It is festival time here in Bolzano (Speck Festival starts today!), and as a result we were unable to extend our accommodation for an extra night and everything else is booked. So we are going to head towards La Spezia to drop the car off, and then to Pisa where we will be taking in a few days of the Giro d Italia! Matt has been unable to sleep since the shock of learning that Ivan Basso was indeed taking EPO... Ivan didn't need the drugs he just needed to harden the $%& up!
We have had an absolutely fantastic time here in Bolzano and are thinking of moving The Mouse across to spend a whole Summer here. We would also love to see this beautiful town in Winter. We have seen some pictures and it looks AMAZING! With so many mountain passes at our doorstep the training opportunities are incredible. And for the non-mountain days there are plenty of bike paths that take you along the valleys and riverside.
Here is a wrap of some of the highlights of Bolzano...
*Every shop we walk into, Matt greets the staff in German but has no idea what they are saying when they respond. Because of his Guten Morgens everyone thinks he is German... all except for Opa, whose smile only grows wider and wider whenever Matt tries to engage in a conversation with him. Yesterday I caught them having a conversation with both of them flicking through our Deutsche-English dictionary... very funny.
*Earlier in the week, Matt jagged an interview with the local tourism magazine. Now there is a chance that an Australian honeymooning couple will feature in the Summer edition of this quarterly publication. We had our photos taken with our bikes on the farm we were staying at. We will keep you posted.
*I climbed my first 20% mountain pass this week, for those not sure what 20% looks like, the treadmill doesnt go that high. Its a granny-gear battle for those of us not on EPO and our theme song to help the climb is "Im ziggin, Im zaggin, and now my tongue is draggin. Im achin, Im burnin and now my legs are flaggin. Im hurtin, Im hurtin, I wish I had the wagon." Matts battle is just as hard with the panniers often fully loaded with washing & groceries.
*Two days ago our valley ride turned to custard when a storm kicked in. Just after we donned our goretex jackets and turned for home Matt made a comment that it looked like it was clearing. Two seconds later a huge lightening bolt struck the top of the power line next to us with an almighty crack and threw out a 10-foot flame which lifted our cadence and sent us home with our tails between our legs. The final climb was mostly hike-a-bike as we hadn't eaten in 2.5 hrs of riding and were soaked through. A hot shower, and some mushroom soup was the perfect remedy. Matt bought me my own set of arm warmers and some neoprene shoe covers after that ride!
*In the first few days we were here, we met a mummified Otzi. Check him out on the web, incredible stuff.
*Our gracious hosts presented us with a gift of homegrown red wine, which was quite possibly the best red wine I have ever tasted. Unfortunately we have no idea what blend or variety it was, as our broken dialect translated into what we think was Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon.......... you get what I am saying. It was priceless to see Opa waltzing out of his barn with a massive grin on his face and a bottle of this blend in his oversized, farmers hand (Matt doesnt think they have seen soap in awhile).
*Opa promised he would learn some English before our next visit, and we promised we would improve on our Deutsche.
*The pastry shops here rule!! We became regulars at one of them, and this morning as we sat down they served up two of our favourite pastries and two cappuchinos without us saying a word... its the little things.
*I had my fourth haircut in as many weeks. This time Matt was wielding the scissors and I am looking a little bit like Demi Moore in GI Jane... minus the amazing guns and killer six-pack!
*Reinhold Messner, the famous mountaineer, has bastardised a beautiful castle ruin on the hills above Bolzano and turned it into a Buddhist Shrine... very bizzare. It was hard to grasp our tour of the Messner Mountain Museum in this incredible place. It was here in 1957 that Bolzano residents declared themselves to be from South Tirol and not Italian. The castles history dates back to 700AD, and now there are bronze buddha statues throughout the entire place... very strange!
Anyway, its farewell from Bolzano. Hopefully we will catch a couple stages of the Giro live and loud in and around Pisa, before heading off to the Amalfi Coast mid next week.
Till our next update, take care, keep in touch... 2 weeks to go till we land back in Oz!
Love Sah & Matt
