San Marino, Florence and Solo Mio
Monday 6th October 2014
I'm sitting at a cafe in the central square of Altopascio, a small town between Florence and Pisa. It's 8pm and still warm enough for just a t-shirt. Cars, scooters and the occasional thumping v-twin pass by. The deli next door is starting to move the outside display of fruit back inside prior to closing up.
I've just eaten a pizza. Tasty as hell with a wonderful thin crust. Never seen a thick crust pizza here in Italy, Praise The Lord. I'm halfway through a bottle of Strozzi, the local vino from Morellino di Scansano, and oh boy is it good.
I bought two juicy fresh peaches from the shop next door before they whipped them inside. They'll do nicely for pudding when I get back to the hotel room. But first there is the bottle to finish and espresso to drink.
Today began at
the Casa della Stella B&B in Gradara, just south of San Marino. I
arrived in the dark, having lost Charly and Karl-Heinz somewhere nearby
so I literally have no visual idea of where I am.
As seems to happen more often than one might expect, it turns out to be a lovely spot. There is a castle on the hill on the distance, a big dominate-all-I-can-see structure, dating from the 15th or 16th century I would guess.
My hosts are both bikers. David has a KTM and
Guilla a modern Triumph Bonneville. Their house is a barn conversion, refurbished with exquisite taste. www.casadellastella.it if you want more info.
I use their wifi to figure out what I am going to do from now on. The principal decision is that I do not want to charge on up the autostrada back to Germany with the other guys. I need to chill out, relax, and get back to bimbling. Oh yeah!
So I'm afraId this is the end of the Fellowship. I don't think I could have made it to the border of Iran without Charly and Karl-Heinz. Certainly not without an awful lot of hassle.
The pace has been relentless though. There have been many times that I really wanted to slow up, take more time to appreciate the view, take more photographs, and just chill out a bit more. But the objectives have been achieved. By God, we've been to Ararat, Lake Van and the Iranian border. It's been an amazing achievement.
I have completed 11,048 kilometres (6,685 miles) so far.
Now the tour is winding down. I'm back in Italy, and as I've just commented to a mate of mine on Facebook, it feels like home compared to the places I have just come from.
So I plan a new route home, taking in some places I have not seen before. First is my son Jakes' wedding venue. He and Valerie are to wed next year in July at a venue in the hills above Florence. How romantic is that?
My route takes me through the tiny Republic of San Marino, a mountainous and truly lovely little place. I've no idea why it exists or how it came about, but I do notice that benzin is 20 cents cheaper than in surrounding Italy.
A word here about filling stations in Italy. Not only do they sell the most expensive petrol in Europe but the lazy bastards can't even be bothered to man the filling stations. Therefore you have to pre-pay for your fuel, often without the facility of credit card payment. Now I like to fill my tank, but it needs somewhere between €25-30 to fill up from empty. At Italian filling stations you can feed a €20 note into the machine, which then buys you a 3/4 full tank. Feed in another €10 and you'll probably be left with an excess. Of course there is no cash-back change facility. Not only is it the most expensive fuel in Europe but the lazy swine can't even be bothered to help you get a tankful. Rant over!
Okay so back to the trip. I'm using the satnav route planning to avoid the motorways. San Marino is a mountainous little enclave so I wind up and down mountains with many tournanti and take the mountainous route to Florence.
I've decided to check out the venue for my son Jake's impending wedding next July at a palazzo in the hills to the south of Florence. It's a trial getting there. The Tomtom takes me up 'unmade' roads (read horrendous gravel and mud mountain tracks) to a stunning setting, which must remain a secret before the nuptials. Suffice to say it is a fabulous location (see below for photos added after the event).
I investigate the place, and there is a lot to see, and then continue on my route towards Genoa and points north.
Not long after I get on the autostrada the heavens open. I head into a service station to take stock. The weather doesn't look like clearing up any time soon, so I switch to the rain gloves, button up with care, raise the screen and get my head down.
Ask any of my touring mates and they'll tell you that I don't like tunnels. Not the little rocky French ones, I mean the long, smelly burrows that go for miles in places under the alps and are usually full of aggressive Italian drivers.
But I'm not complaining about them today. Driving past Genoa on the autostrada one goes through maybe a hundred tunnels. Every one is a respite from the driving rain and the chance to sit up straight on the bike and flex my back muscles, lift my hands from the bars for a brief coast and generally squirm around a bit before resuming crouch-behind-the-screen mode with handlebar death grip as I emerge from the burrow back into the tempest.
The Albergo Cavalieri del Tau in Altopascio is easy to find. A run-of-the-mill businessman's hotel with rooms for €40. I don't fancy the dour-looking restaurant much so I stroll into the town square and spy a pizzeria.
And that's where we came in.
Wedding venue photos (added after the event).
I'm sitting at a cafe in the central square of Altopascio, a small town between Florence and Pisa. It's 8pm and still warm enough for just a t-shirt. Cars, scooters and the occasional thumping v-twin pass by. The deli next door is starting to move the outside display of fruit back inside prior to closing up.
I've just eaten a pizza. Tasty as hell with a wonderful thin crust. Never seen a thick crust pizza here in Italy, Praise The Lord. I'm halfway through a bottle of Strozzi, the local vino from Morellino di Scansano, and oh boy is it good.
I bought two juicy fresh peaches from the shop next door before they whipped them inside. They'll do nicely for pudding when I get back to the hotel room. But first there is the bottle to finish and espresso to drink.
 |
| Leaving the lovely Casa della Stella |
As seems to happen more often than one might expect, it turns out to be a lovely spot. There is a castle on the hill on the distance, a big dominate-all-I-can-see structure, dating from the 15th or 16th century I would guess.
 |
| Gradara Castle dominates the landscape |
I use their wifi to figure out what I am going to do from now on. The principal decision is that I do not want to charge on up the autostrada back to Germany with the other guys. I need to chill out, relax, and get back to bimbling. Oh yeah!
So I'm afraId this is the end of the Fellowship. I don't think I could have made it to the border of Iran without Charly and Karl-Heinz. Certainly not without an awful lot of hassle.
 |
| Riding into San Marino |
The pace has been relentless though. There have been many times that I really wanted to slow up, take more time to appreciate the view, take more photographs, and just chill out a bit more. But the objectives have been achieved. By God, we've been to Ararat, Lake Van and the Iranian border. It's been an amazing achievement.
I have completed 11,048 kilometres (6,685 miles) so far.
Now the tour is winding down. I'm back in Italy, and as I've just commented to a mate of mine on Facebook, it feels like home compared to the places I have just come from.
So I plan a new route home, taking in some places I have not seen before. First is my son Jakes' wedding venue. He and Valerie are to wed next year in July at a venue in the hills above Florence. How romantic is that?
My route takes me through the tiny Republic of San Marino, a mountainous and truly lovely little place. I've no idea why it exists or how it came about, but I do notice that benzin is 20 cents cheaper than in surrounding Italy.
 |
| Hilltop town in San Marino |
A word here about filling stations in Italy. Not only do they sell the most expensive petrol in Europe but the lazy bastards can't even be bothered to man the filling stations. Therefore you have to pre-pay for your fuel, often without the facility of credit card payment. Now I like to fill my tank, but it needs somewhere between €25-30 to fill up from empty. At Italian filling stations you can feed a €20 note into the machine, which then buys you a 3/4 full tank. Feed in another €10 and you'll probably be left with an excess. Of course there is no cash-back change facility. Not only is it the most expensive fuel in Europe but the lazy swine can't even be bothered to help you get a tankful. Rant over!
Okay so back to the trip. I'm using the satnav route planning to avoid the motorways. San Marino is a mountainous little enclave so I wind up and down mountains with many tournanti and take the mountainous route to Florence.
 |
| In the hills near Florence |
I've decided to check out the venue for my son Jake's impending wedding next July at a palazzo in the hills to the south of Florence. It's a trial getting there. The Tomtom takes me up 'unmade' roads (read horrendous gravel and mud mountain tracks) to a stunning setting, which must remain a secret before the nuptials. Suffice to say it is a fabulous location (see below for photos added after the event).
I investigate the place, and there is a lot to see, and then continue on my route towards Genoa and points north.
Not long after I get on the autostrada the heavens open. I head into a service station to take stock. The weather doesn't look like clearing up any time soon, so I switch to the rain gloves, button up with care, raise the screen and get my head down.
 |
| Onto the autostrada heading for Genoa |
Ask any of my touring mates and they'll tell you that I don't like tunnels. Not the little rocky French ones, I mean the long, smelly burrows that go for miles in places under the alps and are usually full of aggressive Italian drivers.
But I'm not complaining about them today. Driving past Genoa on the autostrada one goes through maybe a hundred tunnels. Every one is a respite from the driving rain and the chance to sit up straight on the bike and flex my back muscles, lift my hands from the bars for a brief coast and generally squirm around a bit before resuming crouch-behind-the-screen mode with handlebar death grip as I emerge from the burrow back into the tempest.
The Albergo Cavalieri del Tau in Altopascio is easy to find. A run-of-the-mill businessman's hotel with rooms for €40. I don't fancy the dour-looking restaurant much so I stroll into the town square and spy a pizzeria.
And that's where we came in.
Wedding venue photos (added after the event).
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