 I am so excited! I was already so excited because we were going on An Adventure! But now we are in Rome, stuffed with delicious sweet  cornetti (pastries) warm from the oven that only Romans can do, a fabulous caffe latte (what magic lies in Italian coffee – no Roman coffee!) It’s Sunday, the city is empty apparently – they are doing the Ponte – bridge – and all at the beach and we are on the peripheries of Roma.
We have decided that normally we dash through places so fast that this time we are on a strict regime – a minimum of two nights in each  location. So this is the Pisa to Rome leg.
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We took the Aurelia down. This is the old Roman road that skirts along the western coast of Italian. It’s not the actual roman road, although bits of that exist, but a smooth wide motorway with the sea always on the right. Its fabulous – as long as you remember only to drive it in the morning or you will cook under sunset rays. (Another driving tip in  Italy- always park with the sun on your shoulders unless you like having a scorching hot bottom from red hot seats on your return)
Third tip -Autogrills in Italy, are just fabulous – always a chaotic atmosphere but without exception fresh cornetti, great coffee, Â and great panini.Â
So the plan was to lunch in Orbetello. But then there is always Porto Ercole and Santo Stefano on Monte Argentio on the peninsular.Â
So, we arrived in Orbetello, wound down the windows for a gulp of sea air, immeadiately closed them again, looked at each other and said ‘what was that!’ Â and took off for the peninsular.
 We had expected the tang of the sea mixed with jasmine but instead we got ‘Scent of Saturnia’  which you won’t find it for sale in a chemist near you-  the odour brimstone from hell as there must be sulphurous hot springs feeding the lagoons. Â
We spent the next half hour driving around beautiful Monte Argentario, me ouching at the precipitous bends, GS starving hungry and not a parking place in sight. Â Beautiful vistas over cliffs into dark blue water dotted with yachts.Â
Then we wheeled round to return to charming Orbetello. The air now less Saturnia.
A lovely lunch, an explore of the bric a brac market, screeching swifts overhead, my favourite, a beautiful old church and wondering if I could reach one of the natural sponges or would fall into the swampy edges.
On the way out of Orbetello we saw a flock of big white birds. Flamenco’s come here, I was up for a sneak around the water but GS didn’t want to go on a wild goose chase so we pushed onto Rome.Â
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL ROMA!
