To Brescia

October 10, 2018

We thought yesterday’s WiFi in Brescello was awful, and were right about that. The WiFi in our apartment in Cremona set a new standard for awfulness though. Nice place otherwise, and it prompted us to explore upgrading the service level for our personal hot spot with T-Mobile. It’s available on a per day basis so I’m trying it out this morning (the day after, on the train from Brescia to Bergamo), and it works great. I think we’ll Just buy a day here and there when the local service is too poor.

We had coffee and cereal in our room, cursed the WiFi again, and then went out for a stroll through Cremona. We got a crush on the city last night, but this morning we seriously fell in love with it. We could imagine using it as an extended base for day rides, or staying here for a month, or forever. In particular we were drawn to its personal dimension. It’s incredible to me that the place isn’t crawling with tourists, but it is really beautiful seeing the streets filled with markets and people of all ages and types coming and going by foot or bike.

When I get ahead of the blog curve, I’ll come back and post a gallery of photos from our stay here.

This is another out of sequence photo, from yesterday. It popped up when I unloaded the zoom camera this morning.

Among the many things that drew us to Cremona, we were drawn to its diverse, multicultural dimension.

The clock from the Cremona’s cathedral. When we got to Mantua, I thought it had the best clock ever, until we got here. Now I’m not sure (but just wait until we get to Brescia)!

The ride from Cremona to Brescia once again follows a well marked bike path the whole way. It’s character is much like yesterday’s ride into Cremona, but with probably more pavement than we’ve gotten asdjusted to. I’d say that about 80% of the day’s ride was on good pavement.

The route is another river ride, following the Oglio River upstream toward the foothills, much of the time in riverside parkland. Toward the end of the day, nearing Brescia, we finally leave the flats of the great Po basin behind. We’re a bit nonplussed when we come to a half mile, five percent climb over a small ridge fronting our destination. What the ?!! Is this about, our badly spoiled thighs complain as we shift into our lowest gear in days.

I love these marked cycle routes. You almost don’t need a GPS here.

We’ve spent a lot of our recent days biking beside canals like this. I really appreciate the hydraulic features that we bike past.

Who knew there was more than one corn route in Italy?

Seems a bit past it’s prime. I don’t think this crop is bound for the Carrafour.

Autumn is setting in fast here. The trees have noticeably more yellow in them each day.

We mostly have the bike route to ourselves, but you do have to keep alert for the unexpected.

Part of the route is through a beautiful park protecting the Oglio.

The vegetation along the Oglio is quite diverse. Here, we’re biking through a locust grove.

Or maybe this is Manerbio? I really do need to keep better notes.

Brescia! So how many wonderful towns and small cities are there in this region? We love Brescia and can imagine living here too. I’ll put up a separate post for the town later, but for now feast your eyes on this:

The old and new cathedrals. The old one is from the 1100’s, and one of the few remaining round plan Romanesque churches in existence. The new one is baroque, and boasts the third largest dome in Europe.

This makes me feel better. I try to be careful to not be too intrusive with my photography. Even on my bad days, I’m never this bad.

OK, so we have a new favorite clock. Incredible.

Brescia gave us perhaps our most elegant place setting anywhere. The water glasses are from Murano, the wine goblets are French. The delicious salad includes shrimp, olives, cherry tomatoes, and mango.

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Ride stats today: 39 miles, 900’

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Suzanne GibsonCremona and Piacenza - my very faves!
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6 years ago

Jen Rahn"We could imagine using it as an extended base for day rides, or staying here for a month, or forever. ... It’s incredible to me that the place isn’t crawling with tourists, but it is really beautiful seeing the streets filled with markets and people of all ages and types coming and going by foot or bike."

I want to move there!! Love the video of mostly pedestrians and bicycles. If you and Rachael decide to buy a place with a mother-in-law flat, can Ron and I rent it? :0)
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6 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnI’m not so sure about that. Aren’t you two a couple of those notorious Hostile Actors?
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6 years ago

ann and steve maher-wearyTo Jen RahnCan you tell me the name of the restaurant in Brescia? -"Brescia gave us perhaps our most elegant place setting anywhere". Looks so lovely would love to go there on our trip, perhaps next summer. Thanks Love reading your blogs. Ann
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6 years ago

Scott AndersonTo ann and steve maher-wearyAntico Beccaria. I couldn’t remember, so I researched it. In doing so I saw that it’s reviews are mixed, so use your own judgement. We had a great meal, but then again I have no sense of smell or taste so what do I know?
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6 years ago