And do we found amazing weather at Milano Maritime. We parked our van at the edge of the beach and just enjoyed the sound of the waves…
Well, just kidding… If you know our kids, you know that silence is 1000 times more precious than gold… And so it is impossible to get before they are asleep. Anyway, with 18C in the night and sunshine instead of the rain on the next day, we could not ask for more 😀
Sarsina was supposed to be just a stop with a place to sleep but it turned out an interesting place, full of history, with a surprisingly vivid main square, filled with bars and restaurants. Plauto was born here and the town is proud of its “son”. It shows in names of bars, dishes in the menu and street names. We had a lovely dinner at Antica Osteria and a very funny chat with its intriguing owner.
On our way to the more sunny part of Italy we stopped in Cesena. Although perhaps ii is not amazing, it offers really nice atmosphere and some picturesque corners.
After a long day in Perugia we drove South to spend the night in Umbertide (communal sosta camper).
In the morning we headed to Citta di Castello. Because there was a street market on that day we had a great opportunity to get delicious panini con porchetta! Kids loved it too! But the impressions on the city were overlaid with the market stalls full if clothes, carpets, towels etc.
Sansepolcro, although much smaller than Citta di Castello, seemed more interesting to us.
Although Tuscany and Umbria were really tempting us to stay longer, the weather forecast clear our doubts. Six consecutive days of rain persuaded us to move North to stay nearby Ravenna where the rain forecast were much more acceptable (2 days with light precipitation in the next week).
Oh my!!! This city is a nightmare if you want to park a camper! There are probably no flat streets, just the ones going 25% uphill or downhill 😉 Anyway, after 40 minutes of sweating and swearing we drove politely to a parking for campers placed very far away from the centre, but at least it is easy to access. We walked to the train station and took the minimetro to reach the old town.
It was worth the efforts though! The buildings are not amazing, but their size and height made a huge impression… Actually lenses in our cameras were not wide enough to capture most of the arches and buildings…
We wanted to sleep somewhere nearby Spello but could not find a suitable place. They were all with beautiful view, buy too inclinated to spend a night. So we ended up sleeping just on the outskirts of Trevi, a small but interesting village.
Spello is well worth spending there a half of a day or a full one. Beautiful small and narrow streets, full of flowers and stone houses. And a playground at the gates to the historical centre. Everyone was happy 😀
Umbria is beautiful! Old and gorgeous!
As our heads were pretty busy the evening before, setting the plans for the next couple of months and return to Italy for living, I did not have time to prepare the sightseeing… That is why we ended up in two gorgeous cities like that on one day. Do not repeat our mistake and count a full day for each place. They deserve it!
We parked our van next to the stadium and the paid camper service, on a large and free parking about 10min walking (with kids) from the Roman amphitheatre.
After trying piadina romagnola at the Dry Bar (delicious!) We headed to Assisi for even more picturesque views.
Assisi said goodbye to us with rain and a rainbow.
A short stop in Barchi, Marche was entertaining mostly for kids. A playground in small old towns are not too popular so we all were pretty surprised to find this one inside the town walls.
Fossombrone – much larger than the previousy seen small, charming towns. And also less charming, but equally hilly and with narrow steep passages.
After climbing the top of the city, running downhill, to reach our van before the rain started for good was very entertaining 😀
We drove to Cagli in rain and stayed there overnight, just at the edge of Arena di Sant’ Emidio. Killing time with Lego is always fun, regardless of the age!
After buying Italian SIM cards to get more internet access we drove inland towards beautiful hills quickly changing into real mountains.
The weather was on the rainy autumn’s side so before visiting Corinaldo, our first destination, we waited out the rain in a great camper service (sosta camper) very close to the old town centre. We dared to have a walk in the evening, but got wet pretty quickly and ended up in Osteria Pozzo Divino that is serving… Pinse (a type of pizza on a ticker dough). Nice service and a reasonable food!
In the morning we took another chance to visit the town. It is worth a longer walk, you will not be disappointed!
Next on our way was San Lorenzo in Campo. Much smaller and a bit disappointing.
We ended the day in Mondavio. A lovely but very small town with a great parking for campers (sosta camper) again (all facilities free, including the electricity).
The morning in Mondavio greeted us with a surprise lying on the floor in front of the passanger (my!) seat. It was our little passanger… I guess it will haunt me in my dreams for some time but at least our van’s insulation and wiring is safer now.
Since we left Poland, mostly in the evenings, we heard noises coming from under the floor or from behind the cupboards. Yes, that was a mouse… Although we have never seen it “onboard” we found its traces in several places, including cupboards (with no food inside). With six traps of two kinds: a glue one and a more humanitarian that will not hurt its visitor, we used several lures: biscuits, bread, chocolates, sausage and würstel. Only the latter one was interesting for our passenger, but unfortunately not interesting enough to get it inside the trap… Too bad… Hearing how it demages the interior of our home and imaging all the half eaten cables hidden in places so difficult to reach, was too much for us and so we decided to try the last resort… to poison it… Our passenger found the poison very attractive and a huge part was missing just an hour after we placed it. So now we are waiting…
In the meantime we enjoy the last summer days at the seaside in Pinarella di Cervia and camping Adriatico.
As we needed some relaxed time, we decided to use the last (?) summer days for relaxing at the beach and in a swimming pool. Villaggio San Francesco in Duna Verde is a place to recommend! The campsite was 30% (or less?) full, the swimming pools were a great attraction for our kids and a warmer alternative to the sea.
And within a 10min walk along the beach there are several restaurants and bars that will not leave you hungry!
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