Alborobello and our first day of riding. But first a little bit about the town. Renowned for its large areas of retained Trulli, these are the conical roofed buildings of stone of which there are 1,000s in Puglia. We were fortunate in that our accomodation was in a trulli and it was was very comfortable. Inside they are lined with stone blocks and the external walls are in the form of arches. The story is that there was a tax levied by the King on all permanent...

Here we are in Rome, well, in Roma Termini actually as we wait for our train to Bari. The flight from Malta to Rome was another short hop, about 70mins and other than an in flight medical emergency (is there a doctor on board) ( it wasn’t me) and the plane being met by the ambulance crew who took the passenger off, it was all good. The “Welcome on board” message that said “ If your mobile device overheats or catches fire, please ask a crew member for ass...

Days 6 - 11 found us in Trieste, a city that is so different from anything we have seen in all our trips to Italy. The Austrian influence is evident in the buildings and open pedestrian only spaces and the absolute absence of tour groups with flowers on umbrellas although we did see one today, but still it is very a enjoyable place to be. The train trip over from Treviso went well, once we were on it. The train before ours came in with the 1st class carriage at ...

Day 5 and it's off to Venice. What is it about trains and us. Is it the time spent in lines or just waiting that gives us time to think, I really don't know. But today was like every other. Arrive early, get the tickets, find the train, get a seat, relax and its when we no sooner start to ease out of the station, than it's realised ( I wont say by whom) that all of the carefully prepared maps and information on the places we are programmed to see, is safely back...

Day 4. Another day and another train. The trip up to Feltre is mostly on a single track, climbing up into the pre Alps. Then suddenly we come to a stop somewhere in the forest. The announcement is quite to the point and one of the words that I pick up sounds like Fermata ( stop) and colazione (breakfast). Surely not. The driver has gone for breakfast? Not altogether surprising but then the announcement in English tells us that we have stopped due to a "railway in...