My goodness it's hot! The last few days, traveling through the north-western regions of Italy, have been nearly unbearable on the bike and, according to the kids, even worse in the sidecar. Most of Italy has been hit by an atypical heatwave (and economy-threatening drought in some regions), with temperatures reaching the 90-100 degree Fahrenheit range.
This prompted us to take a day off at an agritourism B&B hidden in the hills near Parma. Blessedly, it has a pool, and a tiny bit of Jamaican-style poolside bar + music atmosphere for its few guests.
A day at the pool made the kids happy. (Thank you for a wonderful stay, Giovanni of Ca' del Ciuco.)
I realize we've done a terrible job keeping folks updated about our route and roads traveled, so thought I'd provide a short update. Today was filled with several hours of mountain road travel from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy to Tuscany. The ride featured greater-than-180-degree turns, again and again and again, on barely-two-lane highways through the forest, ending with an hour or so of coast road that reminded me of Route 1 in California's Marin and Mendocino. Engaging riding, to be sure, but also exhausting.
We ultimately reached Framura, a small and quiet town, where we'll stay tonight, just north of the famed Cinque Terra. Judging from the clientele at our hotel / bar / restaurant for tonight's happy hour, this is a low-key community that blends beach junkies with traditional grape and olive farmers, and gets a share of overflow / budget Cinque Terra tourism. Tomorrow we'll hop a train to one of the proper CT villas and maybe take a dip in the Mediterranean, then Thursday head for the lakes north of Milan and from there into Switzerland. It'll be nice to get back to the cool of the mountains.
