JuanCar y Berthe: Spain

I, Juan Carlos (Spanish), and my wife Berthe (of Lebanese origin), have been traveling the world together for years. We’ve been discussing launching our blog that’s focused on our passion – Motorbike traveling – our favorite mean of transport, for a while now; but it was only during our trip to Slovenia and specifically at Maissana (Italy), when we met an Australian couple that happened to have their own blog, that we finally decided to start writing about our journey.

Unlike many other blogs, ours will be written at the end of each trip. This is because we use each journey as a way to disconnect from our regular day-to day life, whilst gaining new experience and increase our knowledge of the world, in order to create memories for the rest of our life. its, as such, only once we are back home, while reflecting on our time together you will find us sharing our memories with you in few words and images.

Now put your bike helmet on, and join us for the ride of your life, as we embark into a new journey using one of the multiple motorbikes we own (Honda ST 1300 ABS).

J&B

We started our trip for 18 days on September 4, 2016 until 21 from Bilbao (Spain) driving trough France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia that was our main destination and crossing through Hungary and Austria.

Our great PanEuropean Moto did 5690 kms with no problems circulating on highways, roads even tiny ways or “climbing” ports with 40ºC, rain even fog and snow.

We will be posting gradually the maps of the roads and we hope that you will enjoy the ride with us.

Gretchen Rubin said: "One of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times from the past. Photos are a great memory-prompt, and because we tend to take photos of happy occasions, they weight our memories to the good."

Day 1: The 725 km ride

We left Bilbao on Sunday 4 September at 8.30 am excited to start our journey.

Although for us, we knew that this was to be the “boring part” of the trip as we had to ride along the highways around 752km to reach Arles.

We had our last “café con leche” but our first break at Irun before crossing the frontier.

The ride was easy with no traffic but, yes, lot of tolls stops. At the beginning, we had good weather but around mid-day the sun was shining stronger and the temperature reached 40 degrees, which was not ideal to wearing motorcycle clothes. However, as riders we had to continue and endure the heat.

We had a small accident at the last toll stop. After more than 7 hours driving in 40 degrees and arriving at the last toll I needed to drive close to the pay machine. There was oil in the middle of the road that I didn’t want to put my feet on it so I lost control and we fell to the right side. You had to see the face of the driver behind, oH!

Nevertheless, nothing major happened only Berthe hitting her leg with the exhaust. It was the first time we see our bike on the floor and we were happy that no damage was done to it. JC, as he reads lot of articles and blogs related to motorbikes on the internet, had managed to pull up the bike with a little help from the wife.

The mark

The French highway is well prepared for stop breaks as you can find petrol stations with areas for relaxing, public toilets and on some of them restaurants and shops. We took several breaks as we needed to drink plenty of water and we finally reached Arles around 6.00 pm.

We were lucky to have a swimming pool in the hotel so we could relax a little before heading to the old town.

Riders keep the following in mind:

Checking the website “viamichelin” for the tolls of the road as we did, the published amount was 30.15 euros but at the end of the day, we paid 43.25 euros. After investigating we discovered that once we introduce the receipt to pay we had to click the button “calling for help”. Once they answer, you inform them that you are riding a motorbike and the amount changes automatically. It seems that their cameras do not detect the motorbikes and the machines do not have an option to select.

We went walking along the riverbank to the old town; the streets were empty which is typical on Sundays in France, except the square of forum where there were a few people eating and drinking.

Of course not to forget a selfie of JB in the square de la République.

One of the famous sentences of JC said during this trip was

“Berthe, you brought lots of bags and things”

so no comment to say regarding this bicycle

After the long hot ride today, we had a quick dinner and went to bed early to get up early for the next day.

Deep sleep!

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. - Mario Andretti

Day 2:
It was Monday 5 September, we travelled from France to Italy driving around 515 km in 7 hours.

We decided to continue on the highway for two reasons: the first one to save time to reach Slovenia and the second is because in May 2015 we rode from Bilbao along the Côte d’Azur to Imperia Liguri in Italy.

The highway that we took in Italy was different from the one in France. It was narrower with less break areas and more traffic.

It was a good ride and we did our last stop at Sestri Levante before heading to the rural house.

Boats & bikes

One of the things that we like to do when traveling is to encourage the small businesses by renting, for example, in rural houses or apartments, to try the local food in traditional restaurants and to choose staying in small quieter villages & towns rather than the more touristic destinations.

That is why we choose Maissana, which is located 28 km inland from the sea; we needed 1 hour of driving to reach it, due to the mountain road which was full of turns and bends, but which we liked.

Maissana is a very small Italian village; we had the privilege to park the motorbike under a tree in the square of the church.

And where we could contemplate the views of other villages lost in the mountains and the beautiful colors of the sunset.

The selfie photo of the 3 of us!

Maissana is surrounded by mountains, that is why we preferred to take the evening time to just relax and walk around.

We believe that every choice we make has a reason. Sometimes we are able to figure it out and some other times no.

We did not imagine that in this small village we will encounter nice other travelers. It was around the dinner table at the rural house where we were lodged where we met Jacob and his wife from Belgium and Katherine and Peter from Australia and we exchanged experiences and emails.

We became fans of kathypetereurope2016.wordpress.com. It is always joyful to meet nice people who at the beginning are strangers but after exchanging some words, some of them become friends.

During our conversation with Kathy and Peter, the idea of the blog that we had in our mind was becoming a decision to make it real and here we are now writing our own stories.

The two men fans of cars and motorbikes

Thank you Katherine and Peter for the nice photo, hopefully we will meet again, who knows if in Australia or Spain or any place on the earth.

It’s time to leave Italy.

I love meeting new people; I think everyone has a story to tell. We should all listen sometimes. - Kim Smith

Day 3: 531 km means around 6 hours driving to reach Piran, our first sojourn in Slovenia.

On the way, we could only stop few minutes to admire the Italian coast. Perhaps in the future Italy will be our main destination.

Finally, we are off the highway and reached Trieste in the North of Italy, and crossing through the city, we could not help but notice how nice it is, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit.

Therefore, we continued riding until we reached our main destination.

We arrived to Slovenia by a very tiny road, guided by our “crazy” Tom-tom that was indicating sometimes for us roads that we had doubts if to continue driving or to take other alternatives. However, we decided to give it a chance and we arrived happy and safe.

Slovenia has not so many kms of coast but has very beautiful villages along it.

Our impression when we left Italy to enter Slovenia was that people were driving in a more educated way and all around looked like it had been designed with a different perspective.

Izola

At Piran, we choose to lodge in an apartment outside the old city on top of a hill.

Our first visit was to Piran town wall that was built through three periods, the oldest part dated from the 7^th century.

From this wall, we had spectacular views, which we were not the only ones to admire it because we met lots of local and foreign photographers with huge amounts of photography equipment waiting for the sun to disappear behind Piran on the Adriatic sea.

And what was more curious was on the exit of the wall, there was a cord where to hang your cheap entry ticket (2 euros by person) It is fun to follow the tradition!

We continued walking down to the old town to visit the cathedral of Saint George, which is not big, but beautifully painted from the inside, and amazingly located on the coast edge.

It was a slightly windy evening, which made our walk on the path beside the sea all around Piran unforgettable with the feeling of the salty water on our faces and the colors of the sunset in this magical place.

And of course not to forget the Tartini square named after the famous violinist Giuseppe Tartini

We ended the day with a delicious dinner. Usually we check tripadvisor to choose where to eat, Pirat was the first on the list, and we recommend it as well. It is well located near to the port, nicely decorated and most of all we enjoyed the food chosen with the help of the nice waiters.

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. - Jawaharlal Nehru

Day 4: Wednesday 7 September was the day of the ants.

We woke up to discover that lot of ants were eating the bread that we had bought for our breakfast and had planned to enjoy it on the terrace under the vine.

So instead, we went to a bakery where we were lucky to have some chocolate croissants.

When you have the chocolate mark on the face

We left Piran hoping that the wind will calm down as we were heading towards Pula in Croatia.

I want to mention (although my wife didn’t want to remember this) that when we left the apartment in Piran we had a little problem with the ants, they didn’t only eat our breakfast, but some of them decided to travel with us.

When we were waiting at the frontier with Croatia at the police checkpoint (only few minutes because it was easy to move from one country to another), my wife started screaming and hitting the back of my head saying that there were ants going out from my helmet. It was strange because the ants were only inside my helmet, not in any bag or clothes. Anyway, I was glad that they choose my helmet for a ride because I do not even want to imagine what could happened if they were in the helmet of my beautiful wife.

The croatian coast is very beautiful so we decided to stop at Umag, a small town where we enjoyed a cup of coffee, the view of the blue sea and where we continued hunting for any remaining ants that had hitch-hiked with us.

Beautiful ride, Croatia has good roads for bikers and we were lucky with the weather, we did enjoy going to Pula.

Then another stop but only for photos

The views were so stunning to the point that, between Vrsar and Rovinj, instead of following the GPS we headed toward a tiny road to reach a small port of the famous peculiar geographic feature called the Lim Channel. JC was hesitating if to go or not to the water with the Pan, “I am still having doubts if it could navigate or not”.

Reached our destination, the apartment Diego was one of the best places where we stayed and it is worth to mention it in our blog.

The “señora” Clara was very kind and generous, she offered for us grapes from her big garden, she is proud to live in Pula and although she was speaking only little Italian, we managed to understand her. Her daughter in law Monica was very nice as well and helpful, they took good care on us.

After changing our clothes, we went to relax on the crystal water of Pula then we bought some food and we savored a late lunch with a local wine at the terrace of the studio.

We dedicated the evening time to visit Pula and its archeological sites. Once again, we had the chance to contemplate a magnificent sunset this time from the Marina.

Pula has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding and lot of ancient roman sights.

Pula Cathedral

The Amphitheatre

Arch of the Sergians

Temple of Augustus

And we finished the day with a delicious dinner at Dante square.

Truffles Taste

From Pula sea

Cheers

Eleanor Roosevelt: “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Day 5:

On Thursday 8 of September, we left Pula to go back again to Slovenia saying goodbye to the coast and heading exactly to Predjama castle.

We choose to stay in the rooms facing the castle and we had this view from our small window. The pity was that they don’t illuminate the castle during the night. Anyhow, the castle is a treasure.

After a quick shower, we decided to visit the Postjona caves for the afternoon, leaving the visit to the castle for early the next morning, we could go there jumping from our window.

So we drove our moto to Postojna, we bought our tickets which was a package of 35.9 euros by person to visit Postojna Cave + Predjama Castle + Vivarium + Butterflies exhibition and we started the tour visiting the butterflies exhibition.

Postjona cave is one of the major attractions in Slovenia and is situated in a park with hotel, souvenir shops, cafeterias and a large parking area. We noticed that it was more expensive than the rest of places in Slovenia, yet comparing it with other areas it was the most crowded although it was not the high season. There were lots of tourists, the cave is beautiful that is for sure but we felt like the area was more for business then for contemplating its beauty.

The cave is 24,120 m long but only 5 kms are open to the public. We began the visit aboard the cave train for around 10 minutes, and then continued the tour walking, leaded by a guide and listening to the information through audio guides for around 1 hour.

This photo was taken for a part of the long train before it was full of people

Going fast

Yes, it was cold inside, around 8 degrees; you have to come prepared with a jacket and, if not, you have the chance to rent one at the entrance.

Postojna cave is the most visited tourist cave in Europe where you can see magnificent caverns and glistening stalactite formations.

Moreover, Johann Valvasor, a Slovenian natural historian (1641 - 1693) did not exaggerate when he wrote, "I have seen many a uniquely beautiful cave in different countries and kingdoms, not only in Europe, but in Africa as well. However, none of them were as awe-inspiring as the ones in my homeland".

Not to forget that this cave is also home to the endemic olm or proteus, the largest troglodytic amphibian in the world.

what an olm could look like

After the visit we went to the village Postojna where we enjoyed dinner and some beers

Dark & Unfiltered

and guess who was so tired and slept with the lights on…

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

- Miriam Beard

Day 6:

We had the breakfast on Friday 9th September in the Hotel enjoying the historical view; As well as chatting with the first Spanish couple that we met. They were travelling around Slovenia in a different way: hiking. They told us that they had flown from Barcelona to Venice and from there took a bus to Bled where they started their walking journey.

At 9.00AM, we were the first and only visitors (until around 9.45) to explore the treasure of more than 800 years.

Traveling back in time

Predjama Castle was built under a natural rocky arch high in the stonewall to make access to it difficult.

During a siege in the 15th century, the castle offered refuge to its infamous and notorious owner - Erazem of Predjama.

Legends behind the windows

According to legend, for a year and a day, Erazem was besieged in his fortress. He taunted the attacking soldiers by pelting them with cherries: he knew of a secret tunnel leading from the castle, which allowed him to travel to the nearby village of Vipava and collect supplies and fresh cherries when in season.

Erazem remained undefeated until he was betrayed… maybe we should not continue the story so you will have to discover it traveling there yourself.

It was one of the filming locations in the film ‘Armour of God’ starring Jackie Chan in the 1986 and other movies.

the husband with "cuernos" (bad joke)

The legend modern Warrior

Perfect integration between the rock and the wall

Ring the bell for your wish to come true

The green scenic view from the castle

A visit to the castle is highly recommend and if you are there between May to September you can have a look around the picturesque Cave under Predjama Castle which is inhabited by a colony of bats.

By mid-day we said goodbye to Predjama Castle to move to the capital under a clear blue sunny sky.

Although the way to Liubliana was short, it took us more time than expected to arrive there as we were fascinated by the views and decided to enjoy the beauty of the villages on the way.

We were not the only ones...

If we had to choose the most beautiful house and garden in Slovenia, it would be so difficult. They were all nice, well located, maintained and decorated with multicolored flowers. We felt like we were in springtime!

The first stop was at Idrija where we wanted to visit the mines but unfortunately, there was only organized visits in the afternoons, so we took advantage to take some photos from the top of the church of Saint Anton.

Of course, one of the stops was to eat the delicious traditional Slovenian plate of pasta and potatoes. We chose the restaurant because we saw some motobikes parked in the front.

That moment when the Tomtom is lost and we had to stop to restart it and the wife was very happy to go down from the seat of the motorbike.

Continuing our way, we decided to visit Skofja Loka and Pustal, famous for their stories related to the devil, combs and frogs…
We were so lucky because when we stopped at the tourism office, the woman assistant was very kind, like all the Slovenian people whom we met during this trip. She suggested to us to keep our moto parked beside her office, to leave our clothes of the motorbike in a cabinet in her office, and to enjoy our walk along the river to the town.

The Selca Sora River in Škofja Loka. The Cappuchin Bridge is the oldest preserved bridge in Slovenia.

The Marian column at Town Square, erected in 1751 in thanks for turning away a plague and a fire.

Škofja Loka has one of the best-preserved medieval urban centres in Slovenia. Its name literally means 'bishop's (wet) meadow', referring to its ownership by the Bishop of Freising.

A selfie on the devil’s footbridge

And a cup of cappuccino

There is numerous churches in the town, lot of history and stories which make worth to dedicate time to visit during a trip to Slovenia.

“In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.
On a cycle, the frame is gone. You are completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

After checking into the apartment, situated 15 min walking distance from the center of Ljubljana, we went out to discover the capital on a Friday evening.

IMPORTANT: If you are on diet, SKIP this part.

We were impressed with the crowds and the beauty of the place. Many people use bicycles as media of transport and the city is well designed with bicycle trails. There are bicycles all around and we were not so sure who had preference.

The city is amazing with its lights and the ambience of the nightlife and the different styles of its bars.

The Triple Bridge

The Butcher's Bridge

We decided to have a Lebanese dinner in a small restaurant.

Then we enjoyed some drinks outdoors because the weather was very nice. There were crowds in all the bars situated along the river. We imagined that not many bad people live in the area as when we had to pay, we had to wait until the waiter could attend us or even, it was funny to remind them what we had consumed.

The kiosks of food and drinks in the central market

Passing through the shopping area but not at the correct time

It was a perfect Friday evening where we had lot of fun in this city, the food was delicious and a great atmosphere for drinking and above all it was cheap!!

Day 7:

We spent Saturday at Ljubljana as well, there was a Mercedes Exhibition around the Triple bridge area, and of course, JC was very happy to check the details of each car, dreaming to add one of the classical Mercedes to his garage between his Spanish motorbikes, the OSSA, Bultaco, Montesa, Lube…

We spent most of the day eating. We were moving between the different kiosks and all looked so delicious with good prices. We want to say that Slovenian people are very honest with tax payments, it does not matter what you will buy or the amount, for example, in one of the kiosk, we bought a few pieces of plum for 20 cents and they give us a receipt.

A huge variety of ice cream that we couldn't taste all

Beers bottles 0.5 L

Oh yes, we walked along the old town, crossing all its bridges and discovering all its corners.

The Cobbler's bridge

The Dragon bridge

We didn’t miss to enter the Cathedral of St Nicholas through its holy door.

It is an easily recognizable landmark of the city with its green dome and twin towers and stands at Cyril and Methodius Square by the nearby Ljubljana Central Market and Town Hall.

We went walking up to Ljubljana castle without visiting it from the inside. Built in the middle of the 15th century, today it is a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners also. No wonder. It offers an outstanding view over the city, a romantic atmosphere and a place of numerous cultural events.

Needed to burn some calories and make space for the dinner

We didn’t forget as well to do a walk in the Tivoli Park which is Ljubljana's largest and most beautiful park, stretching right into the city center. It was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard. The park, covering an area of approximately five square kilometers, is crossed by three grand horse chestnut tree-lined walks and landscaped with ornamental flowerbeds, interesting trees and numerous statues and fountains. The park area blends into the slopes of the Rožnik hill, to which it is connected by several walking paths and a trim trail with several exercise stations along its length

Jakopič Promenade, a popular outdoor gallery

And we finished the day with more food and more beers

Don't you agree with Elsa Schiaparelli saying:

"Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale."

Day 8:

A perfect Sunday weather to move from the capital to the second largest city in Slovenia, Maribor.

So, are you ready?

The way to Maribor was beautiful, no traffic and scenic views.

We decided to have a light lunch, but the husband was not so happy

The perfect place to park the moto

Arrived to Maribor by mid-day, we were very pleased to stay at the Guest House Parma. The room was big with a lot of natural light and the apartment had a large kitchenette that we did not use.

Maribor is a medieval city with beautiful churches, galleries, museums, mansions, a great theatre, a beautiful castle and more. Moreover, its geographical position on the northeast is interesting as it is near to the frontiers with Hungary and Austria, which we did not miss the opportunity to cross it for a little ride during the next days.

For the moment, let us stay in Maribor, discovering its gripping corners.

It is surprising but Maribor holds several records not only mentioned in the book of records, but also that it can convert to a memorable experience and felt with all your senses.

OK then, let's list them:

Guinness Book-certified oldest vine in the world

world's oldest women skiing competition

one of Europe's biggest classical wine cellars

Europe's longest floodlit ski run

Lent, one of Europe's biggest festivals

one of the best known aquariums in Southern and Central Europe

One of the oldest flying clubs in Europe...

The first thing that attracted our attention at the Main Square was The Plague Column. In appreciation for the cessation of the plague, the inhabitants of Maribor in the year 1681 erected the Plague Column – a pillar bearing an image of the Virgin Mary. The current one dates from the 18th century and is the work of Jožef Štraub. Arranged around the statue of Mary, Mother of God are six saints, all intercessors against the plague. It is made entirely of white marble.

We continued our walk to Maribor cathedral, which was built in the 12th century as a Romanesque building. Today it shows a Gothic style with a long chancel dating from the 14th century and a central church nave from the 15th century. The 57-meter high bell tower dates back to the end of the 18th century as the primarily 76-metre high bell tower, built by Pavel Porta in the year 1623, was struck by lightning.

In addition, nearby the cathedral there is a statue of Anton Martin Slomšek (26 November 1800 – 24 September 1862) who was a Slovene bishop, author, poet, and advocate of Slovene culture.

As we were moving through the streets, we had the chance to visit the inside of this beautiful Franciscan church.

Apart from the churches and the main square, the oldest part of the town enchant you along with the Old Vine House, medieval towers and remains of the city walls, as well as the square Grajski trg with the castle and museum, the Jewish synagogue, the Art Gallery and theatre, etc…

Even you could cross under this rainy blue arch to refresh from the heat.

We went across to a statue that we did not have an idea about what it was, joking that it could be a helmet from Star Wars…

Like most of old towns, this one too had many bars and art that make the walk joyful and relaxing.

Walking and enjoying

As much as we found interesting the old town of Maribor, we were as well fascinated by its riverside. The Drava River has undoubtedly always been strongly associated with the life in Maribor, and its development. There are excellent walking and cycling trails along the river embankment and one of the most famous tourist activities – rafting on the Drava River with traditional rafts.

The river basin is home to over 90 bird and 50 fish species, and the white swans all along add to it an atmospheric feeling.

The romance site of this beautiful town.

All inhabitants are proud of the mighty river, which supplies them with positive energy as we were told. Therefore, we decided to refill our positive energy on the roof of a boat enjoying a drink and a trip along the river meanwhile watching the sunset.

We noticed that there was only one boat working that day. The boat had a covered restaurant and a roof bar and sails only once per day, in our case it was at 18.00. So better to ask for its schedule once that you are there.

We ended the day with a savory dinner commenting about the generosity of the Slovenian people.

“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.”
― Martha Graham

Day 9:

On Tuesday, we gave up for the temptation to visit Hungary, which is very near to Maribor, and to add another country on the list of roads done with our Pan European tour.

In order not to waste time in the center of Maribor finding a bar to take breakfast, we decided to stop on the way. After driving a while passing only small villages, we found a bar but unfortunately the waitress told us that they don’t serve breakast but was kind to indicate to us the nearest place on our way.

It was around 10.00 when we stopped at Pri Antonu restaurant where we were warmly welcomed and were told that we can have access to an open buffet for 6 euros per person. Our surprise was that the food served was more a lunch then a breakfast (sausages and rice, fried chicken and potatoes, salads, soups…) and moreover the place was almost full. Usually we don’t eat this kind of food for breakfast but we decided to change our habit once as we were feeling hungry and had stopped and removed all the motorbike stuff.

After the heavy unexpected breakfast, we continued our drive through the amazing countryside of the northeast of Slovenia.

However, unfortunately once we crossed the frontier to Hungary, we did not like the road; we drove for almost one hour in a dry area until we reached Szombathely. We were little disappointed from the road and arriving there it was difficult to communicate with people because they don’t speak English so we had to search for the tourism office to get some information.

Moreover, we were told that they don’t deal with Euros so we had to find an exchange office; the rate for 1 euro was 310 HUF.

We think that Hungary is much cheaper than Slovenia and is worth a trip in the future.

So a brief description: Szombathely is the oldest city and the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is known as the capital of the Vas county and the birthplace of Saint Martin of Tours.

It was founded by the Romans, remained inhabitant throughout the Middles ages, was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1242 but was rebuilt shortly afterwards, was invaded twice by the Ottomans in 1664 and in 1683 but the city walls protected Szombathely both times. In the 1890s, the city underwent significant infrastructure development and the prosperity continued further.

After visiting the city center’s main square, we went for a walk around the lake before leaving and we were making fun because we still had 1200 Hufs that we should spent before going back. And guess what, we could rent a paddle boat for 1000 Hufs for 1 hour, we were happy to do some sports, burning the extra calories.

It was time to go back to Maribor but driving through a different way, crossing a little part of Austria, which was very beautiful.

We arrived to Maribor at sunset and we had a spectacular view of the town from the top of a hill. It was worth it to stop and to contemplate it for a while.

We were feeling a little tired after this ride and we read some good comments about the restaurant of Tania, the one down the road from our rented apartment that is why we decided to have dinner there. The decoration of the restaurant inside is elegant but as it was nice weather, we decided to stay on the terrace. The food was delicious and well presented.

Black noodles with octopus

“There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.”
― Lemony Snicket

Day 10:

On Tuesday, we said goodbye to Maribor and headed to Bled, driving through Austria where we had some stops.

For us traveling on a motorbike has two sides: one is reaching our destination to enjoy the places with its historical sites and its gastronomy; and the other is riding on the roads discovering the beauty of the nature around and feeling the wind, the sun and even the rain. It’s true, that motorcycle riding gives you a sense of freedom.

One of our habits is to stop wherever we see an unusual bar for its decoration or location to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. So that day, in Muta, we noticed a bar on the bank of the Drava River, it was the perfect place for a stop.

Muta

When we were taking coffee Berthe was not feeling good, she was having some pain, but we decided to move on. Therefore, we entered the Austrian territory, the views were breathtaking, and we added this country as well to our list of countries to visit.

Hoping that these photos will describe a little on our behalf what we felt riding there:

After sometime riding, B asked me to find a pharmacy so checking the TomTom we found one only three kms ahead, in a small town called Bleiburg. In the pharmacy, as you may know, they refused to give us the antibiotic requested without a medical certificate and the pharmacist was very kind to indicate to us that the public doctor was located next to the pharmacy.

At the outpatient clinic, both the secretary and the doctor were super kind, they attend to us immediately, doing all the necessary tests in a short time and giving us the adequate medicine, and with our European medical card, we didn’t have to pay anything. We have to say that they were professional and they treated us really well. Thank You!

Feeling better

After this we continued our way and we stopped in Ferlach just to relax a little.

And early afternoon we arrived to the Hotel “Apartments Shasha” in Bled.

We booked this hotel through Booking.com and we read very good comments regarding this place, we want to say that John, the owner is a very kind person who pays attention to all details, small and big ones.

The tiny beautiful way to the hotel

Bled, this place is part of the paradise on the earth where we would like to go back too, one day!

We took advantage to spend our first afternoon on Bled Lake, which is situated in a picturesque environment surrounded by mountains and forests with a special misty aspect.

The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origins. It is 2,120 m long and 1,380 m wide, with a maximum depth of 29.5 m and has a small island. The medieval-era Bled Castle stands above the lake on the north shore. The Zaka Valley lies at the west end of the lake.

To note that The World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979, 1989 and 2011 were held at Lake Bled.

We rented a rowing boat to go to visit the island in the middle of the lake. It was a fun and relaxing experience. If you don’t want to row, you can choose to be a passenger in a normal boat and the prices differ depending on the time spent and the type of transportation.

We noticed the people enjoying the lake in different ways, as there were activities of all types to do around the lake and lot of ways to go visiting the island.

The lake surrounds Bled Island. The island has several buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century, and decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470. The church has a 52 m tower and there is a Baroque stairway from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building. The church is frequently visited and weddings are held there regularly. Traditionally it is considered good luck for the groom to carry his bride up the steps (poor groom) on the day of their wedding before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.

Lucky husband for not having to carry his wife

After this beautiful visit, we took dinner in a typical Slovenian restaurant called “Gostilna Murka”, which was recommended by John the owner of the apartment where we were staying. JC choose a main plate influenced by the Germans with sausages and pork meat and B tried Duckling breasts with red sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

The great Gibran Khalil Gibran wrote: “The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves”.

Day 11:

The next day, 14 of September, we decided to ride our motorbike around Bled. It was a sunny day with a cold breeze during the morning time. Here are the roads that we had choose and below more details:

We are unable to describe to you the beauty of the scenery around there. You will have to go and discover this wonderful area for yourself.

The reflect of the beauty around...

Lake Jasna

The main destination was to drive along the Vršič Pass, which is considered, with an elevation of 1,611 meters (5,285 ft), the highest mountain pass in Slovenia, as well as the highest in the Eastern Julian Alps. It connects Savska and Soska dolina or Gorenjska Region with the Trenta Valley in the Slovene Littoral The road across the pass, now known as Russian Road (Ruska cesta), was originally built for military purposes by Russian prisoners during First World War and followed an earlier trade route.

The Vršič Pass is an excellent starting point for excursions to surrounding peaks, one of them being the famous Triglav.

We drove through the pass, which rises from Kranjska Gora,

in a series of 50 hairpin bends,

reached the top of the Vršič Pass,

and descended into the Soča Valley.

Crossing beside the Juliana Alpine botanical garden, we decided to stop for coffee at Andrejc guest house Soča which is located in the embrace of the mountains by the main road in village Soča, between the big and the small troughs of the emerald river Soča.

Perfect landscape

People taking advantage to enjoy all type of activities

The atmosphere around us made us feel so relaxed; it was a perfect combination of great weather, breathtaking scenes and peaceful people. We were not worried about the road to ride neither about where to eat.

We stopped for observing the beauty of the nature,

and for taking photos,

and for eating whenever we felt hungry.

Even for swimming when arriving to Bohinj Lake and checking its crystal water

Note that Bohinj Lake is the largest glacial Slovenian lake. It is 4.2 kilometers long, one kilometer wide, and forty-five meters deep and lies between Bohinj's mountains. In our opinion, this place is one of the magical places that we have visited so far and where we could spend days enjoying, relaxing and storing energy and positive vibes.

Bohinj Lake has numerous inflows; the most important one is the Savica. Its water bursts from the underground of the Dolina sedmerih jezer (The Seven Triglav Lakes Valley) in the walls of Komarča as Savica Waterfall, which is the most famous Slovenian waterfall.

Therefore, in the late afternoon, we drove to Savica waterfall and we were lucky to arrive on time before it closed. We parked the motorbike, paid the entrance fees of 3 euros by person, and then walked around 20 minutes through a beautiful mountain path to reach the viewing point.

The Savica runs over 38 m long level and falls almost 51 m deep.

The way back to the apartment in Bled was no less amazing than this whole day. We were lucky to witness a beautiful sunset along different scenes and villages.

Of course, we have to mention the perfect ending of this extraordinary day taking dinner, a delivered pizza, in the balcony of the apartment with the moon view.

Day 12:

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
― Dalai Lama

Another beautiful day in Bled, Wednesday 14 of September: we decided to give our motorbike a break in the morning time and to do a round walk to the Vintage gorge that is one of the most popular natural features in Slovenia.

From Bled the route leads north towards the village of Podhom. All along the road there are clear signs for Vintgar, and then by local roads the route leads to the entrance to the gorge itself (3.5 km from Bled).

This area is well known and protected these days thanks to Dr. Albin Belar.

The gorge has been arranged for visitors for more than a hundred years. Along the narrow passage, where the Radovan River thrashes loudly against the rocky confines, there are paths, galleries and bridges constructed in the rock. The trail runs through the 1600 m long gorge and ends with 26-metre waterfall Šum.

The misty ambience adds a mystery touch to this walk. Moreover, we enjoyed the beginning of the autumn season feeling the fallen leaves over our head and down our feet.

At the waterfall, the trail leaves the Radovna and rises up a track heading southeast to the chapel of St Catherine above Zasip.

One can find their way back, pass St. Catherine's church, to take a scenic walk across the meadows.

From there, is one of the finest views over the entire area of Bled. The way back goes down to Zasip and then along the road to Bled.

A must stop beside the St. Catherine church, is a nice bar where you can savor the typical Slovenian desert called Kremsnita meanwhile contemplating the picturesque views around.

Sometimes you find people in strange circumstances. Passing through Zasip we stopped to watch a nice house under construction and suddenly a man appeared and invited us to enter to check the house from the inside. It was his house and he started to build it 4 years ago explaining to us in a poor English that he is taking his time to finalize it in a very good way, paying attention to all small and big details.

The next photo was taken from the main room of the house.

At the end, he showed us his water well where he puts some drinks to keep them cold, he was very kind insisting to give us a cold beer, Cheers!

No not an advertisement

Have a look to this photo showing a typical backyard of the region, and at the right side, you can see how people place wood.

I saw this classic Honda, we will not mind to add it to our collection…

Nice decoration with very beautiful flowers

Breathtaking views

We finished this walk taking a lunch in a place that we saw in Bled, as always Berthe is the best at choosing the main meal.

And feeding the birds around

After lunch, we decided to relax on the shore of Bled Lake for a while.

Then walking to a bar to take coffee, we saw this guy with his funny T-shirt, looking at him he told us that we were not the first ones to stare at his T-shirt and that we could take a photo if we wanted. After this, we decided to take our motorbike for a ride.

Following the advices of John, the owner of the apartment where we were staying, we went first to visit Radovljica.

It is a small town and walking through its streets, we noticed lot of antiques shops.

It’s colorful main square is the leading attraction, lined with houses from the 16^th century.

Moreover, the town is surrounded by breathtaking views.

Meanwhile driving to our next stop, our GPS was more crazy than we were, choosing the most funny and tiny roads.

So the next town was Kropa, known for its traditional smithies. In the past, this town was shaped by the blacksmith trade, which still heavily marks its everyday life.

Walking around in the town you notice the variety of decorative metal fittings and for the ones interested more in this art there is an iron-forging museum that we didn’t visit.

It was around 17.30 and under a light rain we rode back to Bled.

We had a rest, then to our surprise the sky cleared again, and we were so lucky to enjoy our last night in Bled with a full moon. So we walked around the lake making each minute an unforgettable memory.

Day 13:

That day B was sad to leave Bled and so was the dark sky as we left under the rain.

“The world is a strange and wonderful place” Laurie Anderson.

Goodbye Bled until we go back again and thank you for amazing moments.

My cute magnet souvenir

The first half of the way to Italy, we were getting emotionally ready for the winter part of our trip. Here are some photos of the sky preparing to rain and once we crossed into Italy, we had to drive the second half of our journey under heavy rain without being able to take any photo.

It was stressful driving for around 4 hours under nonstop rain; we arrived tired and wet to the hotel in Padova.

After taking a hot shower, we decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight to walk around the city where we were spending the night.

The cathedral of Saint Antonio de Padova is not to be missed and was the only place that we could visit the late afternoon.

Padova is a big city, but unfortunately, we couldn’t discover all its corners as we were tired and the weather was not helping at all.

We spoiled ourselves with a delicious dinner in one star Michelin restaurant and we slept early that night dreaming that tomorrow is another new day and new experience.

Day 14:

We woke up full of energy and drove from Padua, destination to Settimo Vittone.

As well it was raining but luckily less than the day before. We took the free highway most of the way, therefore we will share with you a few photos from Settimo Vittone, 50 km north of Turin, where we spent the night.

We chose to stay at L’Ospitalité del Castillo. We were really amazed because as it’s name implies it is an old castle on a top of a small hill.

The entrance of the castle

The historical castle was converted to a hotel. in front of it is located the main sight of this town: The pieve and the baptistery of St. Lawrence. It dates from the late 9^th century. It is considered one of the main examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in Piedmont region.

The view from our room

Settimo Vittone is surrounded by mountains and the Colma di Mombarone mountain is located nearby.

We had a peaceful walk to the center and we took dinner in a recommended restaurant called Osteria La Sosta. The restaurant was full and we had to share the table with an Italian couple.

Want to go for a midnight walk? No, to bed.

The effect of the Italian wine. Good night!

Day 15:

We have to mention the generous breakfast offered to us, a good way to start the day.

Stomach satisfied we moved to our next destination.

Hey husband wait for me!

It was an unforgettable ride passing through the Aosta valley, crossing Saint Bernard Peak and reaching Grenoble where we decided to spend the night with cousins from JC village.

At the entrance to the Aosta valley we started to see the immense mountains with snow on their peaks, as we mentioned before this was the winter season of our trip, luckily it was not raining and we could enjoy the views and the ride.

It was Sunday and as we noticed, the area attracts riders from different places and tastes. For instance, we passed by a Lotus car gathering.

That morning, as lot of mornings, we let our dear tomtom decide for us the way to reach Grenoble. Once passed the Aosta valley we started to notice the sign to reach the famous “Mont Blanc”.

We were not expecting to pass through the Alps Mountains and we were hesitating if to continue; it was starting to rain and the more we drove up, the more the temperature fell, from 14 degrees to 2 degrees.

It does not matter how much sometimes you feel like you are doing something crazy because always you will find someone crazier than you.

Next time we pass by there, we will do as Paulo Coelho did in his book “Aleph” in which the lake (Baikal – Russia) was calling to him; he said: “My body enters the freezing water, I feel thousands of needles pricking my skin… There I was, …, as happy as a child, because I had been enfolded in an energy that was now part of me.”

With small snowflakes, we reached the top of the Little Saint Bernard Pass. Its crest is at 2,188 meters above sea level.

Even thought it was Sunday, we didn’t meet too many people. We stopped for a hot drink in a bar where the owner was explaining to us that from there we could see the Mont Blanc but unfortunately it was foggy and all was “blanc” so we could not. An excuse to go back there!

Hi Saint Bernard, see you in short time again.

As I said before it does not matter how big your bike is, always you will find a bigger one than yours.

Riders in all places.

Many curves and we had to take care because the road was wet; hopefully we will re do this part of the journey in better weather.

Once we left Bled, the idea was to go back home but not in a rush way – what we mean is without using highways but enjoying the ride – we didn’t have a clear plan of the way back and we were happy for the snow experience that we had.

At Grenoble we stayed at our cousins’ house, we spent great time with them, we are grateful for their generous hospitality, and we are waiting for their visit to our place.

Grenoble is a city at the foot of the glorious French Alps and is referred to as “The Capital of the Alps”. It plays the role of an important scientific center of Europe. You can spend easily several weeks exploring the surroundings and the sights.

As we preferred to spend time with the family, what we did was to hit the streets for a casual stroll around the town to walk it off, without unfortunately visiting any particular sight and we were honored to have Jonathan, born there, to tell us some stories about Grenoble.

The view of the Bastille fort

Grenoble Museum

Le Château d'eau de la Valette water fountain

Day 16:

We said goodbye to our cousins and we entered in our tomtom the address of “Le bouleau” in Goutrens, France, a rural house in Aveyron area that we had chosen last night before sleeping.

We had the perfect weather for riding, therefore we did around 390 km from Grenoble passing by Haute Loire region and reaching Goutrens where we were staying in a small village called Les Hemps.

Aiguilhe – Haute Loire

Puy – en – Velay, Haute Loire

Pilgrims on the way of St. Jacob of Compostelle

“Le Bouleau”

what you need after a long ride

The place was very cozy and beautiful. We went to the supermarket, bought some items and we prepared the dinner in the common area of the rural house. We were feeling like we were home. The owners Steve & Lisa are very nice people.

This rural house was one of the best places in which we stayed during our tour. It was an old barn, which was restored and decorated by the owners themselves. We like the vintage style and the architecture: the upper level is a full open space where you can prepare food and enjoy eating it. The rooms located on the first floor were big with a lot of natural light.

The sunset from our room

“Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful”

Day 17:

After crossing through The Alps Mountains, it was time to cross the Pyrenees. We moved from Goutrens in order to spend the night in Aínsa, Huesca.

We have to mention that we were impressed by Aveyron region in southern France. We crossed beautiful villages however we didn’t have time to stop and visit.

Belcastel, one of the most beautiful towns in the area

The area is famous for holding cycling events

Beautiful scenes along the way

Meeting friendly creatures

Stopping for some delicious French sweets

Perfect weather and road for a perfect ride

Approaching the Tunnel of Aragnouet-Bielsa it was becoming a little colder and the views of the mountains were breathtaking.

Love story between the clouds and the mountains!

And here we are in the Spanish territory

We booked a hotel in the outskirts of Aínsa old town.

The receptionist was very kind explaining to us some sights to visit other than the old town of Aínsa. We would like to go back there to go hiking and discover the beauty of its nature.

Aínsa is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. It was once the capital of the kingdom of Sobrarbe and the birthplace of the Kingdom of Aragon. It is situated in an idyllic position with a backdrop of the Pyrenees Mountains.

The castle and the tower date back to 11^th century and were built for defense purposes.

We walked along the wall of the fortress enjoying the charm of the sunset and its effect on the natural views all around.

Ainsa's historic centre is the lovely cobbled square, The Plaza Mayor that is surrounded by medieval arcaded buildings.

Saint Mary church is beautiful; it is a pure Romanesque style of Sobrarbe built during the XI and XII centuries.

Of course we didn’t miss the pleasure of eating.

Spanish Humor

Day 18:

We had a special view from the balcony of our room, which was worth to get up early to contemplate the sunrise.

Good morning

Getting ready to go back home

A good breakfast and a long ride

Heading home we followed the advice from the hotel receptionist and we went to visit a natural reserve near “Monte Perdido” following Añisclo route, it goes beside the river Beyos. The road opens only in summer time, is just one direction for 20 kms and people go slow taking photos and stopping for contemplating the views.