Day 77 - Martedì 25 giugno, 2013

From - Firenze
To - Arezzo
Distance - 90km
Time - 6 hours
Total - 4495km

Not the greatest nights sleep I ever had! A group of French school kids (probably around 10 years old) spent the evening banging and running around till 11pm. Of course they also were up at 6am shrieking and banging doors again. To make things worse, I spent most of the night hiding under my bed sheets to keep buzzing mossies away. I expected to be half my size in the morning, lying next to a big fat mossie that had sucked my blood and become bigger than me as a result! I thought i had fended them off reasonably well but when I got to Arezzo and showered I saw in the mirror that I had load of bites on my back and shoulder and a few elsewhere! Little bastardo!

Partly due to the fact the French kids had woken me early I got up and beat them to breakfast. I didn't fancy being surrounded by them at breakfast after being disturbed by them at night, I think I would possibly have eaten one of them to teach the rest of them a lesson! This is the last hostel I can stay in on my route and therefore the last time I will have cornflakes in a cup.

As a result of the lack of sleep and the annoying kids I was looking forward to coming home despite the fact I still have a week to go. I got on my bike and the weather was a bit cool but the sun broke through before long to give a lovely day of blue skies and occasional fluffy clouds. The cycling started slowly as I tried to cycle on tracks shown on the Eurovelo 7 route, they were a bit wet and bumpy and I had to keep looking at the iPad map because there were no signs at all. I followed the river Arno as a general direction and eventually got onto roads that I could put some power onto the pedal. I started to climb again but it was worthwhile because the Tuscan views were beautiful with fantastic colours of the brown cut grass, green vines, olive trees and cypress trees.

I went through a few pleasant villages and had to do some climbing. I guess it's very rolling a bit like the Yorkshire Dales but very Italian. The temperature was pleasant and the scenery was great. It made me want to enjoy the last few days rather than wish them away.

Arezzo turned out to be a lovely city. Different again to any of the other places but all the better for it. The centre is very old and in a way more Italian than anywhere else I've stayed. It was very quiet when I entered just around 2pm. There were museums with free exhibitions, I had an ice cream for under 2 euros for the first time since Slovenia and there was no stinting on the portion! The hotel was nice and right in he centre and it had air conditioning, so hopefully I can keep the mossies out tonight.

I showered, put the insect bite cream on as if it was after sun cream and then went out. I had a coffee, bottle of water and a pastry for less than 3 euros, I couldn't believe the price difference from more touristy cities. I went into a couple of churches and the Piazza Grande and saw they were taking own a grandstand so I knew they had finished some event recently. I carried on and went to he Cathedral which had an interior that was far superior to the one at Florence. Then I went into a free museum and was the only visitor. The exhibits were all about the Jousting event that took place in the Piazza Grande on Saturday, mystery solved. The man showed me a DVD of the history of the Jousting in English and all about the modern day event too. It was about 45 mins long but it was really interesting how the city is divided into 4 sections and they compete against each other twice a year in the joust against a wooden Saracen who spins round when they hit his shield with a lance. The jouster who hits the shield closest to the middle is the winner but there are over 400 locals dressed in costume relevant to their own section of the town and there is loads of pageantry, music, flag throwing and parades. It looked a great event. I suppose its a little bit like their version of the horse races around the square at Siena. The museum man took my photo standing behind a costume dummy and let me wear the hat as well. It started raining when I went out and he gave me an umbrella that someone had previously left.... he must have liked me.... not in that way!

I later went out for a lovely meal. I can't remember what the pasta dish was called but it was a thick spaghetti with a creamy sauce and pancetta, the main course was a lovely steak with a gorgonzola and walnut sauce. I'm still licking my lips.

What else do we know about Arezzo? Well cousin Matthew from Heidelberg has informed me that Guido of Arezzo was the man who invented the music notation system and the do-ra-me-far-so-la-te-do system of remembering and recording music on paper around 1000AD (for younger readers, they didn't have CD's or MP3 format in those days, they had to write music down on paper!).

Also there was Pietro Aretino who was a 16th century poet and writer who invented pornographic literature! I guess pornography has moved on a bit since then....so I am told! Lastly, there was Petrarch from the 14th century who is credited as being the 'Father of Humanism' and his works helped to create the Italian language which hadn't existed before this time as a consolidated language. I haven't even mentioned Vasari, but the blog is getting too long!

You can probably tell that I am impressed with the place. More light rain in the evening but it doesn't matter because I have an umbrella now!

You may have thought that now I have left Florence I have missed the chance to nominate Florence and the Machine was song of the day and you are quite right. I remember listening to Boney M sing 'Daddy Cool' whilst I was having an expresso so that's the song for the day. My kids would cringe but they don't read the blog!

Photo 1, no 1 of 3 scenes.
Photo 2, no 2
Photo 3, no 3
Photo 4, I saw several topless women coming out of the factory so it must be Pirelli doing a calendar!
Photo 5, Italian Space Mission, they just need to put the nose cone on. It will probably be an ice cream cone knowing them!
Photo 6, Entry into Arezzo.
Photo 7, Too much skin but plenty of mossie bites! The large swelling on the side of my head is an ear, just in case you were concerned at the size of the bite!
Photo 8, Piazza Grande, where I found out they did the Jousting last Saturday. The scaffolding is the grandstand being dismantled.
Photo 9, Must be washing day on a Tuesday as the shirts were out to dry!
Photo 10, Catheral - it was beautiful inside, better than Florence!
Photo 11, Inside the Cathedral but there was much more.
Photo 12, Me as a jouster, very chivalrous!

Day 76 - Lunedi 24 Giugno 2013

Day in Florence.

I mentioned I had a plan to look around Florence today. This was based on advice I was given by a man who is a professional guide and is staying at the hostel. My itinerary was to go to Galleria delli Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David and then to Palazzia Pitti where there is also an art gallery. He thought the Museo Uffizi may be too much for me! He must have seen that I am an uncultured ignoramus. I know that my brother David will be disappointed that I didn't see Michelangelo's version of him! There is a copy of he statue in the Piazza deli Signora so that will have to do!

I got a nice early start thinking I would avoid the queues and found the Accademia and the Pitti were both closed on a Monday! The Uffizi was open and it was only 6 euros to enter. Even to a thicky like me I actually enjoyed it and recognised many of the masters. There were paintings by Gioto, Daddi, Leonardo Di Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens, Van Dyck, Raphael and (wait for it, my favourite University Challenge answer) Carravagio. My University Challenge scores should go up considerably. There were fantastic sculptures and the building was beautiful as well. Sorry there are no photos as non were allowed.

I also went to the Duomo Museo and learned a bit about the building of the Cathedral. The man who built the Dome is called Brunelleschi and according to my guide friend it is still an engineering mystery how he did it with the methods and materials he had at the time. In this museum there is Michelangelo's Pietr. I thought it would make up for not seeing David so I would see his version of my other brother Peter but this turned out to be a statue of Jesus being taken down from the cross and 'pietr' is a word meaning sadness or sorrow.

I had a look in the Cathedral itself and found it a bit disappointing, in comparison to the ornate and grand exterior the interior was quite plain. It is certainly big but I don't think it will end up as the best church of the holiday! Inside the Cathedral was a queue to go down to the crypt and I thought I would join it. I waited in line and eventually got to an iron grille to look into the crypt. I didn't know what we were going to see and why so many people would queue for it. When I looked through it was a flat engraved tombstone for Brunelleschi. It amused me that most of the people in the queue didn't know what they were queuing for and the anticlimax they would feel when they eventually saw what it was. I felt like doing a 'Dom Jolly' buy getting out a large mobile phone and shouting 'Yeah, I've seen the crypt and its crap'!

I went to a couple of lovely churches, San Marco and San Firenze both were fantastically ornate and very quiet. I went to Santa Croce but it was closed and in the piazza there was an organised sports event set up for later in the evening. Temporary grandstands were in place and a sandy pitch in the middle. It was a 'free for all' match with no rules between two teams. A man described it as a mix between American Football, Rugby and Boxing! It sounds like the 'Uppies and Downies' matches at Workington. The event looked very organised with security guards, paramedics and police but sadly there were no tickets available to watch it and the whole area was cordoned off for people without a ticket.

I also crossed the River Arno on Ponte Vecchio which is full of expensive jewellery shops and I had a look at Palazzio Pitti and by chance found a house where Dostoyevsky lived.

I have just found out that Berlusconi has been sentenced to 7 years for having sex with an underage prostitute. How sad that such a fine upstanding politician has come to this!!

This evening it has thrown a heavy thunder storm and I have stayed at the hostel. It must be full to capacity with a couple of school groups from France and Spain. The place is buzzing because everyone is staying in rather than going down into the city. I think the 'no rules' game would have been a wash out. I'm glad I didn't get a ticket.

Tomorrow I am on the bike and go to Arezzo. I will be following the Eurovelo 7 route but I have no expectations that there will be any signs! I think we may have sun again in the morning.

Photo 1, Inside San Marco.
Photo 2, View of Ponte Vecchio over the Arno.
Photo 3, Michelangelo's Pietr.
Photo 4, Dostoyevsky plaque.
Photo 5, Inside the Duomo.
Photo 6, In the Duomo again!
Photo 7, San Firenze.
Photo 8, The 'no rules' pitch.
Photo 9, Procession for John the Baptist Day, I have been told!
Photo 10, Same again.

Day 75 - Domenica 23 Giugno 2013

From - Monghidoro
To - Firenze
Distance - 73km
Time - 4 hours
Total - 4382km

I enjoyed a 'Grumpy' pizza at the hotel restaurant. It was spicy salami, red onions and cheese. It was a whopper that was properly made in a pizza oven on the premises. I watched the Brazil v Italy football as well and it was a good match, finishing 4-2 to Brazil.

The morning started with a good breakfast again. I think I was the only resident but the lady put on a full spread as if there were 10 residents. I got set off again and quickly started more climbing. Up Passo della Raticosa at 968m which is about 3000 feet. Then down again and up another hill to over 900 m again. After that it was a long long downhill and then a nice undulating route towards Florence. The weather had become cool and cloudy, so much so I felt damp and chilly. It possibly spoiled some of the views of Tuscany but it was still bellsimo coming down to Florence with the Duomo (Cathedral) dominating the skyline.

As I got into Florence the sun started to break through and it was glorious from then onwards. The forecast for the next days is a little mixed! Of course the city was very busy with pesky tourists. The Duomo was not open till 1.30pm on a Sunday so I gave it a miss today. It is certainly the biggest attraction both in size and grandeur! I was trying to orientate myself but didn't have a tourist map and couldn't find a tourist info centre. I saw the Cappelle Medicee and the Orsantemichelle Church. Next I went to the Piazza della Signora where there are many wonderful statues that look very familiar. The fountain of Neptune is good and the statues outside the Palazzio Vecchio are excellent. The entrance to the Palazzio Vecchio is guarded by two men in old costumes. I went into the entrance hall and took a few photos in an area before you have to pay. When I came out it was time for the changing of the guard and there was a nice bit of pageantry as the new guards were escorted in with drummers and trumpeters.

I looked all around for Zeberdee, Dougall and Dylan but they were nowhere to be found! You knew that I had to get that one in!

I decided it was time to find the Hostel and get a shower. The hostel is a little bit out of the centre and near the stadium. There was a concert taking place at the stadium by a well known Italian Pop star, who I have never heard of, called Lorenzo Jovanotti. The audience seemed to be very young. I will probably hear the performance from the hostel.

I arrived at the hostel and it is a very lovely old villa with many of the original features including marble carvings in the reception. I am in a room of four and have a top bunk for the second time this trip. I had a chat with a man who has travelled all over the world and now lives in Italy and has written tourist guide books. He gave me a few tips for my short stay. I now have a game plan for tomorrow.

In the evening I rode back towards the centre and went for a self service meal at San Marco Piazza where my guide friend had told me to go. The food looked lovely, it wasn't so much as self service. I pointed to what I wanted and they plated it up and I put it on a tray and sat down. I will definitely go here again. I had a slice of pizza, some ratatouille and followed by some beef stewed in red wine and sooooo tender!

I have taken the major step of booking accommodation in Rome from 29th June to 2nd July and even more dramatic I have booked my return flight back to Manchester on Tuesday 2nd July. The end is nigh!


Photo 1, View looking back to Bologna direction.
Photo 2, Passo della Raticosa.
Photo 3, Cloudy view.
Photo 4, Cycle race.
Photo 5, First views down to Florence.
Photo 6, Fortezza de Basso - nothing much inside except temporary exhibitions.
Photo 7, Duomo - I don't think it is possible to get a photo that captures it. It is really big.
Photo 8, Inside Orsantemichelle Church - Madonna and Child painting by Daddi over the altar on the right. I tried for a better picture but the attendant stopped me taking photos!
Photo 9, Piazza della Signora - I think this is a statue of Neptune!
Photo 10, Hostel where I am staying, nice isn't it!
Photo 11, Succulent beef in a red wine sauce at a selfservice cafe, that's what I like good value
Photo 12, San Marco church. I didn't get a look in yet but I'm told it has some top art inside.

Day 74 - Sabato 22 giugno 2013

From - Bologna
To - Monghidoro
Distance - 43km
Time - 3 hours
Total - 4301km

As with many things in life, the thought of something is usually worse than the real thing. It was the same for me today .....I was frightened of eating the Hostel breakfast again with the cornflakes in a cup and the dry bread. But I faced up to my fears and struggled through! I did ease the pain by eating a apple and a croissant that I had bought at a supermarket.

I was trying to maximise all the small advantages that I could to help me on my cycling today. This is something I learned from Dave Brailsford who is the manager of Team Sky Cycling Team. I put on my white shirt and white hat to reduce the heat from the sun and I showered using 'orange energy' shower gel! I'm sure the shower gel will do the trick today and make the cycling so much easier!!

I got started at 8am when the temperature was pleasant. By 9am it was 28 degrees. I pretty much cycled south from Bologna which was initially flat but it started to climb as I left the city. I went through Pianaro and then it started to get tough with hard gradients and lots of bends. Road igns told me to put on snow chains but i didn't take the advice. For the hills i used the power of positive thinking that the next bend would be the end of the hill but 'mind over matter' wasn't going to work today. At the top of the steep bit was a town called Livergnano. It was here that the cycling improved from two perspectives. Firstly, the hills were much more gradual and therefore I could admire the beautiful countryside. Secondly, I started cycling and chatting with a local 24 year old young man called Alessandro. He must have been doing his good deed for the day by helping an old man up the hill. He was excellent company and his English was very good and we talked about many things. He had studied in California but had never been to Britain. I told him how he would like the Lake District and he asked the difficult question about when is the best time of year to visit? I'm still trying to work out the answer to that question for myself! I suggested May but with the proviso that it can rain at any time of the year.

We cycled together all the way to my hotel a Monghidoro and he turned round and went back. He told me that there was a very steep part after Monghidoro and then it wouldn't be too bad onto Florence. Alessandro took my blog address, so hopefully he will look at it today.

Whilst talking I said that the only Italian pop star I knew was Zucchero who had a hit with Paul Young in the 80's called Senza Una Donna. So, that must be my song of the day. I have got a few Zucchero songs on my iPad but I don't think anyone would know them.

Monghidoro is at 850 metres above sea level which is about 2700 feet and is only a fairly small town. The hotel looks good. I nearly complained that there was no shower in my ensuite but avoided embarrassment when I found it hiding behind the bathroom door!

I had walk around town, its a pleasant place but a bit of a one horse town without the horse! I must say the air seems fresher and there is a breeze that helps the heat. It was only 32 degrees this afternoon but didn't feel too hot. The views all round are beautiful.

I had a conversation today with an Italian lady who explained why I continually get funny looks when I screw up my receipts and throw them away. It turns out that there is the Italian Financial Police who can stop you outside a shop and demand to see your receipt. If you haven't got one you can be taxed (probably a small fine) but the shop must give you a receipt and will be taxed a larger amount if they haven't. She said this is to make sure that sales are subject of tax and not just cash transactions that are not recorded. It eventually makes sense!

Not much night life here but Italy play Brazil at football so I intend to eat in and watch the football in the bar. I will support Brazil and see if I get a response!


Photo 1, Another Palazzio that I spotted on the way out of Bologna.
Photo 2, Nice countryside.
Photo 3, I think that's a view of Monghidoro in the distance.
Photo 4, Here's me making Alessandro look good! Nice legs, shame about he face! I'm talking about me, not sure about the legs actually!
Photo 5, I made another friend. More my age I think, he's from the 70's!
Photo 6, More countryside.
Photo 7, Closet I will get to a Lamborghini!
Photo 8, Monghidoro Main Street.
Photo 9, Local vino tastes good, it will be chianti next.

Day 73 - Venerdì 21 Giugno 2013

Rest day in Bologna.

I forgot to mention a little confrontation I had yesterday! I went into the Sala Borsa, which is the city library but it is a beautiful building and in the basement it has roman excavations on display. What's more, the entry to the building is free! I went in search of the excavations in the basement and I was confronted by a woman sitting at a table with a collection box and a sign that said 'free donation'. I wanted to look first before I decided how much to donate but the lady would not let me past, she couldn't speak English but I pointed at the sign and said 'gratis' but she said 'non gratis'. We had a disagreement for a few minutes before I put my smallest euro coins into the slot which she didn't think much of but allowed me past. I was glad I didn't put much in because there was very little to see.

I chatted to a Romanian man called Josef in the hostel. He spoke good English and was visiting Bologna because he is enrolling at the University to study Business next September. We talked some politics and economics. He was a big fan of Margaret Thatcher!

In the evening I went out to the retail park about a kilometre away. It included a Decathlon. Whenever I go to a Decathlon I usually buy a load of sports kit because I think it is often good value stuff. After two and a third months of not buying anything I actually bought a white cycling shirt, a white cycling hat, a water bottle and a holder for it. This is because I am getting paranoid about tomorrow hill climbing in heat. I am stopping about 50km out of Bologna so it isn't too far but I am climbing higher than I have ever climbed (850m doesn't sound that much but it's higher than any pass in the Lakes and higher than many of the mountains!). The day after will be about 75km and will involve some more climbing but hopefully more downhill into Florence. I will have to throw away one of my shirts to make space for the new one!

This morning I had the worst breakfast of the trip so far. I had cornflakes in a mug and dry bread and jam. There was some fruit juice and coffee but they weren't great either! Nothing worth nicking for lunch!

I set off on my bike to the Ducati Factory and Museum on the other side of town. It was 13 km of city cycling in competition with the morning traffic. It wasn't too bad but you certainly need to keep your wits about you. The Ducati Tour was suggested to me by an ex-cop who insisted I went. I am not a great motorcycle fan but I thoroughly enjoyed it and British motorcyclists Mike Hailwood and Carl Foggarty (good Lancashire lad and deserves more recognition for his fantastic achievements) got big mentions. It certainly made a nice change from the grand buildings, churches and art that I have been seeing in abundance. I found out there is a Lamborghini factory and a Ferrari factory within about 30km but also was told that it cost 150 euros to get a ticket for a Ferrari tour!

Well I promised to do a bit more research on Bologna. I have revealed some interesting things. Yes the Bolognese ragu sauce originates from here but it is usually accompanied by tagliatelle not spaghetti. Spaghetti is frowned upon if used with the sauce! Also Bologna specialises in 'mortadella' which is often called 'baloney', so it isn't just me who can talk baloney!

Mozart studied here for a while under the tuition of Padre Martini. It is reputed that he could teach 'any time, any place, anywhere'! Rossini was born here too and so was Marconi. They don't make too much of these facts and the houses that Rossini and Marconi were born in both have plaques but there is nothing else to commemorate the connection.

I was busy looking for some alternative to visiting churches and saw in the guide book that there was a film and media library that included an archive of Charlie Chaplin. Thinking that there would be an exhibition or display and some movie clips etc I went along. Sadly, there was no exhibition at all and the archive was more for a study and recording purpose. I am still not aware of any real connection between Charlie Chaplin and Bologna?

Again, the churches I have seen today have been superb rather than pulchritudinous! Especially San Stefano and San Dominic.

I had a tagliatelle bolognese for my evening meal and then went to see a jazz performance outside the San Stefano church. They were a bit too Cleo Lane and Johnny Dankworth for my taste so I only managed about three songs. Back to the hostel and noticed I had clocked up about 36km during the day. That's a nice rest. The day has been a little bit cooler I think so here's hoping I will be OK tomorrow. I haven't done a song of the day for a little while so I will choose 'Running up that Hill' by Kate Bush. I nearly chose a Jasper Carrot B side to the Funky Moped single where he makes progressively louder groaning sounds until the very end when he says 'its the last time I ride my bike up that hill'!

Photo 1, The correct term is not 'colonnade' it should be 'portico's'!
Photo 2, Ducati Factory.
Photo 3, I got a new bike specially for he hills! And a new white shirt!
Photo 4, A bike that Mike Hailwood won the Isle of Man TT races on.
Photo 5, Can you see the special technology he used to keep his visor clean? It's a cut off tennis ball with a sponge tucked inside!
Photo 6, Bike that Carl Foggarty won his first World Championship on.
Photo 7, Ducati road bikes. Last Ducati picture I promise!
Photo 8, Handsome chap with his new cap.
Photo 9, Tomb outside the San Franchesco Chiesi. That's where 'I lost my heart'.
Photo 10, San Stefano Piazza and church with a Jazz Band setting up.
Photo 11, Cloister at San Dominica Church - the whole church had quite a bit of the wow factor but I can't show all the pictures.
Photo 12, The Ostello.