June 27 - Where Are We

I am suspending blog posts for a few days. Our days are very full and they stretch too late into the evening to comfortably do blog postings. I will catch up later.

June 26 - Ljubjana to Lake Bled to Kobarid

Scene from Lake Bled.

We left Ljubjana on the bus just after 8:30. It was a short drive to Lake Bled. The weather was nice again - probably in the mid-70s. Our driver drove us around the lake for orientation. The views of the church on the island, the castle hanging off of the cliffside and the surrounding hills were breathtaking.

Our first stop at the lake was at the castle. We were told he history of it by Saso, our guide. Then we had free time to explore. It was a small castle with a chapel, an active wine cellar with a monk selling its produc, and ramparts which we could walk on and take photos of the surrounding countryside.

After the castle visit, we drove into the main village and were turned loose for three hours. Ann and Jane went swimming. The reported that the water was very warm and that big fish were lurking under the surface ready to take sample tastes of their toes. I wanted to take photos so I decided to walke around the lake on its very civilied walking path. It took me longer than expected but Ann was still waiting for me when I got back to the swimming area. We went directly to lunch. I was super hungry after my walk so I ordered the mixed grill. There was enough meat on it to feed Ann and me for a week back home. Ann was more conservative and had a salad. It was also very large.

By vote, our group decided to take the scenic route to our final destination. This included pausing by the house of "the inventor of Slovenian polka". It also included a stop at Saso's house. He lives on a narrow street in a quiet village. Nobody was home. The neighbors were surprised.

Back on the road, we headed for a twisty mountain pass. Our bus navigates up 24 switchbacks rising 800 meters in 12kms. We stopped along the way at a cafe for blueberry strudel. We also stop at a memorial to the Russion POWs who built this road after WW1. At the summit, we stopped so that Saso could give us all a taste of honey liquor and toast our successful mounting of the climb.

This area is known as the Julian Alps. It is not a spectacular as the other Alps, but the mountains are spectacular. Many of the peaks reminded me of the Dolomites.

Continuing on, our driver cautiously descended the 26 switchbacks on this narrow road stopping several times to maneuver around he corners and let cars pass. Switchback 44 was a particular challenge.

Our route continued down the Soča River Valley, a scenic drive into Kobarid where our hotel was located.

We got to our hotel later than expected. For that reason and for the slow Internet connection in our room delayed posting this blog until this morning. Our dinner lasted until 9:00. It was very good. We started with a small portion of carbonara followed by local trout. Our dessert was some kind of dumpling with vanilla ice cream. As an added touch, Saso give us a a dribble of pumpkin seed oil on our ice cream. It was amazingly good.

Please excuse my typos and incorrect iPad spelling changes. Being in a hurry, I didn't have a chance to proofread.

June 25 - Ljubjana

Ann in front of our hotel.

At 9:00 we met out local guide who took us on a two-hour city tour. Much of her focus was on Jože Plečnik , an architect that designed most of the best known buildings in Ljubjana. She also told us about the local history and culture. We visited the town hall and the main cathedral which had two amazing door which were created in the late 20th century. They looked much older.

We ended the tour at Prešeren Square which was named after the city's best known poet. There is a once controversial statue of him where he is standing under a semi-nude figure of a young woman.

Ann and I were a bit hungry and low on energy so we walked over to a vendor who sold crepes. She had a savory one while I had one with nutella. Then we walked a ways to an open grocery store. (This was a national holiday so most store were closed). We bought some supplies for our bus ride which starts tomorrow. We walked back to our hotel for a short rest.

There was a nice pizzeria/restaurant in the narrow street behind our hotel. When we were hungry again, we stopped there for a salad. I wish we would have discovered this place before. It was very good for lunch. After eating, Ann went to the hotel while I searched for an ATM.

We had a long rest at the hotel which included dozing off from time to time. It started raining around 6:00. We monitored it closely to see when it would be the best time to leave for dinner. I checked the hotel's restaurant and it was closed. The rain let up at 7:00 so we walked a short distance across the Cobbler's Bridge to Marley and Me. There was no devil dog there and we had good meal. I had Slavenian sausage with vegetables and roasted potatoes. Ann had the house sandwich with roasted red peppers, zucchini, melted cheese and prosciutto. White wine for her and a beer for me. The presentation of the food was very creative. Ours and other customers' food was shaped so it came to a peak with the entree on top and the vegetables, etc. underneath. Because of the rain, the were very few people out or dinner. We hardly saw anyone on the walk over. There were only ten of us in the restaurant. That was good for us because it was a tiny place with one chef and one waiter. We got our food in a very timely manner.

We walked back to the hotel in light rain. It is after 9:00 and we have a busy travel day tomorrow. So it's and early bedtime tonight.

June 24 - Ljubjana

The Cobblers Bridge with shoes in the foreground.

There were lots more people competing for the scrambled eggs this morning. Also, the one-at-a-time niche where we get juice and coffee was backed up. This made for a leisurely breakfast. That was fine with us because we sat with a couple from Austrailia and had a pleasant discussion about travel. He was a native Slavenian and she was a native German. They both spoke English with an Austrailian accent.

Ann chose the town tour today. We started around 10:00 as it was starting to get hot. Our first stop was at Serbian Orthodox Church. We were in time for the Sunday service. This very ornate building was filled with worshipers as well as incense. It was a singing service where the priest would sing a phrase and the choir would answer. The choir was professional as very good. The harmony was beautiful.

I got too warm and left shortly before Ann did. I noticed a group of men chatting outside. I figured that they had already gone into the church to make their required visit and then came outside to gossip.

Leaving the church, we walked back toward the center of the old town and then out to the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum. Much to our delight, it was free Sunday - no charge to get in. Besides the permanent exhibit of Slovenian life, there was a floor Showing the life of Orinoco Indians of Venezuela. I always wanted to come to Slovenia and see how some South American Indians lived. We were two of maybe six people in the museum - not much of a crowd for a free day. We also went to an exhibit in another building of witches, sorceresses, healers, etc. The museum guard had to unlock the door for us and a local woman. There were about a dozen paintings to observe.

We had a sandwich and a fruit drink before we entered the museum. You know that I will not forget to write about our meals. When we were finished with the museum we walked back to town stopping to have ice cream at Cacao, a very good ice cream shop. We stopped there yesterday and ordered ice cream from the outside counter. This time we went inside and had a better selection. Ann had chocolate with rasberry. I had blueberry and mango. Yum.

On the way back to he hotel, we went by the Franciscan Church which is the pink church on the main square. A folk dancing troupe was entertaining a new bride and groom. Of couse I had to take some photos and a video. Then we went into the church. It was very ornate and very Catholic.

Back at the hotel we took a rest. At 5:00 we had our first meeting with our Rick Steve's travel group. This was our orientation to the tour where our guides explain all of the formalities and we I ntroduce ourselves. When that was over, we went to a group dinner at the River House Cafe. They served a pasta dish with mushrooms, pork with dumplings, carrots and brussel sprouts, and an apple tart with layers of filo dough and poppy seeds. Everything was very good.

So now it's closing in on 10:00. Ann has already faded. I am ready to go to sleep, too.

June 23 - Ljubjana

A typical scene along the river in the old town of Ljubjana.

Ann finally made it. At United Airlines expense, she spent an entertaining night in Frankfurt at an airport hotel. This morning she caught the bus to the airport, got on her plane and arrived in Ljubjana only an hour late. Much to her surprise, her luggage was waiting for her. She shared a taxi to our hotel and arrived around noon.

In the meantime, I had breakfast at the hotel. It had two surprises - scrambled eggs and Turkish coffee. Both are a rarity in European hotels. The eggs were good but the coffee was not. I switched to regular coffee.

I took a walk into the old part of town and wandered through the huge outdoor market. It puts to shame the farmers' markets in our area. There were flowers, fresh produce, clothes, artwork, meats, cheese and a whole lot of other things. I bought a shirt. One of the shirts that I brought was getting too stained to wear so I replaced it.

After that I meandered back to the hotel. The weather had cooled considerably from the last few days. It was overcast with a threat of sprinkles. It really felt good.

When Ann arrived, she got her things settled in our room. Partly to keep her awake, we decided to go exploring. We got as far as the market area and decided to have lunch. We ate in an outdoor area at Ribca, a fish restaurant under the colonnades near the Triple Bridge. It is next to the fish market, so we knew that the fish would be fresh. We split a huge plate of mixed fish - French fried minnows, sardines, white fish, larger white fish, squid, octopus, polenta and mixed chard and potatoes. It was very tasty, but we couldn't eat all of it.

To work off some of the calories, we decided to take a short hike up to the local castle. I wanted to get up high to take some photos of Ljubjana landmarks. It didn't work, though. There were too many trees in the way. Where was Pacific Lumber Company when we needed it? The castle was too "new" to really interest us, so we looked around the grounds and the inside terrace (which contained at least three restaurants). Then we got on the trail and walked back to town.

Our next mission was to find some good ice cream. Although the castle hike burned only a few calories, we needEd some sweets. So we walked a ways to go to a recommended ice cream shop and found that it was closed. We settled on another one on the walkway next to the river. It was good.

The we walked back to our hotel and rested.

Dinner was at one of the riverside restaurants. Ann had a salad while I had pasta. We did a short walk after eating. Ann was getting ditzy from lack of sleep so we went back to the hotel by 9:00.

June 22 - Trieste to Ljubljana

This was a transit day for me. I caught the 2:00 bus from Trieste to Ljubjana. It was easy to lug my luggage from the hotel to the bus depot. I loaded it under the bus in its luggage compartment, got inside and relaxed for 2 1/2 hours. It was a local bus and the only one available until much later. We made several stops. The scenery along the way was interesting. Once we got into Slovenia, it looked like we were driving through a park. There were lots of trees and grassy plains. The towns that we drove through were just ordinary.

When I got to Ljubjana, I followed Rick Steve's directions and wheeled my luggage down to the main square and out to our lodging. There was very little traffic along the street to the main square. The sidewalks were wide and there were cutouts at each intersection which made it easy to maneuver my bags. Once I reached the main square, the road became a pedestrian walkway. The only things that I had to dodge were bicycles.

I am at a loss to describe the part of Ljubjana that I saw on my way. It is very charming and it will fast become one of my favorite cities in the world. We will be here for a few days, so more praise will come.

When I got to the lodging - it's called a guest house - I discovered that Ann wasn't here yet. After I got to our room, she called and told me that she is spending the night in Frankfurt. Her flight from San Francisco was three hours late and she missed her connection. Se will be here tomorrow morning.

I cleaned up and wandered over to the old part of town searching for a decent restaurant. There are dozens of outdoor restaurants lining the river along the pedestrian walkway with hundreds of people sitting in them. I peeked at all of the tables along the way to see if somebody was eating something that I might like. I was not very successful because all I saw were drinks, snacks and cigarettes. Out of default, I chose one and had veal stew, roasted potatoes and a large stout. It was OK, but I'll find a better place for Ann tomorrow night. The weather this evening was perfect for outside dining. I hope it holds for the next couple of days.

June 21 - Trieste

Castello di Miramare

I was in no hurry this morning. I slept in then had a leisurely breakfast. I noticed a flyer in the hotel's lobby for a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. I have taken these before and they have given me a good overview of a city. Because I had no other plans and because I was at a loss at what to do in Trieste, I decided to get a ticket. The bus stopped across the street from my hotel, so access was very handy. When it arrives, I had to decide whether to sit on the main level which had air conditioning or on the top level which was open and had natural air conditioning. I started off on the main level then moved up when we reached the shoreline and it became slightly cooler. It is still blistering hot here.

The shoreline is lined with a wide walkway. Every 500 meters of so there are vendor huts selling coffee, cold drinks and snacks. A few trees populate the walkways, but they are scarce. Some of the hotels along the road have private beaches. The rest of the shoreline is for the public. Calling them beaches is an exaggeration. There is little sand. Most of the shore is lined with big rocks. There were hundreds of people along the way sunbathing and swimming. For the swimmers in the public area, it was a challenge to climb onto the rocks to go swimming. For the hotel set, it was easier with floats and ladders.

My first stop was at the popular Castello di Miramare. I had to walk along the shore for about 1km to get there. I discovered a beautiful villa along the cliff. You should click on the link to read about its history. There was also a large, heavily landscaped park that surrounds the villa that is maintained by the World Wildlife Federation. Lots of families and school children were there enjoying the cooler temperatures under the trees and alongside the sea. I spent and hour or so there and then walked back to the bus stop.

I rode the bus to the end of the line and then found a place to eat lunch. I had read about a restaurant called Siora Rosa on Trip Advisor and the guide on the bus was able to give me directions to get there. I was really happy with the experience. I sat outside under the shade of an awning. My waiter spoke English ans was extremely friendly, patient and helpful. He explained the daily menu and web chose a plate of cold sardines with cooked onions and maybe fennel. I also had a side dish of cold beets which were very sweet. It was an excellent lunch. I was so impressed with he service that I tipped the waiter. This is not the normal thing to do in Italy. During lunch, a priest sat next to me with another man. The priest was very outgoing, greeting most of the people walking by, asking them how there were doing and how we're there parents doing. He maintained a line of chatter throughout his meal. He even sent a bigger into the restaurant to get some takeout food. I was impressed.

I wandered around for a while before catching the bus again. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. When I boarded here us again, we went through the old part of town and then up to Parco Della Rimembranza where there was a monument to WWII solders, an old fort and an old church. Then we wandered through narrow streets and eventually back to the stop near my hotel.

An afternoon rest and cooling off period was called for. I did that and then left for dinner around 7:00 looking for a restaurant that might open early. The lady at the desk suggested one, but when I got there, I wasn't sure which one she meant. Besides it was too warm to stop in the area. I walked to cooler climes but eventually went back to her spot. I had prosciutto and melon along with spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and basil. After dinner I walked to a gelatoria around the corner from the hotel and had licorice and chocolate.

It's almost 10:00 and I am ready for bed.

June 20 - Ravenna to Trieste

The Tri-Train Trial

I was sad to leave my B&B this morning. My room was very nice, the operators were friendly and helpful and the resident dog was tolerant but a little standoffish. I powered down some coffee, fruit, yogurt, egg and muffin and left for the train station a little past 8:00. Wheeling my bags over the cobblestones was easier than when I arrived two days ago. This is because I knew where I was going and I wasn't tired from the day's travel hassles. My train to Bologna left from track 1 so I didn't have to lug my bags down and up the steps under the tracks.

The train was an intercity train which meant that I rode in an unreserved second class car. This train was much nicer than the one that I arrived in. It was clean and the air conditioning worked. Because Ravenna was the originating station, it was ready for boarding early. I got a good seat and my luggage found a large area to sit in.

When I arrived in Bologna, I had to go down the stairs to find my next platform. A kind soul helped me with one of my bags. I got lucky going up to the next platform because there was an elevator to get me there.

This train was a high-speed one. I had a reserved second-class seat and plenty of space for my luggage. It was air conditioned. The seats were comfortable but a bit cramped. The lady across from me spent most of the time on her cell phone. I started to get upset, but she had such a melodic Italian voice, that I calmed down. The train was about 15 minutes late and I was slightly worried about making my next connection in Venice Mestre - that's the station right before Venice proper.

When I got off of the train, I had only 15 minutes to make my next connection. I thought that I got lucky because the train across the platform was going to Trieste. I almost got on it, but it looked too crowded. So I lugged my bags down the stairs and over to the stairs for the platform for the train I was supposed to board. There are lots of hustlers (in a good way) hanging out in these underground passages looking to earn a few euros by helping old people like me. Well I had one of them carry my bicycle bag up the stairs and gave him €2.00. He wanted more but I told him that was all that I would give him. He disappeared.

This was another intercity train bound for Trieste. It was very crowded and had no air conditioning. The temperatures were in the 90s. The top slits in the windows were open, though, so it was tolerable. As the train rolled into each station, more and more people got off. By the time we reached Trieste two hours later, it was half full.

I wheeled my luggage out of the station and asked several people for directions to the hotel until I finally found it. The rooms are modern in an old building. My room is clean, quiet and has good wifi. The first thing that I did was dump my bags and go around the coerced for a pinino and a beer. Then I got cleaned up and washed out today's soggy clothes.

Around 6:00 or so, I decided to venture out into the unknowns of Trieste. The nice young woman at the desk showed me how to walk to the old part of the city. It was still hot and the traffic was very noisy. I immediately walked down a lightly travelled side street and entered a pedestrian mall. Map in hand, I navigated through the historical, shopping and restaurant area. Part of the time I and several other people were following a marching jazz band. I'm not sure what their purpose was because they were handing out literature written in Italian. It was fun though. I eventually got hungry and settled in at Ristorante La Piazzetta. I chose it because it looked nice, had a decent menu displayed and there was seating outside under an awning and surrounded by bushes in planters. I had mixed fried fish and a mixed salad. Food is not deep fried like it is at home. It is lightly sautéed. There were sardines, small white fish, small flat fish, octopus, squid and shrimp. It was good but not great. I got my fried fish yearning taken care of.

After dinner, I wandered around on my way back to the hotel. There were lots of people out and most of them were sitting in outdoor cafes drinking, smoking and snacking. It was a young, vibrant crown - much younger and vibranter then I am. I didn't feel sorry for myself getting back to my room by 8:30.

I would have more photos tomorrow. One of the websites that I need to massage my photos on my iPad is down.

June 19 - Ravenna

Christ being baptized by John the Baptist. The other figure is the personification of the River Jordan.

I heard that the mosaics in Ravenna were fantastic. I was not disappointed. But first, the start of the day. My B&B has a civil breakfast time that starts at 8:00. This is very relaxing after our early breakfasts during the bicycling tour. I might not feel the same when I have to catch a train at 9:00 tomorrow. To get a jump on tomorrow, I walked to the train station right after breakfast and had my tickets printed out. Now I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.

Rick Steves has a walking tour in his guide book that starts at the station. I decided to take it. The street leading from the station is lined with broad leaf trees. This provides shade from the sun which was beginning to raise the temperature. After a couple of blocks, it turns into a pedestrian shopping street. Bicycles are allowed and encouraged by marking the center of the street in a light color for their right of way. Nobody seems to adhere to it - both cyclists and pedestrians. It seems like every fourth local is pedaling on their way to somewhere.

A short way up the pedestrian street, Rick has us turn right and go to the Arian Baptistery. That is where I took the photo at the top of this page. It was built during the reign of the Goths (c. 526). You can read about it by clicking on the link.

The walk then went to the Piazza del Popolo which marks the center of town. It was pretty quiet. I saw very few tourists. I walked through the piazza, turned left and arrived at the Basilica di San Francisco. It is a plain church whose fame is its mosaic-covered flooded crypt with goldfish swimming in it.

Outside of the church in a small wooded park is the tomb of Dante. He lived out his life here and died from malaria after being bitten by too many mosquitos.

Ricky's walk ended at the Mercator Coperto which is a independent vendors' market inside of a large building. This is fairly common in Italy. This market was described as colorful. Only around 10% of the stalls were open. I bought some bananas and sat down to eat one. It felt good to rest. It was getting very hot. I had been walking on the shady side of the street to avoid getting my scalp sunburned so sitting inside of a building gave me some relief.

Now I was done visiting all of the free sights. It was time to get serious and pay for the more significant venues. So I bought a combination ticket for the rest of the day. It cost me €9.50. I bought it at Basilica di San Vitale. The photo on the left represents God in heaven portrayed by Christ sitting on a celestial orb. He oversees his glorious creation symbolized by four rivers at his feet. This is just one of several scenes that you will have to wait to see through our website's slide show.



My next destination was the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia just across the courtyard from the basilica. It has the oldest mosaics in Ravenna. It is a small building and fairly dark inside. A little light seeps in through windows made of thin alabaster panels. Other than the blue mosaics on the ceiling as you enter the mausoleum, my favorite is St Lawrence martyred on a fiery grill.

After seeing the grill, I was getting hungry and my camera battery was running low. So I walked back to the B&B, put the battery into the charger and walked over to the market that I mentioned before. It has a self-service cafeteria in it and it is very popular with the locals. It was the busiest place that I had seen all day. I had some bow-tie pasta with salmon sauce. There were several other pastaN dishes available as well as a salad bar, a grill for meat and fish, a dessert selection and a fruit bar. I made myself a fruit cocktail. It was very crowded so I sat with an Italian gentleman. Both of us were afraid to start a conversation.

Back at the B&B, I sat while the batteries for me and my camera recharged. Then I was off for the second half of my mosaic viewing adventure. The Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna was my first stop. It is an austere, sixth-century church with very long walls upon which are more fantistics mosaics. Next, I walked to the Archiepiscopal Museum where I saw Christ as a warrior stepping on a lion and a snake while carrying a cross as if it were a weapon. Finally, I visited the Neonian Baptistery where Christ was getting baptized again by John the Baptist while the River Jordan looked on.

Once I left the last site, I wandered back to the B&B and cooled off. I had one of the best dinners of the trip at Restorante 45. I had Tagliata di tonno pinna gialla crosta di sesamo con spnacci e cipolla di tropea fritta and insalata mista. The tuna was outstanding. The bread that was served was more French than Italian with a crunchy crust and a soft interior. It was made with salt. Maybe the Revannans have a supply of salt from the sea. I topped off the meal with lemon cream gelato.

June 18 - Pont Saint Martin to Ravenna

Our hotel breakfast was special. There was a machine that automatically squeezed oranges - the first fresh orange juice that I have ever drunk in Italy. The rest of the buffet was typical - croissants, cereals, cakes, yogurt, etc.  We left Pont Saint Martin at 8:00 on a big bus after storing our luggage underneath. The ride was uneventful except for a huge traffic jam that delayed us for about 1/2 hour. We made it to Milan Malpense in time for those going home to catch their planes. I joined Janet, Mary and Heidi on the train to Milan Centrale. It was much nicer than taking the bus like I did when I arrived several days ago.

Janet was staying at the same hotel where I stayed on the 5th so I led her out of the station and showed her which way to go. Then I went to a ticket machine and tried to print out my prepaid ticket. For some reason, the machine did not recognize my surname and would not cooperate. I had to join a very long line to take my reservation to an agent. This took about an hour, or so it seemed. It was very warm in the station, enough so that an elderly woman fainted in the line in front of me. This did not slow the line at all. When I finally reached my turn, it took the agent only a few seconds to print my ticket. I felt relief.

I wandered around this huge station and found a cafe, one of many. It was past noon and I was getting hungry. I had a tuna salad and a pinino. My train to Bologna was not until 4:20, so I found a cool place to sit and read.

The first train to Bologna was very nice - plush reserved seats. The second train to Ravenna was a local and the air conditioning did not work. There were some open windows so it was tolerable. The major effort was hauling my bIcycle case as well as my suitcase. The combination wore me out. The bicycle case is especially heavy when I had to take it up and down train station stairs. When I was going up the stairs in Ravenna, a kind man helped me. That made me feel good.

I wheeled my gear along the main street and up a street to my right and found my B&B. It is in a real old building. My room is large and my bathroom is huge for a bathroom - very unusual for Europe. The owner checked me in and gave me lots of advice for tours and restaurants. She let me keep my bicycle bag on the ground floor. It was easy to carry my suitcase to the second floor. 

After showering I looked for some of the recommended restaurants but I couldn't find any that were open. I looked at a menu and then walked into a nice looking one. It was a good choice. I had noodles with several types of crustacians along with a mixed salad. I also finished off a large bottle of fizzy water. It was a good dinner.

I took the long way back to the B&B and noticed that the town is very quiet. There are not a lot of tourists here. According to Rick Steves, Ravenna is a day trip for most people. That's OK with me. I like quiet nights.

It's getting late. I have to wash out today's clothes. They got very wet from the heat during the trip here.

June 17 - Pont Saint Martin to Gressoney La Trinite and Back

Roman bridge in Pont Saint Martin.

I did not intend to do the whole ride today. My knees were sore, my back hurt and I had lots of other excuses. The weather was beautiful, though - warm temperatures and sunny skies. So I started to ride out of town with Mary and Heidi leading the way. They stopped for and equipment adjustment while I trudged on. It was quite steep for the first few kilometers and I was getting warmed up. I set my mental clock to decide at each 10km whether or not to turn around. The traffic was very heavy and it started to spook me. But then it would thin out and the grade would lessen, so I kept on.

We were going up another valley alongside a quickly moving river. We passed several villages with Tyrolian architecture. It seems that a lot of the cars were targeting Gressoney Saint Jean for their Sunday adventures. This is a town on an alpine plain that stretches for a couple of kilometers. There are lots of hiking trails, hotels, cafes and picnic areas. I targeted this town as one of my turnaround point. The road leveled off here so it felt good to pedal on.

Outside of town, the grade rose by a lot. I was close to the end of the route, so I kept going. I am glad that I did because the grade leveled off as I rode into Gressoney La Trinite. The mountain views were spectacular. I rode along a hiking path for a short while and ended up at a cafe where I met Janet, Midge, Rose, Art, Paul and Bob. They were resting and drinking cappuccino. I was hungry, so I had a pinino with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and mayonnaise. This is the first time that I had mayonnaise on this trip. It really made a normally dry pinino taste much better.

The group left for the return trip before I did. When I finished eating, I took a couple of photos and pointed my bicycle downhill. It was a quick trip.

Here is a link to today's ride.

It was very hot back in town. I was a little apprehensive about packing my bicycle in the heat, but the basement in the hotel was relatively cool. Once again my bike fit into its suitcase. And as a bonus, so did all of my cycling attire. Now I will have more room in my regular suitcase as I continue my trip through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

After cleaning up, I walked up to the center of town. I ate my after-ride gelato and found a cash machine to replenish my supply of euros. Dinner was at the hotel again. I had risotto that had cheese and apple slices in it. For a main course I had a beef stew with polenta. Our desert was a caramel custard. It was all good.

I am now nearly packed for the next adventure that starts tomorrow.

June 16 - St Vincent to Pont St Martin via Colle di Joux

Margie, Art, Midge, Janet, Henry, Julie, Marie and Bob at the top of Colle di Joux.

It was warm and very hazy this morning when we awoke. It was our last night in St Vincent so we had to pack our suitcases and load them into the van. I left the hotel with Julie around 8:40. We had a very steep uphill for two blocks, so we walked our bicycles. Then we were on our way up to Colle di Joux. We climbed nearly 4000 feet in nine miles. Most of the climb was very slow in our lowest gears. There were fantastic panoramic views, but it was so hazy that we couldn't see the head or foot of the valley. It was not a good day for photos. This route was on this year's Giro d'Italia but they went in the opposite direction and added the climb to the Matterhorn to end their day.

We caught up to Margie, Mary, Marie, Janet, Midge and Henry near the top of the climb. They were taking a short break. We rode with them up to the summit and stopped at a restaurant. Rose, Art and Bob were getting ready to leave. I decided to sit for a few minutes and have a cappuccino and a snack. Then it was time for our downhill.

The descent went on for 25km. It wove through forests and villages and a narrow road with numerous switchbacks. Being Saturday, there was lots of traffic mostly going uphill. It was a bit scary when the Italian drivers cut the corners and moved into our lane. We made it down the hill safely, though.

When the road flattened out, we rode into a very strong headwind. Fortunately we got our rest on the descent and had enough energy to spin into the wind. We rode past Fort Bard which guards Valle d'Aosta from foreign invaders. By observing all of the traffic and tourists, it's not doing a very good job. The fort is now a museum. Most of us didn't stop there. Instead, we trudged on to Pont St Martin. It was lunch time, so we passed our hotel and stopped at a bar for panini and drinks. Because it was the end of our ride, I decided to have a beer. It really tasted good. I coasted back to the hotel stopping briefly at a farmers' market and bought some bananas. It is hot here. My shower felt really good.

Here is a link to today's ride.

I had a good rest this afternoon. Our rides have been short but tough with lots of climbing. It felt good to kick back and give my legs a relief.

We had a group dinner at the hotel. I started with pasta with lemon and parsley. The other starter was vegetable soup. Both were very good. My main course was a very thin beef stake with cheese on top along with roasted potatoes. The other main dish was tomatoes with mozzarella cheese. The beef was not memorable. I forgot to mention that one of our appetizers was lardo - look it up. I will try just about anything once.

June15 - St Vincent - Matterhorn Out And Back

Marie and me posing in Cervinia with the Matterhorn in the background.

I must not have paid much attention to the ride details for this tour. I forgot that today's ride went to the base of the Matterhorn. We left the hotel around 8:40, coasted downhill for about 3km and then started to climb. There were a lot of steep sections, a few not so steep, several tunnels and a few villages along the way. We saw lots of writing on the pavement urging on bicycle racers. The Giro d'Italia finished a stage on this road a month ago. In one of the larger villages I stopped and took a photo of a Giro display.



The top of the climb and the end of the road was at Cervinia. It was here where we had the best views of the Matterhorn. It was lunch time and I was hungry. On previous days I had been eating panini for lunch, but I wanted something moe substantial and tasty today. Earlier riders from our group had found a small cafe and recommended it. I talked Marie and Henry in sharing a real meal with me. I had tagliatinni with tomatoes, asparagus and bacon. It was yummy and perfect to celebrate the climb.

On the climb, I was riding with Julie, Margie, Midge, Janet, Marie, Paul and Henry. They all left Cervinia before I did because I was taking more photos. I made it down the hill and to the hotel all by myself. The ride was beautiful (it seems to be a standard on this tour). The temperature was warm but very windy at the end. The only negative about the route is that it forced us to climb slightly on the way into town. This could not be avoided, though.

Here is a link to today's ride.

I had my after-ride gelato - crime, chocolate, pistachio and cinnamon.

Some of us went back to last night's pizzeria. Instead of pizza, I had spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and arugula along with a mixed salad. It was very good.

June 14 - Aosta to St Vincent

On the way up to today's summit - mountains and wildflowers.

I haven't said much about Valle d'Aosta and I should have. It is a beautiful narrow valley that starts at the foot of Monte Bianco (Mt Blanc) and runs for several miles. There are very steep hills on each side with snow-capped mountains in the background. As we ride down the valley, our routes take us up and down these hills and into some of the famous mountain passes. The passes that I have managed to reach the summit still have lots of snow on the side of the road. The shorter hills also have patches of snow. The creeks and rivers are running high. The hills are very green and the alpine fields are covered with wildflowers.

Today's route from Aosta to St Vincent took us into the hills on the north side of the valley. The roads we were on were designed to service the tiny villages along the way. They were narrow with fairly steep sections. The was almost no traffic. I rode with Julie. Each time we went around a corner we oohed and aahed at the vistas.

We reached the summit of our main climb at around 22km and found a bar that served us panini and Fanta. Even though it was a little cool, we ate outside on the patio so we could look at the view. We had caught up to Debbie just before this and she joined us for lunch. Henry and Marie arrived just as we were leaving. On the downhill, we caught up to Midge and Janet and helped Midge change a flat tire. By the time we reached the end of the descent, we had a chain of riders. This helped a lot because one of the turns was a little vague. By majority vote, we managed to get back on route and reach our hotel in St Vincent with no futher problems. We were pretty tired when we reached the outskirts of town and were struggling on the uphills getting into town.

This ride will be one of my favorites for a long time. It was reasonably challenging, very scenic and had minimal traffic.

Here is a link to today's ride. The elevation gain is more accurate than previous days.

Dinner was at a pizzeria about a 1/4 mile walk from the hotel. I really enjoyed our first course of prosciutto and melon, mussels and green salad. The pizza was OK. When we walked back to the hotel, a talent show was getting organized in the piazza. Looks like we will have some entertainment as we try to go to sleep.

June 13 - Aosta/Place Moulin Loop

Picturesque church along today's ride.

I opened the shades this morning and the sun blinded me. Right away I thought I was in trouble. Did I feel obligated to try to climb Paso Saint Bernardo again? When I took out my bicycle at 8:30, Margie, Marie and Henry were looking for riding companions. So I hooked up with them. We did a challenging ride up to Place Moulin.

The weather cooperated with us for almost the whole ride. We had a few spritzes of rain, but the clouds were mostly light. It was cold enough on the descent to wear a jacket and leg warmers.

Our ride started climbing immediately. We rode up a ridge away from Aosta through the hillside suburbs. In a short while we entered the real countryside. There were several small picturesque villages along the way. I was watching for places to stop and eat on the way back, but didn't see anything interesting. We road through forested ridges and along tumbling rivers. We could see several waterfalls, some in the distance and some smaller ones alongside the road.

When we reached the small village of Bionaz we didn't see the sign pointing to the turn for our destination. We rode through the village and saw a road ahead of us that went downhill. We were tired from climbing and didn't want to go down a road and have a steep climb on the way back. I did some scouting and decided this was not the road that we wanted. We turned back and found the sign pointing to the correct road. Following it, we climbed a bit more and stopped where we could see the dam that created our destination lake. There were a few more switchbacks getting to the road's end. The other three riders decided to stop here. I kept going and reached the end.

After taking a few photos, I put my jacket back on and headed back downhill. My riding partners had already left, so I let my bike loose and flew as fast as I safely could to try to catch them. I took the same route back but I never found them. I rode into the old section of town and had a panino and some gelato. Julie and Sally stopped to chat with me while I was eating.

I got to the hotel sometime after 2:00.

Here is a link to today's route. The elevation gain is too high.

After our traditional social hour, several of us went back to the restaurant that we went to last night. The food was still very good. I had ravioli with shrimp along with a mixed salad. Service this time was very slow. There were lots of families there with little kids playing in the grassy area next to the outdoor eating area. It was a little noisy, but it was fun watching the kids. I ate with Julie, Tom and Margie. Because Tom and I ordered a second course, our main course took a long time getting to us.

It's now 9:30 and I am ready for bed.

June 12 - St Bernard Pass From Aosta

I got past the last switchback and a little farther?

I decided to sleep until 7:00. Breakfast started then, but I was in no hurry. I was having trouble deciding if I was going to ride because the weather report did not look good. When I got back to my room I could see a few tiny patches of blue mixed in the overcast. The sky in the direction of Paso St. Bernado looked promising, so I put on my cycling clothes and left by myself at around 9:15.

I was proud of myself leaving town because I did not get lost. That is unusual for me.

The climb began after 2km and never stopped. The road had a lot of traffic because it is an alternate route to the autostrada tunnel that goes under the pass. The shoulder was very wide and I did not feel unsafe most of the time. I got squeezed once by a string of trucks and cars on a very steep pitch. Fortunately I could keep a straight line and not weave into their path. At the point where there is an option to take the tunnel, I veered off onto the old road and traffic became very light.

The grade on the climb was fairly moderate up to this point, but it soon kicked up a couple of percents and maintained that steepness. I caught up to Debbie at Saint Rhemy and we played leapfrog for a while. I put on my rain jacket and long-fingered gloves because it was getting cold and we were feeling some spritzes of rain. We stopped at a small cafe around noon and split and salami and cheese panino. This was the official turnaround spot on our route sheet. It was not the summit, however, so we decided to ride the last 7km to the top. After short while, it started to sleet. I decided to turn around and go back to Aosta rather than risk hypothermia and slippery roads. Debbie went on. She told me later that after stopping at the summit, the sleet stopped and the road dried out. I am disappointed that I didn't get to the summit, but at the time I had to make a decision.

Here is a link to today's ride. The elevation is not accurate but it is not too far off.

When I got back to town, I stopped for gelato. This time I had limone and melone. I reached the hotel around 3:00.

We were on our own for dinner tonight. Several of us went to an upscale pizzeria. As some of you know, pizzerias in Italy have a lot more on their menus than pizza. I had a mixed salad (it was nice to get some fresh greens) and linguini with pesto, scampi, little white shrimp, green beans and small chunks of potato. It was the best meal, yet.

June 11 - Arvier to Cogne to Aosta

This is me at Cogne at the top of our climb

Another surprising day. The weather was supposed to be ugly again, but we awoke to blue skies with scattered clouds. It was a bit chilly, but very comfortable.

We left Arvier around 8:30 trying to beat any rain on the horizon. After a short downhill, we started our day's climb. It was relatively steep to begin with and continued that way for several kilometers. Once again we were going up a mountainside along a glacial stream that was moving fast. The road went through several tunnels and snow sheds. I had to walk through one of them because I couldn't tell up from down or right from left. There were a couple of very small villages on the way that I didn't pay much attention to because I was concentrating on trying to make it to the top. Finally after about 20km the road leveled out a little and we pedaled easily into Cogne.

The town is a hiker's destination or starting off point. There were lots of outdoor types there and very few cyclists. Julie, Marie, Henry and I found a deli-type shop where Julie helped us order a picnic lunch. The clerk was a bit confused on what we were ordering. She couldn't understand why we led for sliced bread and pesto sauce to spread on it. It all worked out OK. We had our bread, pesto, cheese, ham, salami, drinks and chips and sat on a bench outside of the shop and made our lunch.

Afterwards, we joined most of the group at a bar down the street for capuccino. After that, we pointed our bicycles down the hill and made record time back down the mountain. We reached Aosta around 1:00.

After showering and doing the daily laundry a few of us waked into the old part of town. Aosta is a really old town with Roman ruins including an old bridge, some arches and an archeological dig in the middle of town. We focused on finding gelato. A gelatoria was recommended to us by a young American woman expat. I had licorice and cream. We wandered around finding a bicycle shop, some more Roman ruins and a tourist information office. I left our group there and went back to our hotel to rest.

We had a group dinner in the dungeon of a local restaurant. We all had a sampling of three shuffles. For a main course, I had pork with some kind of special sauce. It was good but not memorial or else I would have remembered what the sauce was called. For dessert I had a moraigne (sp) filled with ice cream. We also had lots of wine. I sat next to Midge who was the only one who asked for white wine. I shared the bottle with her after I finished my glass of red wine. I'm going to try to sit near her on the other group dinners.

Here is a link to today's ride. Please disregard the elevation gain - it is way too high.

Special thanks to my friend John Beland who thought my bike was a time machine pushing me back to May. My blogs will now have he correct month in them.

June 10 - Arvier Rhemes Loop

Me, Marie, Julie and Henry at the top of today's climb

We got really lucky today. The weather forecast looked terrible for today, but we woke to clear skies and mild temperatures. We had an early breakfast at 7:00 and were on the road in a big group by 8:30. The latest forecast for today predicted that rain would move in late in the afternoon so we wanted to get the ride over by early afternoon. I carried my jacket and leg warmers and kept on my arm warmers.

Directly after we left the hotel, we started to climb. Our group split apart quickly. Julie and I found ourselves riding together for the rest of the ride. Our pace is very compatible. We did join others in our group from time to time, mainly Marie and Henry on the uphill section.

Our climb was mainly up a forested road. We passed through a couple of very small villages that had typical churches, old crumbling villas and very little else. The few farms along the way had dairy cows. We could hear their bells from the road. We spotted a deer in one of the fields. Most of the time we were next to raging streams whose water looked glacial.

The road went from steep to very steep in places. Near the top of the climb, however, it became a bit easier. There were several tunnels and snow sheds. At the longer tunnels, we rode our bicycles around them on the old road or on a farm track. I had to dismount in one of the tunnels that did not have a bypass because I was getting dizzy and disoriented in the dark.

At the top of the climb the was a car park where we stopped. Lots of hikers were there. Actually, there were lots of hikers along the last few kilometers. This is Sunday and the locals love their outdoor activities.

We spent a little time at the top and then mounted our bikes and rode down about four kilometers to a restaurant. Everyone from our group had stopped there. I had a fluffy omelet with a side of cauliflower with a light white sauce.

The rest of the ride went quickly. It was downhill all of the way to Arvier. I had a minor mishap with my front fender and had to make quick repair. When we reached the hotel it was very warm and a little humid. We could see the sky getting cloudy.

I wanted to post statistics from my rides, but I am having trouble with copy and paste. I got photos to work, though.

Dinner tonight was at a pizzeria. I did not want pizza, but it was the only place open in town on Sunday. We had fun, though.

June 9 - Courmyeur to Arvier

Wow! Sunshine and clear skies. It was cool but beautiful this morning. We had a great view of Monte Blanco (Mt Blanc if you prefer French). We left the hotel as a small group and promptly got lost going out of town. Not to worry, though. We retreated about 1km and we found where we were supposed to go. The route teased us for a couple of miles by going downhill. Then we started our climb up to Paso Piccalo St Bernardo. We rode through wooded mountainsides along raging streams. After a while there were snow banks on the side of the road. Because the temperature was so mild, I had shed the outer layers of clothes. Now, with the snow, I was getting a little cold especially in my hands. After dozens of switchbacks, I finally reached the summit at 7200 feet. I stopped at a restaurant and joined Art, Rose, Janet and the other Bob. Debbie, Marie and Henry soon joined us. I had a tasty bowl of pea soup with croutons and cheese. We decided that this was a French recipe because we had crossed the border into France.

After we were done, we loaded up our bikes, put on some outer layers to keep warm and decended on the same route. The downhill was long - all of the way to Arvier, our days stop. As we descended we saw some of our group going up. We also picked up more riders going down. By the time we made a refreshment break, we had a train - Bob, Debbie, Julie, Margie, Marie and Henry. Because it was downhill, we made good time getting to out hotel at around 3:00.

It was a wonderful day on the bicycle. The weather was perfect. The views were fantastic. And we climbed one of the epic passes in the Alps.

Dinner tonight was very filling - salad, pasta, veal, fresh fruit and lots of wine. It was one of our group dinners. Tomorrow night we are on our own. I might go back to the same restaurant.

A matter of housekeeping - my tools that I use to transfer photos and GPS tracks is not working. This means that I can't show any photos or ride statistics. I will try to get this fixed in the next day or two, maybe during a rain day.

June 8 - Courmayeur

I am stuffed. We just got back from our first group dinner. I had a large salad with warm goat cheese to start. Then Julie and I split a main course of guinea hen and risotto with Sargon and asparagus. I finished with cake with fresh apples and whipped cream. It's late so I might have a little trouble sleeping tonight.

My day was uneventful. Although some of our group decided to do our optional rides, several of us looked at the rain and the threatening clouds and decided to stay in town. We walked around in the morning and then had lunch. I thought that I might ride after lunch but it was sprinkling again, so I decided not to.

I wasted the rest of the day trying to resolve some blogging issues, catching up on emails and reading. Tomorrow, we ride to the next city on our itinery so I have no excuses to be lazy.

View from Courmayeur

June 7 - Milan to Courmayeur

I don't have a lot to report today. This was a transition day from Milan to Courmayeur. I slept until 7:00, had breakfast, toted my luggage to Milano Centrale, took the bus to Malpensa, had lunch and met our group at door number 7 at 1:00. We loaded our gear into a large bus and left for Courmayeur. Halfway there, we stopped for a break at one of the wonderful Italian auto stops where I fortified myself with a cappuccino. After we left, we began to climb into the hills of Valle d'Aosta. The main road goes straight up the valley with very steep hills on each side. The Italian road builders have carved several long tunnels along he way.

We arrived at our hotel around 3:30. After checking into our rooms we went outside to put our bicycles together. The weather cooperated -  it was cool and cloudy with a small threat of rain. For some reason it took me longer than usual to put my bike together but I got it done and it seems to work OK. We have a couple of short optional rides tomorrow to test our bikes if the rain holds off.

I had pizza for dinner with Henry, Marie, Rose, Art, Debbie and the other Bob.

Internet at this hotel is better than my last hotel. I was able to upload my photos from Milan. As proof, here is a photo of the duomo:

Milan - June 6

Tylenol PM is my friend. I took a couple before going to bed last night and I slept about 12 hours. I hope that my jet lag goes away quickly.

After having the usual Italian buffet breakfast (juice, coffee, cereal, yogurt and bread), I left the hotel at 10:00 and started exploring. My first stop was at La Scala. I couldn't get into the opera house, but I could get into its museum where there were lots of momentos of composers, opera stars, instruments, etc. There were a few boxes open where I could look out into the opera house and stage. The stage is huge and the seating area looks comfortable. It is a large venue but not nearly as ornate as the one in Venice.

In the square opposite the opera house a quartet of young musicians were giving a concert. They were playing different types of saxophones.

I was hungry so I went to a restaurant nearby and had penne pasta with vegetables in a tomato sauce.

After lunch, I strolled down to the city's main duomo. This is Europe's fourth largest church. It has lots of spires, carvings and gargoyles and it is all done with marble. I walked around the church and then went inside. The columns supporting the roof are sequoia-size. The interior is not as fancy as some churches that I have seen but the stained glass windows are beautiful. Rick Steve's said that the tour of the roof should not be missed, so I bought my ticket, climbed the stairs and popped out amidst the spires and gargoyles. I could see lots of the city from the top and can report that Milan is just as hazy as all of the other big cities that I have been in.

Planning my walk back to the hotel, I wandered through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and then over to the Sforza Castle. The Galleria is upscale and a good place to people-watch. The castle is old and a good place to stroll with its huge park-like setting. In the meantime, I stopped for gelato (licorice and cream) and got a new sim card for my Italian phone.

I got back to the hotel around 4:30. After showering I caught up on Internet things and transferred my photos to my iPad and to a photo sharing site on the Internet. I am trying to integrate the photos into this blog but I am having trouble doing it with the iPad and the mixed Internet response time in the hotel. I will get it figured out soon.

Dinner tonight was I n the same trattoria as last night. This time I had cold shellfish antipasti and a mixed salad.

I am getting to bed later than last night but that should get me onto a normal schedule. Tomorrow I am meeting the BAC group for our bus ride to the Italian Alps.

Home to Milan

I thought that I was jinxed today. As we were getting ready to leave for the air port, Ann could not find her wallet. She did not want to drive without her license, so she dropped me off at Rockridge BART. Then my BART train stalled in the bay tunnel. When I finally reached SFO check in was a breeze, but the boarding pass scanner was not working and they had to process all 400 of us manually. As a result, we took off 40 minutes late. All was well after that. The middle seat was empty in my row so I had extra room. Then the feature movie was "One For The Money" so I got to see what the characters in Janet Evonovich novels should look like. I was disappointed on all of them except Stephanie Plum, her cousin Vinnie and the office secretary (I forgot her name). Joe Morelli was too short, Ranger was too rough around the edges and Grandma Mosur was played by an old Debbie Reynolds.

Even though we left SFO late, we arrived in Frankfurt almost on time. I am now waiting for my Milan connection. There are two things that I really like about the Frankfurt airport. First, you get lots of exercise walking from your arrival gate to your departure gate including passing through passport control and security. Second, Lufthansa has these realy cool coffee machineatwater about a dozen buttons where you select how you want your coffee fixed at their gates. I had espresso and cappuccino.

A strange thing happened in the airport when I turned on my iPhone. It automatically connected to T-Mobil in 3G mode. I wonder what my AT&T bill will look like. 

Later......

I am in Milan.  I took the bus from Malpensa to the central train station and walked two blocks to Hotel Florida. I have a small single room in a very quiet area. Free wifi is included. I showered and washed out my traveling clothes. I am pretty wiped out from the flights and jet lag. I'll do a neighborhood walk in a while, have dinner and then get a food night's sleep. 

Later.....

I did the neighborhood walk and found all of the usual trims station businesses plus a whole lot of restaurans. I picked one at random for dinner. It was only 6:00, very early for Italy. If had some decent salami and risotto Milanese with safron. 

It's now about 7:00 and I am fading I should have some photos tomorrow