First rain in England....

We have enjoyed fantastic weather in England and this ended today with rain and wind - the morning that we were setting out from Nic's brothers house in Winchester. Only about 50 km after a couple of recovery days being nursed back to state where we could face our bikes again (ale and cider helps), by Pete and Vicky who as well as welcoming us with dinner on our very late arrival, had shown us round town, taken us for walks and put up with the clutter of our bikes. Last minute call from Pete this morning to let us know that we could stay longer to avoid setting out in filthy weather.

Ride was a bit faster today (needed to keep moving to stay warm), as it was my fingers and feet were frozen when we dripped into the ferry terminal. Successfully purchased tickets for the ferry crossing tonight to Caen at 2330. Killing time now in McD's (free WIFI) and then the pub!
France here we come!

In at the deep end

On Friday we proved that we are certifiably insane when we started our first day of cycling. Evidenced by the following statistics from my cycle computer for the day; distance 134km, average speed 15.2km/hr, cycling time 8hrs47min, odometer153.7km.

Nic's brother lives in Winchester, and his uncle and aunt whom have been showing us around and very kindly putting us up while we sort bikes, live in Nailsea, near Bristol. We decided that one day would be enough to get between the two places. Possibly a mistake, (I am still waiting for normal sensation to return to my buttocks).

Nic in preparation had printed out the step by step directions from Google maps for walking directions (that technically keeps us off most of the main roads and motorways). Bikes were collected on Thursday evening, very exciting to finally get our green machines, however it was slightly painful and marred by the fact that the bike shop took about 2 ½ hours to fit mud guards, pannier racks and speedometers, making us incredibly late for the beautiful dinner of caramalised ginger and shallot salmon that Nic's aunt Carol had made for us. We didn't get home until 8.30pm!Last minute packing of panniers completed, discarded packs stuffed with surplus clothing, fiddling of seats and pannier racks done, we finally got to sleep about midnight.

We woke at 7am with the slightly nervous feeling that precedes our completely non-competitive forays into the world of triathlon and road cycle racing. Stuffed our faces with cereal and bananas then loaded up before saying our goodbyes to Carol and Bob who have made us completely at home over the last week, fed us, tour guided us around Bristol and whom it feels slightly sad to leave.

Bob captured the magic moment of us leaving all loaded up and actually looking happy to be on a bike – that was to change all to soon.......

The directions we had were along the lines of “turn left church lane for 70 metres, right at marsh lane 2km” etc. Longest stretch we had on one road for the whole day was 13.2km – lots of scope for getting lost. And we had no map. Within about 3km from Nailsea we hit a hill (funnily enough roads with”hill”in the name tend to be steep). Depressingly this was the first of three hills that day that I had to walk up! I blame the fact that I only have 2 rear panniers which means my front wheel tends to lift uphill on the fact that I had to walk. Nic with twice the load (4 panniers; 2 front and 2 rear) that I had, powered his way up the hill – what a man.

Continued on some lovely country lanes guessing our way through directions pretty well (always disconcerting when no street names). First major directional issue was heading onto “featherbed lane”. The only route that we could find to correspond to directions was headed directly uphill and had a sign saying NO MOTORISED VEHICLES. Wasn't anticipating off road riding quite so early in the trip. Trying to find a house to check directions was not very possible and this was yet another unlabelled lane – at least at our end. On faith we rode then walked our way up the road. Fortunately we found a dog walker who confirmed we were on the right road and was the first of several people to look at us as if we belonged in the loony bin on learning our route. She had funnily enough had also visited Whangamata in New Zealand.

At ~40 km Nic was vaguely starting to bonk (official cycling talk for running out of energy so you feel completely dead despite not feeling sore). Found a lovely pub in a village called Buckland Dinham. We parked our bikes under a cherry tree that was snowing petals over the garden and our bikes. We both had a pint of coke and the 2 course pub meal (bangers and mash for Nic, jacket potatoes then treacle tart with chips on the side). This was when there was some discussion whether we were actually going to make it (it was 1pm, we had been going 4 hrs, and had covered only a third of the distance planned!) It was also when we realised that we might not have Pete's phone number in Winchester and that he would be expecting us at 6pm. Nic discovered a phone number on his phone that fortunately was Pete's to advise him to expect us later.

We continued on to Warminster with some further directions from 2 drivers we flagged down on country lanes. Stunning views of the chalk horse on a hill in the distance. I discovered to the detriment of my right elbow and elbow that tight cornering with heavy panniers on the bike is not possible. In Warminster I looked wistfully at the train station..... Then I tried going over a curb and discovered that with no weight over the front wheel this does not work – this time lost skin over my left knee and right lower leg (not quite sure how I did both sides). We had done ~65km at this time, it was 3pm and I thought bed and breakfasts sounded very appealing.

We decided to do the the next long stretch across the Salisbury plains and realised that a reliable way of ensuring we were headed in the correct direction was to make sure that the not insignificant breeze continued to be a direct head wind as this seemed a pretty constant factor in our day long ride. Nic once again proving that he will always wear the pants in the relationship did the majority of the drafting. Rode past fields of yellow rape flowers that perfumed the air and multiple tank crossings.

Eventually found our way on to A303 which was cyclist hell – a dual carriage way. It's only redeeming factor was that it went directly past Stonehenge completely unexpectedly with great views. Stopped at a truck stop and shared a two quid cheeseburger meal at 6pm, ~90km on the speedometer with about 35km (we hoped) to go and 2 ½ hours of daylight. Feeling remarkably optimistic and amazingly not yet biting each others' heads off, we set off. The next bit on the A303 I seriously thought we would end up like the multiple foxes and badgers on the road - a bit flat. Finally found our turn off – on the other side of four lanes. Taking our lives into our hands we ran across the road, stopping in the center refuge of the grass verge, to a lane that was cyclist heaven.

Wove our way through more lanes flagging down one more motorist for directions who asked us if we understood how far Winchester was, counting down kilometers. It was so exciting to finally see signs for Winchester – at last. Some cruel hills towards the end - the whole day had been undulating – good on the downhill but very over uphill. Finally we saw the “City of Winchester” sign. Followed our directions then got lost missing the 3^rd to last turn. Called Pete who handed the phone over to his girlfriend, Vicky, who put us straight, met us at the corner of their street and guided us to their house. I was nearly in tears with relief to see her.

Greeted at the door with water, then cider, a shower, then homemade cottage pie. I could not believe we had made it. We had been on the road just under 12 hours.

Of note the only training we had done for this ride had been a few outings on the bikes at Nic's uncle and aunt, Simon and Jane's farm in Somerset six days earlier and the average distance we had expected to travel each day was ~60km - less than half what we did on our first day.

Buying the bikes...

The main priority for us after leaving London for the second time and traveling to Nailsea (near Bristol) was to catch up with my dad's family – Gran, Bob & Carol, and Jane & Simon. A close second was to sort out wheels to take us round Europe! To this end the day after our arrival in Nailsea we departed bright eyed and bushy tailed to Bristol armed with enthusiasm, a list of bike shops, and a bigger list of bike related expenses to find.

In truth the search for bikes had started well ahead of this time, particularly for me, less so for Rowan. It has to be said “researcher” can not only be used to describe my previous employment, but also my nature as a shopper. This is particularly true when I am on the hunt for something interesting like a bike or, even better, two bikes. Many an hour was whiled away on the internet investigating what sort of bike is best for touring (funnily enough, a touring bike, second option hybrid bikes, rigid mountain bikes, cyclocross bikes...), brake types, gears, prices, shops – the list goes on.

From a distance I had developed a fair number of preconceptions – ideas about models that would be good, ideas of models that seemed good but had problems (here's looking at the Kona Sutra, great name and combination of parts, but dodgy rear rack and shifters we weren't sure of), and particularly an assumption that UK bike shops would be vast repositories of every model and size of bike and component we could possibly need. Oh if it were so. The first visit to a major shop (Evan's) was revealing. While having a vast range of products available, we quickly learned that it was likely to be a week until we could get our steeds. So much for a rapid return to the continent.

After a couple of hours talking through options with a very patient salesman at Evan's Bristol (Sam) we came to the conclusion that flat barred “hybrid” bikes were going to be our best choice. The primary reason for this was a desire to have disc brakes for their immeasurable superiority in the rain (yes, we accepted from the outset that rain was a possibility!). Drop bars sounded appealing due to the greater number of riding positions they allow, but the number of sub 800 quid bikes with disc brakes was very small. Flat bars with bar ends would have to do.

The final choice for both of us was surprisingly the same – the Kona Dr Dew. Bright green (hopefully) continent munching machines.

If only the shopping ended there. We also needed racks (easy), panniers (how I ended up with bright yellow I'm not sure), a lock (and I'm meant to carry this weight round europe?), bottle cages, shoes (suitable for walking and clipping into SPDs), helmets (again, my odd head size and shape meant I spent twice as much as should be necessary), bar bag, mudguards, bar ends for Rowan, spare tubes and tyre... I never thought it could happen, but I was sick of choosing bike bits by the end of it.

Collecting the whole lot tomorrow. More still to get – more spares, bar ends for me, check that the seats and grips are comfortable. Hope it all works – meant to be doing 124 km on Friday to get to Winchester where my brother is staying.

Can't wait!!!

Naples

Our last 3 nights in Italy were spent in Naples. This was primarily so I could visit Pompeii as I had never been there despite having learnt about it in Latin back in form 3. Nic had visited Pompeii when over for a conference in 2006 and I felt slightly bad dragging him back. We walked to our hostel through Naples from the train station and I was struck by the difference compared to the other Italian cities we had visited. Maybe it was partly the heat but it made me think much more of southeast asia than Europe with washing hanging between buildings, scooters narrowly avoidin pedestrians and stalls in the streets. Found our hostel “6 small rooms”(up 3 large flights of stairs). It is always slightly disconcerting being shown your room and it not being immediately evident where you are supposed to sleep (the beds folded out).

Stocked up on food and wine including a picnic to take to Pompeii the next day then returned to indulge in a slight obsession this Italian trip – artichokes. Not sure why I love these strange vegetables, (Nic doesn't touch them), but boiled or marinated I have enjoyed them from deli counters, on pizzas and in restaurants. I decided to try cooking my own and had googled a recipe in preparation (basically just boil until soft). The spiky, purple, outer leaves are however difficult to get to soften – think I was supposed to remove these. Got some weird looks from the multiple Australians at the hostel.

Having met only one other New Zealander in Italy, (back in Turin), Australians have become the next best thing to chat with and feel vaguely as if you are not to far from home. Despite the inevitable sheep jokes, comments on how there must be only 3 people left back in New Zealand with us away, “feesh and cheeps/fosh and chops” comparisons, they are generally lots of fun. We headed to Pompeii with a woman from Brisbane.

Pompeii is huge. Also pretty crowded and lacking in any greenery compared to the other large scale ruins we had seen in the Ostia Antica near Rome. I got my first audio guide this trip and found it vaguely frustrating – slightly slow paced. Highlights of Pompeii included the prostitutes working place with frescoes still in place that did not leave a lot to the imagination and a beautiful frescoe of Venus from the sea – more simplistic than Botticelli's version but this was around 1500 years earlier. Met up with Australian to go home who had met up with friends so Nic had the pleasure of going to dinner with four Aussie birds and me – he coped admirably!

Our last day in Naples was beautiful and we wandered along the foreshore to two of three castles that are in the city. As it was Easter Sunday we had some difficulty finding a place to serve lunch – we were very glad we had bought enough food to cook a nice risotto for dinner. Returning to the hostel we found that the bottle of wine we had bought two days prior had been drunk by the hostel staff as part of their Easter festivities. Annoying particularly as they seemed to doubt the ownership of the wine.

I had a restless last night in Italy, (lack of the usual amounts of anaethetising wine). We had a taxi booked for 5.30am and were up at 5am. Surprisingly our taxi to the airport was cheaper and quicker than we expected – a pleasing conclusion to our amazingly completely hassle free transport through Italy. Checked in well in advance feeling oh so smug with our two packs compared to some Italians who seem to pack three suitcases and the kitchen sink. Back to London town.......

Rome

Headed to Rome from Florence again by the surprisingly efficient and easy to use Trenitalia trains. This was our most expensive days travelling - 34 euro for the 2 of us to travel for a 4 hour train ride. Very glad that we did not get Italian rail passes as it is so easy just to walk into a train station 10 minutes before the train is due to go and punch in the destination into the ticket machine (which can be programmed to give instructions in English) and get a ticket.

Arrived in Rome and immediately got in touch with our Scottish heritage by walking across the city (with my injured ankle which was rapidly developing a cellulitis if not osteomyelitis) – only 6km but took about 1.5hrs with a fully laden pack. The hostel was in the back streets in a suburb past the Vatican. It was a little basic and the small kitchen was surprisingly functional.

First day in Rome we went up to the Victor Emmanuel II monument, a large monument with an equestrian statue built for the first king of Italy, after the reunification in the 1860s. We then headed to the Roman forum (after some fantastic pizza that comes by the 100g). The Roman forum was beautiful with lots of lovely purple flowering trees. The colosseum was pretty impressive but not as complete as the Verona amphitheatre. It had an interesting display on the Flavian emperors - Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.



On returning to the hostel my ankle was very swollen (pitting oedema resembling that of an 80 year old with heart failure) and red, so started the Augmentin to treat a likely cellulitis. Decided to take the next day a little easier and walked up to another monument - to Giuseppe Garibaldi a revolutionary involved in uniting Italy (a contemporary of Victor Emmanuale). Then walked down to the Pantheon built in 126 AD. Nic continues to be blown away by this. Loved the quote on Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon; "here lies Raphael by whom mother of all things feared to be overcome while he was living and while he was dying, herself to die". Walked home past the Trevi fountain so really quite a quiet day. Got a couple of sink loads of washing done - our Scottish heritage extends to paying 7 euro for a laundromat.

Finally met our room mates after a couple of nights and a morning of them coming in and leaving while we were asleep. We had been grouping these two girls with the young Americans we had met thus far and were pleasantly surprised to find only one was American the other being Irish and both Catholic and studying theology in Belfast. Great conversations about religion and they helped in my education and understanding of the multiple pieces of art of the saints we had seen. Good preperation for a visit to the Vatican museum.

Managed to time our trip to the Vatican museum at the same time as the Pope does his weekly address so the queues were not too bad - only 20 minutes to get in. We went through the multiple pieces of Roman sculpture then up through pieces of Etruscan jewellery and vases. Most impressive was the map room showing huge beautifully painted hangings depicting of areas of Italy. Most interesting to try and go back through to identify where we had been - challenging in view of the maps not being orientated north to south and the old place names. The Sistine chapel was a little
underwhelming - very crowded, little sense of this being a place of worship. It doesn't help that we are a bit over announciations, adorations, ascensions and crucifixions. We managed to get free pizza in the Vatican's pizzeria - true Christian charity and us having no qualms in accepting someone's discards. We headed to St. Peter's basilica after the Vatican and were most impressed by the multi lingual confessional booths. The place is truly enormous and gilded with so many separate areas to worship.

Escaping the city the following day (our last in Rome) we headed to the ostia antica - the old Roman port at the mouth of the river Tiber that is a preserved park of ruins. Amazing old mosaics and statues. We spent 4 hours just wandering through the ruins. We headed back into town and had a lovely meal out of cannelloni, artichokes (that I just love) and tiramisu to celebrate our last night in Rome before heading to Naples.
Think the antibiotics mght be working on my ankle - amputation does not look quite so imminent.

Florence and cycling in Tuscany

Arrived in Florence to the biggest hostel we have stayed in. Definitely required ear plus with some young, brash Americans around including American soldiers off on R+R and trying to seduce the American girl in our room. Once again thankful to be travelling with Nic.We arrived in Florence via a stopover at Piza with the obligatory shots of the tower taken.

Spent our first day at the Ufizi gallery with Botticelli's Venus from the Sea and Spring which were amazing for this uncultured antipodean. However some of the earlier art was a little lost on me – more about this in Rome. To escape from the city (again), and to satisfy a desire to get back on 2 wheels, we hired a couple of bikes and caught a train south towards the village of San Gimigmano a well preserved hill top medieval village that had a case of too many short men who built quite a few towers for which the village is now known for.

Unfortunately while standing stationary in train station I displayed my usual coordination (that most resembles a hedgehog with ataxia), and fell on top of the bike that I was holding. Proceeded to drip vast quantities of blood from my ankle that had met something sharp. Italian loo paper down a sock stemmed the flow and probable certain death from blood loss and we managed to cycle to the village and then back to Florence a mere distance of 110km although we think that the odometers were acting Italian as they also said we were cruising at 32km/hr while cycling a gradual uphill on these steel framed hybrids with no clipless pedals! Nic and google maps think it was more like 70km. The bike ride also included a bike past an American memorial of troops killed in WWII – interesting it was that night we shared a dorm with the very alive, loud and young American soilders.

Verona via Milan to Venice and the Cinque Terre

Left for Verona after 2 nights in Turin, settling into Italy, with a 6 hour stop over in Milan were we saw an impressive cathedral and freezing model being photographed near it. Visited a museum in Milan that had impressive collection of Egyptian artifacts and a beautiful room decorated by da Vinci with trees forming the ceiling. Feeling I should have done an art history degree to appreciate what I am seeing due to the immense gaps in my knowledge.

Verona was beautiful. Visited Juliet's house (above photo is from outside thisrestrained from rubbing her statue's much manhandled breast as this is supposed to bring the fondler a new lover and we have been given strict instructions from family to stay engaged), the 3rd largest amphitheater, the castle/museum and watched the sunset from Roman ruins. Had a lovely B+B with a microwave that enabled us to self cater - after Nic ate Donkey bolognese on our first night.

After 3 nights in Verona we spent 2 in Venice which was underwhelming due to the number of tourists, expensive food and tourist orientated shops (who would purchase and carry a full baroque style mask while traveling?) It was interesting reading about the preparations for rising sea levels then walking into the partially flooded entrance of the cathedral which has a mosaic floor that echoed the pattern of sea being very uneven. Unable to cook as there was no kitchen so we had succumbed to the Menu Touristico despite warnings from wise ones who have been before. Managed pizza breakfast, lunch and dinner. Did a boat trip out to 3 of the smaller islands, Murano, Borano (pictured below) and Torcello.


Changing our plans slightly, as we had (already!) got a bit over cities and museums (and we had Florence and Rome to come yet!), we headed to the cheapest accommodation yet in the Cinque Terre, 5 small villages perched on the west coast of Italy. We spent 3 nights in a rather basic 1 bedroom apartment (with 7 dorm beds all occupied – we had the double bed that looked like a cheap prostitutes office with a purple covering over the bed and orange netting). However this was the cheapest accomodation so far at 14 euros per person per night. Great to be able to cook - gnocci with pomodoro and eggplant, fresh tortellini (that put pasta back home to shame) and last night - ricotta, basil and ham pasta. Loving shopping in the local shops that have everything. Been having buffalo mozzarella every night with tomato, balsamic and basil. Bliss. Had interesting nights sitting up sharing wine and gelato with some Americans sharing our dorm room. Fortunately these Americans were left of the Democrats. Did some amazing walks between the villages along the coast that did something hopefully to work off the above menus.