Europe

Tour de Italia 2020

Ciao ragazzi!

We decided to explore Italy this fall, while it's still warm and no lockdowns in sight, because all our plans have gone down the drain this year, and it's definitely much better to wear a helmet than a mask!

We have already visited Rome, Venice and Tuscany in the previous years (Italy is Slovenia's neighbor), so now it was time to see some other areas: Kyle was (of course) most interested in riding around the Dolomites, while Stina (of course) was looking forward to the warm and slow southern Italy and Sicily.

We came to Italy through the triborder at the gorgeous Kranjska Gora; within 30 minutes, the mountains started to seem different - sharper, steeper, taller, and more jagged... The little mountain towns also looked different, but not so much Italian as alpine-Austrian (and occasionally we would even see bilingual signs and couldn't recognize the other language on them: turns out it was Ladin, the language of the people of the central Alps who were forcefully united into the province of Rhaetia by the Roman empire; in time, the language evolved into Rhaeto-Romanic, and is still alive and taught at schools today). The ride was nice: we rode a few big passes and saw a few beautiful lakes; we spent the night in one of the little towns, at around 1000m, deep in the Dolomites, and it was quiet and cold (and the place was an expensive shithole - we will have to camp from now on! Still, even there, the coffee was absolutely amazing, we were definitely in Italy!).

The next day was all about great riding: we went over Passo Tri Croci, to the pretty town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, "the queen of the Dolomites", Italy's most famous, fashionable and expensive ski resort.

Then we rode the crazy-twisty Great Dolomites Road, which took us over high mountain passes, and through many famous ski resorts and little towns like Arabba and Canazie - all cute, with lots of lovely old architecture, yodel-style kitsch, and endless wooden balconies covered with blooming flowers. We started to notice the bilingual signs again, this time Italian and German, and at some point German became the first language (which is great for us, Stina can now communicate - many Italians don't speak any foreign languages, and we don't speak Italian) - we were now in Alto Adige, otherwise known as South Tyrol (Sudtirol).

To put this simply: Trentino-Alto Adige is Italy's northernmost region, stretching from Lake Garda to Austrian border, covering most of the Dolomite range. Trentino is culturally and historically Italian, while Alto Adige is Austrian (with a Ladin minority) and was only ceded to Italy after WW1. Language, architecture and cuisine are very much Austrian here, especially in its capital, Bolzano.

We briefly stopped at Lago di Carezza, the pretty lake that Sissy, the pretty Austrian queen used to love, then went over a few more passes, and landed in Bolzano, where we set up camp to ride around (well, up and around). We were exhausted but mind-blown: the Dolomites are magnificent, awe-inspiring, wild and steep, with rugged peaks and endless twisty roads, full of fellow bikers... We will definitely return, especially Kyle!

The third day was also the last sunny day, rain was in the forecast - and riding in the mountains is just no fun then, so we decided to make Kyle happy and do a crazy 7-hour ride to cross one of the most famous Italian passes, Passo Stelvio.

The road took us through wonderful, hilly and sun-lit countryside, and then up to Mendel pass which was pretty much a mountain-road race that offered spectacular views... In fact, all the cool mountain roads were packed with enthusiastic bikers, riders, and cars (it often felt like a video game, trying to avoid the traffic while slaloming around those endless sharp and steep curves, and while stealing glimpses of the mind blowing views around us): we were being passed on the inside by sport bikes, and we ourselves also did insane stuff, like passing vans in curvy dark mountain tunnels!

We then rode through a long valley that was all about wine and apples (so many apple orchards, full of ripe apples, waiting for the harvest) and pretty little towns with ancient city houses lined up along (some practically on) the road;

We rode up Gavia, an insane and beautiful twisty one-lane mountain road that led to a high-Alpine mountain plateau, which offered majestic views of mountain peaks, waterfalls, and an occasional glacier.

After four hours of intense riding, we made it to the edge of the Dolomites (and almost to the Suiss border) and to the famous Stelvio pass. To get to the top, which is at 2760m, you need to take an insane switchback road, consisting of dozens of steep 180-degree turns, which are of course packed with racing motorcycles and super-tough cyclists. The top was even more packed, with motorcyclists enjoying the chat, sun, coffee and speck & sauerkraut sandwiches, and every few minutes there was applause as friends greeted the exhausted bicyclist who just made it to the top.

It took us two hours to get back to Bolzano, and we were absolutely spent, but super happy, even happier than the previous day!

Stina riding down Stelvio pass... lots of 180° turns, with great views - the ride down the eastern side of Stelvio was even better (next time we will go up that way!), what a road!

Before we left the Dolomites, we made a quick stop in downtown Bolzano: the South Tyrol's capital has a pretty historic center that feels very Austrian, and is now also famous for Oetzi (in 1991, some tourists stumbled across the body of a prehistoric hunter, remarkably well preserved in ice, together with weapons,leather clothing, and a basket. The oldest frozen mummy ever found was then taken to Innsbruck, where scientists dated it to around 3000 BC.; eventually he was moved to Bolzano, where he is exhibited in a glass freezer at the local museum). We liked Bolzano, but failed to see Oetzi, because, due to corona restrictions, the lines to enter the museum are insane. Oh well.

We rode down to the top of Lago di Garda (the southern part of the lake is famous for its amusement park, Gardaland, and we felt no need for hanging around mass tourism areas), stopping in the pretty town of Torbole at the edge of the lake, which offers amazing views of the lake and the steep mountains that surround it; but as we rode on, south along the lake, we got absolutely stuck in a traffic jam that goes on all along the shore, and we were boiling in our riding gear, slowly moving on, surrounded by masses of beach-goers on one side and their lodgings on the other... Turns out the northern part is just as touristy! We left the lake as soon as we could, rode on, and found a camp inland.

Riding down, Stina's bike's inexplicable starter problems got worse, and then in the middle of the night it started to rain - and this rain was coming into our tent, making everything wet! Luckily, it didn't last, but yeah, after four years of keeping us warm and dry, it was finally dying... We moved on, west towards the coast, through boring farmland, city of Parma and then over lovely green hills, and then there was the sea, heat, sunlit hills, steep old villages, Ligurian pesto and focaccia, and we arrived to the famous Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre are five Unesco-protected little villages, clinging to the steep coastline, under lovely (and even steeper) mountains; the locals have long exchanged their fishing with tourism, and there is a well-organized train system that takes you from one village to the next; we took the train to the last village, and then hopped off, walked around, and back on the train, going backwards.

Riomaggiore, the fifth village, is also the biggest and main one - and while we were a bit disappointed in the plain architecture of its houses, it looked pretty, sitting on cliffs all colorful and bunched together; plus the water looked enticing in this crazy heat, and the smells coming from the small Michelin-starred restaurants were incredible.

But then Corniglia (to which you have to climb many steps, and that is really not fun in blistering humid heat!) and Vernazza (which is right on the water, thankfully) were very pretty, with old buildings and nice views, narrow streets (in one of them an elderly barefoot fisherman was standing, loudly explaining something to his friends - we don't know what, but it included "Porco Dio!" and vigorous hand expressions, while he was holding a cup of espresso ).

Finally, we stopped in the first village, Monterosso, which is the most developed and has some huge sculptures embedded into the cliffs - but as we went to the first sculpture, it was under construction, so we turned around and realized the old village was a ten-minute walk...and we were so tired and overheated that we skipped the damn walk and got right back on the cool train and returned to the camp, we were done! :)

To sum up, Rovinj (and the water that surrounds it - we find the sea here is not as awesome-looking as in Croatia) is definitely prettier than any of these five villages, but they do look amazing when you look at them hanging on those dark steep cliffs, plus they are very photogenic!

We rode on, and soon we were in Tuscany, the cradle of renaissance, the land of architecture, art, and lovely countryside (and chianti)! We have already explored the majestic Florence and its smaller, cuter cousin Verona, so this time we were planning to visit some other incredible Tuscan towns: Pisa and Lucca in the north-west, and San Gimignano and Siena in central Tuscany.

Riding south, we were shown in a strange way that we were entering Tuscany - the mountains along the road were badly chiseled away at the sides, and the huge extracted blocks of marble were laying everywhere, waiting to be shipped who knows where (no longer to Tuscan towns to be worked on by Michelangelo, that much is clear).

Pisa is a nice old town, famous for its Leaning Tower. And while the tower is amusing (and has been a headache for architects since the beginning - still, in 1990s, they did find a way to get it back up a bit and stop the slipping of the soil underneath), it's also really beautiful, and it is the combination of both that makes it so special...not to mention that it stands on Piazza dei Miracoli, together with two other beautiful buildings, the cathedral and the baptistry (you need to buy tickets to enter any of those - we chose not to, as usual), making the whole visual experience a sight to behold - a really lovely piazza!

By the way, Stina had ‘a moment on zen’ as we were taking the obligatory silly pictures with the tower: “I used to look at the picture of this weird tower when I was little, in a children's book, which was full of awesome strange things that were waiting for me out there in the world (our Slovene friends might remember that book collection, with titles Zakaj…, Kaj je to..., Kje je… etc.); so even though at this point we were supposed to tell you about our trip to Mongolia (corona cancelled that), this is an awesome plan b - the little Stina would approve!”

Half an hour later, we got to Lucca, a town that was a prosperous independent republic for 500 years; its walls are still well preserved, and it's fun to just walk around: a cute, lively small old town with endless marble churches, piazzas (the oval Piazza Anfiteatro, was the most fun - as the name suggests, the houses around it were built upon the foundations of the ancient Roman amphitheatre), the famous clock tower, and many old narrow streets, full of fashion boutiques and cafes and lovely old houses.

We ended the day not finding a place to stay - all camps were full, rooms expensive, and it was hot and muggy as we were running out of options, energy and sunlight... And after the last camp owner also told us he had no room for our tent and told us to try somewhere far away, we looked on the other side of the road, saw another camp - and they did have room, and it was a nice camp! Wtf, why did the guy not mention that, does he hate his neighbour that much?!

P.S. Some random observations from the road:

Masks were obligatory everywhere, also outside - but many people didn't care at all; also, our usual toilet system doesn't work: toilets are super hard to find (even many gas stations and hyper stores have no toilets) and if you do, they might be the squat kind; cold beer is also hard to find, and wifi at camps almost never works, even when they do have it (and they never have toilet paper); Italians only sell their own kind of strange looking chewing gums (unlike the rest of the world); people who don't speak English but still try to chat with us, often leave saying "Hello" to us ("ciao" means both "hello" and "goodbye").

On our way to the awesome old Tuscan destinations up in the hills, we first headed to Vinci; it was not a nice ride, through a surprisingly run down and industrialized area, but after a while, the road did narrow, and started winding its way into the hills, covered with cypresses, olive trees, vineyards, and occasional rustic villas and farms.

We made a quick stop in the town of Vinci, which, as Kyle predicted, was nothing much: it's just one of the small old towns on a hilltop, 40km away from Florence. There is nothing much to see (although the small museum does hold copies of all his manuscripts, and da Vinci was very probably baptized in the local church); a few minutes out of town his house, where he was born and lived until he left as a teenager, still stands - but it also doesn't really contain anything authentic (the windows were open ). Still: the short ride from Vinci to da Vinci's house made us contemplate how little Leonardo used to walk on this tiny quiet road in the middle of nowhere, surrounded with olive orchards and green hills, seemingly just another child, but one that was observing, learning, thinking, on his way to become one of the greatest geniuses of all time…

We rode on, to the famous medieval/renaissance San Gimignano, and wow, did it not disappoint! We absolutely loved it, so authentic, you can just taste the past here, and everything is beautiful: the main square, the many towers and buildings, the main street... There are cured meats, truffles and gelato for sale everywhere, because the town is usually overwhelmed with tourists - but when we were there, it was not packed, just pleasant (so we were surprised when we saw a huge line in the main square - we thought it might be a cool museum or something, but it was a line for a 2015-winner gelato place! ). So yes, do visit San Gimignano if you get a chance!

We were hot, and the Italian roads are exhausting (slow, lots of traffic and roundabouts, slow/crazy drivers, etc. The only alternative are highways, but that's no way to travel, and besides, they are crazy expensive), but we kept going, and visited Monteriggioni, the medieval hilltown, known for its intact 13th century walls, fortifications and watchtowers (also mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy). Its tiny village within those walls is also pretty much as it used to be (except now they sell delicious coffee in the main piazza, you know, instead of using it as a vegetable garden for the times of siege). Nothing crazy, but worth a quick stop (and a quick espresso)!

Finally, late, we arrived at our favorite place - Siena. We've been here briefly before, with Stina's mom, but felt like we wanted to walk around those glorious medieval streets again. Siena is smaller and older and more Gothic than Florence, but just as beautiful and majestic (ok, a little less, but definitely much more pleasant! Also, we won't bug you with the history of this prosperous city, but it was very dynamic - at one point, for example, their rival Florence was shooting dung and donkeys over their walls! Wtf, poor donkeys!). Il Campo, the main square, is awesome: beautiful, majestic, oval and slanting, with a big tower, and - twice each summer (not this year, of course) - Il Palio, a horse race around the square. ...So even though our place did not provide parking like we were told, and our room was on the 4th floor (meaning we had to take everything we owned up there, and then take the bikes to the parking lot outside of the old town), and we were boiled and super tired, we took a quick shower and then thoroughly enjoyed our evening, hanging out at and around the main square, having small dinner, red wine and gelato, enjoying the views and the cool breeze.

We packed our stuff the next morning, put it under the stairs of our landlord, and had due espressi at the gorgeous Il Campo…

What can we say? We loved it, of course! We walked those fancy long streets for hours, in awe how Pompeii still looks like an actual city (versus just ruins in which you have to use your imagination to make them come to life), enjoying checking out the many houses and villas (some with reproductions of original gardens, which really made them come to life), mosaics and frescoes, murals and graffiti, the amphitheatre and the main square...and yes, the casts of human bodies, and even 2000 years old food, like charred olives and loaves of bread!

Very impressive! A lot of it was closed to the public, no clue why, but it didn't matter, we still saw so much, we walked for 2.5 hours without pause and left tired and super content!

On the next day, Stina worked out (only mentioning this because it was 33 degrees!), and then we decided to explore Napoli a little, just walking around town for a few hours, and to then ride up the famous Vesuvius.

When you read the history of this city under the dormant volcano, you are not really ready for what is coming (ok, except maybe that it's the birthplace of pizza and of Sophia Loren) - it used to be a really big and fancy deal! It started as a Greek colony (1000 BC, and the ancient Greeks called it Neapolis, or New City), then it became a Roman VIP resort (Caesar vacationed there as well), then an independent dukedom, then it was under Normans, and Germans, and then in 1266 it became the capital of Kingdom of Sicily, and then the Spanish took over, etc. It was so important that it almost became the capital of the new nation of Italy in the 19th century - but then, in WW2, it was heavily bombed, and after the war, it was mostly the Allies who brought organized crime, so maybe that is what changed its character so much... Anyways, it didn't feel anything like its past, more like Italy on fire, crazy yet fun!

We rode into town on one bike, and that was hard and exhausting, but entertaining: hot, trash all over, endless lines of cars everywhere with vespas zig zagging around them (and on sidewalks), thousands of blocks of flats, kind of ruined but cute with their endless balconies, hanging laundry, old tv antennas, plants and colorful awnings etc. - Kyle definitely deserved his cold beer later! The downtown streets look better, they are charming in fact, and we ended up having a lovely walk (all the while slightly worried that the bike is not going to be there when we return): we went to the oldest neighborhood, San Gregorio Armeno;

We checked out the cute all-year Christmas market, where little stores and stands sell weird horns and red phallic/chili shaped good-luck charms, masks, interesting artistic handmade nativity scenes, and little terracotta statues of shepherds and other characters;

then we walked some more, had due espressi, and then we found the best pizza we have ever had, at Matteo's.

The "Vera Pizza Napoletana" ain't no joke, it's Unesco protected and the rules are strict and very detailed (let us only give you an example with cheese: "It must be made with 'a protected designation of origin' cheese made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state, or "Fior di Latte di Agerola", a cow milk mozzarella made exclusively in Agerola comune.")...but of course, this is Napoli: the pizza place is small, unassuming, and there were four guys sitting around tables covered with plastic tablecloths (meant for guests), doing nothing/playing on the phone, as we were just standing there, trying to place an order for five minutes! Once they got up though, it was all done within minutes, and when we tried to check if they got our order right (nobody spoke English, and nobody seemed to listen anyways), we got yelled at! We ordered three pizzas (they are rather small), and watched them make it (all by hand, and into two of them they put in the base and then folded them in half, made a little hole on top, and then put the toppings on), and they were all simply GLORIOUS! (And they got the order right, of course.)

Late in the day, we rode up Vesuvio, as high as was possible (you have to hike to the top, and that is closed this late plus you have to pay), and the air was finally fresh and clean, and there was black volcanic rock (we're taking a little chunk home!), and lovely views of the sunset above the huge, now seemingly quiet port city below.

Napoli is an intense city, polluted, loud, dynamic, crumbling, and always living on the edge of extinction (that volcano could erupt anytime, but the people refuse to leave). Call us weird, but Stina absolutely loved it, and Kyle too concluded that it was a beautiful chaotic mess, pretty in its own special southern-Italian way - but that it also soon starts to drive you crazy, so it was definitely time to go.

We rode off into the lush mountains ahead, and after making it through the huge dirty outskirts and two long tunnels, we arrived into touristy Sorrento, the beginning of the 50km-long Amalfi coast - and then the landscape became breathtakingly beautiful, clean and quiet, just like that, half an hour away from the smoggy Napoli! It isn't for people with vertigo, however - the narrow road winds its way along the steep mountains (sometimes supported by nothing but columns), above steep cliffs, and waaaay below there is the clear blue sea with an occasional small beach... It's stunning how the small villages are clinging to the practically vertical mountain slopes, Cinque Terre pales in comparison!

We rode into and through the cute tiny (and expensive) Positano, the views of which made us smile...and a bit dizzy, too, it's practically a vertical town!

We had an hour to go to get to the camp in the mountains - but the road was closed due to an avalanche (or something, didn't really understand the policeman), so we had to turn around and backtrack (back to tunnels, and to smog and trash on the other side), and then over a mountain, and when we finally set up our camp, it started to rain... in 24 hours, we went from dirty, urban and hot to clean, Alpine and cold!

The next day, we checked out the rest of this small steep peninsula: within minutes, we were back at the hot coast, going up and down, taking 180-degree turns on one-lane mountain roads; we stopped in Amalfi, a pretty little town that is actually at the sea level and worth a coffee stop if you find a parking spot (btw, it used to be a big important city, but most of it slid into the sea during a 1343 earthquake), and up to Ravello, which is even smaller, with a cute old square.

We rode off, towards the "big toe" of the Italian boot, briefly stopping only at "the ankle" - Paestum.

On these mountain roads, it's smart to have a bike: there are plenty of local buses, and they completely jam the narrow road, so it takes forever to get anywhere (we managed to pass, and then got a little dizzy from all the zigzagging); when we made it to Salerno, hundreds of semi trucks and rain joined the party (again, we managed to pass and at least escape the smog, if not the rain and ugly agricultural landscape). We stopped in Paestum, where the two ancient Greek temples still stand (the Greek colony was originally settled in the 6th century BC and named Poseidon, after the Greek god of the sea), but it was raining and the tickets were expensive and we could see everything right from the road (in fact, the road goes right through the amphitheater, good job, 18-century road builders!) - so we didn't enter, we just stood there in the rain, and admired the ruined city and the many of the tall still standing temple columns...

Surprisingly, our first sightseeing happened to be a small, clean, pretty, posh and elegant medieval town! And as you read about it, you find out that it was already an important town in ancient Greece (the theater still stands), and then it became the capital of the Byzantine Sicily in the 9th century! Well, we would soon get used to it: Sicily, as southern-Italian as it is now, was a big deal since the beginning of the western civilization, and contains seemingly endless sights and ruins from all eras: ancient Greek and Roman (mostly in the SE), Moorish/Arab (NW), Viking and Norman, French and Spanish... It seems that everything that happened in Europe, also happened in Sicily! So if you come, do take your time exploring all that (and the food, and the beaches)!

...Anyways: the walk around Taormina was short but very nice: a pretty little town on top of the hill, with many medieval houses and arches, and a refreshingly unadorned medieval cathedral (so small and simple compared to all the elaborate renaissance ones in Tuscany), full of stores and cafes and flowers - and we even got to see a mini wedding parade (middle-aged newlyweds were taken through town in a little old fiat, accompanied by champagne and a jolly local band).

Taormina wedding :)

Next, we decided to ride up the famous Mt Etna (3.350m) that dominates the landscape of Eastern Sicily and is the largest European volcano (and a very active one as well, you can often see the smoke coming from the top!). As we went up, we slowly started to leave the traffic, heat and trash behind, and then the surroundings became really pretty and green, with thousands of giant chestnut trees hanging over the windy road (not quite ripe yet, unfortunately, we were told that Sicilian roasted chestnuts are a delicacy!), and then there were yellow blooming bushes and black volcanic rocks, and then there were no more trees and it got cold, with an amazing lava field spilling down the mountain, so recent that only grass is managing to grow on the black rocky sand. Really nice in a weird way, it felt like we were on the moon! At the end of the road, at about 2.000m, there are some recent smaller craters you can walk around - but if you want to go to the top and see the main crater you have to take a cable car to 2.500m and then hike with a guide, which costs 90eur per person (we chose not to do that).

Refreshed from both the views and the cool air, we rode back down and ended our day at nearby Catania, Sicily's second largest city and one that was destroyed several times by Etna's eruptions and earthquakes, the worst of which happened in the 17th century (as were many other towns in the area - that is why most of their old parts are now from the baroque era).

And you can tell you're under the volcano - not only is the mountain visible, the city is also mostly made of lava stone and the sooth covers most of the buildings. Catania's downtown boulevards are spacious, elegant, and packed with people and stores; most of the old town was built by a baroque master Vaccarini, including the lively main piazza which has a Unesco-protected cathedral and Fontana dell'Elefante (a fountain with a black-lava sculpture of a smiling elephant, the symbol of the city), where, when we were there on Saturday night, many people, including street musicians, the cool kids and wedding parties, were hanging out.

We rode on, into SE Sicily, to check out some more of those baroque towns and also (a surprising combination!) to see some ancient Greek ruins, remnants from their once great colony. After a while, we started to get all these baroque towns confused, they are all pretty with their old centers, full of impressive and lovely honey-hued architecture:

Siracusa (Syracuse) is pretty, and it has apparently been pretty for thousands of years - the Greeks settled it almost 3000 years ago, many great historical figures like Plato, Archimedes and Aeschylus lived there, Cicero called it the most beautiful city of the ancient world, and St Paul decided to come here to evangelize the population. The baroque and ancient-Greek combination is plainly visible on the beautiful Ortygia, the Greek temple which was turned into a church and then cathedral - the baroque facade cannot really hide the shape or the many columns of the Temple of Athena beneath!

And then Stina really enjoyed her nerdy self at the nearby archeological park, where (besides the Ear of Dionysius, i.e. ear-shaped quarry, a Roman Amphitheatre, and a giant sacrificial altar where 450 oxen could be killed at the same time), you can visit Teatro Greco: the Greek Theater was completely hewn out of the rock in the 5th century BC, and is still overlooking the city today; more importantly though, it saw the last tragedies of Aeschylus, the ancient "father of tragedy" (who lived in Siracusa for a while and actually died on Sicily as well), and some of his work was first performed at this very theater! It is just amazing how much world-level history took place on this island (and btw, we also find it interesting that you can find so many important ancient Greek ruins outside of Greece, especially in Turkey and Sicily).

We visited Noto, another fairly big and pretty baroque town on top a hill;

and then Modica, yet another pretty baroque town on top of a hill, which is also famous for its chocolate (a legacy of the Spanish overlords of this formerly important town - they got the cocoa from the Aztecs in their South American colonies). We bought some at the most famous place, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, and the chocolate was delicious, not too sweet, and mildly flavored (with either orange, tangerine, salt, or vanilla... We also bought some cannoli, of course - the cannoli in Sicily are so good!!!);

finally, we stopped in Ragusa, which has a tiny old town, but as you go higher, everything around you is from the 19th, then 20th century, and then it's all just ugly, until you're out in the open again.

It's also much cleaner and quieter down here (we started seeing occasional stone-house farms, and even spotted a donkey!), and in short, we left overwhelmed with impressions, exhausted and hot but happy, and liking Sicily much more than when we first landed. Central and south Sicily is next - but first, it's time for a break, there is still so much to see, we need to sleep, do yoga, sit on a beach...and not see anything impressive for two days!

We moved on, to explore Sicily's southern and then western coast, but first we went inland, to visit yet another awesome sight: Villa Romana del Casale.

Not for the villa itself, though it's vast and was probably owned by a very high-ranking Roman aristocrat (nobody knows for sure, and it was abandoned and forgotten after 11th century) - but for its mosaics, which date from early 4th century AD, and cover 3,500 sq. meters of the villa's floor. And not only are they the world's largest and richest collection of Roman mosaics, they are also "unique because of their narrative style, range of subject matter, and variety of color".

It was awesome to walk around and admire the beautiful, well preserved mosaics, especially the story-telling giant ones that depicted hunting, gathering and shipping of wild animals from Africa, the Sicilian scenes from Homer (Odysseus, the Greek hero of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, was a serious traveler and of course also went to Sicily, and the mosaic depicts how he tricked one of the cyclops - so yes, these one-eyed giants apparently live in Sicily, but we never saw one!), then there are the ten maidens that look like they're wearing bikinis but are actually gymnasts competing and being awarded, and on and on... Unbelievably beautiful, we were really glad we listened to our friend Tina and went!

It was also nice to finally ride through the country for a little bit, past the rolling hills and fields, olive trees and cactuses, with those rare but lovely rustic farms scattered around, all of them abandoned and falling apart (maybe because a hundred years ago, over a million of poor farmers and miners emigrated to USA? Wish the ones who stayed behind would have taken over these pretty houses instead of building the ugly new ones!)... but soon we were back in the civilization and on the coast, in Agrigento, because it was time to see one of the most outstanding ancient Greek sights - Valle dei Templi.

Valley of the Temples is actually not a valley - the seven ruins stand on a ridge of a hill, greeting you, plainly visible and glorious, as you drive into the city of Agrigento which sits on an even higher hill behind (or, as in our case, as you ride to a nearby camp). No matter whether you're more into history (Stina) or sculpture (Kyle), it's fun to walk around the temples: there are all those imposing ancient buildings (it becomes clear to you why they say that this was once, long ago, a truly magnificent city of Magna Grecia), and mighty pillars made of tiny brick, big and small ruins scattered around and mixed with cactuses, fig trees, and ancient olive trees; there are simple ancient lodgings carved into the rocks on the sides (that were later turned into Christian catacombs; in fact - and of course -, all the temples were later turned into churches), and one temple even has red walls, from the time when Carthaginians came in 3rd century BC and burned everything down during the first Punic war... and then there is the weird aesthetics of how this grand ancient site is standing above the simple countryside and below the ugly modern Agrigento. Valle dei Templi was definitely yet another worthy stop, Sicily never seizes to amaze us!

We were now on the western, quieter side of the island, which means there are also less sights to visit, so we decided to leave the coast and the main roads, and really go inland for a few hours...and it was really nice, the views were glorious, just what we'd imagined and failed to see until now: rolling hills, little old farms, sheep and horses, and then the main prize, somewhere way out there: we heard little bells in the distance, and then a goat herd, with an old shepherd and three big dogs, slowly crossed the road, with one goat lagging behind - because she was giving birth (we actually saw the little head and front legs already, but then the mother ran away, crying in pain, and hid into the bushes).

As we were, content and tired, returning to the highway, we rode past another beautiful and well-preserved Greek temple, but barely even stopped for a quick picture - Sicily does spoil you with all its sights!

We stopped in Trapani to check out the downtown (it's nice, but nothing mind-blowing - and the reason why its big suburbs are so ugly is apparently because of years of the mafia's unchecked construction), punched our tired selves in the face with an espresso, and continued on towards Erice... And again, the ride was a joy, western Sicily is beautiful!

The windy country road took us up into the mountains, to the views of the coast and Trapani below, through forests and hills and past donkeys, and then we landed in Erice:

The small, pretty stone town, perched on top of the hill, doesn't really show its notorious ancient history anymore (it was a center for the cult of Venus - prostitutes lived in the temple, where rituals of sacred prostitution were performed) - but it's a lovely place, with old narrow streets in fifty shades of grey stone, and a beautiful castle (built upon the above mentioned Venus temple) balancing on vertical cliffs.

As we rode down, the nature (around the usual ugly dirty contemporary stuff) became breathtaking: the late-afternoon sun was setting ablaze everything in sight: the parched hills and mighty trees, sharp cliffs and high mountains, the rugged coast, vast meadows and the choppy sea... It turned out that our camp was situated right in the middle of all this, and the famous San Vito Lo Capo beach was just around the corner - so, as we drank our beer, listened to the waves and watched the sunset on the beach, we decided to stay another day and enjoy the last summer day in this pristine corner - before moving on to the lively city of Palermo, where apparently, we will not be hot anymore, the fall is coming to Sicily as well!

Sunset on the beach, in the middle of nowhere in western Sicily…

After enjoying a perfect summer day on the coast in SW Sicily, the cold front (that had already ended the warm fall in the rest of Europe) finally reached us as well - in our case, that meant a pleasantly cool day and very strong winds. As we were leaving our camp, we saw that "our beach", already beautiful, had turned into a sight to behold: where we had relaxed and swum just a day ago, there was a roaring, waving, foaming sea, hitting the rugged cliffs so strongly that it was creating colossal ever-changing geysers and foaming whirlwinds, making us wet even though we were standing way above and far away... It was majestic, just beautiful, like a natural art performance - we could stand there and watch it for hours, and many other people felt the same way, we all came to see the spectacle up close and stayed a long while... Thanks for the show, Mother Nature and Poseidon!

Poseidon is pissed today!

Finally, we looked away, zipped up our jackets, took off, and "surfed" our way into Palermo.

Entering Sicily's capital was a little similar to Napoli (trash, colorful blocks of flats, traffic... the usual Southern-Italian setting), but prettier and somewhat cleaner; for the time being, that was all we saw - it was late afternoon, but we found out that one sight is still open, and so we dropped everything and rushed to see the Capuchin catacombs (Catacombe dei Cappuccini).

For 3eur, the Capuchin friars will let you down into their catacombs, where thousands of mummified Palermitans, who died between the 17th and 20th centuries, line the walls (some hanging, some lying, some even sitting). It all started simple, when in the 16th century, the monks were out of room at their cemetery, and so they dug out crypts and started to mummify and entomb their deceased members. But soon, others wanted to be buried this way too, it even became a status symbol - and so, provided they had the money, they were excepted (btw, the families were able to visit and hold their hands and just hang out with their dead - but if the family ran out of money, the body was thrown out! And although the last body, a little girl, was put to rest there in 1920, this harsh attitude hasn't changed much - sex, status etc, are still distinguished, and men and women are of course separated, with women who died virgins hanging in an extra special corner).

What can we say? It was weird, and felt rude, to walk past all these dead people, some more preserved than others (many are just skeletons), some in glass coffins, some "looking at you" lying on a shelf or hanging off the wall on a hook, everybody wearing their best outfits (suits for doctors, pretty lacy dresses with bonnets for little girls etc., all faded but interesting, like a historic fashion show!); it's not really scary, it's peaceful - but it just all looks like some sort of a Victorian horror scene! Stina thought it was bizarre, and liked the outfits and haircuts (there is even a 19th century ambassador to the USA in there, with a majestic moustache), and Kyle mostly thought it was creepy. We did take a few pictures even though it wasn't allowed - I mean, the monks have been and still are happily showing the mummies for money, and even sell morbid postcards with photos of their dead on them, so why wouldn't we also share this weird experience with you?

Walking back into downtown was a much more pleasant experience: the old fancy streets are lovely, packed with people (and since it was Saturday afternoon, there were wedding parties, with confetti and bridesmaids in pretty dresses everywhere), street musicians, chestnut stalls (Finally! Our friend Tina told us about their ash-grey, salty maroons, roasted and sold in the streets, and the season has finally started - and we have to confirm, they are delicious, plus our seller was super nice and fun and fed us two fistfulls extra!), cafes and stores and restaurants with full patios, where people enjoy their local wine and delicious-looking snacks and dinners, and then we saw the cathedral and it was so beautiful that we did something we never do - sat down and ordered an overpriced cappuccino and espresso to relax and enjoy the view...

It was then finally time to go out to dinner, and we had their typical combo of anchovies with sweet sauce and raisins - an acquired taste, if you ask us, but interesting, and the stuffed squid in pea sauce was really good, and the prawns were absolutely amazing! A good bottle of wine later, at midnight, we were returning to our room, and the city was still not only alive, but absolutely packed (not sure if all those dressed-up people have anywhere to go now that clubs are not open, but everybody was having a good time in the streets, and it was a lovely sight)!

The next two days, too, were all about sights, walks, relaxation, and food:

We went to check out Martorana, the 12th-century church built by King Roger's Syrian minister George of Antioch, and its charming small pink-domed neighbor Chiesa di San Cataldo - it was Sunday so they had a mass (i.e. entering was for free but we couldn't go to the front), but it was amazing to see the mixed influences from all those time periods, so typical for this whole island: Martorana was initially meant to be a mosque, is named after a Benedictine nun, the liturgy and mosaics inside are Byzantine (and there is a portrait of the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, but we never got to see that), there is an Albanian coat of arms above the entrance (Martorana now belongs to Albanians of Sicily), and the architecture is a beautiful mix of Norman and Arab!

And then we were at Palermo's main sight, Capella Palatina: after a long line to the tickets, we made it into the long line at the entrance; and then, after they measured our temperature, x-rayed us, and even walked us through a cabin that sprayed disinfectant on us - we were in the building! There is plenty to see in the fortress palace of Palazzo dei Normani (the old parliament, the royal apartments, and a small exhibition with a few jewels like the statue of Atlas, a part of the famous Farese collection that we had not able to see in Napoli, and then the helmets, worn by ancient Greek warriors 2,500 ago, which were found at the bottom of the sea and still had seashells attached to them) - but Capella Palatina is what we came for, and it was definitely worth the trouble:

Designed by Roger II in 1130, the royal chapel, which is a mix of Byzantine, Norman and Arab (Fatimid - a dynasty which ruled in parts of northern Africa, Egypt, and Syria from 909 to 1171; after the fall of the Byzantine empire, the African Moors invaded Sicily and ruled it for a while; later, king Roger was quite tolerant towards Sicilian Muslims) seems to have every inch inlaid with precious marble and exquisite mosaics, which are both expensive (colored glass onto which gold leaf has been applied) and incredibly sophisticated, and the ceiling is a masterpiece of honeycomb carving... All that fancy data aside, the experience is simply amazing - you just sit there, with your mouth open, staring at all this beautiful ancient wealth, overwhelmed with lavish simmering elegance surrounding you, and feeling a little bit, how to explain, like your mind is taking a bath in glorious golden art…

We walked through some more lively downtown streets, past the huge and beautiful Fontana Pretoria, crammed with sculptures of naked nymphs (the 16th-century Palermians were embarrassed about that and called it the Fountain of Shame), and then it started to rain - but it didn't matter, because for once we actually had a room, and we gladly took an afternoon nap, staying warm and dry; and then we even went shopping, and had another lovely dinner, it's good to feel civilized sometimes!

Our last day was spent preparing for the road (and somehow managing to pack Stina's new clothes) and walking around farmers' markets, where we had both lunch and dinner: the markets (Il Capo, La Vucciria, and Mercato di Ballaro) are rather small, but the food in the surrounding osterias is amazing - you don't know what good pasta is until you have tried theirs! The spaghetti with clams and shrimp were a dream, and the typical spaghetti con sarde (sardines) or a la norma (meatless, with eggplants) were even better!!!

We loved Palermo! It has everything: it's a bit dirty and shabby, yet beautiful and colorful, alive and authentic, it's simple yet sophisticated, with food to die for and with historical sights that rival any of Europe's famous capitals... It's a bit out of the way, but we just might return someday!

And then it was time to leave, head east along the northern coast, the last leg before returning to the mainland - we have no doubt this too will be interesting, Sicily rocks!

We rode east, and the northern coastal landscape was the usual mixture of ugly, industrial, and polluted - and of the stunning views of the turquoise water on the left, and green hills and tall mountains on the right of the road. Soon, we spotted our destination, Cefalu in the distance, and had to stop for a picture: it is a gorgeous little medieval town, as photogenic as Istrian Rovinj, with sandy beaches in the front and with the steep Rocca (Rock) towering in the back.

We got ourselves a room (which are cheaper now, this popular holiday spot is not packed with people anymore), and went for a walk: the narrow streets are cute and full of little stores, cafes and pastry shops, the waves are lapping at the beach and at the feet of the houses on the edge of the old town (in one of which we had our room!), and the main square with the lovely cathedral and the Rock behind it is the perfect spot for a coffee... We visited the cathedral, and it was nice, but failed to really impress so shortly after we saw its contemporary, Palermo's incredible Capella Palatina: still, the 12th-century Byzantine mosaic of Christ above the altar is beautiful, and so is the exhibition of the cathedral's treasures (especially the 12th century Icona, and the pretty little cross which was a gift to the church by Roger II himself).

While Cefalu is nice, we would normally be done with it in less than a day - but we stayed for three nights, because it was Kyle's time to have fun: he decided to ride the TET (while Stina would do yoga, fitness, laundry, organize notes, and just enjoy the view of the cliffs, sea, and islands in the distance - right from her window!). Here's what he has to say about his experience:

"The TET (known as the Trans Euro Trail) is an off road trail that goes all around Europe. I wasn't planning on riding it in Sicily and to be honest, I forgot that it was down here, but then I saw someone post about it and the moto gears in my head started to turn. I found a new tire in Palermo and that put everything into motion for me. The trail is not an easy ride by any means but you get to experience Sicily in a completely different way, you are in the wilderness. The views are amazing, the landscape changes dramatically, from mountain ranges to farm lands to old-growth forests. There are cows and goats roaming the trail, farmers that wave at you, and small villages that look like they are stuck back in an older, simpler time. It took me two long days to ride it, the first day was 9hr of trail, I finished after sunset and had to ride the road home (1.5hr) in the dark. Luckily the second day was a bit easier but still just as fun. It was a great ride!"

It was a long day, full of wonderful views :)

Day two of riding the TET

TET Sicily

We moved on, and it was a sunny, warm ride east along the coast at first, and then we went inland, up into the mountains; the road was fun but messed up, so it was not only winding left and right, but also up and down- it was a good ride, with lovely views, we had smiles on our faces for hours…

But this is Sicily, you never know where your plans will go down the drain for no apparent reason: we planned our day around visiting our last sight, the Norman castle of Sparlinga - but it was closed, even though the website said it was open (guess siesta overrules all the other rules - no one was answering the phone either, everything was closed, and the village's streets were empty).

We walked around a little, and it is an impressive castle, growing out of the ridge of a steep sandstone rock which has mysterious holes on sides (which we'd read were carved and populated by local people since antiquity; we'd also read that there was plenty to see in the ancient castle, and that it belonged to Norman Count Roger in 11th century, and that it protected its Angevin French rulers during the Sicilian Vespers - the 12th century bloody uprising, and lots of other stuff... so interesting, Stina was not happy about not being able to enter!)

The ride to the east coast was lovely, the Sicilian countryside is awesome - pretty hills and fields, old villages and farms, old towns and villas... and then the mighty Mount Etna in the background, and then we went through little old towns that grew at the foot of the volcano and were built out of black volcanic rock…

And then we were back in Taormina, at the camp where we spent the first night! So that was it, time to leave the glorious Sicily! Which was just as well, the fall is coming, time to move on - and besides, we were exhausted from all the sights: at the end, we didn't even look twice as we went by a lovely 14th century country church, or were exposed to another breathtaking view of the mountains!

We rode to Messina, and went grocery shopping before the ferry, and got to experience the craziness of this island for one last time: the giant traffic jam in front of the store was absolutely insane, and for no apparent reason! One endless lane was blocked because someone was waiting to get into the emptying parking spot, another lane was blocked because some guy was trying to parallel park (and there was clearly no way he could do that), and we don't even know what the issue was elsewhere! Nobody was mad, they're all used to this and take endless time for things that need done quickly in general (and they are crazy, scary drivers, it's bad - you never know when there is going to be a car just standing, or even reversing, on a highway!) - it's both infuriating and funny, and we were just glad we were on bikes, or we might still be getting out of that parking lot today!

We absolutely loved Sicily (our favorites were Palermo and riding through the countryside, especially going up Mount Etna and the TET trail): we meant to stay for five days, and ended up leaving after two weeks - it was exhausting and trashy and infuriating, but colorful, beautiful, and delicious - a true adventure!

Have you ever wondered what the foot of the Italian boot is like? Stina has, and it was finally time to find out!

However, it didn't start all that promising - the whole ride along "the sole", from toes to heel, was not thrilling at all: sure, the road was taking us along the endless sandy pretty beaches, especially nice because they were so simple and remote, with hardly any tourists, but the whole area is just boring and unattractive. Still, we stopped for lunch at the "bunion", and once we stopped looking back and stepped over all the garbage, we had a beautiful beach all to ourselves. We rode west to east for two days, and the landscape - apart from an occasional nice view (like a herd of sheep quietly grazing around an old dissolving fortress) went from "meh" to industrial agricultural to shockingly turbo-industrial.

And then we went up a bit, to the "ankle of the foot", and landed in Matera - Kyle had seen the pictures of the old town and was excited to come here, but it exceeded his expectations by far; actually, we were blown away by its beauty!

Simply put, Matera is famous for its "sassi", the holes which poor peasants carved out into the twin ravines that slice the town in half, and inhabited them for many centuries (until the government moved them out in the 1950s - decades after, when it became Unesco protected and the location of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Matera came back to life through tourism); many of those simple grottoes were later extended and enlarged by the more prosperous citizens, and for a while, Matera was doing great and was ashamed of its poorer dwellers (for example, all the houses of the main square are turned away from the sassi and are trying to hide them for the view); the combination of simple sassi and extravagantly carved palaces and churches makes the town look incredibly beautiful, and really interesting - an MC Esher's drawing comes to mind, or a giant delicate sculpture, with all those gorgeous white buildings carved right out of the mountain. It's a joy to just walk around (and up and down) the old narrow streets, and it's lovely to see how tourism and renovations didn't spoil it at all (all the stores, studios, cafes and good restaurants that now inhabit the sassi manage to keep it tasteful), and then there is the great view from the town onto the other side of the gorge, where there are steep trails that lead to yet more simple sassi, and then there is the lively, surprisingly wide and pretty main square, and you can also visit an authentic sassi or two (we did, and it seems they had a nice simple life in those holes, the places were small and shared with their cattle, but they were warm and dry, and they had an ingenious sewage and water system as well)... To sum up: we loved Matera, go see it if you can, it's a beautiful half historic half sculpture-park experience!

P.S. When we were trying to pay to enter a sassi, we found out that either our last camp or the toll road clerk gave us a fake 10eur note! Oh, Italy…

Matera at sunset

We moved south, to explore "the high heel", and the ride down was not as apocalyptical-looking as before, but it was still not pretty and rather boring, including our supposedly awesome beach camp; we spent a day riding around, and have nothing amazing to report: we went to Santa Maria di Leuca at the bottom, and its dividing line between Adriatic and Ionian seas, and that was boring;

After a fun ride along the steep rocky - now Adriatic! - coast, we stopped in Otranto, a formerly important port, to see the "audacious mosaic" (an enthusiastic medieval monk covered with it the whole nave of the cathedral, and it's fun - a little naïve compared to the exquisite Roman mosaics, and a rather bizarre mixture of classics, religion and superstition, there are the tree of life and heaven and hell, and Adam and Eve and a snake, and also monkeys, monsters, the goddess Diana, and Alexander the Great) and where Kyle finally tried the local ice cream sandwich (i.e. scoops of gelato stuffed into a brioche - ok, but too "bready");

We also quickly stopped in Lecce, where we had a laugh looking at the splendid "baroque-on-steroids" façade of Basilica di Santa Croce;

Basilica di Santa Croce in Lecce

And then the rains began, and then it became clear that they will not go away for a long time, but cover and cool off the whole of Italy instead - it was time to pack up, and go north, towards home...

As we rode up, we started seeing white towns on top of small surrounding hills, and though it was grey and rainy, they looked really cute, so we decided to stop at one, Ostuni... and it was a beauty! Why is this not more famous?! So pretty, all calm and white, with lovely details everywhere you looked, every narrow street and little square was a pleasure to go through!

And then we went to check out our last sight, Arbelobello. It's just a little touristy town, with nothing to see - except of course for the hundreds of fun and weird trullis everywhere!

Trullis are little cone-shaped dwellings, made from limestone blocks collected nearby, and constructed without any mortar - they look great, but were apparently simply a medieval way to dodge taxes (when the tax collector came, they dismantled their houses, and when he left, they put them together again!). They are everywhere around and in town, and while Stina was happy to go for a walk in the rain once, the sculptor Moto Migrant Kyle kept exploring and taking pictures, he "loved the stunning little hobbit houses, each one with a different symbol on the peaked stone roof".

We were also happy to have a room, it was cold and miserable out - and since a friend owed us one, we even went out to dinner that night, to a Michelin-plate restaurant, and tried the local pasta, lamb, seafood and wine!

Stina really wanted to see the bottom of Italy, and while she was disappointed because she was expecting to experience a pristine, rural, slow and green Southern Italy, we both agree: Arbelobello, Ostuni, and especially Matera were incredible, we're glad we took the time to explore "the foot"!

We had three more days before the cold front and rains would cover the whole Italy, so we decided to use the time to explore the upper Apulia - "the spur" of the Italian boot - and then for the long ride home... And unlike the bottom of the foot, the ride around the spur turned out to be a lovely experience!

The two stops we made on the way up were already gorgeous: Monopoli is a pretty little old town by the Adriatic, and Polignana a Mare, built right on top of the cliffs that are severely eaten away by the raging sea, is even nicer.

We went through a lovely countryside, past salt fields, swamps, old farms and fellow travelers on bicycles, and soon we could see Gargano, the hilly plateau of the spur; we went up to check out Monte Sant'Angelo, the town up at 800m, because "it is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the archangel Michael and has been an important pilgrimage site since the early Middle Ages" (according to the legend, around the year 490 the Archangel Michael appeared several times to the Bishop of Sipontum near a cave in the mountains, instructing that the cave be dedicated to Christian worship).

Going up, the previously fresh and windy, but sunny day turned into something similar to Nova Scotia, we were absolutely frozen and teary-eyed up there! Sant'Angelo is a pretty little medieval town, and the Unesco-protected Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo is pretty too - but it all failed to really impress: Stina was hoping to see an ancient pilgrimage place, old and interesting and alive, but it was just an empty, mildly touristy, cold and grey little town.

We wanted to camp close by, but after we zig-zagged back down, we weren't able to find a place - most camps are closed for the year now. It was getting late, but we had to ride on, to a bigger place where things might still be open - and it was a beautiful ride, right through the Gargano National Park: the super twisty road took us through hills, covered with forests with huge trees, with glorious views over the sun-setting Adriatic... We ended our day (slightly hypothermic) in a decent camp in Vieste.

The next morning, we decided to backtrack a little, since we hardly had the time to enjoy last evening's views, and spent the rest of the day just enjoying the area's beautiful coast, winding roads, green hills, and small cute towns;

We checked out the quaint Vieste, which was all about expecting the Giro coming through the next day (we'd like to stay and cheer - but the rains were coming, we had to move on); walked through tiny Peschici, pretty as a picture with its medieval ruins and amazing views of the Adriatic (where we were able to see the Croatian islands in the distance: Palagruza, Vis, and even Lastovo), etc. - we could spent weeks around here, but only had one more warm day ahead of us…

So we had to decide: do we use the sunny day for a long ride home - or do we spend it on seeing the two things we still really wanted to check out, and then ride home freezing and wet? ...Well, of course we decided for the latter: Stina wanted to go to Assisi, and Kyle wanted to check out San Marino, logic be damned!

We got cold soon enough: Assisi is inland, high up in the mountains (only 80km from Rome!), and that ride hurt!

Assisi, of course, is a town where St Francis (1182-1227) was born, lived and preached. Born into a wealthy family, he felt the calling as a young man, and renounced his former life; "he walked the countryside, wearing simple robes and preaching the virtues of poverty and equal respect for popes and lepers alike. He had a special affinity with animals and it's said that he once preached to a flock of birds who stayed completely still until he said they could fly off. Many people were attracted to Francis' lifestyle and within a few years, he developed the first order of Frati Minori (Friars Minor) that, after his death, became known as the Franciscans."

The town of Assisi is pretty, old and well-off, and full of religious history: we walked the neat old streets, past the churches, like the one where St Francis and St Clare (his contemporary, she founded the order of Poor Clares) were both baptized, but we only entered the 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco - and were surprised that it was for free, quick and easy, especially since the city was packed because that afternoon, the beatification of Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died at 15 and was on the way to become the first millennial saint (he has already been dubbed as "the patron saint of the internet") was going to take place in front of the basilica!

The frescoes (attributed to Giotto) in the upper church of the basilica were nice in their simplicity, but looked much more contemporary than we expected (like a collage, with awesome wall-paper patterns), and walking around St Francis' simple round crypt, situated below the lower church, was touching, lots of people kneeled and hugged the walls in prayer, who knows what they were asking or thankful for…

The steep walk around town made us tired, but we had to move on, Kyle needed to put a "check!" on another country - so we rode on, skipping many interesting-looking places we saw from the road, and then, as we were on some hilly side roads, the rains came, and we were cold but surrounded by bright rainbows and little towns clustered on top of every hill - and on one of these hills, just 10km from the sea, sits a totally separate little country, San Marino:

San Marino is supposed to be rich, but as you drive through its villages and countryside (the size of the country is 61 square km, which is still more than the Vatican or Monaco) up to the "capital", you cannot really tell, the houses look average and the roads are no less beat up than elsewhere; on top, you go for a short walk along a few nice old streets, past souvenir, perfume and weapon stores (if you want a machete or a big bow, you're at the right place!), admiring the views of the surrounding hills - and that's it, you're done! So we bought the stickers for our bikes and headed back down, to the nearby Rimini, to spend a day in a hotel, staying warm while waiting for the heavy rains to pass (and work out, feast on some more of that awesome food, and post about Southern Italy), and then head home…

Well, we definitely paid the price for our stupid decision of using the last warm day for sightseeing! The six-hour ride was bitter cold, rainy at times, and involved both of us almost getting hurt: the Patagonia-level strong gusts of wind (which kept changing direction, and that was not a fun new experience) almost blew Stina off the road once, and Kyle got a flat tire on the highway (in construction zone of course, with no shoulders to stop!), he was going sideways for a bit at a good speed towards the cement barrier before he thankfully and luckily "brought it home".

We then stopped at the last gas station to catch a break, and had our last incredible espressi, with the now snowy Dolomites in the distance, said goodbye to Italy and then crossed into homeland of Slovenia; after two more hours of riding in 12-degree weather (and really slowing down when it got dark, because Kyle's tire was starting to act up again), we landed in mom's kitchen, where she cured our hypothermia with a hot soup…

And that was it! After almost six weeks of riding through the Dolomites, down the west coast, around Sicily and back up the east coast, we have seen so much, but feel like there is still so much left! We had been to the top three before (Venice, Rome, Florence), but there is still NW, and Sardinia, and the hills and mountains in the middle and south, and never mind the many places we had passed on this trip - we feel like we could travel around Italy for months, so much to see, so much beauty, culture, history, and incredible cuisine! Grazie, Italia, ci ritorneremo di sicuro!

Croatia (Dalmatia) 2020

This report on our ride around Croatian coast is coming from Kyle who, unlike Stina, didn’t grow up going to Croatia every summer and is a little more objective:

This strange time during Covid19 is just bizarre, especially for those of us who are used to traveling. And at some point we needed to leave Slovenia, not just for a little ride but for a good ride to escape the Covid19 reality. For us (and many others), one of the best places to go for a summer vacation is the Croatian Coast (Istria and Dalmatia). We’ve been there plenty of times but there is always more to explore, islands to visit, and then there is that mind-blowingly beautiful Adriatic Sea.

We had a few ticks for that bucket list, and we started with the ride south from Rijeka, going down the coast towards the island of Rab. I haven’t been to this part of Croatia yet so I was pretty excited, and with the current Covid19 pandemic, the beautiful coastal road was empty. So empty that we had the road to ourselves, and smiles from ear to ear under those helmets as we twisted our way down the warm Adriatic coast. The first stop was the little town of Senj and we found a cheap room, promptly parked our bikes and went for a swim. This is essential, not only to cool off after a hot day of riding but it just reminds you that you’re now on vacation in Dalmatia :)

I’ve been looking at the map of Croatia for years now and all those islands just look like fun places to explore, and when did you ever go to an island and not like it, right? So our first island was Rab and a short ferry ride (motos go to the front of the line!) got us there and we were not disappointed. Rab had a few places that I wanted to see and surprisingly, the first stop was an old concentration camp and a spomenik (i.e. a sculptural sort of art work, usually made in the 60s and 70s during Yugoslavia to commemorate a battle or important event from WWII). I bet you didn’t know that there was a concentration camp there and neither did we, so it was interesting to see and read about (more info with the picture), plus the mosaic spomenik was really cool.

By lunch time it’s getting to be hot, like the kind of hot that’s not fun in riding boots, black pants and a jacket, so we needed one of those classic little Adriatic beaches. I like these places, lots of hidden little rocky coves with crystal clear water and usually plenty of pine trees to keep those gamma rays from burning you. Perfect spot to swim and eat, take a break and just gaze over the smooth sea. We rode around a bit more and stopped at one of the well known beaches, it’s a nice bay with sand and 200 umbrellas full of holiday goers. We took a picture of it and left, nothing says vacation hell to us like a beach full of people and paying for shade.

The little old Venetian town of Rab was a perfect way to end the day, we were exhausted but it only takes 15min to walk around and we went to a recommended seafood restaurant right on the promenade and Stina ate squid till she was ready to burst. Usually when we travel we tend to only eat at a restaurant once a month or less, seems like any time we are in Dalmatia it’s three times a week but one can not resist.

Then on the way to Split we stopped in Kaštel to see the old town and a mini island monastery which was as Stina said 'old school Dalmatia'.

Split is the second-largest city of Croatia and the largest city of the region of Dalmatia, with about 250,000 people living in its urban area. I was last here in 2007, that's thirteen years ago! The old town is a beauty, so much to see (the most famous site is Diocletian's Palace, an ancient palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD, which today forms about half the old town), and it didn't have many tourists; but walking around in moto gear is not fun in the boiling sun so we just hit up the highlights and decided that we might stop for a night on the way home.

Then came the ride down the coastal road to the Makarska Riviera, giant mountains just to our left and the sea with the island of Brač off to our right. The road was pretty empty after Split, we rode through old towns like Omiš and let our minds wander a bit when looking out at the clear blue sea... but not too much, as the road looks like it falls off a cliff and into the sea at times. We landed in Makarska late in the day so it's time to check out the town and another old Spomenik...

We meant to leave Makarska right away, but the temptation was too great to not go up into the imposing mountains above. Rising high out of the sea is Biokovo Natural Park, and in it, 32km of single lane twisty road to the top at Sveti Jure. Once you get past the new "Skywalk", the tourists are gone, and then we rode our way up the crazy road to the top. From the summit you can see four or five islands to the south in the hazy Adriatic Sea, all the mountains of the park, and the hills of Bosnia to your north. Simply stunning - and on the way down we stopped at the touristy Skywalk, and had to admit that it was cool too!

Riding south was another fun day - and full of spomeniks; we landed at a tiny camp right on the beach where the owner Mladen asked us if we wanted dinner that evening. Squid and fish that he caught, yes please! Mladen liked us, and promptly gave us a bottle of his home made white wine (and then tomatoes from his garden), good old Dalmatian hospitality.

Having met so many bikers in the last couple weeks and hearing about how empty Dubrovnik was, we decided to check it out again. The medieval walled city (formerly a Venetian republic and then a wealthy independent state known as Ragusa) has become a major destination in the last decade.

Over-run by cruise ships, tourists and Game of Thrones fans, this small place has equaled the insanity of Venice for the last few years. Super high prices and packed with people is usually what we avoid, but as we found out, it was pretty empty! I have to admit, this traveling EU during Corona has its benefits! But one day was it for us, we headed a little further south to see the tiny town of Cavtat and then turned around to start heading home.

Slowly, very slowly or as the saying in Dalmatia goes "Polako, polako" as we rode towards our first island, Korčula.

We liked it right away and on the second day we found a mini camp that would be our home for the next week. We have a huge space right above the water with olive trees to keep the sun at bay, our bikes fit down the narrow walkway and the hammock is hanging. In short, we have everything we need, and we learned about an island term called "Fjaka" which translates to: a physiological state of mind with aspirations to do nothing. Zen, or pura vida would work too. For the first time (probably ever) we sat down and enjoyed one place for a week and didn't do much.

We also visited the pretty nearby town of Korčula, which is really a joy to walk through.

We had some recommendations from friends on where to go, but ended up meeting a young local moto couple who over the next few days we ran into any time we left camp. On the road, at a café, at the grocery store, etc., so we finally decided that it was time for a ride with them (after 6 days of not doing much).

We got the full Dalmatian hospitality tour of the island. We met up with other riders, one was a moto priest, one was a café owner, one was a restaurant owner and one made wine and olive oil. We went to the Korcula Moto Klub and all of these riders' places for coffee, food and hanging out. In Stina’s words: “Today, we scored a bike tour around this beautiful island with a local couple, found out where to eat from the local biker-priest, swam a little, got the t-shirts from the local MK, got homemade olive oil from another rider, had a pizza with homemade prosciutto at yet another biker-chef's place, etc. etc. I am in love with Korčula!”

Kyle's report from Hvar:

If you didn't see our last post we took the wrong ferry from Korčula. It was our fault but also a bit chaotic at the Vela Luka ferry port. Two boats leave at the same time, there is no line for either boat, just a giant blob of cars and trucks. One ferry was called Korčula and the other Rijeka so I asked a port worker if we should go to the front and he rushed us through to the Korčula boat. Then before we entered the ferry another guy looked at our tickets and just hurried us onto the ship. Once we got on and sat down I started to think, "how are all these people going to Lastovo, it's a small island?" It was too late, 100+ cars were packed on and we were sailing to Split. So that was it, getting back to Lastovo was a logistical nightmare so we gave up on that idea.

With a half day in Split we went to the Ivan Meštrović gallery, to see some awesome sculptures from one of Croatia's most famous artists. His works are mainly figurative but it's the way he was able to express emotion in bronze, stone and wood that put him at the top of the pedestal. The work was always abstracted in such a way that you really just stop to look at it because it's clearly the style of a master sculptor. One all his own. Meštrović created a large amount of work both in Croatia and the US. The museum features his large scale bronze, stone and wood works plus many smaller bronze sculptures. I will say, wearing a mask in a non air conditioned museum on a super hot day (37°C) isn't fun.

We got married here 11 years ago and even though we were a few weeks early it didn't stop us from enjoying our "pre anniversary" lol. We went back to camp where I spent the summer of 2007 at a sculpture workshop, met up with friends we haven't seen in years and for a few days didn't do much but swim and enjoy the view.

The old stone villages scattered around the hills of the island are like taking a step back in time. Some are being meticulously (and tastefully) renovated while others are just rock skeletons. But the tiny villages are a joy to see, even if you just ride through.

Turns out if you want some adventure there is plenty of gravel and dirt roads all over the island, you can find them winding up in the hills away from the tourists on the coast.

The week on Hvar was well spent, we didn't do a lot but it seemed like every day was full. The bigger towns scattered around the island are mostly built around the Venetian era and still retain that old stone house (kamena kuča) charm. It's nice to just go for a coffee and walk around exploring the little back alleys and see that some parts still haven't changed in 50+ years.

The pretty town of Stari Grad also has not changed, and some of our friends are still around as well!

Kyle's report from Vis and Brač:

The island of Vis was closed to tourism from 1950-1990, and you can imagine what a wonderful effect that has had on this remote Dalmatian island. It's relatively still how it was 50 years ago which is also how it was 100 years ago. Untouched, old, authentic, some crumbling buildings and not many new ones.

We wanted to go to Vis after high season (Aug 15) but a good friend was there, so we decided to go see him. He also told us about the free wild camp on the beach - and since we couldn't find a room for under €80, that was our only choice really.

And since I have this Yugonostalgia problem (which is a bit strange for an American), I wanted to see why Tito hid here from the Nazis and led the resistance from his Vis cave, and then turned the island into a navy/military base.

Arrival was straight forward, btw, I asked three times if the ferry was going to Vis

We met our friend Igor at the free camp outside of Komiža and he introduced us to some friends; we weren't keen on leaving the bikes 200m from camp and it was a lot of walking up and down the cliff, but we also didn't have a choice. The views were stunning though, there were lots of trees for shade and hammocks, plus a bar right under us for beers!

That evening we had a few drinks with Igor at the bar but we were pretty tired (double ferry day) and then he tells us that sometimes the bar plays music. Really loud. Till early in the morning. It was obvious at 1am that the techno disco below us had no end in sight so we drank a bottle of wine in an effort to pass out. It kinda worked, music stopped at 4am. It’s hard to complain when the camp is free but still… This only nightclub on the island is really disturbing the otherwise perfect scenery with its nasty music and stupid light shows.

Still, this is a beautiful place; and there is a natural spring down near the bar that was first used by Romans as it was important to fill up on fresh water. Later the Venetians added some nice relief sculpture that is still there today. I did the dishes in it while some used it as a shower (a very very slow and weak shower)

The next day we went out to explore Komiža, we found Tito's cave (his hidden headquarters during WW2), and went to the famous Stiniva beach. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, trying to recuperate from the lack of sleep the night before.

Komiža is a pretty little old town with pretty old houses - some are functional and many are falling apart, but they are all beautiful; there is even an art deco house that stands out but somehow fits right in.

We then moved on to the famous Stiniva beach, way down below: the view is great, the hike down is long, and the hike up is not fun in sandals. It's a bit touristy and Coke is 4€ but we enjoyed our afternoon swim.

Saturday night seemed better, we left camp at 9:30 for dinner and it was pretty quiet. So we figured there wasn't going to be a party and we could get a little sleep.

Seafood dinner was mind blowing: Once in a while, it just all comes together! You search for the real, old-school Dalmatia, with little success for weeks, and then, just like that, a friend recommends a random place...and there you are: old restaurant, klapa music playing instead of techno shit, decent prices, you can get blitva and sardines, and Stina’s beloved, the squid, which was so good it literally made us teary-eyed!

We tried to get motivated to go see the rest of the island which is hard on night two with 4hrs of sleep, but we did. A short ride (the island is only like 40km wide) over to see the old town of Vis, the abandoned submarine base from the Yugoslavia navy and then to another nice beach. That was all we had in us. Damn that stupid disco, I guess I'm old but I wouldn't pay €80 per night to then sleep all day when you have such a beautiful island to explore.

Luckily Sunday night was pretty calm at camp, and we left Vis the next day well-rested. I would come back for sure - we enjoyed the old-feel of this pristine island and especially of Komiža, but not at the peak of high season, that was just stupid on our part, lol.

Onwards to Brač meant a double ferry day, but it wasn't bad. Damn, we are getting good at catching the right ferry now .

To be honest, we didn't have a lot of expectations for the island, it seems touristy with the "most famous beach in Dalmatia '' and only an hour from Split it's an easy island for tourists. Well we were wrong, Brač is a lovely island with some hidden gems if you look around. We found a nice cheap camp right across the street from the beach in Sutivan (and our tent stood in the shade of a big fig tree, and figs were ripe!), and stayed a few days. We tried to split our time between relaxing and riding/sightseeing but it's a big island.