Italy, Florence, 13 – 15 June 2017

Posted on Friday, 16-June-2017 by Chris Desmond

On the way to Florence from La Spezia I stopped at Pisa to look at the Leaning Tower. The road follows the coast at first before turning inland to Pisa. There are hundreds of hotels and resorts along this stretch of coast.

I stayed in a village in the mountains and took the train into Florence every morning E3.50 and 40 minutes. First stop Uffizi gallery.

I then walked up the hill to the copy of the Statue of David and a view of Florence, back down and the Galeria da Academia where the real David (by Michelangelo) resides.

 

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Italy, La Spezia, 9 – 12 June 2017

Posted on Wednesday, 14-June-2017 by Chris Desmond

Modena to La Spezia on the SS63, this is a biking road, lots of motorcyclists enjoying the curves and very little traffic as well. Going over a couple of passes at 1200m , cool in the mountains, good ride.

This area is famous for Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre which consists of 5 small villages built on cliffs overlooking the sea. There is a hiking trail from the first to the last village over some very hilly terrain, I took the train hahaha. The train runs through a tunnel emerging into the sunlight only at the stations. Very popular with tourists so the place is packed and I avoided the weekend and went on a Monday and this is not peak school holiday season. It has also now become a cruise ship destination as well which adds another 5000 people to the mix. The train runs from La Spezia to Levanto with the 5 villages in between. The complete journey only takes 30 min and there is a train about every 30 min, an all day ticket costs 16 euro.

 

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Italy, Modena, 4 – 8 June 2017

Posted on Friday, 9-June-2017 by Chris Desmond

From Trieste I rode to Modena, home to the Supercars of Italy – Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani and Ducati (motorcycles) in nearby Bologna, motoring enthusiasts heaven 🙂 . I also visited the San Marino F1 track at Imola, this is where Ayrton Senna lost his life in the 1994 F1 race.

125S

I used the Autostrada (toll road) from Trieste to Dolo as I had already been on the B road going there, first time on the freeway in Italy and no different to any other freeway. After Dolo I took the B road to Modena a much nicer ride through the countryside.

The Ferrari museum and factory are in Maranello on the outskirts of Modena, the test track is nearby in Fiorano. I visited the museum along with a few tour busses of Chinese and Germans, this is a busy place. I also went on the Bus tour of the factory and the test track, this was a complete waste of time, they drive around the factory grounds saying, in this building they make the engines and in this one they make the bodies. You are not allowed to get off the bus and no photos. Next the test track and we did not even go on the track just drove around the car park hahaha, end of tour. Ferrari make around 8000 cars a year and all of them are made to order.

Next I rode into Modena to the Enzo Ferrari Museum, this is where Enzo Ferrari lived and worked. This place has a museum of Ferrari engines. On the way there I took some single lane back roads and was stopped by a peacock in the middle of the road with its feathers extended calling loudly, then I noticed another male peacock on the verge. By the time I got my camera out they were gone, astonishing.

I rode to Bologna about 30 km from Modena to visit the Ducati Museum and Factory. They actually take you on a tour inside the factory where you are dodging carts delivering parts etc hahaha close to all the action (no photos), very good.

From the Ducati factory I rode on to Imola, not allowed onto the track, only a small museum and shop, an F1 car exhibition and a movie about Ayrton Senna as this is where he lost his life in the F1 race in 1994, caused by a steering column failure.

The Lamborghini Museum is located in a small village called Sant Agata. They also have a factory tour for which you have to book at least 6 weeks in advance. I was lucky to get on the tour the same day due to a cancellation, very interesting. They only make around 3500 cars a year and like Ferrari all are made to order with 1-2 year wait depending on the model. The museum had a special Ayrton Senna exhibition showing all the racing cars he had driven.

The Pagani Museum and factory were closed for renovations from 2 – 18 June so I will have to come back another time.

Maserati do not have a museum just a new car showroom in Modena with some merchandise. But the Panini Motor museum located in a farm out of Modena has a collection of Maserati cars, a few other brands as well and some motorcycles. It would be a lot better if there was more space and the exhibits were labelled.

 

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Italy, Trieste, 1 – 3 June 2017

Posted on Monday, 5-June-2017 by Chris Desmond

Trieste – the easternmost city in Italy, once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a mix of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures. Once home to James Joyce and Sigmund Freud. They also have a very strong coffee culture with their own unique names for the various brews. I also happened to be there during Italy’s Republic Day, 2 June.

The ride from Venice on B roads was uneventful, mainly flat farmland.

I followed a self guided Coffee tour given to me by a friend but you  can pickup a pamphlet from the Tourist Office for 3 euro which entitles you to 6 coffees at some of the more famous coffee shops in Trieste.  This is a bargain considering a single coffee can cost that much. The most memorable was the Cafe San Marco which was frequented by James Joyce and has a bookshop inside. This was fun.

Trieste Walkabout

 

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Italy, Padua, 31 May 2017

Posted on Friday, 2-June-2017 by Chris Desmond

I was quite surprised by Padua, its a University town with the university being founded in 1222, a place where Galileo once lectured. It has a charming old town with the piazza’s in the centre being filled with markets. There is a synagogue in one of the narrow streets with an army vehicle and four soldiers for protection.

The inside of the  Scrovegni Chapel is completely covered in fresco’s by Giotto, completed in 1305, visitors are only allowed in small groups for 15 min. A small museum is part of the complex.

The Prato della Valle is quite a unique square surrounded by a canal and two rows of statues.

The Basilica of Saint Anthony is one of the eight international shrines recognised by the Holy see and also where the saint is buried (free entry). It is very elaborately decorated inside (no photos). Right in front of it is the sculpture of Gattamelata by Donatello.

The Abbey of Santa Giustina is absolutely huge, the ceilings tower above you, free entry and you can take photos, its closed between 1200 and 1500 hrs.

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Italy, Venice, 28 – 30 May 2017

Posted on Wednesday, 31-May-2017 by Chris Desmond

Milan to Venice by the non-toll road, easy ride through through towns and villages mainly flat farmland. It took 40 min of slow traffic to put the city behind me with the odd accident here and there not helping matters, Sunday drivers. Being a Sunday all the Gas stations were closed, I stopped at one for a break and they had one pump with a payment machine attached but my credit card was rejected, I could have paid cash but I had enough petrol to get to my destination.

There is no parking in Venice so I stayed at a place a 30 min train ride away in a small town. Venice itself is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways, make sure your phone is charged and your GPS working or you will be going around in circles. Once you get off the train everything is within easy walking distance. Public transport is by boat a single ride costs 7.50 euro and an all day pass is 20 euro. The Hop on/off boat also costs 20 euro for 24 hours. There are roughly 462,061 bridges in this place and I must have walked over half of them and people come here with suitcases and prams. Which is why they have porters with carts and they have to shove them up and down the bridges. A very unique place.

I decided the best way to visit the islands of Lido (Beaches) and Murano (Glass) was to use the City Sightseeing Hop on Hop off Boat. Having been on similar services in various cities I knew that the published timetable was only a guideline dependant on traffic conditions. Amazingly these boats were punctual to the minute and I realised why, they don’t have to deal with red lights and traffic jams.

 

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Italy, Milan, 26 – 27 May 2017

Posted on Monday, 29-May-2017 by Chris Desmond

Milan – greater metropolitan area population 5.2 million and the second richest city in the EU after Paris. The tourist areas were quite crowded even in the off-season and prices quite high. Public transport consists of Trains, Trams and the Subway, cost of a single ride 1.50 euro and an all day pass 4.50 euro.

I also visited the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, one of the best of its kind, quite an amazing place, huge variety of exhibits with videos and practical examples. There is a separate section with models of Leornardo’s inventions. They even managed to transport a complete submarine from the coast to the museum, a feat in itself.

After the Museum I walked to the Porta Ticinese, this is where the locals hang out, an artificial lake with hundreds of cafe’s and everything is half the price of the Tourist spots. On the way I stumbled across a huge Saturday market around the Sant Agostino subway station, selling just about everything.

 

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Italy, Milan, 24 – 25 May 2017

Posted on Friday, 26-May-2017 by Chris Desmond

My next destination from Lecco was Milan and again a very short distance so I made a detour to Bellagio and Como. Beautiful drive along the peninsula to the top where Bellagio is located and back down the other side to Como.

The main reason I came to Milan was to visit the Monza Racetrack. Anyone can enter this place, there are a number of entrances, just drive straight up to the Infopoint and book your tours. Probably best to call ahead and find out what tours are available and when as this track is busy, if not racing then testing etc. I first rented a bicycle for 4 euro an hour and rode around the inside of some of the track, there were some Endurance Championship cars on the track testing. Then a drive around the track in a minibus 10 euro and finally a chance to climb and I mean climb up the high speed banking, I nearly landed on my head getting to the top.

I went on a walk and saw a traditional bakery that sells pizza by weight. You point and they use a scissors to cut out a chunk of as many kinds of pizza as you like, then weigh the pieces and you pay. Lady Baker was feeling a little shy, as you can see when I insisted that she should be in the picture, hahaha.

 

 

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Italy, Lecco, 22 – 23 May 2017

Posted on Thursday, 25-May-2017 by Chris Desmond

Tirano to Lecco was too short a ride and I would have arrived at the Moto Guzzi Museum much too early, they only open at 3 pm, so I decided to make a detour through the mountains to St.Moritz and back. This meant entering Switzerland through the Maloja Pass at 1800 m, beautiful countryside, great ride. The road that runs along Lake Como on the east side is a series of tunnels with short stretches of daylight between them, you hardly get to see the lake at all.

The Moto Guzzi Museum is open Monday to Friday from 3 to 4 pm and entrance is free. I arrived there at 2:30 pm, there is a free car park directly opposite the gates. About 20 other people turned up, gates opened promptly at 3 pm and we had to enter name and country into a register then an Italian speaking guide led us through the museum which is on 2 floors, took about 45 min. You can also wander around on your own.

Lecco – I bought a sim card here from TIM , they are the biggest mobile phone company in Italy, cost 30 euro for 10GB data valid for 2 months along with 1000 min of calls and 21 euro credit for SMS etc.

 

 

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Italy, Tirano, 20 – 21 May 2017

Posted on Monday, 22-May-2017 by Chris Desmond

From Munich I rode to Tirano which is in Italy, on the border with Switzerland in the Alps and planned my route to go over the Stelvio pass but when I got there there the pass was closed. Anyway I decided to see how far I could get up the road before being stopped and I did get nearly to the top before having to turn back and make a big loop through Switzerland going over the Bernina Pass which was also spectacular in order to get to Tirano. It also started to rain and with the poor condition of the Pass road wet and very steep narrow hairpins, the going got quite treacherous, I was glad to turn back. Great ride 411 km – 7:47 hrs.

Tirano – small town in the Alps on the border with Switzerland, surrounded by snow capped  mountains, great place for a stop over. I had two interesting meals here, one was a Chicken curry on black rice (with strawberries and pineapple) and the other a Diav0la pizza in a traditional pizza place that sold food by the kilo and also craft beer in bottles. I hope the Diavola does not come to visit while I am riding my bike tomorrow hahaha.

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