Today was my easy day on my trip. It was the day where we made a detour that was very important to Tyler due to its military significance. Ortona was the sight of some of the most intense and ferocious battles in world war 2. This was a small Adriatic coastal town that the Nazis used as defensive line against the a attack of the allies. Much of the city was flattened and many lives lost. The battle was also remarkable due to the amount of hand to hand combat, at times seeming more like a medieval wall. To defend, the Nazis intentionally blew up buildings to cause the allies to move where the Nazis wanted them, and built lots of tunnels to move from place to place. However, the allies liberated the town, not that there was much to return too.
In the museum, I also learnt a lot of nz troops died in a nearby town trying to take another strategic point. This will make the graveyard visit more significant to me. Oh, and the lady at the museum had the nz style poppy, so got me one to wear on ANZAC day.
Obviously I missed a key part to the trip, the car ride in our smart car. What a funny car that is. Not much longer than me! Tyler did the driving today, and you could almost see the horror in his eyes driving in Rome. Luckily we got on the motorway quite quickly. The country side in Italy is stunning. A complete contrast to the cities the are dirty with generally unfriendly folk. If it weren't for Rome's history it would have been given the same judgement as the other cities I have been to in Italy.
Tomorrow we are of to San Marino. We are taking the coastal route to avoid the excessive tolls they have here. Cost twenty euros today and is meant to cost another twenty tomorrow. Cars are not the way to go here!
Sorry about the photos today. Hardly took any. The first is a view from the car. The second the castle in Ortona
Joshua
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