Friday 13th, Italia 2014 last act.
Feeling pretty good this morning we take a fairly leisurely breakfast and say our farewells to Jeanette. One last longing look up the street and we descend to the dusty parking lot and load the car.
South on the A1 Autostrada towards Rome. They say that all roads lead to Rome. Well in Italy at least it’s pretty much true. Every town, no matter how small has signs pointing out the direction and roads to Rome. So, no matter where you are, no matter how lost you may get yourself, if you want to get to Rome there will be a sign to point you in the right direction.
The Giulietta floats along nicely. I wish there was a way to get this car home with me.
A quick stop at an Autogrill for a sandwich and a salad, we fill the tank for the first time… 47 liters, 12-1/2 gallons for 85 euros, that’s about $115. ($9.18/gallon for those playing along at home) ouch. We knew this would be an expensive trip.
In 11 trips to Italy we have talked about visiting the Parco di Mostri almost every time. Near the town of Bomarzo not far off the Autostrada about half way to Rome. The Parco di Mostri was built in 1557. It is also known as The Village of Wonders. It was built buy a guy named Pier Francesco Orsini. He was a patron of the arts and greatly devoted to his wife, Giulia Farnese. Not THE Giulia Farnese, mistress of Pope Alexander VI, that Giulia was her maternal grandmother. Anyway when Pier Francesco’s Giulia died he built the park in her honor. Nobody seems to know what he was thinking… it was not designed to please anyone, it was designed to astonish. If you ever get the chance it is definitely worth the visit. Just don’t be too concerned about figuring out the little map they give you and don’t bother looking for signage… and watch out for the fierce cat guarding the entrance.

We came away with some great new ideas for our front yard.

     
We push on past Rome which is always fun. As you approach Rome on the A1 from the north it looks like you are about to drive straight into the center of the chaos… and you will if you don’t catch the exit onto the GRA, (Grande Raccordo Anulare) the ring road around the city. The GRA is its own adventure. Sometimes 4 lanes in each direction, sometimes 6, with cars entering and exiting at the numbered and un-numbered exits, with scooters and motorcycles buzzing between lanes and tunnels just to daze your eyes at random intervals. Wheeee!
We actual find the exit for Fiumacino and head off for the seashore and our hotel for the night. Fiumacino is a completely frustrating town to find anything in. It was built over time by squatters and land grabs so there was no civic plan for the streets or neighborhoods. One way streets and dead ends… it’s confounding. Eventually it was absorbed by Rome for a while, at least administratively, and then later made a city of its own. We have stayed in Fiumacino many times at several different places and never, not once, been able to find our way straight to our hotel. We do always find it eventually but for some unexplainable reason it is always easy to find our way out of Fiumacino and back to the airport in the morning. We happen to arrive on a festival weekend. It’s Sagra di Pesca. (Festival of Fish!) There is a carnival and a giant deep fryer serving up piles of fried seafood. There is a stage set up and sure enough, 5000 miles from home I can’t get away from bunheads performing ballet on a stage while people eat grilled meat on a stick. Ha!

 
A seafood dinner, including some really good fried squid… then early to bed (11pm) to do the airport thing in the morning.