Stelvio Pass and Modena

The Stelvio Pass: 16 August 2011

An early start to reach Bormio. Lots of other cars & bikes doing the same thing as we were told yesterday was not good weather to drive the Pass but today is brilliant sunshine. Funny that we had to reach the Alps to get some good weather. We were amazed to see the large number of cyclists also travelling the route. Must be very fit as we reached 2,500 mts at the summit. 48 hairpin bends in all in one section & with our large turning circle some of the bends made for some tight corners.  Managed to get the tyres squealing ( along with the wife ) on several corners

Many long tunnels too on this day, up to 10 kms, particularly the tunnel to Livigno.

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Magnificent views of the snow capped mountains.

Next headed for Lake Garda which was lovely but so packed with tourists all around the lake that it was difficult to find a parking space let alone a hotel.

A long day on the road so stopped the night at Modena, south of Verona.

Modena: 17^th August 2011

(Adventures with a GPS ) If your name is Blunden, please log out !!

The further we have travelled from UK, the more erratic the performance of the GPS has been, from turning left in the middle of an autobahn to asking us take the fourth roundabout exit when only 2 exist, ahhhhh, we could go on and on. Despite following the GPS directions we have seen rather more of Germany, Switzerland and Italy than we had intended.

After some argument with the GPS which always wants to take us on motorways, we found Maranello, home of the Ferrari Museum. The colour red springs to mind!

Next stop was Lamborghini Museum which was interesting for the cars on display which never made it into production.

Ferrari museum was a bit of a let down, a fairly sparse collection of cars, lots of focus on F1, also their shop was a fairly poor offering.  Lots of enthusiasts, none of whom looked like ever owning a Ferrari, a bit superficial I felt.

Lamborghini was on the outskirts of an industrial rural town and only a few visitors. Much more restrained but more dignified.

We headed for the coast to look for somewhere to stay but everything crowded and booked out. Can’t believe how all Italians go on holiday at the same time & many places close for the month.

We decided to head inland and lucked upon a great B & B high in the hills just below Urbino. It even had a swimming pool (which was great after a hot drive) & we may have been the only guests. The proprietor suggested a restaurant in a small village about 5 kms away. A character filled place full of all types of roosters, ceramic, drawings, etc  A beautiful part of Italy, think the yellow glow of the Umbrian hills with sunflowers growing everywhere but now seeded & ready for harvest.

I see a great need to return to here but not in the company of several thousand newly found Italian friends.

Ancona & Igoumenitsa, Greece: 18 August 2011

Arrived Ancona about midday & booked on overnight ferry to Greece. If you’ve been on the Tassie ferry, this is exactly the same. Funny how we found the bar so easily. 

Progress to date    4,800 kms since collecting the Puce Goose in UK.