Abruzzo & Marche

Abruzzo is a region full of hilltop villages and medieval towns overlooked by mountain ranges whilst Marche, lying between the Apennines and the Adriatic, is a much more varied region. It's coastline is studded with tourist filled resorts and it's beaches a sea of umbrellas. Behind this, sit miles and miles of unspoilt countryside, a patchwork quilt of farmland and mountain regions. After booking a ferry to Croatia in 4 weeks we have had plenty of time to explore these last couple of regions of Italy before we leave. We have spent around 2 months in Italy now and are still yet to venture to the northern tip of Italy. There's so much to see and do and we've learnt such a lot since we arrived. 

Camper Parking: Casabordinio (5€)
We arrived at this coastal town 67km north of our last stop. We went to the local shop to buy a 24 hour camping ticket for 5€. Hoping to save money before heading to Croatia at the end of the month we decided not to lead ourselves into temptation and opted for a quite walk along the pebbled beach with Oscar. There were camper vans lining the waters edge and the atmosphere was relaxed and slow paced. We moseyed along the beach for a good couple of hours before heading back to the camper just in time. The weather changed and it felt just like being back home, the van was thrown all over the place by the fierce winds and the huge raindrops sounded like golf balls hitting the roof. At one point We thought our bikes might disappear off the back of the van. Oscar buried himself under a blanket whilst we sat looking out to sea watching the storm.

Cassabordinio

Oscar playing on the beach at Cassabordinio

 

The wild camp at Cassabordinio

 Wild Camp 34: Lanciano 

37km north we reached our next stop. A spot in a relatively quiet car park outside a church. There were three other campers parked here and a few people coming and going visiting the church. We walked through a quiet square into a busy town centre with four wide boulevards of shops. We pootled about looking at clothes and jewellery and once again managed to resist stopping for a few beers and something to eat. We headed back to the camper for dinner, played a few games of cards and went to bed. The following morning we headed back into the town and sat in the square using the free wifi. We bought some watermelon from a fruit stall along the road and enjoyed it for lunch before leaving for our next stop. 

Lanciano Town Centre

Lanciano Town Hall

Wild Camp 35: Notaresco

90km north of Lanciano, this wild camp was at a tennis club with free electricity, fresh water and washing facilities. The wild camp was so quiet and had lovely views out across the region. As we arrived late in the evening we decided not to venture out and instead had dinner and watched a film before going to bed. The following morning we did all of our washing, washed the camper and lazed about in the sun until we left for our next stop, Recanati. 

Tennis Courts at the wild camp

 

Laundry Day

Wild Camp 36: Recanati

121 north we reached Recanati. A small town famous for being the birthplace of the opera singer Beniamino Gigli and 19th century poet Giacomo Leopardi. We stopped at the camper parking area with free electricity and water on the outskirts of the walled village with views of the sea, hills and mountains. It was fairly late when we arrived and the parking area was almost full. It's almost the end of high season so hopefully things should start to quieten down soon and it won't be a race against time to get a parking space at every spot. We were greeted by a very large Italian family who thought we were Dutch. We chatted with the family in broken English for a while before heading inside for dinner. The following morning we walked into the town to find the tourist information office. Neither of us were overly enthusiastic about visiting the civic art gallery or places that feature in Leopardi's poetry so we picked up some information on the surrounding area and headed off. 

 

The entrance to the town

 

Recanati

 

Recanati

Wild Camp 37: 

Abbadi di Fiastra National Park, is in a separate blog post.

 

Wild Camp 38: Cingoli
Better know as the Balcony Of The Marche. Cingoli boasts an amazing panoramic position, 631m above sea level in the Eastern part of the Adriatic. We travelled 41km north west to a camper parking facility right in the town. When we arrived at the wild camp we found a note on a barrier blocking the parking to say we must collect a key fob from the tourist information. We also gathered some maps and information about the local area before settling down for dinner. the following morning we walked into the centre of the town to do some sightseeing. We entered through Porta Piana, the main way of access to the town, built in 1835. Next we headed to Balcone Delle Marche, built in 1931 providing the best viewpoint in the town. Next we went to Castaglioni Palace, the birthplace of Francessco Saverio who became Pope in 1829. We also visited San Francessco Church, the oldest Franciscan church in Cingoli, the Maltempo (Bad Weather) Fountain and the Town Hall. After a jam packed morning of sightseeing and browsing around the shops we set off for our next stop Macerata.

The Balcony of The Marche

 

Cingoli Park

 

We did a spot of shopping in the town

Oscar grabbing a quick drink

 

Wild Camp 39: Macerata 
This destination was not along our original route however we decided to double back on ourselves and head here on the promise of a fantastic market. 35km south east we reached our wild camp outside a football ground.

The wild camp at Macerata

 

 

The ticket office

We've been told the market is from 7-1 so we get an early night in preparation. Naturally, I'm up before the alarm, mainly out of excitement because I absolutely love a market, even more so a European market. We throw on whatever clothes are clean, slacking on the washing front lately, and walk towards the centre hoping that we'll stumble across the market. En route a jolly afro American guy stopped Jac to tell him in a strong Texas accent "dem some sweet tats my man, y'nah whadam sayinn". Jac smiled nervously and politely thanked the man before walking away. From the bottom of the hill we could see the market stalls spilling out of every road and alley way into the centre, the sight of this almost caused me to pass out with excitement. The market was busy but slow paced, people weren't in a rush which was a good job as we were barely awake yet and neither was Oscar. We studied each stall for ages, looking at everything they had to offer. Four hours later and laden with shopping bags we stopped for some lunch before walking back to the camper to examine our haul. We managed to cram our purchases into every last crack and crevice of spare space in the camper before heading off for our next stop.

Some graffiti at Macerata

Wild Camp 40: Montecosaro
30km north of Macerata and back on track with out original route we arrive at our next wild camp. A car park on the edge of the town surrounded by trees (and mosquitos). We had dinner and watched a film before bed. Just as we were dozing off to sleep a loud bang on the top of the van jolted me wide awake. It sounded like a golf ball had landed right above our heads. Jac climbed up to look out of the skylight to see if there was any damage. He slowly raised his head out to look at the roof and was greeted square in the face by a Praying Mantis. The first one either of us have ever seen, Jac was fascinated and spent a good half an hour recording the insect dancing about on the roof. The following day was Oscars 2nd Birthday. We had scrambled egg on toast and took him back to the Nature Reserve for a long birthday walk. we spent the majority of the day there before heading back to Recanati for the night.

A praying mantis dancing on our aerial

 

Wild Camp 41: Recanati/Ancona
We came back to Recanati for one night before driving to Ancona for our ferry to Croatia. Jac made a vegetable curry for dinner and we spent the evening planning our route through Croatia. The following day we sunbathed before showering and heading to the ferry port.