Italy 2017 Part II
Wandering and riding North-Central Italy
Wandering and riding North-Central Italy
Lucca, Cinque Terre, Florence, Riccionne & Bologna
May 2017
A WEEK-END IN LUCCA
After our Tuscan bike trip, we caught a train from Livorno and stayed three nights in Lucca and its well preserved walls that encircle the historic city. We stayed in the centre and wandered around, taking in the atmosphere. It is a beautiful city.
We booked three nights in Casa Nella Musica, a nice apartment for 70 Euros/night .
Torre Guinigi stairwell
Lucca view from Torre Guinigi
Palazzo Mansi; the Baroque style villa is now an art gallery.
Lucca street scene
Piazza dell’Anfiteatro has restaurants and shops around the perimeter
Riding the ramparts on a rented bike
Lucca street scene. Part of the duomo is visible.
Lucca street scene
Lucca festival featured music indoors and out on the street.
A painting inside Duomo di San Martino
Lucca self-catering; fresh ravioli is amazing.
CINQUE TERRE
We took the train from Lucca onto Riomaggiore and stayed in a slightly over-priced hotel on the main street. We used Riomaggiore as a base to walk the Cinque Terre coast.
Arrival in Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore view from our hotel
On our first afternoon, we walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola and caught the train back to our base.
Manarola
Manarola
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore
We took an early train from Riomaggiore to Monterossa and then walked south along the coastal path, to Manarola via Vernazza and Corniglia.
A good start to the day in Monterossa
Monterossa to Vernazza
Vernazza
Vernazza
Veranazza to Corniglia. The trails were well constructed and easy to follow.
As the day progressed, the number of other tourists increased and sometimes we even had traffic jams on the trail, particularly when encountering guided groups.
Corniglia
Corniglia to Manarola
Once again, we took the train from Manarola to Romaggiore, our home base.
We did not meet her on the trail
Dinner in Romaggiore
FLORENCE
We booked three nights in Florence at comfortable, fairly large VRBO apartment near Ponte Vecchio. It was walking distance to the central attractions and local food shops.
Arrival in Florence and first sight of the Duomo
Palazzo Vecchio. Florence heaved with tourists.
Our apartment near Ponte Vecchio cost us 90 Euros/night.
Apartment living
After we had moved into our apartment, we walked over to Pitti Palace. Despite its impressive collection, it was not very busy.
Nearby Pitti Palace
Pitti Palace
Pitti Palace ceiling
Pitti Palace; 17th Century tapestries
We self-catered dinners and wandered around the bridges and central duomo areas in the evenings.
Ponte Vecchio view from Uffizi Gallery
Ponte Santa Trinita
Florence Duomo at night
Duomo ceiling
Florence view from Piazzale Michelangelo
Uffizi Gallery exterior at night
The Uffizi Gallery has one of the most amazing art collections in the world. We had booked opening-time tickets far ahead of time.
Uffizi Gallery at opening
Uffizi Gallery
Uffizi Gallery
Uffizi Gallery ceiling
Uffizi Gallery: Primavera (Botticelli)
Uffizi Gallery: The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
Uffizi Gallery: The Annuniation (Da Vinci)
Uffizi Gallery: Francesco Delle Opere (Perugino)
BIKE HOTEL, RICCIONE
We had booked a week at Dory Hotel, Riccione. The first day was an arrival day and we sorted out the rental bikes for the week. In all, there was four riding days as Wednesday was a rest-day and the last day was a departure day.
The primary language was English. Many of the guests were from Canada, USA and Britain. The balance were Germans and French with smattering from elsewhere. The package included all delicious meals and guided rides. The owner and guides were all enthusiastic. Guests signed up for groups the day before and could choose from 5 different levels with distance/average speed/total elevation changing with each level. They categories were Bikeness (non-riders, e-bikes), Cappuccino light, Cappuccino, Cappuccino super and Limoncello.
Dory Hotel presented delicious meals
Making some adjustments to the rental bike
On Day 1, the intermediate group (cappuccino) rode 98km while the relaxed group (cappuccino light) rode 76km.
Morning assembly in front of the hotel
Day 1 and they are off!
Day 1 : some instructions from the guide
Day 1: passing through a market town
Day 1: typical view towards the coast
Day 1: Glenn & guide. She questioned my cycle outfit at the outset.
On Day 2, the intermediate group rode 82km while the relaxed group rode 67km. We all met at the owners home for a pig roast at lunch.
Day 2: climbing out of the coastal plain.
Day 2. I stayed with the intermediate group rather than move up to the more advanced group, because it was a holiday!
Day 2: view towards the Adriatic Sea
Day 2: riding through vineyards
Day 2: BBQ at the owners home
Day 2: The rental carbon-fibre bike was top-notch and lighter than air.
Day 2: Sheila did the bike lift
Day 2: Then it became a group lift
Day 2: after a couple of glasses of wine, everybody was happy.
Day 2: riding back to the hotel after the lunch-time BBQ
Riccione beach at sunset
Riccione beach cafe by night
Day 3 was a longer day. The intermediate group rode 115km, while the relaxed group rode 103km, with 1700m of elevation gain.
Day 3 Beginning of a longer, harder cycle
Day 3
Day 3: on a long hill climb
Day 3: On the road to San Leo
Day 3: Fortified San Leo is perched on a hill top
Day 3: heading for the barn
Day 4 was a scheduled rest day. However, the Giro d'Italia was passing relatively nearby, so the hotel booked coaches to bring the guests to see it. However, we have seen other European road races and opted to visit nearby San Marino by local bus.
Day 4 San Marino
Day 4 San Marino.
Day 4 View from San Marino. San Leo is upper left.
Day 4 San Marino
Day 4 Rimini centre
Day 4 Rimini Roman bridge
We got back to the hotel in time for the "simple" lunch buffet and went for a ride around Riccione.
Day 4 Dory Hotel lunch
Buffet style
Always leave room for dessert
Day 4 Riccione
Day 4 Riccione beach
Dory Hotel afternoon snacks
Dory Hotel endless food
On Day 5, the relaxed group were treated to a olive oil tasting stop which turned out to be more of a wine tasting stop. Even so, they rode 72km and missed the hotel lunch. Meanwhile the intermediate group put in 82km and had their lunch at the hotel. The Cappuccino light group had a better day than the Cappuccino group.
Day 5 Ready to ride
Day 5 "tasting"
Day 5 "tasting"
Day 5: on the road
Day 5: typical riding view
Day 5: nothing but sunshine
Day 6 had the intermediate group riding 83km, southward and back along the coast while the relaxed group rode 73km.
Day 6
Day 6
Day 6
Day 6: Cappuccino group
Day 6: view of Catholica and Riccione in the distance
On Day 7, we borrowed cruiser bikes for another town ride, then caught a shuttle van to Bologna airport. From there, we caught a local bus into the city.
BOLOGNA
We had a good part of Saturday to wander around the central area of Bologna. It doesn't feel touristic and we got the impression that most of people were Bolognese.
Central Bologna
Piazza Maggiore
Central Bologna
Central Bologna
Evening visit to an art exhibit
First course
Our last dinner of our Italy trip.
We caught a flight to Frankfurt and connected with a flight to Vancouver the following day.
PHOTO ALBUMS