Finally Made Our First Leg

Thankfully we got away in good time after packing up, emptying waste water, filling the water and emptying the chemical toilet. The first part of the journey was so much better than our trip in, which our GPS insisted was the fastest route. I can only guess that because last Monday was Republica Day and a holiday that the easier route was simply blocked. Even today, on the way out by the time we were on the Sorrento side of the peninsula the traffic coming the other way was very heavy - and that wasn’t a holiday. Anyway, the hairpins were still interesting and at one point I was speechless when confronted by a guy driving half way over on my side and clearly looking at his phone while driving round these tortuous narrow bends!!!

But that wasn’t the last event of the journey. On the A1 approaching Rome the traffic came to a standstill and we spent 2 hours travelling 8 kms. When we finally squeezed past the accident in one lane, down from the normal 3 lanes we saw what was responsible. A large 18 wheeler lorry had driven into the concrete median and destroyed some of it at the same time as reducing his cab and trailer into some kind of concertina. So instead of 5 hours to our destination south of Firenze, we ended up arriving after 7 pm - with a few short stops - nearly 9 hours.

The view of Sorrento from a little truck stop where we had coffee was spectacular - see bgleyna’s blip

The photo is of our van peacefully planted in place for the night and extra of the very impressive facilities we will not have time to enjoy as we press on tomorrow for the French border where I have booked a site with alpine views - hopefully we arrive in time to enjoy them.