Campsites,Italy #11of13

If we had known how difficult it would be to find a campsite near Cagliari (Sardinia), we would have gone to a hotel, but signs said a campground was just a few more miles, and we found one filled, one closed, and finally an open campground many miles from where we wanted to be. We were quite tired after two days of difficult driving, and the hour of driving to find this place. We were right on the shore, but there is only mud for the first few feet along the shore, and no sandy beach for those who go into the water. Most people seemed to be here on extended vacations, very few were here for over night.

There were a lot of more or less permanent campsites in Catania’s (Sicily) campground, located on the beach south of the city. They insisted on taking our passports and not letting us pay when we checked in, so the next morning we found the office wouldn’t be open for an hour or so. We went into town and “drove” around, or at least tried to. Lots of traffic, and the streets were very rough. It took forever to find a parking place, but we sightsee while we are looking. As we drove north from the city, we saw volcanic lava from previous eruptions, and we soon passed the slightly smoking Mt. Etna.

We have been along here four times, but we still haven’t taken the time to see all of the very interesting cities between Siena and San Gimignano. One time we tried to see one, but traffic, road repairs, and whatever, convinced us to go on to San Gimignano where 14 of its original 71 towers remain. Emmy wanted to see all fourteen, but I said if we saw all four sides of three, plus two sides of another, we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. The eyes and the memory are fallible. We stopped, we looked, then to the campsite for a night’s rest.

Brandisi was the door to the east and the bridge with Greece for the Greeks and Romans a couple of thousand years ago, and for the Californians in 1989. The end of the ancient Appian Way is commemorated in Brandisi by a Roman column 66 feet high, made of marble, and topped with a set of carved figures of the gods. At Brandisi we boarded the SS Valentino, the took our RV, with us inside, to the top deck where we parked at the port rail, and enjoyed our slowly-rolling, slightly-pitching campsite as the ship sailed the Adriatic, past Greek Islands, to the city of Patra. A campsite to remember, the most unusual we have enjoyed. It transcended our previous selections.