An early stop at Agriturismo Corte Nigella: Heat and humidity made us throw in the towel
The exquisite La Torre B&B in Revere is in the house of our hosts' grandparents and the building dates back to the 14th century. She and her husband have beautifully restored this building with artistic flair and filled it with antiques. Interestingly this old building has survived several earthquakes, whereas "newer" buildings have not survived. The palace is directly across the lane and is of the same date. Italian coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh cakes, pastries, prosciutto, yogurt .......a good start to the day.
As camping is not available readily in this area, we have had to choose B&B's or Agriturismo accommodations. The good thing about this is that we have been staying in unique, memorable place and meeting interesting local people. This is certainly true of La Torre B&B in Revere.
The castle in Revere is directly beside our B&B: the two storied building on the right.The buildings are from the same time and have both survived earthquakes over the centuries, including the one 3 years ago that devastated buildings nearby.
The Po River continues to be a large fast moving River and compared to when we first saw it, we notice that it looks cleaner. We're not sure what the foam and debris are - to us it looks like industrial waste - but…..? Riding on the dike of the Po is better than it sounds. We have ridden on dikes that are boring but we have liked it here as it gives us a great view of the farms, villages and river. It is easy to take a lane off the dike to reach a village if it looks good or you need a break or supplies. Unlike other dikes we have ridden on, it does not feel isolating, plus we get a great breeze. Increasingly we are finding it hard to sustain much time on the bike due to the heat and humidity. As well, the bugs and mosquitoes make it impossible to stop and rest in the shade. We have given up finding an effective deterrent. Out solution is to stay inside our tent or room. Everyone we meet shares our plight. It must be the time of year. The ride was very good until we heard the familiar hiss and then " flap flap" of a flat tire. No trees for shelter and our recently purchased German pump decided to stop working. As usual, passing Italian riders stopped to help speaking quickly in their language, but their pumps wouldn't fit our North American valve. This is the 3rd flat in a short time - our next stop will be the bike friendly city of Ferrara and we will be looking for a new rear tire for the bike and new tires for the trailer as well. Mary Ellen walked to the next village and found an auto mechanic who said he would fill our tube for us. About 20 km later, we saw the sign for Agriturismo Corte Nigella by the trail indicating that it was a horse farm with an herb museum with acres of herb... we were hooked. Our stay here was unique and so rewarding. We saw first hand the workings of their farm, had a lovely dinner of fresh meats, homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta (pasta made with borage) and filets grilled and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Sauro is an Equestrian teacher and boards 26 horses on their property. Half of the horses are theirs. And, oh yes, their 3 dogs and 2 cats entertained us too. Our room was a restored part of an old stone barn and very comfortable (with air conditioning). We love fresh air but the windows stayed closed - no bugs, yeah! Germans and Sauro welcomed us into their home - a lovely stay.
Lidl, the discount grocery store is making inroads in to Italy.
