After four nights of uber luxury (and expense) we are on our merry way, towards home, though I do not feel we are exactly “homeward bound” just yet. We are heading for Lake Garda where we plan to chill out for a few days by the lake, before setting off for home. We were, as ever, up and away pretty sharpish driving out of the Villa San Michele at 08:30 on the dot. We planned for a short stop in Maranello – 16,659 was going home. I was determined to avoid driving anywhere near Florence and so we were directed down some very charming, narrow Italian B roads before managing to pick up the motorway. It seems that people take for granted that we all love to drive on tiny, windy, sharp-bended roads but I do not when I am in the Daytona. Plenty of long and smooth Autostrade is a much better proposition. And that was what we eventually got, and lot’s of tunnels and some very nice views too.
BUT I still could NOT find bloody Maranello, even with the help of sat-nav lady. We got there in the end but it was still a long and hot struggle, peppered with u-turns. We made a fleeting visit to the Museum (not the Galleria any more), the shop, bought nothing and were on our way in one-and-a- half hours. One thing I do always manage is to get out of Maranello and we were very soon on another very fine Autostrade heading up to Verona. This was a really pleasant drive, windows open not very much over 70mph, plenty of fast and aggressive Italian driving going on, loads of lorries again but it all seemed to work pretty well.
Off the motorway and heading towards Lake Garda and there seemed to be all this black cloudy stuff on the horizon. The last few days all that mist should have been burnt off by the sun long ago, but it was a tiny bit more substantial than that, it was rain cloud that we would have been proud of at home. Accordingly it started to chuck it down and carried on for the next few hours, thunder, lightening the lot. We got to the hotel with just the one u-turn (u-turns are my daily work-out) parked under a very drippy loggia, unloaded again and are safely ensconced in another very pleasant hotel room. Not quite the view of the lake I was expecting, but it is there just through the window. And the hotel lady assures us it will be much better weather tomorrow, I hope she is right. Last time I was here, three years ago touring with my son we had dreadful weather. I am quite sure we are surrounded by some stunning scenery, I only hope over the next day or so I get the chance to see it.
Mileage at the end of the day: 57,804
Distance covered: 206 miles, 330 KM
More petrol at 1.99 EUR per litre, but I realised I am paying through the nose so that a very nice Italian man can “fill ‘er up”. Should I go back to self-service, I will save a few cents per litre.
Highlight of the day: Italian Autostrade; smooth, little traffic and only about 14 euros in tolls. Excellent value!
Lowlight of the day: Failing, yet again, to find my way into Maranello.
BUT I still could NOT find bloody Maranello, even with the help of sat-nav lady. We got there in the end but it was still a long and hot struggle, peppered with u-turns. We made a fleeting visit to the Museum (not the Galleria any more), the shop, bought nothing and were on our way in one-and-a- half hours. One thing I do always manage is to get out of Maranello and we were very soon on another very fine Autostrade heading up to Verona. This was a really pleasant drive, windows open not very much over 70mph, plenty of fast and aggressive Italian driving going on, loads of lorries again but it all seemed to work pretty well.
Off the motorway and heading towards Lake Garda and there seemed to be all this black cloudy stuff on the horizon. The last few days all that mist should have been burnt off by the sun long ago, but it was a tiny bit more substantial than that, it was rain cloud that we would have been proud of at home. Accordingly it started to chuck it down and carried on for the next few hours, thunder, lightening the lot. We got to the hotel with just the one u-turn (u-turns are my daily work-out) parked under a very drippy loggia, unloaded again and are safely ensconced in another very pleasant hotel room. Not quite the view of the lake I was expecting, but it is there just through the window. And the hotel lady assures us it will be much better weather tomorrow, I hope she is right. Last time I was here, three years ago touring with my son we had dreadful weather. I am quite sure we are surrounded by some stunning scenery, I only hope over the next day or so I get the chance to see it.
Mileage at the end of the day: 57,804
Distance covered: 206 miles, 330 KM
More petrol at 1.99 EUR per litre, but I realised I am paying through the nose so that a very nice Italian man can “fill ‘er up”. Should I go back to self-service, I will save a few cents per litre.
Highlight of the day: Italian Autostrade; smooth, little traffic and only about 14 euros in tolls. Excellent value!
Lowlight of the day: Failing, yet again, to find my way into Maranello.
