Let me paint the picture for you –  I am currently sitting in a French campsite (pure luxury with toilet seats, toilet paper and a hair dryer!), listening to Bob Marley as well as the ping pong ball bouncing across the table, and am surrounded by the beautiful mountains of the Pryenees. A dinner of succulent lamb with fresh veggies followed by super sweet raspberries with yoghurt has just been polished off. The sun is setting behind the pink clouds and I have a cup of tea in my hand and piece of dark chocolate in the other. The laughter and chatter of my fellow cyclists completes the scene. Tough life aye?!

 

Admittedly it has been a bit tough to find time to write about all the amazing experiences I have been privileged to have recently – I have been taking my own advice and living each moment! However, I would love to share some of the highlights with you all. 

 

Let’s take a few steps back to the end of the 1.75 leg adventure through Italia – most of these memories include food: we learnt how lemenoncello was made at a local family lemoncello grove in Sorrento. We then proceeded to taste the seven different types of liqueurs. These included different alcohol concentrations of lemoncello, and orange, mandarin, fennel, and liquorice liqueurs. We were told that people usually leave “very happy from this lemoncello grove”. Definitely ticked that box. 

 

Next up was a trip to a local gelateria in Sorrento where we learnt how Italian gelato is made. Naturally taste testing was included. My favorite was an organge, lemon and candied mandarin gelato. The gelateria, called Gelateria David,  has been in the family for a few generations and has an owner who is currently married to a Sydney-sider. The good news is that he  is not only marketing savy (pancakes are known as the PanDavid) but he has plans to open up shop in Australia – exciting times ahead!! And yes, I did go back in the morning for brekkie and consumed a Pan David with chocolate, fresh fruit and gelato. Damn marketing gimmicks! Nevertheless, it has been one of the best brekkies so far, excluding the pastries in Venice. 

 

I can hear all of your thinking – “Are you now the side of a house Han?”, “Your parents will be happy when you get home as it will be a celery diet for awhile…” Fortunately other activities have included a trek up Mt Vesuvius and a 6hr hike along “the walk of the gods” along the Amalfi coast finished off with a staircase of 1067 steps