Venezia

Not easy to see why such odd terrain was picked to build a city but easy to see why inspiraton and art settled down here.
Walking through the streets ,perusing the stores, navigating the canals, "pay attention to detail" a friend told me, and so I have. Palazzo after palazzo, intricate detail after intricate detail, Venezia is a delight. even almost sinfull to the senses. Palladio doquier, colors in Burano, fascination at every step... i'll keep a piece of you with me...

Camino a Venecia

Before Venize, Palladio lived and trived in Vicenza. The city noticed its grandeur and took after him. It lost all of its renaisance and medieval shades and took on the Palladio style. What a preview of what was to come 200km away...

I leave my friends behind and meet Marta who was waiting for me in Ravenna and head north for Venice. Behind are the Tuscan hills and Romagna's mountain passes.




Flat lands lay ahead of me so I indulge into sightseeing. An 88 km straight way becomes then a 240 km round and round around the Delta del Po. Sublime sights of greenery, swamps and wild life. Lands just below sea level, refuge to wild life in Northern Italy, and roads specially dedicated to cycling enhance this experience even more. And a sunset, than to this day, the most beautiful I've seen in Italy...

Inner peace fills my heart as I set on the ferry bus to Pellestrina from Chioggia. A 20 km ride a second ferry and i'll be reaching Lido de Venezia & then Venezia, what an indulge to the senses...

Amici

Di quando in quando uno puoi sentirsi in casa fuori da casa. Oggi è una de quelli giorni...
The nostalgia of seeing the children not being children anymore, the curiosity of watching them grow up, the joy of seeing a newborn, old friends, new conversations, family feeling, homemade food, italian language and culture (anche fare l'espesa!) lessons, what else can one asks for?
Even got a phone number ;)

San Marino

An hour 30 to go up, 40 minutes to walk around the town, 12 minutes to go down the hill....
San Marino. Little I knew of this Country other that it lays on top of a hill. Spirits of peace are felt in this place, ever since its foundation they tell me, don´t know myself but i would like to take their word, not a conflict has ocurred. Even Napoleon let them be....

Ciao Toscana

I had hoped to stay longer in Tuscany but it´s almost time to go now. One more night and i´ll be pedaling for the other coast. No more dinners w/the sunset over the waters, but maybe breakfast now? That is if I wake up on time eh eh ....
But its the thought of ending something what gives it that extra spice, what makes one wanting to take a piece of it with you. Maybe memories, definitely feelings:
* that exhilarating feeling of going 60kph downhill with 40kg of extra weight on your bicycle...
* the dreadfull feeling of knowing that for every minute going downhill, 10 minutes will be required to go back up the next hill... and there is always a next hill....
* The messed up feeling when you forget to tie your t-shirt to your bike and now it lays somewhere 10km uphill. A hill you're not going back up to, a t-shirt you have to say goodbye to...
* feelings of warmth, in making new friends from different cultures...
* feelings of joy when somebody gives you a bar of chocolate just because...
* dissapointment for not being able to see a long lost friend...
* accomplishment after doing 120kms a day for two days in a row!
* and food, yes, food: trippa!!!!

Hope to make it to Venice in two weeks time, coming back here for a party next weekend though ;)
Ciao muchanchos

Luis

pq este pechito, aún come papa!

Firenze

Una sonrisa, un café.... cuánto puede cambiar un humor...
Una camarera pintoresca grita a voz en cuello, juega con los niños del mercado q pasan por ahí mientras la loca esta escribe sus ordenes en su palm pilot! encontrones diarios...
Lo mejor es q me introduce a una delicia q casi me voy sin conocer: trippa y bollito (mondongo) hmmmmm



La vida tiene mejor color con la barriga llena.. más o menos....

Firenze

Hoy envidio al pastor q llena sus adentros al simplemente mirar por su ventana.

Palacios, fortalezas, colinas y un azul mar me  rodean. Los ojos se llenan de belleza mas el hueco en mi pecho no se llena hoy. La belleza no es tal cuando uno no está listo a apreciarla......
La gente aturde, el calor abruma, la lluvia jode, el ruido cansa...

L'Eroica

A friend of mine told me about L'Eroica, a loop around the Chianti area by bicycle, I took her on it and the result are short of fantastic. 200km of white dirt trails and small roads, lots of hills, loads, with incredible panoramic views from the top of each one of them. No big cities or touristic places (except maybe where im writing from now; every other place I passed by didnt even have an internet café) just beautiful landscapes. Took a chance and left everything behind in Siena and good thing I did, without my 35kg in luggage I can actually go up these hills...
Will finish this afternoon, head back to Siena and then to Florence tomorrow. Toscana is coming to an end, a sad note on my book but the enchantment of seeing my friends in Friuli lightens up the mood: Mandi! :)

Montepulciano-Montalcino

Incredible views, let you decide, even a great sunrise overlooking the valley...

Pitigliano and Castiglione de la Pescaia

Riding thru these hills I would never expect to find this portentous displays of grandeur.
 Castles like Pescaia populate this area and Pitigliano is just an icon on itself. A whole city hanging from a cliff, it seems like it was carved out of the rock itself, amazing, a whole day can be spent here admiring the views and the different buildings...
 and in my case it almost took me that long, staring at it from the distance (I say it did because it took me 30 minutes to get up there on the bike) Definitely a place to remember...

Del mar a las colinas

Left the coast and made my way into the inland to discover only omre amazing oaradises, rolling after roling hill, endless seems sometimes but what views. I tried to met a guy I met online (how gay that sounded!)and ended up in a Festival, too bad it got rained down, booohhh, so all there was left to do was to go inside the canteens and drink wine, forget the parade! ;)
Actually, the rain was so bad that I had to stop midmorning today and seek for refugee in a small town, unknown to me, and I found a medieval village on the hill overlooking the town. Maybe I should stop trying to control my ride and let Pachamama dictate my route, it seems she gets better picks....
(sorry no pics of the town, the day was awfull with the rain and the fog, pics of the party though, enjoy)




cheers...

Capricho echo Isla

With its 4 hills and blue water sorrounding it, la Isolla del Giglio is a show of how much of an artist la Pachamama can be...
Biking thru it was bliss, every curve a mirage, every straightaway a piece of heaven, sometimes one almost forgets one has been riding uphill for over 45 min. some others one can't just ignore it ;)  not easy but they certainly rewarding...

4 days I spent here, mixing rides and hikes with the beach ( so nice to be able to go accross the whole island in a few hours walk)...



A guy a met a few days ago said it best:
The paradise might not be on earth but pieces of it certainly are...