Rome, the long way. Part 2
Having bumped our heads on the low rafters of our room too many times and still bemused about the Turrisi Cafe, we packed our bags and headed to our first ‘Farm Stay’- A change of pace was what we were looking for and the ‘Valle Lumia’, a lemon orchard in the hills, provided just that. The winding, gravel track leading to the property had ruts that just about shook our fillings out! It prompted me to remember the extra clause I had to sign when picking up the rental car, ‘Do not drive on unsealed roads’, I now understand why, the poor little Aygo sounded like it was going to shake itself to pieces! But the journey was worth it – so much serenity!
We were so far off the beaten track, the lady that greeted us spoke absolutely no English. I think I would have known more Italian words than she knew English! (If we’re counting Ferrari, Lamborghini and Fettuccine) but we managed to communicate with lots of hand gestures and ‘Google Translate.’
Rest and recreation was not all we did at Lumia. We drove thru a village called Taormina on the way to the lemon farm that seemed to be a ‘Tourist hot spot’ 
and thought we should have a look. But after driving around in circles looking for a parking spot, and not being brave enough to park ‘Italian Style’ i.e. wherever the car almost fits! We continued on our way. It wasn’t until we read a comment from a Facebook friend that said Taormina was one of their favourite places, we thought we should go back. A German couple we were talking to at breakfast suggested we park at the car park down on the coast and take the cable car up to the town. The ride to the top was memorable, sadly not for the glorious views but the young Australian couple with a child that were bickering and bitching to each other the whole way! They must have been travelling for too long! They weren’t holding back and were not bothered about everyone else in the car. It was so embarrassing Linda and I were very careful not to speak in fear of the others associating our accent with them.
Taormina was quite spectacular and it was clear as to why it is so popular.It was well worth seeing the village perched on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea and the many old churches, cobblestoned streets and the Ancient Greek theatre- and the unique Italian fashion! 
Our time in Sicily was almost over. It was time to head to Messina and put the Aygo on a ferry for the short crossing to the big toe of Italy’s boot! We were destined for the town of Palmi, a modest village on the coast I had previously stayed at during a passing visit nearly thirty years ago. It wasn’t a long drive once we got off the ferry but as we were cruising the dizzy heights of the Autostrade I noticed the final segment of the digital fuel gauge had disappeared! Now I have a long history of running low of fuel much to Linda’s disgust. ‘I don’t push!’ is her famous statement at these times as she once proved some time back when we ran out of fuel late one evening in Portugal. My Niece and I had to push our little Peugeot several kilometres to the nearest town, but that was another story. I was loathe to announce to Linda the critical state of our current situation so I subtly slipped it into neutral to coast down the hills and shut the a/c down to conserve fuel! Nevertheless, we made it with two litres to spare!
Palmi looked exactly as I remembered it all those years ago. A sleepy village by day that comes alive in the evenings when it seems the entire population comes out to socialise. It was so nice to see even the younger generation enjoying the same family values. We had a gelato sitting in the town square and had a drink at a quiet bar run by two young girls who were happy to have someone to practice their English on. 
This road trip in Italy had no set itinerary, just some places we wanted to visit with the ultimate goal to arrive in Rome by the 8th July. One of the places we wanted to visit was Matera, a small city inland from the Adriatic coastal city of Bari, so that was where we were heading next. To break the journey we stopped at a seaside village called Villapiane for a couple of nights to do our laundry and attempt to complete the first task to hopefully finalise Linda’s residency application. The Maltese government wanted an original copy of our marriage certificate but Births, Deaths & Marriages in Melbourne wouldn’t just send us one, they needed three forms of ID to be photocopied and the copy to be certified by a police officer before snail mailing it to Melbourne! Bit ridiculous we thought but we had to do it.
So there we were, standing outside a Carabinieri office in Villapiane where no one is likely to speak English to somehow persuade them to sign a piece of paper for us! Just getting into the building via the intercom was a challenge. Once upstairs the comedy began: Linda and I were telling our story using ‘google translate’ in relay. Linda would give him a sentence and I’d back it up with another. He eventually got the gist of what we wanted but then used one of his limited English words and asked ‘Why’ so off with the relay again but he seemed to be getting very confused. When we thought we finally satisfied him, he disappeared into his boss’s office and we heard a lot of yelling and table thumping. Our man then came back and asked again, “Why?”
“Just sign the friggin paper 4COL”, I wanted to say. But we patiently rode it out explaining that the Australian Government was being awkward which seemed to have a reaction.”Ahhh”, he said, “Australia, Molto Crazy” as he walked back to his boss’s office to have the paper signed.
As we were walking out of the office with our signed paper, I couldn’t help but wonder how their afternoon would have been if we hadn’t turned up!!!
Standby for the Matera chapter. I hope I can do it justice with words!
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