Three arms, two people, one bike: Bolzano and Verona
I am only adding a post every week or so as this is a bike touring site, and I am most definitely not touring. Keith gets on his bike most days though, as I seem to need an afternoon nap. He is scouting out next year's route as I have some unfinished business over here. He has just left for a good ride and I am updating this journal before I nod off.
I think this picture perfectly captures the new touring style. Note my new rolling suitcase. Also note the train. I think I was on the same one in 1974. We are both feeling good about how things are going. Keith may do some riding between places while I get on a bus or train and meet him. Sipping Campari and people watching while waiting for him is always interesting.
Keith went for a couple of good rides in Innsbruck. Since he is out on the bike right now I will have him add the captions to these pictures later. I was snoozing in the hotel room while this was going on.
I can do the caption for this one. Keith, just before leaving me to my own devices and heading out. He did put his helmet on before he left. At this point my face was still an excellent advertisement for helmets.
So much for having Keith do the captions. I am incorrigible. He can edit later if he likes. From Innsbruck the train adventure continued. We had to change trains in Italy to get to Bolzano, and getting off the OBB (Austrian) train and onto the Italian one was like going back 40 years in time. Note the first picture I posted. Still, it got us there, ever so slowly, and as a note, to the first stop in Bressanone on OBB we paid 2 Euro for the bike. They told us in Innsbruck that when we changed to the Italian train we would have to pay the Italian fee for the bike on the train, and we did...13 Euro! Wow.
The train ride was beautiful although it certainly seems the Bressanone Pass is not the way to go on a bike from what we could see from the train.
Another train picture. After the bike, the scenery goes by awfully quickly. The attendant on the Italian train was a wonderful tour guide and made the ride very enjoyable.
We arrived in Bolzano and it is a great spot. I wanted to stop in Trento first for a few days, but there were two problems. The first is that the chief caregiver wants to save a few surprises for next year, but the biggest impediment was finding accommodation. Bolzano was great. One of those wonderful spots that is just perfect for wandering around. We visited the Otzi the Ice Man exhibit immediately. I was very excited about it. When I was teaching I had a wonderful children's book about Otzi that I shared year after year with the kids, and now I have seen him in all his mummified glory. The museum was very well done, and the whole story is pretty remarkable.
Bolzano is such a gorgeous setting, with the Dolomites in the background. Sometimes I would look up and could hardly believe what I was seeing.
Keith headed out on a good ride in Bolzano as well. Once more his stories and pictures when he returned made me envious, but I am trying to stop that. As a good friend pointed out, this would be a dream trip for many, so I must stop thinking about my bike, languishing in the Sheraton storage room in Frankfurt.
What a setting. Perhaps Keith and I should try a tandem bike so I could come along?
Meanwhile, back in Bolzano, I found the rolling bag needed, the fruit and vegetable market and had a good nap. I also had my stitches out. We asked at the hotel where I could go, and boom, I had an instant appointment at a orthopaedic surgeon's practice. I would certainly have to wait awhile at home for that - not to mention the fact that it would probably be a GP who removed them. The doctor was great, giving me some excellent physiotherapy tips. He also felt my progress was right on track, so that was encouraging.
Off to Verona we went. We like Verona, but man oh man is it touristy. Of course we are tourists too, but a Disney store?? The CC found us a great B and B online, and using his trusty Galileo we walked to it from the train station. Except it didn't seem to exist. We did much walking back and forth, up and down little alleys and finally asked.
Note on the buttons, bottom right, B and B Corso Porta Nuova 39. I mean really, how could we possibly have missed that?
What a find this little B and B is. We are so lucky. It has it all, great location, great proprietors, great room, quiet and best of all, they own the bar downstairs where I am going shortly to sip Campari and await Keith's return from his bike ride.
We walked through the gates and into town and discovered that Andrea Bocelli is singing in the arena tomorrow night. We immediately made the decision to stay put to take that in. What an opportunity. I think I will have to wear every article of clothing that I brought with me to stay warm but I am OK with that. We have spent the last few days doing the cultural stuff - museums, churches - and even took in the ridiculously touristy, would you believe Juliet's balcony, which was incredibly cheesy and incredibly popular. Staying this long has given us the luxury of walking through neighbourhoods and getting away from the tourist zone too. Saturday morning we are off to Venice for more embracing of our tourist selves. A few representative pictures of Verona from the hundreds Keith took!
First look at the arena. Right around the corner from our B and B.
