To Pavia

May 9, 2023

Our hotel in Abbiategrasso was the Nuovo Albergo Italia. It was really the only choice in town and has a strong booking.com rating. But we were very disappointed that when we were booking a night, Scott in a sleep deprived state, made a mistake an entered an incorrect date - he somehow accepted a mid June date - instead of our planned arrival in May. Even though we caught this error in 24 hours after the booking, the hotel still refused to refund our charges for the night in error- still 5 weeks away - and would not transfer our paid fees to another night. In fact the Manager would not even provide a free coffee to help with the loss. Anyone need a room in Abbiategrasso on June 19th?

We are still not very speedy off the mark but we never really are early starters. Even without breakfast we were not on the road until around ten o`clock. We had a quick stop at the Lidl market for some fruit, yogurt and buns before making our way back to the canal cyclepath along a short but busy stretch on the highway. The riding beside a canal can feel a bit lackluster at times, moving along a straight narrow path, but given the option of sharing a busy no shoulder road with cars - riding here is great. There are many other cyclists on the path that very much agree.

Our route today takes us through farmland along a cycle path next to a canal used to irrigate the fields.

An old bridge where we stopped to have a mid morning snack. A few cyclists stopped and spoke so rapidly in Italian that we could just smile and nod approvingly. The drivers of two small cars that also passed over seemed a bit annoyed at having to share the narrow bridge.

Size does matter and it is clear that farm equipment has the right of way!

Smart birds gather as the field is tilled and delicious treats are brought to the surface.

We left our canal path to cut through the small town of of Bereguardo on the way to our mid point destination today of Certosa di Pava known for the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Looking at the planned routing Scott (sometimes called Garmin Operator Dude or simply its acronym) spotted a short cut through the town on a one way street, in the wrong direction of course, rather than ride around it. All was going well and we left the small town and approached a cement barricade with ample space to go around. This lead to what appeared to be a heavily overgrown on-ramp and back to our planned route, according to the Garmin Operator. At the top of the ramp we discovered that it was indeed impassable, something the actual map knew all along! We retreated to find a worn path through a farm field back to the road. Now this is cycle touring and so much more exciting than a canal path!

Our objective of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie was built in the end of the 14th century and declared a national monument in 1866. Obviously a very important building so we thought it would be easy to find in the small community of Certosa. But we rode around on both sides of the highway through the town and met another couple also struggling to find it. Heading back to the main road Pat spotted a small sign at the top of a pole with a number of other signs that directed us 1km beyond the town to its location. It is only open from May to August but unfortunately the restrictions on taking our bikes onto the property and the strict no shorts dress code made us rethink our planned visit. Nor did we see anyone around and the gates were still locked. So we viewed the magnificent structure from a distance, returned to town and had a coffee!

Decretive ceiling frescos in the gate house which is about 400 metres from the Monastery.

Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie as seen from behind the gates. Quite a striking building.

The front entrance. It really does not look open. It is closed on Mondays but we believe today is Tuesday.

After our coffee break we joined the Naviglio Pavese canal that we rode for the last 10km into Pavia. The Naviglio Pavese is an artificial navigable canal built in 1359 that flows from Milan to Pavia and is part of the Milan canal system.

We found our B&B right at our 3pm meeting time and our host was waiting. Her 9 month old golden lab (sorry no pictures - but he was a delight) kept Scott very busy as Pat took care of the business end of things. Our wonderful host insisted on carrying the two largest panniers up the three flights of stairs explaining that she is a physical education teacher and could easily handle the load.

Fishing on the banks of the the Naviglio Pavese.

Organizing the final twists and turns to 32 B&B

Ponte Coperto in Pavia crosses the Ticino river. The previous bridge, dating from 1354 was heavily damaged by Allied action in 1945. New construction began in 1949.

After a short break we headed out to see Pavia. It was a wonderful place to visit with a number of pedestrian friendly streets and plazas. Being a ¨univercity town¨ there were lots of young people out until the rain arrived at 7pm. We ducked into a pizzeria for dinner. Pat really enjoyed her spaghetti alle vongole as we struck up a conversation with only other patrons in the restaurant (it was early) and surprisingly they both spoke English. In fact, the man was from New York and the lady from Amsterdam!

Pavia Cathedral, constructed starting in 1488 on the site of two pre-existing cathedrals from the sixth and seventh centuries.

A real collection of oddly shaped buildings as it was an amalgamation of two pre-existing Romanesque, "twin" cathedrals.

Unknown building at the end of Piazza Duomo,

This beautiful hall was set up for a presentation ready to start shortly. It is part of the University of Pavia which, due to evidence of teaching as early as 1361, is one of the oldest universities in the world. It was the only university in Milan and the Lombardy region until the end of the 1800's.

University of Pavia clock tower falling apart but still keeping time.

We headed home in the rain and considered our options for tomorrow. The plan is for just a short 30km ride across the Po river to Stradella and to avoid highway riding, take a train in to Parma. If the weather does not cooperate we can simply take train right from Pavia to Parma.

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Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 122 km (76 miles)

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Scott AndersonThat is really disgusting about the hotel not accepting a cancellation due to a booking error, for a date a month in the future. I would leave a nasty review/comment on Booking. We wouldn’t stay in a place like that.
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11 months ago

Rachael AndersonI hope you get good weather tomorrow! The weather the next several days in Italy looks bad. Let’s hope they are wrong.
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11 months ago

Keith AdamsIt may not have been up to the manager. Third party booking services often don't give facilities any choice or leeway. You may actually have been unknowingly asking the hotel to refund money they never received. Booking would of course have paid something for the room, but nothing like the entire amount you paid.

Wherever possible I book directly with a venue. I've also learned the hard way to avoid prepaid no-changes-or-cancellations arrangements unless I am certain I'm going to be there when and as expected.
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11 months ago

Barry DevlinLooks like a couple of pretty steep hills at 18 km!
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10 months ago