The drive through Italy down to Florence began with the descent from the stunning hotel near Brunate. A lovely chat with the lovely owner was followed with a few photos of Mrs. B and then setting the video camera to film the twisting descent.
Temperatures drifted from 15 degrees up to 33 degrees. We relied on the Satellite-Navigation and in doing so we forgot what effect the heat would have on the device. Even with the climate control on in the car; the Satellite-navigation gets hot in it’s exposed condition by the windscreen. The oversight cost us 5 Euro and around half an hour as it took us off the motorway and back on ourselves.
Still, before that calamity; we were able to overindulge in the excellent service station at Saint Martino. My Bro swears that West Moorland is the best Service Station in the UK, and that may be so. But Saint Martino is the best one in Europe. Pauline went for Lasagne, bread, coke and a peach tart. I managed two combinations of pasta. It should have been one, but because I was indecisive the lovely Italian lady suggested half and half. The cheese and ham version was stunning, but the tomato based sauce was far superior! I went for water, bread and some regional tart. It was all first class and came in at only 23 Euro. The Service station is very clean and the food is cooked in front of you. Well done Italy, you know how to look after your motorists.
We went through another 40 tunnels today, and over some stunning bridges. I started to lose count of the tunnels, but we can safely say that if you drive from Wales to Firenze (Florence) in Italy you will go through at least 80 tunnels with another 4 that we saw being built on our drive. So maybe the 20+ Euro worth of tolls today, aren't that excessive after all!
European touring important points:
Whatever the Satellite-Navigation says, for long journeys add on 3 hours
Today’s important points were:
The motorway toll Como and Firenze was over 25 Euro
That’s one way so sort out your budget in advance
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