Amalfi Coast just after dawn

It wasn’t long after sunrise as the ferry from Tunis headed into Salerno. It was Sunday morning and I was hoping to have the chance to ride the famous Amalfi Coast Road without its infamous bumper to bumper traffic.

The wish came true for most of the morning and a long stretch of the road.

But by 11 the traffic was thick and it was time to leave the coast road and into the mountains.

The mountains above Amalfi as beautiful as the coast with small villages, wonderful views and mountain walks.

From here its a lovely ride through the mountains to Ottaviano at the base of Mount Vesuvius.

And onto Naples its beautiful trattoria and fellow guzzista.

TUNISIA

I couldn’t help but be excited as the ferry pulled into the Port of Tunis.

I have crossed from Europe to Africa once before, into Morocco but had been warned that Tunisia was more complex.

And it was!

Working through bike importation and insurance and customs and immigration took nearly half a day

One night in Tunis was plenty and it was an early start south to the coastal city on Monastir and a little residence in the Medina there.

The public beach was a short walk from the Medina and it was a perfect evening for a swim.

The main plaza of Monastir is between the old fort on the beach and the Medina. Horse carriages carry tourists around the old city and the plaza lined with lovely restaurants.

Heading south along the coast, the next stop was Gabes.

The fields were green and the olive groves bountiful along the coast.

Gabes is a busy fishing and boat building port. Once a very popular tourist destination, it has some lovely hotels at very reasonable rates.

After Gabes it was time to head inland toward Duze, the gateway to the Sahara.

Tracking inland, it didn’t take long for the lands to turn dry and rocky.

The famous mountain village of Matmata, with its houses and hotels built underground was the perfect stop before swapping the Breva for camels and venturing into the Sahara.

Matmata has a vibrant market but unfortunately civil unrest followed the pandemic has meant a lot of public tourist infrastructure has suffered.

So it was time for a Sahara fuel up before heading to the Sahara.

Douz is the door to the Sahara.

Its a vibrant town, with lots of bikes preparing for adventures into the Sahara.

But the mighty Breva is not made for the desert so Douz was the place to garage the Breva and saddle up Camels.

After an amazing couple nights sleeping under the stars in the desert, the Mediterranean was calling again.

The next route was through the arid centre of Tunisia to Hammamet.

Its a long ride to Hammamet which called for an overnight stop in a little art guest house in Gasfa.

It had been a whirlwind tour through Tunisia and Hammamet was perfect place to relax for a couple of days before returning to Tunis to catch the ferry back to Italy.

It was sad to get on the ferry from Tunis to Salerno. I felt I had underestimated what Tunisia had to offer and the 10 days I had allowed for Tunisia was not enough.

Into Tuscany

Mid September 2024, Storm Boris was brewing on the Adriatic Sea, making the best path south to Civitavechia and the ferry to Tunisia over the mountains via Bologna into Tuscany.

And it’s beautiful hilltop towns and cities.

One of the most spectacular of the hill top cities is San Gimignano

It’s popular to visit but not as busy as nearby Florence that I visited back in 2022.

In the city, it’s all walking and full of activity.

Across a little valley from San Gimignano there’s a campground in the little village of Santa Lucia

With a terrace where you can watch a balloon rise over San Gimignano.

As it was coming to the end of the season, so finding a place to camp at Principina a Mare right near the beach.

The beach at Principina has amazing beach shelters made from driftwood.

Out of Tuscany and into Lazio, there was time for a lunchtime time stop in Tarquinia.

That night it was the ferry to Tunisia.

But before then a stop in the Australian summer.

In and around Padova

The blog above and this are an attempt to catch up on telling tales of 2024’s adventure in Italy and Tunisia.

Padova is a beautiful university city. Not far from Venice, the city captures Venician elegance without the crowds.

The central plaza contains statues of thee great philosophers and is flanked by magnificent Cathedrals. The second oldest University in Europe and sumptuous Italian food.

Chioggia, is at the southern end of the Venice Lagoon. A commercial fishing port with canals and historic building and beautiful seafood.

D’Ababo is a Terme Centre to the west of Padova. People come from all over Italy to soaking the therapeutic waters and hot mud baths.

The town in named after Pietro D’Abano who commenced the medicinal use of the water and mud back in the 1200s.

The town is modern and lively especially in the Terme apart of town and a good market in the residential area.

From D’Adano it was across the mountains of Emilia-Romagna into Tuscany.

Mountains

It’s been a while since I last wrote, and much has happened. The most momentus was the coming of a grand daughter. Quite a little distraction!!

Back to the last European Summer and some of its great ranges.

Rioja is one of Spain’s great wine regions and Horrow. The wines and food make it a beautiful gastronomic stop.

The Pyrenees.

It’s a short hop into the Pyrenees and the beautiful city of Torla.

This little village sits just below the Spanish/France Frontier and is an the border of the Ordesay-Monte Perdido NP

Montserrat

The mountain trip across Spain ended at the amazing Montserrat.

Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso

Gran Paradiso rates amongst my favourite national parks in Europe. Once the King’s hunting ground, it was then gifted to the people after the unification of Italy. From a breeding program at Gran Paradiso, the Europen Ibix has been re established in the European Alps.

There are some beautiful views on the walks.

There is often a beautiful mountain and mountainous road in Europe, but these were lovely mountains indeed