Adriatic Furniture and more Ferrari Museums than you can point a Lamborghini at!

12/6/2016

Totally rested after a night listening to the sounds of the ocean it was time to hit the road again! Goodbye cheap resort!

Hello...I dont know...sand?

On the menu today is mountains and more coastline, I've gone as far south into Italy as I can (for this trip!) and am now beginning the slow loop back to Switzerland to pick up where I hit a roadblock at the Swiss Alps, and the weather has come incredibly good!

Blasting though other countries I was able to rely on buying water, coffee, lunch and sometimes even dinner at petrol stations - Italy not so much however this one was well stocked with water and Ritz!

Crossing the central spine of Italy was astoundingly beautiful, it felt like you could just reach up and touch the clouds!

And then, just like that I rounded a corner and spotted...SEA! Yes in a quick blast thought the mountains I'd managed to cross the boot and was now running up the ...calf?

But with the sun running low in the sky it was time to head back inland a little to my accommodation for the night. A quick search of the area revealed a nearby guesthouse with wifi, a bar and most importantly...not a hostel!

I arrived as the sun set, quick shower and headed to the bar - I've found that in Italy having a drink without food is borderline unnacceptable, and so for every drink you order some snacks come as well! I had three beers, I was given three consecutive plates of food!

Next morning I was on the road again, this time heading up the east coast to a small independent micro-state of San Marino, granted independence from the Roman Empire in the early 301AD and a separate country ever since. Interestingly during WW1 & WW2 San Marino remained neutral although totally enveloped by Italy.

The biggest tourist attraction of San Marino is it's fort; a series of three towers built along the cliff overlooking the surrounding area.

This is however tourist central! And with good reason, San Marino has no VAT (GST), whereas most of Europe has ~20%, so everything is much cheaper!

And the view from the top does not disappoint! However no sooner had I arrived at the top but a huge storm front began to roll in. So I found the nearest undercover cafe and settled in.

The weather somewhat clearing I headed up to one of the towers for some views!

No sooner had I come down from the tower but another rain cloud rolled in, however this time we were inside the cloud!

Being a tourist I bought an umbrella and continued to wander the streets - almost every part of the fort/castle complex is either a cafe or a shop - some sell souvenirs, some sell high priced luxury goods, others well. You get the idea...

Heading down the hill I was running late to get to the Ferrari Musuem!

Unfortunately it was closed by the time I arrived in Modena, due in part to the intense traffic I hit - but as it turns out there's no traffic police in Italy I followed the other bikes and headed up the emergency lane!

You know...where there was one...

But I did eventually make it and Modena is beautiful; it sits half an hour away from the more bustling Bologna and seems to have a much more local feel than most cities I'd been in!

The centre square was empty!

Perhaps because everyone was down side streets at cafes and bars, wandering around I stumbled upon this random Jazz festival, and slightly further on - a local produce exhibition.

Next morning it was time to get back to the car museums, just to make things difficult there are TWO Ferrari museums.

The first is dedicated to Enzo Ferrari himself, telling the story of his racing years for with Fiat which lead to the eventual beginning of his own business; the relationship he had with the stylists and coachbuilders of the area and the rivalry with Maserati. Interestingly almost al of Ferrari's cars were designed out of house by the coachbuilding and design firm Pininfarina!

The museum is set in the original factory and also has a collection of other items, from engines from their vehicles to a Ferrari racing boat!

Whilst wandering the brightly lit museum all of the sudden the lights went out, and from the room onto all the walls began a 20 minute presentation. I unfortunately wasnt quick enough with the gopro; I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the room by the end, the entire place was silent as the lights came back on.