28 April 2012: We took a quick spin up to Macerata, had our daily espresso and hit the autostrasse south.

We have made a stopover on the coast at Pineta, a resort town just north of Pescara and at the foot of the mountains of Gran Sasso which boasts the tallest mountain in the Appennines (2,912 metres!!) and Europe’s southern most glacier. Just an overnight stop as we make our way south.

The weather is very warm and bright and we have seen people swimming in the Adriatic although it is not enticing us in just yet.