Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Leaving Lucca, we ventured north towards our ultimate destination - the Dolomiti - for some skiing as soon as the season begins for the year. But with so much of the best that Italy has to offer lying between Lucca and the Dolomiti, we decided to leave plenty of time for the journey.
And our journey north did not disappoint, taking in amazing food, fast cars, Renaissance art and beautiful music.
Our first stop after Lucca was Bologna, touted as Italy's food capital and the home of spag bol. Actually it's the home of taglietelle alla ragu, and asking for spag bol might very well get you kicked out of any restaurant in town. It turns out that their beloved ragu is never served with spaghetti, as we thankfully learnt before arriving - thanks mum!
We pitched up at a campsite where, sadly, the Italian hospitality we'd come to know and love was nowhere to be found. But being the only campsite in the whole of Bologna, we were in no position to argue.
The next morning, Bologna hit us like an ice bath after the calming Lucchesi waters we'd become accustomed to. Expecting nothing but streets full of charming trattorias with Italian mamas fighting to serve us their ragu, the vibrant centre's crowded streets and student protests took us by surprise. We suburban Hampton Wick dwellers decided that a day in Bologna was as much as we could handle. So we enjoyed taking it all in, but promptly continued our journey north. Not before a quick trip up the famous Bolognese towers, a bowl of taglietelle and another cooking class for Josh.
Our Italian teacher in Lucca, Eleonora, had recommended Mantova as a beautiful town to make part of our trip, so we decided to follow her advice and make that our next stop. Conveniently for Josh, the Ferarri museum in Maranello was on the way, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to learn about another important aspect of Italian culture.
We thought we'd better park well away from sight of anything Ferrari-related for fear of being turned away since we weren't quite driving a supercar. But when they saw us struggling for a space big enough to accommodate Bertha's bum, the staff couldn't have been more helpful and said we could park right by the entrance. Bertha was very happy there alongside all the fancy chauffeur driven cars, so in we went.
The museum was great, and I even enjoyed it too, as we walked around the Hall of Fame thinking how this all came from one person's dream and determination. Thankfully, we left without any impulsive purchases requiring us to take out a second mortgage on the flat.
Inspired by Ferrari's achievements on the track at great speed, we fired up Bertha to take us back on the autostrade towards Mantova. What she lacks in speed she makes up for by providing everything we need while we're away, so we bought her a little Ferrari badge and decided she'd earned the upgrade from Bertha to Bella.
Arriving in Mantova, Josh found an agriturismo pretty close to the centre and was delighted - he'd been wanting to stay at one since we arrived in Italy, imagining us both helping out on the farm to earn our supper. Sadly this dream did not materialise. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by gnarly dogs that we had to dodge every time we wanted to use the bathroom, which consisted of a long-drop toilet and cold shower. Staying firmly within the van for the rest of our stay, we decided to keep the visit there brief.
The next day we found a place even closer to the centre with actual facilities for camper vans, so we used that as our base in Mantova. It was also right on Parco Mincio, our gateway to the amazing network of walking and cycling trails around Mantova. Discovering that a beautiful town lay beyond a beautiful lake and that we had somehow ended up in a walkers' and cyclists' paradise, we toasted a glass of the local Lambrusco to Eleonora for sending us to this great town, known to the Italians as 'La Bella Addormentata' (Sleeping Beauty).
We stayed a few days in Mantova, exploring the town, including the Palazzo Te's astonishing Renaissance frescoes painted by Guilio Romano for the Gonzaga family. We walked and cycled as much as we could, but the weather had other ideas. After one day finding ourselves soaked to the bone, freezing cold and two hours away by bike from Bertha, we decided Mantova had shared enough with us.
After a quick stop at neighbouring Cremona to watch the Stradivarius violin-makers at work and gatecrash the Festa de Torrone (a regular homage to nougat in all shapes and flavours), Bertha was on the road again. Next stop, Lago do Garda, and from here on it seems as if German lessons might have come in more handy than Italian...
- comments