A late start today, as we awaited delivery of our included breakfast! So for the first time this trip, we left with full tummies.
Another instant climb out of the town, but thankfully not too steep! It is the gradient which takes it out of the batteries, rather than the height of the climb per se!
A gorge-ous (& sunny) day indeed today as we climbed up through one gorge….and then descended through two, one of which had clearly been subject to an enormous flood not very long ago: the riverside road was closed (forcing you onto the newer tunnelled highway)…but we ignored the signs, and took the closed road…and a few battered bridges aside, it was delightful. But the flooding does perhaps explain why everything is so very green!!
We took a 20km detour…to enjoy the Furlo gorge. A great place for a coffee…..
before the ride through the gorge itself. Furlo though probably most famous for the wrong reasons, as it was a favourite haunt of Mussolini, with the locals so enamoured they carved one of the gorge walls in his likeness (a la Rushmore). This was destroyed after the war, but there is now talk of restoring it! And with the fascist Watermelon (or whatever her name is) now in charge, it might even get State funding!
Another 45kms…mostly up again…took us to the wee town of Corinaldo…where our host Roby greeted us with open arms. He was just delightful. Not one word of English…but he enthusiastically showed us around our apartment, and made sure everything was just so!
No exploring today….we were both a bit knackered. Over 400kms and 4,000m of ascent in just four days. Not really the gentle start I had planned! But a welcome rest day tomorrow….!
Beers at the delightful open-air bar…and then our first classy restaurant meal! Black Roses (rabbit and ricotta filled black pasta parcels in a verdura sauce) followed by a sizzling tagliata. Yum!!
Food envy today!
Same.