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I love seeing the email notification of a new post from you guys. I always find some slow time to sit with a cup of tea and read up on your latest adventures. Thanks for taking the time to post all the amazing photos and allowing us to ride along with you for a little while. Travel safe,
J. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/164.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map164-L.jpg While we were in Huanchaco, we received some devastating news. Neda's mom in Croatia had been complaining of a gradual loss of feeling in her arm for the last week. She checked herself into the hospital and had some tests done, whereupon she discovered that there were growths in her vertebrae that were pinching a nerve. She is a breast cancer survivor and there is a fear that the cancer has metastasized and spread to her bones. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2061-L.jpg Between Trujillo and Lima, the coastal plains are squeezed into the coast by the foothills of the Andes Mountains We were galvanized into action, making plans to leave the next day for Lima, which is about an 8 hour ride south of Huanchaco. We thought that since Lima is the capital city of Peru, we should be able to make arrangements to get us and the motorcycles shipped out of the country. Our Temporary Vehicle Import Permit was due to expire in a couple of months and the medical situation was dire enough that there was no estimating when we would be able to resume our trip, if it was even possible. So it was decided that we needed to get the bikes out of Peru to keep from running afoul of the expiry dates since there would be huge legal and administrative headaches if the bikes overstayed their permits while we were in Europe. This meant that Lima would be the end of our South American journey. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2035-L.jpg Trying to get past traffic on the Peruvian Pan American Highway Neda was really worried and I tried to do my best to keep her spirits up. We pegged all our hopes on Lima having the infrastructure to get us and the motorcycles out expediently, and we optimistically told Neda's family that we would be in Croatia within the week. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2033-L.jpg Looking forward to being with her mom soon. Note to self: Pick up a new pair of gloves for Neda... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2075-L.jpg The scenery rises up around us We've got an eyes-ahead focus on getting to Lima in as short a time as possible. Over the intercom, I try to keep Neda engaged, but I can hear the worry in her voice as she feeds me curt, obligatory responses. The land rises up around us as the road threads the edges of the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean, but Neda's mind is thousands of miles away. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2120-L.jpg Our stops are few, only when there's construction, or we need to drink or eat http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2108-L.jpg The beautiful blue of the Pacific Ocean greets us as we ride south to Lima http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2150-L.jpg Over 500 kms fly by in a single riding day. This is the most distance we've covered in quite awhile. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2152-L.jpg The town of Villa Estela, just north of Lima. Etched on the hill: "Christ Lives" We book into a hostel in the west end of Lima, in the Callao district. We're here because it's one of the cheapest places we could find, but also it is 5 minutes away from the airport and all the shipping companies are in the same area. The next day we get to work, scouring the Internet for any companies that can ship our bikes out of Peru. Hoping to spare Neda the majority of the work, I find an agent in the US that had experience shipping motorcycles in and out of South America. We opt for air over sea, and the price quoted was steep but we were in a rush and conducting business in English instead of Spanish seemed to be a plus, since I could handle the communications instead of Neda having to do so in Spanish. All the paper work was exchanged and we were on course to ship the bikes within the week. However, the day before we were to drop the bikes off, the agent sent me an e-mail saying that there was a mistake with the quote and the price was now thousands of dollars more expensive. At the new price, it would be cheaper to set both our bikes on fire in Lima and just buy the same models in Europe. I was furious. Not just at the gross ineptness, but that we had wasted four precious days and would now have to start from scratch. To add further insult, Neda would have to perform most of the communications now, because it was obvious that we needed a local shipper, not someone working remotely from another country. I felt useless. This was not what she needed. We spent our days typing out e-mails to companies listed on the Internet that did not exist anymore. We made phone calls and left messages that were not returned for days. It was a frustrating time because we were now stuck for over a week in Lima with absolutely no progress and Neda's family was starting to ask why she was not in Croatia yet, which put added pressure on her. We decided that the minute we found a shipper, she would fly out immediately and I would stay behind to try to finish up any last minute work that needed to be done. We were going stir crazy in that tiny room in the hostel, only venturing out to eat at the tipico restaurant downstairs or go grocery shopping down the street. I suggested to Neda that we go out in the evenings just to get her mind off of things, but she said she didn't feel like sightseeing, not in her state. So I suggested we try a nicer restaurant in town. We had to eat anyway, and Lima is world-renowned for good international cuisine. It was now our two-year anniversary on the road, so I found us a sushi restaurant to celebrate. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9405-L.jpg Blow fish sushi? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...iversary-L.jpg Two years on the road With the future very much uncertain, we reminisced about all the experiences we had in the last couple of years and toasted our last days in South America. A bittersweet meal with Neda's mom's illness constantly looming in the background. I felt a sense of powerlessness, like nothing I could do or say could help Neda or her mom. Back in the hostel we were making some progress. Air freight was out because of the costs involved, so we were now researching shipping by sea. We had found a logistics company in Lima and from talking to one of their agents, they said they had experience shipping motorcycles to and from Europe for the Dakar Rally. That seemed promising, so we proceeded with them, exchanging e-mails and phone calls over the next week. It was a tedious process because of all the communications they needed to quarterback between the cargo company and the fixers in Lima and in Europe. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9556-L.jpg Finally, I get to see Paddington Bear! Because Neda didn't want to go sightseeing, I had to think of other things that she was amenable to, just to get her out of the room. She loves animals, so a trip to the Lima Zoo was met with her not-so-begrudging approval. There were lots of wildlife from all over the world, but we tried to spend our time in the pavilions that housed local animals. In the picture above, the Andean Bear (or Spectacled Bear) is the only bear native to South America. It was the animal that Paddington Bear was based on, and was a lot less cuddlier and larger than what I remembered of the cartoon! Maybe he just needed a large, oversized Peruvian bowler hat? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9629-L.jpg Beautiful Amazonian Jaguar, the only kind of panther that exists in South America http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9474-L.jpg Neda shares a moment with an Andea Llama http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9642-L.jpg Looking over the moat that surrounds Monkey Island at the Lima Zoo http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9695-L.jpg Chompin' on a yummy banana http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9748-L.jpg Blue-and-yellow Macaws during feeding time Two weeks since arriving in Lima and we were finally getting somewhere with the shipping. We had signed Power of Attorney agreements with the shipping company, so Neda was off the hook as far as having to be in town. Oscar, our designated fixer in Lima, took us all over town getting papers photocopied, signed and notarized. On our part, we had to unload all of our personal belongings off the bike and send them separately to Europe by courier because there had been problems in the past with Peruvian customs not allowing non-motorcycle items to be shipped in the same container. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9805-L.jpg Our bikes waiting patiently to be wrapped up and boarded up Oscar led us to a run-down building where the bikes would be crated. It was a pretty sketchy neighbourhood, and over the intercom I expressed my fears to Neda whether this was a legit operation or not. As always, we just shrug our shoulders and go with the flow. The people helping us to crate the bikes were very helpful and professional and our minds were set at ease. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9798-L.jpg As always, Neda finds a four-legged friend everywhere she goes http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9845-L.jpg Windshield, mirrors and bags off to reduce the dimensions of the crate, then a few layers of plastic wrapping to make sure everything stays put. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9850-L.jpg After the cost of shipping, we couldn't afford plane tickets to Europe, so we found a cheap way to get Neda back to Croatia! |
Sorry to hear what has happened. I hope everything works out for the better.
Best Regards Wayne |
Hope Neda's mum recovers lightcycle. Safe journey home mate.
Bones |
Sorry to read of your unplanned detour, but then, they are the turns that define our lives !
Chin up Neda, give your Mum a hug from all of us :rolleyes2: |
Wishing Neda's Mom all the best and a speedy recovery.........and both of you good wishes....
hickery |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/165.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map165-L.jpg I've been in Lima for a week now, patiently waiting for word from the logistics company that our bikes have passed customs. This is the sticky part of the shipping process and the reason why I stayed behind while Neda went ahead to Croatia. From all the research I've done, we do not want to be out of the country trying to troubleshoot remotely if there are any problems with Peruvian customs - which there frequently are. Neda Skypes with me everyday and we keep each other apprised on the progress of her mother's health and how the customs process is shaping up. Although Neda is happy that she's able to visit her mom everyday in the hospital, her condition has deteriorated quite rapidly. The growths were malignant and were spreading very quickly, putting pressure on the spinal cord and paralyzing her below the neck. The whole family was now anxiously awaiting for a surgery date to remove the affected vertebrae and hopefully restore her mobility and feeling. I listened to her voice everyday growing more and more concerned. She told me that she needed me in Croatia for support, and that maybe I should just trust in the logistics company to handle things after the bikes cleared customs. I was missing her presence a lot too. It's strange being joined at the hip with someone for over two years and then suddenly not having them around anymore. I've gotten so accustomed to just having her nearby, that during the last week, I'll be typing away on the laptop, or watching a movie or listening to music, then I'll stop what I'm doing to talk to Neda and then realize she's not there in the room. But she's always there... Such a strange feeling... A few days later, we got word that the bikes had cleared customs and would be on the next ship to Europe. I booked a ticket to Croatia immediately. Whereas it would take me two days of airplanes and buses to get to Croatia, our bikes were going to take the slow boat to Hamburg, crossing the Panama Canal in the process (again! ha!). It will be almost a month and a half before we will see our motorcycles in Zagreb! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9888-L.jpg Stopover in Munich There's a train that runs from Munich airport to the downtown core. I boarded it, took a seat and watched other passengers trickle in. As the car began to fill up, I noticed how tightly I was holding onto my bags and luggage - and the only reason I noticed was because everyone else around me seemed to be so carefree and unafraid. One man fell asleep, his briefcase sitting unattended on the seat beside him. I glanced around wondering which one of the other passengers would steal his bag first... This is the third time I've been to Munich, but despite that I was still experiencing culture shock! After over a year and a half in Latin America, the blithe attitudes towards security and safety here were a bit unsettling. And yes, I totally stole that guy's briefcase... :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9855-L.jpg There is construction everytime I visit the Marienplatz. This time is no different. There were several other cultural jolts: - Everyone is so tall! In Central and South America, I would tower over most of the population. Now I'm dwarfed by a forest of Germanic oak trees. - All the cars stop for pedestrians at the crosswalks. That was surprising! I gingerly stepped out onto a crosswalk in front of a stopped Mercedes thinking this must be a trick or a trap... - Everyone speaks English! But they assume I speak German first. I was at a donair fast food stall and the guy at the counter asked me something which I didn't understand. I automatically defaulted to my first non-English language: "No entiendo". Picture a middle-eastern guy asking something in German, and an Asian guy responding in obviously bad Spanish. The donair guy narrowed his eyes at me. I'm sure he thought I was making fun of him in some way. - Everything is SO CLEAN AND SO QUIET! OMG I LOVE IT! Looking back, I don't think I could have picked a more diametrically opposite place from Peru to have come to than Germany. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_9860-XL.jpg Mariensaule - a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. This is what Marienplatz was named after I've been to Munich 3 times now, and every single time I visit the Marienplatz just to see if the place is still under construction. The answer is yes. I've seen the little Glockenspiel show that is so popular with tourists and I'm always underwhelmed by it. So this time, my Central/South American instincts take me to that same gathering spot and my camera is now out trying to look for interesting indigenous peoples to take pictures of. I find one very quickly: http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_9871-XL.jpg Wonder if he got his hat in Peru? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_9875-XL.jpg Locals call this "the most over-rated show in the world" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_9902-L.jpg This is what I was really here for: dark German beer and sausages! They said the best place for German sausages was Weisses Brauhaus, which is just around the corner from the Marienplatz, and was the primary reason why I was in the middle of MunichTouristCentral. The food and the beer didn't disappoint and I had another culture jolt in the restaurant: the bill... :( And also, another German patron sitting at the same table from me kept glancing over at me with curiousity. I'd smile and nod and then he would smile and nod and then nothing. If this was Latin America, no time would have elapsed before: "Chino?" and then a hundred questions in Spanish which I couldn't answer. So I decided to break the ice with a "Sprechen sie English?" (yes, I do speak fluent Germglish), to which he replied, "Of course." Of course, he spoke English. Duh. We then had a great little conversation, which would never have happened if Latin America hadn't taught me that it's okay to approach random strangers to spark up conversations regardless of language barriers! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0018-L.jpg It looks like I may have brought the rains with me from South America. Sorry, Germany! Since I only had a day's layover in Germany before my bus to Croatia, I spent it doing some motorcycle gear shopping (OMG the selection!) and also visited the BMW Welt. It was under construction the last time we were here, but it's now completed. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0027-L.jpg I wasn't happy with any of the pictures of the Welt except this one. You can see me in the picture, I'm right in the middle. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0028-L.jpg Inside the Welt is a huge commercial for BMW car and motorcycles http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_9977-XL.jpg And then every once in a while, someone would ride up to you and try to sell you an F800GS... If you think this is cool, you should see the X5 salesguy... |
Sorry to hear of your sad news ,Things like this happen in a persons life (my mum 81 was hit by a hit and run driver ,has had the last 2 months in hospital) Anyhow i hope everything turns out for the best ,regards Noel
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Thanks for the well wishes, Noel. Sorry to hear about your mom as well. :(
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/166.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map166-L.jpg After two long weeks apart, I joined Neda in Croatia. She's very happy that she's able to see her mom every day during visiting hours at the hospital, and now that I'm here, her support system is complete. We missed our 10th wedding anniversary while I was in Peru. :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0550-L.jpg Re-united! Pula is Neda's hometown in the Istrian peninsula of Croatia. The town is over 3,000 years old having been a part of the Roman Empire, the Italian Ostrogoths, the Germanic tribe of the Franks, the Venicians, then became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then united with the Republic of Yugoslavia in 1947. All the signage in Pula is in both Croatian and Italian to reflect its roots, and also to cater to the large number of Italian tourists that visit the peninsula every summer. Neda learnt Italian by watching TV programs that leaked across the airwaves of the Adriatic sea, which is how she was able to pick up Spanish so easily while we were in Latin America. At least that's my excuse... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0958-L.jpg View of Arena from the Pula Marina Pula's claim to fame is the Roman-built Arena, which rivals the Coliseum in Rome for size and history. While gladiators fought orcs and minotaurs in the olden days, now big stars like Sting and Norah Jones come into town to hold concerts here. This summer, Joss Stone and Lauryn Hill are slated to play here. Neda showed me all the places along the wall of Arena where she and her friends used to hop over the fence and sneak in to avoid paying the entrance fee. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0186-L.jpg View of Pula Harbor through the walls of Arena http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0072-L.jpg Every summer, there is a Gladiator show twice a week in Arena. Here, the cast is literally hanging out before the show. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0950-L.jpg Ship-building is Pula's other claim-to-fame. Neda's mom used to work here, and her uncle and many other relatives still do http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0034-L.jpg Golden Gates (or the Triumphal Arch of the Sergi) is another notable landmark in Pula I've been to Pula many times in the past, but most of the time, it was to visit family. Now that we're here for a longer period of time, Neda is able to properly show me all the places that she used to roam around when she was a kid. We are in the middle of the European summer vacations, so the town is over-run with tourists from Italy, Slovenia, Germany, and all over Europe. Tourism is Pula's other main industry, and the town's narrow streets are inundated with foot and vehicle traffic that will all but disappear by the beginning of September. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0124-L.jpg Shadows of tourists walk past the buildings in the old historic centre of Pula While Neda is happy to share her hometown with me, she is also excited that I'll document Pula properly on the blog. She's very proud of this place that holds so many memories for her. I hope I do this very pretty place justice. One things she doesn't like are all the crowds. Everywhere we go, she shakes her head at the congestion clogging up her city streets. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0156-L.jpg Pulankan Biker This guy came out to talk to us when he spied us gawking at his motorcycle. Our bikes are going to be quite a long time arriving in Europe, and we are starting to miss having easy transportation with us. It's fortunate that we are staying in Neda's mom's apartment close to the city centre so almost everything is within walking distance. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0080-L.jpg Tourist central - old historic Pula http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_0135-XL.jpg Bikes are allowed to park anywhere in the old city. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0403-L.jpg When we get our bikes, we're going to ride the 400 meters to the historic centre, park there and watch people gawk at our motos! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0138-L.jpg As is tradition, I always try to find an indigenous person to take a picture of when I go out with my camera http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0979-L.jpg Arts and crafts for sale in the tourist centre of Pula I ask Neda why she doesn't poke around the little curio stores in town, and she replies angrily, "That's what tourists do! I'm not a tourist!" The funny thing is these are *exactly* the same kinds of places that she loves going to when we're traveling. Like... EXACTLY! I stared hard at my new surroundings: the fresh paint on old buildings, new and expensive restaurants, bars and stores in the shells of Corinthian-styled edifices, the UNESCO-type-attraction of Arena that draws all the cameras and wallets out... I told Neda, "Pula is a total GringoTrail town!" Her eyes widened, "OMG, I never realized it!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_0338-XL.jpg Walking the city streets http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0323-L.jpg Settling into Pula - I stake out my Man-Cave (Man-Corner) It feels good to have a permanent place where we can settle down again. Neda is happy that there is a kitchen that she can use to cook, and we eat all of her favorite Croatian dishes now that the ingredients are all close at hand. The fridge is pretty much empty as she goes to the market every morning to get fresh groceries before visiting her mom in the hospital. One of Neda's friends is a musician and she lent me her guitar while we're here, which was really nice. Neda's old high-school friends are so compassionate and warm, taking us out almost every evening to keep us company and to keep Neda's thoughts and her mood positive while she attends to her mom. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0388-L.jpg More indigenous food, handed down from generation to generation - stuffed peppers http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0410-L.jpg IndigeNeda takes me to all "The Best" places in town. This is "The Best" place in Pula for Burek, a traditional Bosnian cheese pastry http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0416-L.jpg Bust of one of the National Heroes of Yugoslavia Near the hospital where Neda visits Neda's mom is this interesting-looking building from the communist era. It used to be a military base for the Yugoslavian Army. When the former republic fell apart, the buildings fell into disuse and was set up as a refugee centre during the war in the mid 90s. Today it is being used as a very funky community centre, with many of its rooms being used by musicians, artists and various other clubs. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0427-L.jpg Courtyard of the community centre - still has a lot of the old-world communist feel to it http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0446-L.jpg Karlo Rojc Community Centre Pula hosts quite a lot of festivals and special events each summer. The most well known is the Pula Film Festival, which is mainly an outdoor event held at various locations in the city, including Arena. Unfortunately, Neda and I brought the RideDOT.com rains to Croatia, and it has been unseasonably wet and cold this summer. We attended a couple of films during the festival and one of them got rained out. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0387-L.jpg Pula Rain Festival http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_0642-XL.jpg Arena is all lit up for a drier night at the Pula Film Festival http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0712-L.jpg Fireworks over the city kick off the Pula Film Festival http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0867-L.jpg Smoke from the lengthy fireworks display floats past the lights of the Arena, making it look like a cool flying saucer http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1863-L.jpg Cranes above the shipyard are lit up every night in the summer for the tourists, just like a GringoTrail town |
Great to see another update and more fantastic pics.
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Happy 10th anniversary guys :clap:
You may not have your bikes, but damn Gene, you still knock up a great report to keep us poor home bound types entertained :D |
Glad to see you are back and while in Croatia try and visit this.......Croatia Bike Week - Home
I wish I was going All the best Wayne |
Great to see an update again, so pleased you managed to get to Croatia and that Neda has had time with her mother. Thoughts are with you both and your family.
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It does look like that place was the basis for the game. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/167.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map166-L.jpg I've been in Croatia for nearly three weeks now, Neda for over a month. We've really settled into some semblance of stability, all centred around Neda's daily visit to her mom. She is still waiting for a surgery date, and the family is getting anxious for her because she can't move at all in the hospital bed. We've cocooned ourselves in the company of the extended family and friends. They've all rallied around us, spending almost every day with us, giving Neda the love and support to help her cope with the situation. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0322-L.jpg Goga, Neda's sister, serves us lunch. We are at her husband Mladen's parent's place Mladen's parents are really taking good care of us, having us over often so the sisters can be together. They don't speak English, so I spend most of my time playing with our niece, Tea. I've noticed that most people in Pula under 40 know English, it's the older generation that only speaks Croatian and Italian, which is the de facto second language in Istra. Having been away from English-speaking countries for over a year and half now made me really reflect on the nature of new languages, especially now that I could see people trying to communicate with me in English, which may be their third or fourth language. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0296-L.jpg Tea shows me the pet turtles in her grandparent's house Tea is growing up in a multi-lingual household. Living in Italy, her native language is Italian, but her parents and all her relatives speak Croatian to her. It's so interesting seeing how she relates to her English-speaking uncle. She calls Neda, "Teta Neda", using the Croatian word for Aunt but calls me "Zio Gene", the Italian word for Uncle, instinctively applying the non-Croatian term for me. I find it so familiar how she prioritizes her languages, similar to how Spanish is now my default whenever I try to speak non-English. She is super-smart and quick as a whip in remembering things. She asked if I knew any Chinese words, so I recited the only thing I knew: counting from 1 to 10 in Mandarin. Chinese is a really difficult language to master because you have to not only get the pronunciation right, but also the intonation, otherwise the meaning changes completely. To all our astonishment, Tea recited all the numbers back to me perfectly, including the intonation, on her first try! She is going to be a natural with languages, just like her Teta Neda. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0298-L.jpg Tea is getting fed up with me and my Andre Agassi forehand roofing all the shuttlecocks... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0271-L.jpg After the hospital visits, we frequently go to the beach together The pebbly beaches of Pula are a popular draw for tourists all over Europe. We have to search awhile to find an empty spot to lay our towels down. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0279-L.jpg Briscola is the name of the game, table talk is how you play the game... Briscola is a popular Mediterranean card game, very similar to Euchre. However, unlike Euchre, table talk is totally allowed! IwuzlikeWHA?!? Each team can develop their own signals (like tugging your left ear, or scratching your chin) to communicate to each other how many trump cards they have and what kind of card to put down next. Just like Spanish and Croatian, I wasn't learning the signals fast enough and once again found myself Euchred in the communications game... :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0253-L.jpg I'm good at this. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_0264-XL.jpg And I like taking pictures. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...0/L/nera-L.jpg Neda welcomes Nera into her new home with a brand new toy Oh yeah, almost forgot: we got a dog! Finally after months of Neda trying to kidnap every single canine we've met on the road, we have a four-legged buddy we can call our own - if only temporarily. Neda has joined a volunteer organization called Ruka Sapi. They rescue stray dogs and cats from the streets of Pula. Since they don't have an official shelter, they house all the animals themselves in their own homes until they can find a new family for them. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0508-L.jpg My first little doggie ever! Nera is a beautiful Croatian Sheepdog. She was found in the streets a few months ago with a broken leg after being hit by a car. The organization patched her up, and was keeping her in a homeless shelter (for people) but she had to be moved out to make space for other animals that required more medical attention. So we've offered to put Nera up with us until she can find a permanent home. This is the first dog I've ever owned. Neda's had a few when she was living here. Nera came to us already housebroken, she was obviously abandoned by a previous owner. Very friendly, but a bit timid because she hasn't felt like she belonged anywhere for a while. It didn't take long for her to make herself at home with us. I was blown away by Nera's ability to communicate what she wanted whether she needed to go out for a pee (very important), hungry, or was itching to go for a walk. Such a smart girl! Even a dog can communicate better than I can and she can't even talk! :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0480-L.jpg Finally, Neda has a little buddy! Statistics indicate that black dogs are the least adopted dogs. They say that there is a stigma with black dogs, that they're perceived to be more aggressive and they point to the "evil black dog" stereotype in movies and TV shows. This is so far from the truth, Nera is such a gentle and affectionate girl! They also say that black dogs are difficult to photograph, so they don't look good in adoption ads. This is very true. Looking through all the pictures I've taken of Nera, the camera always seems to focus on a table or a nearby foot, anything but the evil black dog... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_1561-XL.jpg The post office where we pick up our parcels. Funky looking building! We're really taking advantage of having a shipping address that we can send stuff to. Being on the road for so long, there are a lot of things that have piled up in my parent's mailbox in Canada that can't be faxed, scanned or sent electronically. I've got about 2 years of Loblaws flyers to catch up on! We also take the opportunity to refresh some of the motorcycle gear that has worn down or needs replacing. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1170-L.jpg Nona and Neda This is Neda's mom's mom. Everytime we visit Croatia, we pay a visit to nona and then she feeds us. She loves feeding people! She doesn't speak any English at all, but that doesn't stop her from talking to me in Croatian non-stop as if I understood every single word. That was refreshing because normally when people try to communicate with me here, they do it through Neda, only turning to look at me once Neda starts translating. Nona doesn't even ask Neda to translate, she just looks me in the eye, gives me some sage advice (or compliments me on my full head of hair, or tells me what her secret ingredient in her Burek is, I don't really know), and then flashes me a knowing smile. I like the feeling of being part of natural conversation, instead of waiting for the UN interpreter's delayed translation. Earlier on, there was a big cultural misunderstanding between nona and I. You see, in the Asian culture, when someone puts a plate of food in front of you, it's considered a sign of respect to finish every last morsel on that plate. However, to nona, that was a signal that you wanted more food. I kept cleaning the plate and she kept piling it on, no matter how much I objected that I was already full! It was like a race to see how much food she could move from the stove to my belly. I suspect that I am one of nona's favorite visitors. There is no higher compliment you can pay to a Croatian grandmother than to clean out her fridge and pantry. In fact, I'm going back there again tonight, whether she's there or not. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1437-L.jpg Spy King. Every Wednesday, Neda's group of friends rents a volleyball court for a couple of hours down by the beaches. They're all ex-jocks from high school so the level of play is competitive. Unfortunately, one week during a game, Neda slipped a disc, and not in the fun-frisbee kind of way. I make fun of her because during this trip, the only time she gets injured is at home and when she is off the bike. While in Toronto, last year she almost severed a tendon in her finger while wrestling a can opener. Couldn't ride for two months. And now here she can't ride for another few weeks because of her lower back. Volleyball is kind of special sport for Neda and I. 19 years ago (almost to the day actually), a pretty, young girl showed up to the YMCA where I regularly played recreational volleyball. She went around to every person in the gym before we started, shook their hand and introduced herself very formally. That was quite unusual, because in Toronto, a brief, cold look and then avoiding eye contact is fairly standard when meeting strangers. She spoke virtually no English. My chances at impressing HotImmigrantGirl shot up exponentially... I met Neda shortly thereafter. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0251-L.jpg Neda and Iva after volleyball Iva is one of Neda's few non-jock friends. While the rest of her crew are all ex-handball or volleyball players, Iva likes art instead. She jokingly tells me how Neda and her jock friends used to tease her about her pink unitards in gym class, since the standard uniform was all black. I'm learning all sorts of new things about my bride. I asked Iva if Neda also threw slushies in every one's faces in the hallways at school... Iva and I would have gotten along well in high school. Because Neda would have pushed both of us into a locker and locked us inside! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2301-L.jpg Karin is one of Neda's oldest and closest friends In between work, Karin still finds time to regularly pack up her two little kids into her car, drive in from out of town just to give Neda some GirlCompany. I really admire that. She must have super powers or something. On this particular visit, I asked how she was and she replied, "I was a little bit sick yesterday, was throwing up and felt really bad, but I'm feeling a little better today". Yeah, I guess Kryptonite will do that to you... We regularly get together with all of Neda's friends at each others houses and have pot luck dinners. Eating out in restaurants is super-expensive because all the businesses have jacked up their prices for the tourists, and Croatia is an expensive country to live in to begin with. Besides, everyone here says the tourist restaurants serve crap anyway. The homecooked food tastes much better! So if you're visiting Pula, make friends with a local and invite yourself over. I'll give you nona's address. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_1923-L.jpg Oh, Tajo! Tajana (pronounced Tie-Anna) is one of our social co-ordinators in Pula. She organizes all of our social gatherings as well as extra-curricular activities like visits to the neighbouring villages and towns. She works for a historical society, so she knows everything there is to know about Istria. Tajana's English is not as good, but it's waaay better than my non-existent Croatian. When Neda translates what Tajo is saying, I'm bowled over as to how funny she is, something that doesn't come across when she's trying to speak English to me. That struck such a chord in me, because I know *EXACTLY* how it feels to not have your true personality come across in the words you speak. Tajo also told Neda, "I'd like to speak to Gene more, but my ego prevents me from sounding like a 5-year-old". OMG. That one line totally articulates the way I felt the last 18 months about my hesitancy to even try speaking Spanish. She totally hit the nail on the head. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1997-L.jpg "beep beeep beeeeep beep beeep!" Tina is Tajana's niece. Even at 3-years old, she's picked up on the fact that I don't speak or understand Croatian, so she communicates by beep-ing to me. After a bit of time, I've begun to understand what she's saying. For instance in the picture above, she's saying: http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2006-L.jpg "I'm going to strangle you when the grown-ups aren't looking!" We are in Pula, Croatia, and it looks like we're going to be here for awhile. But we're surrounded by lots of good people that are itching to take care of Neda and I. They wrap around us like a warm blanket and I'm so very grateful for that. Hvala vam! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/168.html
The phone rings in the middle of the night. Bad news never waits for the morning. Ten days after the surgery to remove the tumour, Neda' mom passed away in the night. Her body was too weak and exhausted to recover. The family was devastated. After getting a surgery date and having the procedure performed successfully, we had made plans to move Neda's mom to an assisted living facility and start her rehabilitation. We had not planned on making funeral arrangements. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-j...-jz6KN4V-L.jpg Neda's mom, Mirjana as a small child It took a long time to get over the grief and start the task of cleaning out Mirjana's apartment. We looked through some old pictures that Neda's mom had kept and I wondered at the life of a person who I mostly knew through stories told through Neda's eyes. The pictures and the stories that came out because of it revealed a bit more of the person that I never got to know very well. Mirjana was born 1949 in Montenegro, which back then was a part of former Yugoslavia. The family stayed there a few years before moving to Istria. Her dad was the chief mechanical engineer aboard a ship that sailed all over the world, only coming back to be with the family for a month out of every year. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-T...-TVLhqBZ-L.jpg Nona, Mirjana and her brother outside the Hotel Riviera in Pula http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-4...4LqBhRP-XL.jpg Mirjana as a young woman aboard her dad's ship Nona told us that Mirjana was a quiet girl growing up, and that she always had her head buried in a book somewhere. Neda nodded her head at this and added that not much had changed throughout the years. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-b...brJbrNk-XL.jpg As a young bride http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-v...-vKBhM8M-L.jpg Mirjana and her two girls, Goga and Neda One of my favorite stories that Neda told me about her childhood was of her playing in the garden outside the apartment. When she got hungry, instead of coming back inside, she would yell to her mom up in the kitchen, "Mama, I'm hungry!" Mirjana would then make sandwiches and drop them through the window down to Neda so she could continue playing! That story always makes me smile. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-8...-8cdqXG2-L.jpg Mirjana and Goga http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-P...-PMxBZtN-L.jpg Outside in the garden of the apartment http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-N...-NZHPKcR-L.jpg Neda's birthday surrounded by her mom and grandparents We looked through a lot of old birthday pictures and slides of Neda and Goga throughout the years. I noted that as the sisters grew older, the exact same chocolate cake appeared in front of them in every photo. Neda explained that that was the only birthday cake her mom knew how to make! :) I thought that was funny, like seeing the same family member in photos that never seems to age over the years. Dorian Gray cake! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-Z...-ZFHtHKm-L.jpg Goga's wedding day. Mirjana liked to call them all "The Three Muskeeters" While in Pula, Goga found an old memory book from her elementary school years. It's an album that all your friends and family write messages or doodle in to capture a point in time, kind of like a yearbook. She showed me one of the pages that her mom had free-hand copied a picture of a Sarah Kay drawing. She had totally forgotten about it. It was very artistic and even as a copy, showed a lot of talent. Goga is an artist herself and it was nice confirmation seeing where she got her talent from. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-D...DxSWMTn-XL.jpg Attending Tea's annual birthday party at Goga's in-laws place http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-m...-mp2WdkK-L.jpg After moving to Canada, Neda would visit her mom in Pula every couple of years http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-f...fnV8mxs-XL.jpg Mirjana in her favorite chair buried in a book http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-J...JpJtBdk-XL.jpg Mirjana couldn't attend our wedding in Toronto, so we held a reception in Croatia as well Because Neda's mom didn't speak English, whenever she would call us in Toronto to speak to Neda, our conversations were very short. I learned how to say "Hello" and "Neda's not at home right now" in Croatian to make our calls easier for her. While staying in Neda's mom's apartment the last couple of months, I saw all the How-To-Speak-English books and dictionaries on the shelf. She had been trying to learn English just so that she could communicate to me. That was very touching! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-W...-WDP2c4q-L.jpg Three generations! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-3...-37shStc-L.jpg Lunch with the girls http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-g...-gPGpXSp-L.jpg As always, the girl and her book It was nice sharing stories with all of Mirjana's family, and hearing how she touched each one of their lives in ways small and large. She was very much loved by her family. She will be missed greatly. |
Sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you all
Wayne |
Neda , Gene
So sorry to hear of your loss,my condolences to the both of you and your family. Gene your pix and stories are always wonderful no matter what the subject.You make us feel like we are there with you Thank you for sharing.Wishing both of you the best . john newliskeard ont ca |
My heartfelt condolences to you both Neda & Gene.
It's harder for a girl to lose her Mum, as I have witnessed with my wife. Thanks for sharing. Grant |
Ever since I joined the Hubb, I followed your journey. You guys have a blast of a time. Sometimes life doesn't seem to be fair. The last couple of days are painful, my condolences to you. It takes time overcome the grief of losing loved ones. Best wishes.
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Sad times
Sorry to hear of your loss, thankyou for sharing your trip, your life and especially those photos of family life from the past.
Stay cool, stay strong. Hoss |
My condolences to you both. Tough times. Thank you for posting the pictures - amazing how pictures do say a thousand words. Rob
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Lori and I are both very sad to read of your loss. Our condolences.
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So very sorry to hear of your loss, my thoughts are with you and your family. Thank you for sharing those photos and for allowing us a glimpse into their lives.
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/169.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_1935-L.jpg Funeral for Neda's mom The last couple of weeks have been very busy, arranging Mirjana's funeral and getting all of affairs settled. I wished I could have helped, but the language barrier meant that it was faster for Neda and Goga to do all the work themselves. I stayed with Tea and we watched movies and played video games together instead. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2461-L.jpg I taught Tea how to play the guitar. She was inseparable with the instrument after! :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2408-L.jpg A night at the drive-in Neda's always told me that growing up her parents never took any pictures of her. Since she was a younger sibling, there were tons of pictures of her older sister. Neda recounted bitterly, "I guess the novelty of having kids wore off after the first child..." Marcia, Marcia, Marcia... While cleaning out her mom's apartment, we found a treasure trove of slides and we fired up an ancient, rickety projector (all it was missing was a hand-crank) and made an evening out of it with the rest of the family. There were *TONS* of pictures of Neda! Seems her dad had transitioned from making photos to making slides during Neda's childhood, and since Goga was going through her teenage Too-Cool-To-Hang-With-The-Family phase, all there were were slides of Neda hiking, Neda playing with the dog, Neda in the garden, Neda by the marina... Her entire view of her childhood was changed overnight! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...0/L/fair-L.jpg Rediscovered childhood memories: Neda at the fair http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0923-L.jpg Bullitt the blue sky Dog Update: Nera didn't stay with us for very long before her cuteness factor scored her a permanent home. I missed the soft patter of her feet on the kitchen floor while I was typing up blog entries on the computer. :( One afternoon, Neda came home from grocery shopping and announced, "Gene, we have a visitor!" Normally that was my cue to put some pants on. But into the kitchen came another black, furry four-legged friend! "I found him by the marina, he almost got hit by a car. Can we keep him?" I looked at the dog collar around his neck and replied, "We should probably try to find his owner?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that too..." We put out a notice on all the social media websites that Neda was hooked into. There were many replies reporting sightings all over Pula. In the meantime, since there wasn't a nametag on his collar, I got to name him! I called him Bullitt. :) He was very different from Nera. Not quite as smart, but rambunctious and mischievous. He wanted to sleep on our bed and couldn't seem to remember our home when we went out for a walk. He kept tugging on the leash even when we were outside our apartment. Dumb dog. It was over a day when the phone rang insistently. A worried voice on the other end meekly said, "Um, I think you have my dog". Neda replied, "If you want to see him again, meet us at the park in 30 minutes". I think she wanted to add, "bring small unmarked bills and make sure no one follows you". Neda wasn't going to give up yet another dog without a fight! Bullitt's owner met his dognappers later that afternoon, and Bullitt walked over to him when he was called by his real name, Max. Seems that Max gets let out every day to roam the streets and he always come home at night. He lived right behind our apartment which was why he was always straining at the leash when we were coming home. We totally kidnapped this little guy from his daily routine! When Max didn't show up last night, his owner frantically searched the Internet and found our posting. He seemed very relieved to see his dog again. While walking away dogless, Neda whispered to me, "I think Max would have been better off with us. Did you see how hesitant he was leaving us?" I replied, "Yeah, I think it's called Stockholm Syndrome..." http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1575-L.jpg The pebbly beaches of Lungo Mare Lungo Mare is a scenic, windy road that follows the shoreline. Cyclists, joggers and strollers take in the natural beauty of the area. The rocky coast is strewn with the occasional pebbly beaches along the bays, which are very popular with both locals and tourists. It's where Neda used to spend her summers, sun tanning on the rocks with her friends. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_9262-L.jpg Having a drink with fellow Croatian bikers! We have motorcycle visitors in Pula! Neda is member of a Croatian motorcycle forum online and we've been posting our blog reports there. When they heard that we were in the country, Danko and Nives rode into town to pay us a visit. It was really nice meeting other bikers and and we got some great tips about riding in Croatia. They were headed to Albania in a few weeks, we were very interested in that! We really miss our bikes, which were probably somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean right now. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1508-L.jpg Wishing farewell to Danko and Nives http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1042-L.jpg Salsa dancers in front of the Temple of Augustus http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1643-L.jpg 3D-Mapping The tourism board of Pula puts on many events throughout the city in the summer. One of the more interesting ones is are a series of short 10-15 minute computer animations projected onto the old buildings in the Forum. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_1600-XL.jpg Taking a shortcut through the dark alleyways of Pula http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_1998-L.jpg Cranes of the shipyard in the distances as the sun sets on the shores of this old town |
Thank you all for your kind words, Neda and I really appreciate it.
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Our thoughts and prayers are with you and Neda.
So very sorry to hear of Neda's moms passing. Texas |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/170.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map170-L.jpg Neda's been keeping track of our motorcycles while they've been making the slow journey across the Atlantic, and our bikes are now in Hamburg! The shipping agent told us it would be another week until they would arrive in Zagreb for us to pick up. So excited! It's been so long since we've been on two wheels. Thankfully we are staying right in the heart of Pula, and family and all the conveniences are within walking distances, but it still would be nice to have some transportation. In the meantime, Iva and Tajana have taken it upon themselves to be our official tour guides, ferrying us all over the Istrian peninsula to show us just how beautiful the region is. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1053-L.jpg Motovun in the distance One of the more popular places to visit in Istria is Motovun, which is right in the centre of the peninsula. Situated on top of a hill, you can see it from quite a distance. It's got incredible medieval architecture, reflecting many different styles throughout its different periods of rule, and they say you can see all four corners of Istria from the top of the city walls. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1092-L.jpg The city gates in the background at the top of the hill. I imagined a thick portcullis keeping invaders out back in the middle ages. We came right in the middle of the Motovun film festival, which is attended by people all over Europe. There was a huge screen being set up in the courtyard and lots of makeshift outdoor conferences and round table discussions held in the patios of the restaurants and coffee shops. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1080-L.jpg Shots on the wall of the castle! Except for Iva, the Designated Driver. :( From the top, you can see a beautiful view of the terra-cotta roofed buildings that are so typical of the region, as well as the valley below. The weather was kind of damp and rainy (what else is new?), so not many good photo ops that day. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1072-L.jpg Church of St Stephens http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1061-L.jpg Tuffles are very popular here since being discovered in the Motovun forest 80 years ago. They use special dogs to sniff them out. Expensive delicacy. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1102-L.jpg Late night, cobblestone streets of Grožnjan Ever summer, there's a jazz festival that's held in the town of Grožnjan, which is located just a few kms north-west of Motovun. Another town with medieval architecture, its primary claim to fame these days is being an artists colony. We piled into Iva's car once again to see some live music, but got sidetracked with good company and conversation during a nice late evening dinner and only got to see the last few minutes of a Croatian jazz trio. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_1113-XL.jpg The sound of someone practicing on a saxophone drifted through the air as we walked the pretty streets after the concert. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1147-L.jpg This weird-looking lump is actually a French poodle sniffing around the cobblestones http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0603-L.jpg Croangels in Galizana http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1875-L.jpg West coast resort town of Vrsar We've been invited to a gathering of Croatian travelers! Iva is an avid traveler just like us, and she belongs to a network of friends all over Istria who get together every once in a while to share stories and experiences. Tonight, we're visiting a horse farm just outside of the tourist resort of Vrsar, but we arrive a bit early to poke around the city. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1920-L.jpg Following a cyclist through the narrow streets Looking through all the photos I've taken of Istria, I've noticed that most of them are in portrait-mode, even though I consciously try to shoot in landscape-mode, because it fills the the screen better. But the narrow streets of all these Istrian towns just beg to be shown all the way from its cobblestone feet to its terra-cotta caps. All my landscape shots just seem to show a lot of blank walls... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_1960-XL.jpg Just off the coast are 18 unpopulated islets http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_1973-XL.jpg More portrait-mode goodness |
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Tourist traps in Vrsar http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1988-L.jpg Campfire stories with Croatian travelers I was fortunate that most everyone spoke English to some degree. We exchanged stories of all the places we had been to and lived in, and we were excited to hear about all the places on the continent that we'd like to travel to since we were here. The farm is owned by one of Iva's friend, Gaspar. His English wasn't as strong but surprisingly, our common language turned out to be Spanish! Who knew it could come in handy? :) Gaspar is a horse enthusiast and has traveled all over the world. When I told him of our Alaska to South America trip, he told me that he wanted to do the exact same route, but by horse! The Americas on one horsepower! After that evening, Iva arranged for the travelers to meet at her place the next time, because she had told everyone that we were going to do a slideshow presentation for them. Our second presentation this trip! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2020-L.jpg Dropping into Iva's grandmother's house One of the things that Iva and Tajana had been trying to plan for the last couple of months is some kind of hiking trip, but due to Neda's mom's passing, the first outing was cancelled. We were all set to go again a few weeks ago, but then the jeep that was supposed to be taking us and our equipment caught on fire! So this is the third time, and nothing, not even the threat of rain (again) was going to stop us! We drop into Iva's granmother's place to run some last minute errands. I loved the look of her place, it had a very recent old-world European look to it, if you catch my drift. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2024-L.jpg Melissa (Lemon Balm) plants are native to Istria, it's leaves can be used to ward off mosquitoes Neda stocks up for the weekend... We are now exploring the east coast of Istria. Our hike was supposed to start in the old Roman settlement of Labin and climb up the ridge of the mountains that skirt the south-east coast of the peninsula, ending up in the tiny summit town of Skitača, about 13 kms away. But due to the rains, we decided to drive to the top of the mountain and then hike back down to Labin the next day. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2129-L.jpg Inside the mountaineering lodge. We made dinner over this fire. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2169-L.jpg Thinking of taking up wedding photography to pay the bills There was a church besides the mountaineering lodge and a wedding was being held the day we arrived. Later on, after all the guests had left, the catering staff dropped off the leftover cake and pastries which we gorged on during dinner. Thank you, random Croatian bride and groom! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_0047-L.jpg Starting out from the top of the mountain in Skitača, clouds obscure the horizon creating a seamless sky blue Adriatic sea in the background - Photo courtesy of Iva http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2280-L.jpg Towards the end of our hike, the town of Rabac comes into view in the distance http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2034-L.jpg Labin http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2051-L.jpg More narrow cobblestone streets in Labin http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2374-XL.jpg Iva's friend's family owns a vineyard in Vižinada, just outside of Motovun Everyone is familiar with Italian wines, and Istria was once part of Italy and shares much of the same climate and soil as most of the northern Italian vineyards. On another social outing, Iva organized a tour of her friend Ines' vineyard to sample some of the vintages from this region. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2314-L.jpg We went on a small tour of the vineyard and saw how they made the different types of wines Since this was the old world, I expected a huge wooden vat with barefoot peasants stamping the grapes and a little spigot at the bottom of the vat where you could pour out a glass of fresh-squeeze wine. Apparently my knowledge of vintners fell a bit short... During the tour, we learned that Istria is known for its Malvazija white wine, due to the conditions in the area. I'm not a big white wine drinker, but I do like saying the word Malvazija (Mal-Vah-Zee-Uh). I'm just disappointed that there'll be very little opportunity to use that word in ordinary conversation. :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2323-XL.jpg Ines pours another glass of white wine http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2347-L.jpg Mal-Vah-Zee-Uh! We really want to thank Iva and Tajana so much for taking us all over Istria and showing us just how awesome this corner of the world is! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/171.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map171-L.jpg The bikes are in Zagreb! And only a month later than we expected... We had heard horror stories about shipping out of Peru, and we were prepared for the worst. Right now, the biggest headache was trying to convince the customs people to release our bikes to us. There was a lot of finger-pointing and ball-dropping between the Croatian Customs and the local shipping agent. We found out that the bikes have actually been in storage for the last three weeks with nobody looking at the paperwork! In the end, we got the bikes released by going through the official Croatian channel - namely by knowing someone. Neda's cousin, Iva, works for an insurance company and she made a few phone calls and got our bikes out of Bureaucracy-Jail! Hallelujah i hvala Iva! While we were visiting her, she told us that all the administration in Croatia is in a bit of a frazzle because of their recent entry into the European Union. All the paperwork surrounding insurance and importation has all changed and has to conform to EU standards. But she said this will be nothing compared to when the country adopts the Euro as their official currency! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2007-L.jpg Leaving Rijeka and... rain. Great. Yes, that clock reads 5:21AM, we've been on the road for 45 minutes already Confession time: The shipping people and customs are not the only guilty parties in this fiasco of a blog entry. Two and a half months ago, there was a small conversation in Peru: Neda: Did you remember to disconnect the batteries before the shippers crated our bikes? Gene: No. Neda: ... <eyes narrowed, lips pursed> Our batteries will be dead. No doubt about it. We came prepared for this by buying one of those portable jump-start lithium batteries. We also gave ourselves lots of time, taking the 4:45AM bus from Pula to Zagreb. After 3 1/2 hours of bleary-eyed, rainy roads, we arrived at the shipping warehouse bright and early for the grand unwrapping. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2155-L.jpg Our breaths held, we opened the crates. Looks good so far - nothing missing! *phew* With a crowd of intensely curious warehouse guys all gathered around our bikes, I turned the key on my bike and... nothing. No lights on the dash, no clicking of the starter solenoid. The battery was completely flat as expected. Our audience shook their heads like doctors coming out of an unsuccessful operation. I then pulled out the portable jumpstarter and connected the clips to the battery under the seat. Multiple sets of eyebrows went up in Spock-like anticipation. Turning the key prompted the engine to roar to life with vigour. Lots of head nodding all around. They were duly impressed with my magical jumpstart box. (So was I!) But before the judges put up the score-cards, the engine died when I twisted the throttle. Uh-oh. The second jumpstart worked but the engine died less than a minute after starting. Murmurs once again from the crowd... I was starting to get a bit annoyed with our audience. Didn't they have jobs to do? Neda said this was the Croatian way: one guy doing all the work and five other guys standing around watching. Truthfully, I was pissed that my jumpstart didn't work. The warehouse guys were actually very friendly. I knew what the problem was. The battery wouldn't hold a charge. The electrolyte had completely boiled away on the journey over. No amount of jumpstarting would fix this, only a refill or a new battery would do the trick. We had the same problem coming back to Guatemala last year, and now dumbass that I am, I do the same thing again. I was very angry with myself. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2024-L.jpg The battery guy filling up our new batteries with electrolyte. How long will these last? We called around trying to find a place that carried the gel batteries that our bikes used. Thankfully we found one right around the corner from the warehouse. But the place only had one Yuasa left, the kind the factory installs on the bike. They also carried a cheaper Italian brand that was compatible, but we heard that those don't last very long. So we bought one anyway and put it in Neda's bike. This should make an interesting future blog entry. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../0/O/fixit.jpg Installing our new batteries. The Croatian Way... With everything hooked up, I fire up both bikes successfully. That elicited a huge cheer from the warehouse guys. We pulled out of the parking lot like superheroes, despite the cats and dogs that were falling from the sky on our helmets. We didn't care! After a two and a half months off two wheels, we were finally riding our motorcycles. And in Europe! Third continent this trip! WAHOOOOO! It was actually kind of fitting that the raincloud that had been following us since September 2013 in Guatemala joined us here in Croatia. It's like that acquaintance that you can't stand but always hangs out with your group of friends. You just kinda get used to him. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2162-L.jpg Hanging out with our constant companion - the rain. We didn't spend too much time in Zagreb. Neda's sister and her family were only in Pula for this week and Neda wanted to spend as much time with them before they returned to Italy. So we hopped on the highway and headed back to Pula in the afternoon. As we got off the toll road, I looked at the bill we racked up... as expensive as the Cuota highways in Mexico. Muy caro! Good thing we're planning to avoid highways in Europe. Looking forward to having a much different trip than our all-Autostrada experience the last time we were here. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2163-L.jpg Back in our neck of the woods As we neared Pula, Neda told me over the communicator that it was such a strange feeling being in her hometown on motorcycles. When she left Croatia, she didn't even have a driver's license. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2585-L.jpg Tea was whooping with joy the entire ride. I think we've created a future motorcycle rider. We dropped by one day to visit Goga and her family, and with her parent's permission, I gave Tea a ride around the block and back. At first she was a bit cautious, hanging on to me with eight limbs like an octopus as we set off, but by the time we got back, she had both arms in the air like she was flying. It reminded me of the first time I ever rode a motorcycle, and how free that feeling was. Exactly why we are doing this trip the way we are. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2590-L.jpg "Please mama, can I have another ride? PLEASE?!?!" :) We're in Europe and we have motorcycles. Time to put the Ride back in RideDOT.com! |
...and they're baaaaack!
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welcome back to two wheels guys :scooter::clap::punk::rain:
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/172.htm
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map172-L.jpg It's raining. That must mean that it's time to ride! We're leaving Croatia, heading out to explore The Boot across the Adriatic, the home of pizza, Ferrari and crazy Italian drivers! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2169-L.jpg Saying farewell to Arena and the old neighbourhood http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2176-L.jpg Neda pulls up to the RideDOT.com support vehicle I have a confession to make. The reason why there are never pictures of me riding my bike is because most of the time I'm relaxing comfortably in the support vehicle. We hired a guy named Claudio to take all the pictures and videos of us. He's also writing this blog... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2180-L.jpg Our way to The Boot takes us through Slovenia When we landed in Europe, we came in on our Canadian passports, but Canucks are only allowed to stay in the EuroZone (called the Schengen Area) for only six months. Luckily, I was born in the UK and Croatia just joined the European Union, so we both got our EU passports shipped to us and seeing how we travel so slow, we can take as much time as want to see Europe. Yay! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2181-L.jpg Pretty Slovenian roadside scenery http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2193-L.jpg Battling a stream of traffic, most of it Germans heading back from summer vacations We rode across the top of Italy, rounding Venice towards Bologna, staying mainly on the highways. We were on a bit of a timetable because we had an appointment to make this weekend. One thing that immediately struck me about Italy was how bloody expensive everything was! Especially gas! There was a huge line-up at the gas station on the Croatian/Slovenian border. Good thing we filled up because at our next gas stop, we found out the prices in Italy were almost 1.5 times higher! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2042-L.jpg Guess what Neda is cooking for dinner in Bologna? Spaghetti Bolognese! We booked into a very basic room through AirBnB in the northern end of Bologna and we were still surprised at the cost. As we set out on our hunt for a grocery store nearby, we had to ask a couple of Bolognonians (Bolognese?) for directions. I noticed when Neda spoke Italian to them, they stared at her with a very confused look on their faces. I asked Neda later, "Don't you speak the language?", she replied, "I used to, but I forgot it all after learning Spanish!" Hmmm... Insufficient RAM... When we were first started out in Latin America, Neda cheated by speaking Italian with a Spanish accent. Now she told me that she's speaking Spanish with an Italian accent! :) It seems the two languages are close enough that you'll get your point across. The Italians were probably confused because Neda wasn't moving her hands enough... Q: What do you call an Italian with his hands in his pocket? A: Mute. Oh yeah, one thing that is really cheap here is wine. Red wine from Tuscany is less expensive than a bottle of Coca-Cola! It may not have been the good stuff, but it was good enough to put the gigglies into us on the tiny 2nd floor balcony overlooking the urban Bologna neighbourhood we were staying in, while slurping up our spaghetti. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2603-L.jpg It's open this time!!! The last time we came to Italy, we stopped into the Ducati factory during Ferragosto, that zany month-long vacation that shuts down the whole country. We only saw the outside of the factory through the fence, but this time we know better. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2635-L.jpg Ducati museum. The centre is shaped like a helmet. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the factory floor. I was especially intrigued by the race department which was tantalizingly closed off but for a small port window where you could peer through and imagine what sort of wizardry they were cooking up to compete with the big boys. Our tour leader kept quizzing us on our Ducati knowledge to keep us engaged while we walked around. I tried not to be that annoying know-it-all that always raises their hand in class, but since no one else was participating... "The answer is desmodromic, ma'am". Ducati Nerd. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2632-L.jpg To most Ducatista, this might be their dream garage... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2618-L.jpg ... but for me, this is mine. Super! Interestingly, Valentino Rossi's #46 Desmosedeci is missing from the GP collection. The company sold all of them because collectors offered so much money for it. It really shows how small Ducati is, and how willing they are to let a piece of history go to further fund their R&D. I bet Honda still has at least one of Rossi's RC211Vs. Another interesting tibit, the GPs have recently changed color from a deep, rich red, to a more orangey red. The reason why is that the new high-definition cameras that MotoGP uses makes the original red look pink, so the orange-red compensates for that. Now viewers at home see the original Ducati Red on their TV screens. Wonder what colour they should paint the bikes to make them appear to win races? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2660-XL.jpg Portico di San Luca Bologna is home to covered walkways called porticos. They're used to shelter people from the sun, rain and snow as they walk around the city. There are about 40kms of porticos in the city. We wanted to stretch our legs a bit after yesterday's ride, so we hiked up the Portico di San Luca, the world's longest covered arcade. It covers a 3.8km walk uphill to the sanctuary of the Virgin of San Luca and is beautifully decorated with 666 arches that make for an amazing study of Escher-like geometry as it winds up and around the forested hill, Monte della Guardia. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2670-L.jpg We saw lots of joggers and people in exercise clothing do this route. We did it in our motorcycle boots and gear... :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2051-L.jpg Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of San Luca. I need to work on my panorama skills... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2679-L.jpg Taking a well-deserved rest from the uphill hike http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2697-XL.jpg At least on the way down, the sun came out http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2228-L.jpg We had the rest of the day free, so we rode into downtown Bologna There's all sorts of wonderful medieval buildings right in downtown Bologna. All the buildings there are in that dark, rich reddish-brown that brings up drawbridges and castle sieges, squires and knights that say "Ni!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2722-L.jpg Italy is ScooterNation! They far outnumber motorcycles. We like that all two-wheeled parking is free and they seem to let you park just about anywhere without fear of tickets http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2714-XL.jpg Everybody knows the leaning tower of Pizza, hut did you know Bologna also has a leaning tower? Actually, it has two of them right downtown! At one time in 12th century, Bologna was actually full of towers like these, they conjecture about 180 of them, like pins in a cushion sticking up in the sky. They say they were used for defense. I think with the way Italians architect their towers, with that built-in lean, they were actually meant to fall down on any invaders (and citizens for that matter). Today only 20 towers exist in the city centre. The Two Towers above are both leaning. The smaller one, Garisenda, has a menacing 10+ foot lean over the heads of passerbys. The taller Asinelli only has a 3 foot lean, but as you can see, construction is underway to increase its lean angle so it can better defend Bologna against invading tourists. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SCN2220-XL.jpg Getting ready to hit the road! Where to next? Hint: it’s in one of the pictures above... :) |
Quote:
This little tale you weave lost all credibility when I noticed the bicycles... But Claudio did make me burst out laughing. |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/173.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map173-L.jpg Spoiler warning: Results of the 2014 MotoGP Race at Misano discussed in this post! We're so excited to be attending the San Marino MotoGP! There are a couple of RV parks about 5 kms away from the Misano racetrack in the sea-side town of Riccione. We've set up our tent in one of them for a few nights to use as a home base to ride to the races and then explore the area. Just a couple of kms over is the neighbouring town of Cattolica, where Marco Simoncelli grew up. There's a lot of pedigree that's originated from this region, as if the pasta they eat here was imbued with extra-special Go-Fast-Lean-Hard vitamins and minerals. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_2760-XL.jpg Unfortunately for the riders, we brought the RideDOT.com rains with us We rode through a light drizzle in the late Friday morning to try to catch the free practices. We really made an effort to get an early start to the day to be able to watch all the classes go out, but our camping skills were a bit rusty - we hadn't set up our tent in over a year, ever since leaving North America. We were so disorganized and spent so much time fussing around the campsite in the morning that we ended up circling around looking for parking as the deep bass thunder of the Moto3 bikes erupted inside the stadium. These were expensive tickets and I was a bit angry at missing some of the action. After much confusion, we finally found the correct entrance after being denied entry through several VIP/all-access gates. For the Friday, we had general admission tickets which gave us access to grandstand seating, positioned just after the Carro Hairpin. They were nice and close, but best of all, they gave us shelter from the pouring rain! We finally took our seats half-way through the MotoGP FP1. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_2759-L.jpg I can't believe the amount of money the VR46 merch brings in. There were always people lined up with Euros in their hands. Whereas the MM93 traffic was sparse, I think crickets had made their home inside the JL99 tent. Our seats gave us a great vantage point of the bikes as they made their way through the hairpin. Unfortunately the proximity was negated by the rains, so I didn't get a lot of good pictures. We found out that the beginning of FP1 that we missed was quite a crash-fest! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3230-L.jpg Hometown hero being squeezed out at the hairpin The weather forecast was clear for Qualifying tomorrow and Race Day, so FP1 and FP2 were not that useful to the teams for setup or gathering data. It really seemed that the riders were out there just to give the fans a show, enthusiastically waving to the crowds on the last lap of practice. Every single lap that Rossi passed by, the stadium erupted in cheers and waving. I am not the biggest Rossi fan, but it was not hard to be swept up in the Yellow Fever that burned hot even in such damp conditions. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3275-L.jpg Cal tiptoes through the puddles http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3311-L.jpg Italian Dovi on an Italian Ducati should have been a crowd favorite, but was heavily overshadowed by The Doctor http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3332-L.jpg Scusi, signore! You are not allowed to park there... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3343-L.jpg JLo puts in such consistent laps even in the wet. I'm a huge fan of his riding, but he's not that audience-friendly, barely acknowledging the crowd after practice. Jerk. Just kidding, Jorge, please sign my hat? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3365-L.jpg Very much unlike Valentino, who slows down to wave to the crowd after each session. Universally loved, I'm sure he does this at every single track on the MotoGP circuit, not just Misano. The next day at Qualifying, we were shunted to our real seats in the nosebleed section - far, far above the action. I took a few pictures but my zoom len's Kung-Fu was weak so I'm not going to embarrass myself by posting any shots. We were so high, I had to use my zoom to figure out who some of the riders were as they passed by. Marquez and Pedrosa look identical from our vantage point with only a slight difference in helmet colour. Then I figured out that whenever the camera-helicopter passed by above us, it was Marquez that it was following. Poor Dani, always the bridesmaid... They really corral the fans into their respective seating areas so you can't roam the entire stadium like at Indianapolis. So a tip to the budget photographers: take all your shots on Friday when they open up the grandstand to the plebes. A few people in the stands had 500mm lenses and they were getting great shots. I had a bit of lens envy. Thankfully, I have a SIM chip (from TIM - Telecom Italia Mobile) that we picked up in Bologna, so we could refresh the results on my iPhone to find out qualifying laptimes in real-time. However, everyone else was doing the same thing, and the TIM cell tower at the stadium lagged terribly, so "real-time" turned out to be "Italian-time", or in other words, "Late". Our perches in the rafters gave us a great perspective on relative speeds as the racers screamed down the back straight. Throughout qualifying, I remarked to Neda that Vale seemed to have amazing pace. This was confirmed later on when TIM decided to work: Rossi was third on the grid for Sunday! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2244-L.jpg Guess where we went after qualifying? To celebrate Rossi's front row qualifying, we rode to Tavullia - his hometown! Literally 12.8 kms away from the racetrack according to Google Maps, we first filtered our way out of the stadium past the lineup of stopped cars (I LOVE BEING ON A BIKE! It was like there was no traffic at all) and then wound our way through the forested, twisty country roads of the Rimini region until we encountered an unusual speed zone sign as we entered Yellow Nation: the town's speed limit had been officially changed to 46 km/h! LOL! Thousands of yellow flags and #46 signs greeted us on every street as we rode into town. As expected, everyone else had exactly the same idea and the place was packed to the gills with motorcycles and fans! They kept streaming in every hour, and the tiny area in front of the Rossi Fan Club looked like a salvage yard with sportbikes and touring motorcycles strewn all over in every single nook and cranny. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3850-L.jpg We managed to score parking right in front of Rossi's pizzeria! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_3851-XL.jpg The Yellow Militia patrols the neighbourhood looking for JLo fans to lynch http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3858-L.jpg Breaking our no-restaurant rule, just this once... In order to save on costs, we are trying to stick to a strict no-restaurant rule while we're traveling through Italy. In this country, the restaurants tack on a charge on the bill called a "coperta" if you want to sit down to eat. This is in lieu of a tip, but the "coperta" differs from restaurant-to-restaurant and you have to ask beforehand to find out what it'll cost you to use their seat, knife and fork. We ate some pasta at a restaurant across the street from our campgrounds and the coperta was 30% of the bill. Nuh-uh. Not again, signore. We made an exception for Valentino's restaurant, called Pizzeria da Rossi. We were all set to have a yummy pizza dinner, but unfortunately, there were so many people visiting that day that they closed down the kitchen and the only things they were serving were burgers and fries at the patio grill. So disappointing, but we still ate his overpriced food since he is a struggling athlete and all... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3917-L.jpg The view from Pizzeria da Rossi's patio. Tavullia is smack-dab in the middle of some really lovely countryside scenery! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3869-L.jpg Bet you didn't know that there's an Abbey Road in Tavullia http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_3932-XL.jpg Where did Rossi's famous #46 come from? Answer below. Around the corner from the restaurant and fan club was a display with some special motorcycles. In one area, they had three motorcycles that Valentino's dad used to race back in the day. Rossi's father ran the #46 plate when he won his first GP race (in Yugoslavia, Neda!), and that's where the junior Rossi got his famous numberplate from. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3938-L.jpg Rossi fans wander around his hometown, looking to soak up some of the vibe |
We woke up extra early on Race Day because I didn't want to miss any of the action again. There's a grassy section set aside for motorcycle parking in Tribuna D where our cheap seats are, so any bikers with seats in that area got free parking! We walked around and did some plate-spotting in the lot; bikers had rode in from all over the continent, but we were the only non-Euro motos there! Represent! :)
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3949-L.jpg Motorcyclists file in for race day. The bearded guy reminds me of someone, I think a cartoon character (in Tintin, maybe?), I can't put my finger on it... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2061-L.jpg Our nosebleed seats at turn 13, just before they hit the Carro hairpin It's a good thing we still have those altitude sickness pills that we never got to use in Peru. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_3447-XL.jpg The excitement mounts as 2PM approaches One tidbit about the Yellow Nation in Misano - I think there's an official Rossi fan seating area that you're morally (if not legally) obligated to wear a yellow shirt and hat so it looks good for the cameras as it pans across the stadium. However, there are a lot more Rossi fans than meets the camera eye because for every yellow shirt walking around, there are equally as many black Rossi t-shirts and white Rossi t-shirts that make up quite a sizable contingent. If I were to guess, I'd estimate more than a quarter, maybe a third of the crowd was wearing some kind of VR46 merch on their backs or heads. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_3996-L.jpg Ever wonder who lets off the yellow smoke bombs on the warm-up lap? It's these guys. Every lap, the camera-copter approaches us above like a herald angel, announcing the arrival of the race leaders The Moto3 and Moto2 races were exciting, but we didn't realize just how quiet and sedate the crowd was until the MotoGP riders entered the track to line up at at the grid. The decibel level (which I know is logarithmic to begin with) went up exponentially! It's as if people were asleep before 2PM! As Rossi rode past us on his way to the start line, everyone stood up and screamed and yelled at the top of their lungs. It was as if 54,543 of his immediate family members, neighbours and closest personal friends all came to the stadium today. You could only see flashes of his signature yellow leathers through a forest of raised arms and pumped fists! It was totally awesome! What? I SAID, IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!!! Now sit the F down, you yellow-backed mofos so I can see the frickin' race... ;) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4003-L.jpg We thought the crowd was boisterous, but a few corners after this picture was taken, it got so loud, it was like the Italian fans were trying to get all of Spain's attention to thumb their noses at the entire nation! As soon as the lights went out, JLo took the early lead, but the hometown hero was right on his tail and the crowd lapped it up. Qualifying was not a fluke and our man was in contention. We all watched the action on the screen in front of us with excitement when Rossi and Marquez traded positions during the first few laps. Every new development redefined the scale of audience frenzy: Rossi retakes second place again? The crowd reaction goes up to 10! Rossi passes to take the lead? Okay that previous audience reaction was really an 8, *NOW* it's a 10! Marquez falls off his bike? OMG! The last reaction was really a 6, *NOW* this one's a 10...! :) How can it get any more exciting than this?!?! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4071-L.jpg Savouring the sweetest victory lap ever! If Rossi went any slower around the track on this lap, he'd be moving backwards http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4096-L.jpg Two differing points of view on the matter http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4138-L.jpg Misano is one of the few places where fans can run out onto the track after the race. So we did! It's a long-standing tradition at Misano that after every MotoGP race, the fans stream out onto the track and storm the podium to celebrate with the victors. For a long time and for many years running, it had always been Valentino on the top step, which made it extra-special for the local fans. But after a long, protracted absence here he was again atop the highest box and 54,543 of his friends, family and neighbours were not about to pass up the opportunity of paying homage to their hero on his pedestal in person. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4148-L.jpg "Hurry, hurry! I can hear them playing the Italian national anthem!" Our seats were soooooo far away that even with us rushing to get to the podium (some of the more enthusiastic fans started sprinting through the gates on the final lap), we were met with a solid wall of people between us and the podium. Ugh, I suffered pangs of zoom lens envy again as we squinted into the sun to see our victor greet his friends, Rimminians and countrymen. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4144-L.jpg We arrived just in time to see them pop the champagne and spray the crowd (and the umbrella girls, of course...) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4149-L.jpg Marquez Who? Vale, Jorge and Dani on the top steps, just like back in 2009. All that was missing was Casey Stoner puking his guts out behind the podium... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4176-L.jpg Victorious Vale in front of his hometown fans. It just doesn't get any sweeter than this. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4188-L.jpg Yellow wigged fans in reference to a younger Rossi when he sported a bush full of curly, blond hair http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4186-L.jpg Getting a souvenir of a very special day: not only Valentino Rossi winning on his home track against the unstoppable Marquez but also actually being allowed onto the track after a MotoGP race http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4182-L.jpg Knee-down at the Misano track! What an awesome, awesome experience! It was so much more than we had hoped for: watching Valentino Rossi win at his home track after such a long time away from the podium, and to do so against such a formidable foe like Marquez in his prime. It was like an Italian fairytale come true! Arrivederci Misano e grazie! |
Makes me really want to go to another MotoGP race!
I always had the idea that the trip reports were a fair way back from where you actually were in the world, but I see now that they're not far back at all! As always, looking forward to the next installment :thumbup1: |
Keep it going
Really enjoyed the story sat at my desk whilst planning my point to point trip of southern Europe to the top of Europe nest summer.
Love the pace of your journey and the way it is written steve |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/174.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map174-L.jpg We are going to be to staying at our campsite in Riccione for another day to ride around the Appenines, the central chain of mountains that runs down the centre of Italy. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2057-L.jpg Staying another day? Then let's stock up on more cheap, Italian red wine! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2268-L.jpg Mount Titano rises up in the distance, and we can see the three towers of San Marino at the top Our first stop of the day is San Marino, a city-state, totally surrounded by Italy, yet recognized as an independent country. We climb switchback after switchback to reach the capital town, San Marino City, which is situated on top of Mount Titano. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4381-XL.jpg San Marino City's coat of arms is three towers with three plumes of smoke San Marino has a long history of fierce independence, staying neutral in both World Wars and offering political sanctuary during the Italian unification in the 19th century. The motto and the coat of arms of the country is "Libertas", freedom from political oppression. Did you know Abraham Lincoln was a citizen of San Marino? He was given that honorary status to recognize his fight to end slavery. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1445-L.jpg Mount Titano is triple-peaked, with a castle at each peak. We're in the first tower, Guaita, looking over at the second tower. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4332-L.jpg Did I mention my feet tingle when I look down? My toes have a spider-sense... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4320-L.jpg San Marino only covers about 60 square kms: beautiful sprawling countryside http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4293-L.jpg Even the classiest places can have a little bit of kitsch. €8 for entry: Scary prices http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4271-L.jpg Scenic, but expensive place to have lunch http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4291-L.jpg I keep telling Neda, "It won't fit in the sidecase!" Did you know Nutella is made in Italy? The factory is just an hour and half outside of Milan! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4282-L.jpg Basilica of San Marino http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4371-L.jpg Must have been an Audi staff meeting here, lots of people in expensive suits with briefcases milling around There's supposed to be a changing of the guard ceremony here every hour on the half-hour. We waited over an hour to see that, but they never came out. Is it still Ferragosto here? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4250-L.jpg Taking a break from all the walking around After a picnic lunch on the city walls, we head back on the bikes in the afternoon to ride around the countyside. Our goal in Europe is to stay off the Autostrada as much as possible, to see as much of the country and save a bit of money as well. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2324-L.jpg We found a great winding, country lane that ran along the ridge of a hill, scenery on either side of us http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2332-L.jpg Farms all around us, with the odd villa dotting the landscape http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2338-L.jpg Our loop around the area takes us down to Urbino where we stop again in the late afternoon. You can't throw a tortellini without hitting a twisty road, and our favorites were the ones around Urbania and Urbino. I remarked to Neda that it's been so long since we just rode twisty roads for the enjoyment of it. Much of our Latin American trek was destination oriented, instead of focusing on the road itself. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4486-L.jpg Riding through the Piazza Rinascmento, past the Duomo di Urbino Urbino has a real renaissance feel to it, as if there's a Leonardo da Vinci behind every door sketching fantastical inventions. We had a really good time, wandering (and riding) around the narrow cobblestone streets of town, taking in it's picturesque beauty. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2374-L.jpg Not sure if we were allowed to ride through the Piazza, still a bit of the residual Latin American mentality... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4395-L.jpg Piazza della Repubblica http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4402-XL.jpg He made us an offer we couldn't refuse http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4388-XL.jpg Marveling at the roofs of the porticos in Urbino http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4424-XL.jpg There was a kite festival in the town recently, and there were decorations above all the streets http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4414-XL.jpg So pretty! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4421-L.jpg Leonarda in training, sketching the Ducal Palace of Urbino http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4439-XL.jpg More kites and palaces http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2377-L.jpg Outta my way! Neda zooming through the narrow streets of Urbino! Feels so good to be wandering around on two wheels again! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/175.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map175-L.jpg My parents visited Perugia a few years ago and they really enjoyed it, so we decided to take a couple of days to explore the area. We're doing a pretty good job staying off the Autostrada, but I think we might have to hit a couple of highways if we want to see the rest of Italy before the next Ferragosto arrives! :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2420-L.jpg More scenic rolling countryside roads http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4529-L.jpg We stop in Urbania for an ice cream and poke around the deserted city streets Italians observe a strict schedule when it comes to working, or I should say, NOT working. We always seem to do our traveling and wandering around during their early afternoon siesta, and we're always surprised when all the grocery stores and gas stations are closed until the early evening. Nobody is on the streets. It's like we're the last people on Earth. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4550-L.jpg Early morning view from a Perugia farmhouse We found a place to set up our tent for a couple of nights in a farmhouse just outside of Perugia. It's a beautiful place with great views of the sunrise over the mountains in the distance, and I am up uncharacteristically before dawn to try to get some pictures. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4658-L.jpg For once, I am up before Neda! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4854-L.jpg Like we're on a movie set that calls for a stereotypical Italian farmhouse! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4881-L.jpg No Neda, we can't take him with us... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4839-L.jpg I *LOVE* being on two wheels in Italy! There seems to be a vehicular food chain in Italy. Unlike many countries where scooters and motorcycles are at the bottom (just above bicycles), two-wheelers are actually on the top of the pyramid in Italy (with scooters actually at the pinnacle and motorcycles just below). We ride pretty much wherever we want with impunity, and I feel like Moses when traffic politely parts at the centreline like the Red Sea to let us through. There is designated two-wheeled parking everywhere (which is a bit of a force fit with our wide panniers) and unlike four-wheels, it's free everywhere in Italy. With gas prices so high here, it really is the best way to tour around this country! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4746-L.jpg Some of the Etruscan town walls surrounding Perugia still stand The walls around Perugia reflect it's pre-Roman Empire history. The Romans called the people that lived here the Tusci or Etrusci, and that's where the name Tuscany comes from. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4788-L.jpg Beautiful medieval buildings - Palazzo dei Priori There were a lot of young people walking around Perugia. On the steps of the Palazzo, a class of art students sat down to draw the Fontana (fountain) Maggiori. We found out later that there are a couple of major universities and a few art and music colleges in town. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4808-XL.jpg Italians are all about the fashion. Check out the official police handbags! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4816-L.jpg Unfortunately, their engineering sense is not as developed as their fashion sense. The walls of these buildings are all crooked! All it needs is a leaning tower to complete the picture! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4798-L.jpg All over the region, we kept seeing artists sketching the architecture http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4820-L.jpg We plan to stroll around the pretty city streets http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4780-XL.jpg But first we rob a convenience store... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4740-L.jpg Off the main touristic stretches, we discover hidden alleyways with more wonderful, personal architecture http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4731-L.jpg Cat with cauliflower ear - one too many street brawls http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4745-L.jpg Waiting outside the hospital http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4671-L.jpg Perugia is situated on a hill with the plains of the Umbra and Tiber valley below http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4759-L.jpg Hanging out atop the city walls http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4772-XL.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4793-XL.jpg Finally! Someone I can ask what name of the rose actually was. Read the damn book three times and still couldn't find it.. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4824-L.jpg Speaking of which... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2079-L.jpg "How did you like Perugia, Neda?" |
Updated from Sep 22 2014: Rome, If You want To
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map176-L.jpg All roads lead to Rome! So I guess we'll just have to go. We take a mixture of back roads and highways to get to the Seat of the Holy Roman Empire. I'm very surprised at how well-mannered the traffic is on the highway. Sure, some of the drivers may pass a little close for comfort, barely making it into the passing lane as they tease out the smallest possible closing distance between my left pannier and their right front bumper. But the left-lane-passing-only discipline here is strict and is something that I personally hold sacred, and it's extremely satisfying to see everyone here practicing it. If only North Americans would follow the same etiquette! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000446-L.jpg Riding through Rome! From our campsite just north of the city, we planned out our daily excursions. Rome wasn't built in a day, so we're certainly not going to trying touring it in a day either. From all accounts, the traffic in the city is supposed to be horrendous and for a brief moment we considered taking the metro into the downtown, but in the end we decided to brave the metropolis traffic, just to get a taste of the gladiatorial theatre being played out on the roads. But first, we don our armour - taking off our panniers so we could better blend in with the ruling class (scooters) and slip more easily between traffic. Let the games begin! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5104-XL.jpg My slim R1200GS parking in a scooter spot So having ridden to and around Rome on different days at different times: weekday morning rush hour, mid-day traffic, and weekend afternoons - we rate the traffic as being very tame. I think our experience in Latin America on their congested roads really put things in perspective. There's a "road space rationing" system in effect here that only allows half the vehicles into the city limits on alternating days during business hours, depending on whether your license plate ends in an even number or odd. Just like in Mexico City, Quito, San Jose (Costa Rica) and Bogota, but this rationing system was actually invented by Julius Caesar, right here in Roma! There are still a lot of cars on the road, but we used to live in Toronto - fourth-largest city in North America! So we know about sharing the road with a million other vehicles. What really made the Roman traffic bearable for us was how lane-splitting was such an intrinsic part of two-wheeled transit. With our newly-slim profiles, we just followed the line of scooters, like ants marching through the concrete jungle, as they discovered and zoomed through cracks and crevices in the traffic that would have made our previously fat-bottomed GSes think twice. When in Rome, do as the scooters do! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1525-L.jpg Other kinds of two-wheeled transit in front of the Vatican We're also visiting a new country today! The Vatican City State is an independent nation, totally surrounded by but walled off from Rome. We've now visited two countries (San Marino as well) without ever leaving the borders of Italy! We stood in line for two hours trying to get into the Vatican Museum. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4942-L.jpg They even made these sisters wait in line, which is total nun-sense. I was really excited to visit the Vatican, but didn't know a lot about it before this visit. The main reason why I was interested was because I loved the book, Angels and Demons, and Ob-E-Wan McGregor was in the movie as well! He plays the role of the Camerlengo, which in Italian means, "One who drops their bike repeatedly". It's also a word I love saying, because I'm infantile that way. Camerlengo. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4921-L.jpg Rome is where the art is The Vatican Museum is packed to the gills with countless statues, paintings and tourists. More tourists than art: wall-to-wall (fresco-to-fresco?) visitors from all over the world move from room to room in the museum. The most annoying are the guided tours, because the tour operators carry these long sticks with different scarves or flags at the top so the group can find their leader, but also do a great job blocking all the paintings on the wall. Good thing there's a lot of artwork on the ceilings... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1520-L.jpg Funky spiral staircase in the Vatican Museum http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4931-L.jpg Neda blends in with the pretty girls in the painting One thing that went through my mind while visiting the Vatican was how far the religion's sphere of influence extended. We spent a year and a half roaming around Latin America, visiting churches and seeing all the religious iconography in their culture, and now, here, in the seat of Roman Catholicism you really get a sense of the power that conquered the lands and minds of people half a world away. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4940-L.jpg "Excuse me, signore. I need to see the Camerlengo now because of an Illuminati plot to destroy the Vatican" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...MG_2082-X2.jpg Panorama camera works sideways too! We got to see the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling: The Creation of Adam - you know, the one with the Monty Python finger of God reaching out to Naked Adam. We weren't allowed to take pictures because the chapel is a holy place of worship, but what really struck me was how large the ceiling was and how small the Creation of Adam is in relation to it. There were lots of other paintings surrounding it and on the walls. I don't mean to sound heretical, but the Creation of Adam kind of underwhelmed me. Maybe because it's so widely published, it's gained a larger-than-life status. Personally, I liked some of the other paintings in the Sistine Chapel more. But I'm not an Art Historian, so what do I know... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4945-XL.jpg Wonder what's in the case? Anti-matter perhaps? When they made the film Angels and Demons they had to digitally recreate the Vatican because they didn't have permission to film there after the church got angry over the plot of The Da Vinci Code. It's a good thing they did because there's always construction and seats and stages set up for special events held at St. Peter's Square and the Basilica. On a typical day, it's not that photogenic at street-level. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4986-L.jpg Baroque palaces of the Piazza Navona http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_4996-L.jpg Egyptian writing on the Obelisk in the Piazza Navona. Come on! If that's not an Illuminati clue, I don't know what is! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_4969-XL.jpg Expensive phone call - because of the Roamin' Charges. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5047-L.jpg Wandering around the streets of Rome http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5022-L.jpg All ready for picnic at the Pantheon The Pantheon, right in the heart of Rome, was magnificent. Just the size of it was gargantuan and the material that it was made of was so polished and ancient that it seemed almost fake, as if it were created for a movie. Out of all the buildings in this city, this one impressed me the most, so I took a picture of a car in front of it. Fiats are everywhere in Italy, and I'd totally get an old 500L to tool around in if I was living here. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5071-L.jpg Vittorio Emanuele II Monument http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5085-L.jpg Ruins near the Roman Forum http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5097-L.jpg The Colosseum - largest amphitheatre in the world! When I was a kid, I had a book filled with cartoons of places all over the world. I don't remember any of the other pages except for the one with the Colosseum in Rome, for some reason it really grabbed my imagination. So seeing this up close brought back that one childhood memory. In fact, this trip has really made my inner-five-year-old ecstatic! I don't think I'd ever have imagined back then that I'd be standing in front of and walking around all the things I saw on TV documentaries and books that I've read. As we approached the Colosseum, Neda asked me, "Which do you like better, the Roman Colosseum or Pula's Arena?" She said it in exactly the same way that your girlfriend would ask, "Do you think that girl is prettier than me?" I hesitated. Big mistake... My legs still hurt from all the back-pedaling I had to do. Tip for all you guys out there: your girlfriend or wife's home-town amphitheatre is always prettier than the Roman Colosseum. ALWAYS. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5101-L.jpg Arch of Titus, near the Colosseum So many tourists, everywhere! And everything's under construction or fenced off, so not as pretty as in the postcards... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2093-L.jpg My panoroma camera managed to capture the world's thinnest woman! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5124-L.jpg Riding the Appian Way! My favorite part of Rome was leaving it! Literally. :) The Appian Way is a on old military road that connected Rome to the south-eastern most reaches of the country. You know the expression, "All roads lead to Rome"? It was in reference to this road, where hundreds of thousands of Roman Legionnaires' sandaled feet polished the cobblestones on this well-worn path to and from the capital. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5116-L.jpg Capo di Bove, Appian Way There are so many beautiful old buildings and ruins in Rome that I'm glad we spent a bit of time just being tourists, but sharing it with so many thousands of other people really bummed me out. The very large and rough cobblestones on the Appian Way meant that there wasn't a lot of vehicular traffic through here. There are 4x4 Jeep tours (a bit of an overkill) that you can hire to take you along the Appian Way, but the road is mainly sprinkled with the odd hiker stopping along the way to see an old building or ruins along the path. Nice and quiet, just the way we like it! The suspension on our GSes really got a workout as this was the first dual-sportish road since arriving in Europe! :) The cobblestone rocks are so polished that I can't imagine how slippery it must be when it rains. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5126-L.jpg Stopping to admire the scenery The Appian Way has numerous stories to tell. Spartacus, the renegade gladiator, was defeated along this road by a trap laid by the Romans. Even as late as WWII, the Allies fell on this same road at the Battle of Anzio that lasted four months. Lots of history here. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5130-L.jpg Smoke is from a BBQ from one of the many swanky estates that can afford an Appian Way address http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5156-L.jpg Villa dei Quintili, along the Appian Way |
I've noticed that your sense of humour has been getting back to normal in the last few posts, and this last post made me laugh right the way through!
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Keep enjoying your trip! |
Updated from Sep 24 2014: The Ruins of Pompeii
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map177-L.jpg From Rome, we tried to hug the western coastline as we ventured further south. We stopped for the evening just outside of Naples at a campsite we found on the Internet, but it turned out to be The Most Expensive Campsite In The World, because it was situated on the grounds of a dormant volcano. We didn't know this beforehand, but since it was starting to rain, we decided to set up our tent instead of trying to look for another place. There was no 3G signal on the campsite, so we had to hike out of the campsite to the main road so we could log onto AirBnB to find someplace warm and dry for the next couple of nights. We've done some pretty vagabond-ish stuff on this trip, like camping out in a Walmart McDonald for hours stealing their free wi-fi. But nothing will top sitting on a bus stop bench in the pouring rain while taking chugs from a tetra pak of red wine. We looked like a couple of miserable, wet hobos, but after the tetra-pak was done, we turned into a couple of happy, wet hobos. Red, red wine, make me feel so fine... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5168-L.jpg Campground Cat is laughing at how much we paid last night In the morning, before leaving, I told Neda, "We should probably go see their stupid volcano to make it worth our money". It wasn't very large, you could probably walk around the rim of the crater in 15 minutes. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5196-L.jpg Inside the crater of Vulcano Solfata there was all sorts of fissures sending up steams of smelly gas http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5218-L.jpg Crocs were probably a bad idea for this hike http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../sulfata-L.jpg We met Petr and his friend, two R1200GS riders from the Czech Republic, who also stayed at the campsite last night We continued south on the coastline trying to find the closest road to the sea, and we were rewarded with a scenic cobblestone ride into Naples. For once, the sun was out and we peered over the edge of the road as it twisted around the steep cliffs overlooking the blue Tyrrhenian Sea. A very nice ride! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000556-L.jpg Our cobblestone ride takes us into Naples http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000577-L.jpg Neda staring at Mount Vesuvius in the distance http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5228-L.jpg Don't f*** with the Scooter Mafia! This car parked in scooter parking and paid the price. We just can't get used to the Italian siesta, called the riposo, which closes down all shops and stores from... basically whenever the sun is in the sky. We always seem to be perpetually off-sync, knocking on shuttered doors hoping to get gas or food while we're on the road. We're also out of sync with Italians mealtimes as well. The restaurants only seem to be open on a very rigid schedule: a couple of hours for lunch and then only after 7PM for dinner. Because we had an early breakfast, we were starving by 11AM. With our bellies complaining loudly, I knocked on the door of one establishment where there seemed to be people inside preparing for the lunch hour. One of the employees peeked his head out and told us it would be another hour before they opened. My stomach and I grumbled in unison. I think it must have been a bakery because from inside, when his co-worker asked about us, I distinctly heard him mention "mangia" and then "cake"... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...MG_2099-XL.jpg Ever seen a cake eat a pizza? Did you know pizza was invented in Naples? They take their pie-making very seriously in the city. There's even an Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana, which certifies pizzerias around the world to the Neopolitan standard according to an 11-page document that outlines stringent regulations like the acidity of the yeast, thickness of the pie, and the ingredients like the fresh tomatoes and buffalo cheese, which all have to come from the area surrounding Naples. This pretty much guarantees that the only certified Pizza Napoletana can only come from Naples. After eating one of these certified pies, I feel a bit more Italian so from now on, I'm going to start using the Italian names of the places we're visiting. For the Mangiacakes out there, here's a quick reference: Napoli = Naples, Roma = Rome, Bologna = Baloney! |
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Staying at a typical Italian neighbourhood, those are our clothes drying on the line! :) Because of the costs of accommodations in Italy, we're finding that we need to be more diligent in researching and booking places in advance, instead of rolling into town and knocking on doors like we did in Latin America. We're refining this process and we're pleasantly surprised at how many private homes are opening their doors to travelers via AirBnB. Very good value for the money. HostelWorld remains a distant second because of the relative low value for what you pay for, and there seem to be plenty of RV campsites all over Italy, which is our cheap and easy fallback plan. The trick is finding one that doesn't have a volcano or spa attached to it that hikes up the price. We opted to stay outside of Napoli, just a couple of kms away from Pompeii, which we visited the next day. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5348-L.jpg The ruins of Pompeii There are places that we stumble upon as we're traveling that just pop up on our radar as we're planning our next day's ride. Pompeii was one of them. I had no idea it was this close to Napoli. We had planned to stop in the area to try some authentic pizza Napoletana and ended up visiting the ruins that had captivated my imagination when I was a kid. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5372-XL.jpg Mount Vesuvius in the background http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5257-L.jpg Walking through the streets of Pompeii, some sections were boarded off because excavation work is still underway One of my favorite TV programs growing up was a sci-fi-documentary series called In Search Of... I remember being transfixed for a whole half-hour every week as Mr. Spock himself spun tales of pseudo-science explaining how the Mayans worshiped Ancient Astronauts and how Mount Vesuvius erupted blanketing Pompeii in a layer of thick hot ash, instantly preserving everything it covered. I remember vividly the plaster casts of the bodies caught in their last moment of anguish and how that both haunted and fascinated me at the same time. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5285-L.jpg Over 1,000 bodies were found preserved in the ashes of Pompeii The biggest mystery was why Pompeii was the only city that had human bodies preserved in such detail that even the folds of their clothes can be seen in the plaster casts made from the hollows of the ashes. Other cities near Vesuvius showed no such preservation, only bones and teeth remained of their citizens as the pyroclastic surges of hot toxic gases and ash incinerated their bodies. A recent documentary I watched explained that Pompeii was exactly the right distance away from Vesuvius that the surge of hot gases was just the right temperature to kill a person - boiling their brains in their skull - but not hot enough to destroy their flesh and clothing. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5286-L.jpg Some of the dead were little children, which was very sad I spent a good long time staring at these bodies with both sadness and wonder. Like many other moments on this trip, this was a visit that brought back childhood memories and at times, it felt like I was 10 years old again with a Leonard Nimoy voiceover in my head. Pure Energy... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5319-XL.jpg Greek-looking columns in Pompeii I did some research and the columns here are more Greek-inspired than Roman. Pompeii is regarded as the crossroads between the Roman architecture of the north and the Greek influence of the southern Italy. I know nothing about architecture, but I love the names of the types of Greek columns: Doric, Ionic, Mixolydian, Pentatonic... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5330-L.jpg Water break amongst the ruins http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5337-L.jpg "No Neda, this amphitheatre is not as pretty as Pula's..." After this visit to the ruins of Pompeii, I have a new mission for our trip. I'm going to download all those old episodes of In Search Of... and then we're going to ride to every place covered in each episode. Next stop: The Lost City of Atlantis! |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/178.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map178-L.jpg The Amalfi Coast is one of the world's top motorcycle destination roads, earning it's reputation by offering up twists and turns and amazing sea-side scenery. Situated just east of Napoli, the pretty part only covers 40 kms between Positano and Salerno, but there's much to see in such a small stretch of coastline. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5394-L.jpg Getting ready to hit the Amalfi Coast! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000594-L.jpg Worth getting up early for this! :) We woke up bright and early because we wanted to really take our time on the Amalfi Coast, but since we were headed eastbound we had the sun in our eyes for most of the ride. The road is short enough that you could probably ride back and forth a few times in a single day, but we wanted to head further south so this was our only run. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5429-L.jpg Small towns and villages cling onto the Amalfi coastline and provide a pretty backdrop to our twisty ride http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5406-L.jpg Such a scenic view from the road above looking into all the small villages in the bays below The Amalfi Coast really lived up to its reputation. Our helmets were like bobbleheads taking in the 360 degree panorama of views around us, the coastline far below us to our right, the pretty towns that we rode through, dodging the local kamikaza scooters as they railed around the turns that they have memorized day in and day out. Neda and I both agreed that this was one of the top 5 roads that we've ever ridden in all of our travels. So glad we made it here! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5412-L.jpg Honeycomb pattern of villas and vacation rentals like kudzu on the cliffs of Amalfi http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5414-L.jpg Local fruits and veggies Thankfully we were blessed with incredible riding weather, blue sunny skies with only a few clouds lingering in the stratosphere, perfect temperature and not too much traffic on this early Saturday morning. After the last few days of rain, it would have been a shame having to ride this road in the wet. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5444-L.jpg 40 kms turned into a 4-hour ride, we stopped at the side of the road to take many pictures http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5453-L.jpg and when we saw the town of Amalfi, we decided to park the bikes and explore a bit Amalfi is the main town on the Amalfi Coast, there are tons of other smaller villages that we passed through, but the opulence and the splendour of the buildings here begged us to stop and explore the place a bit more. Amalfi used to be a popular vacation spot for rich British people, perusing all the high-end stores and dining at the expensive restaurants in town. Now smelly, hobo bikers like us wander around and eat groceries from out of our topcase. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5455-L.jpg Round the Amalfi Coast with an Italian Supermodel? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5463-L.jpg Like most European beaches, Amalfi had a pebbly shore where we laid out our towels for a soak in the sun and surf Neda said she prefers the pebbly beaches instead of the sandy ones because you don't get all dirty. Maybe it's because it's what she was used to growing up in Croatia, but to me, my childhood memories were of chasing tiny crabs as they popped up out of the sand after each wave came ashore on the beaches of Ipoh in Malaysia. To me, a beach has to have sand! That, and pebbly beaches also leave weird pock-marks on your butt when you get up! Or maybe that's all the pasta I've been eating... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5461-XL.jpg An octopus washed up on shore to become someone lucky sunbather's take-home dinner http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5464-XL.jpg Waving goodbye to Amalfi beach. Back on the road! Pictures and words don't really do the ride around the Amalfi Coast justice, so here's a video instead |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/179.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map179-L.jpg Italy has been such a beautiful place to visit so far. The western European culture here is so familiar and comfortable that I've taken over most of the trip planning again, even though my Italian is non-existent. This allows Neda to just enjoy the ride, since she did so much work while we were traveling through Latin America. So basically, this will be a nostalgia tour because we're going to visit every place that I've read about or seen in TV shows from when I was a kid! We scored a pretty nice place for cheap in Capitello through AirBnB, on the western shore of the boot of Italy, right where the ankle meets the foot. Our place had a great view of the Gulf of Policastro and in the morning, we woke up early to catch the first rays of sunlight rise above the mountain range in the east. These mountains separate the Campagna region where we came from, and the Basilicata region, which we are headed through later in the day. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5487-L.jpg Nice thing about catching sunrises in the mountains is that you don't have to wake up too early. This is about 45 minutes after the official sunrise for Capitello http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5494-L.jpg View of the Gulf of Policastro from our place! Spectacular! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5512-L.jpg Neda looking out into the bay http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5504-L.jpg Early morning fisherman against the many-layered mountains of Basilicata The Basilicata region is the most mountainous region in Italy, almost half of its area is covered by mountains. These peaks fall and end abruptly at the shoreline, and we skirt the edge of the cliff-side road peering over the edge at more of the fantastic scenery that we had experienced the day before at Amalfi. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000690-L.jpg In some ways, the road further south of Amalfi was a better drive because there was much less traffic and it offered the same view of the coastline http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000685-L.jpg And we still got to ride through quaint little villages along the way. Not as crowded too! We decided to stop at Maratea for lunch, since it was the only coastal town in the Basilicata region. As we got closer, we saw a small statue of Jesus high atop a cliff, which looked kind of cool. But the closer we got, the bigger Jesus grew - the statue was huge! It was so big, we had to investigate, so we rode up this very cool winding road that they had specially built to get to the top of the mountain. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2114-L.jpg That was fun! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5533-L.jpg Neda, the CIO (Chief Instagram Officer), gives the shareholders some updates Cristo Redentore di Maratea stands over 21m high on the top of Monte San Biagio and is the 5th tallest statue of Christ in the entire world. The head itself is over 3m (10 feet) tall! It's made out of pure Carrara marble. Impressive! We spent a bit of time walking around the summit of the mountain, taking in the marvelous views of the town of Maratea as well as the Tyrrhenian Sea. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5551-L.jpg Just drinking in the scenery! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5569-L.jpg The Basilica of St. Blaise, also on top of Monte San Biagio opposite the statue The road that they built to get up to the statue was a ton of fun, and we weren't the only ones enjoying as we passed cyclists and other motorcyclists. The mountain is so steep that they had to build a supported road with switchbacks away from the side of the slope. There were much better views going down, so here's a short video of our descent! At about 0:09s you can see the statue as we are leaving it http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5622-XL.jpg Standing outside one of the numerous churches in Maratea Maratea is a very picturesque village, but packed with lots of tourists. We had made plans to find a cheap restaurant to have lunch here, but all the places we stopped into had expensive menus and high copertos, so we carried our complaining stomachs further from the centre of town until we stumbled upon a small-hole-in-the-wall diner that was more kitchen than diner. There was no set menu, the Italian nonna who owned the place just continually made different pasta dishes throughout the day and sold whatever she had at the time. So glad that lasagna was what she happened to be cooking at the time. Both Neda and I agreed it was THE BEST lasagna we had ever eaten! :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5608-L.jpg Neda is trying to trick this cat into thinking that there's food to be had! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5589-XL.jpg More pretty Maratea Back on the bikes after lunch and we're on our way further south. The coastal road takes us through deserted beach towns that probably would have been teeming with tourists from all over the country and Europe just a month ago. I can see and feel the sun and temperature warming up the path ahead of us, and what was an initial wet entry into Italy is turning out to be quite a nice tour! Yay! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5652-L.jpg Found a campsite right on the beach, as well as a cheap bottle of red wine from the "cellar" of the campground cafeteria :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5657-L.jpg 2014 was a good vintage year, wasn't it? Especially the month of September... Sun sets, wine finished, back to the tent. Stumble, giggle, stumble. Pee a couple of times in the middle of the night... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000716-L.jpg The next morning, we ride down to the very tip of the boot to catch a ferry! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5712-L.jpg Saying goodbye to mainland Italy. We're heading to Sicily! Funny thing is that we had not really planned to ride down this far. We were going to turn inland after the Amalfi Coast but after some research, I found that the ferry ticket was not that expensive and I was intrigued with Sicily even though I don't know much about it. So after some convincing to get Neda on-board, here we are! |
Great Ride
Spent the last 2 months slowly going through your ride and have now caught up! Great job, really enjoy it. I am in withdrawal now. Post something.:(
BTW this is my first official post on the HUBB. Cheers S |
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Yeah, c'mon Gene :Beach:
Stop having fun & catch up some, for those of us that are bored at home will ya :rofl::rolleyes2: |
Just took a little break from riding and writing, working on getting the blog up-to-date now! :)
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Happy to hear that you will be stoking our fires within....to get on the road
Warmest Regards |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/180.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map180-L.jpg We disembarked from the ferry out into the waiting arms of the port town of Messina. With the sun beating hot down upon us, we threaded our way through the congestion of this industrial city. Cars and scooters rushed past us on every side - budding in front of us, squeezing in between us, hanging onto our rear wheels... we quickly realized that the mythical crazy Italian drivers? They were all here in Sicily! "Oh my god, they're crazy down here", I radioed to Neda. As if to underscore my point, a scooter zoomed past us, running the red light that we were stopped at. I looked behind me wondering if there was an impatient driver ready to yell at me, "Che cazzo fai?!? The light is red! Andiamo! Go, GO, GO!!!!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000724-L.jpg Riding south, hugging the eastern coast of Sicily It took us a good long while to make it out of the city centre. I decided that maybe we should bypass the Autostrada to save some money, but as the slow ride continued, the heat and the traffic were beginning to take their toll (no pun intended) on Neda. We passed several small towns on the coast and I remarked to her how ever since leaving Rome, the towns and buildings in Southern Italy had really begun to resemble Latin America - everything was a bit more unkempt and a bit less maintained than the north. Neda grunted her agreement. She was in no mood to converse. Our route down the eastern shore took on a pattern: small unkempt sea-side towns, coastal road, sea-side-town, coastal road. After a couple of hours, we got the general idea. So we sucked it up and hopped on the Autostrada and headed towards Syracuse, or as they say in Italy: Siracusa. The toll turned out to be not that expensive. And even though the communicators remained silent after paying, I could hear Neda's voice in my head telepathically admonish me, "We should have taken the Autostrada"... :( I think we may be overdoing it with the whole take-the-backroads-all-around-Europe thing. It may be a good idea to hop on the high-speed roads once in a while, and to pick up the pace a little bit too... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5716-L.jpg Ever wonder what's in that huge topcase behind me? Groceries! We booked into a very luxurious apartment just outside of Siracusa and stocked up on yummy Italian groceries since we had a kitchen for the next couple of days. Our AirBnB host told us of some great places to visit in Sicily so we took some notes. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5822-L.jpg Our first stop, Ortigia! Ortigia is a small island that's basically attached to the coastal city of Siracusa by a couple of very short bridges. It's the historical centre of town and is where all the touristy stuff is located, so we ride down to take in the sights. As usual, we do like the scooters do and park anywhere and don't pay a single cent! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5722-L.jpg The Fountain of Diana in Piazza Archimede Did you know the famous Greek mathematician Archimedes was born in Siracusa? Although he was known for a whole bunch of mathematical stuff, the one fact that sticks out for me is that he was the first to exclaim, "Eureka!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5726-XL.jpg "Oh Don Juan, you charmer, you!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5756-L.jpg Piazza del Duomo The most famous sight in Ortigia is the Duomo di Siracusa. It's in the Piazza Duomo which dazzled us with its expansive white stone floor. In the bright Sicilian sunlit afternoon, you definitely need sunglasses to shield you from the glare! The Duomo was actually originally an old 5th-century Greek temple (the Temple of Minerva) that was converted to a church. Carve an arch here and there, add a few columns and voila, instant church! Sacramental pita bread for the Holy Communion... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5757-XL.jpg Here you can listen to some nice accordion music, and then drink from the Holy Grail... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5766-L.jpg We watched a photoshoot for a magazine on the boardwalk. No socks. Is that the fashion these days? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5762-XL.jpg Someone forgot to tell the weatherman that RideDOT.com is in Sicily. The weather is beautiful down here! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5767-L.jpg The coastline of Ortigia http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5774-L.jpg Writing on this tablet doesn't look very native to Sicily? Aramaic maybe? |
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Expensive restaurants in the historical tourist town of Ortigia. We have homemade pasta waiting for us tonight! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5779-XL.jpg R1200GS sightings all over Syracuse I noticed something very peculiar in this area of Sicily. There are tons of R1200GSs here! Not BMW motorcycles generally, but the R1200GS, and specifically the old air-cooled version like mine. These are just a few that I took some pictures of, but there were many, many others that were riding around that I didn't get a shot of. I know it's a popular motorcycle in Europe, but this was the highest concentration I've ever witnessed. So funny seeing my bike all over the place. One thing I am really glad about in Europe is that our German motorcycles don't stand out all, not like in Latin America where our big bikes got a lot of (sometimes unwanted) attention. But here in Syracuse, not only did I not stand out, but I looked like a local! At least with my helmet on and the visor down... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5782-L.jpg Another one! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5786-L.jpg Even parked on the smaller streets Before we headed into Syracuse, we gassed up outside our AirBnB apartment. The gas station attendant showed some interest in my bike, so I started explaining what it was and all the features. He smiled and shook his head. I had misunderstood his Italian. He wasn't telling me he was interested in the bike, he was trying to tell me that he OWNED the exact same bike. Huh! R1200GS. The official motorcycle of Siracusa! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5794-L.jpg Opra dei Pupi A popular attraction in Siracusa is the Opra dei Pupi, an elaborate puppet show with intricately detailed marionettes that enacted classic stories of Knights, Love and Honor in Medieval Europe. This is a modern Sicilian tradition from the 19th-century (but the roots date back to Medieval times) that is being kept alive in this town. Puppet builders and operators practice their craft to the delight of adults and children in daily showings. We didn't attend the show. The official reason is that it was too expensive for our budget, but truthfully, life-like puppets and dolls kinda creep me out. Some people have an aversion to clowns, I dislike puppets and dolls. There's a scientific explanation for this mild phobia, you can Google "Uncanny Valley" if you're interested. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5810-L.jpg The ruins of the Greek Temple of Apollo, right in the heart of Ortigia. Too much work to turn this one into a church... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5813-XL.jpg 20 paces and Nikons at dawn! DRAW! I have no idea who this guy is, but I'd like to think that somewhere on the Internet there's blog with this exact same picture of me doing the same thing. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000742-L.jpg Riding to the Necropolis! The next day, we set off for the Necropolis of Pantalica which is about 25 kms outside of Siracusa. The road to get there is fabulous and twisty, goes up and down and around the mountainous terrain and thankfully is very well-marked. However every time I saw the sign for Pantalica, I couldn't help but think that would make a great name for a heavy metal band. Like if Pantera and Metallica ever decided to get together, this is what they would call themselves. And their first album would naturally be called Necropolis! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5835-L.jpg Neda: "We're going to find this place, because Nothing Else Matters!" The Necropolis of Metallica is a cemetery made up of over 4,000 tombs carved into the limestone overlooking a large gorge, covering over an area over a km long and half a km wide. It's considered a prehistoric site, the tombs were all built during the Bronze Age! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5827-L.jpg Did they even have ladders that tall in 1200 BC? As we got closer, it was quite a sight to see all those square holes cut into the rock like the regularly spaced windows of a large apartment building. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5863-L.jpg It didn't occur to me until later that I was suntanning in front of someone's tomb... I read later on that the earlier tombs in the 12th century BC are elliptical in shape, but later on they had better tools, so the tombs built in the 6th century BC were more rectangular, and had little vestibules and porches. Neat! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5874-L.jpg Excavation was done in the early 1900s, but all the tombs had all been raided long before that. We spent most of the morning hiking around the area before the sun got too hot. I really liked visiting the Necropolis of Pantalica and not just because of the cool-sounding heavy metal name. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5888-L.jpg Farewell Pantalica! What else is there to see in Sicily? |
First of all..So sorry to read your sad news.
We have just caught up on your blog and read through the pages since leaving the UK on our RTW trip after selling up everything .. House, table, fork etc.. I really enjoyed reading your blog before we left and now find ourselves on Crete in a very cheap lovely apartment which is a lot less than camping!!...that was after reading about you doing this before.. Here comes the weird bit... we was at the MotoGP..camping in the same place as well as driving down to Sicily at the same time as you!!!...visiting Pompei, Amalfi etc. Having spent longer than we planned in Sicily (it is rather lovely) basing ourselves in Catania (we went to the west of the island and didn't like it much) with all the places there like Ragusa, Noto etc, We headed for our winter hideout..Crete ( 3 boats, a 3 hour drive across italy and a 3 hour drive across Greece and we were here.) We would have so loved to have said "Hi" to you both and had a beer or two. Next time we will make sure we stay fully up to date on your blog...!!! Safe travels and keep the great writing and photography up.. Cheers Kevin and Heike. |
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http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map181-L.jpg In South-Eastern Sicily, there are eight towns in the Val di Noto (Noto Valley) that were rebuilt after a huge earthquake in 1693. Considerable work was done to populate these towns with the popular Baroque architecture of the day. Noto itself was only 40 kms away from Siracusa, so we hopped on the bikes one afternoon and headed into town to see some cool architecture. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5972-L.jpg Through AirBnB, we found a tiny cave-like apartment dug out of the old buildings http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5976-L.jpg Kind of small and dusty, but it was right in the historic centre The infrastructure is not very good in the historic centre. Every afternoon after lunch, the town shut off all the water so all the buildings and businesses in the area had to rely on huge water tanks on-premise that were replenished when the water supply was turned on again in the morning. We had to make sure to turn on the pump every morning to re-fill our tank otherwise no shower, flushing toilets or washing dishes after lunch! Despite all this, it was a cool experience, living for a couple of days in the centre of town. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5928-L.jpg We're going to do things a little bit different while we're here in the Val di Noto. Because all the towns look so empty during the middle of the day during the Italian riposo (siesta), we decided to take an afternoon nap ourselves and then do some sightseeing in the evening for a change. Living la vita Siciliana! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5952-XL.jpg Porto Real arch leads to the famous cobblestoned walkway of Corso Vittorio Emanuele http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5953-L.jpg Noto comes alive in the evening, tourists and locals hanging out in front of magnificent examples of Baroque architecture So many people walking around! I really don't understand the whole riposo thing. I can see that maybe in the middle of the summer, you'd want to sleep off the afternoon heat indoors where it's nice and cool. But this late in the season the days are actually pleasant: mid-to-high 20s. Why keep the same schedule all year round? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5957-L.jpg Sitting on the steps of the Noto Cathedral http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5965-L.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5960-L.jpg More expensive restaurants. Can't eat here or we'll go Baroque. Just outside of the historic centre, we found a take-out pizzeria selling large pies for €5. Finally cheap food! We're finding food generally is cheaper in Sicily than the mainland, but the tourist traps in the middle of all the attractions still gouge the holiday crowd. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5969-L.jpg Why is the beach so empty? We really wanted to hit at least one of the famous Sicilian beaches while we're down here. Calabernardo Beach is the closest to Noto, less than 10 kms away, so we hopped on the bikes to get some sun in. The place was entirely empty! We found out why... less than 5 minutes after we put down our beach towels, it started to rain. Of course we checked the forecast before we came. 60% chance of showers means 40% chance of sun, doesn't it? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000762-L.jpg Back to our cave |
Our next stop is another Val di Noto city called Modica. It's less than an hour away from Noto, so we take the backroads through what's known as the Iblean Plateau. It's the same kind of limestone geography that we saw at Pantalica. We've booked another place through AirBnB, a farm about 15 kms outside of Modica, and we ride for a while through very narrow laneways lined on both sides low stone walls that Neda says reminds her of Pula.
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2137-L.jpg Our home for the next few days We really like our AirBnB stays, mainly because of the price point, but also because most of the owners are really cool people to talk to. The owner of this farm was originally from Bologna, but her family moved here recently. She told us all about the good and bad about Sicily. Apparently the Mafia is very real and very present down here. As a tourist you don't really see it, but if you try to start any kind of business, they get involved very quickly. I've always wondered why Sicily seems to be the very poorest part of Italy, given that it's got such nice weather, it should really be raking in the Euros due to all the tourist activity. However it was explained to us that companies are hesitant to start up businesses here because of the mafia and the government corruption, so there's very little investment in Sicily. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2142-L.jpg As usual, Neda finds a four-legged friend on the farm We're continuing our night-time tours of Val di Noto. We hop on the bikes after sunset and head into Modica where our first priority is to find a chocolate store. Modica chocolate is well-known for it's particular dry, grainy texture, they say once you have it, you can't go back to regular milk chocolate. I don't know about that, but we did enjoy it a lot that we bought several bars for the trip, but they all magically disappeared before we even left the farm. Where did they all go, Neda...? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6028-L.jpg Neda on the hunt for chocolate in Modica http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_5978-L.jpg Historic centre of Modica http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_5994-XL.jpg Cool night-time architecture http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6008-L.jpg We climbed up to one of the highest points in the city to get a view of the narrow, labyrinthine corridors of the old city http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6014-L.jpg Night-time wedding photos in the old town http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6021-L.jpg Modica was really beautiful at night http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6025-XL.jpg *Everyone* comes out in the evenings! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6040-L.jpg RainDOT.com in Sicily. Can't we just have one week of solid, uninterrupted dry weather? :( Back on the farm next day, a huge storm hits the area. We watched from our bedroom window as the water pounded our bikes parked outside. The owners told us that a mini-twister touched down a few kms away! So glad we decided not to camp! From inside, I could hear Neda chomping down on some dry Modica chocolate to console herself against the bad weather... |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/182.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map182-L.jpg As we leave the Val di Noto, we visit another one of the Baroque towns on our way out. Scicli (pronounced Chick-Lee) is only a few kms away from the farm that we were staying at. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000773-L.jpg Tan brown buildings of Scicli greet us http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6077-L.jpg The church of St. Bartholomew is the centerpiece of the town Our AirBnB hosts told us that although not as well-known or as popular as Noto or Modica, Scicli is perhaps more picturesque and accurately reflects what Mediterranean life might have looked like on the Sicilian coast 150 years ago. Lots of Italian TV program and movies are filmed here for just that reason. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6049-XL.jpg I liked the towns in Val di Noto because they didn't need to slap on pastel paint on all the buildings to make them look appealing to tourists http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6057-L.jpg Because Scicli is built in the V of two different valleys, there are many places you can walk up to get some nice views of the town Another point of interest are the Chiarafura Caves, which are carved out of the rocks of the hills overlooking the town. I don't know when they were actually built, but they say that the poor people in the area inhabited these dwellings as recently as the 1950s. We tried to visit a few as they are part of an archaeological exhibit, but the entrance looked like it had been closed for a while, probably a victim of budget cuts? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6067-L.jpg Close-up of the cave dwellings above the Baroque buildings of Scicli http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6086-L.jpg View of Scicli as we were riding away From Scicli, we rode down to the southern shore of Sicily and tried to hug the coastline as much as possible as we headed westwards. Neda, being a flora and fauna buff, pointed out all the olive tree orchards we passed by. In a lot of areas, the roads were narrow and in poor condition, reflecting the neglected nature of the island. Once again, waves of deja vu rushed over me, as if we were riding back in Latin America. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6190-L.jpg Agrigento, outside the Valley of Temples. Our free parking spree in Europe continues! The ruins of the Valley of the Temples stand high atop a hill overlooking the city of Agrigento. This is one of the things I really wanted to see in Sicily, so we gladly paid the €10 entrance fee and ran into the park like little kids rushing into Disneyland. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6157-L.jpg Valley of the Temples is kind of a misnomer - the ruins are situated on a ridge overlooking Agrigento When I was a kid, three things scared the crap out of me: 1) Poltergeist, the movie, 2) Pet Sematary, the novel by Stephen King, and 3) Medusa, the snake-haired Gorgon who turned men to stone with her gaze. Despite the latter, I devoured all the books I could find about Greek mythology, read all the stories about the jealous and philandering gods and their heroic half-mortal offspring. Images of Ancient Greece filled my child-hood fantasies as I pictured myself slaying three-headed dogs and one-eyed giants. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6105-L.jpg Temple of Concord |
There are seven temples in the area all in differing states of preservation. Most were built around the 5th century BC. The Temple of Concord is the most-well preserved and is considered one of the best examples of Greek architecture even though it's in Italy. This really brought home the fact that the geopolitical lines on today's maps are just a current snapshot and territorial disputes (Ukraine, anyone?) constantly move and blur the borders over time.
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6154-L.jpg Sitting in front of the Temple of Hera http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6169-L.jpg Temple of Juno. I always pictured Greek temples as being made of white marble! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6184-XL.jpg Temple of Hercules Greece has always been on our bucket-list of places to visit, so it was the highlight of our visit in Sicily and a bit of an advanced screening to see these Greek ruins here in Italy. This whole trip has been about making my inner kid jump up and down with glee! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6290-L.jpg Town of Grotto Accommodations in Agrigento were a bit too expensive for us, since the Valley of the Temples is one of the most visited sites in Sicily. We found a cheap place, again via AirBnB, about 20 kms to the north in the sleepy town of Grotte. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6296-L.jpg Old Sicilian men gathering in the square in Grotte Paolo and Lucie were our AirBnB hosts, and they took us out for drinks when we first arrived in Grotte. We thought that was really nice of them, so we invited them over for a home-cooked meal. As Neda was preparing dinner, I told her she was very brave to attempt making pasta for an Italian. Her eyes widened. The pressure was on her now! Thankfully, the meal passed muster. Paolo told us that the most difficult part of perfecting pasta dishes was not the sauce but the consistency of the pasta. Most people overcook the pasta and that it should be slightly al dente. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6313-XL.jpg Paolo and Lucie over for dinner It was really nice getting to know them over dinner, and the conversation was very interesting because Paolo doesn't speak English, just Italian and Spanish. Obviously, I only speak English and a little Spanish. Lucie is from the Czech Republic and only speaks Czech, English and Italian. So between us, Neda was the only one to speak all the languages. It was like a UN conference, all of us switching languages and translating to communicate with one another. It was all made easier as the night wore on and the bottle of home-made red wine that Paolo brought with him disappeared. Lucie was very interested in trying her Czech with Neda to see the similarities with Croatian. It seemed she missed speaking her mother tongue. I know now that there are many different dialects of Italian, and some regions are so different that someone from another part of the country wouldn't even be able to understand the regional differences in speech. Since my Italian is not so good, the only thing I picked up was that Sicilians pronounce spaghetti: "Schpagetti". A very entertaining evening! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6202-L.jpg Scala dei Turchi (Stairs of the Turks) On Paolo's recommendation, we rode back down to Agrigento the next day to check out the Scala dei Turchi, a rock formation right on the coast. It draws a lot of attention because of it's made of a white rock called Marl. From a distance, it looks like it's made out of marble! This is what they should have built the temples with! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6231-L.jpg We found a nice spot right on the edge overlooking the Mediterranean Sea Here we were, sitting on the southern shores of Sicily, having traveled the entire length of Italy. Bare feet on the warm rocks of the Scala, and looking out towards Africa only two hundred kms away, it was nice time to reflect on our journey while soaking up some UV light while it lasted! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6237-L.jpg The striations in the white rock made of limestone and mud were very photogenic Did you know it's against the law to take any the Marl rock away from the Scala? Thieves face a €500 fine! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6246-L.jpg The white is so dazzling in the afternoon sun, you need sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6280-L.jpg A great spot for wedding photos! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6267-XL.jpg Greetings from the south of Sicily! Where to now, Neda? |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/183.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map183-L.jpg After a week and a half of soaking up the warm weather (and a bit of rain), we're leaving Sicily! The plan is to ride straight through the middle of the island to Palermo for a change of scenery from the coast. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000784-L.jpg Riding through some of the back roads around Grotte http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000823-L.jpg So glad that it's both sunny and hot! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000789-L.jpg Riding through the middle of Sicily reminds me a little of the arid terrain of the South-West United States This isn't a very large island and it only takes us a couple of hours to reach the outskirts of Palermo, the capital of Sicily. Lots of speed traps along the way - haven't seen that in a while. We don't spend too much time in the big city, but instead make our way towards a suburb in the north-west to find cheap accommodations. We end up setting up our tent in an RV park in the coastal town of Sferracavallo. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2155-L.jpg The sleepy community where we are staying just outside of Palermo, Capo Gallo in the background http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2152-L.jpg On the hunt for some cheap food while taking in the views of the northern shore of Sicily After researching the costs involved in getting back to mainland Italy, we've decided to take the ferry from Palermo to Civitavecchia, the port town just north of Rome. They've priced the tickets so that it's exactly the same price as the gas it would take to ride there, so we're saving all the time and travel costs (food and lodging). Good deal! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000833-L.jpg Waiting to board the ferry The only wrinkle is that the ferry leaves at 1AM! When I booked this, I knew Neda would have a tough time staying up. For that reason, we left our campgrounds just before sunset. The docking port is in Terminal Imarese about 45 minutes south-east of Palermo, so we spent the last half hour of our ride in darkness. The sun is starting to set much earlier in the day, signalling an impending autumn. We've not had to run away from winter for over a year and a half now. Not sure what we're going to do in Europe. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2156-L.jpg As I suspected, Neda has trouble keeping awake. The shot of Limoncello at the terminal bar didn't help... Neda and I share a lot of the same qualities, hobbies and beliefs in the important things in life. However, with the smaller things, like the approach *to* life - we could not be more different. For instance, Neda is very much a morning person. I think mornings are the best. The best for sleeping... The physical pain I feel when I'm forced to wake up early is the same kind that Neda experiences when she has to stay up late. We like to joke that she turns into a pumpkin (like Cinderella's coach) at midnight. Tonight, she doesn't even make it that late. The picture above was taken at 10PM, three hours before departure! |
We decide to try boarding a bit earlier. We're the only vehicle in the dock. It's a 15-hour ferry ride to the mainland. I remembered the ferry we took to Newfoundland and how it was impossible to sleep in those chairs they provided to the general admission tickets, so I made sure we booked a cabin. After the last few days of camping, farms and rustic Sicilian caves, our cramped ferry cabin felt like pure luxury! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000845-L.jpg oooh, everything's so shiny and modern! We got let out into the early afternoon sun of Civitavecchia. Fifteen days of riding down and only fifteen hours of ferrying back up! Surprisingly it wasn't raining! Since we had already covered this region, we hopped on the Autostrada and headed north to the province of Livorno. Right into some storm clouds. No luck. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6524-L.jpg We are staying in a campsite in Montopoli, very pretty town in Northern Italy http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6546-L.jpg And since it's the afternoon, nobody is around. We have the town all to ourselves! We set up our tent hurriedly, with the threat of rain looming over our heads. I was constantly checking the approach of the storm on my iPhone. The rains actually didn't start until we were safe inside our tent later on that night. It was a bad one, frequent lightning illuminating the outside so that it looked like daylight for a split second. Wind and rain pelting the sides of the tent so hard it that we were wondering if our staking job would hold. Nothing puts a smug smile on your face faster than getting into your tent before it starts to rain. Nothing wipes that smug smile off your face faster than having to go pee in the middle of the night while a storm still rages outside. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000850-L.jpg Thankfully the next morning, the blue skies returned. Took forever to dry our waterlogged tent though http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000848-L.jpg Neda: "Tell us how you *really* feel about mosquitos, Gene..." |
For the day, we double-backed westwards towards the coast to check out another pretty town that is supposed to have some interesting architecture. When we arrived, we were greeted with a strange sight: hundreds of people milling around the area, all pantomiming for each other. It looked like a Marcel Marceau convention but without the clown makeup. It was so bizarre-looking, so I had to take some pictures.
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../marcel1-L.jpg The ever-popular "You're Trapped In An Invisible Box" pantomime Some of the participants showed a bit more creativity in a bid to impress the judges: http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...marcel2-XL.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../marcel3-L.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6462-XL.jpg Neda asked: "I don't understand. Isn't Marcel Marceau French? Why are they holding the mime convention in Italy?" Normally to spice up the blog entry I'd insert a mime joke here, but I've never heard one. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6392-L.jpg Exploring the rest of Pisa Almost everything in Pisa is related to the leaning tower, since that is only reason tourists come to this small city. There are so many stalls selling Leaning Tower trinkets and souvenirs. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6395-L.jpg But there are other interesting buildings here besides the tower http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6406-L.jpg Stan Lee riding a bike in Pisa!?! After having ridden the length of Italy, it's apparent now how different the north is to the south. Everything is more orderly and clean up here. We've been told that there are three major influences, the Greek southern part of Sicily, the German part to the north and there is still a French part to the north-east that we haven't seen yet. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6412-L.jpg Goodbye Pisa, mime convention capital of the world! :) |
Thanks!
As slow as you guys move it has still taken me quite some time to finally catch up with you. Your blog is inspiring and I thank you for taking the time away from the road to share it.
I am sorry to hear the bad news about Neda's mom. My condolences. I am extra sad as I was really enjoying your coverage of South America up until you had to leave. It goes double because, should I actually work up the courage to take my own trip, that's exactly where I plan to head. You were doing such an amazing job of leading the way. It looks like you have recovered well though and haven't let adversity ruin the ride. All the best on the road ahead! P.S. Good eye at the MotoGP for spotting Ridgewell. He's dressing a little better these days but one read of his bio has convinced me you got the right man.... http://www.ridenomad.com/images/TinTin2.jpg "Long-lost explorer Ridgewell has traded “civilized” life for the jungle in Tintin and The Broken Ear. In Tintin and the Picaros, he helps Tintin and his friends get an invitation to share a meal with the ferocious Arumbaya tribe." |
LOL! Yes, Ridgewell! Thank you! :)
|
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/184.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map184-L.jpg There's been a slight change in our trajectory. We've been traveling up the west coast of Italy, eying a visit to Genoa and the picturesque towns on the Italian Riviera. Neda's sister, Goga e-mailed us and told us that there's been massive flooding in north-western Italy because of heavy rainfall - over 7 inches in three days! The area around the French/Italian border has been declared a disaster zone, with floodwaters swamping buildings, the streets have turned into raging rivers, lifting cars like floating logs and sweeping them away. Are our BMW GS bikes equipped to handle that? Computer says no. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000881-L.jpg Heading east through the pretty countryside of Tuscany http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000871-L.jpg The secret of how to take pictures while riding a motorcycle I get asked a lot about my camera setup and how I take all of the riding pictures while on the bike. As you can see above, there's a actually a tiny Englishman in my tankbag that pops up once in a while to take all the action shots. You can tell he's British because his pinkie is up. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...P1000884-L.jpg Lots of swanky estates up in the hills - what a contrast to Sicily! We book into another AirBnB place just outside of Florence. This turned out to be the first time that we have had a bad experience via AirBnB. The place was a bit dirty and unkempt, and our host and his mother gave off a bit of a creepy Norman-Bates-vibe. We so wished that our room had a lock on it! Oh well, we've had bad stays in hotels and campsites as well, so why should this be any different? We wanted to stay a couple of days to see the city. However, heavy rainfall the day after stymied that plan and we had to stay in our creepy AirBnB room all day. We had one eye out the window watching our bikes get pelted by the thunderstorm, and another eye on the doorknob to make sure it didn't turn... ahhh! Looking back on it, it kind of felt like a horror movie! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6556-L.jpg The next day brought some sunshine, so we packed out of the Bates Motel and hoofed it to Florence As is the English tradition, we've changed the name of this beautiful city to better conform to our Anglo tongues. The Italians call it Firenze (Fee-Ren-Zay). I like that a lot better! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6558-L.jpg Firenze is one of Italy's most beautiful cities, everything looks like a Renaissance painting! The Arno River runs right through the city and pastel-coloured buildings line both banks. We followed one of the roads by the bank all the way into the historic centre. The original plan was to visit some museums today, specifically the one that housed the statue of David by Michelangelo, but the lineups were huge and the tickets expensive. We had planned too poorly. Apparently the best way to see the museums in Firenze is to pre-book the tickets online and show up at the crack of dawn to line up. :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6582-L.jpg Oh well, lots of other art lying around all over the place in Firenze! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6586-L.jpg Ponte Vecchio is one of Firenze's famous sights. I'm not sure why... One of the bridges over Arno is the Ponte Vecchio, it's got lots of expensive jewelry stores right on the bridge. Those houses tacked on the side of the bridge looked precarious! It was very crowded here, we didn't like it too much. They say it looks much nicer at night all lit up above the river, but we were mobile at this point so we couldn't stay for the evening. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6605-L.jpg Walking around the historic centre, many touristy shops and stalls |
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The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was magnificent! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6651-L.jpg Street musicians providing a soundtrack for our walk around Firenze http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6609-L.jpg More strolling through Firenze After almost a month and a half in Italy, I think I'm getting a bit tired of looking at old buildings. Time to move on, I think. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6618-L.jpg The merry-go-round at the Piazza della Repubblica is a permanent fixture After our AirBnB experience in Firenze, we were a bit hesitant about using the service again, but after carefully reading all the comments and reviews, we booked into another place just outside of Modena. It turned out to be an actual BnB, and Flavio, one of the two co-owners who runs it, was hospitable and the place was very homey and welcoming. Ahhh, thank goodness! Flavio's full-time job is a video editor, so for once we have photos of the two of us together! The BnB turned out to be more than just a place to sleep, as we were treated to dinner and wine that night as well as a nice spread for breakfast. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../flavio6-L.jpg Hanging out with Flavio at La Selvatica So we're riding around the area and we pass a town sign that reads, "Sant'Agata". Why does that name sound so familiar? I radio Neda, "Hey, I think the Lambo.." <b>*zooom*</b> a brand new, lime-green Aventador whizzes by us at high speed, pre-delivery white protective plastic sheeting still clinging onto it's body-panels. "...rghini factory is around here..." Cool. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6663-L.jpg And then minutes later, what do we see? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6668-L.jpg German tank vs Italian missiles. We're too cheap to pay for the museum tour, so we circled around the parking lot taking pictures before being kicked out by security :) There's something a bit off about the Italians in this region - they are crazy for speed! In a tiny radius around Bologna, you've got the Lambo, Ferrari and Ducati factories, Maranello, Misano and Imola racetracks, as well as the birthplace of Valentino Rossi and Marco Simoncelli. And not too much further north is the MV Agusta factory in Varese as well as the birthplace of Giacomo Agostini. What's in the drinking water around here?!? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../flavio4-L.jpg Waving goodbye to Flavio and La Selvatica. Neda says, "What's with that creepy smile?!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../flavio1-L.jpg Oh look, a bird! :) |
Updated from Oct 17 2014: Old Age and Treachery in Milan
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map185-L.jpg We're stopping by Neda's sister's place in Milan to visit for the weekend! After six weeks of roaming around Italy, it'll be good to relax in the company of family. The map above is a pretty dramatic depiction of where the Italian Alps begin. Milan is sitting on some pretty flat real estate by comparison! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...oga_neda-L.jpg Sestre, sorelle, hermanas... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6684-L.jpg Mladen "The Kingpin", making deals and side-deals around the table A favorite family past-time is playing board games together. Monopoly is the perfect game to demonstrate to youngsters that old age and treachery will always overcome youth and exuberance... It was interesting seeing my piece go round the board, arriving on different properties; having to pay much $$$ if there was a hotel on it, paying a bit less to camp on the property if no buildings were present. Sometimes, Chance took hold and dealt me good fortune, and I found myself Free Parking. Other times bad luck befell me, and problems I encountered required $$$ to fix. A few times, I had some run-ins with the law and almost landed in jail. And for some strange reason, I kept rolling low numbers, so it took many turns to make it around the board even once. I watched as all the other players passed me like I was standing still. It felt like it took years to finish playing! What a stupid game... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6682-XL.jpg Europoly! The Italian version of Monopoly is played with Euros. After traveling on the continent for so long, I couldn't stop converting everything to Canadian dollars in my head! Every time I landed on someone else's property, I kept thinking, "OMG it's so expensive here..." It would have been less stressful if we could have played the Latin American version instead, where landing on "Park Place" will only cost you 20 pesos a night, maybe less if you slip him the dinero under the dining room table. Get Out Of Jail card? That's called a 50 peso note... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6732-L.jpg Taking Tea out for a spin! We're told that the warm weather is very uncharacteristic for Northern Italy this time of year. My in-laws are winter-people and they look forward to skiing every season, so they're not too happy about this. Oh well! We like it just fine for motorcycling! :) When we lived in Canada, we didn't get to see Goga, Mladen and Tea very often. Neda constantly worried that Tea would grow up and have no memories of her aunt and uncle. Video-conferencing via Skype really changed all of that, and Neda was very diligent in setting up regular chat sessions with her niece to give her English lessons, but more importantly to interact with her so she could build a relationship when Tea was young. Now that we're in Europe, despite the circumstances that brought us here, we've seen so much of Tea. She's at an age where she is literally and visibly growing up in front of our eyes. And she's in such a rush too! Every time we see her, she gets on her tippy-toes to compare her height to mine. Sure Tea, pick on the shortest member of the family! We spent the whole summer with her in Croatia and now Milan is only a few days ride from anywhere in the continent or just a €50 Ryanair plane ticket away. Neda is really happy to be so close to her family! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6704-L.jpg Goga entered a photo competition and we attended an awards ceremony where she won a prize for her picture! So proud of her! I don't like celebrating my birthday at all, and every year I tell Neda not to mention it to anybody and not to organize anything in the hopes I can let the date slip by without any reminder that I'm growing older. I've never had a surprise birthday party in my life and this year is not going to be any different. Despite the schemes of my wife and my sister-in-law... The fridge is the worst place to hide anything from me. When we had a kitchen, I would go to and from the fridge a million times a day like a pendulum. Most of the time, I don't even take anything out. I just open the door, stare inside and then close it again. My dad once told me to just take a picture of the inside, then tape it to the fridge door so I wouldn't have to keep opening it. So on one of my trips to the fridge here, I found myself staring at a chocolate bithday cake. And written in dark brown icing: "Happy Birthday Gene". With the fridge door still open, I glanced over at Neda, Goga, Mladen and Tea. They were all staring at me with their eyes and mouths wide open in shock. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! BASTARDOOOOOH! You ruined the surprise!!!!" Heh heh, not on my watch! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6710-L.jpg Does this cake look familiar? http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/photos/i-N...-NZHPKcR-L.jpg It's an homage to the same chocolate cake that Mirjana made every single year for her daughters' birthday! The next morning while we were all eating left-over birthday cake for breakfast, Mladen said to me, "That was pretty funny, you ruining our surprise party for you, wasn't it?" "Yeah, I guess", I replied. "Well you know that MotoGP race you're downloading right now? Rossi wins." "... whut... NOOOOOOO! BASTARDOOOOOOOOHHHHH!" Old age and treachery overcomes exuberance yet again... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6721-L.jpg Chocolate cake makes the bitter taste of payback go down a bit better... The goal of every good parent is to provide a stable environment for their child, filled with routine around homework, meal-times and sleep schedules. The goal of every good aunt and uncle is the exact opposite... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2184-L.jpg Pillow fight!!! Okay Mladen, try getting your daughter to go to sleep now... |
Park Place for 20 pesos....Deal señor!
:happybday: |
Looks like a fun time with the family & great pics as always Gene :clap:
and great to see you let Neda buy a new swimsuit too :rofl: |
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When we first got married, Neda and I both agreed that I would make all the major decisions and she would make the minor ones. We've been married for over 10 years now and in all that time, nothing major has ever come up... |
Hi
Are you going to come to Spain? If so, when, we could hang around, I can show you Barcelona Keep safe! |
Updated from Oct 21 2014: Swiss Motorcycle Gang
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map186-L.jpg I started documenting our travels about 10 years ago, when we first began taking long trips by motorcycle. Our earliest stories were shared with our family and friends to update them on where we were. It was only when I started posting our subsequent ride reports on the Internet that we received a flood of correspondence from people all over the world inviting us to visit them. We are still amazed and humbled at how many generous people there are out there who have offered to share their homes, garages and a hot meal with a couple of scraggly hobos like us! On this trip, we feel very fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to meet some of these people, who have since become good friends. Unfortunately, because I am quite lazy and this blog lags far behind where we currently are, we receive many invitations only after we have already long passed through the area. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7030-L.jpg Bettina & Stefano caught us on our way back north Bettina & Stefano sent us an invitation to visit them in Switzerland over a month ago while we were traveling through Italy. Fortunately, we were doubling back north to visit Neda's sister in Milan, so it didn't matter too much that the blog was behind. My European geography sucks. I was originally going to e-mail them back saying that Switzerland was a bit too far off our path. Good thing I checked Google Maps... Lugano, where they live, is only an hour away from Milan, on the other side of the border. I don't feel too bad though, I'm sure many non-Canadians have no idea which provinces neighbour Nova Scotia. Then again, I'm sure many Canadian's don't know either... :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7040-L.jpg Bettina welcomes us into her home in Switzerland The only things I knew about Switzerland were Swiss watches, army knives, chocolate, cheese and Martina Hingis (hubba hubba). Oh and Swiss bank accounts. Actually, I seem to know quite a fair bit about Switzerland. I also heard that it was a very rich part of the world. Northern Italy is pretty well-off compared to the rest of the country, but the minute we crossed the border, I saw a Ferrari 355 at a gas station. Less than five minutes later, a brand new California T whizzes pass us. Holywhut! I had no idea these were even on sale yet! Also mountains all around us! The Swiss must have hired a really good negotiator when they were drawing up the borders because all the Italians got was land as flat as lasagna! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6841-L.jpg We were enticed to come to Switzerland by the promise of home-cooked meals! Bettina prepared a great dinner for us that evening. Both her and Stefano used to work in the wine industry, so they brought out some fine vintages to help welcome us to their place. I thought back to all of the pictures that we posted in Italy of the cheap €1 bottles of red wine we were guzzling and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Or maybe it was all the good wine I was drinking that night! The conversation flowed as much as the wine did. Our hosts are both avid motorcycle travelers as well and their last trip to the Isle of Man TT this summer was of great interest to us because we were thinking of doing the same thing as well! We exchanged travel stories and there was a lot of head nodding and amens going around the table. We were birds of the same feather, flocking together. It felt really good to be able to speak English again, like I could feel myself slipping back into comfortable clothes - first time in Europe, really. Poor Bettina and Stefano, I think I talked their ears off. I'm not even sure what I was talking about towards the end of the night, English words were just spilling out of my mouth like a dam bursting. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6847-L.jpg Neda makes a nice pumpkin soup for us the next day! Bettina and Stefano are treating us so well! We asked them to take us for a little ride around the area. Stefano started pulling out the maps of the Alps which is their default route, but we didn't really feel like going for too long of a ride so we asked them take us around the lake for the afternoon. We saw a little bit of it when we came in and it looked quite pretty. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2497-L.jpg Bettina and Stefano both ride GSes as well! |
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Little jaunt around Lago Maggiore http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2498-L.jpg Don't have to ride too far to get some great scenery http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2504-L.jpg Neda is happy because gas is so much cheaper here than in Italy! Being so close to the border, Lugano experiences a lot of road congestion from the traffic coming and going from both countries. Swiss residents head into Italy for cheap shopping, and Italian workers commute in to Switzerland daily because that's where all the jobs are, and the gas is cheaper here. Just like in Latin America, we were instructed to ditch our panniers so we can lanesplit if the traffic got bad. Sweet! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2553-L.jpg Both Bettina and Stefano took turns leading us around the area http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2571-L.jpg Follow da leada, leada, leada, follow da leada http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2567-L.jpg Making our way around Lago Maggiore Ticino is the southern-most canton in Switzerland and is where Lugano is located. I keep calling it Tocino, but either Bettina or Stefano don't notice or they're just being polite. But Neda corrects me later on: Tocino means "bacon" in Spanish. OMG, so embarrassing... "You know, I really like Bacon. It's very beautiful. So, how cold does Bacon get in the wintertime?" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6796-L.jpg Hanging out at Laveno, waiting for the ferry We crossed the border fairly early in the ride and it seemed to me like were actually doing more riding in Italy than Switzerland. "Hey, come on up to Switzerland so we can show you around the neighbouring country where you just came from!" ;) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_0203-L.jpg We actually got engaged in Switzerland - at Lake Lucerne back in 2002. This picture kind of reminded me of that. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6805-L.jpg Waiting for the ferry http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6819-L.jpg Honk if you love GeeSes! |
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Bettina shops at the same place I do for motorcycle gear... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6830-L.jpg Bikes all ready for a quick ride across the lake http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6836-L.jpg Turned out to be a great day for a ride! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...Foto%207-L.jpg Awww... we *LOVE* this picture of us! Thanks Bettina & Stefano! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2590-L.jpg Our Swiss Motorcycle Gang! Don't mess with us or we'll put holes in your cheese and slash your interest rates! I used to lead a lot of group rides in the past, and I forgot what it felt like to just follow someone, trusting that they knew where they were going and to just sit back and enjoy the scenery and the curves ahead of my front wheel. And what scenery it was: beautiful lakeside-towns, mountains in the background, clear skies and the sun blessing our excursion on these twisty Swiss (Swissty?) roads. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2595-L.jpg Bettina takes us away from the lake to explore the hills a little bit http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2603-L.jpg Farm tour http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2609-L.jpg In this picture, I know we're still in Italy because Conad... Conad is one of Italy's most popular convenience store/grocery chains. Because this trip is more about daily life in the places that we're visiting, we equate Conad with Italy, just like Mexico = Pemex, OXXO and Telcel. Also Conad sounds like Gonad. I didn't come up with that, it was actually Neda who pointed it out. Everytime we'd pass a Conad, I'd wait for the intercom to come online so I could hear my wife giggle into my ear, "Gonad...! heh heh heh!" and then the intercom would turn off. Every single time. My childish sense of humour is finally rubbing off on her. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2618-L.jpg Heading back to Switzerland after an awesome ride! It was such a great afternoon of riding and spending time with our new friends, and also getting to see a bit of the area around Como and Lugano. We were making our way back, and on one of the hills I was accelerating and shifted up into fourth gear. I gave it some gas and... nothing. The engine revved loudly, but the bike didn't accelerate. I kept the revs up and slowly the motorcycle sped up to what the throttle was asking of it. That's not supposed to happen... I downshifted back into third. Acceleration seemed okay when the revs were up. Then I upshifted to fourth again and gave it some gas. Revs went up and again, that delay in acceleration as if my throttle was connected to a vehicle in front of me towing my motorcycle with a long elastic band. uh oh... |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/187.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map187-L.jpg My clutch is fried like chicken in Kentucky. I'm not that surprised. I've got close to 185,000 kms on the odo, which isn't bad life for a dry clutch. That's like 250,000 kms in wet clutch years! I limped back to Lugano, taking care not to give too much throttle at low revs. I've heard clutches achieve total failure very quickly once they start to slip and I worried about making it back without a tow. Back at home base, we surveyed our options. There was a BMW dealership nearby in Ticino, but Stefano told us it cost a lot to get their bikes serviced there. I could not have picked a more expensive place to break down! :( Stefano was in the middle of researching shops across the border in Italy to take their bikes to, and he told us that the one in Varese got good mention, so the next day, we dropped my bike off there to see what they could do. On the ride over, the clutch started slipping at the bottom of third gear. I don't think I could have gone another 100 kms more before total failure. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2196-L.jpg My GS was a minor celebrity at the BMW dealership. It was the highest mileage bike they'd ever worked on! :D Switzerland has four official languages, and Ticino is the predominantly Italian canton. I was so glad to have Stefano there with me at the dealership in Italy, conversing in Italian to describe my problem. They told us that it would take a few days to order the parts from Germany and another day or two to install the clutch. I also had a laundry list of other issues (10K service, broken hand warmer, leaking shaft drive) so I added those to the wishlist as well. This meant that we were about to turn from invited houseguests into unexpected roommates... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6961-L.jpg Two-up ride to get some ice cream Bettina's kids arrived a few days later and found their house bustling with new visitors! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...Foto%204-L.jpg What tastes better than ice cream? Someone else's ice cream!!! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6970-L.jpg I memorized the back of Stefano's helmet We got Neda's bike serviced as well in Varese, which meant two extra trips for Stefano as he carried me back to Lugano on the back of his bike. Varese is only 30kms away from Lugano, but three trips in three days meant that I was doing a lot of staring at the back of Stefano's helmet. I'm not often a passenger, so I thought up of an invention: a periscope you could fit over the passengers visor so they could look *over* the rider's helmet as opposed to having to peer over their shoulder! What do you think? I'm working on the Kickstarter site right now... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_6862-XL.jpg Look, autumn is here! While Bettina is at work, we fill our days walking around the area, doing small hikes and picking up groceries. The weather has cooled rapidly in the time we've been here and we're surprised to see that the leaves are falling from the trees. We've not had to face an impending winter for a couple of years now so we need to formulate some kind of escape plan. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6879-L.jpg It's only been a few days and I'm already suffering from motorcycle withdrawal http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6909-L.jpg Cats looooove motorcycle seats. Stefano loooooves Foo Fighters |
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Celebrating a Swiss holiday One evening we took the kids outside to light some fireworks in celebration of a Swiss holiday. That night, I tried to look up on the Internet which holiday it was, but couldn't find any mention of anything this time of year. Stefano said tomorrow was another holiday and that we would be setting exotic cars on fire to celebrate. Ok! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...MG_2200-XL.jpg With the kids egging us on, we all showed our hidden talents http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6942-L.jpg Sneaky kids! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_6949-L.jpg For someone who doesn't like birthdays, I was getting a lot of parties this year... We're really enjoying our time here with Bettina and Stefano and the kids, but we're anxious not to overstay our welcome. The latest news from the dealership is that the fix is going to be delayed a few more days. We had originally planned to head back to Croatia because there were some matters Neda had to attend to with her mom's passing. Because it looked like my bike would not be ready for a while, Neda decided to go back to Pula by herself, while I stayed here in Switzerland. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7050-L.jpg Bettina's bike waiting for her to get back from work I really liked hanging out with Bettina and Stefano. A few nights we played a game that I think we invented called Pass-The-Spotify. Spotify is a jukebox app on the smartphone where you can call up any song ever recorded. You can tell a lot about a person from their song selections. Bettina played all the music I used to listen to while growing up, so I could tell that she and I were the same age: 29. From Stefano's song selections, I could tell he reaaaaally liked the Foo Fighters. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2208-L.jpg You want a pizza me? I'll slice you! Ticino is such a nice place to live in! I've been here over a week now, starting to get really comfortable. I'm thinking about calling the dealership to tell them to take their time with the repairs. Too bad I don't speak Italian... It's almost *too* perfect here! I asked Bettina and Stefano if there was anything bad about their perfect little country? Bettina replied, "Well the politicians here are terrible.." What? They're terrible everywhere! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2207-L.jpg Even the trains are happy here... They say that houseguests, like fish, start to smell after three days. So I made sure to take many long, hot showers every day. I even used Bettina's special bath soaps so I could smell extra-pretty. They looked kind of expensive. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2199-M.jpg "Hey Bettina, how do you make a Swiss Roll?" "Well first you..." "Wrong! You push him down a mountain! Har Har!" "...!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...307x2195-M.jpg How do you make a Swiss Cross? Ask them how you make a Swiss Roll... Stefano has been calling the dealership three times a day for the last week demanding when my bike will be ready to pick up. That's so nice of him! |
Updated from Nov 02 2014: Pants Off Time
My bike is fixed! I hopped on the back of Stefano's bike and we rode to Italy to pick up my motorcycle. The reason why it took so long is because they noticed my GS was still equipped with the old-style fuel pump controller which is a known defective part prone to failure. So they ordered the new replacement part from Germany and fixed it under warranty, which was really nice of them, since the warranty on my bike ran out years ago! What was supposed to be a two-day visit in Switzerland turned out to be close to a two-week stay. I thanked Bettina and Stefano profusely for sheltering me while my bike was in the shop. They were so hospitable, friendly and helpful, they made me feel so at home at their place. I really hope to see them again soon. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map188-L.jpg I left pretty late in the day from Lugano and took the Autostrada all the way from Switzerland to Croatia. 600 kms flew by in a matter of a few hours. It makes you realize just how small Europe is, that you can ride through four countries in a single day. You can't even ride through Ontario in a day! The days are getting so short! As soon as the sun set, the temperature dropped down to low single digits. The windchill while riding at 130 km/h forced me to put the heated electric liners on. First time since Alaska! We have gear to deal with the cold temperatures, but the imminent snow and ice will surely drive us southwards. When I crossed the border from Slovenia to Croatia, I used my British passport for the very first time in my life. Since Croatia joined the EU, the guard just glanced at my document and waved me through. And here I was all ready to do my, "Bond, James Bond" impression... Pretty cool just waltzing through though. I felt very European. Riding into Pula, into familiar surroundings again, I was hit with a sense of returning from a long journey. This was the first time in years that we had left a place and then returned back, as if it was a home of sorts. Neda still has to sort out some of her mom's affairs after she passed away this summer, so we are staying put here for awhile. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_0143-XL.jpg Trevor visits us in Pula! Photo by Iva We first met Trevor at the Horizons Unlimited meeting in California back October 2012. Since then, we've kept in touch and our paths have crossed on the Stahlratte between Panama and Colombia in April 2013 and now he's in Europe with us, so we're hosting him in Pula while he decides where to go next. We're all part of a network of Round-The-World motorcycle travelers and it's not unusual to say to someone, "See you in Europe next year!" or "Meet you in Croatia in a couple of months!"... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7057-L.jpg Day trip to Rovinj Iva and Tajana once again take up the mantle of Istrian tour guides. But since we have motorcycles this time, Trevor, Neda and I all follow on two wheels. The first stop of the day is the tourist port-town of Rovinj. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7200-L.jpg Oooh, pretty bottles of olive oil... Neda pulls me aside and tells me that these aren't the good olive oil, they're the crappy blend that they sell to tourists who don't know any better. "But the bottles are so pretty! It's got the name of the town on it and everything!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7145-L.jpg Collision course. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_7134-XL.jpg Balbi's Arch Rovinj used to be a fortified town due to the conflict between the Turks and the Venetians. In the 17th century, the gate of the town as well as the walls were pulled down and this arch was erected in its place. On one side of the arch is the head of a Turk and on the other side is the head of a Venetian. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7143-L.jpg Scootin' around Rovinj http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7187-L.jpg Hanging out with Trevor http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1170-L.jpg Waving to fellow motorcyclists The geography in Istria is described using colours. There are three main area: "White" Istria are the mountain peaks, "Grey" Istria is the fertile soils of the interior and "Red" Istria describes the red clay soil along the coastlines, suitable for vineyards. You can see the red soil in the picture above, it's similar to the red earth in Prince Edward Island (Canada). |
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Our next stops, the ruins in Dvigrad http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_7228-XL.jpg What remains of Dvigrad Castle, constructed in the 11th century http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7235-L.jpg Dvigrad was abandoned in the 17th century due to a pest and malaria outbreak The only pests that hang out in Dvigrad now are tourists. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_1216-L.jpg Back on the road! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7259-L.jpg Some of the trees have already shed their leaves for the season, which reminds me we should be leave-ing soon too... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7249-L.jpg Neda found a feather duster. And she is whistling to it...? Our last stop for the day is a little town on top of a hill called Draguc. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7272-L.jpg Cat watches as tourists clad in motorcycle gear wander around her village http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7283-L.jpg Everyone is so beat from racing all over Istria, we take a little nap. Except for Trevor, who looks to be attempting to break into this building... My friends are such bastardos. Since I was the first one to fall asleep, I could hear them in my sleep giggling and taking pictures of me, but I was too tired to wake up and yell at them. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2689-L.jpg Heading back home, lots of Autumn colours on the way http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2690-L.jpg Neda is so happy to be exploring her old country on two wheels http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SCN2700-XL.jpg Tajana poses on the back of Neda's bike Trevor left after spending almost a week with us. He was off to explore the rest of Croatia. Pula was experiencing some heavy rainfall, so we worried a bit about his trip. But on the other hand, we now had the place to ourselves again! It's been a very social time for us lately, either being guests or hosts for nearly a month now and I was missing some serious Pants-Off-Time. You know, when you walk through the door of your house, and then immediately take off your pants so you can walk around the place in your underwear? I know you know what I'm talking about... I know you do. |
Gene, Neda
merry christmas to you and your families fall colors ha i wish . was in TO on the weekend .No snow on Bloor at all. At home 6 hours north bikes are parked with two feet of snow on the ground wish you well john |
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year you guys!
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Great thread. Much pleasure. Thank you. PS Italy is much more interesting than Switzerland and the food is tons better. Order and punctuality got them chocolate and cuckoo clocks. Centuries of chaos in Italy produced Art, Cuisine and Sensuality. But I did like having a Swiss bank account when I was a young Italian traveler.
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Yes, Italy was very fascinating culturally. And Switzerland does have its share of wonders - the scenery up in the Alps is fantastic!
Still, a good contrast between neighbouring countries. |
Updated from Nov 16 2014: Last Days in Croatia
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map166-L.jpg We haven't been doing a lot of moving the last couple of weeks, mainly recovering from our Italian vacation. We both agree that our pace through Italy was good - not too fast, but enough time to see all the things we wanted to see. There is such a thing as moving too slow, even for us. We had eased up to such a crawl in South America that we felt a heavy sense of lethargy every day, like it was a struggle to break the inertia of our snail's pace. I think in our future travels we'll be more alert to this. Neda's mom's affairs are almost wrapped up so we'll be saying goodbye to Pula soon. In the meantime, here's a quick update of what we've been doing (not too much): http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7305-L.jpg As promised, we rode our motorcycles 400m down the street to pose in downtown Pula Unfortunately, tourist season has long since passed and there was nobody to ogle our motorcycles... :( I can't believe how empty Pula is in the off-season. A lot of residents here lament the fact that the entire region tries to make all of their annual revenue through tourism within the 2-3 month window of summer. Prices tend to stay high the rest of the year, making it expensive for the people that actually live here. There's always talk of how to bring tourists here all year round, but so far nothing has come about. Having lived here for a few months now, I kinda feel a kinship with the Puljankans. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...entation-L.jpg We did another presentation. And it was huge! Iva's friend, Goran, heard about our trip and organized for us to do a presentation at a local bar. It didn't sound very big, but that evening, so many people came out to see us. We were very surprised! It was standing room only! Even some members of the Croatian motorcycle forum that Neda posts in came out to see us. Goran got the bar to hang up some of our favorite pictures from the trip on the wall, you can see them in the background above. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2236-L.jpg Watching our rock-star friend Tatiana perform one evening. She lent me her guitar while we were staying in Pula! Hvala! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle.../L/pizza-L.jpg Pizza with Iva! We've been eating so much since coming to Europe. I have a bit of an eating disorder now: First I have disorder of fries, then I have disorder of spaghetti, and then disorder of pizza... I've discovered the secret to hiding double-chins in pictures. Take your selfie from above! |
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Neda's sister came to Pula to help out http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2248-L.jpg Neda spending some quality time with her niece on the shores of Verudela http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...IMG_2250-L.jpg Queen of the World! Neda has spent the last couple of weeks trying to wrap things up here and I think the stress is affecting her. She's experiencing frequent gastrointestinal problems and I'm not convinced it's the food because we're basically eating the same meals together. In addition, the weather has turned very dark and rainy in Pula. Although snow doesn't accumulate too much in Pula, it's still a reminder that we need to be on the move soon. |
Happy New Year
Gene,
Thanks for letting the world and I tag along on your incredible adventure. You and Neda have opened a world to me that I will probably never see. - Happy New year to you and Neda. Jim |
Thanks, Happy New Year to you too! :)
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/190.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map190-L.jpg We're on the move! Neda is finally finished here in Pula and all week long we've been eying the forecasts, trying to pick a window of dry weather to depart. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2708-L.jpg Our last moments in Pula I asked Neda if leaving Pula was very emotional for her. This might be the last time that we would be back for a while. She said that these past few weeks had been very stressful for her and that she was just happy that it was done and over with, and that we'd be leaving it behind now. We're heading westwards on our search for warmer and drier climates. On the way, we had a quick stopover in Milan for the weekend, to spend more time with Neda's sister and her family. Then back on the highway and in the blink of an eye, we were in France! A brand new country on our trip! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2709-L.jpg Neda says, "Nice!" No, not nice as in pleasant, but "Nice" as in the city in France! We thought we would have some clear skies to travel under, but the weather changed its mind after our weekend stay in Milan - our journey on the French highways was fraught with cold and heavy rains. We are in "Relocate" mode right now. The conditions are not very conducive to pleasure riding, so we opt to pay for the toll roads and we're hugging the very southern coast of France in an effort to stay as close to warm weather as possible. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7326-L.jpg The hotel where we're staying at told us we could park anywhere on the sidewalk. So we did! Love being on two-wheels in Europe! The staff at the hotel reassured us about the security of our bikes. They told us that Nice is the most heavily surveilled city in France with CCTV cameras trained on every inch of the city. I still locked up my bike out of habit. *shrug* And yes, we're staying in a hotel. We thought we were getting an off-season deal, but with all the taxes and tariffs they levied at check-in, it turned out to be more than our budget allowed. And this was one of the cheapest accommodations as well - it was 70% *OFF* the already low off-season price! France is turning out to be more expensive than Italy! :( The hotel listed the room rates for different periods. During the F1 Monaco Race (less than 30 minutes away), the rate skyrockets to €200 a night! We're not going to be staying in France for very long, I don't think. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7327-L.jpg On our short stopover in Nice, we braved the cold and rain to walk around the coastal city http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7339-L.jpg We were surprised that there were still a lot of people spending time outside despite the weather http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7347-L.jpg Their relationship looked to be on the rocks... |
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Opéra de Nice is an example of the Second Empire Architecture Second Empire architecture was popular from the mid-to-late 19th century. Although it originated in France, and many more examples exist in Paris, you can also see this style in North America as well, like Boston's Old City Hall. But perhaps most people know the style of architecture from the houses from Psycho, The Addams Family, The Munsters and Beetlejuice. Yes, it's the horror house architecture... That's exactly what the French had in mind when creating this architectural style... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7355-L.jpg View of the coast of Nice Near the shoreline was a tall outcropping of rock called the Colline du Château (Castle Hill). You can climb some stairs or take an elevator to get to the top, where you can walk around a large citadel that they built up there. It's the best place in the city to get some great views of the beaches and the rooftops below.[/size][/b] http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7367-L.jpg Poor man's French Riviera We've been to St. Tropez and Monaco before and Nice's marinas pale in comparison to the million dollar yachts parked in the swankier docks. In fact, only the downtown area of Nice is nice-looking. When coming into town, we noticed that the outskirts are kind of grungy-looking. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7371-L.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7378-L.jpg Reflection of Place Garibaldi, in one of the oldest squares in Nice http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7384-L.jpg Heading into the old part of Nice (Vieille Ville) We always gravitate to the older sections of cities and towns we visit. In Latin America, this would be called Centro Historico. The pastel paint on the buildings tell me that we're in a Gringo Trail Town! :) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7390-L.jpg Like any Gringo Trail Town, Vieille Nice is lined with shops and restaurants http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7394-L.jpg As far as sculptures go, this was one of the less abstract (saner) examples. More about that later... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7397-L.jpg Scooter's eye view of Nice |
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Lots of families out for Christmas shopping http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7405-L.jpg http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7406-L.jpg The French do food very well! But we are on a grocery store diet... Neda is still suffering from stomach problems, which is making her quite miserable. It's been a week since leaving Pula, and our pace is pretty relaxed, so we're not too certain that stress is the cause. I did some Internet diagnosing, which is sometimes not that useful because just about every symptom could just as easily be a cold or be ebola at the same time... It sounds like she may have some kind of food allergy, so I'm putting her on a diet and cutting out all of the usual suspects. There'll be no gluten and no dairy for her for the next week. Hopefully we can pinpoint the cause of her stomach problems. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7410-L.jpg Mosaic dome of a church peeks out between the narrow streets of Vieille Nice It's such a shame it's so rainy and overcast, I can imagine this city being much more colourful and vibrant in the summertime! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7449-L.jpg Place Massena offers a cool checkerboard promenade http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7453-L.jpg It also showcases some weird sculptures - a bunch of nude men kneeling on platforms on top of tall poles... I don't get modern art. Not at all. I don't have a background in art, so I can't explain why I like certain paintings or drawings over others, but I can succinctly sum up why I don't like this kind of art: I just don't get it. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7456-L.jpg And then this one. A huge black arc sitting on the lawn. What does it mean? I looked this one up. "Arc de 115.5 degrees" by Bernar Venet. Was erected in 1988 to commemorate the centennial of the naming of "Nice" or "Cote d'Azur". But... what does it mean?!! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7434-L.jpg More Avant-Garde Art? The ferris wheel is still under construction for Christmas. Neda ventures out into the middle of a fountain that just shut off when we arrived. Not knowing how long between waterworks, I chickened out and just took pictures from the side. I was actually waiting for the fountain to start up again so I could laugh at her when she got soaked... Didn't happen. Oh well. |
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Happy New Year to you both from downunder :thumbup1: |
Hi Gene, if your still in France, have a look at Carcassonne. Its a mediaeval 12th century cathar fortified city.
You can stay in the city itself, there are 2 hotels, the best western is the cheaper of the 2. There is also secure parking for the bikes. This is really well worth a visit. Rob |
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Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/191.html
http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...L/map191-L.jpg We left Nice in the rain to continue our march across Southern France. This was going to be a wet ride and we knew it, so we headed back on the highway to try to make short work of today's journey. We're headed to Marseille, second-largest city in France. It's only three hours away, but the rain did not let up for the entire ride. At a few points on the Autoroute, I could feel the bike hydroplaning on top of all the standing water collecting on the highway. We eschew road etiquette and ride in the middle lane, staying on the crown of the road where there was less water. No pictures, obviously, as both hands were white-knuckling the grips the whole way! :( http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7463-L.jpg Marseille was the French Empire's most important port city We're staying a couple of days at an AirBnB, great place, but still not as cheap as we'd like it. To help ourselves negotiate around here, I dust off my Français skills. In Ontario schools, it was a mandatory course up till Grade 9, at which time I promptly dropped it. It's times like these when I wish I had stuck with it longer because the French words feel rusty like nails crumbling out of my mouth - painful to watch and listen to. Normally Neda is very outgoing when it comes to talking to strangers. However, because she doesn't speak any French at all, I found myself having to carry all the conversations at hotels, grocery stores and gas stations. It was so interesting watching her shirk away from having to talk to anyone. Whenever somebody approached her, she would immediately tap on the communicator or tap me on the shoulder, "Uhhh.... Gene!" What a complete role reversal from Latin America! I got a little taste of what it was like having to take point for all communications and I respect Neda more for it. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_7465-XL.jpg Notre-Dame de la Garde church, built on a hill can be seen from anywhere in the city The first day in Marseille we got rained in, so we spent the day cooped up watching the water fall from the skies. The weather co-operated with us the second day and we took a stroll around the port area of Marseille to get a feel for the city. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7466-L.jpg Monument aux morts de l'armée d'Orient et aux héros des terres lointaines - what a mouthful! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7473-L.jpg Looks like our Arc-Friend from Nice, Bernar Venet, has been busy in Marseille as well. I still don't get it... Right on the Bay of Marseille is a nice spot called Pharo Garden where you can see the harbour and most of the port. On the lawns of the garden sits another modern sculpture called Désordre (Disorder). I'm renaming it "The Graveyard of Giant Three-Ring Binders". http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7482-L.jpg View of the harbour from Pharo Garden. Fort Saint Jean on the right, Bulbe à Clochers Church on the left Walking through all the war monuments and forts, reminded me of just how influential the French Empire was. It had such a huge role in the colonization wars in which it raced against Spain and Britain to claim territory in the Americas and all around the world. It struck me that in all of our travels across Latin America, we marveled at the imprint of Spanish invaders on the land, when back at home, we could've seen that same imprint that France left on Acadia and French Canada. Our journey across the ocean to Europe has been like coming back to the source of history in the Americas. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7487-L.jpg Monument aux héros et victimes de la mer (Monument to the heroes and victims of the sea) |
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Peugot's three-wheeler, the Metropolis, is France's answer to Piaggio's MP3 and is the most popular scooter in the French Riviera http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7495-L.jpg Look! Up above! It's... us. http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7498-L.jpg Seems like every city in the French Riviera has to put up a ferris wheel for Christmas! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7507-L.jpg Bear-Nice (Sauce?) http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7518-L.jpg Les Oiseaux en Colère! http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7520-L.jpg Walking around the old part of Marseille - called Le Panier We were walking around a part of the town called "The Sidecase". hehe. We visited the Givi Hotel, Hepco Becker Boulangerie... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...SC_7526-XL.jpg Laundry day We've seen a lot of people wearing hijabs and thobes in the French Riviera. About one third of the population is Muslim, the city was liberated from German occupation at the end of WWII by soldiers from Northern Africa. The last time we we were here, it was the summertime, so we stayed mainly on the beaches and back then we thought only pasty white (and lobster red) British people lived here! :) |
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Brown farms on the French Riviera. This must be so colourful in the summertime! We found out that Trevor has settled into a little French villa in a small town called La Cadière-d'Azur on the coast between Toulon and Marseille and to return the favour, he's invited us to stay for a few days. So that means we're going to kick back and relax and not worry about hotels, AirBnB or Français for the next little while! Très bien! We doubled back on the coastal road - D559. I've been staring at this road on Google Maps and my GPS with dread for quite some time now. Just an hour east on this exact same road from where we're staying is where I had a bad motorcycle crash 7 years ago that left us stranded in Côte d'Azur for a week... on this exact same bike I was riding now. I could feel my bike underneath me taking the turns with just a hint of hesitation, a touch of tentativeness on the throttle... http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2713-L.jpg Parking in Trevor's little French villa http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7534-L.jpg View from our patio. Beautiful! We've been very fortunate that we've had access to a kitchen for the last few days. Neda has been on a strict non-gluten, non-dairy menu for almost a week now and her gastrointestinal problems have abated somewhat. We're going to give it a full week to see if goes away completely. "Hey Neda, you know what they say? No grain, no pain!" She rolls her eyes and shoots me a distasteful look: "That's terrible." http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSCN2711-L.jpg Grocery run! Essentials like French wine and lots of gluten-free legumes and lentils for Neda. While browsing the grocery stores we've noticed a lot of Rosé wine on the shelves. Seems that Rosé is the specialty wine in the French Riviera because of the ambient temperature and soil conditions. We also scour the shelves for food that will fit Neda's new diet. "Hey Neda, I guess you're wheating out all the bad foods!" "... you are the worst person that has ever lived!" http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7545-L.jpg The new diet This is what she makes pretty much everyday and since I'm so lazy, I end up just eating what she cooks instead of preparing my own meals. I've never eaten this healthy before in my life. I don't like it. "Hey Neda, looks like I'm a gluten for punishment!" "I hate you." http://mym0ry.smugmug.com/Motorcycle...DSC_7532-L.jpg I find D minor is the saddest of all keys To undertake this trip, we've stripped ourselves of all our belongings besides what we can carry on our bikes. It's been two and a half years and we've carried no more than a weeks change of clothes suited more for hiking than entertaining. No cars, snowboards, dirtbikes. No house, no fridge, no drawers full of the bottles and jars of liquids and goop that make men smell manly and women look pretty. We've realized we don't miss most of it. But during all this time, it becomes glaringly obvious which things (besides the people) we've left behind that leave a hole in your life. For me, it's music. I look forward to the day when I can have a room and fill it with guitars, a piano and a drumkit in the corner. Neda wants a room too. She wants to fill it with shoes... |
Well worth the read !!
27 pages of pure joy, great photos, good prose. Much to enjoy.
Thank you. bier |
Morning Sickness ?
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Neda was spewing quite a bit. But not from her mouth. I'm gonna get in trouble for that, aren't I...? |
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