Driving Cortona to Rapallo, via Florence - 25 October 2009

We woke early after quite a good sleep. It was a much clearer day with high cloud a blue sky - perfect for travelling to the Italian Riviera! After breakfast I paid the bill while Steve played with Piggely and then he packed the car but found a large bulge in the front tyre. Just what we needed on a Sunday when there were no mechanics available! The jack in the car also didn't fit the tyre so we couldn't change it ourselves. Anna was very helpful and rang Europcar and organised for us to go to Florence to pick up new car – which was actually God's blessing in disguise as it meant we could get a smaller car for the rest of our time in Italy! Just before we left Steve lost the car key but eventually found it - thank goodness! After fond farewells to Anna we made a very slow trip to Florence using the back country roads so as not to damage the tyre further.

The township of Sodo, just after we left our B&B, with one of our "favourite - not" buildings that jut out into the street. Because the streets were originally built for horse and carriages, and most of the homes are heritage listed and can't be altered in any way, the roads are extremely narrow to negotiate and often you can't see a car coming in the opposite direction until you are halfway around a very narrow corner!

We slowly made our way through so many beautiful little townships like Castiglion Fiorentino shown in the following two photographs

I loved the stone farmhouses we passed around every corner - most sporting their own chapel with old stone steeple

A huge old farmhouse, with decaying render which displayed the ancient stones beneath and old terracotta roof tiles

We passed through Arezzo, a famous Tuscan township and spied this gorgeous steeple peeking over the rooftops Farmlands with crops or beautiful green fields and Tuscan townships with the obligatory churches adorned with old steeples were the sights we passed as we slowly travelled along

Crossing the river in Incisa in Val d'Amo, Tuscany - all the homes were colourfully rendered The narrow streets of Incisa in Val d'Amo, Tuscany - and following a car we were envious of - small and able to negotiate these streets so much easier than our large car! Stunning autumn colours and a sign you don't see very often in Australia - we didn't see any, by the way! A typical Tuscan scene - vineyards and olive groves on the hillsides

One of hundreds of typical old stone walls we "skirted" as we drove the narrow country roads to Florence, while on the other side was one of hundreds of typical ornate gates leading to beautiful villas in the Tuscan townships

Villa Torre a Cona in San Donato - a stunning B&B in Tuscany

For the last 20 kilometers or so before entering Florence it was downhill nearly all the way, skirting through little townships with green mountains surrounding us

We entered Florence and it was such a pity we were in a hurry as we were finally seeing this exquisite city in the sunshine and it would have been lovely to have gone back up to Piazza Michelangelo to see the city in all its glory but we knew time wasn't going to wait for us so we cautiously made our way to the airport to drop off the car.

We eventually found the airport - after a few "side trips" with our "trusty" GPS! - and were able to swap the large Peugeot for a much small Mercedes CRV, which was a relief for both of us. Then we were on our way. The day was glorious and travelling on the autostrada made the journey now much quicker. We had hoped to be in Rapallo by lunchtime but unfortunately due to our slow morning journey we wouldn't be there until late afternoon. At least we had a much smaller car, which made the journey a lot easier for Steve.

Typical of Tuscany, everywhere we looked were green hills, olive groves and beautiful villas, with autumn coloured trees to enhance our view

The town of Serravalle Pistoiese, Tuscany - with olive groves clinging to the hillside

The township of Montecatini Alto with the Monastero di Santa Maria a Ripa, Tuscany - renowned for its pure water, the church was built in the 13th Century while the monastery was erected in 1533. After the hillside towns we passed through a valley and in the distance we spied what looked like a spectacular mountain range. It was only when we got closer that we realised just how spectacular it was! The autostrada is an amazing experience - firstly, we were driving on the "wrong" side of the road and secondly, the outer lane is for slow-er driving - 110 kms - the middle lane is ONLY for passing - if you go in this lane you can't stay there or you will be beeped by others trying to pass you - and the inside lane is for those in a hurry! You can check out that lane for cars and think that everything is clear, enter it and be doing 130 kms, and within a few seconds have a Ferrari or another very fast car speed up behind you doing 180 kms beeping you to get out of the way! We quickly learned to stay in the outside lane - it was much safer and no where near as nerve wracking! It was a land of contrasts - rolling green hills, small hillside villages overlooking large industrial towns on the plains - the old and the new - and I much preferred looking at the old with their quaint homes rather than the long industrial buildings of the valley towns!

As we were driving along all of a sudden the spectacular, rugged, snow capped Apuan Alps were right before us, while the countryside was speckled with autumn colours against the green hillsides that had many small villages clinging to their sides

The rugged Apuan Alps with the green Appenine Range in the foreground were a beautiful backdrop as we motored along the autostrada, past many industrial townships

The hillside towns in Northern Tuscany were as picturesque as those around Cortona in the south of Tuscany, with their "cluster" characteristics, which was a form of fortification. Being built so high on the steep hills gave them good views of the surrounding countryside in case of attack.

As we neared the coast and entered the region of Liguria we saw many more townships perched on the sides of the hills - they looked beautiful against the clear blue sky, especially with many steeples reaching heavenward and old castles still standing proudly after hundreds of years

The hillside towns of Cornice and Brugnato - nearly every hillside peak had a small township located on it - very like Tuscany The town of Brugnato

The township of Cornice in Liguria

Closeup of Brugnato

The autostrada wound it's way through the mountains of Liguria - the region encompassing the Italian Riviera - which were often covered in chestnut groves, and we passed through many tunnels burrowed deep into the steep mountainsides.

We passed more hillside towns as we neared the coast - reminding us of Tuscany with a Mediterranean flavour!

Soglio - meaning "Throne" - in Fontanabuona, near Rapallo - a town high in the hills

The narrow peninsular, which is Portofino, was spotted surrounded by glistening water as we drove along the autostrada. We spotted the Sanctuario di Montallegro high in the hills above Rapallo - a beautiful white marble church overlooking the Mediterranean and reached by a furnicular. The large building on the right is the monastery belonging to the church. We were to ride the furnicular to visit this beautiful place the following morning. But for now, the delightful town of Rapallo awaited us.

Eventually we entered Rapallo, after enjoying a lunch of grapes and apples which we ate while driving along. As we drove through the narrow streets we were surprised by how warm it was and delighted by this beautiful Italian Riviera town.

We arrived at our hotel, situated right on the Mediterranean Sea, at around 4.30 p.m. and found a carpark directly in front of the hotel. We were so glad to have arrived in this beautiful little township where so many famous people have holidayed. We could certainly understand why and looked forward to two nights relaxing by the sea.