Month: April 2024

Week 5 – The Heartland Of Italy

Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th April

Mon 22nd & Tues 23rd – Spoleto – 175k

There was still a lot of white stuff on the mountains to the north and east which meant that the SS17Bis up into the high plains of the Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga was closed. Which was a pity because it is a lovely ride through there. We’d ridden it in 2016 and stayed at Santo Stefano di Sessanio and stopped at Campo Imperatore on the way. But it wasn’t to be this time.

So instead we headed north to Assergi and turned left along the southern edge of the Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso and crossed the range on it’s western end at the Passo delle Capannelle. This is a great ride with a terrific surface and endless corners.

On to Montereale where we picked up the SP19 and eventually ended up in Cittareale where they have La Rocca, a medieval fortress from the 13th century of King Manfred of Swabia which incorporates some Roman ruins.

La Rocca

It’s all pretty isolated through here with the roads deteriorating so we turned left and picked up the SP11 that took us down and ever downwards with rain threatening.
We dropped into Labro and the 10th century Castello Nobili Vitelleschi.

Pinched from Google – Labro with its Castello Nobili Vitelleschi.

We only had 40ks to go to Spoleto but it looked wet so we togged up in our wets – which means we pulled on our Dianese pants because we already wear totally waterproof Oxford jackets. It’s a good thing we did because the usual afternoon spring downpour beat us by 10 minutes.

We negotiated the twisting and narrow and steep streets to find our comfortable apartment for 2 nights.

I’ve used various sources to collect information on the towns we visit and so have set up our own self-guided walking tours that take in most of a town’s sights.
A walking tour of Spoleto.

Wed 24th – Cortona – 180k

The weather was looking iffy from the outset so we donned our wets early, then headed north. Now we Melbourne-ites complain about our myriad of ‘safety’ cameras. Welcome to Spoleto’s flash for cash – we would have passed 20 of them on the 6klm stretch out of town. Good thing for TomTom.

North through beautiful Umbrian countryside to the historic small hill town of Montefalco.

There were a bunch of men pruning the olives trees in the foreground of this pic.

We turned south west and stopped in the hilltop town of Todi where we sat in the central Piazza del Popolo with its medieval buildings and had a coffee.

Todi from a distance.

This pic gives an idea of just how steep these streets are. I capture scenes like this off my GoPro

Piazza del Popolo

The 12th century Caetani Tower.

Church of Saint Mary of Consolation

We continued SW to the small hilltop village of Civitella del Lago where we stopped and made lunch of local bread with cheese, ham, tomatoes and the best of Italian olive oil. You can’t beat that.
The town overlooks Lake Corbara, an artificial lake on the course of the river Tiber.

Looking west where there’s threatening weather.

We’re now heading north and dodging thunderstorms but we’re going to get got sooner or later. Through Città della Pieve.

I’m not sure where this is, I just took a quick GoPro grab on our way past. I remember that just to the west of us, our left, the rain is belting down so I know it’s just south of Castiglione del Lago on the southwest corner of Lake Trasimeno, which is where the rain caught us.

But it was only 20klms to Tuscany’s beautiful 8th century BC Cortona which is one of our favourite places. We stayed here in 2019, and actually in the same place.

We took a stroll. Well, in these towns it’s more like a mountain climb. Steep street and a multitude of medieval stairs makes it more of an endurance exercise.

Today is Thursday 25th of April, a public holiday, and the day Italy celebrates their WW2 Victory/Liberation Day which is probably a bit of an oxymoron from some points of view. Anyway, they’ve still got lots of left over Yank Jeeps and there were dozens of them on display in Cortona. As you can see, these guys take this pretty seriously.

Thur 25th – Siena – 90k

This pic of the town cemetery as we left Cortona.

The sun is shining and after a very late start we head west. First stop is Monte San Savino where we stopped for coffee and a small danish while we sat in the sun and watched the world go by. There were lots of bikers around today, out enjoying there public holiday and fine weather.

Those roses smelt exquisite. Which is how all roses should smell. I’m not sure about you but I can’t walk past a rose without taking a sniff.

Now if you haven’t noticed I’ve got lots of pics of City Gates. Last trip I did Bridges. This time I’m doing Gates and believe me there’s lots of them. It gives you an idea of just how insecure life was back in dim dark ages.

And Siena has more than its fair share. We did a loop of the city on our way in and snapped these.

All these gates, and there’s a few more, are pretty impressive.

We found our way into the city central area where our brand new apartment awaited us a mere 30mtrs from the main Piazza del Campo.
As I said, today is a public holiday, and it seems that the whole of Tuscany is promenading around Piazza del Campo. I’m talking packed. And all stopping to chat, take pictures and then look at those pictures. Now this is a pet hate of mine – take the picture or 5 of them if you want, but don’t then just stand there and check them out – I want to take a picture as well, and I don’t want you in it!!! There, now I’ve got that off my chest.

Siena has other things to see as well.

Piazza del Campo

Fri 26th – Siena Loop Ride – 90k

Today isn’t a public holiday but I’m figuring that most of Italy have made it into a long weekend because everyone is out and about and visiting the 2 local tourist attractions of Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. We joined the throng.

Monteriggioni for an expensive coffee.

And famously popular San Gimignano.

We headed home via some remote roads that took us past La Rocca di Staggia.

A most enjoyable day. And today being Friday, we all know what that means, and in Siena there’s a Gelatoria on every corner.

Sat 27th – Arezzo – 100k

There was nothing special about todays ride. It’s only about an hour by freeway, but we’re not doing that are we. It’s obviously still a long weekend as the roads that we rode were mainly being travelled by bikers. And I can understand why – there were plenty of curves.

We dropped in to the 6th century fortress town of Civitella in Val di Chiana hoping to score a coffee. But there was nothing open – what is this? An Italian town without an open café is a bit like an Aussie town without a pub.

So we left and headed for Arezzo where we found parking right outside of our 3rd story apartment, which is actually 4 – more steps.
We checked in and did our mountain climbing exercises for the day as we checked out the sites.

Arezzo has a Porto or gate as well. This is inside the town

And from the outside.

The gate is at the bottom of town and the very impressive Fortezza Medicea is at the very top – my travel companion was not impressed with the climb. We should be pretty fit by the time we leave Italy.

Arezzo is known as the city of gold and of the high fashion, I have no idea why. But it does have some impressive things to see.

To The Grande Piazza – where we had our long awaited coffee. We’d passed through hear in 2019 and done the same thing.

Thank you Arezzo

Sun 28th – Urbino – 160k

It’s finally a beautiful day as we leave Arezzo. There are heaps of bikers out and about as we take to the remote back roads heading SE towards the 13th century Rocca di Umbertide where we had a brew.

We pushed on to Gubbio where we caught up with all the tourists who tend to take the low roads. I’m pretty sure we weren’t supposed to ride right through the centre of town but once you’re there what else can you do.

That was a pretty hectic experience for us and the tourists so we left town and moved up the road to the quiet little hamlet of Cantiano where we got 2 coffees and a cooky type thing for E3. There were 4 other people in town.

Cantiano

Then it was on to Urbino

where we parked the bike under the shadow of the Palazzo Ducale di Urbino and found our digs a mere 30mtrs from the main Piazza.

We took a walk around town – more steep streets.

And everywhere you look the skyline is dominated by the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

And that’s it for this week. Today we head for Ancona and tonight we catch the ferry to Croatia. See you next week.

Wks 3 – Still In Spain

Finally On Our Way

Monday 8th to Sunday 14th April

Monday 8th – we catch the train from Sitges to Barcelona and book in to our highly overrated and expensive Hotel Best Western Alka.
I’m tracking the ship and the container – they’re now in a holding pattern off Barcelona Port. We are anticipating our bike by Wednesday 10th – we have a ferry booking for Italy so we’re hoping it’s on time.

Tuesday 9th We do the tourist thing in Barcelona. A bit of ‘Hop On – Hop Off’ bus stuff.

If you look closely, that’s our boat with bike doing laps. It’s to the left of the left hand palm tree. I like to think it is anyway.

Team New Zealand’s Americas’ Cup headquarters Barcelona – no boats in sight.

Then wandered around Barcelona.

These guys belting out some sweet ragtime.

The Market.

This little coffee shop where we’ve had coffee on every trip – 2016, 2019, 2022 and now 2024.

We hear our bikes are delayed, again, to the 11th, so it’s a scramble to change the ferry booking to Thursday 11th. No problems. That’s a relief.

Wednesday 10th – we move hotels to a much more affordable place closer to the airport. We’re now assured the bikes have cleared customs so Friday the 12th is the day. Another catching of buses to the port to change our ferry booking once again to Friday the 12th (the last allowed change with no refund) which is our cut off day for a number bookings in Italy if we don’t want to lose a our bookings in Rome, Naples and Amalfi – all of which are not cheap.

Thursday 11th – we hang, waiting, waiting. To hear there’ll be no bikes until Monday. That is just so disappointing, and a A$1500 loss in ferry and hotel bookings, not to mention missed anticipated ‘things to do and see’.

Friday 12th to Sunday 14th – We take the train back to Sitges for the weekend. It’s a nice place to stop, especially over the weekend with the locals enjoying the early spring weather. Today is Friday, that means ice-cream, or more precisely Gelati.

Doing it tough.

There was a vintage car rally that came to town. There had to have been at least 40 of them. Quite impressive.

Monday 15th to Sunday 21st April

Mon 15th – At Last!

Only 3 weeks late.

Then to hear that Spanish Customs hadn’t cleared our bikes – there were 8 of us. We waited a couple of hours then just left. I haven’t heard anything so I guess they’ve sorted their paperwork.

We’d managed to book the last cabin on the ferry to Italy – the Owner’s Suite.
There were about 1000 schools kids on the boat so it was pandemonium and hence the lack of cheaper cabins.

Wed 17th – Naples to Amalfi

Last night we’d docked at 6.30pm, on time, and were the first off the boat and headed for Naples 300klms away and hoping to beat the forecast rain – missed it by 30klm. So arrived in the back streets of Naples in a torrential downpour – not the best thing to do.

Today we took a quick walking tour of Naples – you could spend a week wandering these streets and alleyways I’d think. But we only had a couple of hours because today we’re headed for Amalfi.

And then it was off to Amalfi for 2 of what should have been 4 nights. We’d been here in 2019 and it hadn’t lost any of its charm. We stayed in the place as well.
And got a parking ticket to boot – goodness knows how they’ll get their money.

Thank you Amalfi, we enjoyed your beauty. I don’t think we’ll be back though.

Fri 19th – Cetara

Cetara is a mere 15klms around a windy and picturesque coastline from Amalfi. With a host of perfect Mediterranean villages along the way, and traffic that is terrifying one minute and ridiculous the next, any wonder it takes just on an hour.
It’s a beautiful little fishing village with hardly a tourist in sight – and it’s Friday – again.

From our balcony – personal bike parking as well, bottom left.

I like these places.

Sat 20th – Isernia – 170k

Now the trip begins.
Today is overcast and threatening to rain – but doesn’t quite manage it.

We stopped in the tiny crossroads hamlet of Vado della Lota just north of Benevento, where we’d stayed in 2016 with some friends from Melbourne. The neighbours were curious of these folk on a motorcycle.

Then got totally lost in Morcone. Believe me, that street is steeper than it looks.

Before stopping in Isernia for the night. A fairly inconsequential town really.

Sun 21st – L’Aquila – 185klms

There was a lot of snow on the nearby mountains as we headed north.

Stopped in Barrea for morning tea with the sun shining. Clear roads ahead.

Mmm. Not quite – we had to go over the top of the mountain in the previous picture. About 15klms of this stuff. A few vehicles coming our way and no slide marks so I wasn’t too concerned about black ice. But it was 0 degrees so rather chilly. Pretty as a picture though.
Down the other side to Scanno where we found a little café with a sunny window and thawed out.

A squiz at this

On to Sulmona.

Then Succiano

So to L’Aquila where our delightful B&B awaited us. We took a stroll around town which has an enormous amount of reconstruction happening from the severe earthquake of 2009.

Close up I’d think a lot of it is irretrievable.

This

With its dead saint on display – true story.

We’re headed that way tomorrow – hopefully we’ll pull a left before hitting it.

See you next week.

Wks 1 & 2 – NE Spain, Andorra, France

Saturday March 23 to Sunday April 7

Australia to Spain

We flew Air India. Because it was the cheapest at the time, even with purchasing extra leg room. It was an experience if you’re used to  any of the usual airlines but the food, being Indian, was very good, so we had no complaints although the 10 hour layover in Delhi was tedious.

We landed at Heathrow early on Sunday 24th and caught a bus to London’s Stanstead Airport for our Ryan Air flight to Barcelona.

Stunning views of the Pyrenees. We’d be up here in a few days.

We’d hired a car through Booking.com and expected to pick up a Fiat 500 or similar; as long as it was small. We were handed the keys for a Jeep Cherokee with the assurance that that was all they had. So we took it and drove the 35klms to Sitges just south of Barcelona via the narrow winding coast road, and in a Jeep Cherokee that was quite a daunting experience with weekend traffic returning to Barcelona. The next morning we took it back and swapped it for a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

We spent 3 nights in Sitges.

Sitges.

Tues 26th March – Sitges to Manresa – 120k

Today we drove our Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof to Manresa via the famous Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey (clicking on a link such as this will open another page of info on the link’s subject matter).
As was our usual practise we took the roads less travelled. I’d already planned these routes back in November of 2023 with riding the bike in mind, so I wasn’t going to change them.
The weather was overcast at the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey.

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey from the Sant Joan Funicular. Quite an impressive view.

We drove on to Manresa to our digs in the centre of town. Third floor, no lift, with 12foot ceiling heights. The lesson learned was not to take all our luggage if we’re only staying one night.
We took a walk around town.

Pont Vell in the foreground, Cova de Sant Ignasi to the right, and Basílica Santa Maria de la Seu de Manresa on the skyline to the left.

Looking back from whence we’d come and forward to where we were headed.

Wed 27th – Andorra – 165k

There was snow on the hills towards Andorra as we left Manresa on a beautiful sunny day.
First stop was Castell de Súria which wasn’t worth the climb.
So on to the magnificent Castell de Cardona which was well worth the climb.(I’ve pinched the top pic from Google)

Looking down on the Pont del Diable – mid foreground, and the plains of Spain where apparently the rain falls.

The 15th century Pont del Diable

A quick loop around the 12th century Catedral de Solsona

Then a truly magnificent and lonely 90klm chase along the C-462 which I’m convinced was surveyed, designed and built by a motorcyclist. And we were doing it in a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid – with sunroof. The bloke who figured we didn’t need to send our bikes 2 weeks early is not on my Christmas Card list.

We stopped at the tiny isolated Tuixent for coffee. I’m sure the locals hadn’t seen anyone since last summer.

Tuixent – We watched these 2 blokes working a 3rd floor live edge – a sackable offence at Buildsafe 😒

And so on to Andorra for 2 nights

Fri 29th – Amélie-les-Bains – 225k

It was cold and overcast as we climbed north out of Andorra and over the Coll d’Ordino which was covered in fresh white – always a fascination to most of us from Australia.

Coll d’Ordino

We stopped at El Pas de la Casa for coffee and wee pastry before crossing over to France where there was much skiing happening.

Col de Puymorens

We then headed south using the N260. The 85k from Puigcerdà to Ripoll would be a marvellous road on a motorcycle; it’s narrow, windy and has a great surface, except it was Good Friday and half the population of north east Spain was heading to the snow fields – good thing we’d returned the Jeep.

The 11th century Pont de la Cabreta just north of Ripoll

It was then a glorious run along the southern shoulder of the Pyrennes back in to France to our basic and very rustic (read very cheap) lodgings at the forgotten town of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda. We took an evening stroll through its back streets and found a hidden Pizza shop where we sat and ate delicious pizza with the locals.

Sat 30th – Palamos – 200k

On a beautiful sunny day we headed for the coast. But first we had to stop and take a pic of these bridges.

Pont du Diable

It was then a matter of following what has got to be one of my favourite coast lines south. It being Easter weekend it was very busy, and we being in a Fiat 500 Manual Hybrid with sunroof found it very hard to stop and take pictures. If we’d been on the bike it would have been a different matter.

Port-Argèles

Collioure

El Port de la Selva for lunch.

And so to Palamos for 3 nights. There’s nothing really special about Palamos

Tues 2nd April – Tossa de Mar – 40k

Another day of a short and winding road to what is possibly our favourite location in Europe. It’s hard to choose a favourite place among the more than 200 places we’ve stayed over the last 8 years but we’ve stayed at Tossa 3 times so that must say something.

We stopped for breakfast at Sant Pol y S´Agaró

Tossa de Mar

3 nights doing it tough.

Fri 5th – Barcelona – Sitges – 135k

It was a quick scoot down the coast to drop off our little car at the airport before figuring out how to catch public transport to Sitges, again.
We’re killing time while we wait for the bike to arrive.
It’s now Sunday the 7th of April and as I sit here finishing this post I’m also tracking the CMA CGM Adonis which is carrying the container that’s hiding our bike, and right now it’s just off the coast of Sitges. Go you good thing.

Tomorrow we head back to Barcelona and it looks like we’ll finally get our bike on Wednesday the 10th, then we catch the ferry to Italy.

We’ll see you when we get there.