Back in Italy after too long a hiatus. Leaving Innsbrucken with considerably less stress than there was on the train from Munich to get here, we arrived in Bressanone with 1 minute to catch the bus to Ortesei. Miss that and it was a 1 hour wait in the rain for the next one. But Italy must have been happy to see us, because we made the bus and on top of that, the ticket machine wasn’t working so it was free ride. On arrival in Ortesei, the plan was to ring the...

Arrivederci Italy - fino all’anno prossimo Tonight is our last night in Italy, for this trip anyway, and what better way to say Grazie per i ricordi than with a dinner on the terrace overlooking the harbour. Once again the memories are full of the people we unexpectedly met, like the policeman who made us panini when all the cafes were closed, and the guy in the laundromat who offered us his user card when we didn’t have enough change for the dryers. And t...

Well, the early departure went well, bus to the station with plenty of time for coffee and a croissant before the train to Padova which both left Ferrara and arrived Padova on time. 1 hour to kill in Padova, so another coffee etc and then onto the Frecciarossa to Trieste. Another on time arrival, a quick dash across the road to the bus ( no marked pedestrian crossings, just lots of pedestrians crossing) and with the bus waiting at the stop, we arrived as planned...

An early start to catch the 7:00am FrecciaBianca to Ferrara, 7 1/2 hours in which to rebuild the legs for the next round of riding. It’s another clear blue sky day, forecast to be 30C + so it’s a good day to spend in an air conditioned train, as we hurtle through the countryside at 200kms/hr. Travelling from the south of the country to the north, it was amazing to see how the countryside changes. From olive trees and some, but not too many grape vines in a ...

Our last day riding with Puglia Cycles, and it was a very hot 65km. We travelled inland from the coast and then with a sudden climb after leaving Otranto, we headed north to Lecce. The little bit of altitude seemed to make all the difference to the countryside. Thick carpets of wildflowers all the way, and the first dairy cattle we have seen the whole time, although we have smelt them at times as we rode past the farms. The roads were almost void of traffic all...