Episode 3 - Cherasco - an Italian Shaftesbury?

Sat 25th May

There are some lovely avenues of limes near the castle, and they seem particularly prone to lightning strikes. Of 43 trees in one section, 19 had been well blasted. A sign, in English, says it is illegal to walk there in storms.

The castle is well fenced off. and inaccessible. Here mad Queen Joanna disposed of a lover who was too tired to perform...a lesson for us all!

We really like Cherasta - it feels very much like an Italian Shaftesbury. 

After a final wander into town to pick up email, buy more wine and 2 litres of draft raw milk, we set off for another favourite - Castigliano Fellatio. Only 6 miles as the crow flies, but 15 miles by road. The sosta at CF is small, but perfectly  formed, and free. The hilltop village itself is tiny, centred around a small castle, just a couple of shops, several restaurants, and stupendous views.

In the evening we returned to our favourite  restaurant - we went there twice last year. This year the menu is also in English.  We were greeted by the same ever smiling waiter, who claimed to have recognised us (hmmm! But he says it so charmingly). We settled on the “tasting menu” - a number of tiny dishes, all delicious, starting with raw meat.  With wine and tip, E85

N44.6225 E7.9737 height 1253 feet 1065 miles

Sun 28th May

Delightful though this place is, there is not a lot to do once you’ve walked around the base of the castle, admired the spectacular 360 degree view, and eaten at Locando del Centro restaurant, so after one more trip into the village, we set off for Torriglia, in the hills above Genoa. Only 100 miles, but it took over 3 hours - the final 30 miles were a continual climb, with many bends (and suicidal bikers!). We assumed it would be a scenic road, but there was heavy industry all the way up. Torriglio has the feel of a mountain station, rather like Simla, or Sintra in Portugal, and the air is cool and fresh. Not much here either. There is a ruined castle, but it does appear to be neither accessible nor open. However we did find a free wifi signal, so we could keep up with the latest doom and gloom from home.

N44.5168 E9.1602 height 2575 feet 1165 miles

  

Mon 29th May

We had in mind to go to San Rocco,  a small isthmus south of here on the coast. It didn’t look far  - but we hadn’t expected a very narrow, high and twisty mountain road - during which our fuel warning light came on - and then the first garage, after many miles,  was closed...Finally, having conquered the mountain road, and the even hairier narrow streets and heavy traffic of the nearby town, we found that we could only park for a few hours - and every tourist in the vicinity was heading for it. (Wisely, they were mostly on foot). Deciding this wasn’t for us, we took to the road again, chancing our wallet on the A15 Autostrada, then north up yet another hairy mountain road to Castelnovo ne Mont. 60 miles of autostrada cost only E12 - and saved 1 ½ hours. This is the marble mining area - and the mountain road to Castelnovo was spectacular - very high mountains with what looked like large areas of snow. When we got closer we could see that the snow was actually outcrops of marble. That led to another challenge - heavy lorries carrying huge cubes of marble taking the narrow mountain bends at speed, with just a blast on there horns to let you know you were about to meet something big in the middle of the road.!

marble, not a glacier

Castelnovo was also uninviting, although it did have a free sosta and bunkering facilities. We have now moved on another 12 miles or so, to Barga. This is supposed to be a pleasant hilltop town - and the sosta costs E10 per night

Barga is a very old walled town, on a hilltop. A steep climb up to the cathedral, right at the top, then a slower amble down via a number of attractive little squares, each with small bars and restaurants. There seem to be a lot of British expats here - and there`s an Irish pub….Obligingly,there is a community provided wifi that does not require an elaborate and complicated sign on process. We had drinks one of the squares, served by a gentleman with very impressive whiskers - made me feel decidedly inferior.

N44.0721 E10.4814 height 1500 feet. 1295 miles

Tues 30th May

We have been away from home for 16 days, and haven`t touched a campsite yet - meaning no access to a washing machine - and I’m running out of shirts, so today`s plan is to move onto a campsite at Montecatini Alto after a foray into Barga again.

Now on the campsite, Camping Belsito, and 2 washing machines full of washing are now drying. The campsite wifi is down, except for the very slowest of speeds. Come back 14.4K modems, all is forgiven!

campsite pool

N43.9061 E10.78884 height 900 feet

Wed 31st May

At 8.30, before it got too hot, we walked the mile from the campsite into the hilltop town of Montecatini Alto, some of it along a main road with no pavement. We witnessed some spectacular Italian driving - why is it the drivers of the smallest cars take the most risks? As we walked up the stone track into the town, a young fox came out of a side road and ran up the road in front of us. Faced with a car coming the other way he ran back towards us, and if only I had had my camera out of its bag I would have had a great shot! Another one that got away.

Montecatini Alto

St Barbara - patron saint of bomb makers! Only in Italy!

OK - so what time is it?

MA is a very pleasant town, but quite the most touristy we have been to so far, and the waiters particularly unhelpful. There is a funicular running up the hill from the large town on the plain below. In the cafe in the square where I am writing this a table has been commandeered by a large and voluble group of English teachers, their charges can be identified by their pale skin and ice creams. (actually, 16 year old schoolgirls with long legs and very short shorts, with very attentive waiters...quite a responsibility for the teachers!

Birth announcement for "Lavinia"', on a gate