The hotel was very comfortable and warm - particularly cosy as we could hear heavy rain throughout the night. Unfortunately the rain continued as we set off and it persisted throughout our ride today. Due to the heavy rain and cold temperatures, we found that we had to stop every 10 km and seek warmth. What a miserable day for riding! We will be happy to stop in Villach. It is once again a short day, but that will be enough. Leaving Tarvisio, the route leaves the rail line and winds its way up and around gorges. It was beautiful, but we realize that we have been spoiled by the past few days of riding through tunnels and dedicated cycle paths. After 7 km we crossed the border in to Austria and decided to cross back in to Italy as we were tempted by the sight of bars/pizzerias. This would be our first stop of the day - a cup of coffee turned in to a fun break in a busy bar with pizza to warm us up. We have read that the signage is more consistent and better in Austria, but ironically, this is where we got lost. As with the rest of the route, the GPS track is not always accurate due to upgrades to the route, and this was the case here. But the real problem today was that we were met with confusing signage and construction on the trail. After some wrong turns, we gave up and chose to ride on the main road. Once we got closer to Villach, google maps came in handy and we were able to get to our Pension in the village of Maria Gail on the outskirts of Villach. A happy conclusion to our day was reaching Pension Moser - a charming, old guesthouse in a country village adjacent to Villach. We chose it because it had a good rating and the price was significantly lower here than in the city. We were delighted to find that our room is spacious and on a corner with windows looking in one direction at the mountains and on the other side to the historic baroque church. The best part though was the huge bathroom with an even bigger tub! We both had bubble baths and soaked away the chill of the day. It was a rare tub for us in our travels, as even Barry at 6'2" tall could completely stretch out in the tub. And who doesn't love a Pension with a resident cat who looks after business at reception?
We enjoyed the view from our warm dry room at Hotel Valle Verde. Last night we were able to see up to the top of the ski hill and admire the sound of cow bells as the cattle grazed on the hill. After a night of heavy rain, clouds have moved in and have captured the mountains in their mist.
The breakfast was very good at the hotel we ended up staying at - plus it was an unexpected perk as the hotel we had originally booked did not provide breakfast.
Well, as luck will have it, the heavy rain of last night continued this morning. There is no point waiting it out, as there won't be a break in the weather today. Such is the joy of the unexpected in the Alps.
And then of course, after this crossing, there is a hill which is a bit slippery and steep. But he keeps smiling, and why not? The weather may be miserable, but look at where we are.
The rain had been unrelenting and oh so cold since leaving Tarvisio, so we decided to have one more Italian "Bar" experience and went in to the Tabachi to dry out and get warm. We joined in the fun of the crowd who were there and ordered pizza and hot drinks. Barry is enjoying a coffee with hot milk.
A memorable sight for us as we are leaving Italy - on one corner at the border are three Italian bars full of people including many Austrians, and a couple of Canadians. We ate in the green building on the right.
The Austrian signage has begun. We will now watch for green signs as we proceed through Austria. We find that the weather is the challenge, not the route. One day we plan to ride this in (we hope) sunny weather.
We checked in to Pension Moser in Villach and we were happy to meet "the king of the castle", the black cat who sleeps under the warmth of the light at reception
