As soon as it's light cars are coming into the carpark disgorging luminously clad runners, walkers and cyclists. We are up and ready early ourselves to make the 20 mile journey to Villa Romana del Casale just outside Piazza Armerina.

There are glimpses of the lake and then we are on a pleasant rural ride until the outskirts of Piazza Armerina, which is a busy town even on a bank holiday, but we keep moving well until the suggested route is compromised by height and width restriction notices. On one of our circuits we see a hardware shop and stop to replace our missing basin plug. Using google translate on her phone Ali and the assistant almost rewrite 'Quattro Candela' [or fork 'andles] between them. Once the item is found, the words 'bath plug with chain' are written in English on the packet.

Resuming our journey, every which way we try keeps leading us towards the restriction and even trying to bypass the town leads us back towards its centre. There is just no other way to make the jump to the road we need, so we set a detour out into the sticks towards Barrafranca.

What a treat. Although unclassified it's wide enough and fairly smooth except for the ocassional dunes of sand blown off the fields. In 11 miles we see 4 other cars, but lots of stunning scenery; rich green pasture, trees that appear autumnal in colour, yellow broom and fennel, red poppies and a myriad of other flowers. Our 20 odd mile detour may be eating into our time for when we reach the villa but it's a ride we are so glad to have done.

Near Barrafranca we decide to refuel in an unmanned station. The Italians have made self-serve fuel as hard as it gets with a central paypoint for 12 pumps. Without labouring the process, the upshot is it ate our €20 note but didn't set the pump. A local comes in, does what Ali did, and refuels his car. He then pressed some buttons and got us a credit note which we'll have to try and redeem at another IP station.

Much later than planned we arrive at Villa Romana del Casale, get free admission and head for the attraction. Discovered in the 1950's it is the most extensive find of a Roman Villa anywhere. Excavated from the alluvial sediment after being buried for 700 years, walls and columns show it covered some 7000 sq.m. Painted wall decorations are visible, the bath house still has some marble tiling and parts of the underfloor heating system is intact. But its crowning glory was the discovery of 3500 sq.m. of mosaic floors. Visitors view them from above on walkways and there are glass panels and netting to give wheelchair users a view, but in places wheelchairs have to go against the general flow aided by one of the curators. All OK until we encounter the dreaded Tour Party, dressed in their uniform of floppy hats [indoors], cropped trousers and coloured bus-number stickers, listening to their new best friend describe each of the 21 million tiles over their 'guidepods' while their responsible adult chaperone brings up the rear with flag on selfie stick. After waiting forever at one junction the curator asks the guide to move along. Sarcastic comments from guide 'we have to move for the wheelchair'. Come this way mate, I'll give your ankle a guided tour of my footrests!

Anyway, once we are allowed to share the museum with the sheep we can see the marvelous mosaics. There is a huge corridor depicting a 'Great Hunt' with tigers devouring antelopes and soldiers beating slaves. [one slave cost a sixth of a lion so slave beating was purely economics...], images of sailing ships and charioteers and the most famous; the bikini girls. Ten life sized women in bikinis play sports, ball throwing, small weights​ and jogging, all centuries before the French 'invented' bikinis and Florida floosies jogged with handweights.

It's hugely impressive and one could study each panel for a long time without remembering every detail, and not all of it is accessible, but we're very happy with the time we spent and the amount we have seen.

We return via the souvenier market, buy a few postcards, and return to the van. Our location is marked as a Camperstop, but like Agrigento, when we check we are told no overnight parking.

We'd lined up an agritourismo place but it's the other side of the restrictions again. When the cashier tells us the trattoria at the top of the hill takes campers it's a no brainer.

€10 including electric but sorry the restaurant is closed tonight. No worries, Ali cooks seasoned chicken breasts with mediterranean vegetables and couscous, accomopanied by prosecco.

Sometimes the best days are ones which didn't go to plan.