Finally got Mom to do my update, she has not been in a very good mood for a day, so I have been playing it cool not to bother her. She's good now though, so here it goes.

After Rome, we drove north ready to drive the famous Amalfi coast, and that was no picknick. Italians have a habit of parking anywhere and as long as they believe their little cars can pass it’s OK. They just fold in the mirrors and go shopping. Lucy needs a little more room and it became very tight at places.

After a few hours of this Mom started to look for a campsite, and we couldn’t believe our ears!!!!! we were denied entrance at 3 different places because of me? What this sudden change? I was welcome to fancy hotels and restaurants in Rome? 

As we looked around we noticed it was a tourist paradise and I suppose people from other countries have something to say about it. Mom is getting tired and a tad irritable but we finally found a place I was welcomed. The town's name was Carducci and dogs were allowed on their beach. It was a wooded area mostly sand and pine needles and the beach was all rocks, which I hate walking on. Mom carried me out and dunked me to cool off.

Then, of course, she had to carry me all the way back so I don't  catch all the pine needles sand and other stuff in my hair..............It's not easy being me sometimes

Mom has not had a good night sleep since the Dolomites so she’s getting a tad cranky, crying babies and partying teens made it impossible to sleep. Now it seems we are at a quiet place so Mom is looking forward to a good night.

At night she felt a breeze coming through the side windows, tickling her body, BUT I the morning she noticed it wasn’t a breeze at all it was million of tiny ants!!!!! They were everywhere. It was 6 AM Mom quickly started Lucy and drove to the main gate, where she showed the security guard what was happening. There were ants in the billions inside and outside of Lucy running everywhere. The guard helped by getting a spray to stop more from coming in, while Mom was cleaning the inside.

The security guard told the camp owner what had happened to me, but he pretty much told Mom that shit happens…….no compassion what so ever. It’s 95 F so after Mom took a shower we left without paying………For awhile I thought Mom was going to cry and she wasn’t too far from it I think. 

 On the road, she told me she had enough of Italy, and as soon as we see the tower of Pisa we’re leaving for France. I stayed very quiet knowing that Moms fuse is really short now.

Mom had given Alice the address to a parking space near the tower, and when we got there Mom almost started yelling at her again. We were at an industrial area, lots of graffiti not a nice area in other words.But lucky for Alice, there was a sign 10 min walk to the tower, just cross the railroad tracks so we did.

The Campo Santo is a historical edifice at the northern edge and can be literally translated as "holy field" because it is said to have been built around a shipload of sacred soil from Golgotha. A legend claims that bodies buried in that ground will rot in just 24 hours. The burial ground lies over the ruins of the baptistery of the church of Santa Reparata, the church that once stood where the cathedral now stands

The outer wall is composed of 43 blind arches. There are two doorways. The one on the right is crowned by a gracious Gothic tabrnacle. It contains the Virgin Mary with Child, surrounded by four saints

This is the baptistery of St.John ( Battistero di San Giovanni) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building. Construction started in 1152 to replace an older baptistery, and it was completed in 1363. The Pisa Baptistery is an example of the transition from the Romanesque style to the Gothic style: the lower section is in the Romanesque style, with rounded arches, while the upper sections are in the Gothic style, with pointed arches. It is constructed of marble which is very common in Italy.

Construction on the cathedral began in 1063 and expenses were paid using the spoils received fighting against the Muslims in Sicily. It includes various stylistic elements: classical, Byzantine and Islamic, drawing upon the international presence of Pisan merchants at that time. In the same year, St Marks Basilica began its reconstruction in Venice, and there's evidence of a strong rivalry between the two maritime republics to see which could create the most beautiful and luxurious place of worship.

The rich exterior decoration contains multicolored marble, mosaic, and numerous bronze objects.The high arches show Islamic and southern Italian influence. The blind arches with lozenge shapes recall similar structures in Armenia. The facade of grey and white marble, decorated with colored marble inserts, was built by Master Rinaldo. Above the three doorways are four levels of loggia divided by cornices with marble intarsia, behind which open single, double, and triple windows.

The Tower of Pisa is freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral known worldwide for its unintended tilt.

It is situated behind the cathedral and is the third oldest structure in the city.The tower's tilt began during construction, caused by an inadequate foundation on a ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt increased in the decades before the structure was completed and gradually increased until the structure was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The height of the tower is 55.86 meters (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 meters (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in) Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons).The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees.This means the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 meters (12 ft 10 in) from the center

Construction of the tower occurred in three stages over 199 years. Work on the ground floor of the white marble campanile began on August 14, 1173, during a period of military success and prosperity. This ground floor is a blind arcade articulated by engaged columns with classical Corinthian capitals

The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-metre foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century because the Republic of Pisa was almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa Lucca, and Florence. This allowed time for the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise, the tower would almost certainly have toppled. In 1198, clocks were temporarily installed on the third floor of the unfinished construction.

In 1272, construction resumed under Giovanni Di Simone and in an effort to compensate for the tilt, the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. Because of this, the tower is curved.Construction was halted again in 1284 when the Pisans were defeated by the Genoans.

The seventh floor was completed in 1319. The bell-chamber was finally added in 1372. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea, who succeeded in harmonizing the Gothic elements of the bell-chamber with the Romanesque style of the tower.There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655.

After a phase (1990–2001) of structural strengthening, the tower is currently undergoing gradual surface restoration, in order to repair visible damage, mostly corrosion and blackening. These are particularly pronounced due to the tower's age and its exposure to wind and rain

So many people trying to get the picture where it looks like they are pushing against the tower, but this family is really taking it to extreme I think

Again a super crowded place with lots of tourists so we looked took pictures and left, continuing North towards France.

On the way, I made friends with some guys selling umbrellas.

I think there may be a race in Monaco because we were passed by several cars that said Mod Ball Rally and some going so fast Lucy shook.

looks like Hells Angels "dudes" are also heading that way

we left the small road near the coast and went on the highway 265 miles in one day. 

Italy's autostrada has a standard speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) for cars. Limits for other vehicles (or during foul weather and/or low visibility) are lower. Legal provisions allow operators to set the limit to 150 km/h (93 mph) on their concessions on a voluntary basis if these conditions are met: three lanes in each direction, and working cameras

The first speed limit, to 120 km/h (75 mph), was enacted in November 1973 as a result of the oil crisis.In October 1977, a graduated system was introduced, where cars of above 1,300 cc (79 cu in) were given a 140 km/h (87 mph) speed limit, cars of 900-1299 cc could drive at 130 km/h (81 mph), those of 600-899 cc could drive at 110 km/h (68 mph), and those of 599 cc (36.6 cu in) or less were given a max speed of 90 km/h (56 mph).In July 1988 a blanket speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph) was imposed on all cars above 600 cc (the lower limit was kept for smaller cars) by the government, but in September 1989 this was increased to 130 km/h (81 mph) for cars above 1,100 cc (67 cu in) and 110 km/h (68 mph) for smaller ones.I'm not sure where this leaves Lucy, but she's keeping a steady 90 to 100 km. Sometimes big truckers come up close behind Lucy and blow their air horns, so Mom gives them the international finger signal, and let them pass. At next uphill, she gets them back.

The drive from Pisa o Nice is an experience in itself.It is a spectacular drive just inland from Mediterranean coastline. The A8/A10 itself is a feat of engineering, piecing together a super-highway through rugged coastal mountains with bridges and tunnels. There are 156 tunnels so Mom is getting used to them now.

At the last minute, Mom changed her mind (not surprisingly, I’m used to it)and she decided to give Italy a last chance and she is so glad she did. We are in a little town called Vallecrosia just on the border to Monaco, and the owners are super nice. We’re here for the second night and I’m pretty sure it’ll be one more so Mom can finish our laundry.

All is well.

Good Night