My first day's ride

Food, glorious food. Well breakfast is a very different affair here in Italy. This morning it was a pottle of pineapple yoghurt and then a choice of a tiny wee bread roll with jam, or a packaged croissant, or another biscuit type thing wrapped up in paper. So I opted for the wee bread roll. Even after such a big dinner last night, I felt I needed to eat something because of the long cycle ride ahead of me, but the English couple who were going to be walking 20ks didn't want to eat much which rather surprised me, in view of the size of the English breakfasts Rowan and I enjoyed.
I also had a cappuccino (in a very tiny cup) which was rather nice, but quite different tasting to coffee we have at home.
The other couple set off on their walk by just after 8am and I had to wait until 9am for Sarah to come and set me up with my bike and go over my maps with me. I was starting to get rather nervous by this stage. My panniers were packed and my suitcase repacked and downstairs ready for Sarah to take on to Albergo Belvedere, the hotel in Galzingnano Terme. I sat downstairs out on the terrace waiting for her and she arrived right on the dot of 9am. Oh boy did I really start to get the jitters when she started going over the map. Many changes to the written instructions and I traced an orange line on the map of where to go. I must have looked pretty terrified because Sarah kept asking me if I was okay. I tried to assure both her and me that I was. She said I was the first they had had doing on their own, and certainly the only woman ever travelling alone, not sure if she meant since she has been with the company, or all up and they have been going for twenty years. Then it was a quick brief on the bike, the gears, and how to fix a puncture, and then I was on my todd. I set out at 11.00am apparently with plenty of time to cycle my scheduled 38kms to Galzingnano.

Well the first stage to Este was lovely. Out in the fresh air, riding along a lane and then a canal path, which was shared by cars on occasions, and loads of other very serious cyclists in their lycra gear whizzing by, in both directions. The country side is beautiful, riding through vineyards and gardens. Peas, beans, tomatoes, olives are the things I recognise and fields of a green vege a bit like silver beet but not quick – maybe some kind of spinach.
People nod and say Buon Giorno or Ciao as they cycle by and its a bit nerve-wracking sharing the narrow track with vehicles which sneak up behind you and are quite difficult to hear coming, likewise the bikes. Much prefer motor cycles – at least you hear them coming.
I arrive at Este about 12.00. That was 16ks and I was feeling great. It was a gentle ride and it wasnt too hot at that stage. Sarah suggested a coffee or an icecream here and then lunch in Monselice, so I decided to take her advice and ordered a cafe latte. What I in fact got was a latte machiato which cost me .30c more than I expected to pay. Well what the heck it was only .30. the coffee was luke warm and incredibly milky, but rather nice. In a tall glass with a long spoon in it ??? not a lot of froth on it so I suppose the spoon was for sugar.
Leaving Este was a bit of an adventure. The instructions were a bit vague, but I finally found myself on the right road, but then I got pestered by this very young, very very very shiny black man who told me he loved me and wanted to marry me. I was walking pushing my bike at this stage while I looked for the right way out of town, and he was walking alongside of me. I walked faster and he was calling out “I love you” “Please marry me” Please don't leave me” at the top of his voice. He either spoke perfect English, or maybe these were the only words he knew, I didn't stick around to find out which, and as soon as I found the right canal bridge to cross and turn left out I was on my bike and out of there.
So much for being hassled by Italian men – I get a foreigner. Sarah did say that I should feel perfectly safe in this area, as the Italian men are lovely and will not hassle me, nor will the pinch my bottom. You have to go to Rome if you want that. The women will think I am strange and will not understand why or what I am doing, but will be nice to me, and the hotel people will go out of their way to make my stay as perfect as possible.
The instructions are a bit confusing here, but a day later as I type these up they become a bit clearer. I had difficulty finding Via Ca Mori and everyone I asked was a visitor as this was right by the bus station. Finally I found a local riding a bicycle so he showed me the way, and off I was again. The instructions were great for this part – continue for 2.3k (great I don't have a speedo so have no idea how far 2.3k is but the road split as promised and I took the gravel road as instructed. I even made it past Lago Azzurro on my left as per instructions, but then it all turned to custard.
Cross the small bridge over the canal and turn right into via Meggiorina. Well here I had two choices, go straight ahead or turn left in via Meggiorina. There was nothing to the right and so I went left. The next instruction says continue all the way down to the “Give Way” sign. Well that was a “Stop” sign. The next instruction says turn right over the bridge. Well I have a bridge on my left. So I turn left. And then I end up back at the junction of the gravel road. I only recognised it because of the statue and rather large and beautiful memorial to someone not far from the corner, and I thinks to myself, “Oh buggar – I've just gone round in a big loop.” So I go back down the road to the stop sign and turn right. Now its looking good because the next instruction says you are heading towards a main road towards Marendole. The road goes gently uphill after passing an equestrian centre, but before the bridge over the canal turn left onto a narow road. You pass a farm and enter the hamlet of Marendole and after passing the church turn left.
Well still wrong Heather, no canal, no bridge, but I can see a church so head towards it, but before reaching it I see that I am arriving at a village called Baone. So I backtrack to where I should have turned right into via Meggiorina and take the straight ahead option, and this time end up at Case Teralba. At this stage I have no idea where I am, but have gone uphill past an equestrian centre but it is not looking good still, and so I ask directions from a lycra clad man (wow all this lycra, muscled and tanned bodies around the place) who couldn't speak Inglese but could show me on the map where I was and which way to Monselice. I really wanted to get back on the right road so headed back the way I came trying to read the map, but just ended back at the top of the hill heading to Baone, so turned around again and went back to Case Teralba and decided to just head on to Monselice from there. At least I knew where I was on the main map, even though on the hand drawn instruction map from the company I had no idea where I was.
Just on approaching Monselice, by this time getting close to 3pm and all I had had since breakfast at 7am was that one cafe machiato at Este I was starting to feel peckish, but came across some more cyclists on the side of the road by a roundabout, studying a map. I ask in my best Italian if they spoke English and thankfully they did a little, but in fact that spoke perfect English. He was a Swede and she was German and they were heading to Abano Terme via Galzignano Terme which was where I was headed so they offered for me to tag along with them, although they were taking an entirely different route to the one marked on my map I suggested we followed my map, as the track was supposed to follow a canal path and was very gentle, but they were certain that their short cut, although more challenging, was off the beaten track and we would encounter very little traffic. Sounded good to me and it was great to have some company, so I opted to go with them.
Well we started to climb, and we climbed some more, and then even more, and we pushed our bikes up a great deal of it. She (and I found out later that her name was Annette) kept saying she thought she was too old for cycling and that cycling in Italy was way more difficult than in Germany because they have special cycle paths in Germany and you don't have to share with cars. I told her that most of the track I had been on had been very quiet with only the occasional car and that they were very courteous and slowed down as they passed me, but I don't think she really believed me.
Anyway we kept plodding on. By this time it was very hot, and I had already changed from my little mauve top into my long sleeved and longer blue and black top to keep the sun off. Don't want to get too burnt on my first day, although I do want to go home with a nice healthy tan.
We went past Arqua Petrarca which is one of the suggestions for my rest day tomorrow, but having made it this far up the hill today I may opt for something more gentle tomorrow. And then we were heading down hill towards Galzignano. We go past Valsanzibio which is another suggestion for tomorrow and Leif and Annette decide they might stop and look at the gardens now and Leif goes off to buy a ticket. He comes back to Annette and I and they then decide that maybe a longer look around tomorrow might be a better idea, and as I have still about 5km to ride and they have well over 20k it might be a good idea to just press on, so he goes back to the ticket office and gets a refund. At this point we exchange business cards in case we are ever in each other's territory. This is the nice thing about travelling, you meet such nice people. And I guess because I was on my own I teamed up with them, if I had had a companion we probably would have just exchanged pleasantries and gone our separate ways.

A bit more downhill stuff and we ride into Galzignano. Oh how pleased I am to see that sign. I am back on track with the instructions and I turn left at the roundabout to enter the town. At the next roundabout I turn right and go uphill for 500m and as per the instructions see the sign for Albergo Belvedere on my left, where I am staying tonight. What a welcome sight. It is 5.42 – some six and three quarter hours since I set out this morning, and apart from an hour looking around Este, the rest of it has been on this darned bike.
But what a welcome at the albergo. It is beautiful, and the room is perfect, and even better, I get to stay here two nights. It is run by a family and the son and his sister look after the guests. Alice is beautiful and very keen to practice her English, so I don't get much opportunity to practice my Italian which is nowhere as good as her English. I am told dinner is at 7.40pm and after a shower and changing I go downstairs for a drink out on the balcony. It is so peaceful and lovely, and I go over my map. I borrowed a pink highlighter from the son, I think Luigi but I will check his name, and mark the route I took instead of the route I supposed to which is marked in orange. I was way off track, but all is well that ends well and here I am at the right place.
I went back upstairs and did a bit of handwashing, but am terrified I will fall asleep and miss dinner, I was so knackered. So I stay sitting up and did have forty winks, but thankfully woke up in time, probably jolted awake as my head jerked sideways because I was sitting up on the bed.
Dinner was great – and remember I'm starving, only having had a coffee at Este and that wee bread roll and a yoghurt for breakfast.
Again choices to make here – the first pasta option included tuna, so I went for the vegetable pasta. It was delicious. Slightly creamy, but I think probably buttery and oily but not greasy at all, with tomato and slivers of peppers (yellow and orange). Sprinkled with lots of fresh parmesan. Oh
yum. Wish I could make it taste like that.
Second course choices were pizza margareta, mozarella something or other and pork with mushrooms, so I opted for the mozarella. An unusual dish for a main course, but I am pleased I chose it because it was very light. Four large slices of fresh mozarella cheese in the middle of the plate surrounded by slices of fresh tomato, all sprinkled with, I think, basil. I sprinkled it with the home produced extra vergine di olivia which was very nice and Balsamic di Modena which was very tasty. Because there was no carb in this part of my meal, I soaked up the olive oil and balsamic with some of the yummy bread in the basket. I order a ¼ of vino rosso and it came out in a cute little jug. Also home produced, and very nice and went well with what I was eating – well I thought it did.
For dessert I was offered icecream or fresh fruit – the choices apple, banana, kiwi, or peach, so I chose the peach. Another good choice. Alice brought me out the two most perfect looking peaches I have ever seen and man were they good. Sweet, juicy I would imagine sun-ripened. They were the nicest peaches I have had in a long long while.
I am the only woman in the restaurant. To my right are two middle aged men, I think Italian and ??? perhaps a couple. Not overly obvious but they smile sweetly at each other all through their meal. One of them, the shorter good looking one drinks bira, while the other drinks wine. The shorter one smiles at me as they leave the table after very quickly eating their meal. It was hard to pick which language they were speaking, it sounded Italian but then sometimes it did not.
At the table on my left a three young men who I think are either Dutch or German, most probably German.However they speak fluent Italian when Alice comes to take their order. One of them has a sort of swastika shaped tattoo on his hand. They giggle and snigger all through their meal. They don't look at me so I don't think its me they are sniggering at but hard to tell. Perhaps it the men behind them – who knows, who cares. They have difficulty eating the pizza they ordered with their knife and fork, and I am not sure if that is because the pizza base is tough, or they cant use their utensils. In the end the give up and pick the remainder up and eat it with their fingers. Well as far as I am concerned that is the only way to eat pizza.
And sitting all alone at a table next the lads is a dishy looking guy, I presume Italian, but he looks straight ahead all through his meal and only smiles and says ciao as I leave the dining room. And just as I leave another single man comes in and sits down and picks up his newspaper. So where are all the women??
Across the road and up a bit of a hill is a church and its bells have been ringing on and off since I got here. Sometimes just chiming, but at 6.30 a rather unusual ringing, but while I have having my dinner it chimed at 8pm but much more than just 8 dongs.
I took just over an hour to eat my dinner, savouring every single mouthful, knowing that as soon as I climbed the stairs and made it to the bed I would be fast asleep. And that is exactly how it was.
The beds are incredibly hard, and I remember in my phrasebook of things to learn was 'vorrei un letto piu morbido' which is I'd like a softer bed. I thought this was a rather strange phrase to have to learn, but now having spent three nights in an Italian bed I can understand. However, I will be tough and get used to it. I was so darned knackered that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow anyway and didn't notice anything till I awoke 5.30am.
So from Albergo Belvedere in Galzignano Termo it is ciao for another day.
Woops sorry Rach, I did warn you I would probably write a lot. But with no-one to talk to most of the time, I have to write it all down. Roxy – the clothes shops, the shoe shops – they are fabulous, even in the tiny little village of Este, the fashion was fabulous. The women in the streets look pretty casual so who knows when they wear the fabulous clothes in the windows. And the shoes, again they are all walking around the cobbled streets in flat shoes, whilst the shoes in the windows are platforms, stilettos and heavily jewelled. And then of course there are handbags to match – bit ones, small ones, all shapes and colours. Lots of bright colours. Nothing navy or black – lime green and orange. Oh some of the clothes were black and white, well actually mostly white with black patterns, but definitely nothing strictly black.
Woops here I go on another tangent, so I will stop here and see if I can get this darned internet to work here. Alice tells me they have wireless so I should be okay.
Ciao for now.