Arriving at around 9am at Bari left us some time to explore the city a little before catching our train to Milan due to depart at 12.45. Having stopped to enjoy some coffee and fruit juice, we meandered around the old town exploring its narrow streets,  cool in the hot morning sunshine for a little while. We were struck by the profusion of little shrines lovingly decorated and dedicated  to a variety of saints related to the area.

Heading slowly into the newer parts of the city which grew up nearer the station we were struck by the handsome wide boulevards lined by palm trees, giving welcome shade in the heat.

On our way we looked out for fruit & veg shops and ‘alimentari’to buy provisions for our long train journey to Milan, covering almost the entire length of Italy. A journey that was to take around 9 hours!

We reached Milan in the evening but in time to check in to our airbnb host, Stephania, who welcomed us to her beautifully presented home around 30 minutes walk from Milano Centrale station.

A little time in Milan then up to Lago di Como

For a long time I have wanted to see some innovative buildings in Milan called ‘Il Bosco Verticale’ (vertical forest) situated a short distance from Porta Garibaldi station. Since our train to Como departed from that same station it was an ideal time for an explore.

These two blocks of flats, completed in 2014 were designed as a template for sustainable high density city living. Their defining feature were a series of balconies on each floor especially strengthened to take the weight of fully grown trees. These are watered by an irrigation  system utilising rainwater collected in huge undergound tanks. Solar pv panels supply power to the buildings and at the base of each building a large secure compound for bicycles of those living in the building.

The trees not only have a significant cooling effect on the apartments in the building, but they have been found to significantly improve air quality in the immediate surroundings. As reported in a number of archtectural publications, the residents love living there. You can read further about the buildings from this link to the RIBA international awards website

The whole area is very attractive with lots of trees and specially planted areas managed as wildflower meadows.

Not far from this oasis of greenery was the amazing area around the Garibaldi station which is also worth exploring, including an artwork installation that incorporated trumpets and corresponding listening tubes installed down the sides of an atrium area going down some 5 floors. We first saw this on a previous trip in 2009 when we passed through Garibaldi station so we were able to say hello again.

Also there, was the first ever “Eataly” store to be set up, featuring a huge variety of  the glorious food available from Italy over three floors. This now international chain celebrates all the best ‘slow food’ that Italy has to offer and apparently there is now a branch in London.

Catching one of the many local trains running to Como was very simple, especially since the TrenItalia app we use generated virtual tickets to use on the train on our mobile phone.

However, Abi & Guy had located a campsite for their mobile home at Dongo some 30km up the lake from Como itself, so we needed to catch a bus to get there. Normally this would be no problem since on weekdays there is an hourly service and frequent ferry boats ply up and down the lake.

We discovered that the online ticket site for the lake ferryboats  had sold out on tickets for the day, so a bus it had to be. We then discovered on Sundays that the bus frequency drops down to one bus every 2 hours. And there were an awful lot of people who were gathered in a melée outside the station.

Once the bus arrived there was a real scrum to board, but Molly’s crowd-weaving skills came to the fore and she managed to get in to the bus to claim our two seats. Being a little less assertive I was some way behind in the crowd, but just managed to climb aboard before the last few standing places were taken.

I pitied the poor bus driver who had to manage all of this as well as turning a bit of a blind eye to the supposed maximum capacity of the bus. Off we went, passing lots of frustrated potential passengers as the bus whizzed by,  filled to the gunwales and unable to squeeze anybody else in.

A few days on the shore of Lago di Como and Lago d’Orta

We arrived at Dongo approximately on schedule and got off at the road that led to the campsite where Abi and Guy had booked 3 days with their motorhome. The campsite led directly into the Lake Como and it was lovely to be able to swim in the clear water of the lake, being able to float and gaze upon the mountains surrounding the lake.

Lake Como has a reputation of beauty and it didn’t disappoint. One can understand why it is such a tourist honeypot. Fortunately, this time of year was not considered high season and it didn’t seem over crowded at all.

Abi and Guy had a paddleboard with them, packed away in the ‘garage’ of their motorhome. Once inflated, it meant we could all enjoy the sensation of precariously balancing on a floating platform whilst paddling on the lake. Abi and Guy had both acquired the skills so were quite proficient at stand up paddling, but I never got above paddling whilst kneeling. Molly, after a few practices learnt how to stand whilst paddling without falling off!

We had a lovely two days at Dongo, before  moving on to another lake  not far away, that had been recommended to us by friends of Liz (from Rezzo) whom we stayed with a few weeks before.

Lago d’Orta is smaller than Como, and is much less well known, although arguably more attractive. We stayed at Petanasco, a small village approximately half way along the lake to spend a couple more enjoyable days exploring the area.

Orta, nearby, is a beautiful old town, situated on an isthmus jutting, thumblike into the lake. It is also the major terminus for the various ferryboat routes that serve the towns and villages up and down the lake. We spent a happy day exploring its old narrow streets and walking up to the top of the hill that lay behind and above the town.

We also managed to take advantage of the ferryboat that serves Orta, as well as calling in to Isiola San Giulio a tiny island that boasts a nunnery, a school a few homes and a small souvenir shop all linked by a single street that circles the island.

After three relaxing days at Lago d’Orta it was time to head off northwards and make our way in the motorhome northwards through Switzerland and to France.

It was a very early start to catch the 6.30am Regionale train from Albenga to Genova… it arrived bang on time which enabled us to catch the Intercity to Milano Centrale which then connected with the speedy ‘Freccerosso’ to Ancona, the ferry port for Durres in Albania and other destinations.

We thought we would walk the 3km to the port from the station, since we had arrived in plenty of time for check in for the ferry, rather than find a tabachi to buy local bus tickets.

We arrived at the ferry terminal ok….. but we found out that the check-in place was back 2km almost where we had come from! Fortunately we discovered that there was a free shuttle bus that ran every 15  mins between the check- in, the port terminal and the station! Frustratingly, there was nowhere on ticketing, or email confirmations that gave any indications as to the separation of check-in, passports and boarding.

Having checked in, passports duly checked and stamped to say we were leaving the EU we then boarded our  ferry to Durres, one of the port cities in Albania.

We had booked a cabin for the overnight journey to Durres, so that we would arrive rested to deal with a new country , new language and different ways of doing things.

We sailed on time for a smooth crossing of the Adriatic Sea saying farewell to Ancona and temporarily to Italy.

On board, the majority of foot passengers were Albanian, who knew the score about occupying potential sleeping areas in the saloons with bags, airbeds…even a mattress! The other foot/cycle passengers were a mixture of nationalities, including Dutch, Swiss, British and German – there was apparently, another couple who had a tandem with them, although we never met them! All were puzzled by the fact we had cycle panniers with us, but no cycle!

At 8am the next morning, after a good sleep, we had our first sight of Albania, a sunny Durres Port.

Disembarcation was straightforward and soon we were outside the terminal to be greeted by a barrage of friendly, but insistent taxi drivers. “Where are you from?”, “where do you want to go”, “I can give you a good price”.

We were focussed, however on three main things to start with:

1) to purchase an Albanian data sim card for our stay to avoid steep roaming charges out of the EU so that we could continue to blog, use maps and send emails and messages

2) to get some Lek, the local currency, from a “Bancomat”

3) to find a market to buy our lunch.

Having achieved all 3 things we then found a convenient bar to have a coffee and fruit juice, to get the Sim card set up, and then decide where to spend the first night in Albania.

We decided to go to Berat, to the South of the country, since it had been recommended as one of the “must visits” of Albania, known for its unique Ottoman era houses, it’s imposing Ottoman  castle and its scenic setting.

But how to get there! There was a sort of bus terminal near the port entrance with many coaches and minibuses each with signs in their windows giving their destinations.. but not Berat!.

Eventually we managed to find out that the bus system in Albania operates on the basis of bus hubs at various points on the outskirts, each one specialising in the routes related to its geographic position. You reach these bus hubs, often located anything up to 5km away from the centre, by a local bus.. 40 Lek…. equivalent to approx 35p, so not expensive.

At the end of the route there we saw the bus stands.. and a minibus with a sign “Berat”. On we got, with the ‘furgon’ only half full. I had read that longer distance transport in Albania doesn’t operate to a timetable.. Buses only leave when full!

Fortunately it wasn’t long before a group of young Dutch people turned up, and with plank seats fitted across the aisle of the minibus we set off.

Whilst travelling to Berat we had a look at what Airbnb could offer for a 2 night stay, making use of our newly aquired Albanian Sim card.

Came up trumps… a room in a family home in the Ottoman era old quarter was available at a very reasonable price. So we booked it for two nights ready for our arrival.

The way to find our accommodation,once we had arrived in Berat, was surprisingly easy, especially when you consider the Ottoman old quarter was a maze of narrow alleyways and cobbled streets.

We were greeted by our Albanian host who spoke no English but some Italian, as well as, of course , Albanian. Nevertheless, as one usually does, we were able to communicate the necessay details of where everything was in her home, and we soon got sorted out. Our room was beautufully presented and had a fabulous view of tye river and town through Ottoman style corner windows.

We arrived at Albenga just a few minutes later than scheduled to be met by Liz, Molly’s friend from training days all those years ago.

After doing a grocery shop for our stay we wended our way up tiny twisty roads in Liz’s and Shane’s Landrover to arrive at Rezzo, their home for the past 15 years or so.

Once installed in a nice little apartment that Liz had booked for us just down the attractive stone-paved street from where they were living we started to drink in the peace and the fabulous views down the valley, with little hamlets dotted about the wooded hillsides with church steeples here and there.

Because Liz and Shane have lived in the village for such a long time they knew a good percentage of the regular population, as well as the ‘swallows’ who typically live and work on the coast, but own a holiday property in the village.

It also meant they knew most of the tracks and footpaths in the vicinity for rural hill walking.

On our first day Liz drove us to a start point high up in the foothills for a superb upland walk she knew.

On the way we stopped to admire some secret rocky pools fed by the stream running down the mountainside which, in warm summer weather, provided a great cooling wild swimming spot.   Too chilly today with temperatures only around 17 or 18!

We started our mountain walk up to a local peak that had a magnificent panoramic view right across the Maritime Alps and down to the Mediterranean sea some 35km away.

On the way we passed a profusion of wildflowers and in the distance heard the tinkling sound of sheep bells on sheep grazing on distant hillsides. Lovely!

On the second day Liz took us on a lovely peaceful circular walk down the valley following the stream to another of their favourite rock pools. Passing ancient stone bridges crossing the river from time to time we then walked up on the other side of the valley up to Rezzo again.

Shane, meanwhile, was working hard on the refurbishment/rebuilding of a traditional stone built house which, in due course was to be their new home.

To finish off our stay we had been invited to a barbeque held by some good friends down the valley.

We spent a very sociable evening with them on their patio under the branches of some very old kiwi fruit trees. We had interesting conversations running far and wide, accompanied by delicious food and wine – and I even finished off the meal with a small helping of some rather pleasant  grappa!

An early bedtime ready for our 5.30am start to catch our train from Albenga meant we didn’t stay too late!

Catching the direct FrecceRosso train to Torino was straightforward, and the helpful TrenItalia app on which I had purchased and stored the tickets showed the appropriate train number and platform to head for.

For those readers who are cyclists, you may be wondering how we managed our luggage for our onward journey. Our two larger rear panniers had a special backpack attachment so that they could easily be used as small rucksacks…. and our two small front panniers had an easily attached shoulder strap for ease of carrying.

Our arrival in Torino coincided with lunchtime, so we headed for a convenient park near the Porta Sousa station to enjoy our picnic in the sun.

We then were able to check in with our airbnb hosts at their flat to sort ourselves out and plan how we were best going to use our time in Torino. This included purchasing a €4 euro daily travel card at a nearby  ‘tabacchi’ for bus, metro and tram.

Our hosts were lovely and gave us some good advice about where to go and what to look at.

We had a lovely riverside walk down the Po, not far from our apartment, and there we encountered a recreation of a rural medieval village that had been built as an educational and tourist resource. Although it was a 19th century construction it was nevertheless quite atmospheric.

Afterwards we walked up to a good vantage point at a museum up one of the hills overlooking the city as suggested by our airbnb hosts.

Walking back down, we headed for the striking building that is now the Turin photographic and film museum ‘Il Mole   Antonelliana’.

Bizarrely, it was originally conceived as a synagogue when building commenced in 1863 but just 70 years later it was acquired by the city and used as the ‘Museo di Risorgimento’ telling the story of the creation of the Modern Italian state . In the early 2000’s it was refurbished again and then turned into the Museum of Cinema and Photography.

We then headed off to the Central Makets to buy our lunch provsions. Our objective was a to buy a large tomato, some cheese and possibly some fruit.

Little did we know that the traders  expected you to buy somewhat larger quantities than we wanted. So, we ended up with 2 smallish cucumbers for €1 (starting off with 4!), 2 bunches of spring onions for 50 cents (starting off at 4 bunches), 4 tomatoes for €1.50 (starting off with 1kg!) and 500g of strawberies for €2 and half a local cheese (we wanted just 200g and got 500g!) for just €4.50. Amazing prices for such good quality fresh produce but it produced a bit of a logistical challenge for carrying.

Then off to the Roman Gardens, with some of the remains of structures from Roman times still visible to have our lunch in the shade. Molly then had to travel back to the apartment to deliver her workshop (arranged whilst we were on the ferry to Bilbao!). Meanwhile I went to the Museo di Risorgimento, now housed in another grand building not far from the Royal Palace.

After delivering her workshop we arranged to meet at the Royal Palace, a very grand collection of buildings that are perhaps the Crown Jewels of Turin. It included the Royal Palace buildings, chapel of the Shroud of Turin as well as the Armoury and some very pleasant gardens to the rear. Although it was closing at 7pm and we thought that it may just be worth the €15 entrance fee from 5.45pm.

Well, one could call the Royal  Palace the Palace of Bling, since there were huge amounts of ornate gold gilded woodwork and plaster, tapestries and huge paintings in a long series of galleries and rooms. We walked swiftly through the Armoury with its large and historic  collection of suits of armour for horses and humans, together with early examples of pistols, muskets and rifles and then to the Chapel. The Chapel of the shroud was fabulous and well worth the visit… and then we were able to briefly explore the formal gardens before the sirens were sounded, announcing closing time.

Once out of the Palace complex we bimbled through the streets and came upon a straightforward pizza restaurant, that was, fortunately, able to oblige with a delicious gluten free pizza for me and a splendid gluten full version for Molly.  After the complimentary Limoncello we then just had to find a gelateria to finish the meal off in true Italian style!

Tomorrow, onwards to Liguria by train, to visit Molly’s friends Liz and Shane who live in a lovely little village called Rezzo some 650mtrs up above sea level, nestling attractively amongst the hills and forests of the Maritime Alps.