I know I'm being particularly dense on this one but what on earth is this 'Facebook' thing all about.
I have tried, I really have, I have done what is necessary as I understand it (limited understanding in this case remember) to set up a profile etc. I have 'written on a wall' as instruced, whatever that might mean and I even havew friends it seems but from that point on I seem to be totally lost.
My mailbox keeps presenting me with 'pokes' (uh!) and other oddities, all generated from this Facebook malarky but I'll be damned if I can discover quite what it's all about, what I'm supposed to be doing, where the questions are it keeps asking me so I can answer them or what in the name of stupidity a poke is!
Me confused? Yup, sure am!
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
And finally.....
.....for those of you who might prefer a less verbose but more informative and amusing version, Fletch's take on the proceedings is HERE .
I'm biased I know but well worth a read :o)
I'm biased I know but well worth a read :o)
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
About this holiday then ~ Part 4
The end.....I promise!
One damp night and poor-ish meal in a restaurant later, we departed Grimsel and the pretty grim kind of woman manning the local campsite (in a beautiful spot mind you) and moved on northwards via
Interlaken to South East France and the Alsace region....only about 200 miles this time which gave us time to play on the roads through and forest close to Colmar. This though had a sobering moment when we came upon some World War 1 cemeteries, the area having been on the front line.
Due respect and a quiet moment were given and we carried on the Xonrupt-Longemer and a campsite at the edge of a lake...amusingly called 'camping Du Lac'! heh.
We were knackered, it was raining, the site was nice and it was fun trying to communicate with the girl running it, who spoke a similar amount of English to our command of French, so we stayed put for a day of rest that mostly consisted of eating and hibernation from the rain in the tent with a book or two.
The feeling that we were near the end was setting in and knowing we had to be back at the hook of Holland for Saturday and our sailing home we set off again, wet tent packed, hey, we got used to being wet and got packing our 'temporary home' down to a fine art in any conditions!
We had decided that our last night and morning should be spent in Amsterdam, a nice hotel, good food and one final blast, sex and drugs and rock and roll....and all that.
The journey through Luxembourg and Belgium could best be described as 'utility', on motorways, hot and without stopping, that was until we hit our first traffic jams for two weeks trying to get into Amsterdam....where we came to a shuddering halt and had to re-think our route.
Once into the city we found a lovely hotel that 'sadly'
Amsterdam was good, way better than I had expected, it has a kind of chilled, laid back, anything goes vibe about it that I loved. We could happily have spent a few days there but we made the most of our few hours, an evening and a morning, and though one feels in Amsterdam that one should do the whole sex and drugs and rock roll thing in our state of tiredness it was somewhat beyond us ....sex was a quick beetle around the red light district, drugs we don't do (even when cheap and legal) and the rock and roll....well we chose to chill in a bar after an excellent dinner, that had a guy playing 'easy listening' on a piano, hardly rock and roll but very enjoyable!
The morning came and with it our penultimate ride, to the Hook of Holland to sail back to the U.K. It was uneventful and we boarded and sailed on time. Again we had a Captains cabin so we made the most of it......and slept, finally docking at about 22.00 hours and then riding our final 100 miles home to Cambridge. In typically British style we were treated to a dull, dismal, rainy and misty ride for the final leg....... Welcome back to England!
I hated coming back, this holiday had been such an adventure and I loved the lifestyle, a challenge in parts yes, but the challenge was part of the fun and the experience. I discovered stuff about myself that I didn't know and learned some stuff, good and bad along the way but most of all I could have just carried on living that life forever, riding from one country to the next, pitching the tent, eating what was available, trying to communicate in different languages and marvelling at the world around me and what it has to offer. Oh, and the company was pretty respectable too! ;o)
I truly never believed that the world was such a beautiful and interesting place until now.......
When does the next ferry sail?
*All images can be found HERE if you prefer not to trawl through all this!....more added when I get a moment.
Monday, 27 August 2007
About this holiday then ~ Part 3
If you're not heartily fed up with reading all this by now here follows the next bit!
San Giminano being plonked somewhere in the middle of Italy gave us way too much choice as to cities to visit, there was Rome, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Modena and Bologna to choose from but we couldn't possibly do all of them (we preffer the countryside to the cities anyways) and unable to do them all we opted for Pisa and Florence.
Pisa, what can I say, I'm glad I have seen the falling over tower, from a structural point of view it's fascinating but trying to evade the clutches of the pushy street vendors with cases full of dodgy watches and the crowds soon wore thin and Pisa was exited once we had marvelled at it's tower a while.
Tacky I know but it's gotta be done!
Florence on the other hand was beautiful and given the opportunity we will go back but on this trip we had to limit ourselves to an afternoon there marvelling at the architecture and particularly the Ponte Vecchio...though the fact that every building on it had long since been turned into a tourist trap jewellery outlet was a little miffing. From the banks of the Arno river however it was still amazing.....
'gemmak and Fletch' at the Ponte Vecchio!
......and the sight of the whole city from the top of a hill as we left was unbelievable.
Not mine ~ courtesy of the internet!
The beauty and bank aggravation behind us now we hit the road again headed north for Laas in the Italian Alps, to find a new pitch and to ride the long awaited Stevilo Pass.
The ride was somewhat trying, another 350 or so miles but this time in high heat. One of the features of this kind of leather clad traveling is that one is never satisfied. When it's cold all you wish for is a little heat and when the sun shines and the heat saps you of all energy all you wish for is a nice cold glacier again!
Most amusingly, given that we suffered in the name of 'all the gear all the time' for the sake of safety we noticed the Carabinerie on their bikes sporting only shirt sleeves and a big weapon! Some example that is! Oh, and they also seemed to spend most of their day hanging out drinking coffee!
But on we rode, back accompanied on all sides past more amazing vistas, it seemed for most of our holiday that just when you thought you could see nothing more stunning, around the next corner was just that, something even more stunning! We stopped here and there along our way for much needed water, caffeine and nicotine and mostly remained very upbeat despite the soaring temperature.....Ok, I had one, 'I'm toooo hot can't we stop now' moment but I regained my composure quickly, fortified by lots of marzipan chocolate....this stuff became part of my staple diet incidentally, along with various form of 'pasta a la Fletch', which meant pasta made on one ring with various sauces and usually frankfurters! I did try the frankfurters but mostly I picked them out and launched them at his plate.....hey, a lifetime as a veggie isn't easily overcome! heh.
Eventually we made it in early evening to Laas, we found a lovely little campsite bordered on all sides by mountains and offering toilet, laundry and shower facilities, more befitting of a five star hotel than a grass pitch, what luxury. More cheering than that even though I soon discovered the site had a resident, particularly friendly and cuddly kitten to adopt temporarily! Life was perfect....aside from one small issue....we had forgotten to get any supplies en-route, the site was lacking in a shop and the tiny village was firmly closed for the night so 'dinner' consisted of our emergency ration food, pepparami noodles. It's amazing how good plastic food can taste in emergency!
Having been fed we settled down for the night, believing that the beautiful church that overlooked the site must surely cease ringing it's bells every 15 minutes at some point in the evening.....wrong, it carried on all night long and to add insult to injury was joined by an even more prolifically chiming church bell a few meters away on the hour, every hour! We woke early! I think it was only our extreme tiredness that allowed us even a few hours sleep for the following evening, the following evening whilst Fletch managed a few hours I, despite earplugs, spent most of the night wandering around in the dark smoking or reading trying to alleviate the lack of sleep frustration.
But finally it was morning and Stelvio Pass called. We took the luggage off the bike, made sure we only had a half tank of petrol (a full tank is very heavy) and set off for what promised to be a stunning but very 'hairy' ride. It was everything we had looked forward too, magnificent, wonderful, very challenging to ride and a massive buzz.
Much of it I only saw through the back of a video screen, this was one of my spells trying to video it all over Fletch's shoulder, which forced me to look over the edge way more than I would have liked but it all added to the fun factor. Oh, and for those of you amused by the principle, yes I slept for a short while on the way down....more on the bike sleeping thing another time.
For whoever it was who asked if Fletch let me ride the bike....the above picture might illustrate why not....... note the size of me in comparison, she is a massive machine, Fletch is a big guy and she's hard work for him, I wouldn't stand a chance, much less even get her off the stand! ;o)
We left Laas on the following day heading north again, this time onto Grimsel in Switzerland via St. Moritz which is very nice if one has piles of money and wants to ski or play polo but it's public toilets were about the worst I encountered and instead of an overpriced restaurant we partook of a superb lunch of fresh bread, salami (there goes the veggie in me again) emmental and coffee rustled up on the banks of the lake and provided by Fletch miraculously from a hidden compartment somewhere on the bike!
Unnecpectedly this turned out to be the most fantastic journey, if slow. We only managed to cover approx. 250 miles but the small scale map we were using for that hadn't made it clear to us that we would be riding seven mountain passes, one after another, that adds up to a vast number of hairpin bends and sheer drops which in turn added up to maybe nine hours of intense concentration for the guy on the front. Again he deserves a medal, I couldn't maintain that level of concentration for a few hours, let alone all day long and if one was in any doubt as to just how challenging these roads were, dotted along them here and there were great iron crosses bearing photographs of unfortunate bikers who had in some way 'overcooked' it! :o/
That reminder aside it was truly incredible, every few moments there was a new breathtaking sight, everything from riding above the glaciers to herds of beautifully coloured Alpine cows tinkling with their bells
and great dams in the middle of the mountains, in places one couldn't imagine the earth moving equipment needed for such construction could even get too. What stick in my memory most though was the colour of the glacial lakes and rivers, the brightest milky turquoise blue, like massive opals set into the rocks. Sadly stopping a bike, or any vehicle on these roads is not easy and as a consequence I didn't get a picture that really illustrates the colour, but I doubt my camera could have reproduced in any convincing way quite how unbelievably beautiful it was.
*Part four coming up....really, i'll try and make that the final one!
San Giminano being plonked somewhere in the middle of Italy gave us way too much choice as to cities to visit, there was Rome, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Modena and Bologna to choose from but we couldn't possibly do all of them (we preffer the countryside to the cities anyways) and unable to do them all we opted for Pisa and Florence.
Pisa, what can I say, I'm glad I have seen the falling over tower, from a structural point of view it's fascinating but trying to evade the clutches of the pushy street vendors with cases full of dodgy watches and the crowds soon wore thin and Pisa was exited once we had marvelled at it's tower a while.
Florence on the other hand was beautiful and given the opportunity we will go back but on this trip we had to limit ourselves to an afternoon there marvelling at the architecture and particularly the Ponte Vecchio...though the fact that every building on it had long since been turned into a tourist trap jewellery outlet was a little miffing. From the banks of the Arno river however it was still amazing.....
......and the sight of the whole city from the top of a hill as we left was unbelievable.
The beauty and bank aggravation behind us now we hit the road again headed north for Laas in the Italian Alps, to find a new pitch and to ride the long awaited Stevilo Pass.
The ride was somewhat trying, another 350 or so miles but this time in high heat. One of the features of this kind of leather clad traveling is that one is never satisfied. When it's cold all you wish for is a little heat and when the sun shines and the heat saps you of all energy all you wish for is a nice cold glacier again!
Most amusingly, given that we suffered in the name of 'all the gear all the time' for the sake of safety we noticed the Carabinerie on their bikes sporting only shirt sleeves and a big weapon! Some example that is! Oh, and they also seemed to spend most of their day hanging out drinking coffee!
But on we rode, back accompanied on all sides past more amazing vistas, it seemed for most of our holiday that just when you thought you could see nothing more stunning, around the next corner was just that, something even more stunning! We stopped here and there along our way for much needed water, caffeine and nicotine and mostly remained very upbeat despite the soaring temperature.....Ok, I had one, 'I'm toooo hot can't we stop now' moment but I regained my composure quickly, fortified by lots of marzipan chocolate....this stuff became part of my staple diet incidentally, along with various form of 'pasta a la Fletch', which meant pasta made on one ring with various sauces and usually frankfurters! I did try the frankfurters but mostly I picked them out and launched them at his plate.....hey, a lifetime as a veggie isn't easily overcome! heh.
Eventually we made it in early evening to Laas, we found a lovely little campsite bordered on all sides by mountains and offering toilet, laundry and shower facilities, more befitting of a five star hotel than a grass pitch, what luxury. More cheering than that even though I soon discovered the site had a resident, particularly friendly and cuddly kitten to adopt temporarily! Life was perfect....aside from one small issue....we had forgotten to get any supplies en-route, the site was lacking in a shop and the tiny village was firmly closed for the night so 'dinner' consisted of our emergency ration food, pepparami noodles. It's amazing how good plastic food can taste in emergency!
Having been fed we settled down for the night, believing that the beautiful church that overlooked the site must surely cease ringing it's bells every 15 minutes at some point in the evening.....wrong, it carried on all night long and to add insult to injury was joined by an even more prolifically chiming church bell a few meters away on the hour, every hour! We woke early! I think it was only our extreme tiredness that allowed us even a few hours sleep for the following evening, the following evening whilst Fletch managed a few hours I, despite earplugs, spent most of the night wandering around in the dark smoking or reading trying to alleviate the lack of sleep frustration.
But finally it was morning and Stelvio Pass called. We took the luggage off the bike, made sure we only had a half tank of petrol (a full tank is very heavy) and set off for what promised to be a stunning but very 'hairy' ride. It was everything we had looked forward too, magnificent, wonderful, very challenging to ride and a massive buzz.
Much of it I only saw through the back of a video screen, this was one of my spells trying to video it all over Fletch's shoulder, which forced me to look over the edge way more than I would have liked but it all added to the fun factor. Oh, and for those of you amused by the principle, yes I slept for a short while on the way down....more on the bike sleeping thing another time.
For whoever it was who asked if Fletch let me ride the bike....the above picture might illustrate why not....... note the size of me in comparison, she is a massive machine, Fletch is a big guy and she's hard work for him, I wouldn't stand a chance, much less even get her off the stand! ;o)
We left Laas on the following day heading north again, this time onto Grimsel in Switzerland via St. Moritz which is very nice if one has piles of money and wants to ski or play polo but it's public toilets were about the worst I encountered and instead of an overpriced restaurant we partook of a superb lunch of fresh bread, salami (there goes the veggie in me again) emmental and coffee rustled up on the banks of the lake and provided by Fletch miraculously from a hidden compartment somewhere on the bike!
Unnecpectedly this turned out to be the most fantastic journey, if slow. We only managed to cover approx. 250 miles but the small scale map we were using for that hadn't made it clear to us that we would be riding seven mountain passes, one after another, that adds up to a vast number of hairpin bends and sheer drops which in turn added up to maybe nine hours of intense concentration for the guy on the front. Again he deserves a medal, I couldn't maintain that level of concentration for a few hours, let alone all day long and if one was in any doubt as to just how challenging these roads were, dotted along them here and there were great iron crosses bearing photographs of unfortunate bikers who had in some way 'overcooked' it! :o/
That reminder aside it was truly incredible, every few moments there was a new breathtaking sight, everything from riding above the glaciers to herds of beautifully coloured Alpine cows tinkling with their bells
and great dams in the middle of the mountains, in places one couldn't imagine the earth moving equipment needed for such construction could even get too. What stick in my memory most though was the colour of the glacial lakes and rivers, the brightest milky turquoise blue, like massive opals set into the rocks. Sadly stopping a bike, or any vehicle on these roads is not easy and as a consequence I didn't get a picture that really illustrates the colour, but I doubt my camera could have reproduced in any convincing way quite how unbelievably beautiful it was.
*Part four coming up....really, i'll try and make that the final one!
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Learning the hard way!
A small piece of advice here....... don't ever travel overseas with only one bank card!!!
Fletch being Fletch with his usual awareness for security took recent high street bank advice and instead of traveling with a fist full of credit and bank cards took only one, apparently fraud overseas has increased dramatically and to carry too many is to invite problems.
Ok, so maybe to take just one was a little over the top, as a discharged bankrupt I cannot have such luxuries and hence can't help out in a situation like we found ourselves.
The account for which Fletch was card carrying was 'well stocked' to cover all eventualities and we had a fair amount of cash on us but as is the way of holidays cash soon departs the pocket and so we hit an ATM on the Friday evening in San Giminano....you know what happened next don't you....the computer said no! Huffing and puffing a little we set about calling the bank in the U.K. (via very expensive mobile connection I might add) only to be told by some spotty youth that 'all cards had been stopped overseas but it would be working within 24 hours'!!! Seemed a little strange but as further questioning produced no more information we crossed our fingers and waited the 24 hours.
The following evening we called again, asking that the bank call us back to save the call charges "we aren't allowed to call back overseas" was the answer!! No, I bet their not if they make cock ups like this one turned out to be.....hey, why pay for your inefficiency yourself when some other poor fool can take the hassle and the financial fallout! FFS! Banks!
This time we were told there was 'a problem' with the card. Yup, dead right Fletch informed them.....the problem was that we were in Italy, needed to check out of a hotel and had no other way to pay than this card. I might add here that we had 'embellished' our situation to try and get some action, we did in fact have enough cash to check out and get home but little else!
We again were promised that the card would be re-activated within 24 hours. We had no choice but to hope!
Twenty four hours passed and of course you know, as we did that it wasn't gonna happen, so yet another expensive phone call was made.
At last we got a lady who wasn't hot out of school, looked at her screen properly and told us that the card was stopped because it had been cloned in the U.K. So much for fraud overseas! Fletch went painfully again through the 'we are stranded in Italy' story only to be told we needed to speak with the fraud department....who weren't open! Thoroughly p*ssed off by this point and given that when asked her to find us a solution to our plight she replied she 'didn't have one', stuck we would remain in Italy, Fletch lost his usual kind and polite attitude a little. This finally produced a little action and she agreed to call us back with a solution the next morning, though she didn't believe that I wasn't carrying any cards and kept suggesting we use mine! Jeez! Are all banks completely inept!?
But good to her word she did call back at the specified time (we had explained we would be on the road and one can't hear a phone or answer it when sporting a crash hat) and we had made sure we were parked up to receive that call. More yada, yada, yada, more crap and more excuses but FINALLY she managed to get the fruad boys to activate the card again until we returned to the U.K. Hurrah!!
The whole issue had detracted a little from the few days we had in Italy, which was more than a bit annoying but finally we were solvent again.......that was until we tried to check out of a hotel again further down the line and found the card to be stopped again!!! I won't bore you with that tale though, well not yet anyways!
Banks just don't want to help their poor reputation it seems. I appreciate fully that they were doing their job and that to identify that the card had been cloned and to act on that was a positive thing but what I don't understand is that they don't have a system in place to solve the kind of problem we had, they couldn't have given a damn if we really had been stranded and had missed a flight/crossing etc. or had been unable to check out of the hotel, even the suggestion from us that they just allow us one withdrawal of cash having gone through and passed stringent security questioning fell on deaf ears.
What was most frustrating was that it is the banks recent suggestion not to carry too many cards (ok, only one might have been taking it a little far with the benefit of hindsight), Fletch had made sure there were more than ample funds and this was his money, not even a credit card and they still wouldn't give him access to any of it....and little more did they care, we spent two days being fobbed off by spotty teenagers who apparently didn't even have the wit to read their screen properly!
The possibility of being stranded in Italy indefinitely had its attractions but Euro-less??!
So, the lesson learnt is never trust a banks advice and never travel without a fistful of plastic.....the fraud in this case was committed in the U.K anyways before we left!
Fletch being Fletch with his usual awareness for security took recent high street bank advice and instead of traveling with a fist full of credit and bank cards took only one, apparently fraud overseas has increased dramatically and to carry too many is to invite problems.
Ok, so maybe to take just one was a little over the top, as a discharged bankrupt I cannot have such luxuries and hence can't help out in a situation like we found ourselves.
The account for which Fletch was card carrying was 'well stocked' to cover all eventualities and we had a fair amount of cash on us but as is the way of holidays cash soon departs the pocket and so we hit an ATM on the Friday evening in San Giminano....you know what happened next don't you....the computer said no! Huffing and puffing a little we set about calling the bank in the U.K. (via very expensive mobile connection I might add) only to be told by some spotty youth that 'all cards had been stopped overseas but it would be working within 24 hours'!!! Seemed a little strange but as further questioning produced no more information we crossed our fingers and waited the 24 hours.
The following evening we called again, asking that the bank call us back to save the call charges "we aren't allowed to call back overseas" was the answer!! No, I bet their not if they make cock ups like this one turned out to be.....hey, why pay for your inefficiency yourself when some other poor fool can take the hassle and the financial fallout! FFS! Banks!
This time we were told there was 'a problem' with the card. Yup, dead right Fletch informed them.....the problem was that we were in Italy, needed to check out of a hotel and had no other way to pay than this card. I might add here that we had 'embellished' our situation to try and get some action, we did in fact have enough cash to check out and get home but little else!
We again were promised that the card would be re-activated within 24 hours. We had no choice but to hope!
Twenty four hours passed and of course you know, as we did that it wasn't gonna happen, so yet another expensive phone call was made.
At last we got a lady who wasn't hot out of school, looked at her screen properly and told us that the card was stopped because it had been cloned in the U.K. So much for fraud overseas! Fletch went painfully again through the 'we are stranded in Italy' story only to be told we needed to speak with the fraud department....who weren't open! Thoroughly p*ssed off by this point and given that when asked her to find us a solution to our plight she replied she 'didn't have one', stuck we would remain in Italy, Fletch lost his usual kind and polite attitude a little. This finally produced a little action and she agreed to call us back with a solution the next morning, though she didn't believe that I wasn't carrying any cards and kept suggesting we use mine! Jeez! Are all banks completely inept!?
But good to her word she did call back at the specified time (we had explained we would be on the road and one can't hear a phone or answer it when sporting a crash hat) and we had made sure we were parked up to receive that call. More yada, yada, yada, more crap and more excuses but FINALLY she managed to get the fruad boys to activate the card again until we returned to the U.K. Hurrah!!
The whole issue had detracted a little from the few days we had in Italy, which was more than a bit annoying but finally we were solvent again.......that was until we tried to check out of a hotel again further down the line and found the card to be stopped again!!! I won't bore you with that tale though, well not yet anyways!
Banks just don't want to help their poor reputation it seems. I appreciate fully that they were doing their job and that to identify that the card had been cloned and to act on that was a positive thing but what I don't understand is that they don't have a system in place to solve the kind of problem we had, they couldn't have given a damn if we really had been stranded and had missed a flight/crossing etc. or had been unable to check out of the hotel, even the suggestion from us that they just allow us one withdrawal of cash having gone through and passed stringent security questioning fell on deaf ears.
What was most frustrating was that it is the banks recent suggestion not to carry too many cards (ok, only one might have been taking it a little far with the benefit of hindsight), Fletch had made sure there were more than ample funds and this was his money, not even a credit card and they still wouldn't give him access to any of it....and little more did they care, we spent two days being fobbed off by spotty teenagers who apparently didn't even have the wit to read their screen properly!
The possibility of being stranded in Italy indefinitely had its attractions but Euro-less??!
So, the lesson learnt is never trust a banks advice and never travel without a fistful of plastic.....the fraud in this case was committed in the U.K anyways before we left!
About this holiday then ~ Part 2
....and so next it was onward back over Grossglockner and on the next of our ten hour jaunts in the saddle via The Alps and the Dolomites headed for Italy and San Giminano in Tuscany.
Another amazing day, begun at early morning above the glaciers, in snow and in temperatures designed to numb extremities, through small Austrian mountain villages such as Heiligenblut, riding through torrential rain and electric storms, a forest fire and finally into the bright clear sunshine of Southern Italy offering temperatures that after the mornings chill seemed impossibly hot in leathers!
Heiligenblut
The scenery again, almost the whole route was impossibly magnificent, at every turn inspiring yet again the ‘wow’ factor, I think I spent most of my holiday with my jaw hanging open in awe (very attractive!) as we went from the majesty and power of mountains above the clouds through forests and past glacial lakes of unbelievably bright turquoise waters and finally into Italy and Tuscany offering an array for as far as the eye could see of beautifully ramshackle buildings in subdued tones of ochre, sienna, olive and terracotta set against a backdrop of rolling of hills in matching tones.
San Giminano
One note here: If you ever take this route please be aware that in Zurich not only is it hot noisy and busy but they also appear to have a novel approach to road signage….when looking for a place on our route called ‘Chur’ we came across a big sign at an intersection that had the destination marked in completely opposing dirctions!!! Infact we found two such signs in a short distance. Helpful!!
San Giminano reached we were both hot, tired and hungry and despite the only campsite being set among beautiful scenery in shaded woodland, we found it to be very overcrowded and with (horror of horrors eh Fletch) a late night bar offering high decibel musical ‘entertainment’. This was the time we decided to have a day of two of ‘rest’ and we booked into a hotel for a few nights.....the owner of which was a delightful lady who insisted that we park the bike on their private terrace to keep it safe. This involved manouvering the great beast through two sets of internal doors ….no mean feat, she only had about 2cm clearance!
San Giminano has to be one of the most beautiful places known to man (or in this case man and woman), though it's beauty of course means that in the season it is a little less than peaceful but even that can be forgiven when among all it's other attributes it boast the the world champion gelateria 2006-7.....we of courser felt duty bound to thoroughly test the wares.....well, it would be impolite not too now wouldn't it?!
I have to say that the idea of a few days hotel bound was not unattractive after the cramped confines of a very small tent (more on that another time) and add to that our hosts were particulary nice people and the hotel had an even more particularly nice restaurant, things were looking good as we wandered among the beautiful historic buildings of the town, bathed in evening sun eating copious amounts of pizza and gellato, very good indeed.
There was but one cloud on the horizon (these things are sent to try us!) at this point, I'll give you a clue, it involved a U.K bank.......
*Part 3 soon.
Another amazing day, begun at early morning above the glaciers, in snow and in temperatures designed to numb extremities, through small Austrian mountain villages such as Heiligenblut, riding through torrential rain and electric storms, a forest fire and finally into the bright clear sunshine of Southern Italy offering temperatures that after the mornings chill seemed impossibly hot in leathers!
The scenery again, almost the whole route was impossibly magnificent, at every turn inspiring yet again the ‘wow’ factor, I think I spent most of my holiday with my jaw hanging open in awe (very attractive!) as we went from the majesty and power of mountains above the clouds through forests and past glacial lakes of unbelievably bright turquoise waters and finally into Italy and Tuscany offering an array for as far as the eye could see of beautifully ramshackle buildings in subdued tones of ochre, sienna, olive and terracotta set against a backdrop of rolling of hills in matching tones.
One note here: If you ever take this route please be aware that in Zurich not only is it hot noisy and busy but they also appear to have a novel approach to road signage….when looking for a place on our route called ‘Chur’ we came across a big sign at an intersection that had the destination marked in completely opposing dirctions!!! Infact we found two such signs in a short distance. Helpful!!
San Giminano reached we were both hot, tired and hungry and despite the only campsite being set among beautiful scenery in shaded woodland, we found it to be very overcrowded and with (horror of horrors eh Fletch) a late night bar offering high decibel musical ‘entertainment’. This was the time we decided to have a day of two of ‘rest’ and we booked into a hotel for a few nights.....the owner of which was a delightful lady who insisted that we park the bike on their private terrace to keep it safe. This involved manouvering the great beast through two sets of internal doors ….no mean feat, she only had about 2cm clearance!
San Giminano has to be one of the most beautiful places known to man (or in this case man and woman), though it's beauty of course means that in the season it is a little less than peaceful but even that can be forgiven when among all it's other attributes it boast the the world champion gelateria 2006-7.....we of courser felt duty bound to thoroughly test the wares.....well, it would be impolite not too now wouldn't it?!
I have to say that the idea of a few days hotel bound was not unattractive after the cramped confines of a very small tent (more on that another time) and add to that our hosts were particulary nice people and the hotel had an even more particularly nice restaurant, things were looking good as we wandered among the beautiful historic buildings of the town, bathed in evening sun eating copious amounts of pizza and gellato, very good indeed.
There was but one cloud on the horizon (these things are sent to try us!) at this point, I'll give you a clue, it involved a U.K bank.......
*Part 3 soon.
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
About this holiday then ~ Part 1
I could complete this post in only a few words and they would go something along the lines of "Absolutely, amazing, awesome, terrific, I had the time of my life, can I go back now please".....but I doubt I would get away with just that, I will try however not to be too verbose but you know me, this could run into a few episodes despite my efforts to keep to the main points! ;o)
Here goes then, part 1:
I think in total we made it to nine countries in our sixteen days, it may have been ten but the following are those I can recall right now (I'm sure you will correct me if I'm wrong here Fletch), so it was Holland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy and Belgium....though not necessarily in that order!
The route
(All images clickable)
We began on the Friday night by sailing overnight from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. I in my usual way had found something to worry about and it was that I get seasick. Consequently, as the pack instructed, I dosed myself up with some anti-emetic, over the counter potion, two hours before sailing but was not to be dissuaded from worrying entirely..... and waited with a little trepidation for the heinous process of an eight hour crossing feeling like death to begin.
In the event we boarded late and after the malarkey and faffing of tying the bike down (no, bikes don't remain upright at sea unaided) we made our way to our 'captains cabin' (no bunk beds for us, no sirree, a nice proper bed, a 'free' mini bar, a bathroom complete with shower and a small lounge area) and I waited for the sickness to begin......the reality was that I laid down on the bed, fell immediately fast asleep and knew nothing more, not even that we had 'set sail' (ok I know ferries don't have sails) until 7am when the P.A. system announced we were about to dock in Holland! Sick, nah....it was a walk in the park! ;o)
And so we had arrived at the start of our adventure and off we set in the morning sun on the first of a number of long journeys, this one approximately 450 miles to Freiburg in Germany's Black Forest, our first nights stop. I saw about as much of that as I had the nights sailing, it seems that the anti emetic drug I had taken the night before had effected me considerably.....as a sleeper! A large part of that first day I snoozed very nicely thankyouverymuch, while Fletch ploughed on mile after mile. I did manage to wake up here and there but mostly I struggled to keep my eyes open at all!
By early evening we arr rived at our destination, found our camp site, pitched for the night in warm sun and made haste to a restaurant for dinner.....then fell asleep again.
Sunday morning we set off to ride the Black forest, at this point I thought I had rarely seen anything so beautiful, it all seemed like a picture postcard to me, immaculate timber houses with low sloping roofs covered in window boxes of bright flowers set against rolling hills of the brightest green grass and miles and miles of blue-green fir trees. I was spellbound as we wound our way up and down steep hills that seemed to go on forever....and more than a little impressed to discover (as we would in many places) that unlike in the U.K. where bikers are in some circles maybe slightly frowned upon, in Germany they seemed to be positively encouraged and catered for and we were not alone, there were hundreds of bikes on the road enjoying the challenges presented by the winding terrain and beautiful scenery.
The following day I was was to realise that what I thought had been amazing views and roads in the Black Forest were only the beginning and there was far better to come. Bear in mind here that I, unlike Fletch, was not very well travelled up until this point and whilst I have toured on two wheels often it had always been in England previously. This journey took us on another ten hours in the saddle, this time via Switzerland and Lichtenstein to Austria.....and my first ever sight of real, snow capped mountains that just went on and on. It was a feature of this holiday for me that for two weeks, at almost every turn of the 3000 miles, the sights just got better and better, I spent a large amount of time I think with my mouth hanging open in utter awe and disbelief at what I was seeing. Really, until now in my life I didn't believe so many beautiful and stunning placers really existed. I was completely bowled over and just the sheer joy of seeing such magical natural wonders for real had an uncanny ability to reduce me almost to tears.
As did something else. This day was the one where the full impact of the physical and mental challenge involved in hard riding on a bike, almost every day, all day hit home and by eight o'clock at night, tired, sore, hot, dirty and hungry and still with some way to go and nowhere yet to pitch our tent, suddenly, having spent the day elated watching hundreds of miles of mountains go by, having driven through tunnels as long as 16km, seen eagles, lakes, snow and sun and through two further countries, at the side of the road on a 'smoking stop', I burst into tears, all I wanted to do was sleep....and I was on the back riding pillion, unlike Fletch who was doing the real hard stuff. I was quickly recovered though and it was the point at which we devised the plan that sustained us (along with coffee and nicotine) through the tougher bits......ride for 100 miles or 1.5 hours and then stop for a break, that way we broke it down into mentally manageable sections and it never again became so overwhelming. In fact, the challenge and difficulties of what we were doing became a positive aspect mostly from then on and we felt some satisfaction in learning to handle it. It was always going to have it's challenges, it's the kind of holiday you need a holiday to get over but the challenges became part of the enjoyment.
So, tears over and on we went to a lovely little campsite approximately 15 miles from the foot of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain peak and to be our next days adventure and one of the highlights, if not the highlight for me at least, of our travels.
Grossglockner - Tuesday 7th August:
This day was one of the most memorable of my life, we set off in the morning to ride the mountain pass having relieved the bike of some of it's heavy luggage in the knowledge that this was going to be a 'testing' if fun ride over one of the highest mountain passes out there. We paid our 18 Euro toll and hit the hair pins! I don't have words to describe fully quite what an impact the sheer size, scale and rugged beauty had on me but it's a feeling I won't ever forget, my first real, massive mountain, accessed via miles and miles of hairpin bends at steep gradients with sheer cliffs and no barrier that would stop a bike......it was absolutely stunning, I can't describe it in a way that would do it justice so instead I will regale you with some pictures, though they can't truly convey the scale or magnificence of the place.
Caffeine and nicotine in hand....as ever!
That's it then for part one, if you aren't already snoozing part two will follow shortly but here seems a good point to say (though he won't thank me for saying so publicly) that I take my hat off to Fletch, the guy deserves a medal for his riding ability and skills under what where some extremely difficult conditions. The bike weighs over a quarter of a ton loaded, without me parked on the back, it has a long range tank fitted that carries approx 45 liters of fuel, adding weight and instability to the machine and to be frank she handles somewhat like a fat pig. She is designed for the job but you can't have it all and with adventure touring comes weight and distance.....hey, the man's a hero, rode up to ten hours at a time, did all the navigating without ever getting us lost and kept the rubber side down all that time without a hitch! :o)
Here goes then, part 1:
I think in total we made it to nine countries in our sixteen days, it may have been ten but the following are those I can recall right now (I'm sure you will correct me if I'm wrong here Fletch), so it was Holland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy and Belgium....though not necessarily in that order!
We began on the Friday night by sailing overnight from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. I in my usual way had found something to worry about and it was that I get seasick. Consequently, as the pack instructed, I dosed myself up with some anti-emetic, over the counter potion, two hours before sailing but was not to be dissuaded from worrying entirely..... and waited with a little trepidation for the heinous process of an eight hour crossing feeling like death to begin.
In the event we boarded late and after the malarkey and faffing of tying the bike down (no, bikes don't remain upright at sea unaided) we made our way to our 'captains cabin' (no bunk beds for us, no sirree, a nice proper bed, a 'free' mini bar, a bathroom complete with shower and a small lounge area) and I waited for the sickness to begin......the reality was that I laid down on the bed, fell immediately fast asleep and knew nothing more, not even that we had 'set sail' (ok I know ferries don't have sails) until 7am when the P.A. system announced we were about to dock in Holland! Sick, nah....it was a walk in the park! ;o)
And so we had arrived at the start of our adventure and off we set in the morning sun on the first of a number of long journeys, this one approximately 450 miles to Freiburg in Germany's Black Forest, our first nights stop. I saw about as much of that as I had the nights sailing, it seems that the anti emetic drug I had taken the night before had effected me considerably.....as a sleeper! A large part of that first day I snoozed very nicely thankyouverymuch, while Fletch ploughed on mile after mile. I did manage to wake up here and there but mostly I struggled to keep my eyes open at all!
By early evening we arr rived at our destination, found our camp site, pitched for the night in warm sun and made haste to a restaurant for dinner.....then fell asleep again.
Sunday morning we set off to ride the Black forest, at this point I thought I had rarely seen anything so beautiful, it all seemed like a picture postcard to me, immaculate timber houses with low sloping roofs covered in window boxes of bright flowers set against rolling hills of the brightest green grass and miles and miles of blue-green fir trees. I was spellbound as we wound our way up and down steep hills that seemed to go on forever....and more than a little impressed to discover (as we would in many places) that unlike in the U.K. where bikers are in some circles maybe slightly frowned upon, in Germany they seemed to be positively encouraged and catered for and we were not alone, there were hundreds of bikes on the road enjoying the challenges presented by the winding terrain and beautiful scenery.
The following day I was was to realise that what I thought had been amazing views and roads in the Black Forest were only the beginning and there was far better to come. Bear in mind here that I, unlike Fletch, was not very well travelled up until this point and whilst I have toured on two wheels often it had always been in England previously. This journey took us on another ten hours in the saddle, this time via Switzerland and Lichtenstein to Austria.....and my first ever sight of real, snow capped mountains that just went on and on. It was a feature of this holiday for me that for two weeks, at almost every turn of the 3000 miles, the sights just got better and better, I spent a large amount of time I think with my mouth hanging open in utter awe and disbelief at what I was seeing. Really, until now in my life I didn't believe so many beautiful and stunning placers really existed. I was completely bowled over and just the sheer joy of seeing such magical natural wonders for real had an uncanny ability to reduce me almost to tears.
As did something else. This day was the one where the full impact of the physical and mental challenge involved in hard riding on a bike, almost every day, all day hit home and by eight o'clock at night, tired, sore, hot, dirty and hungry and still with some way to go and nowhere yet to pitch our tent, suddenly, having spent the day elated watching hundreds of miles of mountains go by, having driven through tunnels as long as 16km, seen eagles, lakes, snow and sun and through two further countries, at the side of the road on a 'smoking stop', I burst into tears, all I wanted to do was sleep....and I was on the back riding pillion, unlike Fletch who was doing the real hard stuff. I was quickly recovered though and it was the point at which we devised the plan that sustained us (along with coffee and nicotine) through the tougher bits......ride for 100 miles or 1.5 hours and then stop for a break, that way we broke it down into mentally manageable sections and it never again became so overwhelming. In fact, the challenge and difficulties of what we were doing became a positive aspect mostly from then on and we felt some satisfaction in learning to handle it. It was always going to have it's challenges, it's the kind of holiday you need a holiday to get over but the challenges became part of the enjoyment.
So, tears over and on we went to a lovely little campsite approximately 15 miles from the foot of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain peak and to be our next days adventure and one of the highlights, if not the highlight for me at least, of our travels.
Grossglockner - Tuesday 7th August:
This day was one of the most memorable of my life, we set off in the morning to ride the mountain pass having relieved the bike of some of it's heavy luggage in the knowledge that this was going to be a 'testing' if fun ride over one of the highest mountain passes out there. We paid our 18 Euro toll and hit the hair pins! I don't have words to describe fully quite what an impact the sheer size, scale and rugged beauty had on me but it's a feeling I won't ever forget, my first real, massive mountain, accessed via miles and miles of hairpin bends at steep gradients with sheer cliffs and no barrier that would stop a bike......it was absolutely stunning, I can't describe it in a way that would do it justice so instead I will regale you with some pictures, though they can't truly convey the scale or magnificence of the place.
That's it then for part one, if you aren't already snoozing part two will follow shortly but here seems a good point to say (though he won't thank me for saying so publicly) that I take my hat off to Fletch, the guy deserves a medal for his riding ability and skills under what where some extremely difficult conditions. The bike weighs over a quarter of a ton loaded, without me parked on the back, it has a long range tank fitted that carries approx 45 liters of fuel, adding weight and instability to the machine and to be frank she handles somewhat like a fat pig. She is designed for the job but you can't have it all and with adventure touring comes weight and distance.....hey, the man's a hero, rode up to ten hours at a time, did all the navigating without ever getting us lost and kept the rubber side down all that time without a hitch! :o)
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Really....
.....I will blog the holiday soon, I just seem to be making a very poor attempt at catching up with life since we got back....or not catching up at all as the case seems to be!
*Note to self: Must pull finger out.
*Note to self: Must pull finger out.
Sunday, 19 August 2007
Hi honey...I'm home!
3003 miles or 4834 km later we arrived back in Blighty late last night.
We had an absolutely amazing, amazing time but for now there is too much 'sorting out' to get done before we get back to work tomorrow :o( So, for the time being here is a quick video of some of our trip:
If you're scared of heights you might want to look away now!......some of these drops were sheer faces of 500-1000 or more meters.
'Eloisa goes to Tuscany'
(via The Alps, Italy, Holland, Belgium, France, Lichtenstein, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg).
Sound on.
We had an absolutely amazing, amazing time but for now there is too much 'sorting out' to get done before we get back to work tomorrow :o( So, for the time being here is a quick video of some of our trip:
If you're scared of heights you might want to look away now!......some of these drops were sheer faces of 500-1000 or more meters.
(via The Alps, Italy, Holland, Belgium, France, Lichtenstein, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg).
Sound on.
Friday, 10 August 2007
Half way!
Well, we have made it this far, San Gimingnano, just south of Florence, we have ridden over 1600 miles through 8 countries (Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria and Italy) so far, through hot sun, thunder storms and snow, above the cloud, over mountains, along autobanns, through valleys and vineyards and we have pitched our tent in various odd spots along the way, but tonight we have a treat....a hotel room, a real bed and internet access, though trying to figure out blogger in Italian is probably more testing than anything else we have encountered along the way! :o)
Thats it for now, Ill leave you with an image from my phone (the only thing I can get uploaded here). of the Grossglockner in Austria.
Thats it for now, Ill leave you with an image from my phone (the only thing I can get uploaded here). of the Grossglockner in Austria.
Friday, 3 August 2007
That's it....
.....I only have this morning at work then it's a quick dash up the motorway in the afternoon to Harwich and I'm off meandering around Europe for two weeks on two wheels!
Can't wait!
I'm gone......
Back sometime! :o)
Can't wait!
I'm gone......
Back sometime! :o)
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
Around Europe in 16 days!
So what is it that has had me away from my computer the last few days and kept me so busy that I have barely managed a blog post at all?
Trying to plot, plan and pack for a holiday is what it is....this is no ordinary feat of packing though, none of the 'stuff a few things in a rucksack and hit an airport' stuff.....nope, this required a little more organisation, ok, months of organisation to be more precise because on Friday Fletch and I will set off for 16 days touring Europe on Eloisa (a big adventure motorbike for those of you not familiar with her).....and I can't wait, in fact it seems like I have been waiting for months but finally, at last, it's almost the allotted departure day! :o)
'Eloisa'
Packing for two adults, camping on a bike, is somewhat challenging from here and there but we have the right gear and having had some practice in a past life we finally got it all together last weekend, all I have to do now is be patient until Friday night.
Patience is not my forte!
So, the plan? Well there isn't one really other than to hit as many countries as we can without arriving back home more knackered than we left! We sail from Harwich late on Friday night (after a days work and a 120 mile ride) and arrive in Holland about 8 hours later, after that it's 400 or so miles hard riding to Germany and the Black Forest and then who knows....we could end up anywhere, though looking at Italy's current heatwave I'm somewhat dubious about going too far south in leathers!
We have one or two 'must do's' along the way, Stelvio Pass on the Italy/Switzerland border (see picture) is one of them, the second highest road in the Alps. Ok, a bitterriying scary but there's not much point in having a big off road bike and only doing the Autobaan now is there?! Aside from that Europe is our oyster for two weeks....bliss, new places, new countries, a good bike, good food, a good man and no work....what more could a girl ask for?! ;o)
Stelvio Pass
I have no idea if I will manage another post before we leave or if I will make it to a cyber cafe somewhere along the way but if all else fails I'll be back in 16 days to bore you with way to many photos no doubt!
Only 50 hours to go....not that I'm counting! ;o)
Trying to plot, plan and pack for a holiday is what it is....this is no ordinary feat of packing though, none of the 'stuff a few things in a rucksack and hit an airport' stuff.....nope, this required a little more organisation, ok, months of organisation to be more precise because on Friday Fletch and I will set off for 16 days touring Europe on Eloisa (a big adventure motorbike for those of you not familiar with her).....and I can't wait, in fact it seems like I have been waiting for months but finally, at last, it's almost the allotted departure day! :o)
Packing for two adults, camping on a bike, is somewhat challenging from here and there but we have the right gear and having had some practice in a past life we finally got it all together last weekend, all I have to do now is be patient until Friday night.
Patience is not my forte!
So, the plan? Well there isn't one really other than to hit as many countries as we can without arriving back home more knackered than we left! We sail from Harwich late on Friday night (after a days work and a 120 mile ride) and arrive in Holland about 8 hours later, after that it's 400 or so miles hard riding to Germany and the Black Forest and then who knows....we could end up anywhere, though looking at Italy's current heatwave I'm somewhat dubious about going too far south in leathers!
We have one or two 'must do's' along the way, Stelvio Pass on the Italy/Switzerland border (see picture) is one of them, the second highest road in the Alps. Ok, a bit
I have no idea if I will manage another post before we leave or if I will make it to a cyber cafe somewhere along the way but if all else fails I'll be back in 16 days to bore you with way to many photos no doubt!
Only 50 hours to go....not that I'm counting! ;o)
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