What? No taxis in this town?

After flying to Venice, Italy, then train/busses to Cividale del Friuli, we still had about 12 km to get to our agritourism, farm hotel. Then we found out that the only cab driver in town had died a few months ago and never replaced. So I called the hotel owner, who sent out his son to pick us up. Soon we found that the hotel was old and rustic, but very nice and the owner is a chef. This is in the tiny village of Prepotto, in the Friuli province of Italy northeast of Venice, which is a very large wine producing region, producing most of Italy’s white wine.

This was the beginning of the first stage of our 3 week Italian adventure, a week of cycling in the Friuli region.

Friuli is a fairly hilly area where many pro cyclists, especially from Germany, come to train. Several times, as we were doing about 25 km/hr on our hill-flatteners (e-bikes), a pro cyclist would wiz by as if we were standing still. And this was uphill!

One day we encountered what we thought was the Giro d’Italia, but talking to one of the trainers from the Belgium team we learned that it was the Giro d’Italia Piccolo (small), which included 150 riders. We managed to snag a couple of water bottles that the riders just toss off the road.

Every day we cycled, we were surrounded by vineyards. Chantal was looking for gelato, but none was to be found. I said to her that I haven’t seen one cow, only grapes. She would have to wait for Venice; but maybe not, as our hotel plan included gourmet dinners with dessert, which was gelato several times.

The former Soviet country of Slovenia borders Friuli and we cycled there a couple of times. In Slovenia we also found many, many vineyards. It’s funny, I’ve never heard of Slovenian wines. I think that it all went to the dachas of the Soviet leaders, and now, probably to the dachas of the ex-KGBer’s, instead of the LCBO.

On the 3rd cycling day we found ourselves in a piazza in a small town, where there were a group of girls dancing with an instructor. Turns out the town was preparing for a street festival. When we sat down at a café in the piazza a woman asked where we were from and how did we find this town; there are no tourists here. This is one of the beauties of cycling trips; you are way off the tourist path. You can breathe there.

We were navigating by a combination of GPS, paper maps and written directions and sometimes there were mismatches between them and irregularities. For example, also on the 3rd day, the GPS told us to leave the road and go through a vineyard. Well, that didn’t seem correct, as the map and directions didn’t mention that, so we peddled back a few kilometers to see if we missed something. Turns out the GPS was correct and we pushed our way through the vineyard and sure enough; we got back on track. Little surprises like this add to the adventure, and the memories. Just don’t panic!

This was our 10th cycling trip in Europe and I’ve pondered on how cycling in a foreign country opens your mind, as well as your eyes. When you’re cycling in the countryside you’re not just travelling over the landscape… “you ARE part of the landscape”. And you definitely see more. I was beginning to see how passionate the Italians are. Several times I witnessed a group of people not only hugging and air kissing (even the men), but I witnessed women kissing on the lips. Now that caught my attention!

So now for the photos, and as usual, the photos with their captions tell the real story. And of course,

[Click on any photo for the slideshow. Please leave comments at the bottom of the page.]

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Our B&B in Prepotto

View from our balcony in Prepotto

View from our bathroom in Prepotto

Our living room in Prepotto

Our outside ristorante in Prepotto

A view of our living room in Prepotto

An appetizer

A dessert

Prepotto at night

The local bar in Prepotto

The local ristorante in Prepotto

Vineyards in Friuli

Along “The Wall”

Crossing the Ponte del Diavolo (Devil’s Bridge) in Cividale del Friuli

Cappuccino in Cividale del Friuli

The gravel road

Here they come – the peloton…

… and there they go!

Taking a peek into someone’s backyard.

Cycling up the hill in Orsaria

Dancers in the piazza

The GPS told us to hike through the vineyards.

Grape pickers

The road to Slovenia

The Slovenian town of Dobrovo (Is this my name in Slovenian?)

Bike lanes in Slovenia. Doug’s nightmare?

Slovenia trails

Is this GPS wrong again?

Aquileia

A movie photo shoot in Aquileia

Trying to figure out our route in Aquileia

Roman ruins in Aquileia

The Adriatic coast

Anja and Stephan, hikers we met several times.

Tunnels along the Adriatic coast

Cycling along the Adriatic Sea towards Trieste

Refreshments on the Adriatic coast