I'm back! A few pix of riding in Italy.

[NoNo]

*Sorry for the long post* Last Friday I returned home from two weeks in Italy. It hasn't been easy adjusting to life back home:( We started up near Bologna, in a town called Comacchio. We'd heard there were a lot of trails in the area and thought it would be fun to ride around there. The area is super flat, and biking is the preferred method of travel. It was inspiring to see 80 year-old women cruising around on the cobblestone streets with a bag of groceries in the front and just hopping off when they got to their destination. So much more mobile than the elderly here. Our hotel actually had bikes for us to borrow whenever we wanted. At first glance, I thought they'd fall apart as soon as we sat on them. However, they stood up well to the cobblestones, bumpy roads, and dirt and gravel trails.

The first day we rode out to the nearby lagoon. We had some issues understanding the directions, but eventually found the trail.
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The second day we rode the lovely paved trail to the neighboring town for a day at the beach.
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Our last day was one of my favorites. My cousin had been studying in Italy since January. It just so happened his last day in Italy was our last day in Comacchio, and he was only an hour away. So we met up and rented bikes, and he showed us all around Ferrara. A great biking city, though it was super helpful to have him there to guide us around. I don't know if I'd have the guts to bike there while trying to figure out where I was going and dodge the crazy traffic/pedestrians/scooters/bikes. There's no rhyme or reason to the traffic, one way streets mean nothing, and there is no right-of-way, it's whoever has the guts to push forward first. And naturally, no one wears helmets. Even saw women biking in heels!:eek: Somehow, we managed not to hit anyone and had a fantastic day.
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That was the extent of our biking. We headed off to Tuscany for four days and then down to the Amalfi coast for five days. We got to see the town my great-grandfather came from, met someone that knew him, and got to see my great-grandparents' names carved in marble at the church. It was a great moment for me since I did know them, and it was nice to show the pictures to my grandmother. Overall a great trip, and I'm hoping to go back next year when my cousin goes back for six months of studying.

[tulip]

Wonderful pictures and story, NoNo! That looks simply fabulous.

When I was in Italy (Sicily and Naples), I had to drive since I was there for work. I just had to let go of all my control issues and go with the flow. Roundabout? Don't make eye contact--just go. It's like that Visa commercial--everything was in sync. It was exhilarating but a bit terrifying, too. Sadly, I've never ridden a bike in Italy. Yet.

[mudmucker]

Thank you so much for the pictures.

Bicycles, bicycles everywhere, love it :D

[Biciclista]

Great photos, Nono!
I rented a bike in Ferrara too. you noticed the name on the sign welcoming you to the city??

Ferrara citta' delle biciclette
Ferrara, the city of bicycles

[Tri Girl]

NoNo those are AWESOME pictures. I'm so excited for you!!! :)

[Possegal]

Very cool. I just love all the posts where folks share pictures. It's like one big scrapbook! These ones were especially fun! One of these days I'll ride in Europe! And I've done a lot of family tree research, I know how cool it is to be someplace your family was, to see things about them. Very very neat!

[NoNo]

Thanks everyone! Glad I could share a little of our fun with you. Hadn't noticed the sign, but it certainly doesn't lie! My cousin said Ferrara is one of only six cities in Italy that still has the original wall entirely intact. It was really cool riding the trail along the outside of it. Once I get the rest of my pictures on my smugmug site, I'll post the link here. No more biking, but it's hard not to drool over the scenery:p

[andtckrtoo]

Oh man, I'm totally envious! How fun!! Those photos are so great, too. Thanks so much for sharing. (I'm another sucker for photos).

[TxDoc]

There's no rhyme or reason to the traffic, one way streets mean nothing, and there is no right-of-way, it's whoever has the guts to push forward first.

Yup - sounds exactly like Italy :D
The good thing is that after a while you get used to it and the chaotic traffic suddenly starts making sense :)

Wonderful pictures, thanks for sharing!

[Mr. Bloom]

Outstanding! I love Italy this time of year!

[bmccasland]

NoNo thanks for sharing! I definitely need a vacation!