Cross Country

And so we close the door on our little seaside casa for the last time. Now that we finally know how to navigate the labyrinth of feminine named streets that make up this village at Rosa Marina, here we are working our way out for the last time.

The now familiar E55 highway, with its perplexing speed limits melts away beneath us at this early hour. The rolling hills turn to low mountains as we move northwest, through the centre of Italy.

Fields like patchwork quilts but up onto hillsides and into valleys, look more like a rumpled bed someones just gotten out of. Tiny white villages crowd around the crests of each hilltop.

Its a long drive, but at least a scenic one. A quick leg stretch in a nondescript town partway through offers up the best doughnut I think I've ever had. Pillow soft, sanded with rough sweet sugar...delectable.

Our idyllic countryside drive comes to an abrupt end as we approach Rome's outer ring! Typical Italian road chaos increases exponentially. As another tourist we've met remarked, it takes 2 to drive here. A navigator is an absolute must!

We find our hotel with a minimum of issues...but accessing it is a whole other problem! The loading zone cheerfully assured by our host is occupied by a white van. The driver is absorbed in a lengthy phone call, and an oncoming city bus in our lane honks belligerently to let us know we're obstructing his way. Nothing to do, but circle around and try again. But in Rome, that's almost a 1.5 km circle! Ultimately, we squeeze in and double park.

And then rush our cases upstairs, so we can manœuvre back to return the rental car! At least that is straightforward.

Our evening is a short stroll, a quick meal, and an early night. We definitely notice prices are higher in Rome. And it's grittier. Far, far more graffiti. More garbage in the streets. And at our restaurant, for the first time in Italy, I order house wine that is absolutely un drinkable. Have not come across that since the wine vending machine adventure 😅

And to my great regret, the hotel....had no hot water for my shower! The host said just let it run for 20 minutes or so, it will warm up. Alas, it never did. We had hot water issues at the house the last couple days, so I had really been anticipating a shower that wasn't cold 😅Read more