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26. Lichtenstein
This is a check mark visit only on your way from Austria to France. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/589/2...d3cf3f76_c.jpgbrig 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
27. Austria
Austria is probably the most beautiful country we have seen yet. We never wanted to leave the stunning town of Rizlern. We will be back in the Alps next year. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5785/...4dc45f80_c.jpgbad tolz 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5786/...191006de_c.jpgbrig 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
28. Andorra
Agh don’t go here on a weekend the hords of cross border shoppers are a nightmare. I think other than the tick mark we would have avoided this country. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/618/2...20e66cf7_c.jpgtarascon 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
29. Italy
We only had a taste of Italy in the Dolomites, but WOW. I cannot wait for next summer. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5716/...d03cdee1_c.jpgroad trip day 1 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/653/2...3e029d89_c.jpgroad trip day 3 53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/700/2...cbacde76_c.jpgroad trip day 4 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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Enough messing about in the off season!! Time to ready to hit the road again April 7!!!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/...b828210b_c.jpgDSC04125 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is the approximate route for April until the middle of September! After that we will walk the 860 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de Port France to Ribeira Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela for 5-6 weeks. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1678/...f4b666f9_b.jpgSummer Route 2016 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
See you on the road! but......
Quote:
Or is the penance for having such a great time on the road for the last few years? When we meet up in Italy remind me to tell you my Santiago de Compostela story!! Its funny (but not at the time) Look forward to reading your resumed travel stories Gino & Fiona |
I know some great spots for a few bevies in Bassano del Grappa! Can not wait to see you both. Im sure it will be a great story you always tell them well. We will tell you Dan's Asiago tale then in its full glory. We will have to walk off all the pasta and ice cream!!! Cheers from warm and sunny Vancouver. Hugs to Fi
Sara |
The Shengen Zone
Well we are back on the road this week. Flying to Madrid April 7, 2016 and then traveling about 200 km south to get the bikes out of their winter storage in our friend Modesto’s garage. We have some maintenance to do including oil changes, some upgrades to the crash bar hardware, new chains and sprockets, install new headlights and rewire bike lighting, install voltage meters, install new wire harness for the 650, and remove the “tool tubes”.
We are also headed back to the Schengen Zone. WTF is the Schengen Zone you may ask? Well so did we. I have polled a lot of North Americans and none knew what it was or what the implications are for non-Schengen residents. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1585/...8138d83f_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-01 at 12.13.49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We arrived last year to Madrid on March 1 and our passports were stamped “ Espania in by air”. When we picked up our bikes at the cargo terminal we signed a waver that we would take the bikes out of Spain in the next 6 months. Just like Argentina….. NOT https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1468/...eca1eb15_b.jpgIMG_5450 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We traveled in Morocco March 25 to April 18 and were stamped out and into “Espania by boat”. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/...2f78da3b_b.jpgIMG_5458 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We then traveled to the UK May 4, where out passport stamp said “Leave to enter for six months, Employment and recourse to public funds prohibited”. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1598/...bfb1ddd0_b.jpgIMG_5456 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We entered the Netherlands “by boat” June 9. By now we had been in the “unknown Schengen Zone for 6 weeks. It was after we were in the middle of the north sea June 17 when we were telling our new Greek friends about out trip, when one of them asked “what are you doing about the Schengen problem”? We were like “Schenzen???” It was 2 days until we had internet to investigate this problem. |
We as Canadians (Non-Schengen Zone residents) are allowed only 90 days in the SZ and then must be out for 180 days before you can reenter legally. So by this calculation we were half way to becoming illegal aliens in the SZ! The penalty is deportation and being barred from the SZ in future!
Of all the weeks we have spent in various countries since March 1 only those spent in Morocco and the UK are outside of the SZ. To add to this we will be inside the zone until we try to get to Russia for 3 days in August and then until the end of October. Luckily for us scanning your passport at the SZ checks does not calculate your days inside the zone. We did have to pass thru SZ border checks at the ferry port on the way to and from St Petersburg. This was quite stressful on our way back from Russia after our 72 hour Visa Free, as we did not have a Russian visa to stay there and we were technically illegal in the SZ. Luckily the official asked me when I came to the SZ (when i arrived to Holland June 9) and not when did you first come to the SZ (March 1). https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1617/...f4be7b7a_b.jpgIMG_5460 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This still left the problem of getting out of Madrid at the end of October. We had been mostly in the SZ for the last 8 months. I think the fact that we are Canadian and flying home made it a lot easier. They did not even ask us any questions at the SZ passport control and just stamped us “out of Espania” by plane! This year we will have less of an issue as we are in the zone for April 7 to June 30 but out for much of the rest of the summer in the Adriatic Countries before we leave the bikes in Bulgaria. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1539/...86d27f31_b.jpgIMG_5452 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving Vancouver on a beautiful Spring night!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1625/...f4be52b3_b.jpgDSC00507-HDR.jpg by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
HEY SCHENGEN ZONE…..WERE BACK!!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1681/...decd7227_b.jpgIMG_5546 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Palais Royal on the Plaza Oriente Madrid https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1647/...1f5806d6_b.jpgDSC00540-Edit.jpg by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1703/...f125439f_b.jpgDSC00528-Edit.jpg by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1534/...bd5a3739_b.jpgIMG_5578 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1580/...5de1626b_b.jpgIMG_5575 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The much less glamorous side of adventure motorcycle riding.
We arrived in Madrid in the evening after a long night flight from Vancouver via Heathrow. Jet lagged we made it with one bag still in London and took the flat rate taxi to the hotel. After taking some sleeping drugs we passed out. Awaking at 1040 we were late to meet our friends for lunch. We walked over to their new apartment to find there was no name on the buzzers at #3 M Street. This meant pushing all the buttons starting at 1 and buzz every one until….3C! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1520/...826b91f2_b.jpgSpain-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The plan for the day was to get the bikes out of storage 200 km south of Madrid. Thanks only to the kindness of our friend Modesto herein Madrid is this is feasible. We had to borrow his car and drive to a town 20 km north of the city to pick up his motorcycle trailer from the storage unit/workshop. It was 430 by the time we left San Sebastian de Los Reyes and headed south. After a stop at a gas station for a lunch at 530 we were on the road. Driving when jet lagged is a tricky proposition and we of course missed the exit to the exit to the village we going to and this added another hour to our day. WE had not remembered to bring one of the GPS’s home with us so we would have it for times like these. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1553/...8aeab671_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.10.26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Finally we arrived to La Solana and had no issues loading the bikes on to the trailer and the gear into the car. Luckily in my state of exhaustion I realized I did not see my riding boots. I had left both pairs in plastic bags with one set sitting on each of my panniers when we left in October. I searched the 2000 square foot storage and finally found them about 15 meters from the bike on the floor beside an old car. Our friend had been out tho the bikes to get some pannier mounting hardware we had (He shipped them for us to Michael in Austria who still has the Touratech pannier system) from my pannier and had moved the bag. Are we really sure we want to do all this??? Did I mention it is cold and pouring rain??
Well now it is nearly 9 pm an getting dark and we have a 250 km drive back to the storage unit to drop off the trailer and then drive back to the city. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/...08f3fbf9_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.11.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It is now dark and the storage unit is hard enough to find in the industrial zone in the day light. We picked the correct exit off the highway and had the general area, but just could not fine the back alley. McDonalds at 1130 pm for wifi and we were set. We were actually 1 block off from where were supposed to be by guessing. Now back to the city. We managed to charge one of the GPS’s enough to use it. Our friends don't have a street parking permit near their new apartment yet and so this meant driving around the very narrow streets to try to find a parking space at 1 am. Frustrated exhausted and confused by the one way craziness of the inner city lane ways we finally gave up at 1 am and pulled into a parkade (31 Euros ouch), stumbled to the hotel and crashed. That lasted about 25 min and our jet lag kicked in again. Finally at 430 we took drugs. Are we really sure we want to do this?? Feeling a bit overwhelmed and on a bit of a time crunch. We have 2500 km to get to the rally in Toscano by the 29 th of April and today is the April 9 th. We would also like to visit some friends in the south coast of Spain in Almirante and that is off course for us. We would like to take in Carcassonne and Avignon France that we missed last year as Daniel was on crutches. We also have several sets of friends riding this summer in Europe and would like to meet up with them. AGH! |
Day two of the ordeal started groggily when we got up at 11 and staggered up 6 blocks to get the car. Then headed back to the shop, but at least we knew how to get there now. The bikes were unloaded and dan noted the front brake sticking, but it finally moved normally with some rocking back and forth….. The plan for the bikes today is
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1702/...a15f79f4_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.13.46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1654/...871f81aa_b.jpgIMG_5565 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/...ab7a8522_b.jpgIMG_5562 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 1. Oil Change- bought oil at Calleja. Of course the last oil change was at BMW and they stripped the oil pan bolt on the 650. This meant extracting the bolt and driving over to BMW to get a new one. 2. Sara’s Skid Plate remove stripped bolt-can not remove bolt from old skid plate mounting 3. Install new headlights- The BMW lights suck and they have burnt out the reflectors and now are so dim they are useless. Cyclops Adventure Sports. Very straightforward installation. Does require a bit of labor to get the windshield and plastics off and on. Also on the 800 Daniel needed to use a Dremel to cut down the Dash to accommodate the light box. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/...52cb4c6d_b.jpgIMG_5567 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1632/...c496b35a_b.jpgIMG_5595 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 4. Rewire bikes & lights https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1616/...a7ef6807_b.jpgIMG_5566 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 5. Install Voltage meters- to monitor charge and hopefully prevent having to change the stator on the side of the road the next time. The meant enlarging the hole on the 650 Touratech dash that was the cigarette lighter socket previously and enlarging the light switch hole on the 800’s Britannia composites dash. Home - Britannia Composites Ltd. IMG_5597 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1520/...dacc1eb0_b.jpgIMG_5568 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 6. Install new wire harness on Sara’s Bike- old one fried and install new light switch for accessory lights. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1496/...77e46419_b.jpgIMG_5596 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Day 3 mostly went smoothly
7. Sort out all the gear as it is now in one location and separate that for the bike trip and that for walk on the Camino. Managed to downsize some of the stuff on the bikes. 8. Finished the oil change on the 650 with the new drain plug. 9. New Crash bar hardware (remove stripped Touratech bolts that made the last stator change on the side of the road such a hassle as we had to do it without removing the crash bar) Thanks to Modesto for the extraction tools. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1642/...bd5e2a36_b.jpgIMG_5591 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1451/...e62eb56d_b.jpgIMG_5594 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 10. Remove old and install new Front Sprocket covers https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1623/...f61b685f_b.jpgIMG_5593 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 11. Fuel Filter Change-when we removed the mechanism from the 650 we found the pre filter was missing and had to fish it out of the bottom of the tank. Luckily Dan had researched this and was aware there might be an issue with the hose attachment on the 650. On the 800 the ring clamp is a screw on type, but on the 650 it is a clamp on version. This meant you had to destroy it to remove it and he had bought the correct screw on replacement part. Yeah Dan! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1501/...09e03b8a_b.jpgIMG_5603 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1656/...247a1967_b.jpgIMG_5602 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1559/...1aa06a30_b.jpgIMG_5584 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1675/...0b10c2e8_b.jpg IMG_5606 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1621/...2e2cc3eb_b.jpgIMG_5608 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1500/...6256e510_b.jpgIMG_5613 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/...57b0262f_b.jpgIMG_5588 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1525/...776df0d4_b.jpgIMG_5612 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1623/...3cb1222e_b.jpgIMG_5590 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 12. Take off Sara’s tool tube- Dan feels the need to get the weight down on the bike. They are a great way to keep the dry bags on the back and not have to since down the roc straps so much. Dan will keep his for now to be able to lock on the rain gear. The covers will come out into a small dry bag. We have downsized our other gear again so stuff just fits inside the panniers now. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1598/...d46f73f1_b.jpgIMG_5600 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1487/...9b55f509_b.jpgIMG_5601 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Day 4
Sleep in rest and try to get the tires organized. We have happily decide that after some sleep and sorting out a lot of the logistical issues we do not just want to go home. We also had time to spend with our friends and thank then for everything they have done to help us. We could not have accomplished all this without them. We went out for Mexican food and then celebrated with some traditional Hungarian Palinka shots! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1515/...54d87280_b.jpgIMG_5647 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1549/...2224732b_b.jpgIMG_5644 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1480/...b38f94b9_b.jpgIMG_5646 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1671/...a05d53e9_b.jpgIMG_5682 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1696/...f64d867f_b.jpgIMG_5683 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Day 5
Our luck may finally have changed we even got a parking spot out front of the shop! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1682/...7ba28241_b.jpgIMG_5688 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 13. Return to the shop for final touches, check oil and tire pressures again. Sort and pack the last of the gear an tidy the shop. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1566/...26fff943_b.jpgSpain-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 14. Tires installed Angel del la Cruz Moto in Madrid. Nice guys and super clean shop. They got the tires for us in less than 24 hours and made an installation appointment as well according to our schedule. This is where Modesto comes to the rescue again. We could spend all day sourcing tires and a shop to put them on and he can accomplish this in 5 minutes on the phone. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1608/...f755837c_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.15.49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Drive 40 km to Navelcarnero to stay just 15 minutes from the village of Villanueva de Perales, which is where DMX suspension is located. We arrived to the town after a bit of a scare as we entered the very long tunnel under Madrid and of course lost GPS use. This was a bit harry as it is 4-5 lanes of very fast moving traffic and multiple various branching points none of which said “autovia sur-oeste”….Finally after 15 minutes we exited to find we were luckily pretty much on track and we had managed to not screw it up. This is very easy in Madrid as every 200 meters there is a collection of direction signs and especially in the tunnels it can be so easy to go the wrong direction. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1674/...944984a2_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.16.30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is a very nice small town with beautiful stone buildings. We stayed in a small Posada off the main square and did a walk along the ruta Truistic thru the town. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1687/...2dabb03e_b.jpgSpain-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Day 6
Drive to the 18 km to Villanueva de Perales. About 9 km from the village Dan’s front calliper was seized and smoking. I went on to DMX to get help and the guarda civil (highway patrol) stopped to protect the bike from accident as it was parked on the narrow dirt verge of the road. Once it cooled he could soon get going and arrived at DMX before I could even get a transport truck arranged. It turns out the last BMW dealership overfilled the reservoir and it was to bursting. Take some out problem solved. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/...ac866db1_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-14 at 11.17.50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 15. Suspension service- DMX https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1676/...9e34ae2c_b.jpgSpain-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1585/...5a0c2238_b.jpgSpain-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 16. Chains & Sprockets- done at DMX since they have the tools and there we had the time. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1649/...2085e776_b.jpgIMG_5598 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr 17. Fork Socks- re install new ones. We had always used these on our dirt bikes and on the road bikes until we had the suspension done last year. they advised no socks. That said about a month after this I got a rock chip on the back side of the right fork and this caused a leak in Norway. We had a new seal put on in Finland, but within 2 weeks it was leaking again. The nick was so small we could not see it. Finally when we got to Sweden again to Bike Trollhattan where they found the nick and smoothed it out and replaced the seal. New fork stickers!! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1566/...ab2c7f31_b.jpgSpain-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Damian and Ursula and there team are so fantastic. They fit us in on a day when they already had a lot of work to get done. They stayed until 10 pm to get as much done on our bikes as possible. They still had time to take us for a full Spanish lunch with the menu of the day, beers, and whiskey! They were also kind enough to let us stay in the spare office in the warehouse since there is no hotel in the village. We had our mats and sleeping ags, power and a bathroom with a hot shower, what more could you ask for? https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1621/...6d9a3221_b.jpgSpain-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The next day they just has a few things left to do and after taking us to the village for breakfast they were done by 1130. Thanks for the great job again. Love the new fork stickers.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1685/...3af3def4_b.jpg2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1551/...10d84a68_b.jpg1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a 468 KM drive to the south west coast of Spain to our friends town Los Areneles del Sol, that is just south of the port city of Alicante. We pressed for 5 hours on the highway and made it in good time. We had pretty good weather and the temperature warmed up to 26 at the coast.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1544/...dce39698_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-17 at 21.22.51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had met João (Joam) and Ania on our boat when we were in the Galapagos for 2 weeks in 2014 and then again later the same month in Mancora Peru. They were so nice to ask us to come stay at the beach. We spent the first evening recounting to each other the stories of our trips in south America. They had traveled by bus, but eventually bought a car in Chile and did the Ruta 40 and Carretera Austral like we did. It was great to share stores and some good Spanish wine. Dan still managed to get up for the sun rise! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1607/...7d0750e3_b.jpgSpain-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1611/...3d43713b_b.jpgSpain-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
João planned a full day for us of sightseeing.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1522/...74fa839b_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-17 at 22.47.16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1580/...3668e1b3_b.jpgSpain-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We stated with a visit to Xixona, which is a picturesque village on the hills near Alicante. We walked up to the church on the top and enjoyed a drink in the square. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/...a02c8dcd_b.jpgSpain-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1702/...787d607b_b.jpgSpain-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1449/...29158ab3_b.jpgSpain-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1505/...e453e5d6_b.jpgIMG_5709 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/...22006542_b.jpgSpain-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We then drove further up into the hills on what would be a great motorcycle rode to the village of El Castell de Guadalest, which was where one the site of one of the last captured castles in the reconquest of Spain.
“After the disappearance of the Caliphate at the beginning of the 11 th century, the Muslim Hispanic faced a fragmentation into small independent kingdoms. There are remains of the palaces or citadels (Arabian al-qasaba or fortified citadel), belonging to the monarchs. The building of the Castle of saint Joseph was started in the 11 th century. During the 13 th century and especially in its second third the Christian kingdoms started to conquer the Muslim territory. The area of Alicante was turned into the crossroads of the Reconquest since the neighboring rival kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia both wanted the lands for their crowns of Aragon and Castlie. In 1644 a large boulder was torn off the castle in an earthquake. In 1708 during the Spanish war of Succession a mine explosion destroyed the western aisle. In 1848 the walls surrounding the castle were knocked down. “ https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1675/...624f0959_b.jpgIMG_5717 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1484/...9df45fd0_b.jpgSpain-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1668/...37aebc27_b.jpgSpain-28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1670/...3bcffeb1_b.jpgIMG_5722 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1639/...89e3e0ab_b.jpgIMG_5723 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we need to book it north as we need to be in Milan in 6 days time to meet the King and Queen of Sweden!! We took a slightly less direct, but more scenic route to Ainsa near the french border after 657 km. The first bit is a back track towards Madrid, but we started north at Almansa.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/...0206df0e_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-17 at 21.21.45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The route from here is on secondary road. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...d1e6a788_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-20 at 17.24.43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Video from the ride to Ainsa
There are several sections of narrow winding mountain crossings and several long tunnels. It varied from 9 to 22 degrees Celsius. The road is highway from South of Zargosa until Huesca. The last 90 km is on a very narrow winding road along a river to the small town on Ainsa which sits between two rivers. So the Dos Rios hotel it is! The ride along the river |
Getting up in the morning we have a 5 hours drive to Carcassonne, but we want to arrive there early enough to take in the medieval city. The day started out sunny in Spain, but only 6 degrees and so a bit brisk. Then it warmed up to 9 about an hour later. Todays ride was again on small windy roads. We took the secondary route thru Foix.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1663/...14ff48cd_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-17 at 21.26.11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1573/...e08e5c77_b.jpgCarcasonne-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road comes to a tunnel on the Spain side that says Francia 1 km, the tunnel is one way when there are campers and trucks, and the tunnel is open 24 hours. That all sounds good. We managed to time it perfectly for going in our direction. It was 6 degrees in the tunnel, but only 1 degree when we came out on the cold cloudy French side. The road was a bit damp and thus scary at that temperature. As well there was snow at the side of the road and we were essentially in the clouds. (video)
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Visibility improved enough to see that a huge transport truck was bearing down on us even on the tight switchbacks. He was driving the thing like a Ferrari and once we were down the pass we let him by us. Nice guy though as he gave us the big wave when we ran into him at a round about an hour later. His “faster route” was not I guess. There was a certain lack of petrol stations on our route and we arrived to the hotel with 7 km left.
After a quick change we were off to see the ancient Cite of Carcassonne. This is a walled medieval town on a hilltop. There streets are cobbled and lined with shops selling postcards, lavender, and other typical French items. We had a lunch of Duck cassoulet and crepes. “Hilltop Carcassonne, in southern France’s Languedoc region, is a medieval citadel famous for its 53 watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls of the upper town, Le Cité, were built in Gallo-Roman times; major additions were made in the 13th and 14th centuries. Château Comtal, a 12th-century fortress within Le Cité, offers archaeological exhibits and a tour of the inner ramparts.” https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1708/...004ced03_b.jpgCarcasonne-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1647/...2e9e3313_b.jpgCarcasonne by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/...e2491ecd_b.jpgCarcasonne-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1512/...bf5a09f0_b.jpgCarcasonne-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1605/...6e83f978_b.jpgCarcasonne-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1509/...ba504582_b.jpgCarcasonne-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1633/...f35afb21_b.jpgCarcasonne-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1533/...615dbb17_b.jpgCarcasonne-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1518/...4475b609_b.jpgCarcasonne-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Walking on the bridge “in the blue hour” Dan got some great shots of the city at night. There was a guy on a donor cycle riding over the bridge at over 200 km with no lights and in shorts and a T shirt. We knew he was not going to last long. On his was back he was going faster and on one wheel when he screamed past us and then BOOM. He hit the back of a car who of course did not see him coming and he was sent flying! What a noise.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1495/...580b70bf_b.jpgCarcasonne-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1607/...7d78fce0_b.jpgCarcasonne-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today is is sunny again but only 10 degrees. We had to put the gas for the stove in the 800 to make it the 2 km to the gas station! We had 287 km and 3.5 hours to go on the small roads to Avignon.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1707/...303a6e4d_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-20 at 17.45.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1595/...71d3083d_b.jpgFILE0058 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The first section was nice thru some small villages, but the last 2/3 was very windy along the water and a lot of time on the highway. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...d1e6a788_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-20 at 17.24.43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/...9f6a7dd7_b.jpgFILE0060 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1515/...fc60e4fd_b.jpgFILE0073 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Arriving to the camping Pont de Avignon we made a quick change again and grabbed the free ferry across the Rhone to the city.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1621/...ebd37815_b.jpgAvignon-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This is again a huge walled medieval town and was the seat of the Papacy at the Palais de Pape. We climbed the long stairs to the palace gardens and then toured the church and the palace itself. It was fun to go out on the Pont de Avignon as all my Canadian friends will have learned the nursery rhyme in school. “Sur la Pont D’Avignon…” We finished the evening with steak and frits sitting on the main square. “Avignon, a city in southeastern France’s Provence region, is set on the Rhône River. From 1309 to 1377, it was the seat of the Catholic popes, and remained under papal rule until becoming part of France in 1791. Its center, surrounded by medieval stone ramparts, contains the massive Palais des Papes and remains of the Saint-Bénezet bridge, also known as Pont d’Avignon.” https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1471/...551b1935_b.jpgAvignon by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/...16dd3753_b.jpgAvignon-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1675/...025fe97a_b.jpgAvignon-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/...7278105b_b.jpgAvignon-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1459/...a8655696_b.jpgAvignon-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1608/...caaf08aa_b.jpgAvignon-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a 275 km drive east to get to near Nice.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/...359f1006_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-20 at 17.46.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We were up and out early again this morning and had a nice view of the city and the bridge on the way out of town. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1488/...8bb7d636_b.jpgFILE0092 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There is a custom here foreign to North Americans where in traffic the cars will pull over into the shoulder to let you pass on a motorbike there is oncoming traffic! V https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1654/...d1552729_b.jpgFILE0095 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had another nice day with curvy small roads and nice warm weather at 22 degrees. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1448/...25ff4573_b.jpgFILE0100 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1530/...b61491f2_b.jpgFILE0108 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1632/...59396baa_b.jpgFILE0132 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The middle of the day was a spectacular ride thru the Gorge de Verdon (25 km long and 700 meters deep). There is a panoramic view of the gorge from the road and the river and lake below.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1561/...ee6e7dba_b.jpgFILE0187 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1601/...2a764213_b.jpgFILE0178 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1578/...cd4702f1_b.jpgOn Route Vence by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1592/...382f5402_b.jpgOn Route Vence-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There are a number of stone tunnel bored thru the rock and in a number of spot the cliff overhangs the entire road. The large trucks slowed to a crawl to make it thru. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1589/...2d979e48_b.jpgFILE0228 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1703/...54bafed7_b.jpgFILE0229 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1519/...69d04cc8_b.jpgFILE0264 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1694/...ca12c234_b.jpgFILE0265 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped in a small French village and had a coffee and some fresh fruits for lunch.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/...e185dd2c_b.jpgIMG_5742 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The last part of the day towards the coast was full of tunnels and ran along the river. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1684/...8b15750f_b.jpgbriancon1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1605/...c40915b2_b.jpgbriancon2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1568/...90358392_b.jpgbriancon3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1622/...357e9ca9_b.jpgbriancon4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1699/...4b88186e_b.jpgbriancon6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From Grasse were headed towards the French Riviera and “Almost to Venice” at Vence, which is near to Nice. We were hot and tired and after driving around the town a bit we finally settled for a hotel on the highway, which was a bit Faulty Towerish, but had the first really good wifi we have had in a while…..so work was done.
Today we had planned to “ride over to Monaco” for country number 44 for a quick photo op and out. This took 2 hours for the 65 km loop. We did go the long way there along the scenic Basse Corniche (low coast road) and the traffic into Nice was terrible. Then we went thru the tunnel to Monaco! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1717/...7de64165_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-23 at 23.24.37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/...5c0ae8ff_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-23 at 23.22.15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/...c1aecd06_b.jpgmonaco1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1685/...d7afb6d7_b.jpgmonaco3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1710/...7c0c6505_b.jpgmonaco4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There was so much construction in Monte Carlo with the set up for the grand Prix we could not get close to any landmarks for a good picture. There was however very fresh pavement on the route.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1560/...f05e069402.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-24 at 22.47.46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1634/...9b4af6cb_b.jpgmonaco5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1664/...a8b1335f_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1472/...33e98055_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The ride back was better on the Moyenne (middle) Cornishe with nice views of the ocean.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1621/...0625ecf0_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr From Nice we headed north to meet the small roads near Bronson and head north to Briancon in 263 km. We wanted to take the small roads, but this involved one of the small mountain passes, which we are not sure is open yet. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1691/...aed110dff6.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-25 at 09.15.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Shortly after leaving the main road we stopped for lunch and were surprised to find this place had really good Thai food. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1498/...e102fc09_b.jpgIMG_5748 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Here the road is quite awesome and curvy with very little traffic. Of concern the sign post said all but 1 of the Cols or passes was closed and we neared our turn off for the direct road north to Briancon we stopped and asked a local. Yes the pass we need is closed until May 1 ten days from now. This created an addition 50 km reroute back towards Dinge and then around to Barcelonette. This road was not a mountain pass, but was still pretty great. It was only the last 40 km that were on the highway. We found a small hotel in the village of LʼArgentière-la-Bessée south of Briancon after 282 km.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1554/...4b39be54_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-23 at 23.22.41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/...87a5b7d0_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-24 at 16.48.01 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1516/...4829eb08_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1561/...5e758b55_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1497/...1099bc4a_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1511/...6e3b5332_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1454/...7d48bd9f_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Hotel picnic of tomato, avocado, fresh bread, cheese, wine and rabbit.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1638/...9676047d_b.jpgMonaco & French Alps-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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Where was this beautiful picture taken ? I enjoy following your adventures and admire the beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing it with us. |
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Thanks so much Jan. Here is the location for you in Entrevaux France. Sara https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ci...0f6f4?hl=en-US |
We woke to overcast and some drizzle, but it soon dried up.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1557/...8eefcaa7_b.jpgcomo by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1598/...b71cc017_b.jpgcomo1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There is a massive fort on the hill above Briancon. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1501/...cf11245d_b.jpgLake Como by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had decided after yesterdays issues with the closed passes we would head over the alps to Italy on the toll road to prevent issues. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1615/...7267c8a5_b.jpgcomo2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We really wanted to arrive in lake Como early in the day. As soon as we got to near Turin we got off the tolls and that was already about 25 Euros. From here we stayed on the small local roads and arrived to the lake in just over 4 hours. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1509/...f17aaeb4_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-23 at 23.26.46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1451/...d69f1e27_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-23 at 23.22.59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Your toll pays to go THRU the mountains! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1701/...5e7130c3_b.jpgcomo5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1509/...564395c6_b.jpgcomo3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/...cb403ac3_b.jpgcomo4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
In Urio we had found a small hotel on the lake for a very good price. It was not far from Mr Clooneys. It is off season so the prices are reasonable.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1678/...1510dbb7_b.jpgcomo7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1680/...eb318827_b.jpgcomo6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1543/...124e30bc_b.jpgLake Como 2-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The ferry dock of Urio is right out front and we caught the ferry to Como City. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1585/...681e2aff_b.jpgLake Como-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1628/...e33f48c3_b.jpgLake Como 2-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1683/...acdbd50e_b.jpgLake Como-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1698/...8ca3b32e_b.jpgLake Como-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1455/...a0e2e3ef_b.jpgLake Como 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1499/...b2b0f900_b.jpgLake Como-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1489/...f3b5cc99_b.jpgLake Como-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1466/...c9f9984d_b.jpgLake Como-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We walked the town and had some Italian ice creams. The ferry back was a bit chilly in the wind at 6 pm. The hotel restraint makes a very good Pizza and you can enjoy a glass of wine with a view of the lake.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1540/...e87760ac_b.jpgLake Como-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1695/...a03421f2_b.jpgLake Como by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1674/...7cd10112_b.jpgLake Como 2-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1441/...feb9456e_b.jpgLake Como-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1697/...2c1cda37_b.jpgLake Como-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1576/...e450f571_b.jpgLake Como-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1645/...e77c70ac_b.jpgLake Como-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1450/...b50fd15b_b.jpgLake Como-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1642/...bf8c608a_b.jpgLake Como-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Our dear friend Wolfgang from Hamburg is headed for 3 weeks of off road riding in Albania and he and our new friend Marcus had driven out of their way to see us for a coffee this morning on the lake!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1667/...3a8b8c09_b.jpgLake Como Wolfgang Marcus-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1703/...f7c9eb8b_b.jpgLake Como Wolfgang Marcus-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1568/...1e0063b1_b.jpgLake Como Wolfgang Marcus-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Walking 2 km to the next village at Moltrasio for the next ferry to Bellagio, which is more north and on the opposite side of the lake. Also at the dock were Texans Mark and Kathy, with whom we had a very fun ride up the lake on the “cruise” for 1 hr 45 min. Only in Italy can you get prosecco in a real glass on the ferry!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1631/...80c05291_b.jpgLake Como 2-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1509/...19a7bcd5_b.jpgLake Como 2-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1590/...5ab6ce88_b.jpgLake Como 2-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1680/...1234fb17_b.jpgLake Como 2-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Chez Clooney https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1560/...8ef0ed5d_b.jpgLake Como 2-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We walked up and down the steep streets of Bellagio, visited the church and has some really good pasta.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1456/...ea72509b_b.jpgLake Como 2-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1659/...15c75e59_b.jpgLake Como 2-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1676/...2021f8e4_b.jpgLake Como 2-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1594/...1cb125ab_b.jpgLake Como 2-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/...f1ba822c_b.jpgLake Como 2-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1562/...428679d0_b.jpgLake Como 2-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1639/...9ede2337_b.jpgLake Como 2-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
All day we saw “the experience” tours including Bentley, Porsche, and Ferrari. This was a super car traffic jam.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1453/...0e9bfb3c_b.jpgLake Como 2-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1626/...4eed8d05_b.jpgLake Como 2-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr It was raining on and off, but had settled by the time we made it back to Moltrasio. They were kind enough to invite us to their hotel to share some VERY nice champagne and conversation!! We hope to make to San Antonio one day! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/...d151b018_b.jpgLake Como 2-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1650/...2faea130_b.jpgLake Como 2-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/...4626ee4c_b.jpgLake Como 2-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Moto Guzzi factory will hopefully be the next post! :thumbup1: Mandello Del Lario, the museum is open 3pm - 4pm, nice ferry Bellagio - Varenna.
Funny we met Gene and Neda in Bellagio in October! See you guys not too far from there in June hopefully :D Gino & Fiona |
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Must have been cool there in October. Poli Grappa meet you there!!! xoxo |
Today we had just a short 70 km to Milano to meet “the Royals” from Sweden.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1663/...fbf30d10_z.jpgScreen Shot 2016-04-25 at 17.41.14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1614/...df0539c8_b.jpgtomilan by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We arrived to the apartment near the Duomo ( and a Magnum custom shop across the road) and not 20 minutes later we could here Orvar’s 1200 GS arriving. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1467/...7cdb361a_b.jpgOff to Milan-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1651/...e0128046_b.jpgOff to Milan-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a few beers while we were waiting for the check in and Orvar took the metro to meet Anne at the central station where she arrived on the bus from the airport. She had to get up very early today and drive 250 km to Oslo to catch her flight here.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1543/...7af29ed2_b.jpgOff to Milan-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1657/...33d8c12f_b.jpgOff to Milan-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1630/...5bc3fb3a_b.jpgOff to Milan-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The location of the apartment Daniel booked is so awesome we can walk to all the major sights in the centre of the city. The best part however is that it has a washing machine and was soon full of 3 peoples smelly gear. There is also a small square next door where we could park the bikes.
“The Doumo or Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. The first cathedral, the "new basilica" (basilica nova) dedicated to St Thecla, was completed by 355, but this one was started in 1386. It is the 5 th largest church in the world and the largest in Italy. “ https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1665/...c20fb324_b.jpgOff to Milan-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1617/...c4d8a1cd_b.jpgOff to Milan-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/...2a63f10d_b.jpgMilan 3-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1535/...6bc3198a_b.jpgMilan 3-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1468/...17e26633_b.jpgMilan 3-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1488/...706e08c3_b.jpgMilan 3-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1584/...6147ea85_b.jpgMilan 3-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
“The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the world's oldest shopping malls. Housed within a four-story double arcade in central Milan, the Galleria is named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy”
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1587/...739b4149_b.jpgOff to Milan-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1592/...acca2a46_b.jpgOff to Milan-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1663/...f3e82956_b.jpgOff to Milan-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1566/...ace26aa0_b.jpgOff to Milan-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/...50b4bfdd_b.jpgMilan 2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Afternoon coffee Italian style standing at the bar.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1490/...0f628ba4_b.jpgMilan 2-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1600/...88ebf787_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/...97a19275_b.jpgMilan 2-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1580/...366a5618_b.jpg “Sforza Castle is a castle in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remains of a 14th-century fortification.” https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/...13de5fbd_b.jpgMilan 3-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1670/...b0da3d3d_b.jpgMilan 2-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1644/...d2a913af_b.jpgMilan 2-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/...bc862a63_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1475/...e2be3723_b.jpgMilan 2-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1530/...8f271c2f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1446/...ca231c7d_b.jpgMilan 3-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had several days to wander around the city. We visited the Castle and the Duomo of course, but we visited a lot of coffee and ice cream shops too. The orange spritz drink is Apersol and Prosecco and other than the colour is not too bad. The Campari and Prosecco is pretty terrible
actually. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1693/...39d91758_b.jpgIMG_5756 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1467/...5629fbd9_b.jpgIMG_5769 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Some of the locals singing in the rain?! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1542/...e52123e5_b.jpgTuscany by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Cathedral for sunrise!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1501/...0478134d_b.jpgMilan 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1649/...53bb6212_b.jpgMilan 4-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
After saying goodbye to the Swedes we were off south.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1545/...54f7217c_b.jpgspezia by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We planned to take the small SP roads up into the mountains and so the 300 km took 6 hours. Several of the passes were pretty cold at 6 degrees, but there was essentially no traffic. It makes you antsy at times when you don't see another vehicle for such a long time you begin to wonder if the road is open. No issues today though. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1512/...b52fa472a2.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 18.50.40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1697/...90930a00d8.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 18.53.31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road surface is in pretty rough shape with a lot of heaves and cracks. Riding into La Specia we were tired and chilled. Adding to the stress was the fact that the voltage meter on the 800 was showing that the charge had dropped from 14.3-14.3 to 13.1. All day we were worried about the stator dying, but it was still charging well when reved. There is no parking of motor on the sidewalk/in plazas unlike everywhere else in Italy. They can be parked in just about any free curb spot that is not a cross walk. After not much effort we did find 2 operate spots near the hostel. We were too tired even for dinner and went to bed.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1634/...a2899dc5_b.jpgspezia2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1515/...c7e03a58_b.jpgspezia3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1678/...7e41a085_b.jpgspezia6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1720/...05c85d31_b.jpgspezia7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a good long sleep in and we needed it. The predicted rain did not appear and we set off to just cloudy skies, but the sun soon came out. From the coast we could see the marble mines up in the mountains in the distance that we were headed for.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1633/...44629c39_b.jpgFILE0716 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The voltage meter initially said the charging was better today…. We planned to travel to near to Florence at San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Italy in 215km, but by the small SP SS or state and provincial roads up over the mountains it will take 4 1/2 hours. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1645/...537c18d340.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 18.54.00 by Sara& Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/...853379f0_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-02 at 21.26.24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are so lucky to have the 3 dollar voltage meters since it saved us from a dead stator in one of the 2 km long tunnels or on the side of the road. Since the voltage was not being maintained we decided to pull into a gas station with a empty lot beside it so we could swap out the stator. We are also so thankful we changed the crash bar hardware in Madrid, since we did not have to fight with that issue. Also the new sprocket guards are so easy to remove unlike the old ones, which were a nightmare. Opening up the engine the old stator was definitely cooked. The old ones just are a bit too small and they have always been a struggle to get out, but vice grips and brute strength won in the end. The new Electrosport stators are very nice and just fit in perfectly. They are also plug and play for the wiring harness.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1628/...e8b10fe0_b.jpgTuscany-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1515/...b12ec5a5_b.jpgTuscany-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1530/...e26f59e0_b.jpgTuscany-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1677/...623969e0_b.jpgTuscany-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1571/...7f8f8565_b.jpgTuscany-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1627/...68e31d30_b.jpgTuscany-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1666/...93bf0364_b.jpgTuscany-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Stator review.
800 BMW original died Mexico City October 2012 ? 49,000 km 650 BMW original died Quito Ecuador December 2013 after 53,000 km, rewound stator BMW original done in Mexico lasted 1 week 800 Rick’s Electric stator died Rio Turbo Argentina February 2014 650 Rick’s Electric stator died South of France October 2015 after 90,000 km replaced with Electrosport 800 Rick’s Electric stator died La Specia Italy at 87,000 km April 2016 replaced with Electrosport |
Initially the road is well surfaces and there was a bit of traffic, but it goes Up Up Up. One section on about 10 switch backs takes you up to see a panoramic view of the west coast. The road then narrow and gets rougher and seems all but unused. We did not see another vehicle on the way up or down.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1659/...2ea0f986_b.jpgFILE0726 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1576/...a45ded9a_b.jpgFILE0735 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1667/...4306f75e_b.jpgFILE0737 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1583/...63411a92_b.jpgFILE0738 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1529/...bd3dc035_b.jpgFILE0745 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1676/...37548615_b.jpgFILE0755 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1671/...d7880d32_b.jpgFILE0756 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1460/...21d6880e_b.jpgFILE0770 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Here is the view of the coast from the mountain.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1510/...56c6ca3b_b.jpgFILE0823 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/...996a8bc1_b.jpgFILE0797 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...ba90ccb7_b.jpgTuscany-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Over the second Passo Vestito we came upon one of the mines.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1664/...4362775f_b.jpgFILE0829 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1567/...82fca6f5_b.jpgFILE0833 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1580/...b571f363_b.jpgFILE0842 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1680/...180855c2_b.jpgTuscany-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Down in the valley it was a sunny 18 degrees along the river and the Magdalena bridge.
“The bridge in Borgo a Mozzano called "Devil´s Bridge" or "Magdalene´s Bridge" is one of the most impressive bridges in Italy. According to the legend, the bridge was built by St. Julian. Being unable to accomplish the work for the enormous difficultly, the saint asked for the help of the Devil, promising to give him the soul of the first living thing crossing the bridge. Once the bridge had been accomplished, St. Julian threw there a piece of focaccia bread drawing there a dog and thus making fun of the devil.” https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1563/...e7cca8ac_b.jpgTuscany-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1556/...33527b20_b.jpgFILE0856 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Dan had found a tuscan villa on very cheap on bookings so we had a luxury night at a budget price.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1527/...923ef607_b.jpgFILE0864 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1544/...e779b018_b.jpgFILE0877 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1441/...0b6d9aa0_b.jpgTuscany-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1478/...74e096f4_b.jpgTuscany-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1502/...24c60f40_b.jpgTuscany-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are just 20 km south west of Florence or Firenze as it is in Italian and we only have to ride about 75 km to the rally site, but we had all day so we rode up and down several of the Tuscan passes including the Pass0 della Futa.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/...974fc6c62b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 20.37.28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1674/...d3161ec2c5.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 18.54.30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This is wine country for sure!!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1552/...48ea196a_b.jpgFILE0896 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1618/...5616e0b3_b.jpgFILE0984 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1493/...a8c1c451_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
These are all narrow winding steep roads and so a lot of fun both up and down.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1610/...8d5518b2_b.jpgFILE1046 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1609/...e7f9b9fe_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1594/...8313b5da_b.jpgFILE1053 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1510/...303a3443_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1518/...5e16d279_b.jpgFILE1085 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to the Meeting spot in a remote spot north of San Lorenzo. Here we were treated by our friend Enzo who had invited us to the meet. He was all set up and had saved us a camp spot and brought dinner and wine! We had met him on his way up and our way down from Nord Capp at a camping spot just below the arctic circle.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1604/...6f0b4df7_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1547/...12439ed3_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had a bit of a chilly night at about 4 -5 degrees, but we woke to a sunny day for the ride out. There were about 60 bikes and we met another 25 on the way out at a secondary start spot. The ride out was very well organized and the marshalling was amazing.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1461/...453ec005_b.jpgFILE1109 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1464/...09be63b4_b.jpgFILE1120 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1610/...c0962238_b.jpgFILE1151 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/...4529a9af_b.jpgFILE1154 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/...0a4e44ce_b.jpgFILE1239 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...5b8da28f_b.jpgFILE1280 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/...a32d29e0_b.jpgFILE1332 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This is a very hard task with this many bikes, small villages and all the round abouts. The ride was 100 km on a lot of tiny narrow roads. Thanks so much to Gionata Nencini ( far left) from Partireper for doing an amazing job! There were bikes and riders of all kinds. This is the 9 th such event they have organized.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1462/...e929f279_b.jpgIMG_5792 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1538/...ae59310c_b.jpgFILE1363 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1518/...f6c0df60_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Some were very steep and could be a challenge on the hairpins with a long line of bikes.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/...b819df06_b.jpgFILE1371 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1618/...6c07f512_b.jpgFILE1383 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1464/...e303e8cb_b.jpgFILE1384 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1463/...4c70092f_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
There was a traditional lunch served at a remote lodge and we had Tuscan deer stew.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1566/...e12829ff_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/...d0f60b58_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1657/...b7a92e41_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/...31981f3d_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1529/...9ef67ed3_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1451/...61240748_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The last 10 km on the way home the weather changed as predicted and then it practically torrentially rained all night. Luckily Enzo’s friends Alex, Bruno, and Stefano whom he had met in the Lofoten Islands of Norway had showed up and Alex the “professionista” architect rigged up a shelter for us. This left the “amateurs” standing under the eves of the bathrooms. The rest of the evening we huddled under the tarp drank red wine and grappa, they sang Italian songs, and grilled large pieces of meat on the one burner grill. Making expresso with rain water and coffee cups from the bottom of beer cans was a first.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1618/...441e8c3e_b.jpgIMG_5797 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The professionals https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1489/...55b12e3d_b.jpgIMG_5795 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The amatures https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1610/...c04b168d_b.jpgIMG_5799 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Making expresso with rain water...actually half water half grappa! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...6cbfe1dc_b.jpgIMG_5810 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Making coffee cups from beer cans with a vice grip. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1490/...9a624560_b.jpgIMG_5812 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1490/...4fc629b5_b.jpgIMG_5817 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1454/...e2dbaa79_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1558/...1a3217b0_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1536/...258aca80_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/...0905a1ab_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1452/...d976a672_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1470/...c16436b4_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1673/...19d3a89d_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1536/...07ff8472_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1460/...945f9067_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are headed southeast to see San Marino, but will stay in Italy in the beach town of Rimini 240 km east on the Adriatic.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1478/...f985165325.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-01 at 18.48.17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The route was again on the small roads thru small villages and over the mountains. Luckily all the passes here were open!
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1504/...2999e96f_b.jpgFILE1495 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1461/...af0af757_b.jpgFILE1497 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1479/...080d2d65_b.jpgTuscany & Rally by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1490/...ee638c27_b.jpgFILE1510 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1468/...0dc0cdc1_b.jpgFILE1514 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stayed in a great hotel recommended by Enzo. The owner is also a biker named Enzo and the staff are super welcoming and the hotel biker friendly. They ran out when we drove up and opened the gate to the parking and insisted we park inside the basement. Here we also could hang up our tent to dry out. They were so interested in the trip that by the time we had showered and headed out to get something to eat they had already checked out our web site. Thank you to Enzo, Chiara, and Cindia for making feel at home.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7507/...dc8a0fbf_b.jpgRimini San Marino-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr This place must really get crazy in summer. The umbrella stations on the beach are unreal. The seaside main drag is lined with restaurants and shops selling liquor and beach ware. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1593/...5ac1c9f1_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1700/...b94292c6_b.jpgTuscany & Rally-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7691/...56d993aa_b.jpgRimini San Marino-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7692/...8433c9e2_b.jpgRimini San Marino-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Rimini is a very historic city since it was one of the most important Roman cites. The historic centre is small, but some off the walls, the main city gate an the first century bridge of Tiberius still remain.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/...75ddac2a_b.jpgRimini San Marino-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/...a2cb7f5e_b.jpgRimini San Marino-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/...fc311fd6_b.jpgRimini San Marino-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7647/...684bced9_b.jpgRimini San Marino by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
“The Bridge of Tiberius (Italian: Ponte di Tiberio) or Bridge of Augustus is a Roman bridge in Rimini, Italy. Construction work started during Augustus' reign and was finished under his successor Tiberius in 20 AD; an inscription thus calls the structure as "given by both emperors". The bridge was the only crossing of the Marecchia not destroyed by the retreating German army during the Battle of Rimini and is said to have resisted all attempts at destruction. The bridge is still open to pedestrian and light vehicular traffic.”
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7579/...ea23b9d0_b.jpgRimini San Marino-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7625/...23a67a5b_b.jpgRimini San Marino-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/...0b276a90_b.jpgRimini San Marino-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had to make a short detour to get country number 45 in the Republic of San Marino. Arriving to the gates the walled city we found designated free motorcycle parking right next to the police kiosk. The streets of the capital are steep cobbles and mostly pedestrian access only. This is like most of theses enclave “countries” a money haven and full of high end shops. The views are panoramic for sure. We did a chevy chase and headed out.
“San Marino is a mountainous micro-state surrounded by Italy. Among the world’s oldest republics, it retains much of its historic architecture. On the slopes of Monte Titano sits the capital, also called San Marino, known for its medieval walled old town and narrow cobblestone streets. The Three Towers, castle like citadels dating to the 11th century, sit atop 3 of Titano’s neighbouring peaks.” https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7723/...2de55038_b.jpgFILE1530 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7665/...1b94a109_b.jpgRimini San Marino-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/...65aa03da_b.jpgRimini San Marino-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7457/...27e725e1_b.jpgRimini San Marino-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7256/...f5dca81a_b.jpgRimini San Marino-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/...648ac175_b.jpgRimini San Marino-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7742/...27ae7a39_b.jpgRimini San Marino-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/...cf95bb30_b.jpgRimini San Marino-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/...50606a70_b.jpgRimini San Marino-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7529/...bff319bd_b.jpgFILE1545 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We still planned to do the small roads back to Florence, but by a different route. This was hampered by some construction and we had to back track from Poppi. It was still a nice ride on a nice day.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7657/...f26b0172_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-06 at 15.34.33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7598/...21818573_b.jpgFILE1547 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7578/...36c73f19_b.jpgFILE1553 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7714/...5eba9aa2_b.jpgFILE1558 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/...d61ac194_b.jpgFILE1567 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/...4aa41573_b.jpgFILE1574 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to Florence or Firenze as it is called in Italian about 4. We had planned to meet a friend from Seattle who just happens to be in Italy right now. Eva changed her itinerary to meet us here. We jumped on the 800 and braved the crazy traffic of the downtown, The worst part actually is the suicidal scooter drivers who weave in and out of traffic, split the lanes, drive on the sidewalk, and generally follow none of the rules of the road. When you are on two bikes they buzz around you and will almost always cut you off, go between the two bikes, or generally be very dangerous and annoying. That said we made it with out incident and parked the bike easily since you can park a bike almost anywhere except in a crosswalk. It is pretty much a free for all. We did a bit of walking in the historic centre and down to see the Ponte Vecchio or old bridge.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7626/...74367871_b.jpgFlorence-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/...9538c0fc_b.jpgFlorence-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/...4487e2ac_b.jpgRimini San Marino-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7511/...1b0219c7_b.jpgRimini San Marino-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7088/...f800ba04_b.jpgFlorence-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/...6197233a_b.jpgFlorence-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
“The Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.”
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/...72c86a48_b.jpgFlorence-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We stopped for some happy hour snacks and some Apersol spritzes. They rain started just after dark and so we headed to base.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7688/...a58d62d9_b.jpgIMG_5830 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/...9b727df2_b.jpgRimini San Marino-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We are staying where we are on the public bus line that circles from us to the main bus station and back. This is super convenient and for 1.20E you can get a hassle free ride to the centre of the acton. Today we had planned to see two of the major sights of the city the Medici chapel and the Duomo or Cathedral.
The Medici built themselves an incredible tomb and the chapel is not much to look at on the outside, but is incredibly ornate on the inside. “The Medici Chapels (Cappelle medicee) are two structures at the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, and built as extensions to Brunelleschi's 15th-century church, with the purpose of celebrating the Medici family, patrons of the church and Grand Dukes of Tuscany” https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/...98fb1106_b.jpgDSC06663 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7597/...28e7ea61_b.jpgFlorence-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7693/...5aff697a_b.jpgFlorence-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/...6f67f004_b.jpgFlorence-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/...cc19500f_b.jpgFlorence-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/...e2aac824_b.jpgFlorence-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/...b9dbdddd_b.jpgFlorence-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Cathedral is the opposite as it is fairly plain inside , but the exterior is very colourful. Entry to the church is free, but to see the crypts or climb the 430 stairs to the dome is 15E. We thought 50$ we too rich for us, but th lineup was long to get tickets.
“The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore or Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed structurally in 1436. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.” https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/...91386646_b.jpgFlorence-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7296/...1bcc55a1_b.jpgRimini San Marino-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/...56ac68e6_b.jpgFlorence by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The afternoon we spent wandering the old narrow streets. There are certainly lots of tourists here!
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7335/...b1c81e41_b.jpgFlorence-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/...9fee3dce_b.jpgRimini San Marino-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7579/...73b0c2b7_b.jpgFlorence-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
On the hillside on the bank opposite the city is the Piazza di Michelangelo and is “the” spot to watch the sunset in Florence. The crowds had staked out their spot on the railing or on the large staircase several hours before, There was a party mood with people eating boxes of pizza and drinking wine and beer from the bottles. The sun set was stunning over the Ponte Vecchio. The night shots of the Cathedral and the bridge pretty awesome.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/...631f97da_b.jpgFlorence-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7794/...09f73eff_b.jpgFlorence-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/...083333b0_b.jpgRimini San Marino-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The main attraction of Florence is that it was the epicentre of the Renaissance and as such its largest museum the Uffuzi hold the Medici collection of renaissance art.
“The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name uffizi, “offices". Over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculpture collected or commissioned by the Medici. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence by terms of the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress; it formed one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.” There are several famous pieces, but the building itself is stunning. The painted ceilings of the great halls are incredible. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/...564948b8_b.jpgFlorence-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7330/...d0753f43_b.jpgFlorence-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/...66467061_b.jpgFlorence-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/...6e040c21_b.jpgFlorence-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7718/...d216a9f9_b.jpgFlorence-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7498/...9de33210_b.jpgFlorence-13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7668/...9626374c_b.jpgFlorence-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7702/...2c456e48_b.jpgFlorence-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/...45ce3724_b.jpgFlorence-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/...4243b022_b.jpgFlorence-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7669/...bddbe63f_b.jpgFlorence-17 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/...261a7b66_b.jpgFlorence-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7103/...7cb26340_b.jpgFlorence-19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7478/...e7df7843_b.jpgFlorence-20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7556/...782fe3dc_b.jpgFlorence-23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/...feb0b425_b.jpgDSC06729 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7787/...6a07d01c_b.jpgFlorence-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We retreated to base for a rest after so much culture. We also had found a near by self serve laundry and so today is the best day of the week “when all your clothes are clean!”. We hopped on the 800 at 745 and drove the 5 km down to the Ponte alle Grazie bridge beside the Ponte Vecchio to catch the sun setting at 820 and then get a few night shots as well.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/...a99a355c_b.jpgFlorence-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/...2ff4a7da_b.jpgFlorence-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7721/...383a10c1_b.jpgFlorence by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/...566730b7_b.jpgFlorence-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We had missed going to Pisa to see the leaning town on the way to Tuscany since the weather was crappy we did not want to make the detour. So today we made a 70 km trip back east to see the famous landmark. Then the plan was to meander the short way to Siena via the walled cities of Montaione and San Gimignano.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/...a579b07e_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-06 at 15.35.58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7711/...70464d84_b.jpgIMG_5839 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/...1a2e2541_b.jpgPisa & Siena-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/...cefa1b4d_b.jpgPisa & Siena-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7514/...7671fd80_b.jpgPisa by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/...9db5c403_b.jpgIMG_5837 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We did a drive by for the hill top town of Montaine with its high towers. We stopped to walk around in San Gimignano.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7697/...59c30a69_b.jpgPisa & Siena-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7663/...f6c1efe4_b.jpgFILE1628 (1) by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7695/...e073862b_b.jpgFILE1613 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr “San Gimignano is an Italian hill town in Tuscany, southwest of Florence. Encircled by 13th-century walls, its old town centers on Piazza della Cisterna, a triangular square lined with medieval houses. Other medieval features include fountains and towers, such as the stone Torre Grossa. The Duomo di San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with frescoes by Ghirlandaio in its Santa Fina Chapel.” https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/...09ff5fc4_b.jpgPisa & Siena-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7533/...e02a44fd_b.jpgPisa & Siena-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From there we continued on the small roads to arrive at Camping Siena. This is across the valley and with a view of the walled old city of Siena. We drove into town towards the stadium where we were told there was good parking. There is a 100 meter long stretch of road that is moto only parking and with easy access to the old city. Here there are narrow cobbled streets and a maze of roads to get to the centre where you will find the Duomo or Cathedral. Near by is the Piazza del Campo. This is a huge sunken plaza outside the city hall. They have held horse races around the plaza here several times a year for centuries.
“Siena, a city in Italy’s central Tuscany, is distinguished by its medieval brick buildings. The fan-shaped Piazza del Campo is dominated by the Palazzo Pubblico, the Gothic town hall, and Torre del Mangia, a slender 14th-century tower with sweeping views from its distinctive white crown. From this square at the center of town extend the city’s 17 historic contrade (wards)”. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/...8836012a_b.jpgPisa & Siena-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/...869b70be_b.jpgPisa & Siena-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7079/...c1cb86ea_b.jpgPisa & Siena-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7724/...3189db9a_b.jpgPisa & Siena-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7771/...dc7966d8_b.jpgPisa & Siena-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From Siena we had a short drive east to meet our friend Roberto in Monte san Savino. He rode out from his village near by to meet us and direct us back to his place where he hosting us for the weekend.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7740/...1f308955_b.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-10 at 21.45.57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We had met him and another Italian rider Matteo at a gas station in El Calafate Argentina in 2014. He was driving a bike with BC plates since he lives in Victoria with his family, but spends the summer in his hometown in Italy. Roberto has been around the world on his KTM including the Americas, Africa, and across Eurasia. He just got a new Africa twin. They have an AWESOME YOUTUBE CHANNEL https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/...f23b3da9_b.jpgRoberto https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7633/...0f95cf53_b.jpgRoberto |
He spend two days touring us around the small twisty roads of Tuscany. We set out into Tuscan wine country under sunny skies, but rain is forecast for 4 pm!
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7407/...9e4b748a43.jpgScreen Shot 2016-05-10 at 21.58.43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7509/...bea26431_b.jpgFILE1661 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7719/...c20fb9eb_b.jpgFILE1689 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The tour involved some paved and some “white” roads.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7730/...85235e00_b.jpgFILE1707 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7617/...eca5da16_b.jpgFILE1717 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7665/...b02442f9_b.jpgFILE1890 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7577/...09a8438d_b.jpgFILE1768 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/...d5a67caf_b.jpgFILE1933 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/...9c985e94_b.jpgFILE1920 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/...689100f2_b.jpgFILE1677 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7475/...83eff138_b.jpgRoberto by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/...a0d375e3_b.jpgFILE1755 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7353/...5a0a1c17_b.jpgFILE1812 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/...1d83744e_b.jpgFILE1830 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7693/...f8e3018d_b.jpgFILE1847 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/...47428541_b.jpgFILE1995 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The guys decide to go off off road, but with street tires and ditch crossings and mud they turned back. Good thing, because the “ closed road” they were trying to go down was maybe 200 meters and met the main again!
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7594/...de520578_b.jpgFILE1819 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There were lots of stops for coffee and snacks at small out of the way spots. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/...60f2f514_b.jpgFILE1973 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/...0e90f60a_b.jpgRoberto by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/...19c23d7a_b.jpgRoberto by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7726/...09be0968_b.jpgRoberto by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7680/...c42487ba_b.jpgRoberto Viby Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/...a85272e3_b.jpgRoberto by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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