2018 – Switzerland and Italy

What bike through yonder window breaks…

Posted by on 23, Oct 2018 in 2018 - Switzerland and Italy, Italy, Tilly the Tandem | 0 comments

What bike through yonder window breaks…

Leaving Lake Garda ( and the Dutch frites wagon) behind we headed on toward the Adriatic. The route skirts most of the mountains and is spectacularly beautiful. On one side you have mountains and the other is flood plain and as flat as Holland. The weather continues to be unusually hot but fortunately the Italians don’t tell us “It’s nothing to do with climate change” and the smoke continues to be ubiquitous. It really stinks here, and it doesn’t even keep the mosquitoes away! You really do end up with History overload though. Italy has more historical buildings...

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Unbelievable facts and death defying experiences

Posted by on 28, Sep 2018 in 2018 - Switzerland and Italy, Italy, Tilly the Tandem | 1 comment

Unbelievable facts and death defying experiences

Now here’s something no one who knows me will believe. We’ve now been in Italy two weeks and I’ve had more Curry’s than Pizzas! Ok that’s the facts done so next up is the death defying experience for which I blame Leon Kilbourn. His comment on our last blog about expecting the mafia or pope being mentioned in this one is surely the only logical explanation as to how the bolt from our rear brake came completely out allowing the brake assembly to jam in the rotor bending the rotor and cracking the rear pannier rack at the same time as making us topple off Tilly in...

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Leonardo was here….

Posted by on 17, Sep 2018 in 2018 - Switzerland and Italy, Italy, Switzerland, Tilly the Tandem | 0 comments

Leonardo was here….

I’m laying in bed writing this in the house previously owned by a Anna Magnani a famous Italian Film actress who coached Sophia Loren. It’s next door to the house Leonard De Vinci lived in and overlooks the Adda river from a high bank which is the last thing you want to see at the end of a cycle ride! The house itself looks like it hasn’t really changed since the films stars days and is full of dark wood furniture and paneling. Even the staircases have small steps to allow well dressed ladies not to trip over their skirts when using them. The day’s been full of...

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And we’re off…

Posted by on 12, Sep 2018 in 2018 - Switzerland and Italy, Switzerland, Tilly the Tandem | 1 comment

And we’re off…

Linda’s knee is now better and the summer holidays are over with the campsites thinning out and it’s time to head off again on Tilly for another short trip. This time the mountains are calling (at least the downhill bits anyway) and we’re off to Switzerland and heading south to the sun in Italy and Venice. The trip started in the most uninspiring fashion with the taxi to Scipol airport in Amsterdam not turning up at the 9:30 appointment and us finding out it had “touched a car” and would be late. It did turn up at 10 and the driver tried to go faster than the...

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