2008 09 02 End of the Tour

I am sitting in an empty hallway in the Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight home. It boards in a couple of hours, but the gate hasn't been assigned yet. I hope I am near the right area. I got to Marco Polo airport in Venice early, so they put me on an earlier flight. I like that because the window between flights is much wider and there is little chance that I will miss a connection.

I didn't post blogs for 8/31 and 9/1 because I was too tired at the end of each day. So this blog will be the last one of the tour and cover those days as well as today.

Sunday

On Sunday, we left Il Fae at 9:00 for Hotel Villa Stucky. We had two vans for passengers and luggage plus one van for passengers and boxed bicycles. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there. Once we were there, Jeff and I unloaded our luggage and walked to the train station. We got a jump on the others in our group who were not quite ready. We bought round-trip tickets to Venice and settled back for the short ride to the Venice train station.

After debarking in Venice, we went to the vaporetti ticket office and got 12 hour passes. The Number 2 line took us to Piazza San Marco where we got off. We were getting hungry, so we tried to find a small restaurant in the area where I had eaten before. We couldn't find it so we settled on another place where we had panini. Then we went back to the piazza and toured the basilica museum. We couldn't get into the basilica because mass was in progress and when we finished the museum tour, we would have had to wait too long. So we decided to take a walk so I could show Jeff some of the areas we had been to in the past. We found some of them, but my memory and navigation skills are getting worse and we missed a few. Jeff got a chance to visit the Academia art museum while I waited outside for him.

We did some more exploring and had gellato and Italian cookies. We thought that we were going to stay in Venice for dinner but we were pretty tired at this point. So we went back to the train station and rode to Mogliano and Hotel Villa Stucky. We checked into our room and found that we were assigned a room with a twin bed. If I had a cycling roommate other than Jeff, I would have insisted on changing to a room with two beds. It didn't bother us, though.

We were able to join our group for our final Happy Hour. Several of us went into Magliano for dinner splitting up into a pizza group and a real-food group. We went for real food. Jeff had pizza anyway while I had a forgettable gnoche with ragu sauce. We walked back through the town square and stopped for gelato.

Villa Hotel Stucky

Monday

On Monday morning, we said goodbye to everyone that we saw in our group. Then we grabbed our luggage and rolled to the train station. When we debarked, I checked my bicycled case at the left luggage counter. It was too heavy and bulky to carry to our hotel. We bought 24-hour vaporetti passes and took the Number 1 line to the Realto Mercanti stop where we walked a very short distance to Pensione Gueratto. This is a well-situated hotel with one side facing the Realto Market. It was mid morning and we were ready for a snack so we bought some bananas and a melon at the market, took them to our room and ate the melon. It was very juicy and hit the spot.

We rode the water bus to Piazza San Marco, ate pannini (brown bread, meats, etc.) at a recommended panini store and went to visit the Doge's Palace. (I had forgotten to bring my Rick Steves' tour information and was feeling very bad about it, but the hotel had several copies of the Venice book that were left by previous guests. We borrowed one for the day). The palace tour wore us out. It's funny that we can ride our bicycles over the Alps and Dolomites and feel more tired walking the hard, stone streets of Venice.

Even though we were tired, we walked through the basilica. The dress-code police are not as strict as before. I wore shorts and wasn't stopped. We walked back to an internet cafe where we had some time left from the day before and checked our flights and looked at our emails. Then we toured the old Jewish ghetto. After that, we walked to the bus station so that we would be prepared for the next morning's departure.

WWII Memorial in the Ghetto

Back at the hotel, we took a rest. I tried to read, but I managed to doze instead especially because Jeff plied me with beer.

Soon we were off again to find a Venician mask maker and store near our hotel. We found the store, but they were done making masks for the day. Jeff had ideas about buying a mask, but they were very expensive. After that, we were off testing our navigational and map reading skills to find Osteria Masaroni fro dinner. We got there about 40 minutes too early (they open at 7:00) so we hung out at S Formosa square watching the locals doing their after-work routine like dog walking, bench chatting, etc.

We were the first into Osteria Masaroni unlike two years ago when we were lucky to get a table. It smelled sooooo good that our appetites got got larger and larger. We ordered the house red wine and then decided on our meal. Our antipasto was a mixed selection of squid, shrimp, potatoes, sweet red peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc. It was delicious . Our pasta course was spaghetti with fresh tuna. It was very good and filling. For dolce we had panna cota with raspberries and blackberries.

Osteria Masaroni

After dinner we strolled over to Piazza San Marco to see it at night. We got lost on the way and got to see some of the Venice neighborhoods that most tourists don't get to. We finally got to the Grand Canal and then to Piazza San Marco a little later than we expected. There were still many tourists there, but not as many as the daytime. The dueling orchestras were playing but nobody was dancing. The extremely over-priced cafes were almost empty. Overall, there seemed to be many fewer tourists in Venice than my previous trips there. Maybe it's because of the exchange rate,  maybe it's because of the expense of Venice or maybe because it was the first of September and many people were going back to work.

Piazza San Marco at Night

We walked over to the water bus for our ride back to the hotel. For a surprise, we met Steve and Cynthia at the pier. They were getting off of the boat to see the piazza at night. We chatted for a few minutes and then were off to our hotel.

Tuesday

 

Jeff was up at 5:15 so that he could catch a vaporetto and a bus to get to the airport for his flight home. My flight was much later, so I slept for another hour and had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. At 9:00 I checked out and took the vaporetto to the train station. My bicycle case was still there at the left luggage counter. I paid for it, rode the vaporetto to the P Roma stop and caught the bus for the airport.

Here is a Venice transportation tip: When you buy a vaporetti pass, it is valid for the orange local busses as well. When you leave the airport, buy a pass and ride the Number 5 bus to Venice. You get dropped off at the P Roma vaporetti stop after a 20 minute ride. When going to the airport, do this in reverse. This is way, way, way cheaper than riding in a water taxi.

I got to the airport several hours before my flight was due to take off. When I checked in, the counter agent asked me if I'd like to take an earlier flight. I agreed. So I went through Security and Passport Control, walked onto the plane and was pleased that my seat was next to Art Hewig, our tour director. He, Rose, Ralph and Larry were on the flight.

After I debarked in Frankfurt, Art and Rose were rushing to there connection. Larry and Ralph were flying to Los Angeles so I lost track of them. So I wandered around the airport and had lunch - meatloaf, spätzle and broccoli chase by a large beer. When I left the restaurant, the police had the main mall area of the airport cordoned off. I quickly left the area and walked to my terminal. I was able to sit for awhile and work more on this blog until my battery ran low.

So, I caught my plane to SFO. Ann picked me up at the airport. It's now Wednesday and I am publishing this as my last blog for this trip.

2008 08 30 Belluno to Il Fae, Conegliano

Our route today, the last day of riding, was rated difficult. Because of that, were were on the road by 8:00. We were the last to leave. We rode through the old section of Belluno on cobbled streets until we reached the outskirts. Then we began a series of short climbs on quiet, narrow country roads. At 8 miles, we began a climb of 900 feet in three miles. It was gradual and very manageable. At 15 miles we had our most difficult climb of the day - 1400 feet in 4 miles. At the top in Tambre, there was a Saturday market. We wandered through part of it and saw, among other things, small birds for sale and large raptors on display.

The route carried on up and down through forested land and a couple of beautiful, green high plains. We were getting hungry but it was well before noon and the sparse restaurants in the area did not have lunch food or were booked. So we carried on. Fortunately we had a steep 6 mile descent into Fregona. Halfway down the hill the view opened up and we could see the vast expanse of the Venetian Plain. It was very hazy, though, so the view was disappointing. We could feel the temperature rising several degrees.

At the bottom of the descent in Fregona, we stopped at an Osteria and had pannini. Then we started another series of ups and downs that were fairly gradual. We stopped ju st outside of Fregonia to look at some grottos. We had to pay .50 euros to park our bikes and then hiked down a path to look at the series of caves. Jeff went farther than I and got some good photos.

 

Pretty soon we reached the old town of Vittorio Veneto. It had an old square surrounded by ancient buildings with interesting frescos on their facades. It also had a new square with fountains and flowers.

Our final stretch took us through rolling hills past vinyards of prosecco grapes. This is the region where prosecco comes from. We had no time for wine tasting but we did stop for gelatto. The temperature was in the high 80's, so it really tasted good.

We reached Agriturismo Il Fae B & B in mid afternoon. I immediately disassembled my Bike Friday and packed it while Jeff turned in his rented bike and went for a swim in the B & B's pool. Once I showered, we joined the rest of the group for refreshments and conversation.

Dinner was al fresco. We had several tasty dishes cooked by the B & B's owner. Wine was from grapes from their vineyard. We also had grapes that were freshly picked while we were eating and fresh figs from their trees. Dessert was fruit tarts that were the best I have had ever.

Daily Statistics

Mileage	54
Maximum Speed	38.4
Average Speed	10.1
Moving Time	5:19
Elevation Gain	5355
Weather	60's to 80's and sunny

2008 08 29 Alleghe to Belluno

Our start today was much easier than the previous two days. We left the ski town of Alleghe at 8:40, rode beside its lake for a couple of kms on the main road, and then branched off onto a secondary road. We followed the river that came out of the lake downhill for another 18 kms for a descent of 1100 feet. We had to ride on the main highway for very short stretches, but our main route was away from cars, busses and motorcycles. It was very peaceful and quiet.

After we went through the town of Agordo, we branched off of the main road again and began a 1250 foot climb in 5 miles. This climb was very gradual and had many switchbacks. We had shade most of the way which was becoming valuable. We went through a few small villages and finally reached the top and rode along the ridge for a couple of miles.

The Church in Agordo

We reached the bottom of the Mis Valley after a steep descent of of 7 miles and 1700 feet. Here we started riding along the Mis River. There were hardly any cars on the narrow road. We passed through a series of ten short, unlit tunnels carved under the cliffs alongside the road. One tunnel had a curve in it so light wasn't showing from the end. It turned pitch black and I had to stop until the headlights from a car coming from the other direction gave me enough illumination to ride forward out the end of the tunnel.

Sample of a Short Tunnel and the Mis River

The narrow valley finally ended at a dam where people were picnicking and fishing. We passes through the villages of Mis and Mas and had several short climbs and descents into Belluno. The directions to our hotel were complex. We met several riders in our group at the outskirts, so we all were able to share our navigational skills to get to the Albergo Cappello e Cadore ***.

After showering, Jeff and I wandered around the hotel's vicinity trying to find a pizzeria for lunch. We finally found one next door to our hotel. We each had a beer and whole pizza. The wood-fired pizzas were large, but the thin crust made them lighter than most US pizzas.

After a short nap, we did some more city wandering. Jeff took pictures of the old buildings. The city was not very impressive in terms of old buildings and churches. There were very few people in the streets and almost no traffic.

Old Buildings in Belluno

Dinner was on our own tonight. We ate in La Taverna, a nice restaurant in an old timbered building. We shared bruschetta and white beans for appetizers. Jeff had thin noodles with a pesto sauce for his main course while I had flat noodles with a ragu sauce. Desert for Jeff was tiramisu. Mine was panna cotta with chocolate saute. Everything was good except the soggy bruschetta - the tomatoes were too juicy.

Daily Statistics

Mileage	40
Maximum Speed	34.2
Average Speed	12.3
Moving Time	3:16
Elevation Gain	2422
Weather	Sunny 50's to 80's