Now that we’ve decided to follow the Romantic Road from beginning to end, we’re moving further north and staying for 4 nights in Dinkelsbühl. On the way, we stop off for lunch at Augsburg. We park outside the historical centre so we can cycle into the city which proves to be a good plan. We easily find free parking in Lützowstrasse on the other side of the Lech in the north east. That way we can follow the red dotted line on the map at the top and follow it south and then east.
Part of the old town walls
Our first stop, as always, is the tourist office to get a map and list of places of interest. We learn there are three fountains on Maximilian strees, also known as the Imperial Road, erected in about 1600. Unfortunately, the Rathaus (Town Hall) is being renovated but the sumptuous Gold Room, restored in 1985, is open and we are the only visitors.
Mercury FountainCeiling of the Golden Hall in AugsburgOne of the doors in the Golden HallThe cathedral and first impression of the historical centre of Augsburg
We have a picnic lunch in the cathedral square (it’s an intermittent fast day) and visit the Romanesque crypt and the oldest series of stained glass windows in the world.
Wall painting in the Cathedral in Augsburg
We have coffee just opposite the second fountain, that of Mercury.
Mercury Fountain
Next on our list is the beautiful Renaissance Damenhof, part of the Fugger family’s houses and business premises built from 1512 to 1515. The courtyard with its Tuscan columns supporting arcades and painted arches, was a family garden for the female members of the family. Today it contains a very romantic café. What a pity we didn’t know about it ten minutes earlier!
Italian Renaissance Dammenhof, now a café and restaurant
We then see the third fountain, that of Hercules.
Hercules Fountain
The two churches of St Ulrich and Saint Afra are built up against each other.
Churches of Saint Ulrich and Saint Afra
The late gothic Catholic basilica of St Ulrich is a combination of Renaissance and baroque.
The catholic church of Saint Ulrich
The protestant church of St Ulrich with its beautiful stucco ceilings, is most unusual.
The protestant church of Saint Ulrich
On the way out, we go by the Fuggerei, 67 houses built for the Catholic poor by Jacob Fugger. The annual rent is less than a euro.
The Fuggerei
Next stop: the beautifully preserved mediaeval village of Dinkelsbühl.
We set out early at 10.15 am on Sunday and see several locals in their Bavarian traditional clothing. We go to the front of the church hoping to see more of them but we’re too late! Today we are cycling to Diessen and coming back by train. It’s not exactly on the Romantic Road but it’s in the general area. Along the way, we notice several level crossings with no barriers whatsoever! It reminds me of a very scary experience a few years ago.
Andrea at the tourist office in Peiting suggested today’s route and said it was downhill all the way which is not quite true for the first 10 kilometers. We seem to do nothing but go up and down. We stop in Peissenburg at an Italian Eis Café for a cappuccino after riding for about 1 ½ hours.
Sunbathers on the Ammersee
After that, the descent begins and for the rest of the day, it really is mostly downhill. We start following the Ammer River and often see small groups of sunbathers in the most unlikely spots.
The baroque church in Wilheim
At Weilhelm, we visit another baroque church with a beautiful white stucco ceiling, much more sober than the recent churches we’ve been to.
The blue umbrellas on the left belong to the pizzeria
We have decided not to be too fussy about where to have lunch today and end up eating in a pizzeria at the bottom of a modern apartment building. At least I can read what is on the menu! These German words all stuck together are a bit of a problem. It is excessively hot , about 30°C, and the cold Lambrusco is very welcome. We order entrecôte which turns out to be fillet steak.
Storks along the train tracks
We are back on our bikes by 2.30 pm. Unfortunately we keep getting lost, not because of the lack of signposting, or the wine for that matter, but because there are so many different choices! We follow the train tracks for a while which is reassuring.
The telecommunications station in Raisting
We pass Raisting which has one of the largest telecommunication stations in the area.
The painted ceiling and organ in the pilgrimage church of Saint Johann in Wilheim
The village of Raisting also has a rococo church with sumptuous ceiling paintings.
On the edge of the Ammersee in Diessen
At Diessen am Ammersee, we find ourselves an Eis Café on the edge of the lake and have a welcome ice-cream. Note to self: I need to find out how to say “plain ice-cream with nothing on it”. Unless it’s in a cone, they seem to add nuts and syrup and all sorts of other things I don’t like.
Jean Michel examining the ticket machine in Diessen
We go past the train station and think it might be wise to buy our tickets ahead of time. We are told there is an automatic ticket machine in the train but we’re not taking any chances. There is only one train every hour.
One of the painted houses in Diessen – I wish I could read what is written!
We start cycling up a hill past a number of beautifully painted houses so I spare my knees and walk up so I can admire them better. Jean Michel rides up and misses the paintings.
The Marienmünster cathedral in Diessen
At the top is the beautiful Marienmünster cathedral with a large expanse of grass in front and no cars which makes it easy to photograph without too much distortion.
The beautiful painted ceiling of Marienmünster in Diessen
The inside is particularly beautiful and not as overdone as some of the rococo and baroque churches we have seen.
The scenery from the train on the way home
We wait for the train for 15 minutes in the hot sun and are glad when it arrives – it’s air-conditioned. We attach our bikes with the straps provided and enjoy the 45 minute journey back to Peiting. For once, the windows are clean enough to take photos!
An interesting group of statues in Peiting
We’ve clocked up 52 kilometers and 4 hours by the time we get back to our Alpenhotel in Peiting at 7 pm. Another excellent day of cycling. Tomorrow we’re moving further north along the Romantic Road to Dinkelbühl.
Our route from Peiting to Dissen (Bayerische Seen bike map adfc)The Romantic Road Map on the tourist brochure
We start off on our day’s cycling on the Romantic Road in Bavaria by driving 15 minutes to Lechbruck am See and the first views of a little turquoise lake are beautiful.
Starting out from Lechbruck
Our route then takes us along the Forggensee and past some of the most stunning scenery I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the photos do not do it justice. The sky is slightly overcast so it’s not too hot which makes the many hills easier!
First views of Forggensee
At one stage we can see both the Illasbergsee and Forggensee at the same time.
And the pleasure continues
We stop for coffee along with many other cyclists on the rise of a hill.
The cycle path along the Forggansee
After a while we sadly quit the lake but it’s more restful for our knees. As usual the route is well signposted.
Well-signposted road for both cyclists and trekkers
The scenery then becomes meadows with the Bavarian Alps in the background as we approach Schwangau and Neuschwanstein Castle, the Romanesque Revival palace built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and homage to Richard Wagner. Since his death in 1886, it has attracted more than 61 million, with 6,000 per day in summer every year.
Neuschwanstein castle barely visible in the background
The last time we were here, we didn’t visit it but have decided to do so today. However we are discouraged by the milling crowds and long queue at the ticket office. Also, it’s a long climb up to the castle and not really do-able by bike.
Histsorical building on the lake at Schwangau near Neuschwanstein Castle
Instead, we cycle along one side of the little lake up to the first viewing point, which is enough for me, then turn back and continue on to Fussen.
View of the lake at Schwangau
Last time we were in Fussen, we only saw the tourist office, but this time we discover a pretty little town with many beautifully decorated houses.
The main street in Fussen
It’s 2.30 pm and we think we should have some lunch but would like to find a place on the river. We have no luck so keep riding up the other side of the Forggensee in the direction of Lechbruck. The weather is distinctly improving. What a pity we didn’t have blue skies and sun in the morning!
The Lech in Fussen
There is a landing stage for cruise boats not far out of Fussen but we don’t like the look of the restaurants. Also we can’t take our bikes.
A cruise ship near Fussen
At Dietringen – it’s now 3.45 pm – we find an Eiscafe but all the tables are in the full sun, which is now very strong. There is also a lot of wind and the owner is afraid of opening the sunshades so we keep cycling.
A cyclist’s dream!
We push on towards Rosshaupten and on the way, I spy a sort of wooden armchair with a view so we have water and biscuits instead of lunch!
The sort of gasthaus we like with a shady biergarten
At 4.30 pm, we find a biergarten to our liking called Landgasthof Schwägele but it’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner, even if the Germans dine very early. We have a restorative glass of weiss wein instead. Fortunately there is only one steep hill during the remaining 7 kilometers.
The last few kilometers are much flatter
At 6 pm, after 5 hours of cycling and 52 kilometers, we are back in Lechbruck, just in time to go home, have a shower and go out to dinner. We are planning on going to nearby Schongau (not to be confused with Schwangau), which is too steep to visit by bike.
One of the gates in Schongau
What a disappointment! Apart from a promising gate in the old fortified wall and a square with a few historical houses around it, there are nothing but pizzerias and snack bars.
The main platz in Schongau
We drive a half an hour back to Landgasthof Schwägele and have a delicious wiener schnitzel instead. Yesterday, when we visited Wies, and today, with its magnificent scenery on the Forggensee, are among our best days of cycling ever, along with the S-bend in Austria.
Our cycle route from Lechbruck to Fussen (Bayerische Seen map by adfc)The Romantic Road Mp on the tourist brochure
With our new Bikeline maps, we are ready to start our cycling trip along the 350-kilometer Romantic Road which starts in Fussen in the south of Bavaria and ends in Würzburg in the central Germany. Although it more or less follows the old Roman road of Via Claudia Augusta, it was really only invented in 1950 to stimulate the local economy after World War II. The trail, with its many baroque churches and castles became very popular with the families of Americans who had been stationed in Germany.
Scenery as we leave Peiting
As soon as we are out in the countryside, we are delighted. The scenery is just as beautiful as I remember from our short visit in 1999: mountains of various heights in the background, rolling green hills in the foreground and an occasional house or tractor. The locals are bringing in the hay at the moment so it’s quite busy. Our itinerary is along small roads and is extremely well sign-posted. We won’t be getting lost today, unlike our recent experience in Italy.
Typical bike path, often closed to vehicles
The only disadvantage is the number of hills (and the occasional march fly). Jean Michel had forgotten the hills, but I hadn’t. However we mustn’t complain. We prefer hilly roads in Bavaria where everything is a delight to the eye to the flat plains around the Po River!
Gasthof Graf in Steingaden
Our first stop is Gasthof Graaf in Steingaden. It’s nearly midday which is lunch time for most people in Germany. When we ask for a cappuccino, the waiter suggests “home made strawberry cake” to go with it! As I don’t really like strawberries, I decline so he suggests red currant cake instead. What can I say? Before we leave, the chef comes out and asks in very basic English if we are French. Since France has just beaten Germany in the European Soccer Cup semi-finals, we immediately apologize.
Coffee and cake!
“No, no,” he says, “you don’t have to worry. It was a good game. Fair play is more important than anything else.” Then he and the waiter say they hope France will beat Portugal in the finals on Sunday.
Andrea, our very helpful contact at the tourist office in Peiting phones to say she’s found us an apartment in the village of Wildsteig that has V-lan. It sounds good so I tell her to book for us.
The outside of Steingaden Abbey
We then visit the 12th century abbey of Steingaden with its beautiful baroque ceiling paintings and rococo puttis
The beautiful baroque and rococo interior of Steingaden Abbey
The next stop is the stunning rococo church of Wies which I wrote about a couple of days ago but which we approach from a different side. this time We park our bikes next to the sundial (it’s actually 1.15 and not 12.15) and follow the other pilgrims into the church.
The sundial on the side of Wies Church
It obviously does not have the same surprise effect as it did the first time, but we still love it! Designed in the late 1740s, the pilgrimage church of Wies is one of the finest examples of German rococo and understandably on the Unesco World Heritage list.
The left gallery of the church inside
It is said that tears were seen in 1738 on a dilapidated wooden sculpture of the Scourged Saviour. Pilgrims flocked to the site as a result and a small chapel was soon built to house the statue. However, it was not big enough to accommodate the crowds so Steingaden Abbey commissioned a separate site and chose Dominikus Zimmermann as the architect.
Just as we are about to leave, we hear music. A man is playing the harmonica and the result is very moving in this grandiose setting.
The organ in Wies
Before we leave the site, we walk down the hill a little way so we can relive our first view of the outside of the church in 1999.
Wies from the path we originally took in 1999
We’re starting to get hungry despite the cake (it’s nearly 2 pm) but don’t want to eat in any of the restaurants immediately surrounding Wies. The next village is Wildsteig which is at the top of a steep hill. The only place we can find is Café Peramarta where we order a large salad each.
Peramata Café in Wildsteig
While we are there we check out the apartment that Andrea has found us but we do not find either the village or the environment of the apartment very appealing so we decide to simply extend our hotel stay in Peiting for two more nights. It is perfectly located and we appreciate the room and balcony. I send an email to the owner when we get back to the hotel explaining that we have had to leave the area.
Hay making
More beautiful scenery takes us down past the Kase-Alm cheese factory that Andrea has told us about. It is obviously very touristy but we appreciate the view and buy some cheese.
The view from the cheese factory
Rottenbuch with its typical maypole is next.
A typical maypole, this one in Rottenbuch
It, too, has a high baroque abbey church, called Mariae Geburt, on a smaller scale than Wies, but still very lovely. There is a priest training two giggly altar girls.
The altar girls in training in Rottenbuch church
After 44 km and 5 hours of hills and dales we arrive back in Peiting, very satisfied with our return to the mythical Wies after 17 years. Despite our wobbly knees, we can still make it to the Eiscafé!
Our route from Peiting to Wies (Bayerische Seen bike map adfc)The Romantic Road Map on the tourist brochure
After our disappointing cycling experience in the Po Valley in Italy, where we were based in Crema for two nights, ,Jean Michel suggests we go back to Wies in Bavaria. I agree but insist on getting a proper cycling map first.
The view in Gudon
First we schedule an over-night stopover in Innsbruck in the south of Austria, with an abortive lunch stop at Bolzano which turns out to be nothing but new buildings. We leave town and get back on the motorway, then follow a sign saying Gudon. The only two restaurants in this pretty little mountain village which is more Austrian than Italian are closed but I find a bench in the shade near the church and we have a picnic. We love the beauty of the site, the panoramic view and the lovely cemetery.
The view from our balcony in Innsbruck
After another 1 ½ hours, we arrive in Innsbruck. going back to the same hotel we stayed in 5 years ago, Gastof Koreth. It’s been renovated, the rooms seem to have shrunk, the balcony still has the same great view of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains, the wooden floor creaks badly and breakfast is hardly any better than in Italy.
The golden roof in Innsbruck
After a short rest, we ride into the Old Town to see the Golden Roof again but there are so many tourists that we decide to cycle along the river for a few kilometers. This is the sort of holiday we like! We have our aperitif at the same café, Dom Café, as last time opposite the Cathedral and dinner in the same beer garden, Löwen Haus, as we did five years ago. We are creatures of habit if nothing else. Actually, it’s easier than searching for new places! The dinner’s a bit disappointing though – we should have taken the day’s special.
Cycling along the Inn in Innsbruck
After cycling back up the hill to our hotel, we start the next accommodation search on booking.com. This is not a task that either of us likes. We have a lot of difficulty finding anything as we’d like an apartment for a few days and nothing seems to be available even on German websites which have the added complication of being in German. We settle for the Alpen Hotel in Peiting, about 30 km north of Fussen, for two nights. We are tempted by Sonnenbichl where we stayed in 1999, but would like a little more comfort. I suggest we stop off at Garmich-Partenkirche on the way and pick up some tourist information.
Just one of the beautifully decorated buildings in Garmish
When we get there, we park and walk into the centre. Every single building is decorated with beautiful murals. There is no tourist information about the area we are going to (Pfaffenwinkel – priests’ corner) but we are able to buy a couple of bike maps at a bookshop. Even in German, they are still useful.
Ettal Monastery
On the way to Peiting, I see an interesting-looking dome off to the right in a place called Ettal. I ask Jean Michel who has had enough driving on winding roads if we can stop. We’re glad we did. Ettal has a stunningly beautiful baroque Benedictine monastery built in the eighteenth century according to the plans of a Swiss-Italian architect. However we don’t anywhere we would like to have lunch.
The farm house across the road from the restaurant in Altenau
A bit further on, our GPS sends us on a most unlikely road to the villag e of Altenau. We see some people having lunch under blue and white umbrellas at the Altenauer Dorfwirt which according to my iPhone German dictionary means something like the village host. We order Viener Schnitzel (what else?) and some cold white wine. The centre of the village is very lively and we watched school children and tractors file past. Jean Michel has perked up by now.
Our hotel in Peiting – one front balcony is on the first floor on the left. There is another one round the corner.
We arrive in Peiting mid-afternoon and are relieved to discover that the hotel room is spacious with French windows on two sides, each with a balcony, and that the floor doesn’t creak. We venture out and discover we are in a pretty little village. Andrea at the tourist office speaks good English and gives us the local maps and information as well as a list of holiday flats. She shows us several bike itineraries including Wies and it looks as though we have enough information not to get lost. She also directs us to the local organic supermarket.
The view from one of our balconies in Peiting
In the evening, after a picnic dinner on the balcony (now why can’t I grow geraniums like that?) and an ice-cream at the Eis Cafe down the road, we try to no avail to find an apartment for a few days. All the websites are in German and they don’t have calendars to indicate availability. I decide to go back and see Andrea next day which we do, after a disappointing breakfast. Are we getting harder to please?
Peiting Church
She is very helpful and tries several places. V-lan (wifi) seems to be the main problem, which is surprising. One apartment seems promising and she says she’ll have the answer in an hour. I leave her my cell number and off we go. Our cycling holiday in Germany seems to be off to a good start!
Imperia is four hours by car from our destination of Crema in Lombardy so we plan a lunch stop at Voghera along the way. As we go north, the sun disappears and the sky darkens. We arrive in the main piazza just before noon to find everything closed. It’s Monday. Note to self: never try to do anything on a Monday morning in Italy. Voghera has absolutely nothing to redeem it so we make a detour to the Po river to have our picnic (it’s an intermittent fast day). We find ourselves on a bench in the full sun in the middle of nowhere instead.
Lunch in the middle of nowhere
The Tom-Tom then sends us to Crema by a very devious route. Maybe it gets paid for staying on the motorway whenever it can instead of taking a more direct route. We go north to Pavia, famous for its beautiful Carthusian Monastery which we have visited in the past, and almost to Milan before taking a motorway that isn’t on any of our maps. Sigh. We reach Crema too early to check into our romantic B&B (called an agriturismo in Italy) for 3 nights so pick up some more fruit and vegetables and vino bianco while we’re waiting.
The beautiful entrance to our agriturismo
By now, the sun is scorching. We drive through the front building which is very beautiful and find ourselves in the courtyard of a working farm which is a little less charming. I look for an office but can only see a fitness club. The door opens and a very pleasant young lady asks me in Italian to come in. I give my name and she takes us to see the room. It looks like the photos and seems fine so we take it. Breakfast is a tray with everything an Italian might need for breakfast, all in cellophane packets. How anyone can eat those biscotti, I don’t know. There is an espresso machine outside the door.
Our first impression of Crema
We unpack, have a short rest and then set out to explore the town which is 1 ½ km away. I notice there is a bike path but Jean Michel prefers to drive. He is feeling a little frazzled after all the driving on the Italian motorway which is an experience in itself. We park the car and walk into the pedestrian centre and are completely charmed by the little town of Crema. There are bikes everywhere so we plan to come back and explore further the next day since the tourist office is closed on Mondays.
The Guelfo Tower with its Venetian lion
In the meantime, I take a photo of the map of the main sights and we create our own little circuit – the 13/14th century cathedral and Renaissance square with its Guelfo Tower bearing the lion of San Marco, witness to Venetian domination of the town from 1449 to 1794 and the Torrazzo originally built for defence purposes and the remains of the city walls. We see a very large covered market on the way which I can’t imagine could be filled every morning.
The bedroom in our agriturismo
Back in our room we discover its defects. The table is too high to eat at comfortably and there is very little light in the room, either natural or artificial. One of the chairs is very uncomfortable and the other is too low for the desk/bedside table. There are no extra pillows. The other bedside table is too high to use from the bed. The bathroom is fine, thank goodness, and the wifi works. We can hear the TV above us. There are no common areas we can use. We decide we’ll only stay two nights so cancel the third one with booking.com at no extra cost.
The walls of our agriturismo from the bike path
After a decent sleep, we make our coffee with a few fits and starts and begin taking our bikes off the car. A lady comes out of the Fitness Club and asks if everything is fine. She seems as though she might be in charge of the show. She offers to give us a map of Crema showing the bike paths (how come we weren’t given one yesterday, I wonder) but in the end she can’t find it. She does have a visitor’s map of Crema though. She confirms that we are staying two nights. All this in Italian.
Cyclists and pedestrians in the Renaissance square next to the tourist office
We ride into the town along the bike path and join all the other cyclists in the pedestrian area. Many are older people (like ourselves) but there doesn’t seem to be a fixed rule about what side of the road to use. You need to keep your wits about you. We start with the tourist office and get some other maps and brochures. I find a series of 5 cycling maps that seem to cover the area we will be visiting.
Our breakfast café
We go to a café for breakfast with a shady terrace that we noticed the day before. Jean Michel is hungry so chooses several pastries (I’m not that keen on Italian pastries so only choose a couple of small ones). We order fresh orange juice and cappuccino. The waiter congratulates me on my excellent Italian which is surprising because I mostly just string together the words I know without bothering about verbs.
The surprisingly busy market in Crema
During breakfast, we examine the maps and discover that only the first one in my series of five is useful. We have another one that gives you a general idea of where to go but needs to be backed up by good signage. Our destination is Soncino, about 20 km from Crema but first we are going to visit the basilica of Santa Maria delle Croce on the outskirts of Crema.
The Basilica of Santa Maria delle Croce
The building, representative of the Lombard Renaissance, is very impressive but what intrigues me most is a painting inside the crypt. I later learn that according to local legend, on 13 February 1489, a young woman from a well-to-do family in Crema called Caterina degli Uberti married Bartolomeo Pederbelli also known as Contaglio, a convicted felon from Bergamo and long-time resident of Crema.
The painting inside the basilica showing the Vrigin Mary appearing to
There were many quarrels between him and her family over payment of the dowry. On the pretext of taking her to see his family in Bergamo, he took her into a local wood where he cut off her right hand and part of her arm on 3 April 1490 before punching (and maybe stabbing) her in the back and leaving her for dead. She prayed to the Virgin Mary who is said to have taken her to a nearby farmhouse. She was then moved inside the city walls where she died, after receiving the last rites and pardoning her husband. You would wonder why. A wooden cross was placed in the woods where the murder took place but a series of miracles turned the site into a holy place and a sanctuary was built there and later became a basilica.
The hidden café
So far, so good. I mean the cycling of course. Now it’s time to find the bike path along the canal to Ginevolta then up to Soncino. It’s already 11.15 am even though we left the B&B at 9.15. We stop at a well-hidden café to ask directions. An over-enthusiastic puppy jumps all over us and we each have a plastic cup of cold melon pieces for the incredible price of 50 cents each. No one has ever heard of the bike path but they direct us to the canal.
The first canal path
We eventually find it but Jean Michel is not satisfied we are going in the right direction so I ask a passing fisherman. He tells us (in Italian of course) that we are on the wrong side of the fiume (it doesn’t sound like a word that could mean river does it?) and that we have to go back over the train tracks (Toot! Toot!), cross the bridge and turn left onto the tow-path. Which we do. The path is quite narrow and bumpy but improves after a while.
Where we should have continued along the canal (on the left) but took the bike path instead
Unfortunately the problem is with the signage or lack thereof. We see a tiny, faded sign that tells us to cross the canal, but gives no indications after that. We follow a small road until I see a sign that says “south canal”. Then I see a real bike path so we take it and end up in Offanengo which is not supposed to be on our route.
Our workers’ lunch restaurant
Jean Michel says we should find a place for lunch and check the directions afterwards. By now it’s 36°C. I have just seen a sign saying “pranzo di lavoro €11” which I assume means “workers’ lunch”, equivalent to the French “repas d’ouvrier” so we lock up our bikes and go in (it’s too hot to be sitting outside). A nice young man takes us to a table and gives us the menu. We can have a complete menu including a vegetable buffet with wine and coffee or just one or two courses for the same price which seems a bit strange. The waiter comes back and explains the menu to us (but doesn’t explain why all the prices are the same).
You can tell the World Soccer Cup is on at the moment
We choose different dishes at his suggestion with a carafe of frizzante and go and get our buffet. None of the food is outstanding but all seems to be fresh and it’s certainly filling. The tables around us fill and empty regularly. It’s obviously a local favourite. We’re pleased with the experience.
The canal cleaning machine
The sun is still shining brightly when we walk out of the air-conditioned restaurant. Jean Michel examines the maps again and we push on to Genivolta. After a couple of wrong turns, we seem to be going in the right direction (not that we have any proof – there are no signs). We come across the canal again just as a very large machine turns in front of us. A man on foot tells us to get out the way because it’s dangerous. It appears to be a canal-cleaning machine.
One of the prettier parts of the canal
We start to follow it along the tow-path so the man tells it to stop so we can get past. Fortunately, he wheels my bike for me as I think I might have ended up otherwise in another small canal on the other side. We are happy with our canal path, though, even if it isn’t very scenic. What we do see everywhere are signs of the agricultural wealth of the Po Valley.
A make-shift altar along the canal
Along the way, I see a small group of plastic garden chairs in front of an altar with Ave Maria written on it. Italy is still very religious.
The intersection at Taggio. You can see how uninteresting the countryside is.
We see a sign that sends us across the canal and onto a bitumen road. Once again we have no idea where we are going. We finally come to an intersection with a sign saying “Soncino 12”. We still don’t know where we are so ride into the town and discover we are in Trigolo. There is a sign saying “Crema 11”. I can’t believe it! We’ve been riding for hours and are still only 11 k from Crema. We follow the road to Soncino. It’s a beautiful little winding road with a good bitumen surface and no cars.
A typical Italian cemetary
It takes us through Cumignano sul Naviglio with its typical cemetery.
We then take a large, new, uninteresting road through an industrial park that takes us to Soncino. We arrive very hot and weary and very disappointed. It seems a rather miserable result after riding for 40 km! Jean Michel finds a café with gelato artigianale and orders some Coca Zero to go with it. We’re hot and thirsty! The ice cream has the strangest flavours – Kinder, cheesecake, etc. – so I choose stracciatella, bacio and fiore di latte as being the most innocuous. The cans of coke are warm so I take them back. They only have one small bottle of Coca Zero that is cold so we share that instead.
The main square in Soncino with our café on the left
After examining the tourist brochure we picked up in Crema, we discover there are several churches with frescoes as well as a castle. Maybe it was worth coming after all! We start with the closest, the parish church of Pieve Santa Maria Assunta, a large red brick building erected in the 12th and 13th centuries with stunning frescoes and a deep blue dome.
Santa Maria Asunta
Just round the corner, behind a very ordinary, unrestored 12th century façade are more beautiful frescoes, a sculpted wooden chancel, a descent from the cross and a cloister that leads back to Santa Maria Assunta.
Saint James the Apostle
We continue down the street and turn to the right and up a path to the castle. What a pity we arrived through the industrial estate. We would have had a very different initial view of the town! The present castle, the only one built entirely by the Sforza family, dates back to the second half of the 15th century. The extensive fortifications are 13th century.
The castle in Soncino with the restored spinning mill on the left
To the left is a former spinning mill containing a silk museum, open on Sundays only.
Down the hill to the right is a somewhat dilapidated water mill from which there is an excellent view of the castle.
The old water mill in Soncino
Our last stop is another church just outside the town, Santa Maria delle Grazie, which contains more frescoes and a most unusual modern wooden sculpture of the assumption. We leave just as a busload of teenage boys sing their way into the parking lot!
Santa Maria delle Grazie
We have now clocked up 45 km and are 13 km from Crema via the main road. Jean Michel tries to find some small roads but with little success. They seem to have disappeared. The cars and trucks whizz past at 90 kph (it’s 5.30 pm, obviously knock-off time) with only a white line between them and us. After 5 km, we come to Ticengo and take a left turn. We then follow a small, perfect road winding through relatively pretty countryside. We eventually come to Offanengo and take the bike path past our lunchtime restaurant and into Crema. We do not try to find the canal route again.
A good road at last!
At 7 pm, after riding a total of 5 hours and covering 63 K, we are sitting in a café next to the cathedral in Crema, with a cold glass of white and Italian aperitivo nibbles in front of us. Although we loved visiting Soncino, the stress from the lack of signposting for cyclists was exhausting. NEVER AGAIN!
Aperitivo in the cathedral piazza in Crema
Tomorrow we are off to Innsbruck in Austria to a hotel we’ve been to before.
We arrive in Imperia around 4 pm after our day’s cycling from Sanremo to San Lorenzo just in time for an ice-cream. It’s seems a strange name for a city to me, but it turns out it was created in 1923 by Mussolini when a number of towns and villages were amalgamated, including Oneglia and Porto Maurizio. As a result, it is very spread out. We are trying to find a book for our travel journal but so far, we’ve had no luck. Fine stationery doesn’t seem to be part of the Italian culture any more.
First view of Imperia from the car. It is practically impossible to stop along the road to take decent photos.
The ice-cream lady gives me directions in Italian to a libreria/cartoleria and we head up the hill to the old town of Parasio. At the top, we come upon the classical cathedral of San Maurizio, built between 1781 and 1832, and the largest church in Liguria. It stands out impressively on a large square opposite the town hall. Still no sign of a bookshop, so I guess that I have misunderstood the directions. We finally locate it but it only has a few exercise books.
Saint Maurizio Cathedral
We later come across a small news-agency where we manage to buy some plain white paper. We can always glue it into a book later. The next stop is the supermarket as we will be staying in an apartment for two nights. We have fun playing with a bread-roll-ejecting machine where the bread drops on the ground if you don’t put a plastic bag under it, and then choose some Italian wine.
The sophisticated breadroll-delivering machine
The drive to the apartment, which is 6 km from the centre and up a somewhat sinuous hill, is easy in comparison with our previous experience and we are in a good mood when our hostess comes out to greet us with many smiles and some very basic English. She shows us the apartment which is nothing luxurious but has everything we need. There is even a washing machine downstairs we can use. The view, not quite as stunning as yesterday’s, is still pretty impressive – despite the motorway!
The view of Imperia from our balcony
We drink pinot griggio and eat pistachios on the balcony listening to the old-fashioned dance music coming up from the valley below before having a tomato, cucumber, lettuce, octopus and prawn salad with fresh basil supplied by our hostess. When in Italy, we often buy marinated octopus to picnic on, but this time it’s a little tough.
Watching the locals having their Sunday coffee and pastry
After a good night’s sleep, we wake up late and drive into town for a cappuccino. Today’s a rest day, something we’re not very good at, but we have discovered we really need one from time to time. We park in the middle of town and head for the tourist office. It’s not open so we have our cappuccino at a confetteria under the arcades and amuse ourselves watching the locals.
Porto Maurizio with its bike path on the right
We then wander around until we reach the port and, what do we see – a bike path! We head back to the car, take our bikes off the back and soon join the other Sunday cyclists. We have no idea how far it goes.
A private seafront pool
The coastline is the usual mix of public and private beaches and eating places.
Typical Liguria view
Eventually we find ourselves on a disused road that takes us to the next beach – Diano Marina – where, surprisingly there is a tourist office open with four young girls twiddling their thumbs. We check the tourist brochures and see that the next hilltop village along the waterfront, Cervo, is worth a visit.
The entrance to Cervo
After Diano Marina, the bike path gives out and we have to ride on the road for a bit, but it isn’t too busy. By now we’re starting to get hungry and Jean Michel thinks we should find somewhere to eat before going up to the top of Cervo. I check out a couple of places but I’m not keen despite the sea view so suggest we try and find something on top of the hill.
Taverna Mandragola’s little terrace
A mammoth effort takes us up a very steep road which is only halfway up to the top. We stop to get our breaths and have some water and I see a little restaurant terrace with no one on it. I check round the other side and see it’s a real restaurant called Taverna Mandragola. The chef comes out opposite our terrace for a smoke (they still smoke a lot in Italy, we have noticed) so I ask if we can eat there. “No worries, Signora”, he says in Italian (well, that’s what it sounds like). We attach our bikes and a friendly waitress arrives.
We have a delicious lunch of linguine alle vongole for me and sword fish for Jean Michel, accompanied by a very cold white friulano.
Bougainvillea and seaview
The chef says we can leave our bikes there and walk up to the top of the hill. We are enchanted with the little alleyways and covered streets and masses of bougainvilleas.
The baroque church of Saint John the Baptist
We finally reach the lovely baroque church of Saint John the Baptist. If we hadn’t already had our coffee, I would have elected to join the other people under the white parasols.
The very inviting piazza in front of the church
As we walk back down by another route, we come across Saint Catherine’s Oratory with a surprising statue of Joan of Arc against a backdrop of frescoes.
Joan of Arc against a backdrop of frescoes
The return trip is much easier as it’s mostly downhill. By now, there are quite a few more people on the esplanade but it’s still navigable because most of the population is sunbaking under their matching umbrellas.
The view from our balcony in the other direction
A quick ice-cream and we’re soon back at the car after a round trip on our bikes of 20 K and ready for a couple of hours of R&R back at the apartment in front of that wonderful view again!
We have been driving most of the day. After a lunch stop in Cavaillon, famous for its melons where we have a delicious lunch under a shady terrace recommended by the lady in the bookshop where we buy a guide book, we have an afternoon tea break in Saint Laurent du Var, just next to Nice. It seems easier (and quicker) to go there than into Nice itself. We discover some beautiful oleander avenues and the pretty little village of Saint Laurent.
Lunch at Carte sur Table in Cavaillon
We cross the border into Italy and leave the motorway at Sanremo. Our destination is a B&B in Baiardo, up in the hills, about 20 km and ½ hour away according to my iPhone. We have reserved a room with a view. The GPS says 50 minutes. We find ourselves on a very narrow road with a succession of hairpin bends. We get lost a couple of times and tempers are getting frayed. I’m too stressed to even take photos!
The front gate of our B&B
Before we even reach the B&B we have decided that we are only staying one night and not the three we’ve booked. The further we get up the hill, the less sun and more mist we have. We see no other cars on the way, only three cyclists obviously in training for the Tour de France. We reach the address at last and ring the bell. No response. We try the house next door and a friendly German who speaks both English and Italian phones the owner.
Misty view from the balcony on arrival
She talks to us through the intercom and explains how to get in the back way. We bump over a dirt road and she is waiting for us at the door. She greets us warmly asking if the drive up with OK. She sees the stress on our faces and asks if we have a “navigator”. Our GPS didn’t choose the right route it seems. There is a much easier one but which is just as long.
Our B&B from the outside (next morning’s photo)
We visit the room which is very pretty and see the mist enveloping the hills from the balcony. The deck chairs look a little superfluous. She apologizes for the weather and hopes it will be better next morning. We explain that we will only stay for one night, because 45 minutes of such horrendous roads twice a day is not part of our cycling schedule.
Breakfast view next morning
She is very understanding and says it’s important that her visitors are happy with their stay. We are relieved that we have a picnic with us and don’t have to go out again! We have a good wifi connection, thank goodness, and are able to find another place to stay for the next two nights. We sleep well and wake up next morning to bright sunshine and a most spectacular view.
We are able to have breakfast on the terrace overlooking several hills and valleys. The breakfast is excellent with freshly made apple juice, apple cake, scrambled eggs and bacon, fresh fruit and different sorts of bread. “Make the most of this”, I tell Jean Michel. “This is probably the best breakfast you will get in Italy.”
Ceriana on the way to Sanremo
With instructions from our hostess, we take the easy road down to Sanremo which includes a couple of large villages, but it’s still 45 minutes so we don’t regret our decision to move on. We’ve found a one-bedroom apartment with a view in Imperia, only 15 minutes from the centre.
Parking around Sanremo proves to be impossible so we ask the GPS for underground parking. It is practically empty which is suspicious and no prices are displayed. I ask someone but my Italian isn’t sufficient to understand the answer. I try someone else who fortunately speaks English. “Not expensive”, he says, “just a few euros.” We lug the bikes up the stairs (there is no lift or ramp that we can see, and join the bike path from Ospedaletti to San Lorenzo, 25 km of converted train track, reputed to be one of the best bike paths in Italy.
Our first view of the bike path
It lives up to its name with beautiful houses, oleanders and plumbago along one side and the sea on the other. We turn left towards Ospedaletti, 6 km away, passing through a 2-km long tunnel which relates the history of a famous 298 K bike race from Milano to San Remo nicknamed “La Primavera” which first started in 1907. At Ospedaletti, we have a cappuccino at Il Golfo di Napoli.
In the longest tunnel between San Remo and Ospedaletti
We turn back in the other direction and pass Sanremo. What a wonderful place to pass through by train (though I imagine the soot and noise were less attractive to the inhabitants).
Along the bike path
As we go past Taggia, we see a large church so decide to explore. Closer up it proves to be quite recent so we join the bike path again. The next section is the least attractive of the entire route, but we eventually get to San Stefano al Mare and are feeling puckish but don’t seem to be able to leave the bike path. I see a lady emerging with a pram so we follow a ramp down to a children’s playground. I’m not keen on any of the waterfront restaurants so we push on further.
Il Sandolino at San Stefano al Mare
We come to a likely-looking restaurant near the marina called Il Sandolino where I have a fritura mista (mixed battered fish and seafood) and Jean Michel has a tuna steak. Both are delicious but very copious. We choose a very cold and very welcome frizzante (slightly bubbly white wine). Riding under a bright blue sky at 30°C after a miserable 20°C in Blois is hot work even if the bike route is flat most of the way.
Another tunnel!
Back on the bike path we continue to San Lorenzo past more seascapes and through another tunnel. We will have been through 4 altogether but none as long as the first one.
A bikestop along the way
As the town looks totally deserted, we turn around to go back to Sanremo and are surprised to see that the sky is looking a little murky. We arrive back at the car just before it starts spitting! It didn’t even occur to me to take our rain capes with us.
The people who built this house were no doubt delighted when the train stopped running
We end up paying 6.80 euro for our 4 ½ hours in the car park so the man was right – it wasn’t expensive. However, we saw that we could have parked right next to the bike path in an above-ground carpark about 2 k from Ospedaletti where they also have rental bikes. It would have been simpler.
By now it’s 4 pm and it’s a half an hour’s drive to our apartment in Imperia. Our cycling holiday is off to a good start!
I do not understand where all my time goes. When I lived in Paris, I had lots of time for blogging. Now that we live in Blois, I don’t seem to have any spare time at all! I do keep up with Loire Daily Photo though.
Our marble-inlay table iinstalled n its final position in the garden with the help of our neighbour Alain and Mr Previous Owner
I have several posts in the making: Secret Blois, the arrival of our inlay marble table from India, flooding in the Loire, Montreuil Bellay …. but don’t seem to be able to finish them.
Montreuil Bellay from the bridge
We personally did not suffer from the flooding. There was a flash flood in our street but it disappeared within a couple of hours. There is still a lot of water on the low-lying areas around us and the mosquitos have arrived in droves.
Our somewhat soggy though still beautiful Pierre Ronsard roses at their zenith
Our roses were momentarily lovely but most have succombed to the rain. It seems to rain most days but tomorrow, the sun is supposed to come out and from a maximum of 20°C today it will be 30°C. We are hoping to go cycling. We should also mow the garden as everything is hopelessly overgrown.
The view from our front steps
We are currently debating about where to go on our next cycling holiday in 9 days time. We had thought of going to Saarland in Germany but it has also been flooded which means the bike paths will be a little worse for wear. At the moment, we think we’ll go to the south of France – I have never been to either Marseilles or Toulon – then to the new bike path in Italy that goes from San Remo to San Lorenzo al Mare. We hadn’t cycled in Italy until last year in Padua because 1) there are a large number of hills and 2) there are not a lot of bike paths but at least there is sun! Stay tuned.
It’s that time again – the anniversary of the day Jean Michel and I met. We’re up to nineteen years. I have friends celebrating their 40th wedding anniversaries but not everyone is lucky enough to meet the right person the first time round. Last year, we tried out some new wave cuisine at Pertica in Vendôme but were not impressed although we did like the pâtisseries at Rodolphe’s. We’d also like to have a little village or a château to visit after lunch which restricts the choice somewhat in winter as lots of places close between All Saints (31st October) and Easter (beginning of April), so we’re starting to realise.
Rodolphe’s which looks as though it might be the best pâtisserie in town
Friends have told us that Lavardin and Chateaudun are worth a visit. The only possible restaurant near Chateaudun (we’re looking for a little gastronomy here, which excludes pizzerias, crêperies and coussousseries) is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Le Manoir de Saint Quentin which isn’t far from Lavardin keeps popping up but the menu on the website doesn’t look very interesting. In the end, all the positive reviews we keep seeing (plus the absence of any other likely restaurant) convince us. We phone and leave a message, backing it up with an email. Next day we receive confirmation.
The church near the restaurant in Saint-Quentin-les-Trôo
The restaurant is in a town with the impossible name of Saint-Quentin-les-Trôo. We rightly assume that it is connected to the word troglodyte as Trôo is the undisputed troglodyte capital of Loir-et-Cher. It turns out that Trôo is derived from the pronunciation of trou (hole) by English occupants during the reign of the Plantagenets in the 12th century.
The traditional mulled wine stall at Blois Christmas market which is probably part of a chain!
As we drive through Lavardin on the way, we see a very large number of cars parked along the road which can only mean some sort of festivity. The fact that it’s the first round of the regional elections today can’t possibly be an explanation. Sure enough, there is a marché de noël this weekend. We don’t know whether that is good or bad. Most of the Christmas markets we’re seen in recent years in Paris and the Loire have been very dismal.
Le Manoir de Saint Quentin
We arrive at the restaurant a bit early – 12.15 (it’s a little less than an hour from Blois) – and there is not a soul in sight. The weather is not conducive to staying outdoors and the door is locked so we ring the bell. A tall, harried looking Asian man answers and we apologise for our early arrival. That’s OK, he says, in heavily accented French, adding apologetically, “we’re not very busy at the moment”.
The minimalist interior
He takes us through to a room where two tables are laid and we choose the one next to the window. That’s when I remember why I bought a woollen pullover a couple of years ago – it’s to put under a woollen jacket and over my Damart when we go to restaurants in the country in winter. Unlike Parisian restaurants, they are not overheated. The large radiator is on though so I assume it will get warmer as time goes by.
Me in front of two of the acrylic paintings
The decor is minimalist. The tablecloths are plastic simili-linen with plastic woven mats and melamine Andy Warhol plates. The serviettes are good-quality fabric. There are several large acrylic paintings on the wall and some more Andy Warhol plates in a niche. There are no menus.
The view from the restaurant window
Jean Michel orders our usual celebratory glass of champagne before I have a chance to remind him that we have decided to always order local bubbly when we eat out in the Loire Valley. Our host/chef/waiter brings back a half bottle of Rothschild which gives me the chance to change the order. I learnt the first time I visited a champagne cellar in Reims that you should never buy half bottles (even though they sell them) because the champagne can’t mature properly and develop good fizz in a half bottle. We ask for a bottle of champenoise method vouvray instead and happily stay with it for the rest of the meal.
The Andy Warhol plate and little amuses-gueules on the right
The chef, who turns out to be from Hong Kong and does not recognise my pronunciation of Cheung Chau island, tells us that he will be serving a dégustation menu. He then describes the different dishes with some difficulty as his French is a little basic. He says that cheese is optional. We say it won’t be necessary considering the rest of the menu which seems to have an amazing number of courses.
To accompany our first glass of vouvray, we are given a little slice of the chef’s own foie gras on a small piece of toast, followed by some little vertical spring rolls that we don’t manage to identify.
The artichoke and guacamole snail
The two amuses-gueules are followed by no fewer than five starters: pumpkin soup, mackerel rillettes, cold prawns with curly lettuce, artichoke hearts topped with guacomole on a smoked salmon bed arranged to look like a snail, and foie gras which isn’t bad but we prefer our own salt-cooked melt-in-the-mouth Christmas foie gras that we’ll be making on Thursday with our friends as we did last year.
Chef’s foie gras
By the time the main course arrives, we know we will have the restaurant to ourselves. A very tender breast of guinea-fowl is served with potato purée, turnip and carrot and a tasty foie gras sauce.
By now, I don’t think I can eat another morsel. We refuse the cheese once again and wait for the dessert. Jean Michel says there are three. Fortunately they all turn out to be on the same plate. First, homemade raspberry ice-cream which we don’t manage to identify because we’ve never had it before. In France, they only have raspberry sorbet. I prefer the ice-cream. Second, a delicious chestnut soft-centred cake. Third, several lightly caramelised slices of apple.
Desert: raspberry ice-cream, soft-centred chestnut cake and caramelised apples
We finish off with an excellent espresso. The bill comes to 97 euro, which we declare is very good value for money (36 euro each for the menu, 20 euro for the Vouvray and 2.50 for the coffee). We’re glad we didn’t have any breakfast and are now going to get a bit of exercise walking around Lavardin.
We both agree that it was an excellent choice for an anniversary lunch due to its originality. All the food is made by the chef and fresh – we even saw him go out in the garden to pick some fresh herbs; there were no strange combinations, but nothing was outstanding.
Christmas market at Lavardin
The sun is starting to come out when we leave the restaurant, which is a relief. We arrive at Lavardin by a back road, which is fortunate, because it means we can park quite close to all the activity instead of miles away on the main road. Lavardin immediately strikes us as being a pretty little town, especially with the ruined castle on the hill, 45 metres above the Loir River (not to be confused with its second cousin, the Loire).
A street in Lavardin
The Christmas market, however, has little to offer. The stalls are spread out through the town, including the castle, which is a good idea, but prevents us from having a proper visit though we do see a bread oven hollowed out from the limestone. There is nothing original at the market and very little is handmade. We are not tempted to buy.
The castle ruins above Lavardin
Founded by the Counts of Vendôme in the 9th century, the feudal castle was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th century by John 1st of Bourbon-Vendôme. After being occupied by members of the Catholic league, it was captured and dismantled on the orders of Henri IV in 1590.
The drawbridge up close
All that is left of the castle is a 26-metre high ectangular keep with flat buttresses topped with crenallations. The only remaining part of the two walls built in the 14th and 15th centuries is the entrance flanked by two circular towers and a drawbridge over a moat.
The promontory with its blow-up Santa
We walk up the hill to the castle and out onto the promontory. Unsurprisingly, the blow-up Santa Claus does not seem to appeal to many of the children present. A couple of teenagers try to hug it while their mother takes a photo.
And somehow, I can’t really imagine that the real one with his terrible white dreadlooks sauntering down the street talking to his mates is very convincing either.
An unconvincing santa
However, Lavardin certainly has potential. We’ll come back on our bikes in the spring and cycle around the area, maybe starting in Vendôme, less than 20 km away, as there are several places to visit, including nearby Montoire-sur-Loir, the manor house where Pierre Ronsard, the Renaissance poet, was born, the historical train station in Montoire where Pétain and Hitler met up during the second world war, the Saint Gilles chapel with its beautiful frescoes and the troglodyte village of Trôo. Perhaps you’d like to join us?
