Route Map and Elevation Profile
Canberra - Sydney - Singapore
Saturday, April 27th
Prue dropped me and Celeste (the bike) at Canberra airport for a 10:30am flight to Sydney. There was more than enough time for a latte and to read the paper. There wasn’t as much time to spare in Sydney, so no duty free shopping or G&T in the Qantas Club.
The flight to Singapore was delayed because
some poor (stupid?) guy attempted to leave the country with an expire passport.
An hour later his (carry on sized luggage) was off loaded and we finally got
away.
Fortunately, I had pre-booked, and paid for, a reserved seat at the front of economy and next to the emergency exit. In fact, I also go the adjacent seat to myself for no extra charge – perhaps it originally belonged to Mr Offload?! As a result, the flight was more comfortable that the usual Premium Economy (fuzzy photo - too much vibration?).
Fortunately, I had pre-booked, and paid for, a reserved seat at the front of economy and next to the emergency exit. In fact, I also go the adjacent seat to myself for no extra charge – perhaps it originally belonged to Mr Offload?! As a result, the flight was more comfortable that the usual Premium Economy (fuzzy photo - too much vibration?).
Arrival in Singapore was uneventful, even
if a 45 minutes late, and Celeste was safely stored in Left Luggage – I’ll find
out just how safely when I go to collect her tomorrow evening. I took a taxi to
the hotel and Robert called just as I walked into the room. It turns out he’d
been monitoring my progress on the Internet (the flight part at least).
He has booked a table for dinner at Jumbo’s
on Dempsey Hill. Even though it was now after 9:00pm we decided to go ahead –
after all, Chili Crab waits for no-one.
Dempsey Hill is a former British military compound which has been converted into shops, restaurants and just about anything else that ex-pats (and well healed locals) might be missing. My first impression was that Singapore was much richer, greener, spacious (!), and “western” than Hong Kong. We never found Chili Crab in Hong Kong.
Dempsey Hill is a former British military compound which has been converted into shops, restaurants and just about anything else that ex-pats (and well healed locals) might be missing. My first impression was that Singapore was much richer, greener, spacious (!), and “western” than Hong Kong. We never found Chili Crab in Hong Kong.
Taxis seem to be the best way around, and
they’re cheap. So, after another taxi ride home I didn’t get to bed until well
after midnight (that’s after 2:00am Australian time).
Singapore
Sunday, April 28th
After a reasonable night’s sleep, I met with Carla, Robert and Jean for brunch back on Dempsey Hill.
This time we ate at Jones the Grocer, an Australian franchise/chain specializing in up-market delicatessen, and where “eat in” is more popular than take-away. The place was full of ex-pats, many of whom had been playing tennis, or participating in similar Sunday morning activities. Although I’d done nothing of the kind to earn my breakfast, I had the full English breakfast nevertheless, washed down with two of the best lattes I’ve ever had in the tropics. Lunch will not be necessary.
Of course, there was another person with us at breakfast - grandchild number 1 who is just days away from entering the world:
At the moment we’re all at Robert and Carla’s
apartment relaxing – me to write this, everyone else to watch DVDs. Outside a
storm is building up, so it’s not as hot as it could be.
The apartment is quite spacious by Asian standards, and is set in a compound with quite an array or recreational areas:
The apartment is quite spacious by Asian standards, and is set in a compound with quite an array or recreational areas:
It makes you want to live in Singapore.
After afternoon tea, eaten around lunch time, I went back to my hotel via the Singapore MRT (underground railway), but not by the most direct route. We agreed to meet at 5:30pm at the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel for some (in)famous Singapore Slings to celebrate Jean's birthday:
Now, these are not the cheapest cocktails in the world, but apparently you have to have one whenever you're in Singapore. Mine looked more like a Tequila Sunrise (it's your eyes that are blurred, not mine):
And Robert's like Vesuvius:
After the Slings we went to the port area where there is a very large area full of outdoor restaurants. We found nothing like this in Hong Kong:
But...rather than eat seafood, we ate Iranian - Carla because she's pregnant (!) and Jean because she'd eaten there before and loved it. Robert and I just had another meat extravaganza. We left for home once the belly dancer started (no picture!)
Singapore - London
Monday, April 29th
A late start, breakfast next to the hotel, an 11:30am check-out and then another (cheap) taxi ride to Dover Rise (where Robert and Carla live).
Today is hotter than yesterday, mainly because the sun is shining, so walking anywhere becomes uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Robert had to collect some things from INSEAD, so we walked there, cooled off in the A/C and then had lunch in one of the local air-conditioned food halls - lots of good, cheap Asian food to select from. Asians don't do good coffee, so it was off to Aussie owned Jimmy Monkey for a "proper" coffee.
Now we're all just passing the time indoors, keeping cool, and playing with our laptops, iPads and iPhones. At least the TV isn't on...
The taxi trip to the airport encountered a bit of a Singapore bottleneck, mainly due to a motorcycle accident on the freeway. The bike was collected without problems, and checked in to Pisa, also without too much difficulty.
Had dinner and a shower in the Qantas Club, and then managed to speak briefly with Tony when his flight arrived in transit just before mine departed ahead of his. The flight was long (over 13 hours), and not as comfortable as the one to Singapore.
London - Pisa
Tuesday, April 30th
Arrived slightly late into Heathrow at 5:30am, found the BA Club and then went looking for Tony W whose flight was delayed a bit more than mine. It turns out, I arrived in Terminal 5 Building B, the BA Club was also in Building B, Tony arrived in Building C and our flight to Pisa also departed from Building C.
To get from B to C one uses an underground shuttle train, so I collected Tony from Building C and we returned to Building B in the train. However, either we forgot to get off, or we couldn't get off, and we ended up in Building A - the main arrival, departure and security checking part of Terminal 5. Effectively, we left the secure transit area accidentally and ended up back in the "real world". This meant going through passport and security checks all over again - not a trivial exercise at Heathrow. Tony D turned up at Building C, on schedule, and we all got on the two hour flight to Pisa.
Once in Pisa, we got two taxis to split our luggage and personal and found the hotel easily. We were too early to check in, so left the luggage there and went to get a beer.
As one does, we ended up near the Leaning Tower:
Then we walked back to the hotel, checked in, cleaned up, and put our bikes together. Unfortunately, they had all suffered some minor damage due to reckless baggage handlers somewhere along the way.
We're not happy, but we test rode the bikes and at least they all seem to be OK.
Pisa - Lucca - Pisa
Wednesday, May 1st
The day started with a nice breakfast at the hotel, followed by a ride to the Torre Pendente for a few photographs with bikes.
We then headed off on the lovely 20km ride to Lucca, a fantastic walled city on the other side of the hills from Pisa.
In Lucca we looked for the two bike shops we had researched - Tony W for some cable work and me for a derailleur "hanger". The first bike shop was too busy hiring bikes to tourists, but the second seemed more interested in our problem.
But something was wrong - there were too many people out and about. Then we realised it was May Day holiday!
In bike shop number 2 we met Paladino, the owner, who suggested we go for a ride in the hills. This turned out to be a great experience - we went for a 20 or 30 km ride up into the wine country hills to the north of Lucca, and we felt very privileged to have met Paladino.
He dropped us back in Lucca, and we took a different route back to Pisa than the one we departed on. On the way back it started to rain, and by the time we arrived in Pisa the roads were quite wet, and slippery it turned out. Almost near home, and turning onto the bridge, Tony W went down on the wet and slippery cobble stones - the white ones are actually made from local Carrara marble:
Fortunately, the bike survived, and more importantly, so did the body - only pride was damaged.
We "celebrated" the day with a few beers, a lovely meal, and a few grappas in one of the many squares. Hopefully, every day from here will be similar (except for the crash).
Here is the Garmin ride profile for the day:
Pisa - Cinque Terre - Pisa
Thursday, May 2nd
After getting Tony D some new reading glasses, and me a Pocket WiFi, we head the Pisa Centrale railway station for the one hour trip north to La Spezia and then the nearby Cinque Terre:
The most northerly of the five fishing villages is called ed Monterosso, and we has a coffee and foccacia just near the railway station:
From there we walked south over the fairly steep peninsulas that separate the villages. This is probably the longest and hardest of the walks, but nevertheless there were quite a large number of people doing the same thing as us - and it's only early May!
The second, and I think the prettiest, of the villages is Vernazza:
As you get closer, you can see why:
Like all of the villages, there are plenty of places to have a beer, eat lunch, or just pass the time. Tony W and I had a beer, while Tony D had a pizza - his body clock seems to be on a different schedule to ours:
Tony D was keen to do some more walking, and he convinced Tony W to go with him to the next village - Corniglia. I preferred to take the train down to the last of the villages, Riomaggiore, which I thought looked very pretty from the train window earlier in the day.
By now I was starting to think the villages had lost their innocence, and the thing which made them popular in the first place - their remoteness, tranquility and charm. I had to wonder what they would look like at the height of the tourist season.
But for now, it was bearable, especially with a G&T, some peanuts, and views like this to contemplate:
I took the 5:49pm train to La Spezia, and was coincidentally reunited with my cycling companions - they enjoyed their walk, and I enjoyed my drink.
Back in Pisa, we had another beer at Bruno's, our favourite pub, a nice dinner at the nearby Bagus restaurant, and then to bed.
Pisa - Marina di Pisa
Friday, May 3rd
After breakfast, we collected our bikes, packed our luggage and left it with the hotel for delivery to our hotel in Marina di Pisa for the start of the ride. But first I wanted a few more pictures of the Torre Pendente, and this is an angle I hadn't seen it from before:
It is Friday morning, early May, and still there are crowds and a queue to climb the tower. But still it's possible to get some good angles and some good pictures. The weather is also great, especially given that rain had been forecast earlier in the week:
Then we cycled the 25 km to our hotel, following the river to the sea and then the coast road another 5 km. The hotel is quite nice, and my room is the one with the balcony on the left just above the terrace:
The hotel is by the sea and has one of the largest hotel pools I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it was closed while it was being prepared for the upcoming season:
The hotel also has it's own section of beach, complete with private bathing boxes, beach chairs and umbrellas. It looks like these are also being prepared for the summer!
Both up and down the beach for kilometres there are similar sections of "private" beach, each belonging to a hotel, a restaurant or a club:
In some instances, the sand was even being cleaned and groomed. I guess a lot of people like to spend their holidays beside the sea in Italy!
We then had dinner, including "frito misto di mare" in a nearby trattoria with some of the riders we had just met:
We then had dinner, including "frito misto di mare" in a nearby trattoria with some of the riders we had just met:
Day 1 - Marina di Pisa to Follonica (105km, 240m)
Saturday, May 4th
Today was the start of the Bike Adventures ride from Pisa to Catania in Sicily. There are just over 30 riders and 5 staff, and the first briefing took place around 9:00am at the hotel. Unfortunately, I must have been to busy listening to take the obvious photographs of the group standing outside in the sun listening to Steve, one of the company owners, talking about the tour and the day ahead - what an idiot I was.
Anyway, there was lots of preparation going, bikes being prepared, people filling in forms, trying on shirts, getting water, and generally being nervous to get underway. We finally started just after 9:30am, and the map of the day ahead is as follows:
Route Map (Bike Adventures)
Ride Profile (My Garmin)
The road pretty much followed the coast all day, but it was not as easy as just "keep the sea to the right and the mountains to the left" - Bike Adventures always seems to find some indirect way of traveling some fairly direct routes. Early on we negotiated the port area of Livorno, including a draw bridge stopping us for 15 minutes, lot of traffic (just as well it was Saturday morning) and the old fort right in the middle of the harbour.
Leaving Livorno was much more interesting, with a lot of former mansions lining the beach promenade for kilometres. Then we went into some hilly parts of the coast with forts, large houses, pretty beaches, and the more difficult part of the day's cycling. After about 35 km we found the nice town of Castiglioncello which had a selection of restaurants and we had a coffee and pastry with some of out fellow riders.
Tony D needed some water (and toothpaste) and the other riders wanted to by food, so we stopped at a Supermarket on the edge of town - too busy for Tony, so we continued our ride, all the time looking for another supermarket. There was some "cross country" cycling before we did the "shopping" and then stopped in another pretty town (Donoratico) for a foccacia and coke (as you do at this time of a ride).
From here it was basically head down and bum up as we "sprinted" the final stretch with a nice tail wind into Follonico. Unfortunately we missed the turn to the camp ground (afternoon tea?), found the turn to our hotel, but then made the mistake of continuing to look for the camp ground. Once we reached the centre of Follonico we realised our mistake and cycled the 5 km back to the hotel (in the direction which we had come). Even so, we were among the first to arrive!
We checked in and headed for the bar - a beer or two, a G&T (for me), a view of the Mediterranean and the island of Elba put a cap on the ride.
Now I'm clean, relaxed, and ready for another nice dinner!
Now, if you're really interested, you can also look at my rode profile, complete with heart rate (!):
Ride Profile (My Garmin)
The road pretty much followed the coast all day, but it was not as easy as just "keep the sea to the right and the mountains to the left" - Bike Adventures always seems to find some indirect way of traveling some fairly direct routes. Early on we negotiated the port area of Livorno, including a draw bridge stopping us for 15 minutes, lot of traffic (just as well it was Saturday morning) and the old fort right in the middle of the harbour.
Leaving Livorno was much more interesting, with a lot of former mansions lining the beach promenade for kilometres. Then we went into some hilly parts of the coast with forts, large houses, pretty beaches, and the more difficult part of the day's cycling. After about 35 km we found the nice town of Castiglioncello which had a selection of restaurants and we had a coffee and pastry with some of out fellow riders.
Tony D needed some water (and toothpaste) and the other riders wanted to by food, so we stopped at a Supermarket on the edge of town - too busy for Tony, so we continued our ride, all the time looking for another supermarket. There was some "cross country" cycling before we did the "shopping" and then stopped in another pretty town (Donoratico) for a foccacia and coke (as you do at this time of a ride).
From here it was basically head down and bum up as we "sprinted" the final stretch with a nice tail wind into Follonico. Unfortunately we missed the turn to the camp ground (afternoon tea?), found the turn to our hotel, but then made the mistake of continuing to look for the camp ground. Once we reached the centre of Follonico we realised our mistake and cycled the 5 km back to the hotel (in the direction which we had come). Even so, we were among the first to arrive!
We checked in and headed for the bar - a beer or two, a G&T (for me), a view of the Mediterranean and the island of Elba put a cap on the ride.
Now I'm clean, relaxed, and ready for another nice dinner!
Now, if you're really interested, you can also look at my rode profile, complete with heart rate (!):
Day 2 - Follonica to Orbetello (101km, 500m)
Sunday, May 5th
Ride Profile (My Garmin)
The weather wasn't looking good as we checked out of the hotel and stored our bags under cover due to some rain that started during the night. Indeed, the forecast was for rain throughout the day, with possible heavy rain in the evening.
The weather wasn't looking good as we checked out of the hotel and stored our bags under cover due to some rain that started during the night. Indeed, the forecast was for rain throughout the day, with possible heavy rain in the evening.
The regular morning briefing got underway at the usual time of 9:00am, everyone preparing themselves for a wet day in the saddle. A few riders even missed the briefing to get on the road before the rain got any worse:
After riding along the coast for a while, the route turned inland and eventually took us to the large provincial town of Grosetto. There were no route instruction to get us into the "centro", but after taking a few wrong turns we ran into "Col" (actually, Carl with a South African accent) and had a coffee in the lovely old part of town as the bells tolled midday (Sunday).
Tony and Rob were getting updates on the soon to be born grandchild as we enjoyed the location.
Back on the road, we were (deliberately) taken into the Tuscan hills where the scenery was fantastic and the weather slowly began to clear.
The views back to the coast from where we had come and to where we were headed were superb - lots of "villas in Tuscany" to rent around here, perhaps?
We came across some of our cycling buddies having a picnic lunch, and lucky for us they corrected an error in navigation we were about to make. It appears we were a bit too keen on climbing to an old hill town (in the distance) than turning right back to the coast.
There was little in the way of food stops, not least because it was Sunday afternoon, and after a flat tire coming into Orbetello, the Tonies could wait no longer to eat (oh, and drink).
The luggage van arrived and parked as close to the hotel as it could, and the weather just kept getting better.
So we collected our luggage:
Checked into the hotel, showered, and then went for a stroll around the town - a former walled city now expanding well beyond what remains of the walls. It's location on an isthmus between the mainland and an island seemed to contain too much expansion, however:
Back in the square for a few G&T's with some cycling buddies, we were interrupted by a group of Juventus (Turin) football supporters whose team had apparently just won the Italian championship. What great local colour!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)