# Other Places Around The World > Italy Travel Forum >  >  Trip Report

## tim

U.S. Air direct from Philly to Venice arrived an hour early Friday morning.  The flight was a breeze, or to be more exact, a tailwind.

Took the train into Venice today from Castlefrance at a cost of ten dollars round trip, great trains in Italy these days.  Walking around the city on this perfect late summer day, I am reminded why I love this city so much.  Although not as crowded when I was here in the spring rains four years ago, there are still lots and lots of folks enjoying Venice today.

We're headed in to the Dolomites Monday.  I rode my bike 40 miles yesterday to loosen my legs and have never had both cars and huge trucks drive so close to me in my life.  I must say I'm looking forward to the quieter(if incredibly steeper) roads in the mountains.

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## JoshA

Italian drivers scare me regardless of transportation mode. I like  Venezia as well because transportation is more civilized. Enjoy your Giro, tim, and stay safe.

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## JEK

> . . .  have never had both cars and huge trucks drive so close to me in my life . . . .



Hmm. I'm thinking of the ride from Gd. Fond to Toiny and questioning that fact . . .

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## tim

C'est vrai, I promise.  

Today's weather was so perfect that we couldn't have ordered a better or clearer day if mother nature had given us a menu.  Our route was around the mountains near Asiago, and the traffic wasn't as bad as in the Castlefranco area. The people are friendlier as well as we've moved away from the city.   We've been climbing around 5,000 feet per day so far, but the climbs in these mountains should not be measured in kilometers or miles, but in hours.  I'm a little fatigued and looking forward to tonight's feast and wine.  I've never before experienced the regional white wine but have quickly developed a fondness for it. 

Northern Italy appears to be a most prosperous area with well kept homes and yards everywhere one looks.  Poverty seems not to exist in the areas we've visited to date.  The views from the mountains are nothing short of magnificent.  We see the occasional critter, notably today a caterpillar who was going faster uphill than was I(just kidding).  

Most of the riders in this group are stronger(not to mention younger) than I am, but I've been doing okay so far.  One poor lady has been struggling already and pushing her bike up the hills.  That's not a good sign this early in the trip.  Tomorrow's another day in the saddle.

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## JEK

> One poor lady has been struggling already and pushing her bike up the hills.



I can identify with her after pushing my way up hills in pursuit of you on SBH :-)

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## MIke R

thanks for that Tim...its a  whole different set of circumstances at elevation eh??....welcome to my world....best of luck to you...breath deep

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## Dennis

> I rode my bike 40 miles yesterday to loosen my legs.



Geeze, do I feel like a wuss when my ass hurts after about 5 miles!

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## JEK

> I rode my bike 40 miles yesterday to loosen my legs. 
> 
> 
> 
> Geeze, do I feel like a wuss when my ass hurts after about 5 miles!



Check his full schedule and prepare to feel really inadequate :-)
Tour 

I think it is about 100,000 feet of climbing in two weeks.

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## tim

Two days ago we rode from Asiago to Levico Terme, a resort village around a lake.  On the way we biked two hours to go one kilometer.  While on one side of a gorge, our tour leader pointed to a village on the other side of the gorge at about our same elevation and about one kilometer distant.  We took 20 minutes to descend to the bottom of the gorge and an hour forty minutes to ascend the other side.

Yesterday was a tough day to reach Cles, all sixes - six hours in the saddle, 6600 feet of climbing, and 66 miles.  We got lost along the way, stopped to ask directions, and only later realized the individual we asked was probably a patient on the campus of a mental institute.  Memories of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  I feel sorry for one of our riders who appears to be in over her head, but I marvel at her ingenuity.  She ran out of gas on yesterday's ride but managed to locate a train station to take the train to our current location of Cles.  Most of us are taking today to rest our legs and butts for the big climbing to come.

I've never seen so many apples in my life as there are in this region.  It was funny to see a sign at one of the large orchards advertising, "Red and Golden Delicous Apples."  Is this American name a universal for that type of apple?  And another question, how do they pick the apples all the way at the top of those flimsy trees?  The terrain here is much too hilly for any kind of ladder I can conceive.

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## Peter NJ

Tim,this is a long shot,but the lady in over her head,isnt named Pat from NJ is it?? Have a great rest of your trp.

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## tim

Peter,

She's not named Pat unless she's biking incognito.  She's now discovered that if she leaves two hours before everyone else in the mornings and takes the shortest routes that she can bike to our day's destinations.  That means she ends up riding all day alone each day.  I have great admiration for her courage and determination to finish the trip with us.

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## tim

Last Saturday as we headed from Cles to Suisi Allo Scillar, we were planning on going through the middle of the large city of Bolzano, always a tricky feat on a bicycle.  Luckily for us we discovered the most amazing bike path that allowed a safe bypass of the entire urban area.  We must have followed it for at least 15 miles, miles which featured numerous bike only bridges across the river as well as bike only tunnels, some of which were several hundred feet long.   We encountered hundreds of cyclists of all types and ages, so the path must be used by thousands daily.

At some point Saturday we crossed an imaginary line between Italian cultured Italy and German cultured Italy.  I know this because at our destination, German was the language of choice for both people and road signs, and there were more dogs staying at our hotel than people.

Sunday was a day of 7,000 feet of climbing up to Passo Pordoi.  Everybody that owned a motorcycle was racing(literally) up and down the mountain roads.  Since we didn't see bodies being carried off by the truckload, one can only conclude the motorcyclists were all amazingly skilled and lucky.  Their noise, high speed and passing other vehicles in the face of oncoming traffic made it impossible to relax and enjoy the ride - even on this, another one of our days of perfect weather.  The scenery in this part of the world is so spectacular as to make even beautiful St. Barth pale by comparison.

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## JEK

Tim,
Thanks for your updates. I did 40 miles on the flat last Saturday and I feel like such a slacker:-)
My new Seven is waiting for me when I get home from Dallas tomorrow, so I have at least one birthday present!

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## Peter NJ

Figured it was a longshot...She also goes by the name Trish...She is in Italy as we speak,on a bike tour..She is really into biking,and how you described her,i thought it was her..Enjoy

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## tim

The place where I'm using the computer today closed at 12:30, so I had to leave and return at 3:00 P.M. when they reopened after lunch break.  Here's my continuing saga -

It's Sunday, and we find ourselves less than 30 miles from the Austrian border.  Every direction one looks seems like the setting for The Sound of Music.  I rounded a curve to the sound of cowbells and half expected to see Julie Andrews singing as she skipped down the meadow/ski-slope.  Alas, it was only a herd of cows stopping traffic as they crossed the road at the direction of their herder.  Udder den dem cows and one or two squirrels, the roads have been suprisingly critter-free.

The biker went over the mountains,
The biker went over the mountains,
The biker went over the mountains,
To see what he could see......

Monday we did a loop ride through Passo de Sella climbing and descending around 6,000 feet along the way.  Passo Pordoi, where we're staying, is only 2,239 meters above sea level.  At 2,240 meters, the view from Passo de Sella was much better.  After biking, a gondola ride took us up to 3,000 meters, and on this, another perfect weather day, we could see the Austrian Alps.

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## tim

Forgive my throwing all these reports at you in one day, but many places we stay are isolated hotels up in the mountains and have no computer access.  We're in the fairly large city of Cortina for a couple of days, and at the insistence of my butt, I'm taking a rest day today.

Yesterday's ride was another beautiful day in the mountains with around 6,000 feet of climbing.  The only difference was that the entire 6,000 feet occurred in one ascent of 2,000 feet and then another non-stop ascent of 4,000 feet.  I know I'm being repetitive about the weather's being beautiful, but that's all we've experienced so far.  One rider in our group was here a couple of years ago at this time and got snowed on.  Since cold weather was one of my greatest worries, and I brought all the cold weather bike gear I own, I'm sure thankful that I haven't had to use it. The worst we've experienced was a half hour descent yesterday in 40 degree temps.  The wind chill at 25 mph made it miserable.

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## Peter NJ

For those of you following Tims very cool trip,the lady in question,was in fact Trish..Talk about a small world!! Our families have been cabana neighbors at our Beach Club for the better part of 45 years...

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## tim

If you think I'm a bike fanatic, come hang with my new best friends on this tour.  Almost all the men are stronger riders than am I, but I'm at least able to hang with the strong women riders.  One of the nicest fellows on the tour is climbing at least 8,000 feet per day at rapid speeds.  When he sits down at dinner to fuel his 6'5", 165 lb frame, all the edible items in his area disappear as in a gastronomic black hole.

After resting yesterday, several of us rode today our steepest ride to date from Cortina to Rifugio Auronzo and back.  The big climb was St. Barth steep but lasted for 7.5 kilometers, total climbing of 5,000 feet.  Our most dangerous incident of the trip occurred when we arrived at the restaurant at the same time as two busloads of German tourists and attempted to take our normal place in the line at the cafateria service.   One would have thought a) they'd pushed the blasted buses up the mountain and b) they'd never before in their lives eaten a full meal.  The three of us cyclists did everything but link arms to avoid getting knocked out of our place in line, but at least 20 of these apparently retired Germans forced their way in front of us.   Based on our travels in Switzerland, I wasn't suprised at their behavior, which I'm sure was perfectly normal for them.

I knew I should have kept my mouth shut about our perfect weather.  We had cool and cloudy today and are expecting rain the next few days.

P.S.  Peter, I'll give your regards to Trish, definitely an impressive lady.

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## JoshA

Americans queue much more politely than Europeans. You can always tell the Europeans in the lift lines at Vail - pushing to get ahead of everyone.

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## JEK

Would any of those men be younger than you by any chance? Decades younger?

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## Karibien

> Americans queue much more politely than Europeans. You can always tell the Europeans in the lift lines at Vail - pushing to get ahead of everyone.



*ahem*

Us Europeans are not one and the same. Despite a long line of efforts from the European commission &amp; parliament, big issues and small things like replacing our national flag from our passport with the EU-stars. I am still Swedish. Those others are Finnish, Irish, French, Germans etc.

"In cultural and linguistic terms, Europe is marked more by its diversity than by its coherence" J. Habermas qouted  here 

The queueing culture of Ume

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## Karibien

tim - I am in awe, what a feat you fanatics have taken on, just looking at the map and following your reports make my legs hurt... But I'm guessing you all are having the time of your life, so have fun and take care :)

BTW tim, I think some apples are globetrotters. We've got Red delicious and Golden delicious here. The old Swedish variaties like Ingrid Marie and Signe Tillish are scarce at the grocery store, so one of my best buddies are Granny Smith.

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## JoshA

K: I must apologize for the generality. Not all Europeans are the same, it's true and they are far more different from one country to the next than Americans are from one state to the next. However, my observation seems valid to me for some French and German skiers, perhaps not all.

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## JEK

Tim,
The Mudhoney is delivered and I took a quick 10 miler in the rain. Love those disc brakes and water diverting tires.

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## Karibien

thanks josh, apology accepted of course. I'm a bit touchy on the subject of European identity, as you found out... sorry if I overreacted.

I don't doubt for a minute that there are bullies out there, and that there might be a higher percentage of one or a few European nationalities bullying the other queuers.

The Swedes might be the drunken blonds with bad taste in music and if there's sports anywhere near some men and women will be wearing stupid cows horn on their head, but it won't be us hogging the beach chairs, elbowing through the queue and going through the buffet like locust. Wait, the buffet ravagers might actually be us. But we will wait in line for our turn.

I guess if you combine all our rumored national bad sides the European would be a really really obnoxious character...

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## JEK

K,
The absolute worst are the Italian who roast dogs on Easter :-)

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## MIke R

> K: I must apologize for the generality. Not all Europeans are the same, it's true and they are far more different from one country to the next than Americans are from one state to the next. However, my observation seems valid to me for some French and German skiers, perhaps not all.



I am a spoiled litle brat who gets to cut the line through  the ski school entrance most of the time......and usually if there is any kind of long line, I am long gone and at home anyway.....but I have seen some pretty aggressive pushing and shoving by "non americans" in the lift lines at times

Tim...how ya doin with the elevation?????

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## JEK

> Tim...how ya doin with the elevation?????



Sounds like he is doing fine based on his frequent reports. He is in your world and is self propelled :-)

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## MIke R

yeah I can see he is doing well...I'm just curious as how the adjustment was...its always interestng to me to see how varied each individual can be in their adjustment and how everyone has different symtoms ranging from none at all, to full blown sick

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## JEK

> yeah I can see he is doing well...I'm just curious as how the adjustment was...its always interestng to me to see how varied each individual can be in their adjustment and how everyone has different symtoms ranging from none at all, to full blown sick



Well, he is sick. Anyone who rides as much and as hard as he does is sick :-)

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## Lauren



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## tim

Friday was raining like crazy when our group left Cortina, and I and several other wimps decided to ride in the nice, warm, dry van that day.  A couple of our more ambitious riders got hypothermia and had to be rescued by the van later that day.  Dry clothes and warm food revived them.

Yesterday was semi-dry, so almost everyone rode back to Castlefranco for our last supper.  Today, Sunday, is raining again, and I'm back in Venice.  Crowds are in the thousands, proving that rain can't stop a true tourist from enjoying this fabulous city.

Mike, altitude didn't bother me on this trip.  

Back to Virginia on Tuesday.  Ciao!

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## JEK

Tim,
Have a good trip home and give us the full report of the miles traveled and the feet climbed!

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## tim

I had hopes of writing my final installment yesterday, but U.S.Air's Philly system was almost in complete meltdown last evening, thereby causing me to get home way too late for anything but dragging my ancient-feeling body to bed after being up for 24 hours.  

On Monday, my last evening in Venice, after consulting my trusty Lonely Planet guide, I headed out walking to its recommended trattoria.  Encountering  a different, enticing looking restaurant along the way, I luckily had my best of the trip(and reasonably priced) dinner of grilled fish along with the charming company of a couple from Austin, Texas who were seated adjacent.  Having never seen Piazza San Marco at night, I walked there after the dinner.  I don't know, nor care, where pigeons go at night, but it was a pleasant surprise to see this world famous square not covered by thousands of the winged rodents.  Orchestras were playing at several restaurants entertaining both their diners and the crowd of thousands that included tourists of all shapes, sizes, and colors from around the world.  San Marco under its beautiful lighting on a clear evening is an experience not to be missed.

The crowd at San Marco was in sharp contrast to the characters that I encountered as I wandered the residential neighborhoods that morning.  The population of Venice has shrunk by at least half in recent decades, but many unique individuals remain.  As I munched my lunch pizza, I witnessed many elderly ladies walking with their beloved dogs.  One elderly beauty especially caught every one's eye as she was as fashionably and elegantly dressed and made up as if she were attending the opera at La Fenice instead of walking her dog at noon.   Then we were all treated to an opera performance as a man strolled through the square loudly and skillfully singing his favored songs to the delight of even the local residents.  The final character of note was a man out walking his parakeet, firmly attached to his shoulder, and singing its own special tunes.

Venice is not a cheap place for visitors.  My water taxi to the airport cost 100 euros.  A minimal gondola ride will cost at least that much.  Everything here moves by boat:  trash pickup, building materials, police, fire, ambulance, even funerals.  Call a plumber or other tradesman, and they arrive by boat.  

Venice is not for those with mobility handicaps.  One can't walk two minutes without encountering a bridge with steps to climb, most of which are just tall enough for gondolas to underpass, but the famous Rialto and Accademia bridges are much taller so that larger craft can navigate the Grande Canal.  Even the bicycle legs that pedalled me across the Dolomite Mountains grew weary after several hours wandering the streets and climbing hundreds of steps.  Speaking of bicycles, they're justifiably not allowed in this city.  Many of the "streets" are so narrow as to barely accommodate pedestrians passing.  As for climbing the steps of the bridges on two wheels, forgetaboutit.

For the record it appears I rode about 500 miles and climbed 55,000 feet during my ten days bicycling in the Dolomites.  I loved the trip, but I'm glad to be home and looking forward to a few days of rest.  I'm headed back to our favorite island October 2nd.  Ciao!

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## JEK

> For the record it appears I rode about 500 miles and climbed 55,000 feet during my ten days bicycling in the Dolomites.  I loved the trip, but I'm glad to be home and looking forward to a few days of rest.  I'm headed back to our favorite island October 2nd.  Ciao!

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## MIke R

Tim....great job mon ami...we re all proud of you.....I did Venice with Mom in a wheelchair...it wasnt fun....did you bring back a little Murano Glass for the Mrs???

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## JoshA

Tim: An impressive Giro! Now if there were only uphills and no downhills you'd hold the world record in human powered flight. (Let's just ignore the oxygen and cold bit.)

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## tim

Mike,

We did the Murano glass thing on our previous trip, probably with more dollars than was prudent.  The tour through the glass factory, watching those amazing craftsmen make the pieces in the same manner as has been done for hundreds of years, and viewing the showroom with all the extravagant works of art can really reel one in.  We had the piece that we purchased in 2002 shipped to us in Virginia from the showroom.  It was well packed, promptly shipped, and now maintains a place of honor on a well protected shelf.  Everyone that goes should experience Murano at least once, but even the most frugal traveller should be prepared to part with some bucks.

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## MIke R

very true...but oh what great stuff...I have a Murano ashtray that I picked up there...the colors it refracts is simply amazing....eventually I will inherit all the Murano clowns my Mom has.....

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## andynap

Or not. We were given a "free" ride to Murano by our hotel- The Bauer- and I told my wife we were NOT going to buy anything. So after the glass-blowing and such we go upstairs and they start off showing us a $5,000 chandelier- I shake my head NO- and then the glasses, wine carafes, brandy snifters and finally an ashtray. To my delight my wife graciously demurred and we left bereft of anything except money. And so- my son was there in April and now I have a set of Murano wine glasses which I will never use.

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## tim

Andy,

I am always in need of wine glasses in St. Barth and wouldn't at all be offended if you re-gifted those from your son to me for Christmas.  You could bring them down when you come for your annual visit, and I wouldn't mind if that would be a little late for Christmas.  :-)

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## andynap

Tim- you are too kind. The salt air would eat thru the gold trim, so the next time you are here visiting with Susan you are invited to view my Murano wine glasses. And :-) to you too.

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## BillK

eventually I will inherit all the Murano clowns my Mom has..... 

. . . "

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## tim

> Tim- you are too kind. The salt air would eat thru the gold trim, so the next time you are here visiting with Susan you are invited to view my Murano wine glasses. And :-) to you too.



Avec plaisir, mon ami!

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## andynap

> Tim- you are too kind. The salt air would eat thru the gold trim, so the next time you are here visiting with Susan you are invited to view my Murano wine glasses. And :-) to you too. 
> 
> 
> 
> Avec plaisir, mon ami!




Tsk, tsk. Parli in italian il mio amico. Con piacere.

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## JEK

> eventually I will inherit all the Murano clowns my Mom has..... 
> 
> . . . "

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## andynap

You can't print that without paying ASCAP and BMI a fee. It's a copyright violation.

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## JEK

> You can't print that without paying ASCAP and BMI a fee. It's a copyright violation.



Quick, call a lawyer. PS I don't plan to print it.

Play it

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## tim

> You can't print that without paying ASCAP and BMI a fee. It's a copyright violation. 
> 
> 
> 
> Quick, call a lawyer. PS I don't plan to print it.
> 
> Mes amis, 
> 
> I'd like to suggest that "Send in the Clowns" might be an appropriate theme song for this dysfunctional family of ours?  I'll bet a friend of mine could figure out how to make that music start up on each individual's computer any time they access SBHOnline. Wouldn'thatbesomethin'?
> ...

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## MIke R

oh brother...you guys are too much...LOL....hey I only mention the clowns because my Mom is way comfortable with talking about who gets what...whenever I come over her house she will point to stuff and say.."make sure you get this and make sure so and so gets that"....Im not crazy about the Murano clowns...but isnt that what E Bay is for????...LOL

however...we are both Lladro collectors...and that I am going to like

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## JoshA

> Wouldn'thatbesomethin'?



 That would be somethin'

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