Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:28:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: It's not a real roadtrip until you've been stopped by cops!
buona sera,
Don't read the subject line yet. ;)
This morning I woke up at 3 am. I've been up since then. Had a big continental
breakfast at the hotel -- I was starving -- and started driving around 8:15am,
confident I'd find at least SOME restaurants open today.
HA!
Today is Boxing Day.
There were no ristorantes open.
There were no pizzerias open.
There were no trattorias open.
And worst of all, there were no gelaterias open! (well, almost...)
By the way, "open" = aperto and "closed" = chiuso.
Anyway, I started driving, not caring where I was going, and after a few side
trips down the wrong way of 1-way streets, ended up on A3 Southbound... ("oh
yeaaaahhhhh, THAT's the DO NOT ENTER sign. The NO PARKING sign is the OTHER
one!")
I'll learn it. Eventually.
I took the exit at a place called Falerna, which is back on the coast. As soon
as I exited, I was flagged down by two polizei...
Ok. I think I know the drill. But this time, neither one of them spoke english.
I gave them my license and the rental car papers, and they walked back to their
squad car, came back after a good 10-15 minutes, gave me back my stuff, and
told me I can leave.
Hmmmmmm..... a little curious, but I was not about to stay and ask any
questions! A little way down the road was a gas station so I pulled in there to
buy some snacks for the day, and AGAIN, I was stopped by another polizei.
Same procedure. Same results.
I guess they must have been looking for somebody. But getting stopped by cops
in a foreign country where neither of us knew the other's language was a new
experience for me! Oh well... everything turned out fine in the end, and I
proceeded to enjoy my roadtrip...
The road was SS18, which goes all the way down to the tip of Italy's boot,
paralleling the much faster A3. I was alternating between the two, with SS18
along the sea and A3 through the mountains with views of the sea. Down south,
there was a beautiful view of Sicily across from the dark blue Stretto di
Messina. There's a great parking lot off of A3 from where you can see the city
of Messina... I took a few pictures there.
Drove through Reggio Di Calabria without finding any open ristorantes... oh
well, on with the drive!
(Yes, I was tempted to take the ferry to Messina..... next time.)
The road -- renamed to SS106 -- follows the coast all along the tip of the
boot. I just kept driving, with occasional views of the Mediterranean on the
right and small towns and mountains on the left. Small towns with zero
ristorantes open.
I'm sick of breadsticks.
In the town of Siderno there was a mall that was open. By now it was 2 PM and I
had not had a "real" lunch or dinner since leaving home. I stopped, gobbled
down a panini from one of the stores inside, and treated myself to the first
(of many) gelatos on this trip.
I've learned to look up at all mountaintops while driving through Europe. Every
once in a while, there's a treat that can be missed if you're not looking
directly at it. Five minutes after Siderno, there was a castle on the left -- I
have no idea what that is, and I still can't find any information on the net
about it. But it was HUGE, the castle walls spanning the entire top of the
hill. So that was a pleasant surprise... I took some side roads to get a few
better views of the castle -- must have spent about an hour in the town below.
There are also a few lighthouses in this region that look nice!
Catanzaro: The next major city, on the east coast of the boot. I intended to
continue straight through the city and keep going for another 170 km up the
coast. Well, "it's not a real roadtrip until you take so many wrong turns that
you dont care anymore where you're going". After several U- and 3-point turns
and combinations of rights and lefts, I cut across the country from Catanzaro
back to the west coast, close to my second encounter with the polizei this
morning. By now it was getting dark and also starting to rain, so I decided to
go up the coast and through the mountains again back to Cosenza...
North of the town of Amantea there is another castle on a hilltop. That looked
nice with the rainbow frame around it! :D
Back up to Paola on SS18 which is where I was last night, and over the
mountains to the town of Cosenza. I'm a little more familiar with the roads in
this town now, and it only took me 24 hours! There're still no ristorantes open
tonight so I guess its room service again for dinner. Plus I dont really feel
like exploring Cosenza any further -- its raining outside anyway. And tomorrow
is another day!
I learned today that "grazie" and "prego" can be used interchangeably. Much
like "danke" and "bitte" in Germany.
And yes there was the usual "stuff I'll never tell anyone about"... A lot of
things today reminded me once again why I love roadtrips so much :D
That's all for tonight... pictures are up on the webpage... To answer
everyone's questions from yesterday's mail: On new years eve I'll be in Rome
(again). Yes I had my first gelato today. No I did not have any vino yesterday
or today. http://www.villagabrisa.it (Enea Deluxe room)... and 42.
Arrivederci!
-me.
(
P.S.
"Do Not Enter" sign = red circle with a white horizontal bar through it.
"No Parking" sign = red-background sign with a blue circle and blue bar at a 45-degree angle.
)
Cosenza to Reggio di Calabria:
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Reggio di Calabria to Catanzaro:
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Catanzaro to Cosenza:
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