We started on the 26th of January early in the morning. We had not much of sleep – as expected. At one point, Rob said he was way to tired to drive and I took over for a good amount of time. From our hometown we drove to Austria, crossed Liechtenstein (weird place) and drove over passes in Switzerland. In the late afternoon we arrived in Italy, but still had a long way until we would reach our AirBnB for the night.
We were tired, cold, hungry and would have enjoyed a shower. Well, the room, the whole setting, was very disappointing. The owner of the AirBnB had written the most of his offer in English, but wrote a crucial part only in Italian. The room was inside his small apartment. There were just two doors – one to our room, the other one to the bathroom. The shower was outside the bathroom in a small “cave”, separated with just a curtain. The room he was living in was separated with a bunch of furniture and another curtain. So, no privacy if you wanted to shower. The room was cold and clammy. The bedsheets didn’t seem like they were washed. We decided to not change our clothes. Also, in his messages he seemed very nice, but wasn’t so at all as we met. I was creeped as f*ck. We didn’t sleep that night as well. In the morning we noped out around six in the morning, since there is a ban on going out between 10 in the evening and 5 in the morning in Italy.
We continued our way from Lago Como to La Spezia. It is a pretty little town, but most shops and restaurants are closed due to Covid 19. We stayed one night. The next morning, we drove from La Spezia to Manarola, which is at the coast and has a great viewpoint upon the little town. The people there are harvesting lemons and tangerines. And no tourists at all. The parking lots were open to use without paying anything.
Since Switzerland we were using only country roads to avoid tolls. Most of the time, especially in the mountains, you have to drive slowly and carefully. In return, you will have amazing views, less traffic and get a grasp of the landscape and how people inhabited it over hundred or thousands of years. The streets are narrow too, but who cares. Of course, it is taking a lot more time, but I guess we had saved a good amount of bucks on the way.
I remember using my own car on such streets and how hard it was to drive uphill or downhill with it. It was way bigger, than Littlefoot. Also, it had a more PS, but that was useless. Littlefoot on the other hand is made for these roads. Slow and steady going up without us changing gear all the time. Rob and I made a deal previously to this tour. I have to drive in cities, he will drive in the countryside. Cities are stressing him out. I learned to drive in a big city and have lived and drove in several big and traffic packed cities.
On the 28th we arrived in Genova. I was there before as I was embarking a cruise ship and remembered it as a not so pretty port town. We were staying at Hotel Genziana. I totally can recommend that hotel. The receptionist helped us to get our PCR test with calling at a laboratory and making us an appointment. The hotel is located in the middle of the town, on the one side of the building there are several prostitutes on the other side of the building is a small mosque. Nearby are small supermarkets and shops and of course take-away-restaurants. In Genova many shops were open. Only thing that remind you of Covid are the masks and hand sanitizers.
Another thing Rob and I became aware of were my amount of Italian. The last time I only could say the words mercato and grazie. Since La Spezia I am doing a lot of communication, if people cannot speak English. It is pretty funny. 😀
On the 30th we were embarking the ferry to Tunis. Beforehand we had to take a PCR test to verify that we are not infected. We were not.
A lot of things happened that week and Rob and I are pretty exhausted. Most of the time I pushed us to hard and I need to get that down a little bit. I am used to wear myself out, but that is not the point of this travel. We want to wander around and find stuff without knowing that it is there.
For the upcoming months I don’t know how we will get the opportunity to post new content. A lot of times we will camp. But be assured, you will read of our adventurous as soon as we find Wifi or be in a hotel for a shower and a wash. 😀
I hope you had a good week. Stay healthy!
-Toni
TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF 