Uff da! Today's drive did not look that arduous on the computer, but we are both worn slick. We took the A4 to Torino, and were tailgated by many Italian drivers. We stayed in the middle lane, doing the speed limit, and the wretched BMW drivers come up and wave their arms at us. Use the passing lane! The A4 is a very limited access toll road. The surface is excellent. Because it's limited access, there are no Subways, or McDonalds or any of that, there is
Autogrill. I just love the version that spans the freeway.
We saw this sign placed multiple times in one of the parking lots. It would be good to know the backstory on that.
As in Germany, the freeway restaurants are better than fast food. This is a terrible picture, sorry. Anyway, on the left we have chicken in the front, potatoes in the back, spinach in the middle, and I don't know what that is on the right. They also had beautiful platters of pasta, and salads, really good looking items.
And out back there is this. Since we arrived Italy, we have wanted to see one of these. A dump station.
That's it, it's a trench, there is no sewer hose hookup, you just drive over the top and let'er rip.
The fact that it says "Black water camper" suggests that it's ok to dump the grey and the cassette toilet in the trench. It has given us serious pause when we think about renting an RV in Europe. I am a big fan of the hose stuck in the ground, versus this free form method.
Our hotel is a masterpiece of creative writing and Photoshop on the web. It's listed as a 4 star, but I'm not sure how they got that rating. The decorating scheme can only be described as early whorehouse. It's just atrocious. So, we are only here for two nights and then we shall depart. This is another hotel that lists a restaurant and room service, whose restaurant is closed.
We have confirmed that our next destination does indeed have an open restaurant, which is good because it's out in the middle of nowhere. If it's half as cute as it is on the web, it'll be way cute.
Now I must put my pants on and go forage for food.
The card game mentioned is Three-card Monte, a gambling con. You can read about it on Wikipedia et al. Perhaps it happens when innocents park or otherwise congregate in open spaces and have no idea what such a game is about.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying all the pics and your running commentary very much. Appreciate the postings while you are out and about.
The culture, filtered through your lens, is just great.