Italy

Into Italy - Brenner Pass

Left Griese at 8:00 AM. The first 5 km to the Brenner Pass were stiff - very steep. However, from there it was quite an exhilerating ride, descending the next 95 km into Italy. The local highway (I was riding on this), interstate highway, railroad, and River Sill criss-crossed repeatedly. I passed 3 or 4 castles / churches perched on on surrounding hills, but did not stop as I was trying to make time. It will be tough to get to Venice to meet my friends, Elena and Elena, in two days. The wind started to conspire against me in the afternoon, slowing me down quite a bit (even with the steep descent).

It was exceptionally hot (near 40 degrees C) when I stopped at Laive-Lafeva outside Bosen. The heat and the wind had pretty much sapped my strength by this time.

I think I need to be more selective when stopping for a hotel. By stopping earlier yesterday, I was able to comparison shop and find a pretty good room rate (though breakfast was exceptionally light - 2 rolls, meat, cheese, & tea - compared to what I have been finding). The hotel I have tonight is way less cost friendly, but it has a pool! I though I would take a dip earlier this evening. However, no sooner did I get out there than a swarm of geriatric ladies descended on the pool. Apparently, they had arrived on a tour bus just after I pulled in. There must have been 30 of them splashing in the pool, despite the pool being vacant when I first arrived. I decided there was no room for me. I quickly realized there was no room for me, and certainly no one I wanted to impress, so headed back inside and washed my clothes.

We'll see how far I get tomorrow.

A long day of riding today (125km). The wind was kind in the morning. I left the hotel at around 8:30 and made 40 km in the first two hours. At Trento, it got a little tricky navigating to roads that allowed bicycles. Also, there was a climb through a pass there that slowed me down a lot. Going through the pass in question, I went through several tunnels - some over 1 km long. While it was a two lane, divided highway and I have a light on my bicycle, I am always concerned that the traffic will not give me enough space - there is no separate lane for bikes here.

It is really the neatest ride, descending through these valleys and winding from one side to the other. Although, the wind picked up again in the afternoon, slowing my descent again.

At one point today, I left the main road because it was beginning to look like an autobahn again (and, I thought, off limits to bikes). I probably spent an hour winding around and pushing up hills. When I eventually made it back near the highway, I saw loads of bicyclists on it - my earlier assumption had been wrong. So I got back on the road - while the traffic was heavy, I made good progress riding in the median. Also, there weren't so many trucks on this stretch of the road, making what traffic there was seem not so bad. For the next couple of hours, I was passed by numerous bicyclists, including several groups. I wonder if there wasn't some sort of event going on.

By the time I arrived at Campoloriana, I was dead tired and willing to take any sort of place to stay. I stopped at the Alarbo ???. It provided a very nice room - two beds, satellite TV (2 channels in English), and marble stairs between floors. It lacked a pool (gosh, I am getting spoiled) but was much nicer than the room I had last night.

I continue to debate my future. Do I do the JD / MBA, and if so, which one. Columbia represents the easiest path, as I have already been accepted and confirmed in both the business and law schools. Chicago would have to be MBA first and then law - the reverse order of what most people advise. Penn Law seems to get a little less respect than Columbia and Chicago, though I really like the business program. Despite the complaints about Columbia, its location will likely be the deciding factor. Living in a new city like NY (new to me at least), should provide intangible benefits that the other programs cannot.

At dinner tonite, I met an American named Liza. She has been living in Italy for 11 years, running a cycle touring company here for the last 7 years. I also met another guest (Carry) who apparently knows Gary Fisher (the guy whose name is on the bike I am riding). We all talked about cycling in Italy and other stuff. They are going on a club ride tomorrow morning. They asked me to join them, but I begged off due to my commitment to meet Elena & Elena in Venice tomorrow. The waitress (Serena) was some sort of junior Italian kayaking champion at some point in the past. Talk about an interesting group!

Venice

Backed by a favorable wind, biking was good this morning. I was pretty stiff, though, from yesterday's push. In the afternoon, I ran into a stiff headwind that really slowed me down. It also seemed hotter today than recent days past.

I looked at different hotels in Mestre. The first one was 3 stars and turned out to be the cheapest - even more so than some other 2 star places I saw. The hotels in Venice are almost double the price of those here.

I spoke with Elena S. by telephone. Her plans have changed and she won't arrive until tomorrow. A little bit irked at having passed on other opportunities to meet these guys, I contemplated cycling on tomorrow. However, I need a day off after 5 days of cycling and the Alps. So, I will stay on another day or two. Walking in Venice is a fabulous experience. You can lose yourself so easily among the maze of streets and canals. Everything around you is virtually brimming with history. There is nothing like walking in Venice.

Getting to Venice from my hotel in Mestre was a snap. You take the number 2 bus (1,500 lira each way) - it is about 20 minute ride and drops you off at the train station. I ate at the Pizzeria ala l'Aufora recommended by my Lonely planet. The tortellini was average. I also tried the pizza (big appetite tonite) and have concluded that I will try somewhere else next time. Lonely planet seems to have missed on this recommendation. Note to self, Coke's are super expensive here - about 4 times more expensive than any other drink I could have ordered. Someone mentioned that this is pretty typical in Europe - a backlash against some things American? Coke's positioning itself as a luxury item? who knows.

A day off! Went ot breakfast in the Mestre Piazza which had me a little late for meeting Elena and Elena's (E&E) train from Verona. However, this proved efficient as their train was late also. So I was there when they arrived.

We then checked them into the Hotel Spagna (***) in the center of Venice. Elena S. was able to talk the hotel down from 380,000 L to 200,000 L which I found very impressive. She claimed that the hotel guy said he could tell they were Russian and, therefore, were not rich. Personally, I think pretty girls just have all the luck.

We then walked to San Marco Piazzo and went through the Byzantine San Marco Basilica, something I missed on my last visit. While San Marco is probably in better condition and a more scenic locale, I found the Hagia Sofia in Instanbul to be more impressive due to its monumental size. We had lunch on one of the side streets to San Marco and then had dinner at a nice restaurant just off of San Marco. We looked at concerts as Elena (#2) was interested, but we had had dinner too late to allows us to attend.

We bought tickets to take the island/glass blowing tours (30,000 L per person) the next day. I paid with credit card and left it at the vendor (see June 28). We took the water bus round trip through the Grand Canal (3,000 L). This is much cheaper than the gondola ride (150,000 - 200,000) which is also much shorter. E&E dropped me at bus No. 2 about 11:30 and I made it my hotel a little after midnight. BTW, bus # 2 is great in that it runs a block from my hotel, takes only 20 minutes to get to Venice and costs only 3,000L.

Sunny and hot today.

Day 2 off. Arrived at E&E's hotel @ 8:45 and we set off at a brisk trot to catch the 9:30 ferry from San Marco to the Islands. First was Murano where we saw the glass master make a vase and a horse figurine. then we got the hard sell. At least, they did not threaten to leave us if we didn't buy anything.

Second island was Burano. The houses here were painted in a variety of pastels which provided a picturesque setting juxtaposed along the canals..

Finally was Turano with its old church and the "little devils bridge". Not really much to talk about here.

We spen about 40 minutes on the first island and about 30 minutes each on the other two. The rest of the time was spent transiting by water allowing us to return to San Marco around 1:30.

We had a light lunch and then walked to the cathedral across from San Marco. On the way back (via Academia bridge), I stopped at an internet cafe while E&E went shopping. Here it was that I retrieved Mom's e-mail indicating that there was no FedEx office in Milan. Words cannot describe my frustration at this point. I also learned from Kate Rothwell that some of the housing expenses were not allowed by the Russian tax authorities. This as two Russians are sitting next to me telling me not to bother paying taxes since I've already left, and "nobody else does anyway". This attitude is maddening beyond belief.

We took a gondola ride before dinner. It was a neat experience, but for 180,000 L for a 35 minute boat ride, it is probably not something I need to do again soon. These gondola cabbies have quite a racquet going and do not negotiate.

We then took off for dinner. It was only as I was about to pay, that I realized I did not have my United Visa card. E&E helped me figure out that the last time I used it was for our boat tour tickets. We raced back to the tourist office, but it had already closed. We spent the rest of the evening walking around, took another "water bus" ride, and sat on the church steps across from the train steps talking until about 10:45. E&E had to go back to the hotel to get their bags to make an 11:30 train to Zurich.

I got up this morning thinking that I might today after clearing up the Visa card mess. I would have had a better chance (it was a great day as it was overcast & cool) if I hadn't slept until 8:00. But, I needed the rest after being out late and talking to Mom to sort out the Fedex Fiasco until 12:30 last night.

I checked out of the hotel around 10:30. The manager had found the number of the travel office in the yellow pages (it wasn't on the boat receipt) and I called around 9:30 to confirm that they had the card. They said they had turned it into the police yesterday.

I went to the travel office & they told me how to get to the police. I spoke with the police at about 11:30 but they informed me that the boss was out and wouldn't be back for about 1/2 hour. I grabbed a piece of pizza and made it back in 20 minutes. I then had to wait another 25 minutes until the gate guard borrowed my passport, then called me into his office, then gave me my card. The boat trip (water bus) back around from San Marco took about 1/2 hr. So by the time I got to the hotel, it was 1:30 & I wanted to check e-mail, especially re: my tax payments, so I checked back into the hotel.

Not much in e-mail. EY needed my ABA # for the wire transfer. Mom wrote on sending the Fedex (at last!). Otherwise, I spent 5 hrs reading news and researching stock. It was only 10,000 L ($5)/hr, so it was more reasonable than yesterday.

I called Visa @ about 7:30 and spoke with Jennifer (in Delaware). She suggested that, based on the fact that the card was in the possession of the vendor and the police, there would be little risk of someone improperly writing down the number and that it is reasonable for me to keep using the card. She said she would note in my file that we spoke. She mentioned that they are a service company here to service customers like me, so whatever was most convenient for me would work for them. I love this attitude.

As such, I will keep using the card, periodically checking for improper charges, and replace it when I get back in the US.

Heading West Across Italy

Trouble in paradise! Left Mestre @ about 9:30. I set the alarm early but was too tired. Then I waited to buy a map of NW Italy from a shop at 9:00.

I made it to Padova @ around 11:30 without incident. I saw a Harley shop, so I stopped in and looked around. The bikes were priced 35-40M lira ($18-20k). When I started riding again, I noticed the ride felt "squishy", almost like I had shocks (which my technologically deficient bike does not have). Quick inspection showed that my rear tire was almost flat. Strange, it had seemed fine for the entire 2 hr ride before I stopped. I pumped it up and it seemed to hold air, so I rode on but only got another 1-2 KM. I repeated this pump/ride, pump/ride process a couple of times hoping it would fix itself (my reverse psychology being that it had broken itself while I was perusing the Harley shop). Where's blind ass luck when you need it? Finally, I gave up and pulled over.

I first stopped at a supermarket for grub and water then pulled into a gas station. A very neat little custom which Italians have is the afternoon break where everything closes from somewhere between 1:00 and 2:00 until around 4:00/5:00. When I stopped at the grocery store, I noticed that the neighboring gas station was overflowing with people. Of course, when I came back out (I hadn't eaten yet, merely stocked up), the place was totally deserted and locked up.

Undeterred, I found a water hose at the back of the station and set up to due some major mechanicing. One must realize that I had never changed a flat bicycle tire in my life. I had never replaced a spoke (more on that later), trued a wheel, and hadn't even greased the chain on my bike before I started this trip. To an experienced rider, undertaking such a trip with such inexperience might seem like pure folly. But I was prepared - I carried several repair books for just this type of situation (we won't discuss the tremendous amount of weight carrying around repair manuals for 7 weeks added to my load, as they proved indispensable)! So I unloaded the bike and sat down and munched while I read/learned about changing a flat tire. At first, I tried to find the leak in the tube, thinking that I might go the whole nine yards and actually patch it after I had gone to the trouble of digging the book out of the bottom of my backpack. However, the leak was slow enough that I could not see it. So, I slapped in a new tube. The whole process, what the book said could be done in 20 minutes, took 2-3 hours. As this was my first time, I wasn't hurrying. Of far greater concern was that I noticed my tire was shredding(!!) where it lips over the rim. It got me another 60KM today. However, it looks much worse, and I don't expect it to last long.

After changing my tire, I thought I could take a short cut and avoid going north to Vicenza and then back south to Verona. However, cutting straight west went through some foothills (up to 450 meters). Given the zigzagging, the up and down, and the absence of major, marked roads, I'm pretty sure I lost time, even though saved (maybe) 10 KM .

Praise the lord! I stopped in San Banifacio this morning to repair my tire. While it took about 2 hrs, I learned from the guy (he spoke no English) that I was carrying too much weight and my tire has been under-inflated (talk about being an amateur). Thus the rim was eating my tire. He charged me 25,000L for a new tire and a rim spoke strip. He also sprayed some oil on my chain and the old boat rides like a dream!! Riding after these minor adjustments really makes me realize how much I was shimmying back and forth yesterday. It also seems far easier to pedal now.

I traveled along Highway 11 today. It wasn't particularly interesting. However, it was flat and I made great time!

Went by Lagadi Garda (Lake Garda) this afternoon. It had some nice views and the foothills of the Alps as a backdrop for today's ride was nice. The 1.7 KM long tunnel outside Lonata was a tight squeeze and was particularly hard to see as there seemed to be a lot of debris in the air. I must say, I am not so sure riding a bicycle through the occasional highway tunnels is the most advisable thing to do - the drivers certainly like to cheer me on with their horns.

Interestingly, I noticed at different locations along Highway 11 scantily clad women (lots of spandex and halter tops) who would be standing in the middle of nowhere or otherwise appear without warning from out of the bushes beside the road. At one point, a guy in a Mercedes almost side-swiped me in his haste to get to the side of the road to stop for one girl who seemingly appeared from nowhere. As I said, these girls were always at secluded spots along the highway, usually with lots of cover and pretty well away from town . If Italy were not a civilized country, I might suspect that these were "working" girls. It was really quite extraordinary as I haven't encountered this sort of setup previously.

My goal had been to make it to Brescia today. I actually got about 15 KM beyond that when the need to eat pretty much signaled the end of the day. It was either stop, check-in, and eat, or goto something quick in order to keep on cycling. I opted to stop rather than eat McD for the second time in one day.

I was a little concerned when the first two hotels I checked with were booked. I had hoped to stick to my 50K per day room budget, but I was beginning to feel fortunate in finding any place with a room, so I took a single at the Albergo Lanterna Verde, which I believe to be some sort of truck stop (although a little higher class than some I saw earlier).

The spaghetti and Pizza are good. Spent part of dinner talking with a crazy truck driver from Germany and Spain. It was an interesting conversation. He kept commenting on the beauty of the waitress (who seemed like part of the family that owned the place). Finally she mentioned to the guy that she was married since only last week. A convenient position for her to occupy (or adopt, as the case may be) which nevertheless did not seem to detour the trucker from admonishing his affections.

There's a bunch of kids running around acting like they are shooting each other (using their hands as toy guns). It's actually gotten to the point that kids form other tables are joining in. Kids - they're the same everywhere you go!

This Albergo is pretty high tech. The power in the room only works when you insert your key into a specific slot and the A/C only works when the windows are closed.

Milano

Took off around 9:30 again. I made good time until I got near Milan. It was near Gorgonzola, that I started taking back roads, rather than sticking to the more major road I had been following, which slowed me down significantly. Again, my thought to take a short cut "cross-country" backfires. I spent at least an hour trying to get through Gorgonzola (what is actually a small town) alone, due to really crappy road signs here. Then, when I got to Milan, I immediately headed towards Sesto, the town I believed to contain the Fedex office. However, I soon began to suspect (after talking with a couple of bus drivers who didn't speak any English) that the Sesto I sought was not the town in which the elusive Fedex resided.

I stopped at this hotel b/c the bell hop was very helpful in - 1) finally finding the town where I needed to go (actually southeast of Milano rather than northeast) and 2) calling the 1-800 # to confirm that they were closed today. Serves me right for riding into town on a Saturday. I suppose there comes a time when you reach a point that the frustration of moving forward outweighs the comfort of staying in one place. In the bicycling sense of the world, I had reached that place even though I hadn't ridden that far today (this situation was further exacerbated by an overpowering sense of hunger).

After checking in, I went downtown. The cathedral (Milan's Duomo) is truly stunning to behold! Even more so, you can walk around on the roof (several hundred feet up). The inside seems at least twice as large as my recollection of Canterbury Cathedral, although, the lack of lighting could be a contributing factor. The cathedral(s) in Rome must be truly immense.

Also walked through a 15th century fortress and walked by the church which contains DaVinci's the Last Supper. From reviewing my guidebook, I expected the church to be closed. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were still selling tickets. The next available opening was at 10:00 PM (apparently they had even later showings), so I went and read a paper for a while. The painting itself is pretty big, taking up a whole wall. I suppose my naivety had led me to expect something closer to the size of the framed picture which my Grandmother had hanging in her living room. Nevertheless, the painting was not in such great shape, even though it was recently refurbished. The WWII bombings and time in general have really taken their toll.

On the main square, a few of the outdoor eating establishments had live entertainers, some of whom were quite good. Then a 25 minute Metro ride back to the hotel.

Lots of time riding around lost today. It was actually only about 3 hours but very frustrating nonetheless. My map does not have enough detail. I finally found the Fedex station which is in the very middle of a huge industrial park. This of course means that there are no hotels for miles around. I stopped at the first hotel I could find, so as not to get lost again. It is further from Milan and only 3 stars (instead of four), but the same price as the hotel last night. Although, the room is a little nicer and I get 2 English channels on the tube (including CNN and Skynews). I hope to start making good time again tomorrow.

Watched France amazingly beat Italy for the EuropeCup Championship - 2 goals in injury time.

Checked out around 8:00 and got to Fedex by 9:00. Spent a couple of hours reviewing the forms, completing them, & sending them back. Fedex really sucks. The office here mentioned that there is an office in Venice, despite the fact that the 1800 # in the US did not know about it ( I asked them specifically).

Got back on the road bewtween 11:30 and 12:00. Not a lot to talk about the ridde today. It went pretty well and I am much relieved to have the Fedex stop behind me.

You've got to love Italian commercials. It seems that almost half feature naked women.

Tomorrrow hopefully Genoa.

Genoa

Strong, Strong, Strong headwinds today. Got a late start. I agreed with the hotel attendant last night that I would be up for breakfast at 7:30. Apparently, the breakfast person rolled out of bed at 8:30. Finally hit the road between 9:30 and 10:00. Got into some hills after an hour or so. Started ascending until ___ at 427 M then coasted most of the remainf 20 km into Genoa (even with the headwind).

Genoa looks to be an interesting city with a mixture of old and new. the McDonalds here serve beer. I can;t remember if I have seen that before or not.

Fired off an e-mail to University of Chiago Law school, slamming their communication abilities. We'll see of there is some way i will live to regret this. In cc'ing the dean, I am taking the position that "it won't happen if you don't ask" and "if you're going to yell - yell loud". We'll see.

I spent the evening walking around the port. Actually walking through the commercial area - similar to St. louis Uniion Station. I walked over to the aquarium, purportedly the largest in Europe, at around 9:00 to see what time it opened and found it was still open (until 11:00 PM). It was really nice as there were only about 5 other visitors in the whole place and I often had entire rooms to myself. I really liked the dolphin pool and the "touch pool" filled with manta rays. It was a shallow pool with a sand bottom. The rays would float along the surface and let you touch them. really quite extraordinary.

I called Don Barker's house to wish everyone a happy 4th of July.

Walking around genoa today was very hot and humid. I was a little surpized (and disappointed) at the lack of information on the citiy's history. The Palazzos had art museums, but i did not get the sense that they dealt with what the city had accomplished (I did not go in).

Had a great tail wind for most of the day and made great time. Cycled for almost 8 hours even thoguh I did not start until 10:30. Nevertheless, I made over 140 km - almost to the French border.

After I exited Genoa, the scenery along the Italian Riviera was spectacular. Blue sea on the left - the sea is unbeliavably blue - and ragged cliffs on the right. There was a lot of up and down - usually you go up as yyou go out and around a point and then come down again when you come back into the next inlet. There is always a town or two in each inlet. A lot of times it seemed liek I was cycling along the boardwalk in Atlantic City or Miami - thin strip of beach on the left, cars parked on both sides of the road, and tons of people walking around. I was amazed at the number of cars parked along the side of the road a good distance from any town.

My goal today was to reach 135 km by 7:30. After reaching that, I started looking for a place to stay and stopped at a 3* hotel with a pool to just check the price. This was a big mistake. As soon as my ass left the bicycle seat, I realized that I would have been sold on staying anywhere. I've got a view of the Mediterranean Sea, which is nice. It is kind of on the edge of town, so was stuck with below average hotel food for dinner.

I would like to start camping (since I am lugging about 15 pounds worth of camping equipment around), but there always seems to be something requiring that I call the US. Today, it was trying to sort out my Russian tax situation.

Oh yes. I have to mentioned the strangest thing that happened when I stopped for a snack today. The bioll came to 13,500 Lira. I gave her 14,000 Lira and she gave me 1,000 Lira back. When I questioned whether there was a mistake, she indicated that they just drop the last bit when making change. They actually rounded down! I am not sure that I have ever had that happen before. Maybe they were short of change. It was just a little cafe along SS1.

Just up the coast, they set off a bunch of fireworks tonight. It started at around 10:30 and lasted abotu 1/2 hour. It was pretty decent.