Milan - Bologna - Carrara - Pisa

Today we wake up in a parking lot in Milan. Not the nicest place, but with a free hot shower. Because we are parked right in front of our friends' apartment.

Now it's time to head south, to Pisa. But first we go shopping. Our first supermarket on this tour of Italy. And it is as expected: You can just tell that Italians love to eat and eat a lot. Everything is of the finest quality and plentiful. Later on our tour, we have an extensive brunch. What can I say, bread, cheese, salami, delicious, delicious, delicious.

Then it's off to Bologna first. I spontaneously pick out the song Bologna by Wanda and not only turn it up to the max, but sing along with all my heart.

"I certainly can't talk to my cousin
Although I would like to but we don't dare!"

When I hear this song, I always have to smile. My aunt's name is Rosemarie, but she also made love to a Sicilian. That's why I have two cousins and four cousins who all have an Italian heart. My uncle was the quintessential Sicilian. He looked after his daughters like a gun dog.

We search for and find more and more songs to sing along to. Not for the first time, the bus turns into a karaoke bar. During our singing lesson, the landscape passes by outside. It goes up and down, rivers, valleys, mountains and tunnels, lots and lots of tunnels. 

"When someone asks where you are going
Say to Bologna!"

It rains all day, the landscape outside is gray in gray. The clouds hang low. Near Carrara, to the left and right of the road, we see the gigantic quantities of marble blocks that have made this region world-famous. Today, marble from Carrara is exported in large quantities to China and the Gulf States. What shines so beautifully white should not obscure one of Italy's greatest environmental sins. Today's encroachment on the Apuan Alps is a mining area and has nothing to do with the artistry of Michelangelo & Co. We continue our journey with mixed feelings.

When we arrive in Pisa, the world seems to be coming to an end. We decide to spend the night at a campsite near the Leaning Tower. Shortly afterwards, BUTCH is standing in a mud bath. This could be fun. But tomorrow there should at least be some sunshine.

"Uh, when someone asks what you stand for
Say for Amore, Amore!"