Italy, a retrospective

I’m currently comfy and cozy in a hostel in Sarajevo. It is amazing how lovely it is to be able to sit on a couch with your feet up and a white noise of How I Met Your Mother in German (of all languages) in the background that can bring you some calm. My handsome husband (the title still sounds a bit weird, even after a month) sits across from me plotting our route from here to Belgrade as I write this post I’ve been planning for days now.

Greg finds inner piece with the strings

When I look back on my posts through Italy, I must admit, I sounded like a whiny little brat stomping her feet on the ground because she didn’t get her pistachio gelato cone (amazingly tasty btw, much recommended). I must say in my defense that the start of this trip was hard as hell. I didn't train and my riding was at best, an average of 4-6 miles a day and the occasional longer ride. I basically went in cold turkey and hoped my body would adjust and survive. We had a deadline to reach Rome in 2.5weeks for Dan’s flight back to the states, all while trying to soak up the local scenery along the way from Venice. Things like riding in cold ass rain, sometimes hail, and wind only to end up in front of a giant fire place in a tiny old Italian B&B down a 2km dirt road, is actually quite rewarding. 

some wet socks roasting on an open fire

By far the worst day for me was the ride from Greve di Chianti – through Siena (got lost within the city walls) - Casiano di Murlo. It was grueling because the day was all climbing, 80+km, a 10 hour day. It wasn’t all bad. I had the satisfaction of knowing I was riding on hills that professionals were training on but with 40lbs of gear. Plus I got a beautiful assist by Moby’s "In my heart" while climbing a bend the opening piano built with beautiful lyrics, and what unfolded before me at the top of that particular climb was this old ass church

Food in Italy. I couldn’t tell you how many calories we were burning but riding as many hours and kilometers a day that we were, you work up quite the appetite. It seemed like our main options were pizza, pasta, or meat and cheese sandwiches; after 3 weeks, those options get quite old. I will say that every coffee and every wine I had was good and very cheap. Greg has developed quite the addiction to Olive Oil with pepper flakes. Before the trip I watched the last season of Top Chef and witnessing Sara’s  prowess of Italian food, I foolishly thought I’d come across some of what she was cookin'. Sara, if you read this, help a sister out, cuz apparently I was missing something.

Rome, as well as Venice, are both stunning and so visually fulfilling, I’m truly glad I got to visit them, but they are just too touristy, as well as expensive, and we found ourselves craving the quiet life of smaller towns. I highly recommend setting aside a good chunk of time to visit places like Rome, or even Florence, as well as a lot of cash. There is so much history and it shouldn’t be rushed. Tours and museum admissions will add up. We found Rick Steves walking audio tours on podcasts through the iTunes store, they're free, you can play them through your phone or MP3 players and they are a surprising wealth of information. Food in these places will be expensive as well, if you're brave, branch out from the major touristy areas to the more local hangouts, the prices tend to be a bit better.

A quick note on the Vatican in Rome, it is impressive, with their collection of art, the grip of power they attain, and the sheer ego they display with themselves in the massiveness of the St. Peter's Basilica. Freely stating they wanted to be the biggest and best church in the world, thus displaying markers on the floors where other massive popular churches would fit within their walls.

Details of St. Peters

The Dome, St Peters

We left by train from Rome to Bari on the east coast, and by the time we got Bari, it was just under 3 weeks in Italy and we were very ready to leave. The journey from Rome to Bari was an illegal subway train ride with our bikes (only allowed on commuter trains on Sundays), four train transfers throughout the day and into the night, and then stuck in Bari for a few days before we dealt with the hassle of procuring our tickets for the ferry to Dubrovnik. Once we landed in Croatia the weight of the struggles through Italy and leaving it, left us. Riding bikes through Italy is surprisingly easy, if you've got the legs and the time. Some roads were narrow and sketchy, but we found ways. Drivers in Rome where crazy unreal, I highly suggest not attempting biking around that city. We're having a tougher time trying to navigate our way to the Danube from Dubrovnik, but I'll write on that when we've succeeded.

If ever you want to travel through Italy on a budget, trains and buses are great options. If you're in American and you're bitching about gas prices in the shadows of the $5.00 mark, let me tell you that Europe is paying upwards of $9.00+ a gallon for gas. We're too dependent on our vehicles. If you need places to stay their camp grounds are actually quite nice. They're more set up as destinations for people with campers. Most have small markets, places to eat, cleaning facilities for clothes or dishes, showers, and wifi. Lots of them have bungalows you can rent if you don't feel like pitching a tent. They tend to be the cheaper option, even over a hostel. The downside is that they're out of the city's centers and you must walk or take transit to get to your tourist destination. Mostly, we prefer the campgrounds in Italy, they are quite posh, considering.

Two quick meaningless things of note:
A. the cars in the cities of Italy are small. We are now in love with the old Fiats

B. People smoke an insane amount of cigarettes. Be prepared, be forewarned, and don't be shocked when you see a small child amidst the smoke. They're not as fat here, and they're not as concerned about cigarettes