Perhaps I should seek out the centre of the town, but it's been a long drive and I need food and water. First I must write about the hotel because it feels like one of those hotels you stay in near an airport. Thankfully it's only for one night and I need a bed, and it's better than sleeping in the car. Or is it?

  The good points are the helpful reception staff and the bar. Everything else is terrible. The plug sockets don't work with French plugs. A light doesn't work, and there's hardly enough light in the room. A cupboard is broken and the sink plug is missing. I decide to open the electric shutters but my fingers simply disappear into the empty socket and I wonder if I'm going to be electrocuted. Somebody actually gave the place a 7.1 on a well-known travel site. This is wildly generous in my opinion and out by 7!

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  I go out for a pizza at a small place on one of those bland suburban boulevards Europe tries to hide behind the epic boulevards you find in places like Paris.

  After this introduction to Reggio Emilia I'm craving pizza like a baby craves a comfort blanket, and as I wait for whatever offerings that will arrive on my plate (the hotel has robbed my confidence) the Cicadas are so loud that the voices in my head are complaining that they can't hear themselves think.

  Redemption arrives in a wheel shape and the pizza is excellent. In fact, it's the best I have had on the trip. The thin crust is so delicate and easy to take. I slather on chilli oil and savour with a beer. The temperature has finally calmed down and the evening is pleasant and manageable. 

  Tomorrow, it's bye-bye (ciao ciao) Reggio Emilia. I never really knew you, nor at this stage do I want to! If you come from there and would like to get in touch with suggestions of what I should do if I'm again in the area, they would be most welcome, but I don't think the emails will be overflowing!