Glorious Sunday weather in Milan (the canals at least will look better once they refill them after some repairs)

Serious business - glass of Barolo and freshly shaved truffles...

Autumn colours in the vineyards above Barolo

Truffle Time

With the autumn colours comes the truffle season. So with both these benefits of October in mind we set off to revisit the town Barolo for a lunch. Similar to last time we went via Turin but this time we got our Al Bicerin (expresso, dark chocolate and cream) from the original café of the same name that has been serving them up since 1784.

We then headed south and into the vineyards around Barolo. The vines were all changing colour but in different stages so the hills were covered in stripes of gold, orange, red and green – very picturesque. We ate at the same restaurant as last time – Hotel Brezza. Again it was a fantastic meal with an excellent set of antipasti (including a sublime hot gorgonzola toast) and then pasta with freshly shaved local truffles. This mushroomy sort of funghi grows underground and can only be found by knowledgeable locals often helped by dogs. It has not been successfully cultivated so its rarity and difficult harvesting conspire to make it very expensive. And to show diners that they are paying for the real thing the staff serve your pasta and then bring out the truffle and shave off your portion at your table. It was very tasty but not the most amazing thing I have eaten – certainly a unique taste though – sort of like perfumed mushroom I guess.

On the way back out of Barolo we stopped at another winery and had a most enjoyable chat with the owner (in Italian). We tasted several good wines and got a brief tour of the winery. Highlights were the Barolo (beautiful, rich, full flavoured red) and also a muscato (desert white wine). We bought three bottles, certainly not a large purchase, but he discounted them and sent us off with two free books on the regions wines. He also solved our question of why the vines on the hills were of such different colours – the various grape varieties change colour at different times in autumn.

On Sunday we went out for a ride south of Milan along the canals that end just near our house. It was a cold and very misty morning but the canals are pleasant change from the traffic of Milan as they head through the fields south of the city.

Looking over Livigno to the lake that leads around to Switzerland

Leaving the last bit of singletrack

Note: ice has to be thicker than this before you can ride on it...

Sweeeet!

Kath heading away from the campground

Livigno Mountain Biking

A fine weekend, no colds or broken bones and my bike back from repairs meant there was only one thing to do! After a lazy Saturday morning we drove north up to the Italian Alps. We took some wrong turns and got stuck in traffic so it was a slow trip but we made it up to Livigno in time to check the town out and find a campground. We also collected some information about rides in the area – but surprisingly for a place famous for its trails this wasn’t very easy. It promised to be a cold night and we toyed with the idea of a hotel before deciding to camp. I don’t have a sleeping bag here so I wrapped up in a fleece blanket and a wool rug. Once I put all my clothes on it was just possible to sleep but certainly not the most comfortable night. At 8 am the next morning the car temperature said it was -5 and waterbottles had frozen in the tent so it was probably a better night to have a sleeping bag.

Sunday was another beautiful day and the sky was a crisp blue – so different to the permanent haze that covers Milan and most of northern Italy. We looked at all the maps etc. we had been given but then just decided to ride the piece of singletrack we could see from our tent. It looked pretty good and seemed easier than following a map somewhere. Soon enough we were riding and the trail was fantastic. The trees have all turned gold and orange and under the brilliant blue sky the panorama of snow dusted peaks was a perfect backdrop. The trail contoured along the valley wall and ducked over bridges, across paddocks and through forest. At the far end of the valley we took another pot luck choice and were rewarded again with a section of excellent buff, pine needle singletrack that twisted and turned through the autumnal trees. It was fun in both directions and was one of the best trails I have ever ridden.

We re-traced the trails back to the car in time for a late lunch in town. We then checked out the shops (Livigo is in a duty free area so has some cheaper prices – petrol is the most notable) and then headed home. It’s only 230km back to Milan but a checkpoint leaving the duty free zone and heavy traffic through small towns near Sondrio turned this into a 6 hour marathon. Lucky the riding was good…

Old school style from the Tour of Lombardy Collection - circa 1930

Statue in Villa in Asso

Lake Como from Magreglio

View of Lake Como from near Bellagio

Gallery Arcade near the Duomo in Milan

Milan near Porta Ticinese

Milan near Porta Ticinese

Lake Como

On Mum and Dad’s last full day in Italy we did some quick shopping in Milan and then headed just north to Lake Como. It’s a very picturesque area once you accept that the haze is almost unavoidable. We went right around the middle part of the lake and stopped in Bellagio to do a bit of shopping (surprisingly cheap cycling jerseys). We then climbed back over the range in the middle of the pass following the famous Tour of Lombardy cycle race. The race was in a week so there was a historical display of bikes and photos in a beautiful old villa.

Time to start the ski exercises - Pordio Pass

Refugio Juac above Val Gardena

Pension over the road from ours

Having lunch at the head of Val Lungha

Autumn colours in Val Lungha

Views in the Val Lungha

Looking across Val Gardena

Dolomites

Mum and Dad jetted into town on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday and Friday were spent showing them around a rainy Milan and its coffee shops. Then on Friday afternoon we headed up to the Dolomites. Kath and I had cycle toured though this region two years earlier and were keen to get back for a second visit. The autostradi were busy but we made good time and pulled into our apartment in Val Gardena about 6:30pm. It was raining hard up in the mountains as well and we ran through the cold rain to get some dinner in town.

Miraculously Saturday dawned clear with magnificent views from the house. I had chosen an apartment in a private home on the internet and we were lucky enough to get flat in great house in the pastures above the village. Dad, Kath and I contoured around from the house to the Val Lungha. While Mum checked out the town we walked up through beautiful autumnal forest. At the head of the valley one fork petered out into a snowy gully. The other continued a little further and we ate our lunch in a grassy meadow surrounded by snow dusted peaks. We then dropped back through the valley into town and finished off with the steep climb back up to the house.

The lady who owned the house promised us that the weather would be even better on Sunday and we got another blue-sky day. We all went for a short walk to a refugio half and hour above the house. It had great views back down into our valley as well as a sweeping view up into the Alp Cisles region. It looks to be an excellent ski area – hopefully we can make it back up to this area in the winter.

We dropped back to the house and packed up. We stopped in town for a coffee and then started the climb up out of town to do a loop of the Sella Massif. This was about a 60km drive and took us over three passes around the massif until Canazei. The views were great as we crossed the snowy passes and then dropped down through forests into the villages in each valley. We headed directly home from Canazei but we could have done a fourth pass and got back to Val Gardena. This is the route of the famous Sella Ronda ski route – 28km of downhill ski runs linked by lifts that complete a 6 hour circuit around the Sella Massif – another on the list for winter!

Oltroarno - building on the other side of the river

Rain slicks the cobbles on the Ponte Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio Tower

Ponte Vecchio

Sunset over the Arno

Main Square

Detail of Ghiberti's famous doors on the baptistry

Florence

Deciding it was time for some more culture we headed to Florence for the weekend. We left early on Saturday morning and a few hours later we were lost in the back streets. After sorting ourselves out we dropped our bags at the hotel, parked the car and started to look around.

I had just finished reading a book on the history of Medici family. It covered the shared history of the town and family and also their architectural and artistic legacy. So I found the whole place fascinating. Highlights were the Palazzo Vecchio (fantastic building from the outside and interesting inside), the Uffizi Gallery (many of the artists and subjects were significant), the Duomo Museum (featuring the original panels from the Gates of Paradise - Ghiberti’s famous brass doors from the baptistery) and of course Michelangelo’s statue of David.

The copy in the main square is not so impressive but the original housed in a museum is stunning. It is one of those things you have seen many photos of but when I looked up and saw it at the end of the gallery I was stopped in my tracks. Fantastic!

Also the overall city itself was great – the old town centre is well preserved and is a great place to wonder around. Add all the history these streets have seen and you get a place I could wander around for hours.

The bridges were also very scenic – a great view to watch the sun set over. There were a lot of tourists in town and it is important to book ahead where you can. Late planning saw us have to get up early on Sunday morning to queue for an hour to get into the Uffizi. But we had managed to book the Academia (where the statue of David is) and we were glad to avoid the long queue in the rain.

Heading back down San Bernardino

Kath heads through the outskirts of Stans

Trail contours around to Niederickenbach

Super green Swiss dairy pasture

Mountain Biking Again!

The big news of the week was getting my cast off! I went down to the hospital on Tuesday for another marathon visit. I initially got my cast cut off by an old guy with very steady hands and mini power saw. Next I got an x-ray and then had a tense wait as all the people in front of me emerged back out with new casts put back on bones that obviously hadn’t healed enough. To the doctor’s surprise I was all fixed and headed out quickly before the eager guys with the plaster got near me.

To celebrate we decided to go mountain biking in the Swiss Alps – but at a different spot this time. We left on Friday afternoon and headed up through the absolutely hideous San Gottardo Tunnel – 16km long! This dropped us into central Switzerland and some beautiful lake scenery.

We camped in Ennetburgen on the shore of Vierwalk-Statter See. We put the tent up, grabbed some tasty local beers (we are in the German part of Switzerland after all) and cooked dinner. Next day we drove 15mins to Stans and started the ride. Initially we ran along the valley through dairy farms then started to climb the valley wall. We climbed up through incredibly bright green pastures until we were 850m above the valley floor. Around us cows with huge bells grazed, farmers harvested the grass for winter and a great view opened up down the valley. The cowbell’s have different notes for each farmer to they can recognise their animals from a distance. We were amazed to see the enormous bells at one farm that featured a very deep, bass cowbell.

At the top of the climb we traversed across on some nice singletrack that wound in and out of forest all while looking down on the valley far below. We then went through a small town of Niederrickenbach and started a long descent back to the valley floor. A short ride back along returned us to Stans. It was a good ride to start back on – beautiful sunny day, nice trails, good scenery and no super technical trails. I wore a brace and had no trouble with my wrist. Also the hours on the wind trainer had paid off as my legs felt strong on the climb.

We grabbed some cheese and bread and sat overlooking the town square for a late lunch. That night we camped higher up the valley at Endelberg as we were thinking about a ride up there on Sunday. However, Kath’s background cold got worse overnight so we skipped the ride and instead took a scenic route home via Andermatt, Brigel, Thun and the San Bernardino Pass. Rather than take the tunnel we drove up and I rode down the other side with Kath following in the car. It was a nice way to appreciate the scenery without much pedaling!

Mmmm, De Rosa full carbon prototype.

Robbie's Ridley - this bike has a few wins to its name...

Milan Bike Show

On Sunday after getting back from PDC Kath and I headed out the Milan Bicycle Show. It was a big conference hall filled with bikes, bike parts, clothes, energy foods and thousands of Italian bike fans. It was mainly road bikes and there was lots of hand-made Italian exotica to drool over. I’m thinking of getting an Italian road bike so it was great to look over the range of De Rosa, Pinarello and other famous names.

We also got some freebies (Gatorade, stickers, waterbottles etc) and got to see some famous bikes including Robbie Mcewen’s Tour De France Ridley. All in all it was a very pleasant way to spend a rainy Sunday.

LA Conference Centre

View from my hotel room

View of one of the conference common areas. Note the array of food on the central table

Disney Concert Hall

View of Greenland on the flight over to LA

PDC in LA

Every few years Microsoft decides it has enough new announcements for developers and throws a big conference (called the Professional Developer Conference). This year it was in Los Angeles and I headed over to look into some new communications technologies they are planning to release soon. I left Milan on Monday morning and went via Heathrow. The flight was smooth and the time passed quickly – I think being Australian conditions you to 15 hour legs so anything less is a bearable.

The conference itself was very interesting but at the same time very draining. You could start at 8:30am and finish at midnight each day if you wanted. Almost every moment of that time could be used to bombard yourself with technical discussions inside the cavernous conference hall. It was good to walk back up the hill to my hotel in downtown – both for the exercise and the feeling that you could relax a little away from all the important technical details that had been bombarding you.

The conference itself was good but you end up getting a little tired of the self-belief Microsoft has in the brilliance of its products and engineers. It’s all rosy at these sort of conferences – they promise everything - but you know in 6 months you’ll be swearing at the monitor in frustration as you strike some limitation they will never fix for you.

I had stuffed up my hotel booking so had to stay one night in cheap hotel in Chinatown (miles from the conference) then move to my booked hotel (the Omni downtown). I dropped my bag off at the Omni on Tuesday morning and went to conference. I returned at 10:30pm that night dead tired and just wanted a room to collapse into. It turns out the Omni overbook their rooms and no longer had any space. No one had mentioned this to me in the morning when I asked at the checkin counter what to do with my bag. So I wasn’t very happy and communicated this to them. In the end I had to go to a nearby hotel for the night and finally back into the Omni for my last two nights. In compensation they gave me a free meal at their expensive but unrefined restaurant and upgraded me to the “club” level. This was a nice bonus as you had a lounge with free cocktails and free breakfast. The conference had meals but they were quite bad – the Omni club breakfast was much nicer and the lounge had a great view over the Disney Concert Hall.

I flew out on the Friday afternoon and enjoyed the larger seat resulting from me only being able to get a Premium Economy seat back. British Airways seem to have so much strike trouble these days that their fares are very cheap – you just have to cross your fingers that you will get in-flight meals and get through Heathrow without strike action. I managed both and was back in Milan on Saturday afternoon.