La Dolce Vita

The plan was fairly straightforward, start in Milan, travel eastward across Italy then head north until almost Austria then make our way to Ljubljana, Slovenia, and drop southeast through Istria and make our way down the Croatian coast to Dubrovnik. If things go well, perhaps we continue to Greece. Alas, like Odysseus, so many unpredictable factors, Covid, weather, fate, we

Our visit to Milan often involved exploring iconic landmarks such as the Duomo di Milano, Castello Sforzesco, and art galleries like Pinacoteca di Brera. We indulged in authentic Italian cuisine, savoring pizza, pasta, and gelato while strolling through vibrant streets and fashionable districts like Brera and Navigli, as well as the beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Navigating the town by bicycle was easy due to Milan’s strong cycling culture.

The day began with an early visit to see Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” followed by a return to the accommodation to rest and pack. After enjoying more pistachio gelato, we stopped at a store for lunch supplies before embarking on a bike ride from Milan to Ramano di Lombardia. Riding through the Italian countryside along bike paths and canals, we encountered scenic villages and a beautiful church with painted ceilings. Despite minor mishaps like hitting a moped with a pannier, we enjoyed interactions with locals and stopped for lunch in a park. Along the way, we observed wildlife and made stops for refreshments before reaching our destination amidst cornfields for the night.

September 22, 2021 Ramano di Lambradia to Brescia Woke early to et an early start. Rode through countryside. Stopped at market and picked up stuff for breakfast or water, nice man at bakery helped. Saw quaint Italian villages with churches and bell towers. One village was very friendly people at cafe’s all cheerfully called bonjurno and everyone we passed all

September 23, 2021 Brecia to Verona Woke to a fantastic breakfast at La Muse. We rode out of Brescia and stopped to go into a very old church that was closed last night. It was circulating with old Roman mosaics on the floor. Then we rode through beautiful countryside with glimpses in quarries on the hillsides. Most of the bike

September 24, 2021 Verona Walked around the market. Went inside Roman Colosseum. They were preparing for a performance tonight.  Saw the devotional column Went to Piazza Erbe and saw the raised graves. Ian bought a belt from Lucca made out of bicycle tire. Had fun chatting with him. Walked to Church of Sant’ Anastasia. Wonderfully painted church spent a lot

September 25, 2021 Verona to Vicenza Woke early and had a nice breakfast of eggs sausage and toast. Rode off toward Vincenza Beautiful countryside with vineyards and field of corn and other crops. Met two German couples riding from Verona to Vicenza on seperate timeds during the day. At one point we found a bridge we were suppose to crosss

September 26, 2021 Vincenza to Padua Great breakfast a Mum’s this morning fresh tomatoes from her garden. Short ride but beautiful. Water along most of the paths. Church bells ringing in the village. Wine tasting everwhere Paths good but a lot of gravel paths. Came into Padua during a Marathon. Loga of people Pulled into our hotel just as it

September 27, 2021 Padua Walked to market for fruit and bread for breakfast. Went into hrhc again to get piece of clothe touche by the tounge. Went into the Duomo, which was very plane on the outside as well as the inside. But the alter had amazing modern sculptures for the lecture and podium. Walked next door to the baptistery

September 28, 2021 Padua to Lido di Jesolo Ate yogurt and granola this morning then headed out to the Scrovegni Chapel. Walked to the chapel and were early so we chatted with another American couple form Hawaii. Then it was our turn to join. We watched a short film about the chapel in a room (climate controls) attached to the

September 29, 2021 Lido di Jeslolo Relaxing day breakfast at hotel, Looked at different options for further travel.  Spent the day looking at options and packing a repacking bags. Wandered around town searching for an top gelato shop never found an open gelato shop Got pizza for dinner  Owner of hotel is lovely. Breakfast at the hotel was nice  Fixed

September 30, 2021 Lido di Jesselo to Latisana Great breakfast and off to an early start. Rode to Carole and enjoyed the lovely seaside and aromatic tower. We rode along rivers and canal for most of the day. Scenery was lovely. Cranes and flocks of birds. Delightful ride all day Arrived at air bnb. It is charming with hanging plants

October 1, 2021 Latisana to Tarvisio Great night sleep. Amazing breakfast with cereal w/ soy milk complote cherries, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs fruit, pear and apple juice. Rode into town to Cath the train.  Ian bought the tickets and we relized we had four minutes to catch our train. A very helpful showed us a ramp to get to the

October 2, 2021 Tarvisio to Adegliacco Today was a glorious day. Huge breakfast at the hotel, Cold morning rode with jacket and hat.  Climbed up to the rail trail. Steep hills. Then began the downhill descent. Cows with bells. Files of fall crocuses. Stumning mountains Beautiful vistas Tunnels some short some medium but well lit. some very long and well

October 3, 2021 Adegliocco to Trieste Loverly ride today after a road breakfast Grapes were already fermenting Rode through countryside Beautiful sunny morning slightly overcast. Rod to the coast. As we got tot the coast it started to rain so we put on rain gear. It did not rain for very long and was warm. We stayed dry in our

October 4, 2021 Trieste Headed out to see town Walked up some granstaricase with frog fountains to the top of the hill. Circled around the diastole trying to find the entrance. Found the cathedral and went inside. Cathedral was beautiful with mosaics similar to the Gystnaian in Turkey Walke up to the castle entrance Burt is was closed on Monday.

October 7, 2021 Trieste to Piran Great day Very windy and a little rainy. Fantastic bike paths. Getting out of Trieste was a little tricky was difficult to find the bike path. Trieste dead rats unfriendly people. Some climbing to get out of the city. We joined the Eurovelo 8 and the Parenzana rail trail. The trail was n old

October 8, 2021 Piran to Umag Amazing breakfast smoked salmon, walnut bread honey eggs, ect… Rode along the Adriatic beautiful still really wide. Met a couple France and Germany who were traveling to China. They were lovely to talk to. Crossed the boarder into Croatia. Stopped to get our passports stamped. Trail turned to gravel once we crossed into Croatia

October 9, 2021 Umag to Rovinj Epic day Started in Umag stopped at grocery store an grabbed breakfast and water. Nice tie out of the city Bike race today for most of the  path we wanted to take. Were told we would have to wait 40 minutes until we could use the road. Ian navigated us through back roads and

October 10, 2021 Rovinj Woke an walked to little market and got bread and pastries for breakfast. Walked around town and up to the church Mass was being held in the church. Walked along the sea water is so clear and such a beautiful  color Had lunch at Tunaholic. Ian had a tun filet sandwich and I had a tuna

October 11, 2021 Rovinj to Pula Left Roving on a search for breakfast. No markets Lots of gravel roads today Beautiful sea views Wooded areas. Lots of rocks and gravel Still no market but we found a grill that made us grilled chicken and fries with the pepper/pimento sauce on the side. It was delicious. Made or way to Pula

October 12, 2021 Pula to Motovun Eggs and toast for breakfast. Got up early to atdh train. Got train in Pula – an ancient diesel train. Small very old. Rode train for about 1.5 hours.  Very hot inside so we opened windows then smelled the diesel. Was like riding a Thomas the Tank engine Very slow train. Goe off of

October 13, 2021 Motovun – Piran Wonderful time in Motovun. Ride out of town and downhill but very cold and slightly wet. Stopped coming down to put on a hat which helped with the cold. Rode uphill for quite sometime today. Saw hill towns off in the distance. Beautiful landscapes Beautiful vistas from the top of hills. Ate lunch in

October 14, 2021 Piran Fabulous breakfast Walked to laundromat and started laundry Walked to coast and saw masses of jellyfish still biolmencent but we think they were diving. Saw fish and one different jelly fish and one till alive. Put clothes in dryer Met a German couple watching the jellyfish. Climbed the tower could see Venice, the  Alps, Tervisian, Slovenia

October 15, 2021 Piran to Hills of Trieste Great breakfast in Iran Late start Rode along the coast beautiful day. Stopped and get gelato on the way out of Piran. Rode on the road for most of today or paved bike path. Along the coast Large ships big docks, Crossed into Italy, took a picture Road to Munji and got

October 16, 2021 Trieste to Rome Host made special cake for me for breakfast. Was delicious! Rode up steep hills back to Travesty to catch a train. Bought tickets to Rome. The train was leaving in about 30 minutes so I ran across the street to a market and frantically bought food for the very long train ride. We had

October 17, 2021 Rome to Sorrento Woke early walked to get bikes out of garage. Walked over to hotel cafe and had vegan croissant and orange juice. We rode our bikes around Rome. Saw the Trivia Fountain in action. We rode all over Rome to the Vatican, Parthenon, Trajan Column and coliseum. Also made an important stop to the Fridijaim

October 18, 2021 Sorrento & Capri Wonderful breakfast from host Caught boat over to Capri Nice quick ride over. Took some time choosing a boat to go around the island. Beautiful trip around the island water is such a deep blue, my favorite color. Saw rock formations, a white cave, turquise water and lovely views. Got back from the boat

October 19, 2021 Sorrento to Positano Breakfast at bob Got an early start Climbed up a very steep hill 17%grade at some points. Then the ride was wonderful . A little climbing but mixed with downhill. Glorious blue sky, blue water. The smell of lemon trees as we rods. Road construction that worked well for us because there were breaks

October 20, 2021 Positano to Amalfi Great day – breakfast on balcony. Great ride to Amalfi gorgeous blue water. Met a guy from Florida wants to ride. Blue water Lemon smell all along the ride. Paper making museum in Amalfi. Interesting water used to power machines. Church – Ian got another cloth with saint juice. Dinner on balcony, long bath

October 21, 2021 Amalfi to Salerno Ate at a poke bowl place and had a toothy. Was delicious Stopped at a grocery store and picked up snacks and this delicious candy we had in our room. Did laundry and it is hanging up to dry

October 22, 2021 Salerno to Paesum Cereal for breakfast  Caught toe 9:30 train to Paesum Nice train ride Walked to archeological site. Fabulous temples (3) Fun imagining Roman city Cluseumn Walking around ruins houses was fascinating Mosuleum was interesting. I thought it would be exposed but just the roof is showing. The ancient Schoo bench was delightful we had a

October 23, 2021 Salerno to Pompei Cereal and past for breakfast. Rode out of Salerno Lots of climbing at the beginning of the ride. Rode through towns and on roads today. Stopped at market for water. Nie down an dup for second part of the day. Really hot and humid Checked into airbnb Brought bikes up in the elevator to

October 24, 2021 Pompei to Naples Eggs and toast for breakfast. A few problems with the airbnb but figured they will correct themselves. Headed off to Naples Lots of traffic, No like paths, just riding on the roads with cars. Trash everywhere Everthing get dirtier as we get closer to Naples. Only one or two very short bike paths in

October 25, 2021 Naples Breakfast of toast and fruit Walked to the archeological museum and saw stuff from Pomei.  amazing  mosaics beautiful frescos Mable statues rom the Farnese collection. listened to Rick’s audio guide tour of the museum, great tour. Waled to the arcade talked to a bee shop. They can help us get boxes go ship the bikes. Came

October 26, 2021 Naples to Ischia This morning host of the bib surpised me with a small Capri Cake (chocolate, almond sugar) and birthday candle. He sang Happy Birthday in Italian and English. The I grew out the candle and he said Italians break the candle in tow to make sure your wish comes true. We then rode to the

October 27, 2021 Ischia Woke to a great breakfast at the resort. Huge spread of food, Rode our bikes around the island beautiful ride. cases, cute towns, beautiful coast, great climb, glorious views at the top. EDC at top of the ride. Very nice bar allowed me to use their  WC. Amazing ride down the hill. Saw large green rocks

October 28, 2021 Foria Breakfast at resort Rode over to pharmacy to get covid test. Pharmacy was closed until 5pm. Woman in store next door let us know when the pharmacy would be open. Went back to the resort and changed into swim clothes an white fluffy robes and walked down to the beach Ian swam in the Sea it

October 29, 2021 Foria to Naples to Home Breakfast at hotel  Rode to ferry Hydro foil across the Sean to Naples. Dropped off bags at hotel, Rode bike to bike shop and left them to be packed up. Walked towards monastery and grabbed sandwiches. Climbed up the very tall hill to monastery. Enjoyed the view. Walked back to bike shop