Train trip to Tuscany

We travelled by train from Toulouse to Genoa and then onto Barga in Tuscany. The trains are all very comfortable and very reasonably priced. We arrived in Genoa at 9.30pm and got lost trying to find our Airbnb. By the time we found it I had 2 huge blisters on my feet, the winter shoes had not been worn for nearly 3 years and my feet clearly did not like them! Once we arrived we then had to climb a very narrow staircase to the 6th floor carrying all our luggage. By the time we got to the top we were both quite exhausted and ready for bed. Our accommodation was in a small flat on the rooftop overlooking Genoa. We were sharing the flat with the owner and his friend. It was all very cosy and I think very typical of the way people live in Genoa

We spent the next day exploring the town and harbour. It is not a place I would go back to, we found it very dirty and quite seedy in areas. But the buildings were old and interesting to look at, narrow cobblestone streets twist and wind their way down to the harbour front where we found ourselves spending most of the day.

The train journey from Toulouse to Genoa was very interesting, the last part along the French Riviera where we passed some beautiful coastline and marinas full of mega yachts. The journey from Genoa to Pisa along the Italian Riviera was equally as interesting and pretty.

Finally arriving in Barga, northern Tuscany we were met by Jerry’s sister and brother in law, Cheryl and Mark. They have a house in a small village, Sommocolonia, 750m high in the mountains overlooking the Serchio Valley. I instantly fell in love with Tuscany, the view from their house is amazing.

The view from the terrace looking down onto the town of Barga.

Looking back up at Sommocolonia. The house is directly below the tower with the 4 open windows.

Sommocolonia was home to the American Buffalo Soldiers who defended  the village from the Germans during  World War 2. We spent 12 beautiful days in Sommocolonia relaxing, enjoying the peace and tranquillity, eating and drinking Italian style, visiting tiny villages and enjoying a few walks on the mountain tops. The air is clear and the weather was perfect and the view from the terrace was mesmerizing.

A walk down the old mule track into Barga took about 90 mins. The road connecting the 2 places was only put in in the 1960’s (I think). So imagine how hard life was up until then.

We enjoyed watching this local tree lopper trim a tree at the house. A very  dodgy safety harness, chainsaw in one hand and mobile phone in the other!

 

 

 

 

 We took the local train from Barga along the coastline of the Cinque Terre. If you have the time you can walk from one village to the next along the coastal pathways. At this time of year it was very busy with walkers doing just that. Each village is different, very quaint, lots of restaurants and bars and the coastline is quite beautiful.

A walk one day took us high up to the village of San Pellegrino where we walked along part of the GR to the El Giro, a pile of stones that have been placed here over many years. The story goes is that you carry a stone to the top here where the pile lays, turn a circle 3 times at the same time confessing a lie you have told and want to be forgiven. The bigger the stone the bigger the lie! As you can see from our photo we all only had little fibs to confess.

It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic lunch at the top while enjoying the views all around.

At the church in the village there is a glass tomb with the body of Saint Peregrine and his servant(hermit friend) Bianci.  The legend is that Saint Peregrine was the son of the King of Scotland who embarked on a pilgrimage to Europe ending his days in this village. They have been very well preserved and it was quite eerie to be able to get so close to them.

Each village seems to have a story to tell of its own. The walks are plentiful and enjoyable. Hopefully we will return and next time we will do more walking and maybe stay overnight in villages along the way.

I could not resist taking a photo of this Italian gentleman at a restaurant we were at. I had to be discreet and pretend I was taking a picture of Jerry then zoom in. It was well worth it, check out this hairstyle. It must have taken hours in front of the mirror and the colour was amazing!

And what about this treehouse. Built out on the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley. How lucky the children are who play in this.

Another view of Sommocolonia………

A place to sit and relax, soak up the Tuscan sun….

and enjoy a glass of wine or two…

Cycling the Canals in France Day 9 to 11

Day 9 Carcassonne to Roubia 53kms
Another fun day on the canal. There are lots of boats with lots of very happy people on holidays onboard. Many more cyclists to stop and chat too, most of them either off a boat or from a camp site. There are also more locks and cafes to stop at along the way.
The sad part though is that the plane trees that line the canal and really are what make it so beautiful have a canker disease and are being chopped down. It changes the canal scenery dramatically and we are so grateful to be cycling the canal before they are all gone. There is a 20 year replanting programme in place at a cost of Euros 200,000,000 but until the new trees grow that magical feel will be lost.

We have seen some interesting people travelling the canal by different means but this has to be the best. A donkey and 2 men! We did not speak to them but can only presume they were on one of the many pilgrim walks  in the area. The note on the donkey’s hat read “you may take my photo but please give me a piece of bread”


Day 10 Roubia to Colombiers 46kms
The track along the canal is still very rough and both of us are feeling very tired today. There were more deviations off the canal due to the tree chopping. Some we ignored and cycled on quite happily but some we couldn’t and had to join some very busy roads. The wind is also picking up as we get nearer to the Med.

We were cycling through a wine growing region here and saw grapes being picked the old way, manually, by a very happy gang of workers!

We stayed in a Chambres d’hotes which was very nice and have decided while these are a little more expensive they are usually better that Airbnb as we are assured of our own bathroom.

 
Day 11 Colombiers to Beziers  10kms
The wind picked up today quite strong and black clouds threatened all day so we decided to stop in Beziers one stop short of the end of the canal. A little disappointing but also the canal path today has been very narrow, rough and overgrown so the riding has not been so pleasant either.

We went through Point Neuf today which meant nine locks in a row as the canal rises up from the Med. It must take all day for a boat to transit this part.

Beziers is a very old town with tiny cobblestone streets. It was interesting but very dirty and to us it seemed a very poor town with lots of unemployment.  Our accommodation was in a house in the old town. Very narrow, just one room wide. Our bedroom was on the first floor up a tiny narrow staircase and we were surprised to find we had our own bathroom! The room itself was very colourful and comfortable. Our bikes were kept in the kitchen downstairs, which tells us that the  host relies heavily on Airbnb for income as when the bikes were in the kitchen there was not a lot of room to get around!

We slept very well and the next day we were up early and took the train back to Toulouse. We gave the bikes a much needed wash down and the new owners met us as arranged to pick them up and take them back to Valence sur Baise.
We have cycled a total of 477kms. My daily mileage on the blog may not add up to this as I was using Google maps to calculate the mileage but we have since plotted it correctly and 477 is what we have covered. We both enjoyed the trip very much, the smile on our faces at the end of the 11 days shows that and  we would do it all again tomorrow. It was so good to be out touring on bikes.
The accommodation we chose Airbnb and Chambres d’hotes were mostly very comfortable and worked out much cheaper than hotels. Staying with people in their homes is a great way to see local life, learn the language and history of where you are. To have breakfast and sometimes dinner catered for was great, especially after cycling all day. The time of year was perfect, not too hot, not too cold and not too many tourists.
There are a couple of things we would do differently next time. First we would take our own saddles and 2 very good pairs of cycling pants. Second we would give ourselves more time and take a rest day every 4th or 5th day.
We both felt very tired but very fit at the end of the 11 days and very happy with ourselves. This is one adventure I am happy we have done and our thanks to my cycling buddy back home, Carol, for inspiring and encouraging me to do this trip!