Etappe 22

:SMS update:: 13 september 2010 :
Tourflits: in Monaco ! Daar loopt Stephanie geloof ik...

:SMS update:: 13 september 2010 :
Tourflits: 2000 km. sinds VBK...

:SMS update:: 13 september 2010 :
Tourflits: Italie !!

:SMS update:: 13 september 2010 :
Tourflits. Het regent hier. Fijn welkom.

:SMS update:: 13 september 2010 :
Tourflits: ik heb een nieuwe Italie sticker. Een hele mooie!

Monday 13-10-2010
Etappe 22
Antibes - Ospedaletti (IT) 80 km (1956 - 2036 km.)
Via: Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Menton, Ventimiglia en Bordighera.
Zon regen. Niet koud.

Since I have some followers in France and Ireland, and since France has treated me so kind the past 3 weeks, I promised those people to this etappe summary in English. Maybe later in Dutch / in het Nederlands wellicht later. Niet iedereen spreekt Engels, zoals Caroline die zo graag een keer in het verslag genoemd wilde worden. Bij deze Caroline :-) . Ben blij met je support hoor !

Etappe summary:

I say goodbye to my 'friend' of the reception of yesterday. Seems he is working all the time... God thanks my bike is till there, parked it out of sight next to the hotel. The road to Nice is great, it even has a biking track. France treated me very gently in respect to the roads. Off course there were not always biking tracks, but quite often there were. And if I had to ride a normal N or D route and I am overtaken by a car, they always go the left side of the road. Perfect. In the odd occassion a car is passing on only 30 cm, nine out of ten times, it is a Dutch car. Stupid tourists...
Guess the Dutch are used to separate bike lanes all the times so do not have to watch out for bikes. And do not care obvioulsy than...

In Nice I am riding over the blvd. It is great. Not so crowded like yesterday. It is Monday, the french are back to work. I wanted to have my morning coffee stop in Monaco only, but Nice is doing its utmost to persuade me and have me visit one of its many terrasses.. Nice wins. In the port I take a capuccino. My first one this trip. But hé, I am almost in Italy now.

The road along the coast is great, but every now and than it elevates to around 100 meters above sea level and than goes down again in the small villages. The views along the way are great, riding uphill is rewarding than!

I am entering Monaco. Just like Cannes, this is not my thing. Too much of big builidngs, boats, casinos and expensive places. Even if I had money, I would not like it here. Monaco turns into Monte Carlo. This is no place for people on the velo. I a am passing a port where big cruise ships come to shore. A lady is approaching me. She is from the US. He, where did you rent your bike from. Was it around here, I want to do some bike riding to Nice or so. I can use the exercise, she ends.

I look at her and she is right, she surely can use the excercise. I tell here the place I got my bike from is about 2000 km up north. She does not understand it, so I advise her to head more into town and ask the tourist office. She asks for my name and ends in a typical US way. Thanks so much Maarten you have been very kind and a great help. Enjoy the rest of your biking trip today.

When I am leaving Monte Carlo, something happens of which I have been afraid of (in the back of my mind...) the last 2000 km. Especially yesterday when driving next to just parked cars, I was afraid - old- peple would open their cardoor just before me.
But now I have a collission with a car. That is, the car cuts my curve/corner and I am squeezed between the van and the pavement. I shout a bad Duth word really loud. The car passes and how odd, it is Italian... This is not a nice way to welcome me to Italy. The driver stops and opens his window. My French is OK, but my Italian is non existing... The only thing I could say at that moment was... alore...

Seemed the proper word, as he starts excusing and asking "va bene ?" and more like that. I check my bike, my bags and myself. No worries, it seems I can continue my trip. The clips of my bags need some adjusting but it is do-able. I respond that I am just about va bene.. I guess it is fair to say that the accident was not entirerly his fold only. The street bended to the right already at the crossing and the car and I had to turn right too. I had better stayed behind the car. It was surely a good lesson for the rest of Italy... Better safe than sorry.

I come at Menton, still a bit shaky of the close encounter, the last city in France before the Italian border. I want to get rid of my French Euro's (no use in Italy...)and sent some obsolete books and maps back home. Saves weight. So I go to the post office. I have been to the post office a number of times in France already. Just to sent things back home. The postoffice is one of my favourite places to visit, just like the banks. It is always overcrowded, too little staff and the time per transaction per customer is always extremely long. And it is hot inside, always very hot! Meanwhile, I know by now which enveloppe to use and how much the corresponding content may be.

Another thing that is typical for (french) post offices. Very typical ladies work there. Between 45 and 60 years old. Seems the only thing they do at home is knitting (in dutch: punnikken en macramee-en)and play with their 12 cats. They are not interested in the people nor their needs visiting their post office. Clients is a strange word to them. They wear old fashioned glasses and have a lot of molds (puisten). When it is my turn, she asks what I want with the enveloppe and my maps. I tell her that I want to sent this to Les Pays Bas. Wrong enveloppe, she replies. I tell her it is the correct one and show her where it is indicated, in French. 1-0 for me. Hmmm... she says. How much 'affaires' do you have? I put it on her little scale and it is 548 grams. That is what I like about post offices too, they have strict rules and the boundaries are clear. Too heavy, she replies, you can only have 500 grams. You can take another enveloppe, which is 12 Euro more expensive, but than you can sent to 1 kg. OK, 1-1, score is equal. I remove one of the maps and the new weight is 498 grams now. It is ok now I guess, I say with a 'sourire'. 2-1 for me. I win !

After Menton it is not far to the border. Italy,... at last. I surely enjoyed France for more than 2,5 weeks, but Rome is the capital of Italy and thats where I need and have to go!

I am looking forward to Italy, the people, the food etc. I am however a bit afraid of the infrastructure, the roads and the traffic. NL, BE and FR were great, but he Italia, who is biking there ? They only have the Via Aurelia as road next the coast. There is one highway which runs paralel, but the rest are mountains in Ligurie and no roads there! Reading the book of Ilja, it was mentioned that there are quite a number of tunnels to pass. He was very right. The first one comes already after 300 meters after the border. I install the lights on my bike, and it works. I am proud, since I am soooo not technical and invented the way how to mount them myself. Even the batteries are still full. I stored them savely the past 3 weeks in which I did not needed them.

At the end of the tunnel there is no white light... On the contrary. It rains.
I come in Ventigmilia and stop for a Capu and to take some shelter. EUR 1,20 for a capu. It seems the Italian EUR are worth much more than the ones used at the Cote. There the same capu was EUR 3,50. I love Italy already.

I pass another town, Bordighera. All cliches are coming true. Hectic, small streets, cars parked double and people everywhere. I just love it.
In a small shop I manage to get a new Italy sticker for my bags. Important as you may know now from previous days.

In the next town I have a hotel booked via the home forces. A lady at the reception. I am trying in Italian but my Italian is a mix of French, Spanish and a few sounds of Italian. The woman does not understand me and asks if I do not speak English... That works better.

If I ask her where I can place my bike, she turns to a old lady of about 65 reading a paper in a chair, about 5 meters away. They start shouting and yelling to eachother. The only word I understand in the wole conversation is Bicycletta. I am worried about the outcome of the convesation. Than, all out of a sudden the lady turns to me and gives me the key and the direction to the garage. I go there and my bike is surrounded by the clean loundry of the hotel which is drying there. So typical Italy.

I dine in the restarant. Wen I look in my culinaire IT-NL dictonary (handy) people come to assist me and translate the menu in all kind of languages...
During the dinner, a single lady sitting at the table next to me starts talking to me and quite a lot. I have no idea what she is talking about and respond to her that my Italian is not so good. She does not matter and just conitnues. Every now and than I say Si or non. She asks me if I sleep in this hotel as well and which room. Hmmmm...

When I drink my coffee around 21.45 she stands up and says it is time for her to go the bed. I agree with her, since she is around 85...

Tomorrow my 2nd day in Italy. I can't wait. Opposite the hotel is a bike shop. They open at 8.30. They sell pink bike shirts (giro d'Italia). Curious to find out if I fit in 'M' now....

NB: To all, thanks again for all your reactions. I will make a book of the all the stories, pictures and reactions of and via this website. It is therefore nice to have the reactions. It is a nice memory of this trip too ! Graci !