On the road: from the UK to Italy – Part 1

On the road from Jack Kerouac is one of my favourite books. I’ve read it many times. I like the idea that the trip expresses…the search for freedom and new horizons and the desire to visit new places.

Anyway… everyone knows now that I love travelling… 🙂 so no one will be surprised to know that, one day, I decided to do something different and instead of taking the plane, I organised a trip by car. I scheduled the trip to start and finish in London , stopping where I was feeling I wanted to stop and reaching Lecce, on the extreme south of Apulia, south Italy. I had 14 days to do so.

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Day 1:

It was Sunday afternoon when I left central London, I stopped by a couple of times to buy some food and drinks and I reached Folkenstone at around 7.00pm to get the Eurotunnel shattle to cross the Channel. I have to say that the train is the best option ever. If you book it in advance or if you book a short return trip you can also get a very good fare for your trip. I crossed the channel by boat a couple of times and, even though it can be nice to see the White cliffs of Dover while having some food on the boat, this option is very time consuming. By train it is much quicker (about 35 minutes in total) and you don’t have to worry about the bad weather or getting seasick 🙂

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Day 2:

At around 8.30pm I arrived in Calais, France. The weather was quite nice but it was cold. I stopped for a short dinner before continuing the trip as I decided to drive to Italy without stopping for the night.

I drove all night passing by hills and roads as I am not sure that the sat-nav gave me the best option for the trip….:) But the blame has to be given to the one who set the sat-nav….so I cannot say anything 🙂 🙂 Anyway the night was quite long 🙂 but, early in the morning I was already in Switzerland.

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Please note that you need to pay some tolls in Switzerland however, there are no places where you are stopped and asked for money there. To make the payment you need to stop at a petrol station and buy a sticker that then need to be attached on your front screen. When you pass the border with Italy the Swiss border official checks that the sticker is correctly attached on you screen. If you dont have it you need to pay for the sticker plus a fine. This is not the best system and I think that many cars are caught without having the sticker as this is not advertised anywhere. The Swiss are soooooo clever…..that is why they are so rich :))))

It was snowing when I crossed the border between Switzerland and Italy!!! I was really surprised as I did not expect that so late in the season…..but it was so beautiful!!!!!

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Anyway….I was really looking forward to passing the border and reaching Italy as I needed a real Italian espresso after the whole night drive. So I found an Autogrill (motorway cafe’) and I stopped for a well-deserved coffee and a tasty panino (sandwich).

In the afternoon I reached Milan and then, later, I arrived in Senigallia. Shockingly the temperature in Milan was 26 degrees so I had to undress because it was tooooo hot!! Senigallia was the first stop and I was very happy I reached my town after the long trip.

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Senigallia is a lovely town, very lively in summer but a bit sleepy in the other seasons. Anyway that does not matter much to me as I am more interested in going out for food ….. We had a nice aperitivo before a nice fish dinner….

Day 3:

Luckly I woke up in better conditions than I went to bed the night before….. I was refreshed and ready to go to the bar for a continental breakfast with cappuccino and custard croissant. Having done so, I had a nice walk in the centre walking in the nice old streets of the historical centre. I also went to the market where I bought some fresh and organic vegetables I cooked for dinner. Then it was time to go to bed as I decided to drive to Apulia the very next morning.

Day 4:

I woke up early and quickly and I got ready to leave. I left Senigallia on a grey and cloudy morning. The A14 motorway was not very busy and I stopped many times at the autogrill to get some coffees, snacks, sandwiches etc…. In the meanwhile the weather got worse and it started raining so I arrived in Gargano, the upper part of Puglia in a wet and a bit dark afternoon.

San Giovanni Rotondo

Well….I am Italian so I should have known that!! S. Giovanni Rotondo was the first stop in Apulia region, in province of Foggia. The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t connect it to anything specific but….when I first arrived and I saw a natural size statue of San Pio, I immediately recollected that this was the town where Padre/San Pio lived most of this life and died in 1968. The town is very famous for the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church that was built in devotion to the saint and dedicated on 1 July 2004. The town is also renowned for its hospital and medical-research centre Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of the Suffering) founded by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. Nearby you could also visit the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel that is also the site of Catholic pilgrimages and was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1987.

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Day 5:

When I woke up the next day it was incredibly sunny and bright. The sky was of an intense blue colour. I decided to visit the area (called Gargano) by car and then head south to Manfredonia, in the province of Foggia. Manfredonia is located on Gargano slopes, on the shore of the gulf. It was really relaxing driving on those small roads, with small walls at the sides and with hundred and hundred of olive trees around. I could smell the odour of the soil and nature while the sun was warming me up.

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I reached Manfredonia late afternoon and I went to visit the historical centre. This part of the city is characterised by noble palaces and small houses. In Piazza del Popolo stands out the Palazzo Comunale (city Town Hall) and the Chiesa di San Domenico (Church of San Domenico) while the Chiesa di San Francesco (Church of San Francesco) is an authentic small gothic gem.

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What I found really fashinating and well preserved is the Medieval castle, begun by the Hohenstaufer and completed then by the Angevins. The origin of the casle date to the 13th century when the castle was built to protect the city. The strategic position in front of the sea made it a perfect bastion against the enemies. The building’s regular geometry reveals several characteristic elements of Swabian architecture, as well as details typical of other architectural styles.

I enjoyed very much walking around the walls of the castle and watching the sea and the city from different angles.

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Well…..the rest of the story on the “on the road from the UK to Italy: Part 2!!!!!! See you soon!