How to be more sustainable in everyday life to safeguard the future of our planet
We often talk about being more sustainable in our daily lives to safeguard the future of our planet and future generations; but what can we do in practice? In my small way I am striving to be more and more green in my daily activities, in purchases, by correctly recycling and certainly also in the kitchen.
One of the things that damages our planet the most is certainly the pollution caused by the exhaust fumes of motor vehicles. For this reason, when possible, I prefer to travel on foot or by bike, or on longer routes by train. I must admit, however, that I inevitably also use the car very often.
Since I will have to change my car very soon, I am evaluating the idea of taking an electric car , in this way I would be even more sustainable by traveling without causing damage to the environment.
Electric mobility: more sustainable for us and for the environment
Thanks to Be Charge I had the opportunity to test how electric mobility works, to find out how feasible it is to travel long distances and how easy it is to recharge the car at the charging stations. In recent years there has been great progress in this sector, precisely to seek a solution to the problem of environmental pollution due to car exhaust fumes.
The answer to the problem has come thanks to the new electric cars, in this case the emissions are zero because the exhaust does not exist in an electric motor. It does not require combustion to function and consequently there is no emission of harmful gases. For this reason I decided to embark on my journey with an electric car, following La </ strong > Via Elettrica di Be Charge : one of the most widespread public charging infrastructures for electric vehicles, present in Italy.
The Electric Way of Be Charge
La Via Elettrica is a concrete route because, through the columns, it is already possible to travel throughout Italy, recharging your car without any problems. So let’s start from the beginning and join me on this green journey along some stages of the Via Elettrica: Parma, Bologna and Cesenatico . My mother and I left Parma and once we collected the Audi Q4 e-tron at the Autocentro Baistrocchi , we made the first stop in one of my favorite bars, Bombé.
1. Parma
Here the cannoncini are exquisite and I love the cream ones, but if you like zabaglione, try them! They are delicious. After a hearty breakfast we have planned the next stop. If you have never been to Parma, I recommend that you extend your trip to dedicate at least one day to this splendid city !
The center is very elegant, full of historic buildings and beautiful shops. Parma is a city on a human scale , it is easy to visit and in one morning you can see the main monuments such as Piazza Garibaldi, the Duomo, the Baptistery, and the beautiful Teatro Regio. You will not regret it! In addition, electric cars are allowed free entry in the ZTL areas, so you can enter and park very close to the historic center.
After so much art and wandering you will be hungry, so sit in one of the many typical restaurants in the center and let yourself be conquered by the Parmesan cuisine. Anolini, tortelli, salami, parmesan, fried cake … here are some of the delicacies that you can taste and I’m sure you will love them, because they are delicious!
The next stop on our drive along the Via Elettrica is Bologna , a splendid city renowned for its medieval historic center and good Emilian cuisine.
2. Bologna
Approaching the center of Bologna, you immediately notice the arcades: Unesco World Heritage Site 2021 . 40 km of arcades that wind through the streets of the center and that make this city one of a kind. Walking through the arcades you arrive in the heart of the city: in Piazza Maggiore where the medieval buildings blend perfectly with modernity, preserving their ancient charm.
Among the iconic symbols of Bologna are the medieval towers. Among all, the majestic Two Towers rise, that of the Asinelli (98 meters) and its “twin” Garisenda (48 meters). If you have time, I recommend that you climb to the top of the Asinelli Tower to admire the magnificent view you have over the city, if the day is clear you will also be able to see the sea in the distance!
Bolognese cuisine is famous all over the world with its tagliatelle with meat sauce and lasagna. Going through Bologna without stopping to eat in a typical restaurant would be a real shame. While our car was charging at a Be Charge charging station, we took the opportunity to have lunch at Mulino Bruciato, a restaurant where you can taste typical local dishes from appetizers to desserts.
With the Be Charge app, charging the car is very easy
Charging the car was very easy thanks to the Be Charge app. Once the app has been opened and the location has been geolocated, the app showed us all the charging stations closest to us, and also reported whether the columns were available or occupied. We have chosen the 150 kW Fast column located in Via Larga 6.
Quick, Faste and Ultrafast: the charging stations for every need
Once a column was selected on the app, we were able to see what power the charging station was and so we were free to choose the one that best suited our needs. There are different types of charging columns: the Quick column is 22 kW; the Fast one up to 150 kW and the Ultrafast one over 150 kW .
We opted for a Fast column, located near the highway and therefore perfect for our itinerary. Once we reached the charging column, we selected the charging point and activated the charging from the app . We connected the charging cable that comes with the column to the car, in the appropriate socket and then we waited for the charging to be satisfactory.
Both via the app and from the display on the column it is possible to monitor the charging status and once the charging is complete at 100% or possibly just enough to reach the next step, just stop charging always from the app. In this way the column will stop delivering energy and you can disconnect the cable.
3. Cesenatico
I assure you that it is very easy and immediate , it takes longer to write it than to do it, do not worry! Recharging the car, we set off to reach our last stop: Cesenatico. If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I am very attached to this town, because, since I was a child, I have spent my summer holidays between Valverde and Cesenatico.
The charm of the Romagna Riviera strikes at any age and at any time of the year, so I consider it a stop to recommend. Cesenatico is a characteristic seaside village in the heart of the Romagna Riviera. In the oldest part of the Port Channel, there is the Maritime Museum, the only floating museum in Italy, where you can admire the magnificent ancient fishing boats with their colorful and majestic sails.
I advise you to stop and eat in one of the characteristic restaurants along the Porto Canale or you can opt to dine in the restaurants of the beaches by the sea. In both cases you will enjoy an excellent sea view and fresh fish dishes. If you decide to stop for a quick lunch, then enjoy a takeaway Romagna piadina, to eat by the sea with your feet in the sand.
With the Be Charge app you can monitor the car’s charging status in real time
Before going to dinner, we chose to recharge the car one last time, so that we could return directly to Parma with the car fully charged. Also in this case I chose the recharging point closest to us on the Be Charge app : another Fast column, located in Viale Ferdinando Magellano, 8. I connected the socket, I closed and I left the car charging while we enjoyed dinner in peace.
Using the app, I could monitor the car’s charging status in real time and finish charging once it reached 100%. We ended our tour with a dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant on the canal harbor with a fish soup and a glass of Albana. After having traveled through some stages of the Via Elettrica traced by Be Charge, I can say that traveling in a sustainable way is feasible and very easy.
The electric car is very quiet and has an exceptional recovery in overtaking; it has nothing to envy to other machines, indeed! It is more spacious, because it does not have the footprint of the engine, it does not pollute and is super technological. Electric mobility is clearly more sustainable for both us and the environment: it reduces CO2 emissions, decreases chaos and road noise and draws (in the case of Be Charge) from 100% renewable resources.
If taking a long trip by electric car scares you, I have shown you that it is not only feasible, but also simple . It is sufficient to organize the various stages to always have energy available and I recommend that you always have the Be Charge app at hand as a must-have tool for knowing the nearest charging points. Once the car is charged, you can take advantage of the charging time for a dinner, a visit to the city center, or why not, reading a few pages of a good book.
At the moment, there are over 5,000 active Be Charge recharging points in Italy , but the network continues to expand day by day, this will allow us to undertake our travels in an even more carefree and simple way.
