Friday 16th October 2009 – 'Happy Village Camping', Rome

We drove to Murlo, the largest local town but actually barely more than a village. The old part of the village is a tiny settlement surrounding a Mediaeval castle on the top of a hill. This is very attractive with lovely views over the surrounding countryside but it also has another attraction. The
castle has been renovated and now houses an archaeological museum with finds from an Etruscan site, 'Poggio Civitate', on a neighbouring hill. The site has two houses from different periods the earlier one built in the 7th century BC, later destroyed by fire, and the second one that superseded it built in the 6th century BC. The site was eventually abandoned in 525 BC but, intriguingly, it was carefully demolished, many architectural elements deliberately buried intact and the well blocked to prevent its future use. It has been suggested that the owners moved to another location taking their valuables with them and wanted to make sure that nobody else occupied their original site. For such a small village, the museum was surprisingly good – well presented, English translations on many boards and it had some excellent finds. Some finds had gone to museums in the large cities but it was great to see many exhibited so close to their original site. The other advantage of this is that there is plenty of space to show many exhibits and tell the story of the site. In a large museum, only the best finds would be shown as the display space would have to be limited.
One of the most interesting aspects of the site is the high quality terracotta work produced on the site. The workshop used in the first phase of development has been found and it has been established that it was destroyed in the fire. Unfinished clay tiles were discovered in the wreckage with human and animal footprints made, they have surmised, when the occupants fled the fire. Terracotta wall tiles and roof decorations have been excavated – masks decorated the eaves of the buildings whilst clay statues were set on the apex of the roof. One of these statues is of a man wearing a large broad-brimmed hat – most unusual!
From Murlo we had to cut across country to join the R2 (the Roman 'Via Cassia') and were rewarded by the sight of two magnificent villas or castles from one single viewing point. I suspect that they were rival estates each determined to demonstrate their power. The one pictured above was in a tiny settlement called Castelnuovo, a very common name in Italy – we must have past dozens of towns and villages with that name and there must be hundreds in the country. We have two towns called 'Newcastle' in England but Italy has a few more castles than us!
The vineyard scenery gave way to the much more traditional agriculture in Southern Tuscany. Vast ploughed fields encompassed many small hills whilst the farmhouses occupied the highest hill on the estate. The farmhouses were very attractive, often surrounded by trees and with long poplar-lined drives that contrasted against the light grey of the fields.
It was a day of castles and as we moved from Tuscany into Lazio encountered another spectacular example at Bolsena, the main town on Lake Bolsena. This looked like an interesting town and the lake also looked well worth a visit. It's on the list for another trip!
We attempted to stop at two aires shown in the Guida Camper book but one was padlocked and the other obviously closed for the season (our fault, we didn't read the entry properly), so we decided to move on to a campsite listed in the ACSI guide. This was 'Happy Village Camping' north of Rome, just outside the outer motorway ring road. We probably wouldn't have chosen a site with such a naff name but it sounded good in the guide and they operate the special ACSI rate of €15 out of season.
It turned out to be very good and we were soon on our allocated pitch just two pitches away from another Hobby motorhome. We see very few Hobby's on our travels and this was an even rarer version – a British Hobby. It was the big sister of ours, a 600 based on a Fiat chassis. It is over a metre longer than our T600 and has a garage with twin single beds above it. It looked very comfortable with all of the same high-quality Hobby fittings as ours. Mike was also towing a Smart car that enabled they to get around more easily once they had found a campsite.
Photos: Terracotta statues from the Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate; A Tuscan castle between Bibbiano and Buonconvento.

Thursday 15th October 2009 – Casciano, Tuscany, Italy

There was a cool wind yesterday and this continued today but the air temperature was lower still, struggling to reach 12°C, although out of the wind and in the lovely sunshine it was quite pleasant.
The wind and sunshine was ideal for Jane's task of washing – two loads in a very efficient and quick washing machine. Our recently acquired washing line, looking like a whirly line on a tripod but it doesn't actually whirl, worked extremely well and all was dry by mid-afternoon. And that was about the extent of the active things that we did today, reading and planning occupying our time.
Photos: The view from our pitch in Casciano.

Wednesday 14th October 2009 – Casciano, Tuscany, Italy

For the second morning in succession we had to put on Henrietta's heating as the outside temperature was below 3°C. However the skies are clear and the sun is strong so the temperature soon rises and has been consistently in the early 20's.
Whereas the countryside around Asti is dominated by vineyards, the Chianti country is much more mixed with forest, olive groves and vineyards. This, together with the rolling countryside and the Tuscan architecture makes a very attractive scene. Everywhere there are vineyards with signs advertising direct sales, often selling olive oil as well as Chianti.
We visited two hilltop Tuscan towns, the small Panzano and the larger Castellina in Chianti. Panzano was quiet and charming, with its houses crammed into the small hilltop with the church, of course, occupying the highest point. In the square I went into the village butchers and purchased some piquant sausages and stewing beef. We found a path beside the church and set off for a walk that took us off the hill and round at a lower level before we climbed again back to the car park at the edge of the town. The views across the Tuscan countryside and up to Panzano were lovely.
There is a good aire just outside Castellina in Chianti and we used that to park before walking into the town. Castellina is much more popular with tourists but was still quite quiet at this time of the year. We wandered around the town visiting one of the wine cellars, home of Castellina wines but also holding the largest collection of Chianti Classico wines in the world. These date back many years and large catalogues list the wines, dates and prices. I managed to find some Contessa di Radda wine that we bought many years ago on a previous visit to Tuscany. The 1991 vintage was a bargain at €25. If only I had kept our bottles rather than drinking them!
Just outside Castellina we came to a large wine estate where we attempted to buy some wine in bulk but they only sold it in bottles. We explained that we knew that it was possible to fill your own containers at some vineyards but didn't know where to go or how to ask for it. They couldn't have been more helpful. They made a phone call, confirmed that they couldn't do it but gave us directions to the nearest agroturism vineyard that offered the option. They must have detailed the route to us about five times – they obviously thought that we were a little simple! We just hoped that they weren't watching as we drove out of the estate road and turned the wrong way – we decided that we didn't have time to backtrack on our route. Still I had asked for the Italian word for bulk wine sales – sfuso. We had seen signs showing this word but didn't know what it meant. We will look out for more such signs on the journey.
We headed on around Siena (been there, done that but will return sometime) even driving on a short stretch of motorway before travelling south to Casciano. Here we had identified a campsite offering the ACSI out-of-season discounted price of €15 per night. We chose it partly because it was at a convenient point on our route but also because it was described as having excellent views. It certainly has and we found a plot in amongst the olive trees. Our first night in a campsite since we set off!
Photos: The Tuscan countryside – a mixture of vineyards, olive groves and trees with Tuscan houses in amongst; Tuscan chimneys in Castellina in Chianti; the casks of Chianti Classico in Castellina.

Tuesday 13th October 2009 – Greve in Chianti

After a little shopping in the local Conad supermarket (now owned by the French giant Leclerc) we set off for what we hoped was going to be a shorter and less arduous drive. Castelnuouvo seemed like an interesting place with a castle in the centre on the banks of the river. Next time we will investigate the town more but still use the aire as it is close to the centre and parking in the centre looks like a nightmare.
The major road towards Lucca was busy but easy and we were soon eating up the kilometres. Close to Lucca we turned off the road and once again headed across country. The views all of the way were lovely with large areas of forest and many of those hill-top villages. Chestnut trees and chestnut collecting were much in evidence although the wind had disappeared today and we didn't have to avoid any debris.
Early in the afternoon we started to see vineyards again – we had arrived in the Chianti area. We diverted slightly north so that we could join the 222 road at Strada in Chianti. The 222 is the very pretty road that travels through the heart of the Tuscan countryside touching many historic, tourist-filled towns. One such town is Greve in Chianti where there is a free aire on the north side of the town. This was quite busy when we arrived at about 15:30 but we found a good spot and set off to investigate the town.
At this time of the year there aren't too many tourists although there was a large group of Americans occupying the cafés of the main square. This was surrounded by cafés, restaurants, souvenir shops, wine shops and butchers that also sold Chianti Classico. Just of the edge of the square was a path up to a view point that looked out over the town to the hills and vineyards beyond.
Photos: Greve's main square; The 'Gallo Nero' (the black cockerel, the symbol of Chianti Classico) with the tower of the Greve library in the background; It was washing day in Greve!

Monday 12th October 2009 – Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Italy

We said final goodbyes to our Italian friends at 08:30 and wished them a good journey. They were travelling to Alba, just a few kilometres away) and then going for a ride on their scooters (their common interest) before returning home, most to Turin but one couple going to the Venice region.
We were on the road by 09:30 having set a cross-country route to a valley west of La Spezia.
There was a breeze this morning for the first time for many days of our travels. It soon became clear that there hadn't been any wind in this part of Italy for a while. After passing huge numbers of vineyards for many kilometres we came to higher land and the chestnut tree areas. The road was strewn with chestnuts, falling as we passed, dislodged by the blustery wind. The views were fantastic – forested hills, hill-top villages and barren mountains in the distance. The wind got stronger and more blustery but did not affect the handling of the van. However it did bring down many branches from the trees. The police and council workers were out warning or clearing fallen boughs and we took evasive action to avoid large branches. On one occasion we had to stop the van, put on the hazard-warning lights and remove a small tree that we saw fall over the road.
We kept passing all of those fallen chestnuts and it was obvious from the many cars parked in obscure spots just off the road, that the locals were all collecting chestnuts. In the end I gave way to temptation and stopped Jane stayed firmly in her seat whilst I collected two kilograms of chestnuts in less than fifteen minutes. Because the wind had only just dislodged them, they were in excellent condition and very few had those tell-tale small holes that indicate invading creatures! Well, that is the Christmas chestnut stuffing sorted and we will probably have a few roasted chestnuts during the sojourn. For fellow chestnut enthusiasts (and to remind me) I can reveal that I collected them on a small road joining the S45 and P225. Travelling south from Laccio the turning left comes just after a tunnel and takes you immediately through a short tunnel. The route is marked in green on our Michelin map and is very pretty. There are also many places to stop and collect those lovely nuts.
The route that we had picked was much more tortuous than we had realised. My arms got lots of exercise with all of those mountain roads but, more importantly, it took longer than we (or the sat nav) estimated. We arrive at Castelnuovo di Garfagnana when it was virtually dark and struggled at first to find the aire. However when we did find it, it was very good with plenty of space.
Photos: Left on our own at Ai Cuivin after the Italian group had left; The village of Caprigiola above the river Magra near Aulla north of La Spezia.

Sunday 11th October 2009 - Ai Cuivin, Castiglione Tinella, Italy

We arose late and had a small, leisurely breakfast before going for a short walk along the local ridges. Last time we were here there was a mist hanging in the valley creating a beautiful scene but this time it was crystal clear. The mountains filled 180° of the horizon with several snow-capped peaks visible but most of the view was taken up by endless vineyards, hamlets and church towers.
The meal started at one o'clock and finished two and a half hours later. I won't bore you with the menu but the eight courses were excellent and finished with coffee. Unlimited water and wine were available but we tried to limit ourselves on the latter. We chatted to the daughter-in-law of the owner who is of Dutch extraction and was able to converse in English. As last time, she was able to tell us what each dish was but she also imparted much more information including the correct way to pronounce 'Ai Cuivin', which was 'I Choo-in' – nothing like we had been pronouncing it for the last two years!
Before the meal a large group of Italian motorhomers invited us to join them for something to eat but we politely declined knowing how big the meal was going to be. When we returned, I decided to go for a short walk and one of the ladies explained that at this time of year we could go into the vineyards and pick the grapes ourselves. Italian (probably EU) rules restrict the amount of wine that they can produce, so the excess grapes have to be thrown away. Apparently, some people come every year to pick these grapes to make their own wine. I picked a few bunches of white grapes from the vineyard on the opposite side of the road – they needed to be sorted and the bad grapes removed but the remaining grapes are very sweet with a lovely concentrated flavour. Perhaps another year we will time or trip to pick some on our return journey and then make some wine at home.
I left the grapes with Jane and set off again for a walk. I only got as far as the Italian group and was invited for a coffee. Having refused one invitation, it would have been churlish to turn down a second. After having collected Jane, we sat down to coffee and were soon offered some red wine that had been made by one of the group. It really was very good. Two of the ladies in the group spoke excellent English and translated for us whilst we answered many questions about England and ourselves. They jokingly said that they didn't want to visit England because of Swine Flu and so I told them that that was the reason we were in Italy! I eventually got my walk but only after I had promised that we would join them again in the evening.
Many of the group had left during the afternoon but there were still eight people, including the two translators, to greet us. We decided that we should fly the British flag so we took some typical products with us – Old Speckled Hen beer, Stilton cheese and Scottish Oatcake biscuits. The Stilton and biscuits went down very well but I'm not sure that the beer was such a hit. I did explain that it took me a great deal of effort and a large number of pints before I appreciated English beer! Meanwhile we were presented with some more homemade red wine this time made by the husband of our main translator. She explained that he wasn't happy with it as they had to stop the fermentation a little early resulting in a “sweet” wine. It was actually only just off-dry and was very good. They were determined to let this year's vintage ferment out so that got a true dry wine. We were also given a cooked salami (like a coarse paté) and a wonderfully tasty air-dried salami, both made by the same couple from the pig that they and their neighbours fattened. More delicacies followed – a chicken liver risotto and raw porcini mushrooms marinated with lots of parsley and a little garlic. Needless to say, they had collected the mushrooms themselves yesterday. We only had a very small amount of all of these dishes and the wine as we were very full after our enormous meal. If anything, they eat less than we did as they had a meal in the restaurant last night and then had a large meal with the group at lunchtime.
We asked our friends about other 'agroturismo' sites in Italy like Ai Cuivin. Was there a book that listed them? Someone produced a book given free with an Italian magazine in April and insisted that we kept it. They had finished with it this year and the magazine would provide another one next season. It really is excellent, listing other agroturism motorhome sites all over Italy (including Sicily) some of which are restaurants like Ai Cuivin. We will definitely be using it during the rest of the sojourn and probably for many years to come!
Photos: Two views over the vineyards from close to Ai Cuivin – the second photographs shows the snow-capped peaks of the Alps in the background; Two of our Ai Cuivin hosts – note who is doing all of the work!; Our Italian friends together with the owner of Ai Cuivin who has just delivered a bottle of Asti desert wine for us to try.

Saturday 10th October 2009 – Ai Cuivin, Castiglione Tinella, Italy

When Jane wasn't reading last night, we did some planning. We decided to forego the intended stop at La Spezia for the Cinque Terre and plotted an approximate route down through the centre of Italy. Kept from the original plan was a stop at Ai Cuivin in Castiglione Tinella. This was almost directly on route when we planned to cross into Italy over the Col de Montgenevre but now involved a small diversion north.
Our route into Italy took us a little further towards Briancon until we crossed the Lac de Serre-Poncon lake and turned off the main road at Savine-le-Lac taking a minor road towards Barcelonnette. I highly recommend this road to fellow travellers. The road climbs a little way giving wonderful views over the lake in both directions. Then we came across a totally unexpected sight, Les Demoiselle Coiffees. We had seen a photograph of this natural formation but didn't know where it was. White spires of rock rose from the mountainside topped with large dark rocks. My immediate thought was that is was a volcanic formation – white pumice and black 'bombs' that had been ejected during an eruption. The hard rocks would protect the soft pumice from erosion by rain, so my thinking went. Needless to say, I was totally wrong! The Ubaye glacier deposited clays, pebbles and large boulders and this was gradually eroded by rain and wind, the boulders protecting some of the underlying soils. The rain falling on the lower land between the boulders is absorbed and rises up the columns by capillary action where it evaporates from the sides of the columns. When this happens many different salts are deposited and this cements the clays and pebbles into a strong, often hollow, tubular structures capable of holding huge weights – the 'Grand Moron' boulder shown above weighs about 800 tonnes and has a volume of 300 cubic metres.
This area is well worth a visit and there are campsites, an aire in Savine-le-Lac (on the Barcelonnette road, not in our guide) and many wild camping opportunities.
We continued on the road, descending back to the lakeside and then following the Ubaye river through Barcelonnette to the Col de Lardeche and the Italian border. We found this an easy way into Italy, the road was not challenging, a relatively gentle incline to the pass at very nearly 2,000m. The other side of the pass, the Colle della Maddalena was steeper with quite a few hairpin bends but these are always easier when descending. We had made into Italy without any clutch problems, in fact the clutch was much better than it had been for a long time – probably since January 2008!
Fairly easy driving took us to Cuneo and then north-east round Bra and Alba before turning east into the heart of the wine country near Asti of Asti Spumante fame.
The Asti vineyards are quite spectacular – steep hills, covered with vines form long narrow ridges where medieval villages and scattered hamlets perch. All of the roads, narrow and often with grass growing up the middle, run along these ridges joining the dispersed houses. It was along such roads that we travelled and the sat nav delivered us to the entrance to Ai Cuivin.
Ai Cuivin is one of those rare motorhome locations – a privately-owned free aire complete with electricity, toilets and showers with a restaurant attached. We came here in November 2007, struggled to find the site but were so glad that we succeeded. We were greeted on arrival and booked a table for Sunday lunch.
It was 24°C when we arrived at 16:30 and we sat outside until sunset enjoying the views over those lovely vineyards.
The man from one of the motorhomes that arrived after us sat outside the van polishing his shoes. Having finished that, he got out the cleaning spray and proceeded to clean the windows that were already sparkling and he then inspected the remainder of the van to ensure that there wasn't a speck of dirt on it. So much for the alpha Italian male! If only I could speak Italian, I would have suggested that he continued on ours – that would have kept him happy for hours!
Photos: The amazing formations of Les Demoiselle Coiffees; 'Le Grand Morgon' – the block on the right weighs approx. 800 tonnes; A view clearly showing the columns supporting one of the blocks; Lac de Serre-Poncon; The village of Castiglione Tinella as seen from Ai Cuivin.