European Concerts - Second Stop: Italy!

Sabbaticals rock and here's the gory details. Read along if you want to be a groupie!

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European Concerts - Second Stop: Italy!

Postby Tawmass » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:00 am

(This is the next leg of my sojourn after being in Greece.)

Italy!

* September 17, 2008, evening, Florence, Italy: I’m finally here! The flight to Florence (pronounced ‘Furenzee’) had a short layover in Rome (Roma), then it was the last leg to Florence. A very nice couple from Albania sat next to me: Musaka and Christafina (or at least that’s how it sounded). I knew squat of Albanian (or whatever language they spoke) and they knew squat of English. I did get out a map and they pointed to where they live. I couldn’t figure out if they were husband/wife or dad/daughter or whatever. Towards the end of the flight, Christafina almost threw up - poor thing. The picture was taken just before she started turning green.

I landed in Florence, grabbed a taxi with a really nice guy named Luca as the driver. We had a great conversation about Italy and where to go and not to go. He confirmed what Stefano had told me before that Southern Italy has a lot of crime (except for Rome) due to not much money, Mafia, etc. He said Northern Italia is fine though. I asked him to take me to a reasonable hotel and he dropped me off at the Hotel Mia Cara. It was in a back alley, but I noticed everything was clean - no trash! People were walking all around and it was close to some downtown square. I asked how much for the room and I thought the nice lady said $17 Euros, but I was mistaken, it was $70! Holy smoke! To get internet to the room, it’s another $6 Euros though. Odd. She put me in a room with four beds, but everything is modern - sweet! All the beds are still firm as the floor though. And the bathroom has no drain on the floor and has shower doors and a toilet with a seat! It also has this thing that looks like a toilet without a seat for washing off the body parts that rub against each other. Interesting.

I took a stroll and found a place close so snagged some fettucini alfredo, a salad and a glass of house wine. Good stuff. I then took a stroll and found numerous places that served ‘gelato’, so bought some - tasty!

I just turned on the tube and ‘The Great Escape’ is on! It of course is a cult flick to motorcyclists and has one of the all-time best jump scenes ever, plus has riding by Steve McQueen - who was a real dirt rider! It really doesn't matter that the bikes are English twins made to look German. (Legendary rider Bud Ekins actually did the jump scene, and McQueen was pissed!) Wow, the city scenes from the movie are just exactly what I’ve seen in Greece and Italy. There’s also MotoGP bike racing on - things are looking up!

Tomorrow I may be on a bike!
-Tom
Musaka and Christafina - moments before Christafina turned the color of her shirt.
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The route to Florence, Italy, from Thessaloniki, Greece, with a layover in Rome.
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My first Italian meal!
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More bikes we can't have. Notice that the Beta has a Honda mill.
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John's evil twin! (FYI, it's a 'bidet' and you can read about it HERE)
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Last edited by Tawmass on Wed Mar 02, 2011 1:28 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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Postby E-Ticket » Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:55 pm

oooh.... Gelato.... =P~

If you can handle it, Tawm, you have to go to Vernazza. It's one of the 5 cliff/sea cities in the Cinqeterra (5 Lands).
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinat ... rnazza.htm
You *won't* regret it! And if you eat at the restaurant at the top of the cliff - please say hi to Franco for me!

And the hike from Vernazza to Monterossa will take your breath away.
http://www.cinqueterre.it/en/vernazza.htm

Cheers! - RandyB
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Postby davek » Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:08 am

From Rome take the train down thru Naples and stop off at Pompeii and Herculium, the two cities that were wiped out by Mt Vesuvius. They are both walking distance from the train and lead you on to the Amalfi Coast. Don't get a car, trains and scooters are the ONLY way to go. Then stay on the Island of Capri (should be end of season rates now) and take a boat to the Blue Grotto. You could of spent the whole month in this area. AND as Randy said gelato is a MUST, at least twice a day! I didn't spell check any of those city names but they are close enough.
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Postby E-Ticket » Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:31 pm

Twice a day....?

Shoot, it was like every 10 blocks for us... <grin>
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Postby Tawmass » Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:32 am

* September 18, 2008, evening, Greve in Chianti, Italy: Wow, what a difference a country makes. It did start out with a semi-sour note. The hotel was in fact 70 Euros and not 17, but I figured it was too good to be true. After breakfast, I caught a taxi to Stradanova’s place and met Erika and Ricardo. They were extremely nice and talked me out of renting the KTM thumper and tried to change me to the KTM Adventure 990, which I was all into, but it had knobbies on it, so they turned me to the BMW 1100GS. Plus it had bags that I could lock my stuff in, so after a lengthy discussion of places not to miss, they directed me to a local bike shop that had riding gear, where I bought (yet another) riding jacket and pants. What will I do with them after my eight days of riding? No clue, but what price protection? I did rent a helmet and gloves. The hat is an open face (only one that would fit my big Norwegian head!) and I feel practically naked with it on. I finally found my way out of Florence and headed south towards Greve in Chianti in search of Stefano’s suggestion of wild-boar ragu. What a challenge - new types of signs in a new country! On the way I found this most awesome road that Ricardo suggested, which took me close to Greve. I hit the town square and asked a few restaurants if they had this magic dish, and one of them did, so I ordered it, with some wine. Stefano - you were right - it was most excellent!

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Erika and Ricardo of Stradanova - nice people! And here's part of their arsenal of bikes for rent.
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A reality check - don't crash when you're out of your country.
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This old scooter looks like it has a Sachs 125 engine. Wonder how many neutrals it has?
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Look close at this pic from the exterior of a city park. Yup, those are urinals. How handy, and it's only 30 feet from a busy street! I almost used it, but chickened out at the last minute.
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The place where I bought my riding gear - also very nice people. They have EVERYTHING for scooters! And there's my mighty GS. Look close how the person parked the car in the background - tight!
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Giorgio helped me find the next road Badia A Passignano - thanks Giorgio!
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The top of most every hill pretty much looks like this.
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Yes, finally found the road Ricardo suggested! And stay off the darn horn!
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An aerial shot of the place I stayed my first night. Yes, it's the vineyard house in the middle of the corner. Everything else in town was booked and I was so grateful, and they were so gracious!
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Last edited by Tawmass on Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:30 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Fri Sep 19, 2008 2:38 am

* September 19, 2008, morning, Greve in Chianti, Italy: Argh, Murphy hates me - it’s raining like crazy! Good thing I got some decent riding gear that ‘appears’ to be rain proof. However, my hiking shoes aren’t cutting it in the rain. I stayed in a B&B style farm place last night and the people were so nice. Heck, everyone has been so nice - I like Italia! As expected, oodles of beautiful women, spectacular scenery (very similar to Oregon’s Willamette Valley), cool bikes (we can’t have) everywhere, vineyards every kilometer, ancient buildings and churches, yadda, yadda. I’m currently at an internet caffe’ trying to warm up. My camera won’t download due to the moisture (a feature I guess), so no pix. I lost my highlighted maps last night - dang! I’ll snag another today I hope, lick my finger, hold it up in the rain and pick a direction! Am drinking way too much chocolate cappucinno hoping the rains will stop, but a bad day touring is better than a good day at work!
-Tom
Here are the nice people I befriended at the internet cafe, and there's Massimillo and his pretty coworker.
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Last edited by Tawmass on Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Fri Sep 19, 2008 10:34 pm

* September 20, 2008, morning, San Rocco a Pilli (Siena), Italy: Last night was Friday night and I could hear all the kids on their 85cc supermoto-ring-ding bikes braaaaapping by on the street. What a great day for a duck! It wasn’t so beautiful on a motorbike though, but I did around 70 miles nonetheless, in the pouring rain. I rode till my feet got squishy, then threw in the towel - quite literally. After killing as much time at the internet café as possible, I befriended some American tourists. One group was from Pennsylvania and the other group was from Seattle. It’s funny how you pick out English so easily, when you don’t hear it much. Massimillo and his cleavage-laden, coffee-barista coworker made some fine chocolate cappuccinos, then the Pennsylvania folks bought me yet another, so I was certainly wired for sound once I got out of there! Weird thing using the café’s internet: they had to photocopy everyone’s driver’s license or passport - they said due to terrorist concerns. WTF? I wonder if they’re just working on some identity theft prospects? Massimillo was surprised we didn’t have to do that in America.

I packed up and drove headstrong into the potential torrential. As I rode along, I took a few pix, but the rain was really coming down, turning my poor little Canon into crying ’uncle!’ From too much moisture. Consequently the pictures stopped, but I made mental pictures of all the castles and monasteries I passed. I even did some dirt riding more than a few times - a challenge on the big Beemer! I’ve noticed that most all the villages have bell towers and use them legitimately to keep time - very cool. After about 70 miles of wandering aimlessly (remember, I lost my maps), my left foot started getting soggy (why not the right too?), so I decided it was time to call it a day, pulled over the big Beemer and snagged a room at the Hotel Castello. It’s basic, fairly small and contains the usual suspects of hard bed, an ’almost’ twin toilet (that I almost peed in!) for 50 Euros - not bad. It has internet if I sit in the lobby the nice lady said. Since I have a bit of spare time, I’m going to ramble again on a few things:

* There has been almost no ads on the roads. Maybe it’s in the zoning for this region, but it’s nice not to have all the damn road spam distracting your eyes. There are specific signs for businesses, which are all the same size. I’m sure they have to pay the Government to do that. Also, all the different signs are similar colors: businesses are white, historic items are brown, town names are blue, etc., so it makes it a bit easier to navigate (sometimes).
* I’ll say it again, people haul ass here. I’ll be driving along at the speed limit or faster, when suddenly there are headlights in my mirror - on my tail! And I know they’re thinking, “Move over and let me by!“ It’s very surprising.
* In all the hotels I’ve been in Greece, and now Italy, the ground floor is the 0th floor, where back home the ground floor is the 1st floor.
* Euros are very energy and water conscious. Clearly this is because they have to be, but most all their lights have fluorescent, low-wattage bulbs, with motion sensors in the hallways, so they come on when you walk by. In Greece, you had to manually turn them on, and sometimes they just plain didn’t work. Most toilets have big buttons for big flushes, and little buttons for little flushes. Makes sense.
* Roundabouts work. (FYI, if you don’t know what they are, they’re the big circles at road intersections) My boss (Chris, from England) was right - they work. Just yield as you come in, go around as many times as you need (if you’re unsure which branch to take), and turn out of it, being watchful of anyone on your right. Heck, practice your NASCAR and do lap after lap! I think roundabouts are a much more efficient alternative to our dumb stop signs.
* It’s self-service gas in Italy and today was my first shot at using their automated gas stations (no attendants). It was a challenge, due to everything being in Italian. I floundered for more than five minutes until one nice passerby helped me put in 10 Euros, so I think I’ve got it now.
* Many hotels charge for internet use (yet another hidden charge you need to ask about). One hotel I checked at today charged 10 Euros an hour - bogus!

The big GS Beemer is a beast, but very stable. I just know it has to be heavier than my old GS (Barney), however it carries the tonnage low and the frame is rock solid, plus the brakes and suspension work quite well. I agree with Ricardo that the front forks have too much high-speed dampening - you notice it when you hit a rock, or sharp edge. The bike really wants to go and has very long legs - you’d think it was designed for the Audubon or something! I’ve been basically idling it along, occasionally slipping the clutch to get through a switchback. And the motor - what a masterpiece. It will pull fifth gear all the way down to 2,000 rpm. Soon enough you’re going very fast and that tight turn is approaching - also very fast, so it’s a good thing it’s graced with good anchors.

As seems to be typical, as soon as I checked into the hotel, the rains started subsiding. After unloading all the wet gear and cases into the room, I rode a mile into the nearby town and hit the market for some munchies, plus had some gelato - man, is that good. It’s basically ice cream, but different, plus they have a plethora of flavors that are different than back home. I then rode around as the sun peaked over the top of the hills and scored a few pix. I pulled into what looked to be a village hardware store and asked about getting some duct tape. They were all confused. I finally found some on a shelf and asked them what they called it - he said “Scotch tape” - go figure! I cruised through the village, noticed where all the locals were eating (a good clue), pulled in and grabbed a slice of tasty pizza. In the town square, a bunch of old men were playing a rousing game of poker. I of course snapped off a group pic, and they all spun around and looked at me surpised. I smiled and pointed at the camera and they all laughed. Another dumb tourist incident, no doubt, however I got the shot I wanted. Speaking of shots, I was checking out the tiddler, supermoto bikes (85cc Honda and Husqvarna), when all the kids came out. We had a fun time trying to communicate and I snagged their pix too - good fun, and the kids are just as crazy as back home! Cameras are a great ice breaker. The kid on the bicycle was a wheelying fool! When I took off on the GS, they all started yelling. I’m sure they were yelling either for a wheely or burnout, but I failed to deliver.

Holy smoke! I just checked into getting onto the internet here, and it’s --- (gasp) dialup! And it’s only on the hotel’s pc - a 486! (that means a very slow computer to the non geeks out there) Guess that still means no photos for now! I’ll have to backfill later. It’s coffee and breakfast time, plus the sun’s coming up on a beautiful day. I think I’ll head west to the coast, then start heading north towards France.
-Tom
I couldn't help but do a bit of exploring off the tarmac. Yes, that's water running down the tracks.
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Castle towers.
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Some go-fast 50s.
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Soccer is THE game in Europe.
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Yes, that Bayer. They have a plant here.
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More cool scoots not in the USA.
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Another Friday-night card game in a village square for the old duffers.
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The kids don't play cards on Friday night!
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Last edited by Tawmass on Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:40 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:30 am

* September 21, 2008, morning, Piambino (Liverno), Italy: Yesterday was a most excellent day, especially after the deluge of the day prior! It was bright and sunny all day and the fresh air after the rains was both invigorating and exhilarating. I did my daily ritual of yelling inside my helmet, “I’m on vacation and I’m in Europe!” as I started out each morning. Though I’ve got a full seven days until I return the big BMW, I don’t know how I can fit it all in, which is as I expected. One of my key ’life’ goals is to ride the Alps switchbacks on a bike, which I’m sure I’ll get to within a day or two, then I’ll be content. I also still plan on dipping into France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany while doing the Alps - that may be a bit more of a stretch challenge. There is just too much to see! Almost everyone in Italy continues to be nice and smiles at me - very pleasant. My dork of the day was saying many times as I made feeble attempts in communication to various people, “Yo pollo poco Italiana.” That meant, “I chicken small Italian” - doh! It’s ‘pallo’ (speak), not ‘pollo’ (chicken) dummy! I should’ve known that, since Italian and Spanish are quite similar.

The day started off by sliding into my (still damp) shoes and donning my insulated riding gear - at least it was dry. Since I no longer had the good maps, I ‘MacGuyvered’ a GPS mount with an empty water bottle and plenty of 100mph tape (duct tape, or Scotch tape in Italy!). It actually worked out quite well! As I started heading west towards the Mediterranean Sea, I noticed that the local terrain resembled again like being in the Willamette Valley in the Fall - except there were castles and monasteries. Oh, and most of the villages are at the top of the hills instead of in the valleys like back in the States. And those two road signs haunted me the whole day prior in the downpours: slick pavement when it rains, and watch out for Bambis! There were quite literally vineyards everywhere! The Italians love their wines, as they should - they’re very good. In every village there is a bar and gelateria and they’re all small. People practically drink wine for breakfast. By the time I hit Radicondoli (a couple hours into the day), I must’ve already gone through 200 turns. No really, these back roads were made for bikes (my entire day‘s average was only 27mph)! And some of the switchbacks will sneak right up on you, so I had to damper down my typical rubber necking. In beautiful Radicondoli I requested a chocolate cappuccino. The old boy behind the counter did not know what that was, so made me a hot chocolate. Oh well, he tried. Then this couple showed up with an extremely bratty kid throwing a temper (and his toys). As I finished my hot cocoa, I was putting on my gear at the bike, when he came out. I snapped a quick pic (didn’t even have time to enable the flash!) of him - very cute smile.

As I kept following the ‘black’ roads, I saw a nuclear cooling tower. I went around a mountain and saw yet another. By the end of the day, I must’ve sailed past eight or more of them - unreal! I could smell sulfur in the air, so I think this is a geothermal region, and there was steam coming out of pipes literally everywhere. Regarding the ‘black’ roads: look at the GPS screen and notice the black roads - they’re the windiest and best! Better yet, take the dotted-line roads, as they are dirt! The red roads are fine, but those are the ones everyone travels. The black roads have almost no traffic. I was on one black road, parked, taking a picture, when I heard bikes. Around the corner, going WFO, came four crotch rockets (one a supermoto) flying in hot into the next turn. Wow, were they hauling and hanging off - you’d think they were Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden duking it out! Sorry, they were going so fast, I only got a pic of the first rider. Later I came upon all these balloons on highway markers. I asked a local afterwards what they meant and I got “village matrimony’ somewhere in his words - just as I thought. I sniffed around at a historic site named “Il Bagno” (don’t know what that means yet) and found a very old, abandoned building. As you can see on the insides, some people have actually tried living in there fairly recently, perhaps vagrants. It actually was kind of creepy - like being in an episode of Twilight Zone. And that pic of the little “Ape 50” three wheeler - those things are everywhere and seem to be used mostly by city employees. They run with some sort of two-cycle motor. Do you miss that premix smell nowadays? It’s prominent everywhere in Europe.

As I was cruising the black roads, I found a dotted-line road that descended down the mountains. Wow, was it a thrill on the GS! In fact, the mighty GS has performed spectacularly - what a great bike for these varying roads! And look closely and you will notice how the road has a narrow bed of rock from centuries ago! In the afternoon I pulled into a very small village bar in Vollonica almost at the coast and had a glass of white wine, followed up by some gelato. A bit later I encountered the ocean at Follonica - a typical sandy beach, then headed north to Piombino, where I got a room at the Hotel Est. After unloading my gear, I went for a short drive of the area. That sign cracked me up - what’s that guy doing to that fire? (Gutter mind, I know. Those of you that know me expect that though) And I had to get a picture of the McDonald’s signs infecting the Italian town. One thing I didn’t realize until immediately after I took the pic (look closely), was that there were two cops pointing their radar gun at me at all the incoming traffic. Boy did they give me ‘the look’ after I took the picture and rode by! Later that evening, I took a walk downtown, then to the shore and had some pizza from a street vendor - good stuff. And wow, was he having an argument with his wife (or girlfriend), and even I understood some of the pottymouth words! All told, I did almost 200 miles for the day, which is pretty good for such a slow speed average! Oh, the hotel only has connection with their laptop, so doubt I’ll be able to upload any photos (still!) - dang!

Today I plan on continuing north towards the Alps. I’ll have to stop and take the obligatory picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but will have to come up with a different twist.

UPDATE: the hotel has high-speed internet, but charges for it, and it's only on their laptop, so I've uploaded my pix, but no time to post. Will try tonight. By the way, Italian keyboards are very different - it sucks, so apologies about any typos!

Arrivaderci! Yo “pallo” poco Italiana!
-Thomas

My boots and gloves in a vain attempt at drying out.
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Maguyver would be proud of my GPS mount!
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Caution: slick pavement and Bambi's!
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Vineyards everywhere.
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Caution: big brothers dragging little sisters across the road!
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Willamette Valley or Italy? You decide.
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The big GS, complete with socks and gloves strapped to the rear seat to dry out.
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"I can make cocoa!", not chocolate coffee.
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Cute kid, but only for my camera.
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Wonder if those sheep glow?
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WFO baby! Notice he's hanging off, already setting up for the upcoming turn.
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Take the black roads! Thanks Rob for the Euro maps! Matrimony markers.
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Il Bagno.
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Why the rocks on the roof?
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Steam was rising out of the ground everywhere!
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The very common Ape (three-wheel) pickup.
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Old rock roadbed, probably centuries old. Notice the old one is of cobblestone, and the new one is much wider with dirt.
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I chickened out at this water crossing. It was over a foot deep at the bottom.
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A wine break, like the locals do. No, those aren't my smokes.
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Gelato!
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The Mediterranean and some of its assets.
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Hmmm...
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The Big Crack, and less-than-happy cops.
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Last edited by Tawmass on Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:45 am, edited 8 times in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:25 am

* September 22, 2008, morning, Lido di Camaiore, Italy: I left Piambino yesterday heading north. It was another glorious day! The big mountains loomed just off the shore, making the trek north a forced path along the beach homes and tourist traps - not my deal. So I zoomed in on the GPS and found one or two black roads that appeared to loop up into the mountains and back. Sure enough, the roads became windier, narrower, and generally much more pleasant - less traffic too. I zeroed in on one small town, went up and down a few alleys (looking for a dotted-line road) and found a huge velodrome (a banked, oval, bicycle race track). Wow, up almost on top of the mountain! I eventually found my dotted line and slid the big GS down the dirt road, which ended on a mining location. That road led me back down to the main highway again, so I searched again for the next black line roads, which took me back up to the mountains again. These loops took a lot of time, but were very fruitful for the experience.

All too soon, there were no more black roads, so I hit the freeway and made my way to Pisa. Yes, the town that hosts the famous Leaning Tower. Getting to it was a challenge, but I finally made it. It’s located inside these huge, antiquated fortress walls, and as you can see, it really does lean. I would’ve fired the contractor! I was going to get a shot of the GS leaning into it, but no vehicles are allowed inside the walls - there went that bright idea. Walking inside the walls, it was packed like seeds in a grape with people. Tourists (like me) everywhere, many Africans hocking their wares and street vendors. One guy came up to me and said, “My friend, would you like a watch?”

I replied, “How can I be your friend when I don’t even know you?” Rude response, but I despise forced sales. Then he asked where I was from, then said he’d been to South Carolina in Greensboro and would like to go back. I took his picture and he asked why. I informed him it’s for my memory collection and he walked off. Funny experience.

The Tower: yep, it leans. Yep, it’s touristy. Yep, it was cool. Fortunately there were plenty of police around, otherwise it could’ve been a pickpocket’s dream just waiting to happen. The costumed mime was entertaining to watch with kids. Soon enough I tired of all the people and got out of Pisa (how many pictures can you take of a leaning tower?), hit an automated toll road, and went through the longest tunnel I’ve ever been in (seemed like about two miles! You can see the gap on the GPS log. The freeway again bored me and I found more black roads, and this time I found a real gem. Notice the switchback pic where all the kids painted their names. There is a lot of graffiti in Italy, but often times it’s actually a piece of art, as opposed to the crap back in the States. Then I happened onto an old church and graveyard, with a stellar view of the mountains as a backdrop. Interesting history, if you can read the words - dates back to the 12th century. And I don’t know what the statue of the chubby guy is, but it cracked me up.

Two opposites: in Europe, the green gas-pump handles are gas, while the black pump handles are diesel - exactly opposite from the States. Don’t get them confused! And in America, men’s zippers have the zipper on the right - women’s on the left. From what I can see, in Europe, all zippers are on the left. Odd.

My hotel TV has CNN in English - wow! I’m practically fixated on whatever CNN is broadcasting (mostly bad news. What the Hell happened to the stock market?) - I even watched a documentary on Joe Biden! The place I’m staying, Hotel Apuana, is operated by an older couple. It’s only about one block from the ocean and I opted to go for their restaurant dinner. Wow, it was a three-course meal! The room was 50 Euros, dinner was 10, plus I had a couple glasses of bianco (white) wine. I did feel sort of out-of-place when dinner was served at 8pm, since I was the only single person there, but I got past it. A young girl (grand daughter?) was the waitress and was wearing pants that said ‘Angel’ on one butt cheek and ‘Devil’ on the other with glitter - too funny. And they had high-speed internet without charging for it - woohoo! It’s an older building, not unlike the image of the Hotel California album cover. The two older people run it are a pleasure. It’s really funny, there are “No fumar!” signs (no smoking) everywhere, and the wife smokes like a chimney. I don’t mind saying that this hotel may have been the best overall plus thus far on my trip.

Today I feel motivated to head up into the Alps and check out a dirt road that goes to a summit, but it rained a bit last night and I’m unsure of the mud prospects. If I don’t do that, I may head towards Monaco, then France. Damn, I have to fly home in one week! Let me change that outlook - I have a week's vacation in Europe - woohoo! It’s great to be alive, and why haven‘t I done this trip sooner? And for that matter, why haven’t you? It’s been a life-changing experience for me, and really makes me appreciate what we have in the good ol’ US of A. It also allows me to see where we could make improvements.
-Tom

The very nice lady at the hotel, Valentina, was so sweet!
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In Italy, you can move mountains.
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The first Moto-Morini I've seen.
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The mining operation (above the velodrome).
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How can you not enjoy the beauty of these roads?
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The Italians love their grapes!
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Travelling and taking photos by motorbike is the best way to see Europe!
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Not unlike the Oregon Coast.
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A very long, dark tunnel.
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She's a leaner! If she was a girl, her name would be Eilene! If she was Asian, she'd be Irene!
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"My friend, want to buy a watch?"
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Assume the position!
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A kind of creepy mime, and street vendors.
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Dugan, you're everywhere!
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Christmas decorations?
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An infinite amount of these.
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The old church.
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The Chubster.
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See, it really does lean (far right). See me waving?
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Postby Tawmass » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:57 am

* September 23, 2008, morning, Castenuovo Garfagnana (Lucca), Italy: Oh yeah, forgot to mention I got stung by a bee on the highway to Pisa. It seems like I get stung at least once a trip! I left the wonderful hotel of Nora & Andrea (masculine in Italian) and started up east into the mountains to check things out. Little did I know what all I would find! After going past Seravezza, I turned off towards Cardoso and found spectacular views of a natural arch at the top of the mountains. I followed the single-lane road to the end, where there was a gate. It is astonishing where people can build a village - literally on the side of a steep mountain! And some of the streets are barely wider than my motorbike. I followed another road that turned to dirt as the rains commenced to a downpour, which lasted most of the day. I must’ve went up this dirt road about four miles until I reached the end at a very old home that was also a bed & breakfast place (Casa Giorgini) - what an interesting stay that would be. Coming back down, I rolled beside a couple limestone mines. Notice how they cut everything into straight edges? Then I came upon a large sawing machine that was busy cutting limestone blocks. You don’t see that on the tour buses! Literally everything is terraced here for homes, gardens, stairs, garages, etc. I was getting cold, so pulled into a local tavern for a warm cup of cappuccino, and there was this very cute kid hanging close to Mom (who made my coffee). He was enamored with me and the motorcycle, and was quite happy to get his picture taken. When I left, he had his face against the window waving excitedly at me! Good stuff.

I then headed up higher into the mountain pass and drove by this massive limestone mine, where they too had cut straight edges into the entire TOP of a mountain - unreal (look close at the picture)! [Sorry my pictures aren’t of better quality, but I didn’t want to lug my SLR camera around with me after the ISDE, so all my photos have been taken with my point-and-shoot camera.] The road was so twisty and narrow and there was almost no place to pull over for pictures. I pulled over once on the right and the front wheel of the big Beemer dropped into a trough (hidden under the grass) that was about six inches deep. I did get a little concerned, as I had a very difficult time pulling the GS back out of the trough, plus I had to be aware of any cars coming around the turn at me. That could have been a hazardous location if I would’ve gotten stuck! This road was so tight and windy that it made the old Columbia River Highway practically look like a freeway. Everyone honks their horns coming into each turn. Then the road turned into this extremely long and claustrophobic tunnel. That was unnerving. On the other side of the pass, the rains continued as I slowly pointed the GS along the switchbacks. I then made a turn towards the village of Careggine, since the road looked twistier in that direction. Wow, even more breathtaking scenery and there were plenty of mountain goats too! As has been the entire trip, there were plenty of shrines with lit candles within and houses/villages carved into the side of a mountain. I then rode by a man who was unloading his road race bike, so briefly talked with him. He just got back from a race in Croatia - nice bike. It was then time to start looking for a hotel, and I happened upon this bike/tire shop and tried making conversation with the three men inside. The owner took me over and pulled off some cloth on top of a couple bikes and showed me his prized Gilera and SWM enduro bikes - sweet! You don’t see those in America! He sold KTMs and Betas, along with car tires. I eventually got a room at the Hotel Ristorante Ludovico Ariosto in Castenuovo Garfagnana. The old guy behind the counter knew zero English and I of course knew squat of Italian, so we went back and forth with charades for a room. The room was only 50 Euros, had very nice amenities, plus it had the most comfortable bed on the trip thus far! So much better than the two-by-fours I’ve been sleeping on for the last few weeks! And the dinner at the hotel was another three-course affair. I had pasta with trout, with some white wine to wash it down - tasty! I met a very nice German couple, Stefen (from West Germany) and Katina (from East Germany), who were vacationing on a hiking trip. There was no internet, but I was able to poach a small amount of neighboring wireless from the deck of the hotel, and I doubt that the town has an internet café.

I didn’t make many miles yesterday (about 70 miles and only a 17mph average), but the experience of the mountains was worth much more than the miles. I really have to step it up if I want to make the Swiss Alps!
Ciao,
-Tom


This fire alarm cracked me up. Hotel Apuana owners, Nora & Andrea - wonderful people.
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Hey, there's a hole in that rock!
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Hey, there's a rock - let's put a village up there!
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Baaaaaa..... Where's my telephoto?
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The Gillera and SWM.
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Troute de yum.
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Stefan and Katina.
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Last edited by Tawmass on Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:14 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:59 am

* September 23, 2008, evening, Cinque Terra, Italy: After the breakfast at the hotel, I walked across the street to a Honda dealer called Officina Moto ’Burn Out’, and asked about some local roads, plus drooled over his TransAlps and sweet HM enduro bikes. FYI, an HM stands for Honda-Montessa, more bikes we cannot get in the States. He suggested I go up to the Pellegrino Pass, so I pointed the Beemer in that direction and went. The narrow tarmac twisted and wound its way up and up and up to the summit with yet more incredible scenery. Once I went over the summit, I saw a dirt road that appeared to go yet higher to a mountain summit, so I took it for a couple miles. It clearly kept going, and I didn’t know where, so I decided it was time to turn around and go back to the summit village of San Pellegrino in Alpe and have a cappuccino at the bar that had the KTM banner. On the way back on the dirt, I met three oncoming dirt bikers, one on an SWM, one on a Gas-Gas and the third on a KTM. Once at the bar, I chatted with the owner (Dang, forgot his name!) and he said he knew the riders, and that I should continue taking that road they were on, since it would come out at Barga, which I kind of wanted to see. And he said the road was good. Hmm… Then directed me towards their museum dedicated to Don Luigi Pellegrini. Holy smoke, the village church was built in 643 a.d. Read that date again - almost 1400 years ago! That’s SEVEN times longer than the USA has been a nation! I had some miles to make, so didn’t take the museum excursion, but it looked very cool, and I did snap a pic of the altar.

So I turned around and went back out the dirt road. Wow, was it a thrill! It started out by going right by Mr. Pellegrini’s ‘Devil's Walk’ (Google it) that was marked with many piles of rock. Just like the ancient, cobblestone road I saw earlier (south of Pisa), this road also had evidence of narrow stonework. The forest had no ground foliage - so the weather must be quite extreme. After about four miles, the road started to descend rapidly incorporating numerous switchbacks. I was nervous about the big GS, but it kept performing admirably for such a big horse.

About the GS: I take back what I said earlier about the harsh front end. It’s only harsh when you’re on the front brake. A conventional front fork also gets harsh, but the levered front end of the GS is more pronounced, but only when you’re on the brakes. When not on the binders, it’s very smooth. I’m really taking a liking to the big boxer (I knew you’d want to hear that, El Dale-O, and it’s no wonder you always want to go so darned fast!) and I could easily see one in my garage in the future.

As I descended down the switchbacks, I was amazed at where people would build stone homes or shelters. I’m still convinced that the ancients liked to stack rocks. First they’d build a shrine. Then they figured that the shrine was so nice, they may as well add a church around it. Once the church was built (on the side of a mountain of course), they must’ve figured that they might as well add a village around the church. And oh yeah, we gotta stack rocks for the road, plus the bank, to keep it from shifting - and that’s how these villages got started!

About halfway down, I rounded a turn and a herd of sheep were in the road, plus there were a bunch coming down off the bank. They didn’t know what to think of my moto, so they started to trot off down the road. The ones on the bank behind me, slid off the bank, dropped below me, then came back up with the rest of the flock in front of me. So I idled along, and they got more skittish and got into a trot. So I stayed to the far right and they huddled together at a wide spot and looked like they were all ready to leap like lemmings over the edge, but they refrained fortunately.

I finally got to the bottom and headed north. I saw pictures of this windy, dirt road that stopped at the top of a pass - a one-way affair, so I had to find it. I again stayed on the ‘black’ GPS roads and they constantly rewarded me with something new practically around every corner. I finally came to an intersection that I thought could be the one, so headed up. Soon enough I came to where the pavement ended, where there was a bunch of parked cars and a rough-looking tunnel. I went through and emerged on the other side to a huge limestone pit! I then came to an intersection, as this guy in a loader came by, so I flagged him down and asked him about the road, and if it was in fact the one I was looking for. He ‘seemed’ to think it was, but looked at the big GS and motioned like ‘maybe not!’ Well now, after he left, my wanderlust sickness got the better of me and I started up the hill. I was really hoping that the moist limestone dust on the road wasn’t slick, since I was on bonafide street-only tires. I torqued the big GS up the road and it went, and went, and went to the sky. Now I’ve been riding bikes for a long time, and there really isn’t too much I can’t get through or around, but there were numerous times during my ascent that the two little guys in my head were in a major argument. One dude would say, “Go ahead, you can make it! Besides, you wanna see what’s at the top!”. The other little dude was screaming, “Tom, WTF are you thinking?! That’s too damn steep for a bike like this! What if something breaks? What if you get a flat? What if you hurt yourself? For God‘s sake, man, you‘re 5,630 miles from home (I checked)!” The pictures make everything look flat (typical), but I can assure you, they are not! I finally got to the top and it was - the limestone mine I saw from across the mountains on the day prior! This mine was massive! I chilled for a few minutes and watched the worker bees doing their thing, then I pointed the BMW back downhill. I just poked and putted my way down, not wanting to get in any hurry. After a way, suddenly the rear brake pedal went all the way down - no rear brake - yikes! I had boiled the brake fluid! I quickly killed the motor and started to use the dead-engine’s compression to act as the rear brake. I found a momentary flat spot and let the GS cool. Sure enough, the rear brake came back. Wow, that was an adrenaline pumper!
Then it was more crooked roads, villages, shrines and scary blind turns. I slowly made my way to the coastal port of La Stezia and figured I’d grab a room for the day. Holy smoke, was this city packed with people and crazy traffic! I started feeling like I was back in Athens. I got the heck out of Dodge and decided to make my way further up to the nicer part of the coast. I went through a tunnel and was greeted with the Hotel Gemelli, so I snagged it. Kind of funny - the hotel owner resembled Don Calione from the movie ‘Godfather‘. It was 70 Euros, but the view of the Mediterranean was incredible! The hotel’s dinner of spaghetti and chicken topped off the night.
-Tom


Burn Out!
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Cars squirm on some of these switchbacks!
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The San Pelligrini summit dirt road.
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The 'Devil's Wolk' rock pile.
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San Pelligrini.
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Local old farts and the bar owner.
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Don't know what it means, but doesn't look good.
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Intimidated locals.
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Hmmm.... where's this tunnel go to?
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Holy smoke, lookit the size of that limestone mine and those big, flat cuts!
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Hey, this guy should know where that upper dirt road goes.
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This picture gives the illusion of being flat. I can assure you it's not!
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Up, up and up, in the rain.
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Just another switchback. Look closer, that's the road coming up on the right!
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Crazy rock formations.
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Holy crap, it's the massive limestone mine on the top of the mountain that I saw on the day prior!
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Here's where the rear brakes went completely away! It was steep!
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The port town of La Stezia.
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Hotel room view of the Mediterranean.
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Last edited by Tawmass on Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:30 pm, edited 12 times in total.
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Postby Tawmass » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:00 pm

* September 24, 2008, evening, Wassen, Switzerland: I figured I better pick things up if I was ever going to be able to ride the Swiss Alps. The Hotel Gemelli I stayed at last night, though it had a spectacular view, was very loud from the neighbors above, so I slept only so so, plus it had no internet - dang. At breakfast I had a great visit with four older ladies from Nanaimo, BC, Canada. Of course I had to tell them my woes about the border. On the way out from breakfast, I met two other couples (Jack, Yvonne, Carl and Terri) who were from - Beaverton, Oregon - small world! Carl wrote down a bunch of places to see in Switzerland, and I was grateful. I loaded up the GS and headed north along the beautiful Mediterranean Coast. Pictures just don’t do it justice. And every mountainside is terraced (as seems to be all of Italy) for mostly grapes. And check out the little rail chair that seemed to be prevalent along the roads. I can only assume they are used for bringing the grapes to the waiting trucks on the roads. Either that, or some very cool carnival rides. To show how narrow the main roads are, I took a picture of a parked car aside the road. Now picture yourself going around one of the zillion blind turns on this road, with the possibility of a truck coming at you! Exciting! I followed this one guy down one section that took his half out of the middle. People were honking at him and getting all upset. He was probably an American tourist! I took a cappuccino break at a small, coastal town south of Genova. Notice the guys at the table with their wine? It’s only 10:30am! They do like their vino. Then more curvy roads smothered with switchbacks. In fact, I’d have to say that Italy is road-bike nirvana. I’ve been on a lot of cool roads in the US, but nothing holds a candle, not even a match, to Italy’s back roads! In fact, just look at the ‘chicken strip’ (motorbike term) on my back tire - they’re isn’t one - and I wasn’t going that fast!

I finally made it to the autostrada (freeway/toll roads) and made my way to Genova. Whoa, a very big city and too much crazy traffic! I steered the GS north towards Switzerland and decided to go for it. That’s still one ‘life bucket’ item I need to check off, and to do it, I would have to use the autostradas. That’s when the fun basically stopped. I was going +140kph or so and I was getting my doors blown off. Plus that darned open-face helmet was deafening. I eventually had to pull over and try to stuff some napkins in my ears (can’t find any earplugs yet - I’ve looked!) and met this nice couple on bikes. The lady wanted her pic taken with me, since she figured she was the only woman cycle rider in Italia! I didn’t tell her about Erika. Another issue was that my right hand was cramping badly (No, not from that - ha. ha.) due to the fairly stiff throttle-return spring.

Holy smoke, I crossed the border into Switzerland - finally! The border guard asked me some questions in something that sounded like German, then waved me over to two ladies with ‘Security’ jackets. Uh oh, déjà vu all over again. It turns out that I needed to have a toll tag to ride the major roads in Switzerland, which cost me 30 Euros (over $40 damn US dollars!). At least I was in. Right away the mountains suddenly reached skyward! Wow, it was getting cold too. The nice lady said something about an extremely-long tunnel that I would have to go through that was 17 kilometers long, but it didn’t click till ‘after’ I left - that’s like 12 freaking miles long - underground! I continued on, taking in the incredible scenery. It really is just like the postcards and pictures! It was getting dark, but I saw massive rock mountains, waterfalls everywhere, green pastures on the sides of the mountains and the typical Swiss-style chalets.

That’s about the time I came to the San Gottardo Tunnel. I’ll admit I was kind of freaked going into it. Just before that I’d topped off with fuel, and donned my cold-weather gloves, as it was getting bloody cold. But going into the tunnel, the heat must’ve been middle or high 90 degrees! After freezing my fanny off, I was suddenly burning up in this 80kph parade into the subterranean Earth! Good grief, that lasted an eternity, but the end finally came (and the tunnel temperature started dropping drastically). Upon exiting the tunnel, it was dark on the other side, and freezing cold! The fog must’ve rolled in or something and made it dark and icy cold, and suddenly I was ready to throw in the towel. The first exit was at Wassen and I pointed the GS to the off ramp, pulled into the first hotel (Hotel Krone) and a very nice, blonde lady started talking to me in semi German. I don’t know what she said, but I got the room. It’s just a room, and there are shared water closet and shower rooms in the hallway, and no internet. Cool. I’m in Switzerland. Now I want more time. There is no TV either, so I had plenty of time to catch up on my typing.

CLICK HERE for the next leg of my trip: Switzerland!
-Tom

Here's what I woke up to!
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My fellow Oregon tourists Jack, Yvonne, Carl and Terri from Beaverton area!
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Breathtaking scenery! Terraced hills for farming.
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Wine rides!
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The majority of the roads are ONLY this wide!
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Hmmm... is there a truck coming around that corner, or just a car?
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White wine - for breakfast!
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An inland section of forest.
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Zero chicken strip!
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Yes, there are women drivers in Italy!
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Finally - Switzerland!
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The San Gottardo Tunnel looms - 17 kilometers (12 miles) long!
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This was the view for over 20 minutes - crazy!
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A warm hotel.
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The full route of where I went in Italy.
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Last edited by Tawmass on Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby E-Ticket » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:51 am

Way cool, Tawm!

That beautiful little town below on the cliffs is Vernazza - we stayed there a couple of nights back in '96.
Fantastic little town, very quiet, great food, very quite and relaxing. And I can see where we stayed in your picture.
Our balcony literally hung about 150' over the ocean. It was phenomenally gorgeous. <big>

I want to go back! - RandyB
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Postby Tawmass » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:03 am

Yup, that was Vernazza. I had to bust my fanny to get to Switzerland, so I was kinda on a mission at that point, and it wasn't quite yet time for my next cappucinno. :wink: At least I was close!
-Tom

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Postby E-Ticket » Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:41 pm

Thanks for the driving and topo maps! We're using them for planning our next trip. :P

We didn't have a car at that point and took the train down from Nice and Monte Carlo with a stop in Vernazza and ending up in La Stezia.

If you look at the driving map - you'll see the train route tracks a straight line paralleling the coastline.
That's because it goes through a tunnel every 30 seconds for about 20 miles! It's very cool.
In fact, when you stand on the train platform at Vernazza it's easy to tell when the train is coming. Because this huge rush of air pours out of the tunnel proceeding the train. Its pretty wild. :^)

Man, I can't wait to go back ..... - RandyB
"AYHIN"

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