Pred štartom sva se poslovila od družine in prijateljev, ki se jim iskreno zahvaljujeva za mahanje v začasno slovo :) ter vso moralno podporo.
V Opčinah sva srečala Markota ter to izkoristila za skupno fotografijo.
V treh etapah sva opravila najinih prvih 213 kilometrov in sva, morava priznati, zelo zadovoljna. Kljub sivemu in deževnemu vremenu, sva preživela tri čudovite dneve, se peljala po čudovitih, ravnih in predvsem neskončno dolgih cestah s prelepimi drevoredi. Hitrost konstantna.
Kot sva se na začetku odločila, sva se ravnala po pravilu izogibanja pomembnejših cest, kar se nama je močno obrestovalo, četudi sva morala zato opraviti nekaj več kilometrov. Povem vam, splača se!
Najlepše poti sva srečevala, ko sva se izgubljala in uživala ob presenetljivo lepi naravi pokrajine "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia". Prav presenečana sva bila nad tem, kako naše diomače kraje obkroža toliko lepot, za katere sploh ne vemo, kljub temu, da sploh niso tako oddaljene.
Večkrat sva ostajala sama na cestah, saj je bilo prometa bore malo. Vsi vozniki se ponavadi nagnetejo na avtoceste ali prometnejše glavne ceste in oba sva se strinjala da se ljudje v naglici dejansko premalo posvečamo okolici in bolj gledamo, da izberemo krajše poti, take, ki nas hitreje pripeljejo na cilj. Tak odnos pa na srečo ustvarja za "izgubljenega" kolesarja pravi raj, kjer lahko resnično prisluhneš zvokom narave.
Pot od doma proti Tržiču (Monfalcone) se je večinoma spuščala in že prvi dan sva opravila 61 kilometrov ter se ukampirala pred vstopom v simpatično obmorsko mesto Grado, ki je res lepo izhodišče za tiste, ki želijo uživati v prelepo laguni, "Laguna di Grado".
Bil je to najin prvi dan na kolesih in proti večeru, ko sva se približevala temu mestu, sva naključno naletela na predel imenovan "La valle Cavanata". Mislila sva, da sva se izgubila, vendar sva se kmalu pripeljala v pravi kolesarski raj, poln miru, različnih vrst vodnih ptic, predvsem pa praznih stranskih cest. Občutek je postal popoln, ko se začelo sijati sonce in to ravno ob začetku urejene kolesarske proge, pa vse do najinega kampa pred mestom Grado.
Omembe vredni so tudi mimoidoči, ki so naju prijazno pozdravljali, pa tudi nekaj slovenskih avtomobilov se je peljalo mimo, ter naju pozdravljalo, ko so videli slovensko zastavo pripeto na kolo. Srečala sva veliko kolesarjev, vendar so bili to večinoma dirkalci. S kakim smo se pozdravili ali pa na hitro pokramljali, ko smo spraševali o poteh. Ponavadi so bili to prijetni pogovori. Še sreča, da znam italijansko. Upava lahko, da bo v Franciji tudi tako lepo kramljati. Bomo videli, kako se bomo ujeli v jeziku. Francoščina ni ravno najin jezik. Je pa zato angleščina tisto kar najbolj obvladava.
Aja, ob kolesarski poti do Grada sva srečala mnogo zapuščenih koles, ki pa niso bila v tako slabem stanju. Starejša gospa, ki sva jo srečala nam je dejala, da so to verjetno najeta kolesa, saj je v okolici mesta veliko hotelov in restavracij, ki oddajajo kolesa v najem. Povedala nama je, da jih mladi kdaj mečejo kar v morje.
Ko je slišala, kam se odpravljava in kako prenočujeva, nama je povedala, da se nama ni treba preveč bati glede kriminala, da pa je v redu, če kolesi zaklepava ponoči ali pa jih skrijeva.
Naslednji dan sva se peljala proti Jesolu, vendar sva po zopet neskončno dolgih cestah, obdanih s prav tako neskončno velikimi, prostranimi njivami, prispela skoraj do Eraclee. Zaradi preveč izpostavljenega terena, si nisva želela kampirati čisto na vsaki njivi. V dežju in neskončnih drevoredih sva vrtela pedale in opravila 81 kilometrom preden sva omagala.
Vendar pa meniva, da se je izplačalo truditi se toliko. Ob cesti je bilo posajenih nekaj hiš in ni bilo kaj, kot vprašati domačine za pomoč. Dobila pa nisva le nasveta, temveč bistveno več, kot sva sploh lahko upala! Dobila sva prijetno prenočišče v garaži družine Scapolan - De Nobili. Bilo je to res pristno doživetje. Malce sva se sicer obotavala, vendar sva na koncu le pristala in sprejela dobroto, čeprav nama je bilo sprva kar malce nerodno. Še posebno takrat, ko je gospa Daria, mati dveh čudovitih otrok starih osem in eno leto (Luca 1, Matilde 8) v garažo prinesla testenine s paradižnikom. Ostala sva brez besed in z veseljem, kljub utrujnosti prijetno kramljala z njimi, preden sva zaspala kot topa, v zavetju pred dežjem, ki je vztrajno padal celo noč. Tako se nama je posušil od prejšnje noči premočen šotor, pa še na ravnem terenu sva spala in se, za razliko od prejšnje noči resnično naspala. Temperatura v šotoru je bila tokrat 8 stopinj Celzija, prejšnjo noč pa 5 stopinj.
Prebudila sva se sicer utrujena, v bolečinah, vendar sva vedela, da sva se dobro naspala, kar nama je zelo koristilo. Zjutraj sta morala Daria in njen mož Simone v službo, Matilde pa seveda v šolo. Tako smo se od njih morali posloviti na hitro. Pa vendar so si vseeno vzeli nekaj minut, da so nama pripravili nepričakovan, prijeten zajtrk.
Nismo jih hoteli obremenjevati s fotografiranjem, vendar smo to storili kasneje in sicer preden smo se poslovili še od malega Francesca ter njegovih starih staršev Guerrina in Teresine, ki sta pred kratkim praznovala "zlato poroko", torej 50. obletnico.
To je bilo včeraj. Vreme se ni nič kaj spremenilo, padalo je skoraj celo pot, vendar ni bilo tako slabo. Pokrajina je bila enkratna in seveda sva se večkrat izgubila po stranskih poteh, sva pa zato več komunicirala z domačini. Pred Trevisom sva naletela na močno kontrolo do zob naoroženih karabinjerjev, ki so ustavljali tovornjake. Za kakšno akcijo je šlo, nisva izvedela. Naju pa je to močno zanimalo zaradi helokopterja, ki je bil parkiran na bližnjem nogometnem igrišču. Nisem si upal fotografirati, saj nisem hotel izzivati usode.
Po opravljenih 74-ih kilometrih sva prispela do najinih gostiteljev iz hospitality Cluba v Santo Cristino, malce izven Trevisa.
Tukaj se imava zopet čudovito, saj je družina res od sile. Dario in Alessandra imata tri prijetne male škrate in sicer: Tommaso (5 let), Pietro (9 let) in Lisa (10let). Gostoljubje je tu res na višku in počutiva se kot doma. Postavili so naju v stanovanje pod njihovim, ki je, tako kot celotno njihovo bivališče urejeno res z okusom, polno vedrih barv.
Spodnje stanovanje je samo za naju. Ko so doma, prijetno klepetamo tako v italijanščini, kot v angleščini in res se razumeva z otroci, ki so nama, po Alessandrinih besedah, kot dvema neznanima gostoma podarili oceno pozitivno. To je dober znak. :) V končni fazi se imamo skupaj res lepo.
Skupaj gledamo fotografije, risanke, se pogovarjamo, jemo piškote... :) Žal nama je samo, da ne moreva ostati več. Tukaj bova skupno ostala dve noči in tako bova jutri odpotovala dalje proti Rubanu, mestu blizu Padove, kjer naju čaka še ena mlada družina.
Tega se že veseliva, čeprav zapuščava enkratne duše, polne dobrote in tolerance do ostalih. Obema, prevsem Azri je pri njih všeč predvsem to, da so sposobni svoja dobrodelna prepričanja na glas deliti z ostalim svetom. Vsi tega nismo vedno sposobni. Na balkonu razobešena romunska zastava je le en izmed mnogih dokazov. V Italiji so v medijih izvajali pritisk na romunske priseljence, kot rezultat nekaterih incidentov, ki so se zgodili, mislim, da v rimu, nisem preprican. Otroke vzgajata v pravi smeri, smeri dobrote do sočloveka, tolerance do drugačnih in dajata jima vedeti, da je spoznavanje ljudi drugačnih kultur lahko zelo koristno in zabavno. To dokazujeta s tem, da v svojo hišo rade volje sprejmeta vsakega popotnika, ki rabi pomoč. Na Hospitality Clubu imata veliko lepih komentarjev in z mnogimi popotniki so postali pravi prijatelji, ter tako z njimi še vedno ohranjata stike. V spodnjem resnično prostornem stanovanju (majhna kuhinja, velika dnevna soba z ledilnim kotom, prijetna spalna soba s kopalnico), ki je trenutno namenjeno samo gostom, imata obešene njihove spominske fotografije, na policah pa raznorazni papirji in vodniki z informacijami o odhodih in prihodih avtobusov, ter drugih za popotnika koristnih informacij. Nekaj res izjemnega! Kaj takega še nisva doživela. Upava, da se bomo še srečali. Nenazadnje je Treviso zelo blizu Sežane, če se tja odpelješ z avtom.
V Opčinah sva srečala Markota ter to izkoristila za skupno fotografijo.V treh etapah sva opravila najinih prvih 213 kilometrov in sva, morava priznati, zelo zadovoljna. Kljub sivemu in deževnemu vremenu, sva preživela tri čudovite dneve, se peljala po čudovitih, ravnih in predvsem neskončno dolgih cestah s prelepimi drevoredi. Hitrost konstantna.
Kot sva se na začetku odločila, sva se ravnala po pravilu izogibanja pomembnejših cest, kar se nama je močno obrestovalo, četudi sva morala zato opraviti nekaj več kilometrov. Povem vam, splača se!
Najlepše poti sva srečevala, ko sva se izgubljala in uživala ob presenetljivo lepi naravi pokrajine "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia". Prav presenečana sva bila nad tem, kako naše diomače kraje obkroža toliko lepot, za katere sploh ne vemo, kljub temu, da sploh niso tako oddaljene.
Večkrat sva ostajala sama na cestah, saj je bilo prometa bore malo. Vsi vozniki se ponavadi nagnetejo na avtoceste ali prometnejše glavne ceste in oba sva se strinjala da se ljudje v naglici dejansko premalo posvečamo okolici in bolj gledamo, da izberemo krajše poti, take, ki nas hitreje pripeljejo na cilj. Tak odnos pa na srečo ustvarja za "izgubljenega" kolesarja pravi raj, kjer lahko resnično prisluhneš zvokom narave.
Pot od doma proti Tržiču (Monfalcone) se je večinoma spuščala in že prvi dan sva opravila 61 kilometrov ter se ukampirala pred vstopom v simpatično obmorsko mesto Grado, ki je res lepo izhodišče za tiste, ki želijo uživati v prelepo laguni, "Laguna di Grado".
Bil je to najin prvi dan na kolesih in proti večeru, ko sva se približevala temu mestu, sva naključno naletela na predel imenovan "La valle Cavanata". Mislila sva, da sva se izgubila, vendar sva se kmalu pripeljala v pravi kolesarski raj, poln miru, različnih vrst vodnih ptic, predvsem pa praznih stranskih cest. Občutek je postal popoln, ko se začelo sijati sonce in to ravno ob začetku urejene kolesarske proge, pa vse do najinega kampa pred mestom Grado.
Omembe vredni so tudi mimoidoči, ki so naju prijazno pozdravljali, pa tudi nekaj slovenskih avtomobilov se je peljalo mimo, ter naju pozdravljalo, ko so videli slovensko zastavo pripeto na kolo. Srečala sva veliko kolesarjev, vendar so bili to večinoma dirkalci. S kakim smo se pozdravili ali pa na hitro pokramljali, ko smo spraševali o poteh. Ponavadi so bili to prijetni pogovori. Še sreča, da znam italijansko. Upava lahko, da bo v Franciji tudi tako lepo kramljati. Bomo videli, kako se bomo ujeli v jeziku. Francoščina ni ravno najin jezik. Je pa zato angleščina tisto kar najbolj obvladava.
Aja, ob kolesarski poti do Grada sva srečala mnogo zapuščenih koles, ki pa niso bila v tako slabem stanju. Starejša gospa, ki sva jo srečala nam je dejala, da so to verjetno najeta kolesa, saj je v okolici mesta veliko hotelov in restavracij, ki oddajajo kolesa v najem. Povedala nama je, da jih mladi kdaj mečejo kar v morje.
Ko je slišala, kam se odpravljava in kako prenočujeva, nama je povedala, da se nama ni treba preveč bati glede kriminala, da pa je v redu, če kolesi zaklepava ponoči ali pa jih skrijeva.
Naslednji dan sva se peljala proti Jesolu, vendar sva po zopet neskončno dolgih cestah, obdanih s prav tako neskončno velikimi, prostranimi njivami, prispela skoraj do Eraclee. Zaradi preveč izpostavljenega terena, si nisva želela kampirati čisto na vsaki njivi. V dežju in neskončnih drevoredih sva vrtela pedale in opravila 81 kilometrom preden sva omagala.
Vendar pa meniva, da se je izplačalo truditi se toliko. Ob cesti je bilo posajenih nekaj hiš in ni bilo kaj, kot vprašati domačine za pomoč. Dobila pa nisva le nasveta, temveč bistveno več, kot sva sploh lahko upala! Dobila sva prijetno prenočišče v garaži družine Scapolan - De Nobili. Bilo je to res pristno doživetje. Malce sva se sicer obotavala, vendar sva na koncu le pristala in sprejela dobroto, čeprav nama je bilo sprva kar malce nerodno. Še posebno takrat, ko je gospa Daria, mati dveh čudovitih otrok starih osem in eno leto (Luca 1, Matilde 8) v garažo prinesla testenine s paradižnikom. Ostala sva brez besed in z veseljem, kljub utrujnosti prijetno kramljala z njimi, preden sva zaspala kot topa, v zavetju pred dežjem, ki je vztrajno padal celo noč. Tako se nama je posušil od prejšnje noči premočen šotor, pa še na ravnem terenu sva spala in se, za razliko od prejšnje noči resnično naspala. Temperatura v šotoru je bila tokrat 8 stopinj Celzija, prejšnjo noč pa 5 stopinj.
Prebudila sva se sicer utrujena, v bolečinah, vendar sva vedela, da sva se dobro naspala, kar nama je zelo koristilo. Zjutraj sta morala Daria in njen mož Simone v službo, Matilde pa seveda v šolo. Tako smo se od njih morali posloviti na hitro. Pa vendar so si vseeno vzeli nekaj minut, da so nama pripravili nepričakovan, prijeten zajtrk.
Nismo jih hoteli obremenjevati s fotografiranjem, vendar smo to storili kasneje in sicer preden smo se poslovili še od malega Francesca ter njegovih starih staršev Guerrina in Teresine, ki sta pred kratkim praznovala "zlato poroko", torej 50. obletnico.
To je bilo včeraj. Vreme se ni nič kaj spremenilo, padalo je skoraj celo pot, vendar ni bilo tako slabo. Pokrajina je bila enkratna in seveda sva se večkrat izgubila po stranskih poteh, sva pa zato več komunicirala z domačini. Pred Trevisom sva naletela na močno kontrolo do zob naoroženih karabinjerjev, ki so ustavljali tovornjake. Za kakšno akcijo je šlo, nisva izvedela. Naju pa je to močno zanimalo zaradi helokopterja, ki je bil parkiran na bližnjem nogometnem igrišču. Nisem si upal fotografirati, saj nisem hotel izzivati usode.
Po opravljenih 74-ih kilometrih sva prispela do najinih gostiteljev iz hospitality Cluba v Santo Cristino, malce izven Trevisa.
Tukaj se imava zopet čudovito, saj je družina res od sile. Dario in Alessandra imata tri prijetne male škrate in sicer: Tommaso (5 let), Pietro (9 let) in Lisa (10let). Gostoljubje je tu res na višku in počutiva se kot doma. Postavili so naju v stanovanje pod njihovim, ki je, tako kot celotno njihovo bivališče urejeno res z okusom, polno vedrih barv.
Spodnje stanovanje je samo za naju. Ko so doma, prijetno klepetamo tako v italijanščini, kot v angleščini in res se razumeva z otroci, ki so nama, po Alessandrinih besedah, kot dvema neznanima gostoma podarili oceno pozitivno. To je dober znak. :) V končni fazi se imamo skupaj res lepo.
Skupaj gledamo fotografije, risanke, se pogovarjamo, jemo piškote... :) Žal nama je samo, da ne moreva ostati več. Tukaj bova skupno ostala dve noči in tako bova jutri odpotovala dalje proti Rubanu, mestu blizu Padove, kjer naju čaka še ena mlada družina.
Tega se že veseliva, čeprav zapuščava enkratne duše, polne dobrote in tolerance do ostalih. Obema, prevsem Azri je pri njih všeč predvsem to, da so sposobni svoja dobrodelna prepričanja na glas deliti z ostalim svetom. Vsi tega nismo vedno sposobni. Na balkonu razobešena romunska zastava je le en izmed mnogih dokazov. V Italiji so v medijih izvajali pritisk na romunske priseljence, kot rezultat nekaterih incidentov, ki so se zgodili, mislim, da v rimu, nisem preprican. Otroke vzgajata v pravi smeri, smeri dobrote do sočloveka, tolerance do drugačnih in dajata jima vedeti, da je spoznavanje ljudi drugačnih kultur lahko zelo koristno in zabavno. To dokazujeta s tem, da v svojo hišo rade volje sprejmeta vsakega popotnika, ki rabi pomoč. Na Hospitality Clubu imata veliko lepih komentarjev in z mnogimi popotniki so postali pravi prijatelji, ter tako z njimi še vedno ohranjata stike. V spodnjem resnično prostornem stanovanju (majhna kuhinja, velika dnevna soba z ledilnim kotom, prijetna spalna soba s kopalnico), ki je trenutno namenjeno samo gostom, imata obešene njihove spominske fotografije, na policah pa raznorazni papirji in vodniki z informacijami o odhodih in prihodih avtobusov, ter drugih za popotnika koristnih informacij. Nekaj res izjemnega! Kaj takega še nisva doživela. Upava, da se bomo še srečali. Nenazadnje je Treviso zelo blizu Sežane, če se tja odpelješ z avtom.
Skratka, prvi tri dni lahko opiševa le s superlativi. Upava, da se bo tak ritem nadaljeval.
READ THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW
Grado, Eraclea, Santa Cristina
Before departure we said goodby to our family and friends, who we thank very much for all the moral support and the waving goodbye. :)
We met Marko in Opcine and took a chance to make a photo together.
We made our 213 kilometers in 3 stages and we are, I must admit, very satisfied. Despite the rainy and cloudy weather we had a wonderful three days, cycled trough beautiful, straight and above all endlessly long roads with amazing avenues. The speed constant.
As we decided at the beginning, we avoided the main roads, which turned out to be a great idea, even though we had to make a few more kilometers. It was worth every minute of it.
The most beautiful roads that we found, were the ones when we got lost and we enjoyed a surprisingly beautiful nature of the "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia" province.
We were surprised to see that our hometowns were surrounded by so much beauty, we did not know about and they are not far away.
We were alone on the road most of the time, because there was not so much traffic.Usually all the drivers swarm(crowd,throng, press) on highways or busier main roads.We both agreed that when people are in a hurry they don't concentrate on the surroundings much and they choose the roads that will take them to their destination as quick as possible.
But luckily that kind of attitude makes heaven for a "lost" cyclist where he/she can really listen to the sounds of nature.
The road from home to Monfalcone was mostly downwards so we made 61 kilometers the first day and camped just before one charming town close to the sea, called Grado, which is a truly beautiful base for those who want to enjoy a beautiful lagoon "Laguna di Grado".
It was our first day on the bike and we bumped into this part called "La valle Cavanata" by accident before the dark.
We taught we got lost, but we soon came into a cyclist heaven, full of peace, all kinds of different birds and most of all empty side roads.
The feeling became perfect, when the sun started shining right when we reached the beginning of a very nice arranged cyclist path that went all the way to our camp before Grado.
It is also worth to mention the passerby, which greeted us nicely and there were also some Slovenian cars passing by, saying hello, when they saw a Slovenian flag on the back of the bike.
We also met a lot of cyclists, which were mostly racing cyclists. We said hello and had a chat with some of them while asking for nice directions. Luckily I speak Italian and we hope to have nice chats like these in France too. We will see how the language will go because we are not really good in French, but we hope to learn a bit. However, we are great in English, so hopefully that will help. :)
Oh, BTW, we saw a lot of abandoned bikes in good shape on the way to Grado. An older lady we met said that those were probably rented bikes, because there are lots of restaurants and hotels in the city that rent bikes. She said that some youngsters are throwing them into the sea, just like that.
When she heard where we were going and how we are camping, she said we don't have to worry about theft but still that is good to lock or hide the bikes.
We cycled towards Jesolo the next day and we almost reached Eraclea on those straight, long roads, surrounded by just as long and wide fields.
We didn't want to camp on just about any field because of the soil. We were cycling in rain and endless avenues and finally went out of energy.
But it was worthy to cycle so hard. There were houses next to the road and we had no other option but to ask someone for help. But we received more than just an advise on where to camp. We received a nice shelter in the garage owned by the Scapolan-De Nobili family. That was a really genuine experience. We hesitated a bit but at the end we agreed and accepted the nice gesture even though we were a bit embarrassed. Especially when Diana, a mother of two beautiful children Luca (1 years) and Matilde (8 years), brought us some pasta with tomato sauce to the garage. We were speechless and happy but still had a short chat before falling asleep like dead in a shelter from rain that kept falling all trough the night.
And so, our tent, that was wet from the previous night got dry and also we slept on the flat ground. The temperature in the tent was 8C and the previous night was 5C.
We woke up feeling pain in our bodies but we knew we had a good sleep and that was really useful for us. Daria and her husband had to go to work that morning and Matilde had to go to school so we just had a quick goodbye. However, they took a few extra minutes and prepared us a very nice and tasty breakfast, which was a realy nice surprise. We did not want to bother them with taking photos, so we took some when we said goodbye to little Francesco and his grandparents Guerrino and Teresina, that celebrated their 50th anniversary just recently.
That was yesterday, the weather didn't change much. It rained almost the intire way but it was not so bad. The landscape was amazing so we were "getting lost" on the side ways (roads), but because of that we had a chance to comunicate with the locals.
We ran into a strong police control before Treviso and the police (carabinieri) was armed and was stopping the trucks. We did not manage to find out what kind of action was in process. But we were very much interested because we saw a police helicopter parked on the football field. I did not dear to take any photos.
After 74 km we arrived to Santa Cristina, just outside Treviso, where our hosts from Hospitality Club were waiting for us.
We also had a wonderful time here, because this family was really great. Dario and Alessandra have three wonderful children called Tomasso (5), Pietro (9) and Lisa (10). The hospitality here is amazing and we feel like at home. They gave us an apartment under their, that was just like the rest of the house furnitured with taste and lots of bright colors. We had the intire apartment for ourselves.
When all of them were at home, we had a nice dinner and a chat together and according to Alessandra the children gave us a positive mark (grade) as guests, which is a good sign. :)
After all we are having a great time together. We are watching photos and cartoons together and of course eating cookies. Too bad we cant stay longer. We will stay here two nights altogether and tomorrow we will go towards Rubano, that is near Padova, where a young family is waiting for us.
We are looking forward to that even though we are leaving, wonderful and good people behind, full of tolerance towards others.
We both liked (especially Azra) the fact that they were capable of sharing their positive and charitable believes with the rest of the world. Not all people are capable of doing that in all times. They had a Romanian flag on their balcony to show tolerance towards Romanian people, because in Italy there are a lot of negative emotions towards Romanians now. They are raising their children in the right direction teaching them to be kind and tolerant to people and their differences and that getting to know people from different countries and cultures can be very positive, useful and fun thing. One way of proving that is by hosting travellers and helping them if needed. They have a lot of great comments on Hospitality Club and are maintaining contact with many of the people they were hosting.
In the spacious apartment under them (kitchen, a living room, bedroom and bathroom with toilet) that is currently only for guests they have lots of photos from the guests they hosted and you can find guides and papers full of information about their region and the bus/train schedules. It was a really great experience and we really hope to meet them again after all Treviso is not far from Sezana if you go there with a car.
The only way to describe the first three days is by saying they were super great and we hope our journey will continue in the same way it started.
READ THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW
Grado, Eraclea, Santa Cristina
Before departure we said goodby to our family and friends, who we thank very much for all the moral support and the waving goodbye. :)
We met Marko in Opcine and took a chance to make a photo together.
We made our 213 kilometers in 3 stages and we are, I must admit, very satisfied. Despite the rainy and cloudy weather we had a wonderful three days, cycled trough beautiful, straight and above all endlessly long roads with amazing avenues. The speed constant.
As we decided at the beginning, we avoided the main roads, which turned out to be a great idea, even though we had to make a few more kilometers. It was worth every minute of it.
The most beautiful roads that we found, were the ones when we got lost and we enjoyed a surprisingly beautiful nature of the "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia" province.
We were surprised to see that our hometowns were surrounded by so much beauty, we did not know about and they are not far away.
We were alone on the road most of the time, because there was not so much traffic.Usually all the drivers swarm(crowd,throng, press) on highways or busier main roads.We both agreed that when people are in a hurry they don't concentrate on the surroundings much and they choose the roads that will take them to their destination as quick as possible.
But luckily that kind of attitude makes heaven for a "lost" cyclist where he/she can really listen to the sounds of nature.
The road from home to Monfalcone was mostly downwards so we made 61 kilometers the first day and camped just before one charming town close to the sea, called Grado, which is a truly beautiful base for those who want to enjoy a beautiful lagoon "Laguna di Grado".
It was our first day on the bike and we bumped into this part called "La valle Cavanata" by accident before the dark.
We taught we got lost, but we soon came into a cyclist heaven, full of peace, all kinds of different birds and most of all empty side roads.
The feeling became perfect, when the sun started shining right when we reached the beginning of a very nice arranged cyclist path that went all the way to our camp before Grado.
It is also worth to mention the passerby, which greeted us nicely and there were also some Slovenian cars passing by, saying hello, when they saw a Slovenian flag on the back of the bike.
We also met a lot of cyclists, which were mostly racing cyclists. We said hello and had a chat with some of them while asking for nice directions. Luckily I speak Italian and we hope to have nice chats like these in France too. We will see how the language will go because we are not really good in French, but we hope to learn a bit. However, we are great in English, so hopefully that will help. :)
Oh, BTW, we saw a lot of abandoned bikes in good shape on the way to Grado. An older lady we met said that those were probably rented bikes, because there are lots of restaurants and hotels in the city that rent bikes. She said that some youngsters are throwing them into the sea, just like that.
When she heard where we were going and how we are camping, she said we don't have to worry about theft but still that is good to lock or hide the bikes.
We cycled towards Jesolo the next day and we almost reached Eraclea on those straight, long roads, surrounded by just as long and wide fields.
We didn't want to camp on just about any field because of the soil. We were cycling in rain and endless avenues and finally went out of energy.
But it was worthy to cycle so hard. There were houses next to the road and we had no other option but to ask someone for help. But we received more than just an advise on where to camp. We received a nice shelter in the garage owned by the Scapolan-De Nobili family. That was a really genuine experience. We hesitated a bit but at the end we agreed and accepted the nice gesture even though we were a bit embarrassed. Especially when Diana, a mother of two beautiful children Luca (1 years) and Matilde (8 years), brought us some pasta with tomato sauce to the garage. We were speechless and happy but still had a short chat before falling asleep like dead in a shelter from rain that kept falling all trough the night.
And so, our tent, that was wet from the previous night got dry and also we slept on the flat ground. The temperature in the tent was 8C and the previous night was 5C.
We woke up feeling pain in our bodies but we knew we had a good sleep and that was really useful for us. Daria and her husband had to go to work that morning and Matilde had to go to school so we just had a quick goodbye. However, they took a few extra minutes and prepared us a very nice and tasty breakfast, which was a realy nice surprise. We did not want to bother them with taking photos, so we took some when we said goodbye to little Francesco and his grandparents Guerrino and Teresina, that celebrated their 50th anniversary just recently.
That was yesterday, the weather didn't change much. It rained almost the intire way but it was not so bad. The landscape was amazing so we were "getting lost" on the side ways (roads), but because of that we had a chance to comunicate with the locals.
We ran into a strong police control before Treviso and the police (carabinieri) was armed and was stopping the trucks. We did not manage to find out what kind of action was in process. But we were very much interested because we saw a police helicopter parked on the football field. I did not dear to take any photos.
After 74 km we arrived to Santa Cristina, just outside Treviso, where our hosts from Hospitality Club were waiting for us.
We also had a wonderful time here, because this family was really great. Dario and Alessandra have three wonderful children called Tomasso (5), Pietro (9) and Lisa (10). The hospitality here is amazing and we feel like at home. They gave us an apartment under their, that was just like the rest of the house furnitured with taste and lots of bright colors. We had the intire apartment for ourselves.
When all of them were at home, we had a nice dinner and a chat together and according to Alessandra the children gave us a positive mark (grade) as guests, which is a good sign. :)
After all we are having a great time together. We are watching photos and cartoons together and of course eating cookies. Too bad we cant stay longer. We will stay here two nights altogether and tomorrow we will go towards Rubano, that is near Padova, where a young family is waiting for us.
We are looking forward to that even though we are leaving, wonderful and good people behind, full of tolerance towards others.
We both liked (especially Azra) the fact that they were capable of sharing their positive and charitable believes with the rest of the world. Not all people are capable of doing that in all times. They had a Romanian flag on their balcony to show tolerance towards Romanian people, because in Italy there are a lot of negative emotions towards Romanians now. They are raising their children in the right direction teaching them to be kind and tolerant to people and their differences and that getting to know people from different countries and cultures can be very positive, useful and fun thing. One way of proving that is by hosting travellers and helping them if needed. They have a lot of great comments on Hospitality Club and are maintaining contact with many of the people they were hosting.
In the spacious apartment under them (kitchen, a living room, bedroom and bathroom with toilet) that is currently only for guests they have lots of photos from the guests they hosted and you can find guides and papers full of information about their region and the bus/train schedules. It was a really great experience and we really hope to meet them again after all Treviso is not far from Sezana if you go there with a car.
The only way to describe the first three days is by saying they were super great and we hope our journey will continue in the same way it started.
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