Km 15 480 - San Leone, Sicily, Italy, 27/01/2011
To put in the background : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl5mPWn47gM
Tuesday, January 18, Pescara we leave after a quick picnic on the beach. We take the road under a white sky, you walk along the sea south to the end of the day and we moved along a small path between an olive grove and a stretch solar panels. The night is pretty cool, but not as much in Switzerland!
We continue our descent to Naples the next day by a road that passes through the mountains but we moved forward so fast you can be found around noon at the gates of the city. We choose the first technique I visit the city by taking the train from a station in the suburbs "and then we start looking for a stazione. But it is rapidly cooled by the spectacle before us. It starts with a lot of waste of all types that are piling up along highways (bins, refrigerators, tires ...) among which some scantily clad ladies seem to be waiting buses unlikely. Then, the flow becomes completely chaotic: already in Italy, it's sporty driving, but now it's getting the high-flying! Between the scooters running around at full speed without a helmet with 3 people, the "new" priorities in the roundabouts, the law of "I walk up to the stop to see if you let me go "and finally (my favorite) and even double parking in front of the queue triple tabacchi , thus leaving the passage on the road for such a small car Fiat 500! Finally, the roads we are damaged: potholes ... We get a few scares and it was decided to abandon the tour of Naples and avoid traffic by taking the highway, which leads us to the foot of the volcano Vesuvius. Lunch in a parking lot and start again more slowly in the direction of Sorrento at the end of the peninsula south of Naples. Crossing the cities are still a problem (the streets are narrow, the car tumble right and left mirrors brush against each other ...) but as as we walked away, we discover landscapes. The peninsula is formed by a mountain that offers breathtaking views. On the south, the colorful villages of Positano and Afalmi are suspended between sea and mountains. The road is narrow and few crossings, including buses, rather tight. The day ends when you reach the town of Salerno. A few more kilometers and we settled on a poorly lit parking on the seafront, not far from Paestum. We spend a quiet evening in the truck, while, outside, a constant ballet of round trips of cars being set up: we fell on the workplace of a lady of good company. Too experienced by 300 km downstream in the day, we chose not to change places and you fall asleep quickly. 
The next day, Thursday, January 20, we continue the road to the seafront and bitterly that there would be no better squat our shabby parking: the road is lined with places like that, all the more dirty than the others. The beaches also suffer the same fate: it is because we are out of season?! It bifurcates into the land to borrow a nice "county" smashed a few places, but that winds among the olive groves and hills. The sky is a partly cloudy, which offers a lovely light for photos. We pass through some villages perched there and joined San Rufo noon. Continue on a road much less bucolic and, more importantly, in the pouring rain. The sky was calm late afternoon, and we settled for the evening near an area of summer homes, abandoned in this period. It overlooks the sea and a staircase leads to a "beach" made of black rocks. We discover a shower and we enjoy to unclog them outdoors. 
Friday, January 21 is the day we spend in Sicily. We drive all day, often by the sea, sometimes high, sometimes at the water. Nothing in particular to overcome before we arrived at Villa San Giovanni to 16.30. It is from here that some ferries to Messina, Sicily. All Aboard at 16:40, the latest of the latest car trip of the day: phew! We pass the crossing on the bridge, watching the colors of the day which falls between two lands. It landed on the other hand, a few minutes later. We fled the city from the north, to find a squat in a seaside village
The next day, awakening is oh surprise Stromboli we faced, and some other islands in the Aeolian archipelago. And in addition we are entitled to a beautiful sunny morning. A little disappointed by the latest coastal roads, we choose to continue in the land. And you are happy: there are not many people on the roads and the scenery is magnificent, between cultivated fields and cactus. Lunch next to a herd of biquet the sun. It takes a bit high, we pass a pass, and we discover Etna, head in the clouds and the snow-covered slopes. It sometimes seems to turn a remake of "2012": You know, when the road collapsed behind the car. It descends into a valley along the volcano and which are grown in many vineyards. Between showers and cloudy, there reigns a great light. We cross Adrano and spend the evening in a large valley surrounded by mountains and orange trees, on a line of abandoned railway. 
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| our compact camera shows signs of weakness ... |
It is awakened by the gunshots of hunters, very active on this Sunday morning! Lately, we heard a squeal under braking and cornering, which seems to come from the right front wheel. Christopher starts a dismantling of the wheel, and we conclude that the noise must come from the brake pads. It was decided to continue until the next big city and replace them there (we bought the parts before leaving), not too far from a garage, just in case ... We continued our route seems surfer on the crests of the mountains. Reliefs and the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds provide beautiful scenery. It passes through quiet villages clinging to mountain tops. We stop next Cemetery Caltavuturo around 15:30, just outside the village, in a parking lot lined with cypresses. And on this Sunday afternoon, time is on reading for me and the photo album for Christophe. A little rest that makes us very well after several days on the road ...
Monday, January 24, we reach the outskirts of Palermo at noon. We leave the gentle countryside to join the frenetic city ... We sat in the parking lot of a supermarket for the home mechanic deals with brake pads, while the stewardess goes shopping. But here the problem: a screw keeps out muscled Chris and it is physically impossible to replace items in question ... It changes even when the fuel filter that had been purchased from Sisteron and we see the Renault garage that has crossed a few miles away. Appointment is made for the next 14:30. It is 3:30 p.m. ET then there are two things to do: complete the races and do laundry. For the first there is a big brand new shopping mall and you come out to 17h. For the second, it gets complicated: it runs for a long time near Bagheria but finds no laundry, dry cleaning only. A bout of nerves, we leave around 19h and they moved into a residential neighborhood near the sea to spend the night.
The next day, Tuesday, January 25, before going to the garage, we decided to make a quick visit Palermo. We put the alarm clock at 6:45 (ooh la la!) To take a train to the nearby station of Santa Flavia. It landed in the city at 9:00 am, under a bright sun but not hot. We walk at random in the streets with balconies cluttered with clothes and one falls first on a colorful market: stalls overflowing with fish of all kinds (including swordfish) of meat carcasses or heads of pork, pizza ... Merchants are not auctioneers, as Wazemmes for those who know, and it's a fairly quiet atmosphere, excluding scooters trying to clear a path among the bystanders. It then crosses the street "fair of Lille" where everything seems to be sold! Short tour by the cathedral (from the outside) and returns to the streets this time fall on Antiques: Sheet metal garages are used as shops which are exposed to old furniture, tiles, lamps ... Rapid passage through the marina and go back to the station to catch the train at 12:45. Back to the truck is a picnic and hop towards Renault, a bit stressed anyway. Finally, everything goes well and the mechanic, after replacing the pastiglies of freni anteriore 1/2h our truck, we just explain everything nicely and quietly so that we understand that for 500km, different parts will be lapped. Christopher leaves to make a quick turn with the foreman to see that it works and we leave there very happy in the direction of Trapani. Except that after a few kilometers, the squeal is heard again ... We continue the road until nightfall and we moved to the seaside (again!). Christopher is working to dismantle again the right front wheel to make sure everything goes well and a gentleman just help by enlightening with the headlights of his old Panda. He is nice, this paper, and Christopher showed her the card with our journey, and indoor facilities. It tells us where we can find a laundry and we wish a good trip. We spend a quiet evening, lulled by the gentle hum of the waves.
The Next morning, which sees it not happen when we finally breakfast: grandpa yesterday! He came to see if everything was okay, if we had slept well and if we had not been too cold! It makes you laugh! We took off around 10am in the direction of Trapani, via the SS187 (for those who want to follow on a map!). We pass through some villages by the sea where the roofs of houses are completely different from one to another, flat roof, tile roof with 2 slopes, roof slopes 4, undulating parapets ... We abandon the idea of laundry and we continued our drive to Erice. It is a village built atop a mountain overlooking the coast San Vito lo Capo Birgi north to south and whose medieval castle served as a fortress. There is nobody in the cobbled streets, a few cats. After lunch, it is heading south on wide roads lined with low houses with bright colors and cross Marsala and vineyards. We joined Mazara del Vallo, presented as a "bit of the Maghreb" by the Michelin guide. It stops there for a quick walk and a coffee on the terrace. It then passes through large expanses of olive trees to run aground at Tre Fontane, near the sea (again!), With the setting sun. The early evening is studious: blog for me and reading of "Gomorra" for Christopher (now Naples is behind us!).
We are now January 27 and raining since last night. It landed coast of Agrigento at a campsite, to make a laundry, internet and enjoy a good shower. Tomorrow, we planned to visit the Valle dei Templi , a set of several monuments of the Graeco-Roman period. Then we end our tour of Sicily, then ascend to Bari to take the ferry to Igoumenitsa in Greece ...
can say for the moment, we really do not like driving in Italy, especially in cities. And since most of our trip is on roads, our impressions of this country are rather mixed. Visits Rome, Florence, Venice and Siena have allowed us to see beautiful things and we could realize that transport is affordable and effective (1 € ticket to Rome for 75min ride). But besides that, the roadsides are often dirty, lines through cities are screwed up, the signal is approximate (it has never served as a compass) ... Maybe the car is it not the best way to visit Italy? ... Here San Leone, you France!
PS: we drop the updated map on google maps because it is tedious, but that the paper version to date!
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