Road Trip Day 1

Let me start by saying you shouldn't let Graham and Stefano drive a mountain crossing together. More on that later.
Had a last minute stroll (and gelato for Stefano/Ernie) before heading off on our road trip. As we headed into the mountains we witnessed first hand the devastation caused by the 2016 earthquake where 299 people died. Whole towns were completely decimated and left as a pile of rubble with the odd wall or two standing.
We stopped for lunch in the town of Amatrice which was near the epicentre of the earthquake and where 234 lost their lives. It was like a war zone and so sad to see. After the original earthquake there were over 2,500 aftershocks so it must have been terrifying for those that survived.
They are rebuilding the town and have created a centre where all the local restaurants were relocated to, so it is good to see there is still employment and business in the town. The restaurants were packed as people come from far and wide to eat the local pasta. It was worth the trip!
We continued on our road trip and headed up to cross a mountain - at one point we were over 1,100 metres above sea level. On a positive note, the view was spectacular; all these beautiful towns sitting on the side of the hillside. Lots of postcard moments. On the downside, the drive was terrifying (well for Debbie and I anyway). Graham and Stefano thought they were driving Formula 1 race cars. The road was very thin and incredibly winding - I don't think the steering wheel was in the forward position very often and our poor little Yaris was getting thrown around the corners like our lives depended on it. Actually they did. I could see Deb holding on to the roof for dear life in the car in front.
We stopped for a breather and the boys jumped out the car giggling and saying how much fun they had had. Yeah, right.
Just as the sun was going down we arrived in Monteluco, which is of course situated up another winding hillside road above Spoleto. You would not want to drive these roads if you suffer motion sickness.
There is a photo in the town with the snow capped mountains in the distance. In the foreground you can see Ernie running and Stefano chasing him. I have just noticed there are two photos featuring Ernie being chased by Stefano. This is pretty much our view all day.Read more