The first few days

A rest stop on the way to Trieste

The roads from Lido di Jesolo to Trieste were flat and an easy place to start building the kilometres. We were happy with our pace to Trieste, an imposing coastal city near the Italian - Slovenian border. The route followed the Adriatic coast, where we ventured off road along the cliff tops for a few kilometres of rewarding views.

Duino Castle

A chance detour to Duino Castle had us stumbling across the UWC of the Adriatic!

A gentle afternoon ride downhill brought us back to sea level at Miramare, where locals were sunbathing on a concrete "beach". Instead of opting for the hostel we cycled another hour south to the Italy-Slovenia border and stayed at the border campground.

Click on this link to see where we've been so far.

On the Road

A brief break in the crowds allows us to take this photo in Venice.

Our cycling journey started from Venice airport where we returned the hire car and then spent a few hours battling mechanical teething issues with our bikes and equipment including a malfunctioning tyre pump.

Eventually we crossed the causeway to Venezia. In hindsight, taking fully loaded bikes through the narrow lanes and stairways on a busy Sunday may have been a little foolish. We enjoyed
our brief few hours there, but were happy to leave the crowds of tourists and start our ride eastwards.

A canal in Venice

We ferried to the Lido di Jesolo peninsula where Italian families flock for beachside camping holidays. Four star camping villages in Italy are a contrast to Australian caravan parks...
Our particular camp, "Camping Garden Paradiso", came complete with a pool, private beach, a shopping centre and night time entertainment! Roger normally feels a little self-conscious in Speedos but felt quite modest in this environment:

Italy

We landed in Venice on Anzac Day, which also coincided with an Italian remembrance day. After some faffing at the airport, we hired a car and drove to visit our friend Yves in Forli, south of Bologna. He was just finishing a brief work stint there and joined us on a trip around northern Italy in search of bicycles. We found Luisa's on Italian eBay and picked it up in Casalpusterlengo, near Milan. Roger's proved a little more difficult, but we ended up buying a cheap new one from a bike shop in Piacenza.

In between searching for bikes we did a little exploring of lovely little Italian towns, learning the essentials of how to order gelato and espresso in Italian. We were surprised that our attempts at communication in English and rudimentary Spanish were often met with blank looks.

Yves and Luisa camping near Cremona, with bikes at last!

London

We had five days in London, mainly to catch up with friends living there. Roger's friend Alys took us to Jamie Oliver's haunt, the Borough markets, where we sampled an array of cheeses, meats, pates, desserts, and fruits.

Cheese stack

To continue the trend, we visited Roger's friend Suzanne, who had prepared a lunch that rivalled what we'd found at the markets, including a marscapone, white chocolate and raspberry tart that she'd "just whipped up".

On Saturday night we went to an unofficial 10 year reunion of Luisa's Singapore high school friends. Nine of them are currently living in London and travelled to meet us in Islington for drinks and tapas.

UWC crowd

First stop, Singapore

After a hectic few weeks in Sydney packing up our lives, we arrived in Singapore with the intention of just relaxing for a few days. Roger had intended to bring his bike on the plane but realised at the last minute that it was too heavy and left it in storage.

In Singapore we caught up with a friend, Sok, who showed us the nightlife and gastronomic delights of the city. We stayed in a good hostel in Little India and ate lots of cheap curry, satay, nasi lemak, and of course, chicken rice.

Luisa also caught up with her past, visiting her old high school (United World College of SEA) and her old workplace (Raffles Hotel). It was different seeing Singapore through tourist eyes, having a Singapore Sling and watching live music at bars in Clarke Quay - all things I never did as a student there!

Roger and Sok eating peanut balls in black sesame paste