Italy - A Postcard from the Amalfi Coast

An Eight Day Grand tour to Italy

Day One: Home to Vietri Sur Mare
Bit of a last minute thing but we decided to go to Italy and survey the Amalfi Coast.
EasyJet gave us the best deal on flights to Naples but it meant a very early start at 1:45 am. Road closures bedeviled our journey and we made the 06:40 flight from Gatwick with only 10 minutes to spare!
Anyway, a happy landing in Italy. We headed for the bus into Naples followed up by two train rides. One train to took us to Salerno and then, after an OK lunch at the seafront, a Regional Train full of school kids to Vietri Sur Mare. Our lodgings were just down the road from the station and our hostess was waiting for us at Casa Mare, a nice little private Apartment.
Vietri is renowned for its Ceramics and is not as posh and touristy as other towns on the Amalfi Coast. Lots of little shops and cafes in the busy town built high on a steep cliff-side. It takes about 20 mins to get down to the water with its beaches and restaurants. It took these already weary tourists a good deal longer. We wandered around town and eventually found some steep steps. People were on the beach, enjoying the Autumn sunshine. We needed a comfy seat and a dust-buster and found a cafe with a large terrace on the front U'Chevalier Di Mare Trattoria and Beach Bar. A good location for a spot of people watching and Latin acclimatisation.  We settled in nicely but were pretty tired after our early start.

Vietri Sur Mare

The walk back uphill was a bit of an effort. We decided to cook up our dinner at home and have an early night. We did not see any Supermarkets in town so we called in at one of the little shops we had seen earlier. It was tiny, not much bigger than a single garage, but it was stacked to the roof with all kinds of produce. Father and Son were at the till. The lad was about eight. We managed a bit of banter and came away with our pasta, tuna and sauce. Not the last pasta meal we would have on this trip to Italy.

We had been warned by our Host that the traffic past our Apartment was very heavy. That did prove to be the case but nothing would stop us sleeping. Traffic was being diverted past our front door because the authorities were carrying out bridge inspections on the main road following the recent terrible tragedy in Genoa.
We even opted to stay on for a second night.

Day 2: Vietri to Minori and back
The forecast for the following day was fine so I was dispatched early to our little shop to buy some breakfast. Buying bread was easy, getting Honey was a bit sticky. I asked for melli but that is probably Greek so I had to resort to buzzing like a bee which worked splendidly.  Time to head off on our first adventure. We we were heading westward along the coast to Maiori on the SITA bus. The buses are really cheap but you cannot buy a ticket on the bus, you have to find a local shop that sells them. Eventually we found out they were available from a Ceramic dealer up the road. I had to run to the shop, more of a hobble really, and get a couple of tickets. Fortunately, the bus was late and we climbed aboard. The Amalfi Coast road is super scenic but busy, narrow and hellishly bendy. Not a place we would ever consider driving. There would be lots of narrow squeezes and neck swiveling reverses.

Heading past the Church in Maiori on the Sentiero dei Limoni

Terraces on the way to Minori

From Major to Minor....on foot
Maiori is a pleasant town with a good beach. The seafront promenade is smart with some nice shady trees and cafe's. We headed inland up the main shopping street for a crafty coffee and cake to build us up for the walk to Minori. The Lemon walk, Sentiero dei Limoni, between the two villages was very pretty and scenic. Initially there were lots of steps up taking us up to the Church and passing houses painted white. Then there was a flat section through the lemon groves before the path dropped down into Minori, This lovely sunny walk of about an hour was definitely a highlight and was a good initiation into the quiet side of the Amalfi Coast. It was a total contrast to the frantic coast road. We had an OK lunch at a restaurant in Minori. The Restaurant owner was a bit grumpy, this was an exception as everywhere else we went gave us good friendly service.

Narrow paths

TW taking steps

We enjoyed the Lemon Walk so much we did it twice. We opted to return the same way rather than take the coastal path. Safely back in Maiori we then needed to take the bus home to Vietri.  What a struggle we had to find a place to buy a ticket! We kept asking people in the street but they kept sending us to places that were either closed or had given up selling tickets. Eventually we found tickets at the Lotto shop and made sure we bought some extras for future journeys.

We knew where the bus stop was but after waiting for about half an hour I realised I had misread the time table. We ended up hanging around, in total, for about an hour. Those 60 minutes would have been better spent in the Sea or eating Ice Cream. Then, when the bus did eventually arrive we had a very jerky driver.  I was sitting near the back and started to feel very fragile indeed. I was really relieved to get to Vietri. Overall, it was a great day out but we decided to re-think our mode of travel - less bus, more boat!
Back in Vietri we opted for a dinner at U'Chevalier Di Mare Trattoria our Beach Bar.
It meant another walk down to the seaside and then back up in the dark but we enjoyed it.

Day 3: Vietri to Amalfi by train then boat

Minori from our Ferry 

Our new improved travel strategy, to travel by boat, meant returning on the very short train ride to Salerno and then taking a ferry from the Port. There are no boats from Vietri unfortunately. The Salerno Ferry port is just a short walk from the railway station. We had a bit of a problem finding somewhere nice to eat though. The 'Fishermans' Restaurant on the Quay would have been ideal but it did not open until 1pm and by then we needed to be on the ferry. I was sent to get some sandwiches but they were not edible and ended up in the bin. We decided to eat on arrival in Amalfi. The Ferry Boat was not very big and most of the seats were taken up by a French tour group. They had taken, what they thought were, the best seats up on the top deck. More by luck than good judgement, we took up residence in some sheltered seats downstairs at the back. Our route along the coast stopping at Cetara, Minori and Maiori was into the wind and a heavy swell was building. Our French co-passengers were soaked by spray and eventually they were told to move into the cabin downstairs to improve the stability of the wee boat. We stayed comfortably dry and enjoyed our one hour mini cruise.  It was brilliant to see the coast from sea level rather than from a stuffy SITA bus.

Beautiful Amalfi 

Our boat literally surfed into Amalfi and this hungry pair dashed for a late lunch at The Amalfi Terminal right near the quay and bus station. A couple of cruise ships were anchored just off-shore so the Port area was very busy with tour group shuttles coming and going. The only remarkable thing about the lunch was the waiters eye-brows. The natural ones had been replaced by tattoos?
Next task was to find a place to stay. The Tourist Office gave us a list of Hotels and Pensions. TW stayed with the bags and I walked the short distance into the square. I looked up and saw the sign for Residenz Luce. Within minutes we were checked in for 100 Euros a night. More than we wanted to pay but it was the Amalfi Coast after all. It's a really nice little Hotel with about 10 rooms very close to the Duomo. We were made very welcome, the customer service was excellent. Just up the road is l'abside, a Restaurant run by the sister of the Hotel owner. Coincidentally, this Restaurant had already been recommended to us by a Canadian couple we met earlier in Salerno. We booked a table inside as the weather was worsening. The food and service were both very good and with a 10% discount and free limoncello we were back with them the next night as well. Amalfi is a fine place for a browse and a wander. Yes, it was busy but still very pleasant with lots of alleys and little shops. It was very touristy in comparison to Vietri but visitor numbers were boosted by our cruising shipmates.

Day 4 : Amalfi to Ravello and back via Atrani

Amalfi

Amalfi Coast Grand Tour Day 4 and we are pleased to report we managed to stay away from the SITA buses for another day! There were no Ferries today as the sea was too rough. After a good breakfast on the Upstairs Terrace we instead we took the Cemetery lift up the cliffside and a very devious path to Atrani. By the way, the Cemetary lift only goes up and not down so TW was prepared to get in. We squeezed along very narrow paths between white painted buildings until we reached the square in Atrani. Atrani is Amalfi's quieter, unspoiled, and more authentic neighbour, We sat on a wall by the sea and watched the waves for a while before heading inland up the Dragons Path to Ravello. TW tried to coax me to go in the sea but she failed. Lots of steps up again and we would have taken a wrong turn but for a stranger who happened by at a crucial moment. We took to the road for some of the walk but happily it was not not too busy. The climb from Atrani is well over 350metres so it felt a few degrees colder up in Ravello. A Panini and a beer went down well as we sat out in the main square and watched the people go by. The centre of Ravello is really quite smart. Greta Garbo came here on holiday apparently but she would not be alone here today,

Taking Steps

It was inundated with tour groups but anyway that did not detract too much from the glamour of the place.

 The square in Ravello

We found a new route back to Atrani through lemon groves and, as we descended, it gave us great views along the coast towards Maiori. We waved to a family picking Oranges and Lemons and they invited us down into their orchard and gave us fruit to fortify us for the journey. A very nice moment on our walk down. We brought the lemons home with us but tried to eat the oranges over there, a bit sour sadly! We took photos and wished afterwards we had asked for their email to send them a copy. It was lovely to have some contact with the locals. The Dad worked at one of the seafront Restaurants in Amalfi.

A nice moment on the lovely walk from Ravello to Atrani

It was great to do a circular walk rather than just retracing our steps. There were lots of irregular steps going down so they had to be taken carefully but we made it safely back to Atrani without seeing any other tourists en route. Then it was back through the skinny alleys to the Amalfi seafront and a return to our posh hotel room.

Nearly back to Atrani

The cruise ships were long gone but it was Saturday afternoon and still quite busy in town. We were back in L'abside for an early Dinner before a stroll around town and a march along the quay. It was still warm but the weather seemed very unsettled. The ferries would not be running the next day so we needed to steel ourselves for a SITA bus journey on Day 5.

Day 5: Amalfi to Positano

TW checks out the Breakfast terrace at Residenz Luce

Last steps to our Hotel

No breakfast on the upstairs terrace today! It was going to be a wet one! It was only a short walk to the bus station and we claimed good seats near the front of the bus that goes from Amalfi to Sorrento. Our destination was Positano and thankfully the journey was OK, the views were lovely. It's great to be in the big dominant vehicle as you head around the coast. It's up to the opposing cars  to do the reversing and we had some sympathy for the cars struggling to get out of our way. I suppose if everyone drove around in little Fiat 500's it would be a little easier but of course they don't. The road is so narrow and busy. It was, of course, a relief to arrive at Positano. The road down into Town gets even narrower so the bus dropped us up above and we walked downhill in light rain. We were towing bags and after a bit of exploration we decided upon a celebratory arrival drink. We found a nice Cafe, Casa Bottega. I had a beer and was reminded by TW that it was before the 'beering hour' of midday. In my defence the clocks had only gone back the night before. I was only queasy on one bus journey but, after that experience, every bus ride was something to be endured rather than enjoyed and every safe arrival was a cause for celebration. We waited for the rain to abate and headed for our pre-booked hotel. The waitress in our Cafe had told us it was near the Church. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong Church and we went too far downhill. Disaster struck! TW slipped and fell on a manhole cover. She was clearly in a lot of pain. We did not know whether it was a case of broken wrist or a bad sprain. We headed back uphill to our Hotel. Our host Giuseppe was very kind and brought an ice pack and offered to drive us to Sorrento and the Hospital. Eventually after a sleep we opted to stay in Positano. We strapped the wrist and bought a sling and pain-killers.
Our Hotel the Villa Maria Antionetta was a decent price and Giuseppe served an excellent breakfast. Crucially, we had a great sea view from our first floor window.
Dinner that evening up the road at Brunos was sort of OK, nothing to write home about.

Day 6: Positano on Monday

Down on the beach at Positano

Positano from our Hotel

After an excellent Giuseppe breakfast we headed for the local Doctor. There was nobody in the waiting room. A man appeared, casually dressed. I am the doctor, come and sit down, how can I help? He inspected the wrist and said we needed to get an X ray in Sorrento the following day. Might be broken, might not. He recommended an overdose of Iburoprofen painkillers, 600mg in the morning, 600mg in the evening, and some special cream. OK, how much do we owe you. He said how much you want to pay? We talked around the houses a bit and eventually offered 50 Euros. He said that was just Pizza money and we left. He did say we should look him up on the Internet, said he was famous. We ignored the painkillers but he was a pleasant chap. Maybe he is more used to the upmarket tourists, not those on EasyJet and SITA bus rides. So we had a quieter, more leisurely time in Positano than we had planned or expected. We could not do one our long walks and could not investigate the Walk of the Gods but we had a pleasant visit under the circumstances. If we had gone on a long walk the weather would caught us out anyway. Positano is a lovely place. It reminded us a bit of Epcot at Disneyworld. Of course this might be due, in part, to it being full of Americans! It was really wild down by the beach. There were dramatic high waves and a heavy swell. We had a lovely lunch in one of the beachside restaurants, La Pergola. Wow, what we storm we had later on! We had been for a walk around town but it was unusually warm and oppressive so we headed home early. Down by the seaside they were filling sandbags.

Rough weather in the Med

Actually they were using plastic bags so when the torrent happened they were just washed away, but anyway. It was obvious something was due to happen. A high tide with on shore winds was expected but this was coupled with a dramatic electric storm and torrential rain. The end is nigh! We were very glad we were safely inside.
We had a good dinner at La Cambusa, just above the beach, once the storm had passed through.

Day 7: Positano to Sorrento

We said our farewells at Maria Antionetta and I pulled the cases back up the hill to the bus stop. The stop is right on a corner and we watched carefully for the approach of the Sorrento bus. We were desperate to get good seats at the front as the initial stretch of road was very bendy. Happily we managed to get the front seats and it was quite a pleasant ride. Once the bus leaves the coast it climbs up and passes through inland villages. It wasn't long before we started to get views of Naples Bay and Vesuvius and were on the home run down into Sorrento.

The streets of Sorrento

I had booked us at La Terrazza 38, a very smart B&B. It ticked all the boxes, it was close to the Railway Station, it had tremendous views from its large terrace and it was only a short walk to the Hospital. We checked in and marched off to Sorrento Hospital.
Oh dear, some people complain about our A&E but they should see what Italy has to offer. There has clearly been very little investment. It was difficult to find out where to go to get logged in and registered on their system. The staff were extremely busy and clearly some of the patients coming through our corridor were in a very bad way. We met an English couple there who had been there three hours. She had woken up sightless and was waiting to be seen. None of the staff were able to speak English but eventually we found an interpreter. She was a God send. TW had almost walked out twice before she was seen by the triage nurse. At least that was a start but it was anyone's guess how long it would be before she would be seen by a Doctor. Happily she was seen and sent for an X Ray downstairs in the basement. Go down in the lift and turn right. Worryingly that took her to the mortuary! We then went back upstairs worried that she would lose her radiographer slot. We verified that radiography was downstairs and this time turned left and wandered through a corridor with rooms that appeared to be dilapidated. We at last found someone who spoke English. His words were not very encouraging, 'go and wait out there'. Meanwhile, someone else appeared to have jumped in ahead of us. We sort of wandered back towards radiography at which point he became even grumpier and said 'I told you to get out, now go'. Ooh err. Probably the last person we ever want to upset is a medical professional, and certainly not one who is going to give us attention. In the end TW had her Xray. It's broken - go back upstairs! he barked. Oh well, at least we know. Back to the Doctor to get plastered. She was plastered from her knuckles to her armpit which is pretty awkward for sleeping.

Can we have a copy of the Xray to take with us? Yes, but you have to go through a convoluted process to pay for it. That was a job for tomorrow. We had dinner in a Restaurant in town recommended by Carmen at Terraza 38. Ristorante Tasso was nice enough. Quite international, you could have been anywhere in the world. We had Pizza as it was all we could afford. Amazingly our co-patient at the Hospital who lost her sight temporarily was sitting at at able 30 feet from us. Apparently she had a blood pressure episode but had miraculously recovered and was totally transformed and looked the typical English Lady on an evening out. Previously, she had looked totally washed out and was on a drip!  So well done Sorrento Hospital, a lot of what they do is obviously effective despite the limited facilities.

Day 8 Sorrento and Pompeii

Emergency treatment is free in Italy, which is lovely, but you have to make a small additional payment for an X Ray copy to take home. This involved going to the other end of the main street to the Post office. Once there, fill out a Giro payment slip, make a payment, and then return to the Hospital with proof. A very nice Italian Lady in the queue for the Post Office walked us through the process otherwise we would still be there. After our Post Office experience we returned to the Hospital, met with our lovely interpreter who went off to radiography to get the films. She really appreciated the chocolates we bought for her as a thank you.We had Paninis for lunch sitting in a very pleasant Cafe Veneruso on the Corso Italia and then headed for the Railway Station to take a train to Pompeii. The local trains are in a bit of a state and are heavily adorned with graffiti. We were very glad to get off and walk down to the entrance of the historical site. Entry is 15 Euros which is not bad value as there is lots to see. We didn't have long for our tour so we decided to target specific areas. Tour groups were in abundance as usual. Not at all sure I could be bothered with 'following the flag' even if I had paid for a tour. We overheard a number of the guides and they were quite difficult to understand. We bought a book and had a wander at our own pace. The weather was quite dull, it must be quite arduous to visit on a hot summers day. Not quite as tough as the day the 20,000 inhabitants were engulfed of course. We enjoyed our visit and were very pleased we had made the effort. We still had to  brave the train ride back to Sorrento of course. It was packed with commuters and tourists but at least it was cheap.

Pompeii Theatre

Terrace views - La Terrazza in Sorrento

Sorrento is full of Cafe's and  Restaurants but we chose to return to our favourite cafe the Veneruso on Corso Italia. It did not disappoint. Swanky service and high prices are not for us.

Day 9: Homeward bound

We had a fairly late flight, about 7pm so we had planned to use the day to wander Sorrento and maybe make use of the wonderful terrace at our B&B. However it rained quite heavily and the streets were quite slippery so it was not a good day to mooch around town. We had coffee in a lovely Cafe in town and people watched  then, later, we returned to Cafe Veneruso for lunch and a couple of their excellent Panini's. After the previous day's train experiences we decided to get a bus direct to the Airport. You can pick it up outside the Railway station. We were there early to ensure we grabbed the front seats. It seemed to take a very long route to the Airport but hassle was minimised, The train to Naples would have been tricky with bags and then we would have had to change to a bus to the Airport.
Naples Airport is not bad, we were there in good time and had comfy seats. TW is always reluctant to go through passport control too early. So we stayed land-side but after passing through security we had planned to eat. We ended up bolting down our pasta and running to the departure gate and we thought we had only just made our flight. As it happens though an Italian couple turned up even later than us!

Austria and Italy - an Alpe-Adria cycle tour from the Alps to the Adriatic

Alpe-Adria bike ride - the remake!

We often see bike tourists laden with panniers pedaling through the the Gastein Valley when we are in Bad Hofgastein. I always imagine they are heading for Italy and the Adriatic sea and invariably I am pea green with envy.
Having ridden North from Grado to Bad Hofgastein in the rain a few years ago I really wanted to do the trip in reverse. A Southerly trip must be easier surely?
Anyway, an opportunity arose in September 2018. I still have the legs and a very nice tourer so off I toddled.
Leaving our Apartment in Bad Hofgastein is never easy. Apart from it being a bit of a sad departure after a lovely trip, we have to leave it 'Austria clean' with all our private stuff safely stowed away. I had to be up at 6 am to get my chores done in time.

Day One Bad Hofgastein to Paternion via Spittal - 85km

Stage 1 - Bad Hofgastein to Paternion

I eventually headed off in light drizzle at around 10:30 am. A left turn onto the cycle path heading South, Italy here I come! A nice, easy, flat stretch to Bad Bruck before the rot sets in with the climb up the big lump of a hill to Bad Gastein. It's a lung-buster ride at the best of times but with heavy panniers it certainly had me gasping for mountain air.

From Gastein there are two options available to get through the Tauern tunnel, OBB passenger train from BH/BG or via the car transporter from Bockstein. The car transporter is my favourite because there is no need to book and there is plenty of space. It's  very easy to buy passenger rail tickets on-line but does not seem to be possible to buy bike tickets? Without a reservation it can be difficult to take the bike on a passenger train.

I needed to stop at the Bad Gastein Railway station anyway and make use of their ticket office. I had to buy my ticket home from Udine in a weeks time. The BG ticket office staff seem to be permanently grumpy so I had carefully written down what I wanted from them. Happily, they came up with the goods. The guy seemed a bit surprised that I had selected the right trains and I duly paid my 45 Euros. Not too bad a price for a 4 hour train journey with a bike. A quick stop at Cafe Unterkoffler for a take-away ham salad roll and I was ready for the Sisi promenade. Onwards to Bockstein Station and my 5 Euro ride via the car transporter train  to Carinthia. I made the 12:20 just in time!  With my bike strapped up I in the baggage area I had enough time to demolish my roll before we pulled into Malnitz. As I emerged from the dark tunnel the weather on the other side looked a little brighter than Salzburgerland. Sadly the sunshine did not last! Rain soon bade me welcome to Carinthia. The long descent down to Obervelach was on a wet greasy road. Somehow I managed to take a wrong turn at the bottom of the hill and started heading for Heilingenblut and the Grossglockner. My lame excuse is that I followed the bike images painted on the road. Bit daft as I have been this way before and missed the same turning. Next time turn Left!
Once on the correct path it's a fine ride down to Spittal, Initially, a bike path follows  the main road but it soon takes a turn for the better through woods and farmland and small villages. It undulates a bit but not too painfully. The last stretch from Mollbrucke to Spittal is very flat. I am not sure I took the correct route through Spittal but I came out the other side and followed the Drau River heading for Villach. Villach was for another day however! The rain became monstrously heavy and was accompanied by ferocious thunderclaps and lightening. Two in particular made my hair stand on end. For the first I was cowering in a bus shelter. For the second I was out in the wet on the cycle path. You are supposed to be able to tell the distance the storm is away by counting the seconds between the lightening and the thunder. I swear that the thunder came first so it was worryingly adjacent. I made for the nearest shelter! I had not seen many other cyclist up to that point but about 10 sodden souls were huddled together in a purpose built bike shed just across the river.
I chatted with one or two and decided to head for the nearest village as soon as the storm had passed.

View to the Church - the bells are ringing

It was only a couple of kms to Paternion and I was soon checked in to a lovely old Hotel, the Landgastof Tell. It is a decent strategy to go for the Hotel nearest to the Church. It is likely to be traditional and an alarm call is never required.

It was all a bit dated but rather charming. I was down early for my dinner in the Stube. The great thing about cycling is it promotes a good appetite and a ham roll does not constitute a proper lunch. I dined very well! I was really relieved I stopped in Paternion because the storms continued for several hours.
They had singing in the Hotel that evening but I was too tired to stay and listen and hit the sack early. I had only pedalled about 85km  but I was tired even before I started!

Out of the rain in the Gastof Tell

Day 2: Paternion to Carnia via Villach and Tarvisio - 140km

After a good breakfast I hit the road early and returned to my Drau riverside path heading for Villach and beyond. It was a very pleasant morning, nice and fresh after the previous day of rain. River on one side and fields on the other.

Drau River after the rain

River Gail path

There were a few puddles but it was a very enjoyable ride. I should have been able to roll into Villach alongside the River but, unluckily, they had organised a running race on my path so I had a long detour on the roads. Eventually I reached Villach centre and wandered through this very pleasant town. It was Saturday morning and the streets were full of people. I could quite happily have found a nice coffee stop and done a bit of people watching but I still had places to go. I rejoined my cycle path, this time along the River Gail, heading for Italy. It's a very pleasant ride along a less managed river than the Drau. Once out of Villach it was rugged country with plenty of pine trees. I had a cafe in mind to eat lunch. It was at the point where my path crossed the river but unfortunately it was closed, what a time for their annual holiday. The route left the river and continued through villages and joined a fairly major road with a cycle path. I turned off into Pockau and found a basic Gastof. It was cooler now so I sat inside and plumped for a Wiener Schnitzel and Pommes, I demolished my last meal in Austria in pretty quick time. Lots of local workers were at the bar, presumably they were finished for the day, but I still had work to do.

Last Schnitzel in Austria

 It was still a bit of a climb out of Austria to the border at Unterthorl. The redundant border infrastructure looks rather un-loved and scruffy today and I was rapidly through it and onto the Italian cycle path. I was really looking forward to the descent after Tarvisio. It is easy to get up a good head of steam and it's an exhilarating ride. The busy Motorway, the A2 Autostrada, can be seen, and heard, some of the time but there was very little bike traffic on my path. Much of the path is a re-purposed train route and I took advantage of the disused Ugovizza Station, converted to a cafe, to partake of an obligatory coffee and cake. It was surprisingly tricky to order my Americano as this was my first interaction with the Italian language. In Italy they always want to foist a tiny Expresso on unsuspecting visitors. A Lungo is marginally bigger and that's what I ended up with.

I was now entering a part of Italy that appears quite sad and depressed. It's been bypassed by the fast roads and new rail lines.

Poole Express heading South on the bike path

As a result, it's difficult to find a nice place to stay. Pontebba or Chuisaforte would be likely candidates but they look so unloved. Before the World War One, Pontebba sat on the border between Italy and Austria. I think with hindsight I should have researched this area a bit more as there must be somewhere to stay. I opted to press on to Resiutta where I stayed on my last trip through here. Unfortunately the Hotel I stayed at previously was either closed or operating as a Hostel for new arrivals. There may have been another Hotel but I did not fancy it, it looked rather miserable as well.
So, I chose to carry on hoping to reach Venzone, where I knew there were Hotels or, if not, to a Hotel at Carnia just to the North. This was recommended to me by someone at the Mining Museum in Resiutta. There was a snag though, the cycle route was closed and I had to go on a long diversion. Actually, it was not too far but I had mentally finished for the day and, instead of a dust-buster, I had to motivate myself for another hour of cycling. At any other time it would have been a fun cycle along a quiet winding road that turned to dirt. The last hitch of the day occurred when I arrived at a busy road junction and did not know whether to turn left or right. There was a cycle path, that I later found crossed the river, but it was also closed. I had pre-loaded GPS tracks on my Garmin for the normal route but not this one!  I took the easy option and stopped an Austrian tourist in a camper van and asked him the way. He looked up our location on Google Maps for me and sent me left which took me back in a Northerly direction. Happily his directions were spot on and as I crossed the River on the road bridge I spotted a sign-post for the Hotel Carnia. There was room at the Inn and it was a very relieved cyclist who headed for the shower that evening.

Extra time - Resiutta to Carnia

The Hotel also had a good Restaurant so it was a perfect stop. I had cycled over 140km so I had earned a little bit of comfort.

Day 3: Carnia to Palmanova via Venzone, Gimona and Udine - 100km

This was the cycle day I was most looking forward to. Good cycling through farmland and some interesting towns in nice warm weather.  I had a bit of a problem picking up the bike route going South but I eventually found the right route. Venzone is a pleasant town, there was some sort of Vespa rally going on so lots of waspish noises echoing round the narrow streets.

I got lost in Gimona when my GPS track let me down so not sure I like Gimona too much.

Leaving the mountains behind

Out of the midday sun

Sunday lunch in Italy

One of the highlights of the day was a lovely Pasta and Salad lunch at a Family Restaurant in the small village of Are Grande (no relation to Aria Grande).
The Trattoria Al Cavallino Bianco at Are Grande. I sat outside under a canopy.
The sun was beating down but in my nice shady spot I sat and listened to the Italians chuntering and chattering while I enjoyed a fine relaxed meal. It was Sunday Lunchtime which is a great time to be in Italy. It was a very satisfied customer who saddled up to continue South to Udine,

Udine

Udinese Football

Serie A team Udinese were due to play and the cycle path runs right past the stadium. It was absolute chaos as I arrived just prior to kick off and the hordes were trying to park. My picture does not show that.  Once in Udine, I had to walk through the old town as there was a Festival underway.It was all very good-natured, the beer was flowing and the music playing. The last stretch to Palmanova was quite tough. My GPS track took me down bumpy gravel farm tracks and my rear end was suffering. The roads were empty because of the football and fiesta so I took to the asphalt and bombed down to Palmanova. 
Palmanova, my target for the day is well worth an overnight. It is a nine sided town! There are only a couple of Hotels and I checked into the Hotel Ai Dogi on the main square. I did look around for the cheaper hotel but could not find it, that's my story anyway.

Nice Hotel in Palmanova

The Hotel recommended the Al Gambero Restaurant behind the Hotel and it was just perfect. Very casual, very Italian and not expensive. I felt very lucky to be there.

Palmanova

Day 4: Palmanova to Grado via Cervignano - 30km

End of the road in Grado

After a good breakfast I set out on the fairly short run in the sunshine down to Grado and the Adriatic. In a couple of hours I was by the seaside.

Beach time

Apart from confusion around Cervignano it is quite an easy route to follow and it was was exceedingly pleasant. I had a walk around Grado and then visited the tourist office who booked me into a cheap B&B for 2 nights. My Hostess worked at the Il Panino Restaurant up the road so I headed there for both lunch and dinner that day. I even went back the following evening and watched the football there. Nice atmosphere particularly when Inter Milan snatched a late win. Catastrophe! The waiters thought it was hilarious. The Manager gave me a free schnapps as a consolation. Anyway, it was perfect for me - good food, friendly service and keen prices.
Grado is a fine town. Quite posh in the centre but still has a working fishing port. The beach is a bit muddy and it takes ages to walk out to deep water but who cares. I had made it to Italy, the sun was shining and the beer was cold.
Heading Home

Heading North to Treviso

The first leg of my journey home was to Udine. After a morning swim in the sea I headed North stopping for lunch in my favourite restaurant in Palmanova. Then it was on to Udine and a Hotel I had stayed at previously, just by the railway station. Next morning I took the train to Villach. It was delayed so the bad news was that I missed my connection. However the good news was that it meant an opportunity to have lunch at the Villach Brewery. After an excellent Tyroler Grostl in the Brewery I boarded the Bad Gastein train. Next a downhill cruise to Bad Hofgastein, Our Apartment was rented out so I had to stay in the excellent Pension Maria, just up the road. With my bike safely stowed in our cellar I took the morning train to Salzburg for the flight home. Mission accomplished!

Back to Austria - Grostl in Villach