Tarragona and Barcelona, it was very busy with much dodging of lorries of all nations. The motorway scenery however was much more interesting than yesterday and the views of the mountains were very good. We arrived at the archaeological site of Empuries just before 14:00 and had a quick lunch before we investigated the site. We had first heard about it from Mike and Marie whom we had met in the car park at an Roman site in Portugal. It was a good recommendation!
Empuries was occupied from prehistoric times but the major site covers the period from 6th century BC when the Greeks founded a city for trading purposes. Very little of this settlement is visible because it was built over in the following centuries. In the early part of the 2nd century BC the Romans established a presence and the Romanised the area. Despite this Romans and Greeks lived side by side in separate towns within a few metres of each other, keeping their own distinctive architecture.
The Greek part of the site has been largely excavated down to the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, going further back would involve destroying these remains. However only approximately one quarter of the Roman site has been excavated but this is very impressive – who knows what other treasures lay below the rest of the city.
Unfortunately, although every other language was available, they had sold out of English guidebooks, so we had to make do with a small leaflet and the good but rather scarce information boards. The museum was very well labelled in English and had some excellent finds, particularly some very fine mosaics from both the Greek and Roman settlements. There were some impressive houses in the Greek quarter but these were eclipsed by the enormous Roman villa known as Domus 1. This had a huge atrium and many rooms with mosaics. For their protection, all of the mosaics in position on the site are covered during the Winter. We were lucky in that the mosaics were being uncovered while we were there, so we were able to see some of them although many had not yet been fully cleaned.
Our campsite was only a few kilometres down the road and was virtually deserted.
Photos: The walls and gate of the Greek city; The 3rd century BC water filter system. The pipes were filled with a filter medium, unfiltered water entered at the top and filtered water came out of the hole at the bottom; The enormous Roman villa 'Domus 1'; A very fine mosaic from an unexcavated house in the Roman city.