It was hot and I was tired from driving so Phyllis, in shorts and t-shirt, went to the customs officials to do all the documentation requirements. She received a lot of attention from the young Italian officials.
Down to Verona for a night stop I was aiming for but then I noticed my petrol gauge was on empty and I did not think we would make the distance. Fortunately, it was all downhill and I freewheeled most of the way. It was dark when we arrived there and camped on the side of the road for the night.
Next morning we went looking for the first garage to “Mettez un Tigre dans votre motor” as petrol was advertised whenever you approached petrol filling stations. The Bee was full again and I offered my Petrol coupons from the AA in London as payment. They refused to take it because it should have been stamped at the border as we entered the country. They said that I had to go back up the mountain to have them stamped.
That I refused. I was not going to drive up the mountain just to have my petrol cards rubber stamped. Now I had a problem. They would not let me go without payment. I insisted that in a country like Italy there had to be another way to do things. After a phone call they said I could go see “Archie” to sort it out.
I was annoyed at the waste of my time, got into the Bee and drove off without asking who Archie was. Driving down the main road in Verona I asked Phyllis if she had any idea who Archie was. She had no idea, so I got out and asked a passerby “Do you speak English” or “Sprechen Sie Deutch.” and “Archie?”
After the umpteen approach, one a chap pointed further on and then to the right. This was not entirely helpful so I stood on the side of the road and called “Archie” at the top of my voice.
Immediately a few people reacted and pointed in the direction I had to go. One chap showed me three fingers and a right turn. I took the third turn right and stopped in front of the first house. Knocked on the door and an old lady answered the door. When she heard “Archie?” she indicated that he was just around the corner.
As I went around the building I was struck by huge letters on the front: ACI = Automobile Club of Italy.🤣
They were very helpful and arranged for the filling station to be paid. So we found out why “Archie” was so popular in Italy!
A visit to Verona is not complete without a visit to Romeo and Juliet’s Balcony. It’s a very popular tourist attraction. Initially we had some difficulty in finding the house. You enter through a covered passage with a fairly narrow door into a small courtyard to view the balcony. A bronze statue of Juliet stands in the courtyard.
Catacomb of St Pricilla. According to our guide book I found that, not too far downtown was a catacomb named after a Saint Pricilla. I travelled to what I though to be the exact location on the map but there were only wild vegetation growing on the spot. Then I started accosting all passers bye using my best Italian accent and repeating the name St Pricilla. Nobody seem to even have heard the name or wanted to redirect me.
I stubbornly refused to give in and eventually a chap said, “Ah Santa Pricilla!” It seems I did not have enough “sssh” in my pronunciation of her name. He lead me to a little gate not far and down a narrow path to a monastery where a kind nun welcomed us.
I explained that we were from South Africa and would like to visit the catacomb. We could but Phyllis had a sleeveless top, that was deemed unsuitable and we also had to get someone to look after Nikki and Panda. Soon Phyllis had her head and shoulders covered and we descended down into the catacomb while Nikki was looked after by a young nun.
We saw many bones of martyrs in their graves in cavities as we walked for a long distance deep into the underground passages. We also came across larger chambers which were used as assembly meeting places for priests and other religious people and where they had to hide.
A Roman amphitheatre in Verona. That evening I saw in a newspaper that a neglected Roman amphitheatre had been uncovered not too far from Verona and some way back up the mountain. This was something I was very interested in seeing, so we made our way there for a few photographs before we left the city of Verona.
Interestingly, on our tour in 1965, travelling through many parts of England and Europe, it was only in England that we noticed war damage. None in Europe where all war damage was already repaired.
The distance from Verona to VENICE is just over an hour’s drive. We arrived there in the late afternoon and decided to stop a short distance away where we could see the city lights. The weather was deteriorating and a strong wind had come up.
During the night we were treated to an electrical storm of note. The sky was lit by multiple flashes of lightning, and the Bee was being shaken in a strong wind that had come up. There was little chance of getting any sleep due to the very loud thunder and startling cracks of lightning.
The next day, however, was clear and full of sunshine. We caught the tourist boat that travels up the Grand Canal. I took a lovely picture of Nikki leaning over the gunnel of the ferry trying to touch the water. As we puttered along, we could see that the ground floors of the buildings in Venice had sunk to just below the waterline.
St. Mark’s square was our first stop. Surrounded by beautiful buildings including the Dodge’s Palace, StMark’s Basilica we admired the scene and watched hundreds of pigeons being fed and chased by the children in the sunshine. It was a very pleasant experience.
We went to visit St Mark’s Basilica to see the golden ceiling and stunning murals. Unfortunately, Phyllis was not allowed entry because of conservative dress regulations. I entered alone to take pictures of the golden ceiling for our records.
There were gondolas moving up and down the many canals. The Rialto bridge is the oldest and most famous bridge. Then we also saw the Bridge of Sighs that was built across a canal to connect the law courts to the new prison. It was said that they could hear the sighs of convicted men as they passed over that bridge.
We could not get enough of all the beautiful glass items on display and we could watch glass blowers in action making their ornaments as well as beautiful vases and bowls. Our purchase power was poor, but we nevertheless visited many shops and bought some colourful souvenirs.
Florence is a beautiful city where we connected with the “Auto Strada del Sole” the longest freeway in Italy. Italy is the first nation to have built a freeway system. It was thus a pleasant drive to Rome.
Rome. We booked a place in an old war camp on a hill overlooking Rome for a week. Because of petrol coupon rulings for foreigners, we did not want to use the Bee for short trips. It was easy to catch a bus down to the city or back to the camp.
Rome is the capital of Italy and known as “The Eternal City.” Our, or my, first trip down to the city was to the Roman Forum which was described as “the beating heart” of ancient Rome. It was in the centre of ancient Rome and the place where public meetings were held. I was particularly interested to see the steps where Mark Anthony made his famous speech, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him…” words I’d heard during my history lessons at school. Little did I know that many years later I would be standing on the very steps where he made that speech. The surrounding area was in ruins but it still felt ever so poignant for me. Nikki followed me and was photographed sitting on broken pillars.
Close by we saw several arches such as the Arch of Titus and Septimus and many other places of note e.g. where Julius Caeser was killed and buried. There is only so much that you can take in before being overwhelmed and we needed to go back to our campsite for a break.
The Colosseum was our next visit. It is the largest ancient, elliptical amphitheatre ever built. It is the place where gladiators did combat with animals such as lions.
It is huge but I was disappointed in the many holes in the walls and signs of looting that could be seen. I thought it was a bit neglected and felt like not much had been done to maintain it since ancient times. At street level they had pay phones where you could listen to talks related to the history in different languages. Nikki enjoyed hiding behind the many walls in the interior, with us to have to search for her.
We visited The Vatican City on a Wednesday. It is an independent city-state within Rome and we entered the vast St. Peter’s square and together with hundreds of visitors moved closer to the magnificent doors that were closed at the time. Inside there are magnificent treasures and a ceiling of gold but we could not get in as it was closed to the general public. Then, as I was admiring the doors they swung open, and an American couple came out and said they had to catch a plane and offered their tickets to us. Wow, what luck?
We entered the basilica filled with standing visitors. The impressively designed dome by Michelangelo is the first to take your breath away. Then we saw the Pope being carried to what looks like a pulpit. Pope Paul VI welcomed everyone and then briefly spoke to the audience in different languages. We were told that it was 12 different languages but I could identify only English, French and possibly German.
It seemed that our luck was in because the only time you could use your camera in the basilica is when the Pope is present. After his address he asked if there were children present and could we lift them up because he wanted to give them a blessing. I lifted Nikki up so that she could be blessed by the pope. That made us especially happy.
Once the holy father had departed and most people had left we remained to admire and photograph the most famous works of art that the world has seen. And there are many!
Michelangelo’s Pieta depicts Mary holding the destroyed body of Christ across her legs.
Bernini’s Baldacchino’s bronze canopy over the papal alter. The Statue of St Peter and many paintings. There are also 11 Chapels and Papal tombs to be seen.
After a break for lunch, we returned to view the Sistine Chapel which forms part of the Papal museum.Michelangelo painted the ceiling while lying uncomfortably on his back from 1508 to 1512 and the end result includes masterpieces such as The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment.
It was getting quite late in the afternoon, but we paid for a visit to the Papel museum. There were many interesting exhibits to be seen that were relevant to the church over centuries.
After a while the museum staff started crowding us and clearly wanted us to leave. As we strolled back, we frequently heard them refer to “Americans” as not their favourite people. As we left, a guard slammed the door shut hard enough for a pane of glass to shatter on the floor. They should not have taken our money if it was too late to enter. Nikki also could not walk very fast either. On the whole a fabulous day never to be forgotten.
The Trevi Fountain was on our list to visit next, because it is the most famous fountain in the whole world. It is the largest in Rome and is very impressive. It took 30 years to construct and now is closely monitored by the police to avoid damage particularly when people want to climb inside for a dip. Legend has it that if you throw coins in it you will return to Rome. This we did including Nikki. However, I now found out that you must toss the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder for it to be true. The money is used for charity. The weather was beautiful and we stayed there for quite a while.
The Spanish Steps in Rome is a famous 18th Century Baroque staircase consisting of 135 steps that became a major tourist attraction. It replaced a steep slope downhill to the city and used to have a long name after the Spanish Embassy that used to be there. Hence the name stuck. Throughout the day, while we were there, we sat on the steps admiring the view, eating and there were some people even sleeping in the hot sun. We were lucky because since 2019, sitting, eating, or lying on the UNESCO-listed steps is strictly prohibited to protect the monument, and doing so can result in a fine of up to €250!
Our last visit was to the Rome Catacombs. There are over 40 catacombs but only a few are open. Nikki was not allowed in and had someone look after her. Underground tunnels with tomb-lined walls could be seen. Many bones, mainly of Christian and Jewish religion, were already removed so we were told. At the time there were special meetings by the clergy to draw attention to the condition of the catacombs. It is rather hot underground in Rome and now most visits are in the evening.
We had hoped to go south and visit places like Napoli and Sorrento amongst others, but we were confined by the number of petrol coupons that were applicable for use only in Italy. So we decided to move northwards nearer France which after all was the main reason for our trip.
We reluctantly left Rome because there was still so much more we could see. We took a slow drive out of the city and aimed for Pisa, a five-hour drive, northwards along a very scenic route. For long stretches we could see the sea on our left-hand side. What was new was that the toilets at campsites did not have toilet seats but two footprints and a hole over which you had to squat. Unfortunately, most were not well maintained and in the warm climate became unbearable. In one place we preferred to go for a stroll into the country for relief.
As the sun was setting, we decided to start looking for a rest camp to prepare for the night. Eventually it became quite dark and stopped slightly off but next to the road and prepared for the night. What a mistake! As cars raced past their wind shook the Bee which kept waking us up. Only Nikki slept well.
After breakfast we finished cleaning everything and then we continued our journey only to find a campsite ridiculously close to where we stopped so uncomfortably the night before!
Entering Pisa we soon could see the Leaning Tower and drove closer to it but cars and motorbikes were not allowed near it for fear that ground vibrations could increase the tower’s list. We made a brief visit and decided to go back the next day. We were all still very tired and needed a good sleep so we did some shopping and found a place to park for the night.
Again, I could not find space in a campsite and moved away from the city to what seemed a good clearing to park. We were sleeping for quite a while when we were awaken by the roar of an aeroplane flying very low over our camper. It gave us a hell of a fright. Then after a while the same thing happened and it went on many times throughout the night. The next morning, we discovered that I had parked next to an airfield and that the pilots were doing night training exercises.
Back to the 4-degree leaning Tower to view it from all vantage points and do all the silly things like pretending to hold it from falling. When you look at it from the Cathedral close by then you get a true perspective of how much it actually is leaning. It forms part of the “Square of Miracles.” I was fascinated by the perspective achieved by ancient artisans on doors both wooden or marble. Nikki loved to run about on the large lawn surrounding the Tower.
Finally we had enough and had to be on the road again further north to Nice in France. We stopped in a lovely wooden forest area and thought it right to stop over. Suddenly I started sneezing followed by Phyllis and Nikki rubbed her nose. Little did we know that we were in peek “pollen season” according to the locals and had to leave this lovely area. We carried on and had our passports checked at the Nice/Ventimiglia checkpoint. We were now going to be in Nice for a month.
