July 11-15
I like surprising people. It’s been done to great effect at
home and abroad, and always worth catching on camera. It turns out other people
enjoy doing this as well. We consequently decided to leave Germany and head
south. A long way south.
Hannah’s sister was studying in Perugia, a small city in the
heart of Italy. To do this would take the best part of two days and many miles
in the car. It would also introduce us to the various challenges associated
with driving in Italy.
To get from Germany to Italy, you have to drive through
another country. We actually drove through two, but I’ll talk about the smaller
state next time. It was a great shame that we didn’t have the time (let alone
the Francs) needed to stop for longer in Switzerland. Goodness gracious me,
what a beautiful country to drive through. Turquoise lagoons relax under the
gaze of the Alps. Motoring is at its zenith here; from the precarious cliff-top
hairpins to the smooth streets zipping through gnome-protected chateaus, it is
breathlessly distracting.
We entered an entirely different atmosphere in the early
afternoon. It seemed…muggier. That intense heat one often associates with
southern Europe and siestas. Italy.
We took a short break at nearby Lake Como before continuing
our journey. Our target was to find a campsite near Genova, a coastal city in
the north. Similarly to Liege, I’m sure it would have left a more favourable
impression if we had spent longer in the area. However, I don’t have many kind
words for Genova due to the following circumstances:
1)
The number of scooters, which I now think of as
mosquitoes driven by humans
2)
The fact that you have to pay to use the motorways,
which we were unaware of
3)
We couldn’t find anywhere to camp and got stuck
in the complex city centre
4)
It is actually quite an eyesore to drive through
You could legitimately argue that we wouldn’t have had to
deal with points 2 and 3 if we had researched thoroughly, but this was a
spontaneous adventure. We didn’t have time – or the internet – to learn about
the issue of toll roads. As for scooters…I would ban them. Failing that, at
least put some muffling device on them to alter that awful buzzing racket
emanating from them.
We eventually found one of the more eccentric campsite
locations of our trip – sat on the edge of a cliff which had naturally carved
itself into a zigzag where people pitched their tents. A lot of fizzy wine,
some pasta, and a rough night’s sleep – out at 7am. Next stop: Perugia.
It was unfortunate that we had to use at least one ‘A’ road
in order to get there during daylight. One hour on that cost us an eye-watering
€14, and led us to Pisa. How the tower is still standing is one of the world’s
great puzzles. To me, at least. I teach Maths to 11-year-olds, not the folks at
MENSA. It’s really funny to watch people doing the ‘Pisa pose’ from a different
angle, by the way.
I’m not going to dwell on the Leaning Tower as a) I’ve been
before, b) we were only there for 15 minutes before dashing back to the car for
fear of getting a parking ticket, and c) we didn’t go up it (and why would you?
You’re going up the thing you want to
see, and it’s not that high). Above all else, however, there is much more to
cover in this blog.
Some backgrounds and hair-raising overtaking manoeuvres
later, we were at Perugia’s train station, waiting for Lucy’s boyfriend Daniel
– who was also in on the surprise – to bring the unsuspecting lady into our
trap. This is what happened…
Great success. Once the inevitable shock had dissipated into
the warm air, we set about enjoying a lovely weekend in Umbria, the province
which Perugia belongs to. Many of us will only think of Amanda Knox when the
city’s name is mentioned, which is most unfortunate.
A lively jazz festival was drawing to a close the very
weekend that we so abruptly turned upon, meaning that the main piazza was
always heaving with vibrancy. Throngs of people of all ages were strolling
along with dripping gelato in their hands, hungrily slurping in the culture
even in the black of night.
We had many gelato experiences. The most lavish was at the
bottom of the hill which the city was built upon. The actually pour liquid
chocolate into the cone. Delicious.
Italy is of course famous for its cuisine, and we sampled
plenty of it. From huge slices of pizza to a smorgasbord of meats, with the
inevitably tasty pasta, it is certainly a world away from German food.
The time at which you enjoy your food and your daily routine
is also rather different. We were having an aperitivo
– drinks and nibbles, essentially – at a time when we would have had to have
eaten our evening meal in Köln. It’s amazing to see children up so late, in the
company of their parents no less.
As for the city itself, Perugia is pleasantly small and
filled with bumpy, narrow alleys ready for exploration. It possesses an old
aqueduct which now passes for a thin bridge, in addition to the countless
churches you would expect in an Italian stronghold. And gelato.
Just outside Perugia there is a lake called Trasimero, an
area which has plenty of as yet untapped tourism potential. Italy does have
more famous lakes than this, but I can’t imagine a better feeling than running
into the refreshing water on a hot summer’s day.
It was a great shame that, due to the spontaneous nature of
the adventure, we had to hotfoot it back to Germany so soon after arriving in
Perugia. But a bit of Italian certainly added a bit of spice and variety to our
driving extravaganza, and the driving certainly helped to vary my heart rate.
Love you all
Matt
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