Saluzzo

We both woke up at 7am. The barking dogs were relentless all night and we couldn’t wait to leave. It seemed as though one dog would stop and then another one somewhere else would start.
By 8:30am we were ready and we had just a 1 hour drive to our location of the day. The Sacra di San Michele in Italian or the sanctuary of saint Michael in English.
Obviously it was on a hill and in the local area it’s a famous climb for cyclists called the Col de Bosque. The gradient didn’t actually seem that bad but it was a constant 6% all the way up it to the 3/4 mark. Then there was a downhill and then it was 8% for the rest of the way. In total it’s a 10km leg zapping climb but today we went up it in Wanda although I would have loved to give it a go we didn’t have the time.
We stopped at the 3/4 mark where there was a great parking spot where I launched the drone. We were so lucky with the weather to get the drone shots. The Sanctuary really needs to be viewed from afar to appreciate the size and scale of it and where it is situated.
Once I had the drone shots we pushed on the last couple of miles uphill. Found a parking spot that cost €3 an hour and then paid €8 each to enter the sanctuary.
Although the sanctuary is impressive from inside we really only got access to the church and it was straight in, up the stone steps to the church, a quick wander around and back out the other side. The wall art was amazing and so was the way it was built on top of the cliff incorporating the natural rock into it’s walls, but really it was a lot of money for not a lot of sanctuary.
Back at Wanda we had something to eat and then made our way back down the Col du Bosque and I was cheering the cyclists going up.
Back on level ground we had a 60 mile drive to our park up for the night and luckily for me half of it was on the motorway so I just set the cruise control. The other half was driving around the outskirts of towns where the Italians seemed to have fallen in love with roundabouts. I’m so sick of negotiating roundabouts especially when other European drivers don’t know how to use them.
At 1pm we arrived at our camp spot for the night in the ancient town of Saluzzo and now it was raining so we made a cup of tea and then chilled out in Wanda until mid afternoon.
At 3:30pm we left Wanda and headed out in the rain to the town. There is an old part and a new part and we headed straight down the road to the old part of the city where all the streets are cobbled and there were some very steep steps. In the centre of the old plaza square was the old church which wasn’t open today. There was also the town hall which was huge and covered in Italian flags and the regional flag.
From the church we headed downhill down a set of steps that were cobbled and ancient. They were tricky to negotiate when wet. They must be a nightmare in the snow and ice.
Back at ground level we popped out of a little ally into the main high street of the new part of town. Rather than cobbled the streets here are brick paved and mostly pedestrianised.
We walked all the way down one side of the high street and then back up the other.
There were lots of independent clothes shops and lots of coffee shops and restaurants. It was extremely busy and the cafes were thriving as usual. Even the school kids were coming out of school and going to the coffee shops.
We didn’t go in any of the shops but just looked through the windows. It’s funny how some of the smaller towns have shops that are full of things you just want to go in and see and some towns are full of shops with nothing in particular. This was one of those towns even though it was pretty.
At the other end of the high street we headed back to Wanda, the rain had stopped and we had a nice walk back up the hill to our little aire away from the town. Just as we got back the rain started again.
Our little aire is nice. It’s a proper Motorhome area that’s free of charge but they do charge for electric should we need it and it’s €2 for 100 litres of water. It’s quiet which is the main thing and there’s no barking dogs but there is church bells in the distance. I don’t mind the church bells but Ellie doesn’t like them at night.
Back in Wanda we had homemade chilli and fresh bread for dinner. The bread crust was so tough it could have been a speed hump but the inside was nice.
At 7pm with the washing up done we closed the blinds and put our pyjamas on and settled in for the night. Tomorrow we’re going to try and make it further down to the coast and it could be our last stop in Italy. We still haven’t paid for any sleep spots.Read more