2geonomads

Sunday 1st June 2014

A great agriturismo breakfast and a gloriously sunny day make for a wonderful start to the last day of our European journey with Maureen and John and a visit to Pitigliano caps off what has been a fantastic experience.

I had been told so much about Pitigliano by Ross Bromel , Jane Yates and Peter Coates that I had become concerned that the town would not live up to the hype. Nothing could have been further from the truth and it’s difficult to come up with enough superlatives to describe its spectacular location, on a precipitous rocky outcrop. It is quite simply like nothing else we have ever seen on our travels. Sadly, we only have about 3 hours to tour the town but this us enough time to view the immense aqueduct, the Etruscan tombs which dot the cliff face and the Jewish Ghetto.

Dave in Jewish Ghetto with Tommy Cooper’s brother

The visit to the town is made even more memorable when yours truly discovers that he has mislaid the car keys. J and I make a quick walk back to the car as I recalled that I last had them when I was putting a bandage on my troublesome left knee ( not my titanium knee which just rusts!). On arrival back at the car we find that a very kind old man had placed the keys, which had obviously dropped out of my pocket, under the driver ‘s door handle. I seriously thought of giving him a hug and a kiss on both cheeks but settled for an expression of heartfelt thanks for his helping me  to avoid a potential disaster. John and I return to the girls and although nothing is said I feel sure that all three of my travelling companions are gloating that after all the blog barbs this old bastard has finally got his comeuppance.

We eventually drop M and J off at Orvieto train station and say our goodbyes.

We have been together for just short of four weeks and they have been great travel companions. All too often we here of friendships being destroyed by a holiday together but the dynamics of our foursome have been fantastic all along. Hopefully J and M feel the same way!

We are on our way north by just after 1.00 pm and have decided to stick to the toll autostradas all the way to the agriturismo, Villa Pardi a few kms from Lucca.

After having fallen asleep on the Nullabor when driving over to WA in 2009 I decide to take a stop at a freeway parking area and to Gail’s surprise I fall asleep immediately. The 15 minutes of very deep sleep leave me feeling very refreshed for the remainder of the trip and Gail very happy that I have obviously learned a lesson from my Nullabor experience.

By the time we arrive at Villa Pardi the knee is in a pretty bad way so at the recommendation of Cinzia, the owner of Villa Pardi, we take a very short drive to a nearby restaurant, Il Borghetto.

The seafood dinner is as good as any on this trip and very reasonably priced. Once again we see evidence of the cross- generational family culture with large groups out for an evening meal.

Villa Pardi is a very fine large house about 300 years old and for future reference it is perfect for anyone wishing to stay near to Lucca without the hassle of staying right in the centre.

Off to bed with me full of Nurufen tablets and hoping that my troublesome ‘good’ knee will come good the next day.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret.