geeteetravels

OK – the trip rebooted has begun!  We woke to rain, more than a little but we weren’t in a hurry and the forecast was for better.  We ate another great breakfast courtesy of the Hotel la Torre, and said arriverderci for another two weeks. These guys have been great, and they now have Rob and Katherine’s case(s) to look after as well as ours. Before heading south we still had to get new SIM cards with the TIM office which did not open until 9:00am. I had blocked my first italian number when the phone was stolen but I thought I would still have some credit on the account, but no. New SIM card, new phone number, and no credit. Rob also wanted to register his iphone so we got all that done and headed out.
We headed the first 15km SW to Livorno under now mostly sunny and improving skies, getting into the historic center of town without any trouble. We did allow the GPS a little too much latitude as it guided us to the outskirts in an unintended direction. Fortunately there was a large supermercato where it took us so we stocked up on lunch supplies before backtracking into the center to sit and eat our lunch. From there it was an uneventful and very scenic ride down the “etruscan riviera” to Marina di Cecina for about 73 km worth including the 5km diversion. We had a beer! in the sunshine after checking in, cleaning up and parking the bikes in the shed made for that purpose. The hotel offered a ristorante so we had another good meal and then strolled along with a gelato to finish the day off well. The island of Elba tomorrow!

The expanded team ready to get out of Pisa

While the men were in the TIM office getting their toys registered with italian phone numbers, the women were watching how to do a couch delivery from the outside

Tara's new over the shoulder view

Typical Italian beach, you pay for your spot

Gelato is always a good way to finish

This was quite a rainy day in Pisa, we definitely used the rain coats that we had been carrying. We headed back to the torre pendente (leaning tower) and cathedral area to take in some indoor activities. We chose not to climb the tower as it was a cloudy day and they charge too much so we looked in the museum and cathedral instead. The museum was quite interesting as it housed many of the original artifacts, paintings, statues, gargoyles, etc. from the cathedral as it has been refurbished many times since it was built in the 11th and 12th centuries. The cathedral also is very beautiful and ornate with a particularly notable pulpit carved by a Giovani Pisano. It features some very Islamic features such as striped masonry and a griffin on the roof.
After this we ran through the pouring rain to meet our friends Katharine and Rob Whitworth at the train station, after their long flight from Calgary via Amsterdam. We helped them get to the hotel and get their bike together before going for a walk around the city and finding a good Italian supper of pasta and red wine.

The train station was only 5 minutes away which was good for a 7 ish train to Rome. We zoomed past a few of our scheduled bike route destinations and arrived there by 10am. We found our way to the Canadian embassy and got the process underway. We had to have photos done and supply them with 4 references whom they called at the end of the day which was morning at home. We warned our good friends at home that they would be getting an important call and to be available so as not to delay the process. We only had 2 days to get this done and be back to meet our friends in Pisa. It all worked out in the end and George was once again a Canadian citizen with documentation. The embassy staff treated us well and were efficient. Of course there was a cost involved and it was considerably more than getting a new passport at home.
While in Roma we stayed at a B&B that was only a bed, no breakfast. Perhaps they thought that stood for bed and bathroom? We are not sure but it seemed a bit shady there. Oh well we had a place to sleep. We spent time wandering around looking at all the ruins, monuments, fountains and piazzas that Roma is famous for as well as the Modern Art Gallery, and a museum exhibition about Archimedes. What a clever man he was.
We caught the train back to Pisa that evening to restart the cycling.

So happy to be going to Rome instead of being in the Cinque Terre …

You can’t go to Rome without getting a coffee at Cafe St. Eustachio

The infamous B without B (or WiFi) Alex.

The Pantheon

At the Trevi Fountain

New wallet and the Papal (its white and comes from Rome) passeporto

Hanging out with Herc

Its crowded everywhere in Rome but no moreso than at the Spanish Steps (Tara in lower left)

In the morning we called the embassy in Roma to report the lost and stolen passport and find what was necessary to get a temporary passport sent to us. Right off they said we would have to get to Roma ourselves to fill out the forms, get photos taken and answer questions. My heart sank because to that point I thought a day’s delay and a bunch of money (fees, lost reservations …) was all we were faced with. Now cinque terre was out and we had to get to Roma. So we packed up and headed for the Carabinieri and then back to Pisa. We found the Carabinieri office without trouble and knocked on the door. I was met by a young officer who knew less English than I know Italian. By then I had figured out how to say that I had lost my passport, etc. so he filled out an official report for me which was what the embassy had requested. Off we cycled to Pisa the same way we came and checked back in to the same hotel. We found information on train schedules and tickets and a cheap hotel in the area between the train station and the embassy (I love booking.com). The hotel in Pisa will get a 5 star rating from me for taking great care of us. OK, we were set to get to Roma the next morning early.

OK, so you might be wondering about why the blog withered after only 2 days of entertainment. To be honest I had a sudden loss of enthusiasm after the events of day 3, the first day’s ride from Pisa to Marina di Massa, and I am now just getting back my Mojo. Here’s the story.
It started well with a clear sky, and moderate temperature and the team getting the feeling back as we hit the road and remembered what to do. The ride out of Pisa heading north and west was flat and easy. We got down to the beach road as planned and expected an easy first day. We stopped at a park to eat our lunch which we would normally do. The trouble began when we finished and left without the small fanny pack I almost never remove from my body because it contains everything valuable I own on the trip. Yes, that one, the one with my passport, wallet with 3 credit/debit cards and 30 euros, regular glasses. phone, and swiss army knife. 5km later when we arrived at our destination, a campsite with bungalows, I realized what had happened. We quickly got back on the bike and pedalled hard back the way we came. Then, unbelievably, a km back down the road my bike seat exploded out from under me and the pieces littered the road. In fact the seat post to seat bolt had broken so the seat and its mount just fell on the road. I still needed to get back quickly to the park so we unloaded the bike and put Tara’s seat in the front spot so I could ride solo. In the process of doing that the screw to tighten the seat post stripped its mount so we were down to only 1 of those too. Aarrghh! Leaving Tara on the sidewalk with the panniers I returned to the park and an empty bench where my pack should have been. This was one of those moments when you find it hard to believe what is real because the consequences are too ugly to think about. I looked all over of course and went to speak with a couple who were picnicking on the grass, and had been earlier, to see if they had seen anything, I managed to communicate what my problem was and they called the police for me. I spent more time looking around, perhaps for the empty pack or something left behind but I found nothing and the police were taking forever to show up. Finally they did but could do nothing but take my name and a description of what was lost and then stolen with some forwarding information. I rode back to Tara who knew by now nothing good had transpired but was worried about what else could have happened to me in the hour and a half I had been gone. We loaded up and got to the campsite with me riding the seat post. We checked in for 2 nights instead of one thinking we could still get to the Cinque Terre if we had a day to call the banks to cancel and block everything, and the Canadian embassy about the passport. We owe a great deal to Stephania at the campsite for letting us have free reign of her phone and helping with the language calls, at no expense to us. Again thanks to Stephania she confirmed there was a bike shop only 400m down the road so we walked there and retrieved the bits we needed to make the bike functional for both of us again. I still had to get to the Carabinieri (federal police) office to get an official record of the loss in order to ease getting a new passport. After that the embassy, but we went to bed thinking about that as tomorrow’s plan.

Il mare, la mer, the sea

The day came early for us although we slept well enough. We’re still in mid-atlantic time making our way east in our brains. The hotel cost included breakfast, and I find almost all of the hotels I booked for this year’s trip are the same in this regard. Contrast that to France where almost never is it included. We weren’t expecting much as italians are known for having a shot of espresso and a pastry on the run to cover their first meal of the day (colazione). So we were surprised to find a great variety of healthy foods available including a proper espresso or cappuccino served with a smile. Muesli, yoghurt, fresh rolls, cheese, salami, butter, jam, fruit, juice – great! We got a bit carried away in fact so we only snacked at lunch.
Next up on a bit of an overcast day was to get a SIM card with data hookup from one of the several cellular providers. By my research TIM had the best coverage and a good deal for their package so we went to find the local TIM shop, which was only a couple of blocks away. Luckily the sole guy in the shop could understand techno-inglese and we were hooked up and out of there in short order. I bought a rechargeable (pay-as-you-go) SIM for 20euro which included 15euro credit. Their max internet plan is 10euro for a month for 1 Gb (gee-gah-beet said our man) which of course is ridiculously cheap by Canadian standards. It was up and running before we left the shop – cross that challenge off.
We then went and found a grocery store to pick up a bit of food for the road which also turned out to be no problem. Because of her food related exercise induced allergy Tara has to be extremely careful eating while cycling, and she gets very tired of eating muesli with warm yoghurt on a hot day for lunch. We’re trying to branch out from that menu and still stay safe.
Of course the most important activity of the day was getting the bike reassembled. It was sitting in an outside courtyard and the clouds let loose a lot of rain mid-day for a few hours so we had to wait it out. The blue sky reappeared and we quickly got it to look much like a tandem again leaving a few bits off for assembly on the street and trial run in the morning. We actually have to wheel it down a couple of hallways and take it down some spiral stairs so leaving off the pedals and chains to make it easier was our thought.
Having accomplished what we needed we headed out for a leisurely walk around and to find another good Pisan restaurant. We went close by the tower to find an open restaurant. Monday evenings can be bad as most restaurants take that evening off so sometimes you have to head to a more touristic area to get something to eat. No problem, we did well so that’s 2 for 2 for good cheap suppers in Italy.

Bike assembly on the terrazzo.

I love the predictability of the tourists.

Yes it rains in Pisa.

Church alongside the Arno.

Another Arno picture.

Bene, we are here in one  piece, with all pieces accounted for! The trip over went smoothly and according to plan, with a flawed plan I’ll admit. The biggest flaw was the 6 hour layover in Gatwick which was a bit much. We came over via Air Transat, and then popped on to an Easyjet flight to Pisa, after the aforementioned 6 hours. There were no bike or overweight hassles at all, so planning and being at the airport early to avoid the rush does pay off.
We checked into the Hotel La Torre with our limited italian at about 4pm and promptly had a nap. After that a walk was in order to get some fresh air circulating in the system along with some pizza and vino rosso a little later.
Pisa, at least the old town, is not very large so off we went in the direction of la torre pendente of course. By now all the stabilizing and revitalization that had gone on for years is fully complete so the tower is resplendent! I know it’s a huge tourist icon and a bit kitschy in some ways but honestly it is just a gorgeous building now and truly a wonder even if it stood straight.  I do love to watch all the phototakers taking variations of the same ‘holding up the tower’ shot which I took years ago with our girls’ help, too. Tired now, Tara is already asleep. Wish us luck in getting through the jet lag quickly.

Our Air Transat AS330, with new leather seats and the best inflight entertainment system, and cabin crew. Good airline.

Waiting at the Pisa aeroporto stop for the 5 minute train ride into Pisa Centrale, in turn a 5 minute walk to our hotel.

A big queue at this gelato shop, obviously a clue for where we will go tomorrow.

If you look up at the tower like this when the clouds are streaming past quickly from behind you swear the tower is topplng onto you. Or, it could be the jetlag.

More bloody tourists!

Last day’s ride, c’est dommage. We had to cover 76km today but on a fairly flat trajectory except for some rolly stuff close to Toulouse. If we had more time and were not riding or driving we could have had a pleasant wine tasting stop in Gaillac which is a (another) major centre for wine in the south. But riding as we were we took only a pause café and carried on. Our lunch stop coincided with the village of Rabastens where we had a quick look in the local church. Our guide book had pointed out some uncovered and restored artwork from pre catholic reformation times which we should look at. It was impressive with a few horned devils and winged angels in conflict.  Not overly eventful otherwise on the road, not counting the abysmal carnage of the hedgehogs, of course. I counted 8 roadkill before the end of the morning, while Tara preferred to ignore the slaughter.
We zipped back to our Toulousian home base and our accommodating hotelier. He charged us nothing to store the bike case for 3 weeks, allowed us the run of his dining room for assembly and disassembly, and gave us free drinks. A ***** rating from me on booking.com!
Out to dinner for the dernier cassoulet du tour (Tara had a nice chicken, lime, and mango salad), a little more shopping, and a little packing, and we’re physically ready to fly home.

Walking away from the church at Rabastens.

Another day where our ride was shaded by plane trees. Good thing because it was 30+ out there on the road.

Every 10-15km needs a ..ahem.. bum break.

Full time has been called on this trip.

Dining room disassembly.

No cycling today, just hanging around being tourists.  It is nice to rest the legs and not to rush away in the morning knowing you have miles to cover. 
It was a beautiful day in Albi today.  We started off with a bateau ride on the Tarn.  Unfortunately it was strictly French so we didn’t catch too much of the commentary, but enjoyed the views nonetheless.  Next stop was the Toulouse-Lautrec musée where there is a very good collection of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s work.  He was born in Albi and then left to study in Paris as an adult.  He was a sickly man from birth due to a genetic bone disorder then struggled with alcoholism and died very young at 37.  However he was a prolific artist and this museum has works that cover his entire career as well as his contemporaries.  Quite enjoyable!
After an afternoon pause café we wandered around a bit more admiring all the medieval buildings and streets.  The old city has been well preserved and restored. 

The pont-vieux across the Tarn, dating from ~1000ad.

All queued up for the bateau ride.

Its all about HdTL today.

Medieval building well preserved.