Where’s Alex?

This time 3 years ago: June 9th, 2007 Saturday 10:05pm.
Cycle Europe Day 25: Urbana - Pisa, 31.85 miles.

2nd day of cycling still feel OK. Almost no after effects except maybe the wrist and neck. Another cycling day tomorrow. This is where the fun begins.

Breakfast at that alternate albergo in Urbana was (nick) disappointing: cappuccino and croissant. Thought there would be more but sigh… Never stop at Urbana again!

It was another flat day so I could cycle fast enough. It was mostly wheat, peach trees and other plant, leafy, almost like corn/maize but there were no fruits yet so I couldn’t tell. It was still a bit boring come to think of it but the navigation and speed kept me entertained so I got to Verona before 1pm. Checked in early but could only get to the rooms at 5pm so I went to explore town with the half day I had left.

Verona is a smaller city than Bologna which was a university place so it would naturally be bigger and for some reason redder (it’s because of the bricks, they had no other type of material). I think it’s famous for 2 things only: Romeo & Juliet and a Roman Colosseum of its own (smaller than the one in Rome but much better preserved). 3rd largest in the world, the Colosseum was €4 to get it but it could be free on the 1st Sunday of every month (not tomorrow!!!). Spent the afternoon lazying around waiting for dinner to arrive. Internet cafe (1st was closed down, shoe shop there now) in the Lonely Planet guide was super expensive and slow. Windows 2000 version and Google Maps and Documents couldn’t really work so I didn’t really update. Since I spent so much on it, the internet rate, I decided to get my second salame sandwich of the day to lower my daily average after yesterday’s costly stop at Urbana. MTV worth €10.

I’ve been studying some maps today and I think I’ll take the scenic lakeside route to Riva del Garda tomorrow and leave the the riverside route for the trip to Bolzano since the preview that I saw today of that cycle path next to River Adige isn’t that impressive. And then I considered cycling to Gries Am Brenner up the 1374m Brenner Pass but I don’t want to be climbing all day since it would be my 5th cycling day already so I’ll cheat and take a train to Brenner Pass, take a profile of the board (huh?), and then go downhill into Innsbruck rather than training all the way. Inspiration from a train timetable at the notice board here in Verona’s youth hostel, arguably Italy’s best HI hostel. Cool place. Wall’s are like the ones in Finale Ligure but the Villa has a bit of Bois Luzy Marseille and showers like Edinburgh/Frejus. Cool garden and some neat staircases round the back. Family rooms on separate buildings. Nice, man. Great base to travel Milan and Venice, I think. And Bologna if you don’t want to stay out of town there. I think the train station isn’t as far from here as well. Walk seemed like slightly 1/2 an hour. Cool! Come back again to use this as a base.

Met Nick (or Nico) from Montreal (and knows Cafe Santropol where Garth is somebody). From Ottawa, dad from Ecuador, so he’s chatting with this other Ecuadorian in their local language. Seemed really fluent. Sleep!!! Check out is 9am!!!

Day 25 Accounts
Lunch/Groceries €5.02
Internet (slow) €3.20 < - could have had lowest expense total if it wasn't for this! Argh!!!
Dinner €1.81
Hostel €16.00 @ Best hostel in Italy, Verona!
Total €26.03

This time 3 years ago: June 8th, 2007 Friday 8:00pm.
Cycle Europe Day 24: Bologna - Urbana, 64 miles.

After 5 days off the road on a bike (off the bike, I meant), it felt good getting on it again. Didn’t start off too good because of some showers this morning. The chocolate spread on bread help pushed me on and it became better in about 15-30 minutes as the sun shone through. Roads early on had little traffic cutting through plain fields and farm land, pretty flat overall. Almost don’t remember much from the day. It was pleasant enough, more so than Marina di Massa to Pisa but there was much more tourist places.

Lunch was made by Italian woman at Supermercato, salame picanto sandwich, spicier than the usual. There was a break of rain some time before 2pm for about 15-30 minutes. God provided shelter at some defunct computer barn shop. Also found Ferrara very pleasant to cycle around because there were cycle lanes to almost every part of the city and there were plenty of old people using them.

Arrived at Urbana 1/2 hour before hostel opens at 4pm, about 6.5 hours ride. A guy from an albergo in town centre came and said it was the same price to stay in town compared to the hostel. I said it should be less and he said how much. I thought it was not justified to have people stationed at the hostel for just one “youth” so I said OK to the higher fee. Cycled back to town, not a bad place, probably worth every penny at the end of the day. Got MTV to watch. Own room. Looking forward to hopefully buffet breakfast. Could have gone to Montagnana. Probably should have as well because it would have saved me some €10.00. More salame sandwich for dinner to save some more pennies.

Going to watch MTV Movie Awards 2007, sleep, travel to Verona, short ride tomorrow.

Day 24 Accounts
Albergo €25.00 @ Urbana instead of hostel closed. Should have done Montagnana.
Lunch €4.24
Dinner €2.50
Total €31.74

This time 2 years ago: June 7th, 2007 Thursday 9:45am
Cycle Europe Day 23: Train to Bologna.

I don’t want to be too critical but this morning confirms that Rome is the worst place of my trip so far. Meagre breakfast as usual. Went to transport my bike upstairs from the basement. Found out that my Kryptonite cable lock had cut marks, which was most likely from the previous day when I chained it to a bedpost that seemed unused. Next morning there was a notice saying that they needed the bed and I should have keep my bicycle outside. I chained it to a chair this time but still left it inside. I didn’t see the scratch marks yesterday. If I had, I would have made even more noise and try to get a refund. But I only saw it today and I had a train to catch to I left it.

Went to the reception to where the girl was more concerned talking to another guy about probably a broken computer than serving a customer. Politely I asked to check out before I asked her if she knew who wrote that notice. I explained that another receptionist said I could put my bicycle downstairs so I chained it to the bed when there should have been a cycle store. She said I shouldn’t have but I replied that still it was wrong on their part or the film crew that was filming there to attempt to cut my cable lock. I left with a final remark saying at the end of the day, the lock ‘only’ cost €50 but it was still wrong on their part when you put your customers last on your priority.

I always regret when I don’t handle situations good enough. I know it wasn’t the girl’s fault and I should have apologised to her for treating it like it was her fault. Maybe it was because she treated me badly that I sort of took revenge. Now I’m in the wrong again. Crap. I didn’t buy the lock but it did come with the bike so…

Should I send a proper complaint and an apology to the girl? Wait for the manager till 8:30am when I had a 9:14am train to catch? 30 minutes enough for me to get to train station? I should try to make this right in an e-mail.

Rome is expensive to stay in and to see sights. The Italian people at the hostel receptions at Rome and Firenze do not place customers first and they treat us like ’sausages’ (like D&A Opticians). Best place in Italy so far is Finale Ligure and it’s only because it’s close to France. Toilets in Rome’s Youth Hostel have no seats so you have to squat to shit. Shitty. Another statistic: Worst Value For Money Hostel: Roma!

(12 hours later.)

Had to change trains not only at Firenze SMN but also at Prato to get to Bologna. Once you’re on the streets, there are sign boards to guide you to the hostel itself so it’s already giving a good impression. There’s even a McD’s and Decathlon nearby so I got another spare tube. Nice purpose-built hostel. Plenty of plugs unlike Rome’s 70-year-old building that didn’t have the wirings. Large shower area and temperature control water. They say there’s continental breakfast here. We’ll see what it means.

Asked the friendly/helpful receptionist where I could get good ’spaghetti al ragu’ and lasagna. She kindly pointed 2 places on the map for me to find. One was only going to open at 8pm, an hour later, so I went to Trattoria Bertini and had Tagliatele alla Bolognese and Lasagna al Fruno (baked lasagna). The Bolognese noodles was wonderful. Full of flavour and cheese and mince meat. The lasagna was a bit strange but hey, that’s how the Bolognese people do it. The pasta was greenish but the rest was meat and cheese. Nice. €2 service + €6.50 x 2 + €1 tip = €16.

Pass by some Bologna sights as well the first university and another leaning tower. Definitely worth a comeback trip. Viva Bologna!!!

Day 23 Accounts
Spare Tube €3.00
Dinner €16.00
Hostel €15.50
Total €34.50

This time last year: June 6th, 2007 Wednesday 10:05pm
Cycle Europe Day 22: Sight-seeing Rome 2.

Beginning of my 4th week. 7 more weeks to go.
Started off slow today because I knew the Pope wouldn’t be out till 10am. But breakfast was again so little that I was out before 9. Was at the St. Peter’s Square by about 9:30am. Found a less secure entrance into the viewing area but not into seats where you need an orange invitation card or some sort. He wasn’t out till 10:30am but he made a good show out of it. His convoy more or less weave their way around the crowds along a barricaded passage. There was this guy who tried to jump on him or his truck but they arrested him. After the parade, a passage from the Bible was read, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I think. That passage was read in different languages but different priests who had to bow to the Pope before and after their reading. After that, he began to preach. There was also a banner up front which read: “Divine Teacher: May the whole world follow your gospel.” I think it would be more appropriate if it was meant for Jesus rather than the Pope but I’m not sure who those people holding it were thinking. Anyways, I got 2 good shots of him in photo so I left early to join the queue to enter the Vatican Museum.

Vatican Museum was a hefty €13 but it wasn’t worth much to someone who doesn’t appreciate art as much. There was still quite a lot to see although I honestly think there was far too much extra when the only thing on most people’s mind was the Sistine Chapel. Michelagelo’s Creation and Last Judgement is the most famous here. Borticelli also painted here in the chapel and they had artworks from Van Gogh and Gauguin and Rodin as well. In the guidebook, it’s mentioned that The Last Supper is in Milan. In the hostel directory, rather. I’ll do it next time with Venice and my other favourite spots in Italy but not Rome again if I can avoid it.

Came back early for snacks and a siesta on top of the one I had in the Tapestry gallery in the museum. Showered and had dinner while chatting with Yamaguchi-san, who is an assistant hair stylist. Travelling while that young at 22. Others are too, you’re at an odd age to travel but so are my peers. I think it’s the economic factor. A lady of Indian origin from Birmingham said that this hostel was built by Mussolini to train young fascist and it’s 70 years old. I think it’s more obvious from the taps and sink in the bathrooms. They warrant a picture at least.

Need an early rest. Train to Bologna leaves at 9:14am. I should plan my route.

Day 22 Accounts
Vatican Museum €13.00
Lunch €0.80
Dinner/Groceries €5.58
Hostel €18.00 Roma
Pen €1.00
Total €38.38 !!!

This time last year: June 5th, 2007 Tuesday 9:50pm.
Cycle Europe Day 21: Sight-seeing Rome.

Ran out of gel ink. Using the pen Grandad gave me 13 years ago.

Report about yesterday first. Arrived in Rome yesterday. Found my way to the hostel easy enough. Hostel is one of the worst places I’ve been so far. It looks purpose built as a hostel but had not been maintained for 10+ years. It should be the cheapest in Rome so don’t complain. Breakfast was only limited to one bun bread, forced cappucino and orange juice.

I had a few hours to spend since I arrived early so I took a walk to the St. Peter’s Basilica and scout out some bancomat and supermercato. It was quite a long walk but manageable. Lots of people in the queue but it was a relatively short wait. The Basilica might be no man’s land between the Vatican City and Italy. On the way back, surveyed internet point and made a Salame Milano sandwich. Chatted with Yamaguchi-san who is quite lost here in Italy. Strange guy.

This morning, breakfast was insufficient as mentioned. Hopped on a bus without being able to buy a ticket on board. so I got off near a Metro and tubed to the Colosseum. Wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. But sitting inside really helps you to imagine what it was like in the old days when 80,000 people would come watch gladiators, where the stairs were and how the crowd would walk up them to go to their seats. Next. Palatine Hill was a disappointment. There were more rubbles than buildings so it wasn’t worth the combined ticket. It was too big with no signs and signboards weren’t helpful. No commentary except your own guidebook.

Now Pantheon was impressive because I remember watching a documentary about how they might have constructed it 2000 years ago. The perfect hemispherical dome was quite magnificent with a hole in middle. Started out as a temple for other gods/Greek probably but later converted to a basilica as well. The square reliefs, how did they do it?

Trevi Fountain, boring. Went to Roma Termini to get ticket for Bologna. Faulty Towers Hostel and internet around wasn’t any cheaper so I decided to metro to outside Vatican City where it’s the cheapest in Europe so far. Along the way earlier, I caught sight of a paper shop, Il Papiro, and decided to get some patterned and another embossed stickers. They have embossed paper with alphabets plus envelopes for ~ €20. Good inspiration.

Came back to get some dinner from supermercato after 2 hours at the internet point to back up my pictures onto the 1GB card and clear unwanted photographs. Early close? Not exactly. Wow, turned out to be quite an expensive day.

Day 21 Accounts
Metro €2.00 Twice
Colosseum €11.00
Lunch €3.10 Pizza slices x2
Internet €3.00 2 hours
Hostel €18.00 Roma
Train Tickets €23.70 to Bologna
Dinner €3.44
Souvenirs €2.00
Total €66.24 !!!

This time last year: June 4th, 2007 Monday 9:45am.
Cycle Europe Day 20: Train to Rome.

Shoot! Just remembered Mom’s birthday was 2 days ago! AIYA!!! Good thing I gave her an ang pow when they were in England. I sent an e-mail update yesterday but forgot about the whole thing so I didn’t mention. I would have reminded David if I’d thought of it. Hmm…

I managed to get an earlier train to Roma Termini at 9:09am instead of the next one which was 2 hours later. I should arrive at 12:46pm. I’ve tied my bici securely in the driving carriage so I can sit in a passenger cabin air conditioned. We’ve been passing quite a few tunnels through Toscana’s (Tuscany’s) undulating terrain but I’ve only caught a small glimpse of the infamous tree-lined vineyard-sided roads. I think the roads here a cycleable and it would taken me 3 days to get to Roma from Firenze. But why spend 3 extra days when you can save about one day’s expenses on a train fare? I’m going to cover 316 km today. If I wanted to cycle, I should have cycled to Roma and train directly to Bologna from there. I’m missing the roads already but not sure if I would have enjoyed some of the taller hills.

This holiday, spending money has not been painful. I know I’ve set aside money for this and I can afford it. It’s not like when I first arrived in the UK, when after 4 days, I started to get worried about a job, a place to stay, my expenses and stuff like that. I think the bicycle is a good 2nd activity or distraction. While I’m ticking the tourist places off my list, I’m also achieving something personally significant in the process. Personally significant because it has taken me months of planning and it’s physically challenging.

For some reason, I haven’t felt God’s hand of interference as much. I still feel I need to depend on Him more for things even when things are going my way. I definitely depend on him when it’s not. Maybe I should be more thankful/grateful when things go according to plan. Thank you, Lord, for a great trip so far. Looking forward to your greater blessings. I’m still wondering how all this will bring glory to God. We’ll see… Running out of ink. Need to get new pens. Until then, take care.

Hilly for 1 hour, currently flat for about 1 hour, then mountainous again. (Mengantuk on train)

Day 20 Accounts
Train €18.40 to Rome from Firenze, 14.9 + 3.50.
Lunch €2.50
Dinner € 3.33
Groceries €1.41
Hostel €18.00 Roma
Souvenir €2.84 Vatican Stamps
Total €46.48 !!!

This time last year: June 3rd, 2007 Sunday 9:20pm.
Cycle Europe Day 19: Rest/tourist day in Firenze (Florence).

Free and easy day. Forced myself to get up really early, ~ 7+ am, so that I could get to Uffizi early to line up. Breakfast was again rationed, it almost always is whenever a ticket is involved. This time, it was 2 slices of french loaf and hot chocolate, plus orange juice. Last nights dinner was a beef burger (w/o bread) with salad, mash potato, 2 slices of bread, banana for €6.00 secondo piato. People with 2 course dinners were wasting pasta/spaghetti, I felt like asking but was too ashamed to. This morning, I managed to pick up some ciabatta from the bin and it was still wrapped in plastic. Not very filling either.

Decided that I would save on the bus fare and cycle to town. I saw a pair of Giant touring bikes (he & she). Nice bikes, I commented. And then I found out that my front tyre was flat. Pumped it again and it seemed fine so I guessed it might be a latent flat so I was too lazy to go back in and change tubes this early in the day so I left it till later.

Getting to the tourist centre was easy enough. Managed to find a place to park right opposite a supermercati which was about to open. Walked to Galleria Degli Uffizi and joined a queue that was about 80 metres long. Too about 1:30 hours to get in. Browse through most of the gallery but I think I missed a Michealangelo painting because I forgot my guidebook. Like National Gallery but without a floorplan to see highlights. Bummer. Highlight was probably Borticelli’s Birth of Venus. Think Adobe Illustrator 10 and below. Spent about 2:30 hours there.

Came out and went back to check that my bike was still there. Popped into the supermercati and got some bisgedi and self-made salami sandwich. After finishing my sandwich, I made my way to the Duomo. It was quite impressive on the outside. (Oh, before that, I checked out the supposed statue of David by Michealangelo in the open air museum in the Piazza Del Uffizi.) As I was saying, impressive on the outside but simple interiors. The outside had white and green marbles and the front portion (door/entrance) was suppose to be very intricate. The back portion was less so because of probably 2 reasons. No money and a plague (pneumonic probably, black death) where 4/5 of the people were affected. Labour then became a problem but the Florentines slowly bounced back. The double dome by Brunelleschi was made to salute the resilience of the Florentines. The American guide also said that it wasn’t so much the design of the octagonal dome that was impressive but the engineering feat that he (Brunelleschi) took on. Some of today’s engineering methods have been attributed to him. There was a statue of him looking on to the dome. The dome was probably a trial and error process since structural engineering was almost non-existent at that time.

After the Duomo, I went to the train station to get tickets to Rome tomorrow. McDonald’s was nearby but it was too crowded so I used my navigator to lead me 0.40 miles to another outlet where I bumped into the Brazilian girl from the laundry last night and spotted that Canadian guy. Wanted a Big Mac but the counter girl thought I my hand gestures meant grande. Early dinner so I’m having some bisgedi now. Replaced my tyre tube, bathed and packed some of my stuff. Ready for another city tomorrow…

Day 19 Accounts
Lunch/Groceries €4.10
Dinner €6.50
Internet €2.70
Call Hostel €0.20
Hostel €18.00 Firenze
Uffizi €6.50
Total €38.00 !!!

This time last year: June 2nd, 2007 Saturday 9:30pm.
Cycle Europe Day 18: Pisa - Firenze (Florence), 59.5 mi.

What a day! Started out with a wake up call by the cleaning lady at 8:30am. Had to be out by 9:00am. Strange place. Don’t go back there. Breakfast was light with some bisgedi, Sander gave me 2 croissants which turned out to be the only fuel I had to till 1:30pm. Had to negotiate my way out of Pisa before getting on SS67.

At first it seemed strange that all the supermarkets were closed. Shops too. Even McDonald’s! National Day in Italy!!!

After passing 2 pizza bars, I decided to stop at the third. Not sure whether it was a good decision or not. Had 2 slices that gave me the shits later. I had to stop in some gap between buildings, hide behind my bicycle and “let yourself go.” Wasn’t too messy.

The other thing I had to deal with was 2 outbreaks of rain. But God provided me with 2 great places to shelter. The 1st was a post office. Stopped about 45 minutes there, had my 2nd croissant, a little siesta and off we went. The 2nd was under a bridge (highway) with a bunch of tractors. It was rough at first but I moved on to a tractor vage control with a leather cushion seat. Later some guys came over as if to buy/sell the machinery, checking its conditions. I was there for almost an hour. Both times it rained, it became quite chilly. Both times had naps. I think the naps were necessary? I’m not sure if the shits helped timed the shelter under the bridge. I think God planned it well.

Apart from those obstacles, the ride was okay. Not too bad a case saddle sore. Roads started out flat but it became pleasantly undulating. Climbs weren’t too high and saw a bit of Tuscany landscape but not enough for a picture. Coming into Florence was a little hectic but managed the final climb uphill to the hostel. Looks like a hostel when it was suppose to be some villa. Staff not very friendly. Probably had a long day but that’s still not an excuse.

Have to decide how to go into town tomorrow. Bus or bike. Then I have to confirm train times to Rome from last year. They only have an old schedule. 7:09am, 9:09am, 11:09am… Laundry takes forever too. 4 washers and only 1 works. Too many Canadians. Canadian trying to pick up Brazilian girl. Oh, come on?!!

Day 18 Accounts
Lunch €4.80 4 pizza slices
Dinner €6.00 Hostel food
Laundry €5.20
Hostel €18.00 Firenze Villa
Snickers €1.00
Total €35.00!!!