Alpe-Adria 1/4 - a bike tour from the Adriatic to the Alps - Grado to Udine

Stage 1 Grado Pineta to Udine - 8^th June

In the pink until I dropped my Holux - not painful!

Grado Beach Area - yours for the day for 2 Euros

Grado - smart and well cared for resort

After a good night’s sleep I was awoken by a dawn chorus of smokers coughs echoing through the hotel. My dining room companions from last night were clearly coming alive. Down to the restaurant for a repeat of last night’s procedure, this time with the expansive breakfast buffet.  Another very good demolition job, even if I say so myself. Another receptionist at check-out and another friendly face. I used the expression, 'what's the damage' when asking for my bill so we had a bit of a laugh over colloquial expressions. There was no damage honestly!

Time to fill the bidons, load up and head along the coast towards Grado.  Had a good first impression of Grado, even more umbrellas and a much tidier beach.  

Umbrellas on holiday

Grado is where the Alpe-Adria cycle trail (ciclovia Alpe Adria) is supposed to start, or finish.  Alpe-Adria is a European Union funded cycle route that stretches from Salzburg to Grado. It conveniently passes through Bad Hofgastein, my destination. I was alerted to it by a tunnel drilled solely for cyclists alongside the main road in the Gastein Valley.

On the prom at Grado

One of the fleet with my bridge behind

Docked in Grado

Zooming in on the Adriatic

The weather forecast was dismal with rain forecast for several days, today being the only fine day. I needed to make it count. The Grado tourist office, located next to the main beach entrance, was extremely helpful and loaded me up with maps and brochures for the area and my route. A few too many for a cyclist to be honest so I headed for the promenade and a comfy seat to read and filter out any surplus. Cycle routes going East through nature reserves might be of interest if I was staying in the area but my immediate destination was North towards Udine. By the way, it costs 2 Euros to enter the beach area so I sat on the prom near a breakwater. Really lovely sitting in the early morning sun by the Adriatic but I wanted to make the most of the day. I had to choose between sitting on the beach or cycling along in the sunshine with warm air and a tail wind. Cycling won easily but not before a wander along the prom and a quick pedal around town. Lots of one way streets and an olde-worlde historic centre.  It’s also quite a significant fishing port with many boats sporting a scraper thingy for picking up shellfish.

Ponte Figariola

Anyway, the route North beckoned so I tore myself away and swung over a narrow bridge to where the cycle route starts. The 5km Ponte Figariola, stretching across the lagoon, was a great start to the ride.  It was all just a bit too perfect, a dedicated cycle path with a good surface, a following wind, sun on the back and pancake flat. First town was Aquileia with Roman ruins and a Basilica with, according to the brochures I had read on the seafront, stunning mosaics on its floor. I guiltily cycled on past, maybe next time.

The Basilica at Aquileia

Cycle route at Aquileia

Roman Ruins at Aquileia

 On through Cervignano to Muscoli where I spotted the first sign for the Alpe Adria route and just had to take a photo. Have to say I expected to see signs all the way. It was also at this point that I dropped my Holux tracking device although I did not realise it until later and when I was about 10km to the 

First sign

North. Where it fell was actually the only section of rough terrain. Up to that point, and afterwards, the road and cycling path surfaces were excellent. It was only a short stretch of gravel and grass, about 200m, but it cost me a lot of time and energy. Once I noticed it was missing, I turned South into the wind to try to retrieve it. A guy operating a strimmer alongside the road saw me pass three times, he only flicked a stone at me on my third pass! My search proved fruitless and it was only later, when I was in the Udine Tourist Office, that we were reunited. 
A cycling Dutch couple had spotted it, picked it up and I was standing alongside them when they tried to hand it in. Very fluky!

Palmanova - the central Piazza Grande - its definitely not a square

Palmanova - see the Piazza Grande in the centre

One of the entry gates - abt. 10 O'clock on the aerial view

Anyway, after the temporary loss, and the foray South, the mood was broken. Direction signs disappeared and I took a wrong turn so the short hop to Palmanova became a bit arduous. All a bit frustrating, to put it politely! At least Palmanova was interesting when I eventually cycled through. It has a city wall shaped like a nine pointed star. I sat in the main square and ate my biscuits. I couldn’t see any cake shops open so that was my lunch for the day. It was not easy to find the cycle route out of town so I opted to ignore the ciclovia and go on quiet roads towards Udine. I may not have chosen the shortest route but I arrived in Udine without any further frustrations and can boast that I have been to Tissano and Lumignacco.

Udine - street market

Udine is a fair size town with a historic centre, we passed through on the bus from Venice last year. I headed for the Tourist Office using the City map given to me in Grado, had a bit of a wait because the Lady in front of me kept asking yet another question and another...

On the cobbles in Udine

Uphill for the first time

Views over Udine

Udine

The staff were very patient and, have to say, the Tourist Office customer service was excellent again. They took account of me being on a bike and booked a Hotel with storage space, they also gave me a small map with a marked up route. Oh, and of course I met the Dutch couple and was reunited with my Holux. The Hotel Cristallo was 58 Euros B&B and was conveniently located just outside the historic centre. The bike went in the subterranean garage and I had a very comfortable room on the second floor. After a good soak I headed out, desperate to find food. 

My Trattoria

Skinny street in Udine

The hotel receptionist recommended a couple of local Trattoria. I chose the Ai Vecchi Parrocchiani in Via Aquileia. It was pretty earIy so I asked the guy at the bar (who turned out to be the owner) if they were serving food yet - no not yet, I'm the Chef so give me 15 minutes.  Fair enough, small beer please.  True to his word, the food service started in about a quarter of an hour with arrival of a hand written menu. I did not understand a single word but they translated for me with a mixture of hand signals and English words.  Apparently all were local specialities. I chose a bean soup followed by squid with peas and a carafe of wine. The wine was on draught from a beer pump! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal although I was so hungry any fussiness was out of the window.  It was a football pub, I had heard of the local team, Udinese of course, and the waiter delighted in telling me they had beaten Tottenham  2 – nil about five years ago. He also said our supporters were very good. Apparently Celtic had visited recently and their voracious appetite for drink presented a few challenges. Extremely friendly place, people were popping in, having a quick drink and then moving on, some were going to the room at the back to watch the Euros. Many had an opinion on my route tomorrow to Venzone. Anyway, after my Espresso  I paid my 20 Euro bill, managed a ‘grazie mille’ and headed off for a tour of the city. 

Up at the castle

An International food market filled the local cobbled streets with stalls displaying everything from Irish Beer to Austrian Strudel. 

Heading home

It was a great night for wandering among the Friday night crowds along the Via Vittoria Veneto, not as posh as his street in Rome but still lovely, and the Via Aquileia. The locals were ignoring the drizzle so I did as well. When in Udine... Found some very impressive old buildings. I like the way Italians name their streets and squares. Piazza Patriacarto, Piazza Del Duomo and Piazza Primo Maggio were on my tour. Found the first hill of the trip and walked up to the castle, great views from up there but I could see tomorrow’s mountains looming up so I scuttled back down the cobbled steps to the bustling streets and onwards to my comfy Hotel. I like Udine, there is plenty of history to see and the people are friendly. Clearly there is much to see in Italy away from the main Tourist centres like Florence. I could have easily spent much more time in Grado, Aquileia, Palmanova and Udine. Overall a brilliant day, must make sure I fit my Holux on its mount properly tomorrow though!