Travelling through Italy.

My intended meander down from Como to Pisa was not much fun, I did not use motorways in the hope of seeing some of the countryside what I had not realised was that Northern Italy is highly industrialised and is really just one huge urban wasteland. I eventually reached Pisa in the rain. The tower has not straightened itself out yet, and I did not go for the pizza after all, I dined at a popular restaurant on an industrial estate where I was the only foreigner, the set three course meal with wine was excellent and only €12.00. The contained journey from Pisa to Rocchetta a Volturno in the mountains was a constant battle with my Tomtom Coleen, she was definitely having an off day and tried to give directions through towns and onto toll roads but at the end I let her take me on the last 18 mile leg, I swear she was trying to get her own back for all my interference because as soon as I let her take over we came off a dual carriageway onto mountain roads but after driving in Wales and Cyprus these roads were a dream and the surface was better than of the motorways I had been driving on. That last leg was wonderful I think I saw three cars in the whole trip and the flowering trees and wildlife were amazing, there were lilac, laburnum, lots of different fruit trees and huge displays of wisteria which had been trained into a form of hedging, I also saw deer, goats both with and without goatherds, kites and masses of jays they are not as shy as the ones at home. I will be based here in Rocchetta for a week and the rain is forecast to stop tonight so I am looking forward to exploring this untouristy area as well as popping down to Pompeii and maybe Rome.