2013 Italy trip

[Rynglieder]

Follonica – Rapallo 149 miles

Our route today continues north along the SS1, an easy toll dual carriageway run in full sunshine.

It had not escaped me that the road passes near Pisa, so it has to be done. More city-centre navigating frustrations, but we eventually find our way there for a walk around the tower and cathedral grounds, lots of photos and a coffee.  Getting out of Pisa is worse than getting in. After 15 minutes of following (and losing) Autostrada signs we eventually end up back where the bike had been parked.  It's time to do it the old fashioned way – look at the position of the sun, work out which way is West and ignore the signs – much easier.

The afternoon continues along the SS1, the Tuscan hills giving way to the Ligurian Mountains followed by tunnels and viaducts from which we catch our first glimpses of the Riviera. We arrive in Rapallo in time for a brief look round the sea front before heading up into the hills to find our accommodation.

For the next five nights we will be staying in an "apartment", actually the basement of a family house in the hills near San Massimo. Not exactly a prime location, no views and nothing immediately to hand, but all we are looking for is somewhere clean, comfortable and affordable. When searching the web before travelling I had taken care to choose somewhere with a washing machine so we could refresh our clothes – there is only so much two people can carry on a bike. We find that it is perfect for us and now have a home for a few days for some luggage-free riding


9.1 Pisa
9.2 &, 9.3 Approaching Liguria on the SS1
9.4 The location of our apartment near San Massimo
 

[Rynglieder]

Four days on the Riviera – 500 miles?

Our first day in Rapallo is spent by a short ride into town, a walk round and then another few minutes on the bike into the adjacent resort of Santa Margarhita, two really nice towns with elegant buildings and expensive looking hotels.

The second day we head up into the Ligurain hills behind the resorts in search of an escape from the town traffic and endless buzzing scooters. Although it looks promising on my map it is something of a disappointment, the roads are far too steep and narrow and the bends are tight and blind – not what I was looking for at all. As the cloud drops on the hills we give it up as a bad job and ride back down to the coast road, back-tracking eastwards to look at Chiavari and Sestri Levante, this turns out to be more like the roads I was seeking.

Having spent the second say going east we decide to spend the third day riding west along the Riviera. I am in no mood for riding in another Italian city so we bypass Genoa by using the autostrada and start our ride proper at Voltri. There is no final destination in mind, just keep riding until we have had enough. We linger in Savona and spend a couple of hours around its old costal fort. It turns out to be a great day on the bike and we are happy to just keep going. Eventually we end up in Imperia, much further from "home" than we intended so the day is finished with a two hour Autostrada blast back to Rapallo as dusk turned to darkness.

For our final full day on the Riviera I decide to take the short run into Portofino. We have three big rides ahead of us and it makes sense not to spend too much time on the bike today. It was a photograph of Portofino that had first drawn my attention to this area and it looks even better in the flesh. Although its time as the Ultimate Destination for the wealthy and famous has probably now gone, this small former fishing port is still filled with the shops of all of the major designers and there is still a decent yacht or two in the harbour and the odd Ferrari on the road. We have a good day walking around the village and its surrounding hills and finish off with an evening in Rapallo.

10.1 Santa Margharita
10.2 The Ligurian Mountains
10.3 The fort at Savona
10.4 On the Road to Imperia
10.5 Your correspondent
10.6 Portofino
10.07 Portofino harbour

[O.C.]

I'm still waxing lyrical about your report, it's one thing to plan and undertake  the journey it's another to produce a report which is factual and interesting but you have included some beautiful photos too .....BTW what's Robson Greene doing nxt to your bike   

Thanks for sharing with us      

[Rynglieder]

Rapallo – Yvoire [F] 260 miles

Up early this morning to pack everything and clean up the apartment. It's always impossible to pack much the night before when you are on a bike; you need everything right up until you leave the door. We rejoin the Autostrada west toward Genoa and then North on the A26 past Alessandria and onward with the E25 toward Aosta. The '14 is doing really well still; smooth and reliable and taking no notice of what we are making it carry. The mountains are back in sight, there is snow on the tops but the sky remains blue and it is a great run even if only motorway riding.

Eventually we climb to the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel where there is a bit of a service area, so a good moment for another coffee and some photos before pushing on. Like the Gotthard tunnel that we did before it is long and separation and speed limits are strictly enforced but before too long we have emerged back into France near Chamonix.

Having failed to extract any cash from the ATM at the Mont Banc service area and being short on the folding stuff, I decide to take the rural roads from Chamonix down toward Clunes so as to avoid the Motorway Tolls. So far today we have got trough two tank fills of fuel (€60), €30 in Italian motorway tolls and €27 to get through the tunnel.

The wallet is refreshed in Clunes and a bit more coffee imbibed so we push onwards. Unfortunately my timing is not good and we have reached these roads in rush hour. There is an hour of stop-start riding and Carole is getting really uncomfortable on the back now – the one and only low point on the trip.

Eventually we break free and another half hour sees us arriving at Yvoire on the shores of the lake. This is a stunning little medieval village and our hotel for the night does not disappoint either. An evening walk around the village and shore is finished with a couple of beers in the hotel garden before bed.

11.1 Near Aosta
11.2 Near Aosta
11.3 Another tank of gas!
11.4 Mont Blanc
11.5 Yvoire

[Rynglieder]

Yvoire [F] – Reims [F] 357 miles

There is another big motorway ride ahead today; fortunately the weather is looking promising to start. Although Yvoire is in France we are only a handful of miles from the Swiss border and the centre of Geneva. As we have about £40.00 in Swiss Francs left in the wallet we decide to ride in to Geneva to use them to fill the bike up rather than changing the currency back.

Our run into the city centre includes parking up on the shore of the lake and taking a coffee at a café opposite the iconic Jet d'Eau fountain. 

Leaving Geneva we pick up the motorway network and have a solid an uneventful day's riding passing Bourg-en-Bresse, Dijon and Troyes. There are rain clouds around us now but mostly we are lucky and the motorway seems to swing away from the weather we can see ahead. Eventually we are in Reims and after a quick consultation with our street plan we are parked up outside the Hotel de Cathèdrale.

This hotel turns out to be the most basic of our trip. A really good location in the city centre and on the approach road to the cathedral but our tiny room is on the fourth floor and there are no lifts. It is not really a problem though as we have no intention of being in there except to sleep, so we head off on foot into the town. 

Up at the cathedral there is a major road run taking place and there are good crowds being entertained by a band and DJ. We watch the race set off and then take a wander around the outside of the cathedral and then seek out the main city centre streets. Reims on this Saturday night is really alive with loads of bars and pavement cafes and there is a great feel to the place. I had never given it much thought, it was simply a point halfway between two places we needed to be but I would be happy to visit again one day. Over our "last night" beer we try to decide what the highlight of our trip was, but there are just too many to choose from and no conclusion is reached.

Feeling hungry we find a take-away and head back for the cathedral remembering that there were places around there that we could probably sit quietly to eat and assuming that the building would probably be lit up. When we arrive, the crowds are still there although the road run had long finished. As we were trying to work this out, the cathedral is plunged into darkness and then to the accompaniment of medieval music we are treated to an amazing and unexpected light show as huge projectors throw a display onto the front of the building showing it being scaffolded, animations of the masons at works and throwing coloured light over the frontage making it look as if the whole thing was of stained glass – a terrific and unexpected finale to our trip.

12.1 Jet d'Eau, Geneva
12.2 Reims Cathedral
12.3 Reims Cathedral

[Rynglieder]

I'm still waxing lyrical about your report, it's one thing to plan and undertake  the journey it's another to produce a report which is factual and interesting but you have included some beautiful photos too .....BTW what's Robson Greene doing nxt to your bike   

Thanks for sharing with us      

Thanks; Usually I do it to order my own thoughts when returning from a trip and hopefully someone else will gain something from it - an idea for somewhere they had not considered to go (or avoid!) or to pick up on something I have done or not done that will make their own trips better.

[Rynglieder]

Reims [F] – Stourbridge [UK} 409 miles

The bike is loaded up for the last time and we head back onto the A26  toward Calais, another toll motorway run and the reverse of what we had ridden just two weeks ago. 

We arrive at the tunnel terminal early and are given the option of taking an earlier shuttle, which we are loaded onto reasonably quickly. After  half an hour or so parked on the train with nothing happening a young lady comes round to advise us that there is a problem in the tunnel and nothing will be moving for a while. After another 45 minutes we are told the problem is clear but they now need to load more vehicles on the train so that it is at full capacity to clear the backlog. And there is my second experience of the tunnel - at least on the ferry you can get a coffee and have a smoke if you are stuck on it.

Eventually we are back driving on the left and have an uneventful run along the M20 / M25 / M40 back up to the midlands.

A reflection

We have had an amazing couple of weeks and seen some beautiful and historic places and have not regretted a moment of it. But would I do it again? No. As a bike trip there was too much on motorways and not enough chances to "play". Italy is an interesting place but I did not much care for Italians – don't get me started.

Perhaps this would work a little better if I had dropped Rome and Follonica. Rome was a great experience but does not need a motorcycle; a cheap flight and a long weekend city break would probably have covered it better and allowed a couple of extra days on the bike in Tuscany, the Riviera or maybe split down a couple of the long motorway hauls.

My previous trips to Spain and Germany were a lot more fun on the bike and I would go back there first. There is a still lot to explore in Europe and I already have my eye on something else. Two weeks on my bike on the continent I what I work for these days and I can't wait for next summer.

13.1 Route approximation
13.2 Gratuitous final shot of bike and palm tree

[O.C.]

Brilliant and thank you...its been said before that too much time travelling can spoil the time that is available to do some sightseeing, however your report and pictures have been a joy to read.