The Real Deal

Up in the morning and off to school. Okay, so that is always just the saying. Up in the morning and off for the coffee and breakfast at the hotel. Once again the standard breakfast for me and twice the double espresso (yummy). After check out I went to fetch Ed from his hole in the ground. Basement level 2 and locked in a just big enough garage, I thought that he might not have liked his 2 day stay. Yesterday we left our shoes on his bonnet when we went to change into our hiking boots and that must have given him some comfort. He roared into life and I was happy that he was once again free to show why he is such a loved member of the family. Safe and secure and he has over 425 000 km on the clock and still purrs like a kitten! 

Ingrid had said that at destination we could expect heavy rain and it would slowly move inland away from where we were going. As we started to come out of the mountains we got hit with a pretty heavy rain, but Ed was more than up to the task. Ed is an SUV so we sit slightly higher up from the road and that helps with spray and visibility! Great job Ed!!!

4 hours today on the road was 4 hours. We had about 45 min of pretty decent rain and then we were through the rain corridor and into overcast conditions. These Italian roads are something else. People had told me that the roads in Italy were not good, but I found the constrictive nature of the barriers on one side and the almost continuous line of trucks on the other more of a hinderance than the road itself. The barriers on the left were only about 50cm away from the line at the edge of the road and that line was only 20cm from the end of the tarmac. My job was just to steer between the 2 white lines and concnetrate on the car in front of me (More likely the second car in front of me - when he hit the brake lights I knew that I needed to release the right foot).

We arrived at Casa Next Stop in good time and went to the front door to see if we could check in early. There were people behind the locked door and they did not budge from their seats to open and let us know that we should come back a little later. Lunch is apparently a big thing here. F that. We got into the car and set the navigation to Lucca. This is another fortified town with a large fortification wall surrounding it. After a little marriage tension therapy we worked out that we needed to park in the blue spaces and pay for the parking. A little more therapy and Ed was in his spot and the ticket was solidly on the front dashboard for all to see. 

We walked through one of the gates in the wall and soon found a little place to eat under an umbrella as the rain spat a little every now and then. Our waitress spoke little English and we spoke little Italian, but with a bit of Me Tarzan, you Jane, we got an order through. It was a pretty lovely lunch and it seems rude here not to end off with a coffee. They ask you like 4 times, Coffee? Bring it on Jane! 

After lunch we drove back to Cassa Next Stop and this time were able to check in. We have a lovely room on the 1st floor overlooking the valley. Olive trees and vinyards in our back garden. Pity that the weather was still spitting a bit. Talking of gettin wet, a bath is not something that I like to do often, but sometimes it is just the thing to do. Bath and tea for 1 please!

This evening we drove to town (Monte Carlo - Nothing to do with the casino and James Bond). It ended up being only 2 minutes up the hill from Casa Next Stop. Guess that we could have walked. Monte Carlo is once again a fortified town (seems to be a trend on our trip) and I am guessing that in a morning one might have walked the town 5 or 6 times. We settled on an Italian Restaurant and the them today has not been German extention, but the real deal Italy. A local bottle of wine was "pushed" on us by our no English waitress and once again we pretty much ended up with what we thought that we have ordered.  What does one say about the food? Simple and pure ingredients. No salt and pepper or condiments on the table to disguise the taste. Pure, simple and lovely. Tiramisu? Golden!!!!

We are as to be expected back at Casa Next Stop (For those of you with a Spanish ear, Casa Spanish = Casa Italian).  Weather for tomorrow is expected to be wet in the morning and wet in the evening again. I smell a World Championship of Back Gammon on the table tomorrow.  Who knows?

Nighty Nights Peeps! Have a lekker one!

PS: Just for the record. 9 September 1998 is when I landed in Holland to begin work. I only had a 3 year plan and now look at me. Travelling through Italy with the ball and chain. 27 years as a resident of Holland today.