The ferry arrived late into Ancona and disgorging all the cars took an age. We were also held up by a huge traffic jam as the road leading o the autostrada was closed. Not a good start on a day when we needed to get across Italy to Viarreggio. It was also raining. There had been discussions amongst the navigator's all morning about which route to take. We, as a non racing car wanted the quickest and easiest, as did many others. Mattea, our Italian companion, suggested a way to me which seemed a god compromise. We traversed across the country, hardly seeing anything in the rain and general gloom. The Siena ring road is not too thrilling but, despite the delights within, it was all we saw of this beautiful city. Gorgeous Chianti passed in a similar vein. There is just no time to see anything in our push to Paris. We arrived in Viareggio in the dark. It looked lovely, from what we could see. We left in the dark this morning too. Alex's sister, Caroline, who lives in