Tuesday, October 15, 2024

The Italian Job - Reflections

Back home in a cold and wet Dublin, I already miss Italy and its roads. Some thoughts on our ride and experiences:

The Bike
The bike we had for the tour, a Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra, was excellent and comfortable for two. This was our second tour with Eagle Rider and I highly recommend them to all bikers.

The trip was 2,970 kms according to reading on my bike. We had every type of road and conditions that tested us all. Only four riders out of the nine bikes were Harley-Davidson owners, and many of the others struggled with the weight of the big bikes. It took me quite some time to get to grips with the many hair-pin turns in the mountains, but after a while I was having so much fun - bring it on! On the rainy days we stuck to the motorways for safety and comfort.

There was a lot of motorway riding. Even allowing for the rainy days, I felt there was far too much of this type of riding on the trip. All the motorways we were on were tolled, so each time the group had to enter and leave one-by-one - by the end of the trip I was fed up with this. I appreciate that we have to get from A to B (with hourly breaks for comfort stop) but riding on a motorway at 130 km/hour is hard work. 


The Sights
Italy is the place to go for sights and marvels, and we saw lots of them. Highs for me were: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, driving by Mt Vesuvius in Naples, the streets of Sorrento and Amalfi, the caves in Matera, the trullis in Alberobello, the Greek and Roman temples in Paestum, and of course Florence where we got to see the world famous statue of David and the Birth of Venus painting.


Food/Restaurants
We had too much food! The food in Italy is delicious and plentiful. Some days we would have a simple lunch at a motorway service station, other days we were dining on the street in style. Lots of pasta and pizza of course, with delicious wine to wash it all down (not during day!!!).


Hotels
All the hotels we stayed in were good. The best was the Trullo in Alberobello - brilliant restoration work for a unique place to stay. Incidentally, an aperol spritz here was €3.50 - later in the week when we were in Geneva, the same drink cost almost €17! Some hotels were quiet as the holiday season is at an end. We stayed in 10 different hotels throughout the tour. If I ruled the world I would make every shower unit the same in hotels!


Toilets
Why can't there be more toilets in Italy? Men are not used to queueing, but us guys had to wait a lot in restaurants where there was just one toilet for men and women. The women on the tour just said "welcome to our world". Motorway service stations were fine, but everywhere else seemed to leave us a bit short. Now that I am a Senior, I have learned never to pass up the opportunity to use the bathroom!

Group
Probably the best thing about the tour was the group we were with. With folks from Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, England, Australia, the United States, plus us from Ireland - we were a very multi-cultural group that seemed to gel and get on great right from the start. Strangers on Day 1, great friends by Day 15.


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