Leaving Italy

So this morning it was farewell to Toscana after an 18 day sojourn. Sadly autumn is showing signs of arriving even in la bel paese - warm days but a chill wind and cold nights so we have to head for the deserts of Andalucia where it is warmer and drier.
We have seen some sites we had seen before , some we had not visited and at least one we did not expect to see (on the Lucca road)! Used Saturday to make a last visit to Florence but stayed south of the river and went to the Palazzo Pitti and the Brancacci Chapel. There is not a lot of the latter but what there is stunning. A real rennaisance masterpiece. The Palazzo Pitti is enormous - we saw maybe half in 3 hours and it is a fascinating example of how a few people's taste made an artist. Caravaggio, Titian, Tintoretto, Andrea del Sato, Fra Fillippino Lippi, Raphael, van Dyke, Reubens were all there in varying numbers displayed a little haphazardly and described by the museum in some very strange terms. Still it boasts the sexiest looking Mary Magdalene and Virgin you are likely to see.

Sunday was a packing up day although we are much better and quicker at that. The day was enlivened by watching the Italian "special forces" or someone like that play with their fast motorboats in the bay. Like a scene from a James Bond movie but happily no shots were fired as the nearest ship said LPG in big letters on the side.
Moved 150 miles up the coast to north of Genoa on the truly amazing A10 autostrada. It rolls up and down and in and out of tunnels like a huge but gentle roller coaster. Still I managed to break the external mirrir glass on a road sign in the tunnel as I kept a bit too far over to the right - not like me I know - so we will have to manage on the backup mirror for a few weeks until we stop long enough to get a new one by courier as Royal Mail appears to have shut down. Our "snail mail" catch up took ten days!!! to get to us.

The site we are on is thankfully a short stay halt. Showers cost 50c for 4 mins, the wi-fi is "kaput". the A10 is 60 feet up and 60 feet to one side and the railway is 20 feet the other way and for this including enough electricity to run the kettle but not the fridge they charge 24.50 euros a night. We are paying the extra 3 euros a night to have a fridge, a kettle and some heating if we want. Probably by the time I post this we will be in France but lets wait and see.

Tuesday we went down to Portofino , partly out of curiosity as there used to an Italian restaurant in Aughton called that with a mural on the wall. Well the mural was a rather liberal interpratation of Portofino. The weather was a bit grim and at 5 euros an hour for the only car park in town we left the designer shops and fuschia coloured meerkats to themselves and the American tourists. We Had lunch out in Santa Margarhita which was nice and the food was good if a lot cheaper than Portofino.

Wednesday dawned very grey and got worse as we headed into Genoa after lunch - 18 kms away but took an hour to get in. By then it was raining so we parked and went to the Acquario - the biggest in Europe. A great time with their penguins, sharks and dolphins who were watching the diver clean their glass and showing off. Stayed longer than we intended and by the time we had walked through the narrow streets in the rain the Duomo was closing. Headed back to the car and took almost two hours in the local traffic and rain to get back as the rain reached monsoon proportions. Spent a cool evening drying off and being warm in the van.

Thursday - dawned grey but showed promise so we headed back to Genoa. The Duomo is like all the old town in a pedestrian area and boasts a "Holy Grail" in green glass(!), a piece of the "True Cross", a thorn from the "Crown of Thorns", bones from St Laurence, the platter that John the Baptists head was served up on to Salome and his ashes. As well as assorted containers for the above in gold silver and precious stones. Wandered around Genoa admiring the "old town" area which the guide books kept saying was "seedy". Well rough around the edges and reminded me of Liverpool with more Italians but all in all a nice place. And at the Focacceria IL Punto in the arcades opposite the harbour more of our favourite Neopolitan cakes.

Friday - we were going to move today but the wind was blowing a gale and showers seemed to be the order of the day so we decided to stay for one more night. Well as it turned out France came to us. Last night three french motorhomes arrived. Today another 15 (or so) have turned up and they all seem to know one another! God knows what is going on. Even Max is intimidated. And the Italians seem as gob-smacked as we are. We went down into Arenzano to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing. A nice little place with an amazing Town Hall and a sanctuary dedicated to the "Child of Prague". Well the shopping included local focaccia specialites (delicious) and trofie and pesto (another local invention) for todays meal. Tomorrow we must go.