Today we have finally finished the “travelling” part of the trip, at least for the time being, and now we can start touring. We cheated again and used the motorways, but they are somewhat cheaper in Italy than in France – 200 miles cost us €33 today.

The first one hundred miles was “tunnel viaduct” all the way. Sarah had nothing better to do than count them and after 100 miles she had recorded 97 tunnels and 88 viaducts! Since many of the tunnels are more than a kilometer long, much of the morning was essentially spent under ground.

Last August’s tragic viaduct collapse in Genoa meant we knew that the voyage through that city would not be as smooth as usual, because the viaduct in question had carried the coastal motorway over the top of a major part of Genoa. The city authorities, however, have put in place a very effective diversion, which at least on a Saturday meant no hold ups. We could see the collapsed viaduct very clearly and the large gaps where sections of the road fell 300 feet onto the houses below, killing 40 and leaving 600 homeless. It was a very sobering sight.

Following Genoa we passed the mountains which contain the famous marble quarries of Carrara. They appeared as great white patches on the sides of the peaks. Carrara marble has been used since Ancient Rome. Many of the Romans’ most important buildings, such as the Pantheon, are made from it and during the Renaissance it was Michelangelo’s favourite material for his sculptures, including his iconic David. It continues to be popular and the motorway was lined on either side with merchant’s yards full of huge blocks of marble.

Our final destination was Pistoia, a Tuscan town about 30 miles north east of Florence. We pulled into Pistoia’s sosta (Italian for an aire) (43.943859, 10.916007 – Free and with water and emptying facilities) which was surprisingly pretty full with Italian motorhomes. It is next to a fairly major road and so it will not be one of our most peaceful overnight stops and we share the sosta with a small group of fairground workers who have a children’s fair operating across the road. Their accommodation also puts Basil to shame. They have essentially brought a massive mobile home with huge expanding sides and they even have their own pop out balcony! Having driven for nearly five hours we decided we would leave exploring Pistoia until tomorrow.