Our entry into Italy didn’t give us a whole lot of a chance to look around. We left Switzerland and drove right into the city of Como. There were remains of a border crossing, the increase in urban activity really told us we were in a new place. Como was bigger than we thought, and took much more time, and some nerves, to get Holly through. We made it without incident, and got out of the city and to our parking spot in Erba.

It really wasn’t much more than a gravel parking lot. According to Park4Night, there used to be a soccer field across the way. It was overgrown, but there were trails around it.
What we really noticed was the weather. Were we just in a snow storm with temperatures heading below freezing? Yes, yes we were. Now, we were out walking around in short sleeves, bathing in the sun and clear skies, thinking about doing a 1 kilometer hike to get dinner.

There was a street that rounded the parking area, and big shopping area behind us, but in the evening, everything settled down. It was the weekend. Some of the activity around us were driving lessons, as it appeared. I saw more than one young person, father in the passenger seat, directed around and repeatedly parking.

Our silence was disturbed early in the morning by the sound of leaf blowers. It was Monday, and things were back to business. So, we were shaken awake early. We still took our time, as we had not been bothered. I worked on Blog Writing and updating Social Media, while Kasey whipped up breakfast, and after eating, we packed up for departure.

We were making our way across Northern Italy, the Alps still on my side as we drove east. We were looking for where we were going to park for the night, get some groceries, and also fill up Holly with Diesel Fuel. We didn’t like the first parking spot, so we moved on to fuel. No luck, as the machine would not take any of our payments. We then headed for a grocery store. They did not like Salsa being with us, not the employees nor the shoppers. It felt very uncomfortable, so we grabbed the essentials quickly, and left.

Our second choice to park, was near soccer fields once again. A camper was already set up. As luck would have it, it was behind another grocery store, called Conad, and an Aldi was across the street. We could have waited to shop. Kasey went to the Conad anyway, and liked the store much better. We will probably visit another one, if nearby and needing some food.

Our night was not bad, a soccer team was practicing until about 9pm, and then it got real quiet. Another camper showed up, a family of four, and Kasey found a dog park not too far away. This let Salsa off leash, and she could do her favorite thing, play ball! I know this may sound strange, but they also had trash cans, something the Italians put them out sparingly.

We headed out east again, this time headed to Venzenza, where there is a US Army Base we hope to visit, shop and use the laundry facility. On the way, we stopped at a gas station. It had some signs on the pumps, and we thought maybe they didn’t have fuel. A gentleman came out, as we were parked in the full service area. It was about 5 cents more a liter, so we sprung for it. It was worth to talk to the attendant and learn some things about the area.

Our next stop, since we have been free camping for a few days was to find a dump station. One of the town along the way had a camping area with cassette dump and grey water drain.

Our next stop was camping at a Winery Farm Camp. We would have electric, but no dumping area. After parking, I made my way into the winery where we greeted with a man with a handheld translator. After welcoming us to camp, he invited and set up a wine tasting for us. It was a gorgeous area. They also had Olive Trees.

The wine was not to our taste, but we did buy a bottle to bring back with us. We left the area and headed east and little north to get to the US Army Base. It was actually pretty easy to get on, as it is a small base. We shopped and did laundry. By the time were done, it was dark, and we were headed to another park4night spot, a parking lot along an industrial building. It was our first time driving in the dark in Europe. We were pleasantly surprised with the town we were staying in.