July 6

 We had a wonderful stay at a B&B last night.  The place was in the middle of nowhere so I didn't know what to expect but it turned out great.  The Italian lady who ran the B&B didn't speak English but we got along fine with gestures and Google Translate.  The place had WIFI, air conditioning (that worked), a kitchen with a freezer (for our water bottles), and she even did a load of laundry for us.  Super nice.

Today we had a flat 48 mile ride to the small city of Mantova.  Although it was flat I was still pretty tired at the end - and terribly thirsty.  Our first stop was a grocery store to fill up on food and drink.

Mantova has a really pretty historic center - which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Like Bologna, Mantova was wonderfully quiet and laid back compared to other places in Italy. 

Today's ride went through a lot of farmland.  Here, pear orchards.

Hay and corn fields
Several miles of the trail today were on the Eurovelo 7 route,  which is called "The 
Sun Route".  The entire route is over 7500km long and runs from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Italy.

The Eurovelo routes are so well organized and maintained.  I hope I can ride more of them in the future.
Quiet streets and beautiful arcades in Mantova.


The Basilica di Sant Andrea

Torre dell Orologio - a 14th century tower and astrological clock


Original fresco's from 1049!!!!!!

Making pasta by hand.


Real gelato under the metal covers - not mounded up high like in a prior picture.

Tomorrow we will ride to Lake Garda and stay with our first Warmshowers host of the trip.  Looking forward to that.  Tomorrow also has the 1st chance we might hit rain since we got to Italy.  It will probably feel good!!!

Comments

  1. BobbieJuly 8, 2024 at 5:51 AM

    Great pics!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DougJuly 8, 2024 at 8:02 AM

      Mantova was really nice. Although the pictures show empty streets the place came to life around dinner time.

      Delete
  2. SueJuly 11, 2024 at 10:25 AM

    Ahhhh a nice peaceful town! How was the "real" gelato?

    ReplyDelete

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