The Italian Adventure - Six Days in the Saddle

We arrived in Alessandria on Saturday afternoon and unfortunately missed the drop-off for the rental car so after dealing with that issue we wandered a bit around town before meeting up with our Girolibero guide around 7PM for the bikes and receipt of the relevant information for the ride. Then it was off to find dinner and unfortunately, it being Saturday night, we could not find a decent place that was not full. Thus we settled on an American style steak and burger joint; sigh. After a disappointing night, we hit the sack at our hotel (Girolibero books hotels, not B&Bs) and watched a little "Strike Back" before sleep took us.

Sunday was day one of the second ride and involved getting to Acqui Terme from Alessandria. A distance of 53.3km and unlike the cycling near Venice, this time we had hills!

We bought some lovely biscuits in Mombaruzzo, where we also discovered the amazing Osteria La Marlera!

We arrived hot and sweaty at La Marlera but the waiters did not bat an eye and set us up with a table outside. Lunch was quite simply one of the best we have ever had.

Lisa started with beef tartar and black truffle (she seems to have found her tartar!) while Christos had the amazing fresh anchioves in chickpea batter lightly fried. The main course was the "Plin" pasta, a local specialty of tiny agnolotti stuffed with veal (for Lisa) and trout ravioli for Christos. Both were out of this world and well washed down with a bottle of Barbera.

After lunch, it was back on the road, with mostly downhill to go. We cycled into Acqui Terme in the late afternoon to a somewhat surreal experience; today was festival day! We arrived during the dog show but that was only part of the day's festivities! The entire main street was festooned with flea market stalls while the town squares were decked out for the dog show and other shows (fashion, talent etc). We popped in to the hotel to drop of the bikes and freshen up before heading into town for a day among the citizenry. A little shopping at the flea market was undertaken before we enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and accompanying treats at an Enoteca.

With the dinner hour now approaching, we headed out of town to Osteria46 where we had an amazing meal (one of our best in Italy) of seafood pasta followed by slow cooked veal belly.

On our way back to the hotel, with the town now empty post festival, we heard live music coming from just off the main road and thus we stumbled into Acqui Terme's  "La Bollente" pavilion complete with a hot spring fountain where water bubbles up at seventy-five degrees! In addition, there was a hubbub of activity at one of the bars nearby which turned out to be the source of the live music.

We sat on the patio enjoying the three person ensemble do Italian favourites as well as phonetically rendered versions of classic English pop tunes (Message In a Bottle, Power of Love etc). While there, we bumped into our Girolibero guide and worked out that Lisa would take the van the next day, skipping the cycle, due to her still struggling with a chest cold. After quite a bit of wine, perhaps one glass too many, we stumbled back to the hotel having enjoyed a truly fine Sunday night.

Monday morning witnessed a mildly hung-over Christos and an unwell Lisa. So Lisa was bundled into the van that moves the baggage from town to town while Christos, after refueling with coffee, cereal and water, hopped on the bike for the longest and toughest day of cycling. Not only was the planned route a tough one with the most vertical climb of any day, Christos added a fourth hill to the three hills planned, increasing both the distance cycled (65.3 km) and the vertical climb (1220m)!

Of course the hilltop views over vineyards were well worth the climbs!

While the ride was lovely, and included a tasty lunch of Plin, by the time Christos got to Alba from Acqui Terme he was exhausted. Lisa was still unwell too and so, after a quick tour of the city, we opted for an easy dinner of pizza instead of fancy dining. Alba is the capital of the "Langhe" region of Piedmont. It is famous for the wine, peaches and truffles. To us it seemed a bit touristy but still quaint.

After a restless sleep, both of us decided to tackle day three of riding as the trip was much shorter (39 km) and with only 345m of climb. The ride from Alba to Asti was wonderful! we stopped for a super yummy cream filled cannelloni at the bakery (the bakers were excited that Canadians had come so far to see Italy), bought some "prodotti tipici" and at the top of the highest hill we had to climb was the Alfieri Winery! where we had a wonderful tasting experience and bought two bottles ("La Tota" and "Alfiera Superior") before heading back out.

We arrived in Asti in the mid afternoon and enjoyed wine and nibbles (we had skipped lunch so the nibbles were essential) and toured the town, including a visit to an ancient 6th (?) century Crypt, before having a fantastic dinner at Osteria Diavolo; veal sausage with tube pasta, tartar with porcini mushrooms, pasta with truffle, pounded and fried lamb chops and all washed down with lovely Barbera D'Asti wine.

As we knew that we did not have to move hotels that night (the options for the next day being a loop ride or a trip to Turin), we stayed up late watching "Strike Back" and drinking Nebbiolo wine!

The next day we decided to do the cycle loop instead of the trip to Turin as the loop was through a nature park nearby, fairly short and we were sure Turin would still be there next time we came to Piedmont!

The day started with a trip to the Wednesday farmer's market in full swing where we provisioned for lunch and then headed off on the bikes.

The ride was fabulous with little traffic and sunny skies. We stopped for a walk into the park at one point and stopped to enjoy the solace of the wilderness for at least a half hour before heading back onto the road.

Soon we found ourselves biking on a path with fields of corn on either side (we started singing "Riders In The Corn" to a Doors tune) and finally we found ourselves seated under a peach tree looking out over the vineyards and enjoying our lunch of bread, barolo sausage, cheese, Roma grapes and a bottle of Fiano Di Avellino.

We made it back to Asti in the mid afternoon, did a little more touring of the town (the local tower) and had a decent but not overwhelming dinner at "Taste Vin".

After two nights in Asti, the tour's next destination was Casale Monferrato, on the Po River. The planned route was around 60km but included quite a bit of hills so Christos planned out a new route that added around 5km of riding but skipped the first hill and reduced the vertical climb to around 400m from 700m.

At around the 50km mark of the ride we stopped for lunch at the local "Bar Municipio" in Terruggia; nothing fancy but a much needed pasta, wine and beer stop after a long ride. The price was right as well!

In Casale Monferrato we discovered the wonderful Krumiri biscuits, perfect with coffee! We bought a couple tins to take home with us; both for the biscuits themselves and the wonderful tins they come in.

Our stay in Casale Monferrato was otherwise fairly boring. We had a decent dinner where the owner ignored us in favour of his local guests and our experience at the hotel was poor (AC and wifi problems) and by this point we were feeling pretty worn out with the riding and battling chest colds.

So the next day we were happy that it was our sixth and final day of riding. We biked 51km back to Alessandria, completing our loop of Piedmont,  then returned the bikes and decided to stroll through town enjoying the chocolate festival that was going on. Quite a few euros were spent on artisanal chocolate that afternoon I can tell you! We also saw a bunch of kids dressed in 50s style doing some flash mob style dance moves on the street and shopped for clothes (bike t-shirt for Christos, "in love" long sleeved shirt for Lisa) as we had a laundry situation by this point!

Fortunately we had also thought ahead and when we had last been in Alessandria almost a week previously, we had made a reservation at Il Vicoletto (one of the places that had turned us away six days prior) and thus had an excellent dinner of pasta with porcini followed by oven cooked rabbit (Italian: coniglio).

With the second cycling tour done and us both feeling a bit fatigues and worn down with chest colds, we were quite ready for the next stage of our trip; four days in one B&B near the village of Sinio ...

The Italian Adventure - NorthEast to NorthWest

Our first cycling trip ended on a Sunday morning and as such, renting a car was a bit of a challenge! So we opted instead to take the train from Mestre to nearby Ferrara (some 120km away). At the train station we encountered two young Canadian girls, one of whom claimed the previous night's seafood made her sick but given her open Corona beer in hand we suspected it might be something else ... sure enough within minutes of us boarding the train they were both completely passed out!

We arrived in Ferrara in the mid afternoon and  took a cab to our downtown B&B which was nice but the owner also ran an attached restaurant and seemed to have little time for his guests. We set out for a walk around the town and soon discovered why some call it the City of Bicycles ... everyone rides everywhere!

We found a lovely place for lunch that had a Canadian/Lebanese (now transplanted to Italy for years) gent running the front of house and an Italian kitchen with Lebanese accents. Lunch was the local pumpkin ravioli (excellent!)  and we liked the place so much we went back for dinner (Lebanese appetizers followed by cappelletti stuffed with meat sauce) and a drink. After a hearty dinner we wandered around town admiring the Castello Estense and also noting that the (in)famous Savonarola was born in Ferrara.

The next day we grabbed a meagre breakfast and headed off to the outskirts of town (an hour walk) where we picked up our car, drove back and grabbed our bags and then headed out for our next stop, the lovely agriturismo B&B La Possioncella.

We spent a lovely two nights here enjoying freshly made breakfasts and the peace and quiet of the countryside. Our first afternoon was spent at the local wildlife reserve watching herons, ducks, otters and fish frolic about in the heat.

Our first evening's dinner was a fruitless drive to two local restaurants (both closed on Mondays) and then a disappointing visit to Portomaggiore which was in the throngs of a local carnival and thus the restaurants were basically serving street food. Ah well, they can't all be winners.

Our second day was spent with a day trip to the once proud Ravenna,  visiting the ancient sites associated with Ravenna's past as capital of the Exarchate of Ravenna.

The main sites such as the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare and the Basilica of San Vitale, all with their amazing Byzantine era mosaics are truly beautiful and well worth the visit.

We grabbed a decent lunch in Ravenna before heading back to our B&B, freshening up and then heading out for dinner at the nearby La Chiocciola where although dinner was good, language errors arose and Christos ended up with a calamari he did not order (but did not send back) and Lisa had a fried frog (imagine as though it were a chicken); perhaps a little too adventurous!

After two nights in the country we packed up our bags and prepared for the short drive to the city of Bologna!

Before we left we experienced another serious storm with pouring rain, thunder and lightning!

We looked out the window from our B&B waiting for a break to run to the car and finally got it after an hour of solid rain delaying our arrival in Bologna slightly but not by much once Lisa had discovered how fast our little fiat could go (+160kph). Our B&B in Bologna was just a stone's throw away from the city's landmark, the Two Towers (which inspired NYC's now destroyed World Trade Center).

After a yummy lunch of Bolognese and Lamb Bolognese (which will be tried at home!) we climbed the 498 steps of the Asinelli tower (and paid the 2 euros each to do so!) to enjoy the views over Bologna and then wandered the heart of the old city with its magnificent medieval buildings.

With our bellies having been stuffed by pasta for days on end, we opted for a carb light dinner of delicious cured meats and unpasteurized cheeses on the (mildly) famous Pescherie Vecchia (Old Fishmarket street).

While we enjoyed Bologna, we both agreed that one night was enough (it is a university town with a serious nightlife and all the other aspects of a large city) to see the sights and move on. Fortunately we had only booked one night (Christos had toyed with the idea of two) and off we went to our next destination, the hidden gem of Parma!

We arrived in Parma and stayed with Patrizia in her wonderful B&B within the gorgeous 18th century her well to do house (with interior courtyard etc).

Our room was the old servant quarters adjacent to the well with a sunken bathroom. The room was wonderful with white walls, tasteful art and enough space to lounge. Breakfasts were left at our door in the morning and consisted of fruit, fresh juice, coffee, a little cheese and some pastries. Not quite a Canadian breakfast but one of the better ones on our trip!

We absolutely adored Parma as it is a very cute town and has yet to be discovered by tourists! There are no shops hawking the prodigious cheap souvenirs (t-shirts, key holders etc) and the streets are free of gawking hordes even though the town hosts some lovely sites such as the cathedral and baptistry.

Furthermore, our meals in Parma were top notch. Our first lunch was at the Angiol D'Or where we had yummy cured meats (including a lardy/grey one that was visually intimidating but delicious) followed by beef and pasta for seconds. Dinner that night was at Osteria dello Zingaro, a local place that was full up at lunch (we arrived at 7:30 sharp thus securing a dinner table) that we loved so much we ate there again for lunch the next day! It was at dello Zingaro that Lisa discovered she likes horse tartar!

We also stumbled upon a cute bicycle boutique that the owner was in the process of opening. We chatted for a bit and ended up buying two bike hats to remind us of the place. He had some lovely electric and regular bikes. All of it high end components and manufacture. The Italians certainly love their bicycles!

Our last night in Parma was also our 11th anniversary and we had dinner at Osteria La Gatta Matta (the Crazy Cat). While the menu at first seemed a little intimidating (English translation "tomato water" for "broth" from Italian), the food was excellent and we heartily enjoyed dinner and thought it appropriate that we were dining at a place that had a black cat as its symbol (we still miss little Isis).

The next day was Saturday and we had to head to Alessandria in Piedmont for the next stage in our trip; six days of cycling in the land of wine and food! We made a quick stop at the local market (10 euros for a huge hunk of parmesan cheese) before heading out ....

The Italian Adventure - The Arrival

It was time. We had been away from Italy for too long. So off we flew to Venice just after the Cabbagetown Festival. Our flight over was three hours delayed and we arrived a little bleary eyed but after a mid-afternoon five hour nap, it was time to explore the Serenissima!

We headed out from our hotel to wander the heart of Venice without any plans for dinner; usually a mistake in a tourist Mecca like the City of Bridges. Fortunately for us, we stumbled a lovely little spot which usually is impossible to get into without a reservation. Christos noticed an empty table for two and asked if it was available; he was informed that the table was reserved but the reservation was now ten minutes late and the maitre d' suggested that if five more minutes passed without the guests arriving the table could be ours! Indeed the five minutes passed and we enjoyed a wonderful seafood based meal. We watched as others wandered in and were turned away, including our late reservation (they showed up 45 minutes late) and mused on how fortuitous our evening had been!

That night we discovered through conversation that there are no bicycles in Venice except for kids' bikes which are only allowed in the squares, not in the winding narrow streets.

The next day we relocated across the lagoon to Mestre, the larger mainland territory of Venice, where we stayed at the Hotel Ai Pini and awaited the tour guide and bikes from Girolibero.

Unfortunately, we were both feeling a bit under the weather so the evening was spent enjoying dinner at the hotel and then an early bed time.


We headed out the next morning before 10AM and soon found ourselves on the ferry to the Lido with two other cyclists, Sheena and Paul, from the UK. After a good chat on the ferry, the two pairs went their own ways on the Lido. It started to rain, so we stopped for a brief lunch at a seafood restaurant and then managed to get turned around 180 degrees (the Lido is a long narrow island) when we left!

So our planned 35km ride turned into 50km due to navigational error! Fortunately, neither of us were too concerned about the rain (it was warm) and the extra ride was more of a pleasant diversion than a chore.

We arrived in Chioggia and arranged with Paul and Sheena to have dinner around 7:30pm at the local Osteria just by our hotel. The food was excellent, yummy local shrimp and fresh grilled fish! An after dinner bottle of wine was shared while seated by the sea before we finally got to bed at a later hour than we should have!

The next day was the longest of the three days riding around Venice and involved cycling from Chioggia to Padua, most along the embankments of the old canals.

Once more the weather did not work in our favour and most of the ride ended up being in the rain. Being of good humour, we laughed it off and sang songs ("Biking in the Rain", "Neverending Rainstormy") etc. and then stopped for lunch at a local restaurant in the middle of nowhere (we enjoyed a lovely lunch of salad and spaghetti bolognese) to wait it out.
It did not stop and we finally arrived in Padua after some 62km of wet riding.


In Padua we managed to stumble upon the Scrovegni Chapel before it closed and were in the second last tour group of the day.

One has to wait in an exterior anteroom of the chapel for 15 minutes while the conditions are normalized with the interior of the chapel and then one gets 15 minutes inside the chapel before the next group! It was well worth it. The Giotto frescoes are amazing!! We both particularly liked the opposing Vices and Virtues (such as Charity and Envy) running along the bottom of the walls on opposite sides.

Once more, we lucked out for dinner as we were the first to arrive at the amazing Al Fungo which is a "mom&pop&son" place that normally one needs a reservation to get fed at as the kitchen's shopping is based on that day's reservations! Fortunately, they make a few extra of each item and with us being only two and the first in the door, we were the lucky recipients of such!

Dinner included an amazing duck pasta, pasta with fresh porcini and veal with mushrooms all washed down with an 8 euro litre of very drinkable house wine!



The next day the storms were done and we enjoyed a glorious 40km ride to Mestre from Padua.

We cycled in magnificent sunshine past the old villas of the Venetian rich and famous. Lunch was a simple but delicious roadside beer and sandwich.

We arrived in Mestre (back at the Ai Pini hotel) and met up with Sheena and Paul again when they arrived and we all decided to head into Venice for dinner.

We took the bus to the terminus at Santa Croce and then marched through the city on foot until we tired and found a restaurant for dinner. As the restaurant was a bit off the beaten path but not exclusive enough that one needed a reservation days or weeks in advance it was good but not awesome.


We witnessed a fun street scene as the gondolas passed and one of the gondoliers was clearly parched! Fortunately a waiter was able to provide him with refreshment. Talk about roadside service!

We had an overpriced dinner with a less than attentive waiter (he recommended a poor first bottle of wine) but made the best of it with good conversation and a much nicer second bottle of wine!

After dinner it was a wander back to the buses with a stop for lemoncello both before the bus ride and back at the hotel. We slept very soundly that night!