Plan for the Day
Our plan was to drive a total distance of 350 km in about 4 to 6 hours and that would bring us to Ortona by about 2 to 4 pm. Along the way we would make a stop at Termoli for some phototaking. Both Ortona and Termoli were seaside towns we had chosen to stay the night at Ortona as it was a convenient stop on our way to Venice.
By the end of the day
It was a long drive taking about 2 hour 45 minutes for 265 km to reach Termoli. We came down for a short photoshot session at Termoli and to stretch our legs. From Termoli to Ortona it was suppose to be a short drive of 83 in one hour. Unfortunately the route out of town was a rather confusing and we wasted half an hour looping around.
Termoli
We drove to Termoli and stopped near the beach. There was plentiful of free parking so we parked along “Corso Mario Milano” and came down to take a couple of beautiful shots of the beach and the town.
Termoli was on of Italian seaside town that faced the Adriatic sea. Across the sea was Croatia and having been to Croatia and visited a couple of its seaside towns that faced the Adriatic sea we knew that Termoli would be just as scenic.
Termoli
Termoli was as beautiful as we expected it to be. The surrounding Adriatic sea was beautiful with all shades of blue and the old town of white and pastel coloured houses extending out into the sea looked charming and exotic. The wide beach with its long expand of light color sand, gentle sloping shore and white waves were an invitation to do nothing but to lay back on a beach chair.
Termoli faced the sea on the east so the morning scene of this place must be outstanding, it was a shame that we were not staying in Termoli for night and could not be at the beach to see the beautiful sun rise over the horizon.
Ortona
From Termoli to Ortona was only 77 km and should take about 1 hour. We decided to drive along the coastal road rather than the highway to enjoy the sea view. Unfortunately we had a hard time staying on the coastal road as our GPS kept navigating us back onto the highway. We wasted 30 minutes trying to get off the highway and back onto the coasted road!
Route from Termoli to Ortano
Beside the stretch of beach at Termoli our drive along the coastal road did not yield any scenic viewpoint worth stopping. We reached Ortona at about one and a half hour and after settling our bags and a short rest we were off to explore Ortona old town.
Ortano Old Town
From our stay it was a nice 700 metres stroll that brought us though a beautiful promenade along Passengiata Orientale and then to Castello Aragonese.
Map of Ortona
The promenade was huge and a great place to view the sea. The town was on a higher level than the marina so the promenade at the edge town served like a huge balcony overlooking the Adriatic sea and the horizon.
Promenade over looking the Ortona marina
We walked till the end of the promenade turned a bend and saw a lovely castle. It was Castello Aragonese. Around the castle was a stretch of grass walkway. The interior of the castle was pretty bare as most the structures was destroyed a long time ago during a war.
Castello Aragonese
Ortano was not overly touristy, so it was nice to stroll around without having to push through a throng of visitors. The pedestrian walk was huge and the outdoor cafe looked so inviting. We planned to return after dinner to try out its tiramisu.
Pedestrian walk along Corsolo Vittorio Emanuelle
Accommodation for the Night
We booked Vico 59 from booking.com. It was called Vico 59 because it was number 59 on Via delle Speranze. The cost for one night was €55 and it included breakfast. Our host met us just outside the door to the unit on the ground floor. She told us that we could just parked on the street just by the door of Vico 59 and parking was free.
Vico 59
Vico 59 was on the 2nd level and 3rd level. On the 2nd level was a shared kitchen and a shard sitting lounge. Everything was very new, very cheerful, very clean and very modern. The shared kitchen was equiped with oven, stove, cooking utensils and crockery everything for me to cook a good meal.
Common Lounge and kitchen of Vico 59
There were two bedrooms on the 3rd level, one of which was our double bedroom. Our room was clean, nicely decorated and everything smell NEW! We had a private bathroom, unfortunately it was not located within our room but next to our room. So to use our private bathroom we had to exit our double room and go to next door. On the same floor was another door leading to another bedroom and according to our host the guests in that room will not use the bathroom assigned to us.
Our double room at Vico 59
Our private bathroom that was outside our double room
That evening we cooked salmon pasta in the lovely shared kitchen and after dinner we relaxed in the shared lounge with two cups of capuccino from the coffee machine provided in the kitchen. Though it was a shared kitchen and a shared lounge we had them all to ourselves. The couple in the second room was out all the time.
Home cooked dinner