Sail for Cyprus at midnight

Puglia and Brindisi to Greece

So, we left the Wests in Tuscany, to continue their family holiday in peace (!), intending to drive a couple of hundred Km and stop by a lake, as it happened; they both fell asleep, so I kept driving...

Just down the road from Bagni di Lucca is this fantastic old bridge:



We stopped off for an hour or so at Orvieto, a walled city on a hill with tumble-down windy streets and an incongruous cathedral:



Heading for Bari, it got to midnight, so we stopped to sleep at an Autostrade Stopover (services), and continued in the morning.

Eventually we found a place to park for the night, by the sea; a swim before BBQ dinner, and sleep to the sound of waves slopping into the little caves below.




Having found we needed to wait another day to get on the ferry to Igoumenitsa, Greece; we found another overnight stopover place by the sea;


Breakfast with a nice view of the Aegean:

Lucca and Bagni di Lucca, Tuscany.

After the madness of the Italian NW coast, it's so nice to head inland and away from the sardine beaches.
On arrival at Lucca, the strangest thing happened; we were driving around the outer part of the walls, looking for a supermarket, when Atha announced she thought she'd just seen Jeremy's Mum. Now the chances of this were slim, but possible: Jeremy parents were due to arrive for their holiday at Bagni di Lucca that day, but how likely was it?
I pulled over and jumped out of the motorhome then ran back up the road, to find Martin and Jackie in their hire-car. They'd taken a wrong turn, and not having used reverse gear yet, were stuggling to engage it for the first time. After a round of "well what were the chances of that"s, they went on their way, with promises to see them again in a few days, at the farmhouse villa in the hills.

The walled city of Lucca is a great place to wander around; churches, towers, great little shops and gelateria.

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After looking into a few options, ranging from E9.00 to E18.00 per night, we settled for a place in a large, free carpark, with water on-tap. Perfecto. Only a very short walk to the city walls too.

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So, after Saturday, Sunday and Monday at Lucca city, we got a text message from Jeremy on Tuesday morning to say they'd arrived the night before, so via the supermarket, we set off to meet them for ice-creams in Bagni di Lucca, to then go on their accomodation.


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After a winding road to rival the Alps; but narrower, and involing use of a tape-measure (good thinking Jeremy!) we bulldozed the motorhome under the overhanging sweet-chestnut trees to our destination. With less than 100mm of clearance to share between both sides, somehow we passed through the gates at the end of the 'no-turning-around-possible' road to the farmhouse.

It was worth it.



And I'm putting off the journey back through and down, for several reasons!

In the meantime, Harris is having a lovely time playing with Marley, Kato and Eno; and it's great to be amongst friends, around a pool, with amazing views of the Tucan countryside.

Soon, we'll need to make a dash for Brindisi via somewhere; to get the ferry to Greece. Piu Tardi.

Ciao for now.