thebicyclediaries | Italy / Slovenia

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Cameras: Canon 70D DSLR, iPhone 4 and GoPro Hero.

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: The lovely Gianni, who feeds & shelters me in Milan

: Camping beside a path by the river in Bergamo #partyforone

: Up into hills & vineyards on way to Lake Iseo

: Grapes! Sweet & delicious & ripe for the plucking

: Moody Lake Iseo

: Note to self: do not put loose cartons of soya milk in panniers

: Lovely, peaceful spot in campsite by Lake Garda – one of the highlights of Italy.

: Working hard at Lake Garda

: A fellow 50-something lone female bummler travelling across Europe by electric bike (a brilliant idea I desperately wish had occurred to me). Her mother tried to ban her from leaving, too.

: A personal endorsement of the campsite from none other than the Queen herself! Incredible

: Two Lancastrian motorcyclists, who lavish me (and half the female population of Lake Garda) with roses when I reveal my Boltonian roots.

: My new friends hit the road back to Blackpool #engineenvy

: View of Verona from campsite

: The Gothic Castelvecchio (old castle), built by Lord Cangrande II della Scala – an ally of the Holy Roman Empire – in the C14th

: Verona’s swarming, sweaty throng deters me from another urban layover, so shun Padua for sunny wheat field en route to Venice

: Wheat field sunset #productplacement

: Wheat field sunrise

: Venice in August: I bet almost nobody’s there.

: Except for this guy – and a few thousand of his equally suave friends.

: I quickly whip up this splendid Canaletto painting on one of the main bridges.

: Tiny alleyways lead you to magical, hidden enclaves.

: Like this kebab shop (NB Venice and Geneva are the only two cities in the world where I’ve seen people proudly eating doner kebabs in the broad light of day – no wonder people flock to them) #soberdonersarenotacrime

: Decrepit elegance.

: Venice laundry (this could fill a whole book in itself)

: Graffiti – sadly everywhere

: Best pizza (in best setting) I have eaten to date

: Four mins later

: Artwork by Samira Alikhanzade in Venice’s excellent Iran Pavillion

: My boudoir, complete with bed, minibar, office space and generous storage facilities (London equivalent circa £500p/m)

: My neighbours in the Venice campsite, who cycled from Fuessen, Germany, via the famous Via Claudia Augusta mountain road

: Forced to brave steps to escape this torrid, teaming hell hole. Venice in August should be reserved for criminals and the insane.

: The infamous Scala Santa in Trieste – a 2.5km vertical wall (up to 20% gradient, I am told) that takes me over an hour to climb. Here’s someone fit showing how it should be done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa2V6Ie5pLo

: Central square in Trieste

: Bird on wall (with boats)

: The elegant Miramare Castle in Trieste, built in the C19th for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian

: Bird on rock

: Birds on rock

: My lovely Trieste host and his trusty steed #moreengineenvy

: Stealthily switch bikes with my host in hope he won’t notice

: View of Trieste from rooftops

: Mountain en route to Slovenian border

: A worrying sign just after border. Is it warning motorists or encouraging them?

: Slovenia shows the Italians how pizza should be done. A little extra cheese and it would have been perfect.

: Classic red-roofed Slovenian church

: Inside the famous Postojna caves – the second longest cave system in the world (24km). A magnificent, stalactite encrusted, salamander infested underworld lair.

: The lesser-known subterranean chicken.

: The best known symbol of the Postojna caves: a 5m high shimmering white stalagmite called the Brilliant, formed from water seeping through the ceiling and depositing calcite on the floor.

: The great ‘Concert Hall’, which used to host classical concerts.

: Bummel portraits #1: the Slovenian chicken.

: The Slovenian chicken (part 3 – I’ll stop now)

: One of many tempting apple / fruit trees I pass along my route.

: Padlocks in Slovenian capital city, Ljubljana, attached by lovers for good luck.

: Ljubljana is a fantastic city – even the graffiti is inspiring.

: More heartwarming graffiti.

: And more.

: They encourage recycling too.

: And, fantastically, the drinking of tap water.

: My first kranjska klobasa (Carniolan sausage), containing at least 75% pork and a maximum of 20% bacon – plus garlic, salt and black pepper (no other ingredients are permitted).

: My new saddle, to give my buttocks some relief.

: And a spare.

: View of city from Ljubljana Castle

: My favourite puppet from exhibition in Ljubljana Castle

: Bright autumnal colours of riverside buildings

: My kind & hospitable host in Ljubljana – and a keen mountain biker

: Corn!

: River on outskirts of Novo Mesto, near Croatian border

: Result of casual enquiry into the best local wine at Novo Mesto bar. Slovenia, you have my heart (and probably much of my liver too)

: Breaking in: Novo Mesto campsite is closed by time I arrive, forcing a bit of friendly trespassing

: Novo Mesto campsite by day.

: Bridge on way to Croatian border.

: One of many garden allotments, allowing families to be self-sufficient in fruit/veg.

: The border, hooray! The first passport control I have encountered since Dieppe, as Croatia is not a member of the passport-free Schengen zone (something I probably should have known before illegally entering over a small bridge and being forcibly dragged back by a burly security guard).

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