A hazy lake and a leaning tower

Our first experience of an Italian road, other than the motorway, was on Thursday on the winding narrow path that follows the western shore of Lake Como. Calling it a path is even generous. It is such a crazy drive that it is the location for the opening scene of Quantum of Solace where James Bond is involved in a thrilling car chase. We often had to stop or reverse to allow an oncoming car to pass and were stuck for quite some time behind a large truck while a few other oncoming trucks squeezed past us. Unlike Bond's Aston Martin, our trusty van remained unscathed.

Lake Como is shaped like an upside down Y and its shores are dotted with villages. We chose Domaso, a town near the very top, as our resting spot for the night. While Lonely Planet describes the lake as a must see for its natural beauty, a walk along the foreshore left us a little disappointed. The bright sun washed everything out and the mountains, which should have been visible rising steeply around the lake, were obscured by a thick white haze.

The next morning we drove down the eastern side of the lake which was a much more pleasant trip, thanks to the dual carriageway. It was a big day of driving and after passing through Milan and Genova we were once again traveling along the Mediterranean. We pulled off at Pisa and headed straight to the coast and a new Aire (called Aree de Sostas in Italy) at Marina di Pisa.

Although it was 5pm it was still quite hot so, after going through the routine of setting up our home for the night (which we can now practically do with our eyes closed) we jumped on our bikes and rode to the beach for our first swim in the refreshing waters of the Mediterranean. The setting sun cast a gold and pink glow over the steep white stone beach and although picture perfect, proved very difficult to walk on with bare feet. We shuffled our way, one painful step at a time, into the sea. Time seemed to stop still.

The next morning we got away early and were standing in Piazza del Duomo in Pisa by 10am. In front of us loomed three large structures- the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Tower. Pisa would be a very different place if this third structure didn't exist and the buzzing crowd around us would be virtually non-existent. I am of course referring to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And boy is the name apt!

It was a glorious day for a visit. The three white pieces of architectural beauty were enhanced by the vivid blue cloudless sky and the sparkling green grass and seemed to leap out at you no matter what angle you looked at them from. Everywhere around us people were positioning themselves for the classic "holding up the tower" photo. Not wanting to be an outcast I joined in. Matt on the other hand had his photo taken pushing it down. He always was a bit of a rebel.

From here we had another big drive down the coast to Rome, taking a few sightseeing detours along the way. Although not far away from Pisa, we decided we'll see Florence on the way back up to break up the drive to Venice.

So here we are in Rome at a great and huge campsite on one of the main roads into the city- Via Aurelia. This place also is kind of like a hostel and has heaps of dormitories on the other side of the park. Needless to say the place is packed with young Aussies, Germans and school groups. The campsite also has great facilities such as a pool, supermarket, restaurant, bar, club (for all those cool kids out there), an information desk selling tickets to everything and providing advice, free and frustrating wifi and a bus stop into town right at the gate.

On Sunday we had a rest day after a few big days of driving and just hung around the campsite swimming, catching up on news back home and reading up on the truckload of things to do in Rome. The saying is quite stupid really. Rome couldn't possibly have been built in one day. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous.