Italy and Corsica

[il padrone]

Off to Italy tomorrow with my wife, for 3 months of cycling 

[NZPeterG]

Hi have fun.
Loads of cool cycling.

Pete
 

[Danneaux]

Best wishes for a happy and fun trip, Pete!

Best,

Dan.

[peter jenkins]

Half Your Luck!!

Have a great time and send an occasional message to the Audax list.....

Cheers,

pj

[il padrone]

We've now cycled the Amalfi Coast, been to the Aeolian Islands (including a hike up Mt Stromboli), and cycled the length of Sicily. We are now in Palermo for a few days before we catch the ferry to Sardegna on Saturday.

It's been a really great tour and the lifestyles of people in towns and countryside are a huge contrast to that back in Australia. Stand-outs for me would have to be the coast at Amalfi and Positano, Stromboli, the Storico Centro of Salerno, Ragusa Ibla (the whole old town), the temples at Segesta, the mosaics of the cathedral at Monreale, and sitting in on an orchestra rehearsal for a Verdi Omaggio in Palermo's Teatro Massimo... for just 1 Euro.

[John Saxby]

Soooo envious -- all that, and the food!

Enjoy Corsica too!

John

[Danneaux]

What a wonderful trip, Pete; so glad it is going well. The memories already collected sound wonderful, and the trip is nowhere near done yet! Good times behind, even better ahead, methinks.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

sounds fantastic can you post your route by any chance along with a few photos.
enjoy and ride safe.

[il padrone]

Back home now. Been back a week and a bit. All seems so far away now, but mind-images resurrected every time I watch any of the TdF.

We had 12 weeks touring Italy and Corsica. We spent 7 days on the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii, 29 days in the Aeolian Islands & Sicily, 12 in Sardinia, 18 in Corsica, 23 days in Liguria & Tuscany and 6 days in Rome. Altogether we cycled something over 3,000kms - I don't know exactly how many as my cycle-computer wheel sensor battery ran out then the sensor would not reset. We saw many ancient towns with their centro storicos, did a prolonged study of Italian cathedrals, saw many solar power farms and windfarms, drank innumerable cups of caffe, enjoyed delicious gelatis, walked the Pirates Steps of Bonifacio, rolled on and off numerous navis (ferries), endured the dubious camping grounds and enjoyed some wonderful hotel rooms, rode the route of Stage 3 of the Tour de France, had cold days, some very windy days and then rode through the heat in Tuscany, enjoyed being honked at (courteously) by the marvellous Italian drivers, watched the lizards run across the roads ahead of us and saw dolphins & flying fish from the decks of ferries.

All in all it was a truly marvellous time, with so many experiences it'd almost fill a book. Over 3000 photos to go through now but I shall soon post some more of them on here.

[honesty]

I envy you rather a lot.

Did you get down to the Cilentan coast from the Amalfi? Its like the Amalfi but only the Italians seem to know about it. My family used to have a flat in a place called Palinuro, and even though the last time I was down that way was 25 years ago I still have very good memories of the area.

[il padrone]

No. From Amalfi we rode through to Sorrento and then Pompeii. Then a train into Naples where we caught the overnight ferry to Lipari in the Aeolian Islands.

[Slammin Sammy]

Sounds like the trip of a lifetime, Pete! Welcome home.

Three months is minimum to step right out of the humdrum everyday, and take on life at a new pace. (Sigh...) My wife and I are planning a one-month trip to Cornwall and the Danube, and it's already feeling impossibly hectic!

I'm looking forward to your photos, and to hearing about your transport logistics, particularly in terms of the bikes themselves.

Sam

[il padrone]

Some photos of the earlier part of our tour - Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Aeolian Islands and Sicily.

Our hotel in Roma. Right close to Termine Station


Roman sculpture. Artworks are everywhere in the streets and piazzas


Castel San Angelo - the Pope's castle


View of the Tiber


At the Colosseum


Naples  city gate


Salerno's VERY narrow streets in the centro storico


Riding the Amalfi Coast


Ten tunnels in one morning


Garden at Villa Ruffolo, Ravello


An amzing variety of ceramics on sale in roadside stores


More tunnels


View over Positano


Narrow squeeze for traffic


Departing the campground in Sorrento


Caffe


Traffic jam in Castellammare, 5.00pm.


Pompeii


Deprting Naples



Cathedral in the citadel at Lipari


Lipari's citadel


Fumerole on Stromboli


Climbing the crater on Vulcano


Lots of solar farms on Sicily


Novara di Sicilia - view from our hotel room


Getting close to the crest of the range ~1100m


Church in a boulder


Views of Etna and the coast from Taormina


View from Castelmola (300m above Taormina)


In Catania's main piazza


Market scenes in Catania


Cathedral ceiling


Roman amphitheatre in the centre of town


Piazza Duomo, Siracusa


Catacombs of St George, Siracusa


Cobbled streets in town



The duomo, Ragusa. The city where Inspector Montalban is filmed.


Ragusa streets


Old gents in the piazza, Gela


Solar power again - roof of a school at Gela


Sandy beach, almost as good as back home in Australia


A helpful gent in Licata


Greek temples at Agrigento


Another helpful local chap who got us out of a wrong road spot of bother


The Turkish Steps


On a wild goose chase for a campground near Montalegro


Our hotel balcony, Montalegro


Olive groves


These lizards were everywhere


Beach by our campground at Eraclea Minoa


Santa Margherita di Belice


Massive artwork near the ruins of Gibelini Vecchio, a town destroyed by earthquake in 1968


Church at the new town - Nuova Gibelini


Roadside lunch stop


Sicilian vista


Temples at Segesta


Roman amphitheatre


Nicholas and friend - two helpful gents in Alcamo


Alcamo's citadel


Coastal views on the road to Palermo


Track out to Capo Gallo, Mondello



Lunch view at Mondello


Palermo


Spectacular cathedral mosaics at Monreale


Verdi concert rehearsal in the Teatro Massimo


The  bike shop district


Fish market in Palermo


Cefalu


Scalette in Cefalu


View from the mountain behind Cefalu


Farewell from Sicily, now for Sardinia



(More to come)

[jags]

you've restored my faith in italy. (long story) fantastic photos.

[JimK]

Wow! What a trip, what a delightful photographic record! Thanks so much for sharing. Beyond amazing.