Udine

August 4, 2019

We really are out of the mountains now and it feels a bit sad

Last night we went back through the double walls and found a tratatoria beside the rebuilt cathedral. Ken ordered a massive pizza again and I had some delicious but much more modest lasagna, the wine we had was a cab franc from the local area and very good it was.. Then the entertainment started. In front of the cathedral were some dancers and a massive boom box. Around the corner came a crowd of people on foot and the music and dancing started. It was the ultimate in modern dance Areadanza. It is described as liberating dance from the theatre to bring it to urban environments and that is just what it did. They did there piece in front of the cathedral then moved on followed by their flock who rather strangely were all carrying green cushions (though I never saw any one sit down)

Our excellent Band B was full of cyclists all of whom seemed to be German. I felt some amusement this morning when we went to breakfast and saw the Germans looking rather quizzically at the Italian spread.

After our amazing day yeasterday nothing was going to be able to live up to it. However it was a very pleasant ride. We looked back at the huge mountains and wondered how there could possibly be a way through them but of course there is and somewhat to our surprise we did it. The route was very complicated with many twists and turns but it was perfectly marked and not once was there a sign missing so navigation was easy and never once did we make an error. It takes you up into small villages so there was a fair bit of ups and downs. About this stage trouble struck and Ken’s bike felt peculiar. The problem turned out to be a soft rear tyre. The roads were very narrow at this point so he just blew it up more and continued on. His back wheel is very tightly done up and his spanner of pour quality so we will go to a bike shop in the morning.

To encourage cyclists in, just a pity it was shut

Looking back at the mountains and wondering how we got through them

A bike race was starting and we were a bit worried we would bet caught up in it

Getting into Udine is like going through a maze you seem to turn every few yards but the excellent signage continued. Our hotel is right in the centre by the pedestrian area. Being Sunday everything is very quiet but we found a bar open for a well deserved beer and have spotted some likely looking restaurants

Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 545 km (338 miles)

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