The two wheels have been packed away and are now awaiting my arrival in Nice. A special shout out to the Bike Dreams team for organizing this and to Glyn who cleaned/packed it away given my rushed departure out of Como – I think it will be my shout at the next few (hundred) coffee stops… 

 

So feeling almost slightly naked without my bike but have definitely put the 1.73 legs and carbon finish to good use over the past week on the Intrepid Italy Uncovered tour. Not many people can say that they literally walked their legs off; it has been pure bliss each evening coming back to the different hotels and being able to whack off one leg. Apparently it doesn’t work on both sides though – mum explained that one to me a few years ago around the same time we had the birds and bees talk. 

 

It has been fantastic meeting lots of new people – Intrepid have a policy of a max of 12 people per tour. As the Italy Uncoveored Tour is a combo package (I.e. Umbria and Rome to Amalfi) we had a changing of the guard in Roma with the NZ sisters and New Yorker leaving us and two girls from Mebourne, two from Orange (NSW), a Canadian and Brazilian joining us. The couple from Wollongong, two friends from Delaware (USA), plus myself, are the lucky ones who are going all the way from Venice to Amalfi. 

 

Having an Italian as our Intrepid Tour Leader, affectionately dubbed Capo Mattia, has made the world of difference and meant that we have eaten at all the best local places in Venice,  Gubbio, Assisi, Spello and Roma (please see blog post 4.1 for a blow-by-blow description on the lunch in Spello – it was only supposed to be a paragraph in the current blog post but the excitement captured by my typing fingers saw a stand alone post created).

 

It is interesting how quickly one can start to get to know a city and how quickly one can slip into patterns. Being back in Venice I knew I wanted to go to the Peggy Guggenheim for some Picasso, the Galleria dell’Accademia for some local  Venetian art, and participate in a ‘must do’ Gondola ride; for those not wishing to spend €80 there is the taster option to cross over the Grand Canal on a Gondola for the relatively cheaper price of €2. All new experiences. However, I returned to the hidden little park I had found on both mornings in Venice for some exercise (and receivied the same number of weird looks from the Venetians) and tracked across town, down some alleyways, and crossed a piazza with two trees in the middle just to find the bakery where I had had the Worlds Best pastries. I even got a free biscuit from the lady behind the counter because she remembered me. No longer the timid traveller, I made my way boldly down unexplored alleys and pathways, knowing that in the end you always find some landmark you are familiar with. Unfortunately, my Italian language skills haven’t improved quite as much as my confidence and I ended up buying some rather oddly shaped g-string pads definitely made for Italian women –  not quite the 100% cotton ones with random fact sheets that they sell in Woolworths back home. 

 

Going from the ‘big smoke’ of Venice to the little country town of Gubbio, where the population is only 32 000, provided a chance to catch ones breath and explore a gorgeous medieval town at a leisurely pace. Naturally, our groups exploring included frequent gelato stops, scrumptious Italian foods with highlights such as a truffle Lasagne at the two Michellin star restaurant Grotta dell’Angelo, and a locally bought Italian picnic lunch overlooking Gubbio and Umbria that saw stuffed olives, fresh fruit, delectable cakes, and devine cheeses all consumed. I really don’t know why I then had a massive craving for a meat pie with lots of Heinz Big Red Tomato sauce a few hours later, I think my brain wiring is experiencing some malfunctions. Either that or demonstrating the power of our addiction to sugar and ingrained habits. 

 

Thankfully I was able to clear my head and wash alway the thoughts of meat pies during our hike down from Gubbio. After feeling a bit like Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice when her hair is whipping alluringly around in the wind while overlooking rugged mountains (just replace the Lakes district with Umbria and the 19th century style dress with a Polo T-shirt and Ray Bans), we made our way down a steep, gravel path where I constantly felt like Mr Tummnus from the Narnia movies would step out from behind the next tree. Hopefully I am painting some good pictures because I have literally felt like I am in a movie set the whole time I have been away. The surreal feeling extended into Assisi where midnight walks saw the stars speckled in an inky backdrop with the Basilica di San Francesco bathed by the city lights in the foreground. Unfortunately, the picture wasn’t completed with the friar who had been spotted earlier that day; the Nike runners glimpsed intermittently under the tunic would have been picture perfect. 

 

The three hour train ride from Roma to Naples is nearly at an end. To say I am just a little excited to go the home town of pizza and try the best pizza in the world, according to Eat, Pray, Love and our Intrepid guide notes, is a little bit of an understatement. Be prepared for more blog posts on food, apologies if I have made anybody hungry! 

 

Till next time,

Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment

 

Han