Mulhouse proved to be less than expected. So we stayed the night and moved on to Dijon. We stayed in a nice little campground by the river. The signs in the campground were a bit disconcerting though - Evacuate in Case of Flood - This Way Out. This campground was flooded this time last year during the bad weather that also caused floods in the Pyrenees and other parts of France.
Dijon is a beautiful city, compact and very pleasing to the eye. The mustard is not bad either.
We stayed two days then decided to bypass Lyon and head for Italy. The weather has been very cold and windy with overcast skies and some rain. We stopped overnight in an nice little Aire in Grenoble and the next day set about crossing the Alps.
We stopped briefly in Borg d'Oisans where Tony stays for the Alps leg of his Tours then headed to for Turin. We climbed over two high passes and travelled along so much squiggly spaghetti I'm off pasta for a while. There was snow on the ground by the roadside and we even saw people skiing. The view from the top was spectacular and although the route was slow and scary in places we didn't regret it.
Once over the border into Italy we didn't get to see much of the countryside as we spent most of the time under it. We must have gone through twenty tunnels or more. Most four to five kilometres long. We finally emerged onto the plain that leads to Turin. Our first impression of Northern Italy didn't bode well. Turin is quite literally a Shit Hole. The place is more like a third world slum than 21st Century European City. In our nearly forty years absence the Italy that we once knew has gone backwards. Most of what we have seen so far with few exceptions is dirty, squalid, crumbling, abandoned, potholed and impoverished. The sense of pride that is evident especially in France and Germany, and was once in evidence in the Italy of the 70's has evaporated.
We headed south for Florence, to a city we knew would be the exception having spent time there two years ago. Even here we were a little disappointed as our favourite campground that sits just next to the Piazzale Michelangelo, with a commanding view of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has closed for good. The place had existed here for over forty years and is where we stayed on several occasions back in the 70's. Well a least we won't have to worry about all those darn stairs anymore. The new campground is actually an Aire on the edge of the river west of town. The bus trip to town provided us with a wonderful body massage curtesy of the patchwork bitumen and cobble stone streets. We didn't care as this place is one of our favourite cities. It just oozes charm, history and class. It's also the home of my favourite Ninja Turtles - Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo. Add Botticelli, Brunelleschi,Giotti and the Medici clan and need I say more. History and Art don't get any better than this - maybe Rome, but that's to come.
Right now we are in Lucca a little walled Medieval City just south of Pisa. It has had a turbulent history given that it lies on the trading route between the costal domain of Pisa and the once powerful Florence. It's ancient walls are intact and you can cycle or walk around the entire city atop the city walls. Inside is labyrinth of narrow streets and more Piazzas than a town this size should be allowed. There is even a huge circular one that is very reminiscent of a bullring or more likely the vestiges of a Roman arena. It's a pleasant surprise given the state of some of the places we have passed along the way. We are spending a little time here in Tuscany just wandering around and admiring the landscape. Tomorrow it's Volterra and then on to Siena. If the rest of Tuscany is like this we might stay here for a while. It will make up for the rubbish we saw further north.
Time to go for now. It getting dark and it's time to make dinner. Love to all.
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