San Leo Agriturismo - Acerno

Wild Camp 30: Cava di Tireni

We left Pompei and headed inland to our next stop, Cava di Tireni, approximately 18km away. A quiet area in a sleepy village, we set the BBQ up and marinated some prawns and set about relaxing after a crazy couple of days sightseeing in Pompei and Sorrento. We sat out under the awning with our prawns and mixed kebab skewers as rain showers came and went and played cards and caught up with some blogging. There was a large sports hall next to us being used by lots of elderly men to play bowls, the few that arrived early sat in the park having a chat swinging on the swings. You would have thought it was a group of teenagers not old age pensioners. One man turned up in a beaten up old Fiat Panda and attempted to park it. He narrowly missed our camper, scraped down the side of another car and came to an abrupt halt when he hit the curb. Clearly pleased at his parking attempt he jumped out of the abandoned car and went off to meet his mates. 

Honey & Garlic Prawns

Acerno -San Leo Agriturismo

We left Cava di Tireni in search of a wild camp in Acerno, a quiet village set right in the mountains of Parco Regionale Monti Picentini, the drive was unpleasant as we wound around the mountains at a snails pace climbing higher and higher, rarely meeting another car, although when we did it was a competition to see who could brake last and who would move over to let the other pass. When we finally reached the town we were unable to find a suitable place to wild camp so decided to stop at a ranch for the night, our first experience of an Agriturismo.

We arrived and pulled onto a long gated driveway, there weren't many people around so the place looked deserted, we weren't even sure if they were open. Jac went in to find out some information about staying the night and was greeted by a sweet old lady in a piny named Anna. She spoke a little English and offered us a place for the night and showed us where to park, it was 10€ for the pitch and 3€ for electricity. We set up our camp and went for a wander around the ranch with Oscar, it was huge, 16 hectares in total.

The main house, an outbuilding & the camper

Exploring the grounds (spot the Beagle)

When we returned from the walk with Oscar, Anna called us over and asked if we would like lunch. Never ones to turn down a meal we settled on a cute bistro set under an oak tree at the front of the main house. Anna appeared with two plates piled high with food. We tucked in and neither of us said a word until our plates were clear. We had veal, spinach and cheese rolled in pasta with tomato sauce.

 

Veal, Spinach & Cheese Pasta

After lunch, fascinated about the Agriturismo, we quized Anna about her land and what it was all used for. She told us that she had inherited the land from her father as a cattle farm and decided to turn it into an Agriturismo in 2002. On the estate there was the huge family house, a large cattle field, three out-buildings, two log cabin appartments, an outside bar, a large chicken coup and a large derelict house.
 

 

Chestnut Trees

 

Derelict Outbuilding

Log Cabin Apartments



Chickens gathering around the bar

Anna had four cats, eight chickens, three horses and two dogs named Silveo and Romeo. Her estate continued across the road where she had two large fields, one to house the horses and another filled with chestnut trees. The field was enclosed so we could walk Oscar without worrying he would do his disappearing act, there were really great views of the surrounding mountains too.

 

Parco Regionale Monti Picentini

There was one family staying in the bed and breakfast inside the main house and a couple staying in one of the log cabin appartments and us camping in the field so it was fairly quiet. Anna told us that by the weekend the ranch would be full of horses from Spanish horsemen trekking in the mountains. We couldn't quite believe it as everything seemed so overgrown and underused. We had only intended to stay for one night but there was so much to see we decided to stay an extra couple of nights. That night we ate in the camper van, Jac made baked Camembert and roasted garlic. We spent the evening watching films excited to get out and explore more of Anna's estate.

 

San Leo Agriturismo

The following day Ahmed, the gardener was up at the crack of dawn cutting the grass in the cattle field, this was no small job. He was sat on his lawn mower dressed head to toe in blue overalls wearing a straw hat and didn't stop until late afternoon. We walked Oscar early before it got too hot, we spent the morning wandering through the chestnut fields, watching Oscar bounding in and a out of the long grass, disappearing for a few minutes and then reappearing covered in cobwebs and flea darts. We headed back to the van for a siesta, the Agriturismo was like a ghost town between 1-3, so peaceful.

 

After being impressed by the lunch the day before and keen to try more of her home cooked traditional Italian dishes we asked Anna if we could have dinner in the restaurant that evening. She told us to be ready for 8pm and to bring Oscar along too. It's taken us a while to get used to Italian menus and the way they eat their courses. Typically they start with bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, followed by a pasta dish (first course), followed by a meat and vegetable dish (second course), followed by fruit and an extremely strong coffee.

We started with bread and red wine (2€ per 1/2 litre), followed by tomato ravioli and mushroom tagliatelle. Next we shared a pork chop and pork stick (sausage) with red peppers marinated in olive oil, Jac thought they had the same consistency as slugs, but still tasted nice. Anna bought Oscar a huge bone for his dinner which kept him amused whilst we enjoyed our meal. We declined the fruit and coffee and instead Anna bought us some biscuits to take back and dunk in our tea, typical English.

We sat and chatted with Anna after dinner, quizzing her further on her business and her family, she told us that all her family would arrive the following day and we could meet them all. Anna's friend, the father of one of her employees joined us and played the guitar for us. He sang us traditional Italian songs, one about coffee in Sorrento, a prison inmate and Nepolian. He and Jac had a couple of shots of liquor and we headed back to the camper.

Trying the local Liquor

The next day we were up early and walked Oscar in the chestnut fields, when we got back to the ranch some of Anna's family had arrived. We were introduced to them and spent the afternoon chatting to Anna's husband Alfredo and thier daughter Giovanna and her husband Frank. Frank told us that Anna had phoned him and told him about us, that she absolutely adored Oscar and he was her best customer in nine years. The feeling must have been mutual because every morning she would call him and he would run from the camper and jump all over her. It also helped that she usually had a bone for him too. She called him picollina Oscar, little Oscar and made a fuss of him every time she saw him.

 

Later that afternoon a large group of horsemen and women arrived. They were stopping overnight en route from the mountain trek. There were 10 horses, all beautifully turned out, with brightly coloured rugs under their expensive looking leather saddles. The horses and thier owners all looked exhausted, they hosed the horses down to cool them off before putting them in the field, we sat outside and watched as they set up their tents for the night and waited whilst Anna cooked them dinner. We decided to pack up and leave that evening. When we said goodbye to Anna she made us promise to take Oscar back to visit her. She even had a little tear in her eye and tried to persuade us total an extra couple of nights. We'll definitely be going back to visit soon.

The horses from the mountain trek

Wild Camp 31: Torella dei Lombardi
43km North East we reached our next stop, we almost got stuck under a bridge on the way so had to find another route. We really should start taking notice of height restrictions. Really just a business car park, we stopped in the village for dinner supplies and set up camp for the night. There was free electricity here so we made full use of it, we made dinner and watched a film. There wasn't anything around here to see and as we had already had one close encounter with the bridge we decided to stay out until we left the following morning.

Play up Pompei & A Trip To Sorrento

70km away we arrived at our campsite, Camping Zeus. A fairly large campsite just off the motorway, or autostrada. On the approach the streets were lined with restaurants, lemonade stalls and souvenir stalls. We paid 24€ per night for 2 nights, mistakenly thinking this would be plenty of time. We chose a pitch lined with lime and olive trees. We pitched next to a rather unfriendly Slovenian couple who were less than impressed at having jolly neighbours like us!! Our other neighbours were a delightful couple from Quebec in Canada. They had sailed to Belgium and driven through France in thier all singing all dancing RV which we couldn't take our eyes off of, no wonder they set the perimeter alarm every time they went out. We spent a while sitting in the sun before showering and heading out.

We walked out of the campsite and straight into the entrance of Pompeii, the old town. We had no idea we would be camping so close to the ruins. A little naive and feeling embarrassed that we hadn't brushed up on our Pompeii history we paid €11 each to see the ruins. We had a quick scout around the information area to find out that in 79AD Mount Vesuvius, a volcano some 8km away had erupted and buried the city in ash and rock allowing the exceptional preservation of the whole Roman City (approx 66 hectares).
 

Pompeii Ruins

 

We entered through Porta Marina and walked through lots of ancient residential streets. We were able to see roads, pavements and even some houses and shops. We visited the basilica, the thermal baths, Casa del Citarista, Dasa dei Ceii and Casa del Menandro. We also visited the enormous amphitheatre or Anfiteatro and Palestra Grande. It was amazing to see although two days here definitely wasn't enough. We agreed that we would like to go back to Pompei and possibly some other sites such as  Ercolano and Oplontis, next time we will definitely pay for a guided tour. There was also a tour of Mount Vesuvius for 12€ each, this included a stop at Terrazza Due Golfi and a return coach journey to Mount Vesuvius National park, again something which really interested us which we hope to come back and do later.

Tempio di Apollo

 

Terme Stabiane

 

Sorrento

The following day we were up and out early to take a trip to Sorrento 25km south of Pompei and the last town of any real significance on this side of the bay. We got the train from Pompei  into Sorrento for 2.20€ each return, public transport in Europe is miles cheaper than in England. The train journey was hideous, it took around 40 minutes and the whole way we endured pushing and shoving and sweaty armpits stretched out in front of our faces whilst holding onto the overhead railings for dear life. Poor Oscar was trampled left right and centre, one guy even rested his laptop bag on him. When we arrived we headed to the tourist information office to find out about a boat trip to Capri. We found an all singing all dancing trip for 80€ each. The trip included lunch and drinks on board and snorkelling equipment and although we really liked the sound of it we didn't think Oscar would have appreciated eight hours on a boat, beagles aren't the greatest lovers of water so we decided we'd put this off and come back another time and do it as we were both really keen to see Capri and the blue, green and white grottos. We headed into the centre of Sorrento to explore and came across the cobbled winding streets of the old town. They were lined with shops selling pasta of all shapes, sizes and colours, biscotti and lemon cello.

Souvenir Heaven

 

Dried Chilli Stall

Jam shops selling pasta, wine and Lemon Cello

Sorrento is famous for its lemons so every shop sold lemon everything!! Sweets, soap, drinks, lemon ornaments, tea towels and aprons. Every shop is decorated with hundreds of little plastic lemons around all the windows and doors too. We walked to the famous botanical gardens growing lemons and oranges and headed back to Piazza Tasso stopping en route to share a waffle with Nutella and ice cream.

Nutella crepe & ice cream

 

When we reached Piazza Tasso we jumped on the tourist bus hoping to see some more attractions. We paid 5€ each and the tour took about an hour. Along the tour we stopped at the Marina Piccola Harbour, where boats sail to and from Capri, Ischia and Naples, Marina Grande, where we could see Mount Vesuvius across the water, the old cathedral bell tower, the Regina Giovanna, a famous museum currently exhibitioning Picasso's artwork and finally the old walls, the only part of the remaining Greek defensive wall.

Marina Grande

 



Mount Vesuvius (just)

 

 

Cathedral Bell Tower

Feeling satisfied that we'd seen enough we headed to the supermarket for dinner and went back to the campsite. We'd decided to treat ourselves to chicken and chorizo fajitas for dinner, they don't sell Old El Paso mixes here so we improvised and went for a box of enchilada flavouring. Jac took care of dinner whilst Kayleigh skyped home. We sat down keen to try the fajitas......Kayleigh managed half before giving up and Jac managed 4 before sitting on the sofa a quivering wreck. He'd used the entire pack of seasoning, upon closer inspection of the instructions and making out what we could in Italian we discovered 2 tspn was the recommended amount for a serving for 4 people. He spent the rest of the evening fanning himself and drinking milk. The following morning we packed up ready for our next stop. Pompei and Sorrento is top of the list of places to visit again, we hope to come back next year.

Cool Calming Campania

We left the campsite in Rome at lunchtime and drove 60km to our next stop in Campania, the region immediately south of Lazio which marks the real beginning of Southern Italy.

Wild Camp 25: Rocca di Pappa 

A quiet car park in a small town high up in the mountains. We walked Oscar when we arrived and came across a large park. It was a hive of activity with groups of children playing, parents chatting over coffee and a gardener mowing the grass. We sat on a bench and watched as lots of dogs came and went one after another, we looked around for their owners as they went to leave the park but soon realised that they were all strays. They trotted into the park, had a little play and got some attention from the children and when they'd finished they just trotted off out of the gates on their own. One of the strays was a big fat beagle, we named him Cooper. He resembled a squashed beer barrel on legs.
 

Oscar and his new pals

Cooper the beer barrel Beagle

It was strange to see that amount of stray dogs running around doing as they pleased and nobody even batting an eyelid, evidently they have no dog catchers or kennels here. We wanted to put a lead on Cooper and take him home with us, although Oscar took a slight disliking too him in protest so we decided against it. When we left the park we walked around town to see what was going on, it was mostly small bars packed full with groups of old men chatting loudly and playing cards and the odd fruit and veg shop. The weather turned with little warning so we stopped at the local supermarket for supplies and headed back to the camper. We shared a Conad party mix, a pizza and played a few games of cards.

The famous Conad Party Mix  

Wild Camp 26: Pomezia
We woke the next morning to heavy rain and decided to have a duvet day, we excitedly gathered our duvet and the laptop ready to settle on the sofa and watch a few films. Substituting breakfast for biscuits we went to put the stove on for a cup of tea. Typical for us, no gas!! There was nothing coming through from the bottle. Jac braved the weather to check the bottle and the pipe for a blockage but couldn't see anything. Our duvet day in ruins we decided to get dressed and find the nearest Tourist Information Office in the hope they might be able to help us.

En route we bumped into a shop owner in the village, her English was excellent and she offered to help. She sent her husband to take a look whilst she rang around to find a workshop for us. Her husband came back as baffled as we were so she sent us 15km down the road to a Camper Service Garage.  We arrived at the garage around 11am and explained our problem. We helpfully gave a demonstration to highlight our problem and low and behold, the gas had miraculously started working again, hugely embarrassing. As we were there and not wishing to waste anyone's time we got them to fix a few minor problems, a leaking skylight, a broken fan and a dodgy fridge.

Whilst we were waiting we chatted with a young boy named Sean. He was 6 years old and could speak English, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Mexican. He was extremely intelligent and had a vivid imagination. He told us lots of story's, one about his dead cat who sadly passed away after the family car drove over its paw, one about his friends from all over the world, Julian from Collumbia, Daniel from Poland and Emily from China. He told us about when he visited the Jurassic coast in England and how he and his best friend were plucked from their tents by a Spineasaurus, the largest of all dinosaurs, they were only able to escape by jumping from the nest hundreds of metres high in a tree when the creature fell asleep.

With the help of Sean's story's the afternoon flew by and the work was done before we knew it. We set off for our wild camp 20 minutes down the road. The wild camp was a basic gravel car park next to a private airfield. We were sheltered by hundreds of solar panels which meant it was cool for Oscar. We managed to get some wifi and spent the next couple of days relaxing, catching up with family and watching military fighter jets zoom past us at the speed of light. Oscar spent the majority of the next few days sleeping.

Oscar napping, for a change

Wild Camp 27: Sermoneta
70km south of Pomezia a beautiful little village half way up a hillside. The wild camp was a car park outside the village with amazing views, it reminded us a little of Portsdown Hill albeit with slightly brighter landscapes.

Sermoneta

 

 

The wild camp at Sermoneta

We took a 15 minute stroll into the village to look for a Tourist Information Office, It was filled with narrow winding alley ways and lots of little shops selling hand made ornaments and trinkets and lovely little patisseries and sweet shops which all had small trays of tasters outside making the streets smell like sugar.

Archways and alleys filled the village

The old bell tower, now a house

There had been a wedding and they were just finishing their photos when we arrived, there were people everywhere and one of the bars in the village had drinks and snacks waiting for all the guests after the ceremony. We were tempted to sneak in but as we were dressed in flip flops and shorts we thought we might stand out a little too much and thought better of it. Jac spotted a slingshot in one of the shops, he didn't stop talking about it until we went back and bought it. Sightseeing was over and Jac was desperate to get back to the camper to test his new toy. He didn't speak a word for half an hour, instead he sat in a chair firing stones at a lamp post, his fun was short lived, after 10 shots he broke the slingshot, he looked genuinely distraught and threw it in the bin.

Watching the sunset at Sermoneta

Wild Camp 28: Suio

This should have been a relatively short drive to the next spot in Gaeta, a picturesque spot along the coast, however when we arrived there was nowhere to park, we tried three other spots and managed to get ourselves stuck in a maze of narrow winding streets before giving up and leaving the town altogether. We drove 160km before we finally found somewhere suitable at around 10pm. A quiet grassy area, with pitches separated by orange trees. We paid 10€ for the night and were given access to a thermal pool although we decided against using it as it was a scorching day and the thought of a hot bath in the sunshine made us feel queasy. We opted for a walk 1.5km into the town where we passed stalls selling monkey nuts and ice creams. We set off mid afternoon the following day for our final stop before Pompei.

Wild Camp 29: Santa Maria Capua Vetere
79km south of Suio we reached our next stop. A large car park for cars and campers and a camper service area. It was fairly busy here with people coming and going until quite late. Keen to get an early start the following morning we had dinner and got an early night.

When In Rome...

We arrived at the campsite, Happy Village & Camping just off the motorway and about 20 minutes outside Rome. We picked a cosy corner pitch with plenty of shade for Oscar and set about making ourselves at home. We spent a while catching up on chores, washing and lots of anti bac'ing and sweeping.

We visited the restaurant and made full use of our money off vouchers and free welcome drink that we'd been given at reception. We had sparkling wine and pork with potatoes for 9€ each. It was delicious and probably the closest thing that resembles a meal at home that we've had in a long time. When we got back an Italian family had pitched a tent next to us, they had a cute puppy named Jago. He was five months old and as keen to play as Oscar. There weren't too many people around so we let them off their leads to have a play. They ran around like a pair of lunatics, in and out of pitches and under camper vans, trying to get into the odd tent to look for food as they went. They also stopped to cock their legs on one tent, luckily there wasn't anyone around to see. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and played cards and got an early night ready for Rome the following day.

Oscar & Jago

 

Waiting for the shuttle bus

 

The campsite offered a free shuttle bus service to Prima Porta train station. We haven't quite mastered the early starts yet so we managed to get on the 11 o'clock bus and were overwhelmed by French students, there must have been about 30 of them. The bus was so crowded, before we'd even set off Kayleigh had been hit in the head with a backpack whilst an unapologetic young lad stamped on her foot. We paid 3€ each for the train which took about 40 minutes to reach Flaminio station. Once off the train we started our journey at Piazza Del Popolo, situated at the head of a triangle of roads known as The Trident. The Piazza took about 3 centuries to be constructed due to the alternation of various Popes. Piazza Del Popolo is mainly know as a pedestrian area but is frequented as a popular concert and event venue. We unsuccessfully traipsed around in search of a tourist information point before admitting defeat and buying an overpriced map from a newsstand. With so much to see and just one day, we sensibly decided to sit down and plan our route. Over a few Corona's of course!! 

Planning our sightseeing route

 

Being tourists at the Colloseum

First stop the Colloseum. En route we saw the Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Vittoriano Piazza Veneziawe. We reached the Colloseum, it's real name, Flavian Amphitheatre. We read that construction was started by Vespian in 72AD and was finished by his son Titus 8 years later. Jewish prisoners were employed in its construction and it finished up able to hold 50,000 spectators. We stood for what felt like forever in the blistering heat like a pair of gawping idiots, taking way too many photos before heading to the Roman Forum and The Palatine. The most celebrated place in Ancient Rome, although we were keen to see the remains of the ancient temples, the queues were astronomical and the mid day sun was unbearable. 

The Roman Forum

Keen to stay on the move and out of the sun we headed to the Vatican City. We crossed the Ponte Palatino over the river Tevere and walked right the way along the riverside to Vatican City. We walked through St. Peter's Square, apparently the most imposing in Rome, 240 meters wide and 340 long and headed for The Vatican. The square was absolutely crawling, groups frantically chasing their tour guides and Chinese and American tourists making full use of their selfie sticks. Jac was particularly impressed by the 140 statues of Saints that adorn the colonnade. 

 

Vatican City

We learnt that The Vatican has been home to the Pope(s) for six centuries, 266 have sat on the throne of St Peter in an uninterrupted line and the Vatican City is an independent state ruled by the Supreme Pontiff (the Pope). It's all interesting stuff! 

Next we headed to St. Angel Castle or Castel Sant' Angelo. A beautiful red brick, fortress type building built by Emporor Adrianas. Originally built as an imperial tomb which also held famous prisoners and today a museum of art and military history. Outside the castle the road was lined on both sides with chaotic souvenir stalls selling tacky Pope themed memorabilia and overpriced food trailers selling everything from beer and Pringles to pizza. Still, in true tourist form, we paid the crazy prices and bought some souvenirs.

It was a boiling hot day and we must have walked miles. By evening the heat wasn't getting any less intense so we decided to head back towards the train station, we crossed back to the other side of the river via the Ponte Margherita and decided it was time for a sit down and a drink. Oscar had been taking advantage of many of the 2000 drinking fountains that Rome possess to stay refreshed during the day so when we reached a restaurant he happily collapsed under a chair for a nap. Generally when visiting a bar or restaurant in Italy between 6-9pm you are given free snacks, taking full advantage we ordered two large beers and enjoyed free olives and crisps and watched the sunset.

Watching the sunset

 

As we were walking back across the square to head to the station a Michael Jackson tribute started dancing, within the first 30 seconds of Thriller the square was packed with people applauding and putting money into a hat. Not wanting to be outdone, a little Chinese baby waddled up behind him and started dancing too! The crowd was cheering a taking pictures and the baby was loving all the attention. We arrived back at the campsite around 10pm and all three of us were out like a light.

Lazing About in Lazio

Continuing our stint of wild camping to save some money in high season we headed south east.

 

Wild Camp 21: Lago di Bolsena

 

Lake Bolsena

 

46KM east of Pitigliano, out of Tuscany and into Lazio, Lake Bolsena. On the way here we stopped at Sant'Egle. A 17th century customs house set on an organic farm and now also used as a restaurant and bed and breakfast. They welcome visitors to wander their home and gardens in order to understand and appreciate their Eco friendly way of living. When we arrived in our extremely noisy, air polluting, Eco unfriendly van we were greated by two cooker spaniels, two tabby kittens, a friendly little girl and the gardener. We read that 100% of electricity used is produced from renewable sources, waste water and rain water are recycled for watering the garden and heating and hot water is produced by a fireplace heating system and solar water heaters. Wandering around the grounds in ore we came across a synergistic garden, a vineyard, an olive grove, an orchard, a berry growing area, a well, a napping area with hammocks, a yoga area and a bio pool, a BBQ area and a hay bale amphitheatre. There was a relaxation area with chairs made from wheelbarrows, which were surprisingly comfortable and a fire pit. Everything in the grounds is made from recycled materials such as ornamental statues made from car exhausts, tractor parts and old petrol tanks. Inside there was a small shop selling home made preservatives, strawberry, cherry and raspberry jam, olive oil, olive oil beauty products and home grown fruit and veg. We bought some strawberry jam and headed to the wild camp. 

Our spot at the lake, spot the beagle

This spot is right on the lake, a beautiful area lined with trees which provide some shade meaning the camper doesn't get too stuffy. We are in the middle of nowhere here so not much to venture out for, we sat outside and had spaghetti bolognaise and a bottle of wine for dinner. We bumped into an English couple that had moved to the town 13 years ago, they knew loads about the local area and told us about all the festivals happening in the surrounding towns in the next couple of weeks. We also found out about a small island in the middle of the lake, we could see this from the camper. 

Jac's becoming quite the photographer, Lake Bolsena

The Pope once sat here, there was a large monastery in the middle and surrounding it were seven chapels, one for every day of the week. We spent the following day chilling by the lake in the sunshine Oscar made a few new friends and played with them most of the day. We packed up and left around 6, stopped at the shop for cheese and wine and headed to our next spot.
 

One of the many new friends Oscar's made

 

Wild Camp 22: Montefiascone 

Our wild camp at Montefiascone

Essentially this is just a large circular shaped car park with a nice view. There are 10 campers here in total, there is free electricity and water and no charge to stay here. We have wild camped for the last 10 days, we are need of a little luxury, a bar and some wifi.
 

The view from the wild camp

Jac put the solar shower to good use today. Showering outside in his superman pants whilst Kayleigh sat in the van crying with laughter.
 

Jac using the solar shower, Oscar found it funny too

 

The view from Orvieto

We also visited Orvieto today. Another town built on tufa rock with a lot of history. We parked next to the high speed railway and paid 1.20€ each to go on the tram, but before we were allowed on we had to buy Oscar a muzzle, luckily there was a pet shop within walking distance and we arrived just before the siesta. He was hugely unimpressed and rolled around on his back creating a scene the whole tram ride until we eventually took it off. We walked around not really knowing what to look for and were approached by a very strange man who was apparently a doctor, he looked a lot like Uncle Fester from the Adams family. He told us about the history of Orvieto and something about Kevin Costner, although in all his rambling on it was difficult to make out what. As if Uncle Fester wasn't strange enough we were then approached by a man that looked a bit like the wrestler Booker T. In actual fact his name was Don Konyon from Nigeria and claimed he had been given a gift by god. He wanted to pass this gift on by making music, so after he had spat his food crumbs all over Jac and explained every song he ever sang,  in great detail, he pressured us into buying his CD we gave him 2€. He said to add him on Facebook and look him up on YouTube so if you fancy it his Facebook is Don Konyon Roma he also scribbled on the cd cover Ing Joel don Konyon which may be his YouTube channel....Who knows. After being accosted by lots of strange people we finally made it into Orvieto.
 

A view into Orvieto

In the Roman period the city was destroyed and abandoned by the Roman Army and the people living there were deported to Bolsena. The only use for the city was trading wine, oil, grain and terracotta. In 1000 A.D. Orvieto began to repopulate and in 1004 they built a church that still stands today, between the 12th and 13th centuries Orvieto increased in power and many of the city monuments were built, the most spectacular being the Piazza del Duomo.
 

The Duomo

In 1348 a strong plague and internal fighting between two noble families destroyed the commune of Orvieto the city remained under the papal state until the 18th century. Between 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s structural interventions were made in order to restore Orvieto. The first water-powered funicular in the world was built here in 1888. Nowadays the locals still practise the artisan traditions of wood work, ceramic and lace. Its a beautiful place which is pretty much self sufficient, a far cry from the bustling cities we've been visiting.

Wild Camp 23: Varella 

Another car park, in the middle of a city, very busy and quite loud. There was man loitering around in the car park for ages which scared Kayleigh, she was awake at 5AM and finally gave in and got up at 7, woke Jac with tea and toast at 8 and we left for our next stop via Civita di Bagnoregio. 

Civita di Bagnorigio, 'The Floating City'

It's known as 'the floating city' because it has errorded away over time and is now only accessible via a very long foot bridge. We read that no cars were allowed in the village only foot passengers, bicycles and donkeys. There were mopeds and tuk tuks everywhere, no donkeys though. It was another beautiful village filled with narrow winding alley ways and quaint little houses decorated with brightly coloured pot plants lining the stairways and balconies. The village was also home to what seemed to be about 10,000 cats and kittens. Every corner we turned there was a gang of cats arching their backs, puffing up there tails and hissing at Oscar. After the initial shock, he wasn't bothered anymore and cocked his leg on one of the steps they were sat on to show them who's boss.

Wild Camp 24: Sasso

A really nice spot with an aqua blue lake at the entrance, the same colour blue as the natural baths in Saturnia. We were at the bottom of a hill in the middle of nowhere, the village was just one road about 4km long. We were told there was another hot spring in the area although we didnt see it. By night time we could smell the sulphur from the thermal baths wafting around, it wasn't very pleasant at first it smelt like a gas leak then it smelt a lot like egg! Behind our van was farmland and around 10 o'clock a herd of sheep trotted past with their bells around their necks making a right racket. Oscar was keen to investigate and make friends. We didn't do much else today which was quite a nice break from wandering around city's and villages in the heat, well at least until tomorrow when we reach Rome.