Monday January 16, my destination was Siena, a typical 13th century village. From Assisi to Siena, a motorway with very poor pavement on the right lane. I arrived in Siena around 10:30 a.m. I found myself in the same situation as in Assisi. Near the city center all the curbs allowed for parking were occupied and the parking lots too far from the city center for me. Of course the traffic in the narrow streets was not a piece of cake. Once again I threw in the towel. Visits to Northern Italy end, according to the favorite expression of Michel Jobert, ex-minister under the 4th then 5th Republic, in eau de boudin. I turned back to the crossroads of the Siena highway with the Roma highway. A car park was waiting for me in Foiano della Chiana. Tomorrow Central Italy starting with Rome!
Tuesday, January 07, from the bivouac I entered the line of vehicles on the A1 motorway towards Roma for about 200 km. The weather was terrible, rain and fog, many delays for works etc. The hu-Roma Camping in Town campsite is ideally located 50 meters from the 246 / 247 bus stop and opposite the Panorama supermarket, which can be reached via a pedestrian bridge. I presented myself at the reception around 3:00 p.m. The dialogue with the hostess was difficult, she made no effort, half Italian half English, and the campsite was almost deserted. I took up my quarters in a distant corner. The service is average, the showers and toilets are in Algéco-type buildings with cramped cabins, especially for the showers. Admittedly, the laundry room is impressive with plenty of washing machines and dryers. After the electrical connection I connected the radiator to have a comfortable temperature, peaceful and restful night.
Wednesday January 18 was dedicated to the visit of Rome starting with the Colosseum and its surroundings. I took bus 246 at the exit of the campsite for the Cornelia metro station on line A to Termini station. Leaving the station I will walk along Avenue Cavour in pouring rain with hail around 10:30 a.m. to reach the Colosseum. I made a mistake because I should have taken line B at Termini for Colloseo station. I never reached the Colosseum. In the rain, I hugged the walls of the shops to lean on my legs shaking with dizziness. Exhausted, I hailed a taxi to return to Hu Roma Camping. Thus ended the visit to Rome like the previous cities for health reasons. The future of visits to Italy looks problematic. My relatives say that I am obstinate !
Thursday, January 19 I decided to stay at the campsite to rest and do laundry. Tomorrow will be another day !
Friday, January 20, after doing the service of the truck, I left Hu Roma Camping in Town around 9:45 a.m. to go to Tivoli to visit two villas from a bygone era. Alas it was the same litany, heavy traffic, traffic jams, works, rutted pavement and of course full parking lots. I went my way to look for a night parking that I found in Grottaferrata. The temperature was 4°C, the night will be cold. Tomorrow I'm going to southern Italy.
Saturday January 21 the goal of the day was to visit Nemi at the edge of the eponymous lake then Castel Gondolfo. Alas, alas another disappointing day. The historic city center is difficult to access by the narrowness of the streets and the parking lots occupied by the mini-cars of the natives, in particular the Fiat yogurt pot. Certainly there are car parks, but far from the city center requiring a sometimes painful walk with stairs! As a result, I abandoned these visits. The icing on the cake there are no open campsites in Naples that I shunted to go directly to Pompeii. I cursed about the state of the road surface. I had found a bivouac in a field, but I was dislodged by the carabinieris.
Sunday, January 22 by an overcast sky at the foot of the snowy mountains I traveled 247 km to reach the site of Pompeii. A small parking lot in front of the entrance kept my vehicle during the two hours of visit. I will only repeat what Wikipedia has to explain. The site is very vast with a typically Roman town plan with wide avenues organized in an orthogonal plan. A little drizzle and a temperature of 4°C accompanied me on the way. During the two hours I only visited two regions out of 8 on the map provided, which does not offer a circuit of the most remarkable parts (the Green guide either, but I think the Lonely Planet gives one) while hobbling with my Walkingstick. I returned to the entrance to pick up my truck around 1:30 p.m. On my way to my bivouac place, I thought it was no longer reasonable to walk to visit. To go to Sorrento, place of bivouac on a parking lot facing the sea, I crossed many villages with winding and cramped streets. The Italians have learned nothing from their predecessors in the Roman Empire.
