WREN Conference xi 2006

World Renewable Energy Conference 9 Florence 2006

So what does a girl do when she has a Mini Cooper, a road map or two, three weeks and a HUGE interest in RE? She drives to Florence, pays $680 Euro (i'm still in shock over this) to attend the WREN Conference.....

So with Judith's car and BH driving instructions on Friday the 18th August i drove out of Berlin on the A something motorway heading to Florence some 1200kms away... It took me over 300 kms to stop shaking... who's bright idea was this! have you any idea how hard it is to drive on the right side of the road with the gearshifter on my right?

Now i manged to get onto all the right motorways and was doing really well i thought for my 1st day... I manged to get within 50kms of Munchen in the 1st day and stayed at a roadside hotel for the night... the next day i wanted to get to Florence...

What a day.. it started out reasonable well, with a good breaky at the hotel and once pasted Munchen and somewhere near Salzburg the view was Awsome... i had to stop to take some photos... Mountains everywhere just magic... Things slowed down a lot when i got near Innsbruck and once in Italy near Trento the traffic stopped.... it was something like 20kms in 3 hours! Everyone was on holidays and going south...

I kept at it to make Florence I didn't have any other plans on where i was going to stay and the conf had some events happening on sunday that i wanted to go too... I kept going... I nealy passed out at the $25Euro charge for the motor way... so this is what happend when you are in a traffic jam here...u pay for the time u are on the road not the time u are moving on the road.. it includes the time u are stationary!!

Once in Bologna i knew i would make it but it would be late ish... once in Bologna i knew i was in Tuscany.. the rolling hills, the light, the yellow ish plants and warm air, the grapes, olives and the straw coloured house... the houses on the hill tops. what a place! The drive from Bologna to Florence is a hoot... Its a twisty drive along a mountian pass that everyone is driving at 130kms/hour or faster... I stayed in the right lane and followed the red combi in front at only 100kms/hour!

Now the signs for Florence were very confusing... which exit do i need? so i took one not sure which one... i then stopped to get a town map so i could find my camping spot above the city... the map didn't help i was very tired it was 8pm so the guy at the garage draw a map... this helped a lot.. but i still managed to get lost getting back onto the motor way... i manged to get into the wrong lane for the motorway ticket and i manged not to find the exit he told me to get off at... i then drove around the city block for a bit always turning right until i was back where i started.. i then drove through the city for a bit... its now 9.30pm, i'm very tired i have no idea where i am or where the camping ground is... i decide to stop at the 1st hotel and just stay there....

Its the 3rd hotel i stop at because i couldn't find parking at the 1st two... Its $80euro a night (double ouch) I'm about to pay when i tell the guy that i couldn't find the place i was looking for... he asks where i want to go and then says don't give up your almost there only 10 minutes more... He then gives me a great map and draws on the map where i need to go.... I'm almost crying as he bundles me out of his hotel into the car to drive up to camping...

I arrive at Camping Michelangiolo at 10.30pm... I had to get lost 1st at the Bronze statue of David on the hill... this is a city of very large naked men, sadly they are all either Bronze or marble... sigh!

this statue is a copy made in the 1800's or so and stand above the city of Florence its is in such a wonderful location and the view from here is outstanding!

the camping ground is great... i'm staying in one of their tents that have two bed only and you get to share like a doom... so far i have only had one girl with me for two nights out of the 8nights i have been here...