In this episode of camper van life Italy edition,
join us for some incredible Italian cuisine,
and we share our final thoughts on renting a camper overseas.
[intro music]
After packing up our rental camper van,
Kait and I got on the road towards Modena, Italy.
As promised, there were more roundabouts on our drive.
We are out of groceries, and we need flat water.
I'm also gonna go over to the McDonald's and grab myself a coffee.
They have a real McCafé. It's a separate part of the restaurant,
and you can get espressos. I like to get the Americanos.
One thing I love about this camper is the fridge.
It opens this way,
and this way.
We stocked up on rolls and cold cuts for sandwiches,
and Kait was very excited about her hazelnut wafers.
We also picked up flat water this time;
not the frizzy stuff Kait bought by mistake.
With my two two-euro Americano in hand,
I drove our rental camper van to the Area Sosta in Modena, Italy.
This campground also had an automated system,
but unlike the place in Bologna, this one did not require a QR code.
Similar to a parking garage, once the ticket was dispensed,
the gates opened, and we were able to drive right in and parked in an open spot.
So at first glance, this campground is definitely a step up from the last one.
There are camp hosts here who greeted Kait and kind of told her where we could park.
There's grass. Looks like a nice bathhouse.
So I'm gonna get us plugged in, and then we will explore a little bit.
And the other interesting thing here is they do it the same way as the last campground.
There is like a central hub for where you plug in.
And what I've noticed is with all of the plug-ins for campers here,
they tend to be very long. Ours looks like it's at least 50 feet.
So that makes it easy to plug in to a pedestal that's not right next to your spot.
I'm very happy to report
that the facilities here are very nice.
There's hot water, there's soap,
there's toilet paper. Much improved from the last place.
I'm gonna go take a shower.
This campground is turning into a regular party.
Campers have been coming on in, seems to be filling up, and
big groups of people are forming, and everyone just hanging out,
talking, having a good old time.
That shower was amazing.
I feel like a new human,
but I gotta catch up on some work,
get some videos edited,
and hopefully, tomorrow, we can go explore Modena.
So the bed is quite tight.
My head is up against the wall, and my feet
are up against the other wall, and my knees are slightly bent.
So this is not made for people over 5'9".
I've been spending all the nights curled up into the fetal position
because that's the only way I can comfortably sleep.
On my side, there is a cabinet above my legs.
And last night, the cabinet floor fell out.
I don't even know how it happened.
Buongiorno. It's coffee time.
I am making Joe's instant coffee.
But while I was laying in bed this morning,
thinking about how did we end up here,
I have looked up the dimensions for this camper versus the camper we thought we rented,
and the length of the bed in here is three inches shorter
than the camper we had originally rented.
Poor Joe is having to sleep in the fetal position.
I haven't gotten a good night's sleep yet, so
that coffee is gonna come in very handy.
It is 11:30. We're gonna head into Modena
and see the town.
Yeah, we've been a little lazy this morning.
All the other campers have left.
So the way this campground works is,
you have to scan your ticket
to get out into the pedestrian gate, and get back in.
Now, you might be wondering, since we have a camper van
and essentially a mode of transportation,
why not just drive into the center of town?
Well, a lot of these centers of town,
you're not allowed to drive into, unless you have a permit.
Plus, parking can be difficult.
We have seen a lot of RVs parked around,
like just on the outside of the center of town,
but we figured, the bus is so easy, why not just take the bus,
and then we don't have to worry about packing up, and then all of that other stuff.
This road, I don't know if you can tell on camera, is quite narrow,
and this is a two-way road that we drove to the campground on.
So I was very glad there was not a bus coming towards us
when we were driving here yesterday.
It was a quick and convenient bus ride into the city center
where we were greeted by a violinist performing on the sidewalk.
We decided to try out a pizza spot inside the marketplace nearby,
and ended up having one of the best pizzas during our time in Italy.
Kait spotted a traditional balsamic vinegar store nearby,
so we popped in for a tasting of what is known as "black gold" in the region.
This brand has been making balsamic vinegar since 1605
in casks made from different types of wood, including
juniper, oak, and mulberry.
The 12 and 25-year vinegars were some of our favorites from the tasting.
After our tasting, we experienced our first paid public bathroom in Italy.
Luckily, we had some coins, and the facilities were very clean and well maintained.
We spent the afternoon exploring the city,
and also took some time to relax on a park bench
while the pigeons nearby did their thing.
The highlight of our day in Modena
was the multi-course meal we had at this small restaurant.
From the moment we walked in,
it felt like we were going to our family's house for a meal.
The menu here changes daily, with only a few options to choose from.
We opted for the 22-euro meal, which included an appetizer,
pasta course, and a meat course with a side of vegetables.
One of the pork dishes was even topped with a delicious balsamic sauce.
We ended the meal with an espresso and two slices of homemade cake.
We're a bottle of Lambrusco in,
and that was quite the experience. We stumbled onto a birthday party,
and I think when we walked up, they technically were closed,
but they invited us in. We had an amazing lunch.
- All right. Well, we're gonna keep walking around town and see what else we can find. - Yes.
Walk off some of that food. It was so good.
Best meal so far, by far.
With just over 11,000 steps for the day,
and having walked off some of our amazing meal,
we decided to head back to the campground to relax for the evening.
So it is almost 2:30,
and Kait and I have decided to run out to the store for the day,
grab some more water, maybe a couple of snacks.
We decided not to go into town again, because
you could probably hear it. My congestion and everything is actually from allergies,
and I've been sneezing and blowing my nose all day,
so I've just been relaxing and we've been getting some work done.
So we got a full tour of the van put together,
and that'll be later on in this series. So look forward to that.
But we're gonna run out, and the camp host said that we could save our spot
by putting one of the lawn chairs we have down in the spot so that no one takes it.
So we are all paid up until tomorrow.
Our ticket is good until 9:00 AM,
and we have to leave by 8:30 anyway, so that works out.
And now, we can come and go as we please.
The drive from the campground to the main road was busier than when we drove in,
with several cars driving in the opposite direction on the narrow road.
Fortunately, we were in a section of road that made it easier for the other cars to drive by.
One of the things we've really enjoyed with having the rental camper van,
is being able to get a better feel for the areas outside of the city centers.
About an hour later, we arrived back at the campground,
which had filled up quite a bit with several new neighbors.
And look who got coffee. That was really the main reason we left.
We also picked up some hazelnut chocolate
on our errand run earlier.
One of the reasons we love having a camper is,
not only do we have essentially a moving hotel, but we also have a vehicle
that can take us and allow us to drive around, explore a little bit,
or just run an errand like going out to get some groceries.
Overall, it's been an experience
camper vanning in Italy.
If we were to come back to this region, which I would like to,
I think we would prefer to fly into a major city and then take a train,
and pick a hotel in the center of town and really explore that way.
And if we did want to go out,
let's say into the country or a nearby smaller town,
we can always rent a motorcycle, perhaps a Ducati
or a car or a scooter for kind of short trips.
But it's been a lot of fun exploring Italy.
And tomorrow, we return our camper.
Once we dropped off our camper van with the rental agency,
we took the train to Florence, Italy to experience another type of travel.
Kait found a vacation rental in the city center that had an open living room,
good-sized kitchen with a coffee maker,
a laundry machine, high-speed Wi-Fi,
and a very comfortable bed in the upstairs loft.
This place was gigantic
compared to our camper van accommodations from the last week.
After getting settled, we made our way to the museum
to see the marble statue of David by Michelangelo.
We must have timed our visit just right.
There was no line to get into the museum,
and we were able to purchase tickets at the counter
and walk through the entire museum with very few people.
The best part was having David all to ourselves
While the original and replicas of David were a highlight of our time in Florence,
the model train museum was our favorite find while walking around the city.
And since we didn't get a chance to visit the Dolomites on this trip,
it was fun to see a model recreation at the museum.
In terms of food,
Florence might just beat out all the other cities we visited in Italy.
Every place we tried was absolutely delicious,
including this Tuscan restaurant.
Their ossobuco was the best I've ever tasted.
We did make it to Rome, Italy before flying home,
and visited some of the well-known points of interest in the city.
Given the crowds and long lines,
we did not go inside the coliseum,
but we did enjoy the views at night.
There is still a lot of Italy left to explore, and we look forward to going back soon.
Thank you for coming along on our adventures around Italy, and we'll see you next time.
Thank y'all so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video.
Don't forget to give it a thumbs up,
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and visit our website, weretherussos.com for more content.
And stay tuned for Joe's walkthrough of our camper in Italy.
See y'all next time.