End of the Monster Motorbike Tour

Back in the cool, cool North and enjoying a bit of rain to go with our
sunshine. This year's motorbike trip was our most ambitious so far and it
turned out to be the best. Steve's planning (rather than someone else)
ensured that we were able to stay exactly where we wanted (except for one
locational challenge!) and we were able to go to and stay in places never
seen on prefab motorbike tours. It was a lot more time intensive for him,
but a much better tour for us.

Total tour - 3500 miles. Highest temp - 109. Lowest temp - well, there was
snow! Best meal - the agritourismo on the 'instep' of the Italian boot.
Best location - Amalfi, on a balcony overlooking the Med Least favourite
region - Calabria. Favourite region - a toss up between Tuscany, Umbria and
Lake Como

Here are some of the 491 pics I took!

Freiburg to Dinant - Not Lost Today!

Left Freiburg for our last mainland Europe stop on the trip before heading home. We headed up into the hills and then dropped down onto the plains of France for most of the day.

We did a run around Verdurn, an area where many WWI battles were fought. We'd been in this area before, but never in summer. In addition to roads weaving through forests and up and down rolling hills, the French houses and villages are all decorated with flowers - flowers everywhere!

We did the Alsace region in the morning and the Ardonne in the afternoon. And we found a really motorbiking road! After going through Verdun, Fumay and Givet, we reentered Belgium along the Meuse River. This road goes for miles along the banks of the Meuse following the curves of the river through flower decorated villages, past castles and chateaux. Steve is already trying to figure out how to add this route to our next trip!

Dinner in Dinant was tricky, there was some sort of music festival on and the place was packed! We checked restaurant after restaurant and no tables anywhere. We finally decided to take a risk on a Belgiun Chinese, a high risk proposition for us as we always like to focus on the local food when in a country, but one that turned out to be surprisingly good. I love the English translations, 'damp dumplings' was one of the best I've seen so far!

Freiberg is Not Friedburg!

Merrily zooming around Europe and temporarily uncertain of our present
position, that's us! We used to worry about getting lost, but now
it's all part of the adventure.

We left St. Moritz and headed off into the Alps. It was a glorious
morning, sharp, clear, sun glistening off the snow on the mountains.
Sadly we have returned to non-Italian coffee and I have donned my
Michelen Woman costume (but I am NOT complaining about being cool,
just describing the differences!). We had a great time weaving
through the valleys and zigzagging up and over the mountain passes.

We went over one, the Fruilipas (sp) that climbed well above the
snowline and we were riding up through the snow fields! It was
beautiful and thanks to my trusty MW suit, I was toasty! Snow fields
around us and craggy snow covered mountains towering above us, an
amazing experience in July!

We were zipping through a valley when Steve said, "The sun is rising,
we're heading north, making great progress!" The rising sun was over
my left shoulder, "We're going south." "That's a problem," replied
Steve quite calmly. No road signs and we were on a lovely road so we
kept going until we found a cappocino and map review stop. Yup, wrong
way, heading back to Italy, it was a lovely bit of road though!

On to Bregens by Lake Constance where we have been been before on
another motorbike trip, just for lunch and then up the side of the
lake and through the hills to our destination of the evening, Freiburg.

So often on this trip, the national language spellings of names are
different than the English ones (Genoa / Genova) that I didn't really
pay any attention when Steve kept saying Freidburg and I kept seeing
Freiburg. We knew the town we were going to, had been there before
and had specific ideas for dinner once we got there. And we arrived
as planned, yup, right town, there's the cablecar up the hill to the
restaurant we ate at last time, well done!

Steve gave me the map and we started the hotel hunt. Now, we really
need a GPS to do this well, but I do have to say, I'm getting pretty
good at spotting the signs and navigating to the hotel from the back.
We drove around and around and around and I couldn't spot a single
street that matched any of the ones on my map. Several times we
stopped so Sreve could try and figure out the map too, but we still
couldn't find anything that matched. We finally broke down and
stopped at a petrol station and bought a map - and still couldn't find
any of the streets on the map!

What the two maps did have in common were postal codes, each area on
our purchased map had a postal code labeled and the postal code was
labeled on the mapquest map - now we're getting somewhere! We
scrutinized the purchased map searching for the code that matched
ours. The codes on the map were all in the 70000's and our code was
in the 80000's, ours wasn't even on the map!

Then we looked at the town name. We were exactly where we wanted to
be, Freiburg (remember, we've been here before!). However, our hotel
was in Friedburg, a couple hundred kilometers away!

(Can you believe we used to be entrusted with millions of pounds?!)

Och well, we're in the right place even if the hotel isn't, time to
find a new hotel - which we did in a matter of minutes and in a matter
of a few minutes more, we were showered, togged up and sitting in an
outdoor restaurant in the main town square listening to a band play
and admiring the view of the cathedral.

The Friedburg hotel had never received our reservation so we didn't
have to suffer the indignity of being in the wrong town AND paying for
two hotels. While the Freiburg hotel was a bit pricy, after St.
Moritz Steve wasn't phased. "I paid this much for a beer last night,"
he commented.

Dinner on the town square was just as we expected, very Germanic food,
lots of it, some good music, Vicebeer and a glass of local wine. A
perfect ending to a perfect day!

What a Difference a Thousand Miles Makes

A thousand miles and 6000 feet actually. Sicily, Italy, to St.
Moritz, Switzerland. It snowed 3 inches the day before yesterday
(please note, this is July!). Luckily it was gone when we arrived -
motorbikes and snow don't mix!

We left Genoa before the heat came on and headed for the Alps. The
day started out lovely and cool, and as we headed up into the
mountains stayed that way. We have a new appreciation for cool!

We came by Lake Como which is one of the most beautiful places in
Italy. Old towns scattered here and there around the lake, many with
tiny cobbled streets and restaurant lined squares. There was a great
deal of al fresco dining overlooking the lake along with beautiful
summer homes lining the shore. The lake is 25 miles or more, we want
to come back and see the whole thing.

After Lake Como, it was up into the mountains, over a pass and Into
St. Moritz. The town is 6000 feet up and Steve has named it 'The Most
Expensive Place in the World'. It's like someone took Knightsbridge
and stuck it on top of a mountain. But it is also gorgeous, with a
lake below and surrounded by jagged, snowtopped mountains. It's a
wonderful place even in the off peak summertime, but only for one night!

Since we were in Switzerland, traditonal Swiss food was in order -
chocolate and fondue. It was Sunday so most of the shops were closed,
except for the chocolate shops! And the chocolate was every bit as
good as you would expect locally made Swiss chocolate to be.

We walked around for a bit trying to find a restaurant open on an off
season Sunday and finally walked down the hill to La Margda which was
recommended by the very happy and very helpful Swiss man at our
hotel. His recommendation was spot on. We had the fondue in the tiny
downstairs restaurant matched with some local wine - lovely! When we
ordered, I was thinking Melting Pot with a cheese fondue followed by a
meat fondue. The waitress was adamant that that would be too much and
she was exactly right. The meat fondue consisted of at least two
pounds of meat accompanied by rosti's (potatoes), various pickles and
a variety of sauces. We made it a little more than half way before we
gave in, we were defeated by the volume of food. Swiss fondue in
Switzerland is very, very good

How Can an Entire Country Make Good Coffee?

We've been in Italy for 8 or 9 days now and have yet to have a bad cup
of coffee - posh restaurants, ferries, tiny town bars, cheap hotels,
made by a barrista or from a machine, the coffee is all great. How is
it possible for so many different people in so many different
establishments (no chains here) to turn out a consistently good product?

Italians are not big on breakfast, however. A sweet roll, an espresso
and go. The breakfasts have all been continental with crossaintes,
broche, musli, yogurt, fruit, toast, jam and nutella - all great for
Steve who prefers that stuff, but I want MEAT!

They are, however, very big on dinner! We have had wonderful meal
after wonderful meal at night - in some of the most unlikely places.

The ferry ride to Genoa was great, if a bit boisterous - force 7 winds
and waves so high our 9 story ferry ( think small cruise ship) was
rolling over the waves. It takes some pretty big waves to move a ship
that size. Lots of people were ill. We simply got up, found food and
went back to sleep. I think we had a total of 4 naps during the day!

Genoa was great, a lovely waterront city with lots of character left
in it. The architecture was ornate with many old buildings, churches,
and palazzos scattered about. We wandered the tiny streets until we
found an al fresco restaurant with a guitarist and parked ourselves
there for an evening of food and music.

Cruising the Med

Palermo to Genoa by sea! An overnight ferry and a day off, sort of!

We left the south coast of Sicily and Agrigento, beginning the trip
back up north. One more crossing of the hot middle bit keeping to the
coast for as long as possible until we had to cut across for Palermo.
Steve booked the car ferry which departs at 9:00 so we organized our
backpack so we could strip off the leathers as quickly as possible
once we got off the bike - which we were able to do after a scenic
tour of Palermo when we missed the sign for the Porto.

We were much too early for the ferry, but found a shady cafe where we
had a two and a half hour lunch, and then a shadier park which was
perfect for keeping cool and having a next steps planning discussion
(red booking). Then once it cooled down a bit, we headed for the
Porto to pick up our tickets and find the queue for the ferry. Steve
expected this to be 'a bit of a faff' so we left plenty of time, but
quite the reverse, it went swimmingly well and we were ready to get on
our 9:00 ferry at 6:15! So we found some shade, people watched and
had a nice chat with an American and his Irish wife, Bill and Miriam.

A German guy pulled up next to us in line and we chatted with him
too. He had a temperature guage on his bike and at 7:00 in the
evening by the water it was still 38 degrees - well into the 90's. He
said that he had parked it in a sun / shady area a couple days ago and
the temp was 46!

Italy is chaotic, particularly the traffic, but once you understand
that the rule is that there are no rules it becomes doable (if not
understandable). We now squeeze ourselves into traffic with the best
of them and I've even heard Steve beeping his horn a few times!

Sicilian Summer

The weather here is gorgeous and,when you're not wearing 30 pounds of
black leathers in the sunshine, quite comfortable. By the sea there
is a breeze and the temp is a bit cooler. The humidity is far lower
than Florida.

We left Calabria yesterday and took a ferry over to Sicily, a nice
cool ferry! Headed down the coast and turned inland to ride by Mt.
Etna, a smoking volcano. Nice houses this way with many restoration
opportunities, but somehow the lava in the front yards made them seem
less appealing.

Inland was hot, dry, rocky, brown fields, and cactus. Did I say hot?
Steve caught some comment about record breaking temps and 41c which
would be 106 in faren, but we'll have to validate that data, but we
know it was 35 the day before. The next time we get the urge to go
motorbiking in the summer, we're going to Norway, Sweden or the Artic
Circle!

Actually, heat aside, it's been a great trip and exactly what we
wanted, to see Italy in the summer when it's at its driest and worst
visually and see if we still like it. And the answer is a resounding
yes, in parts. We're much clearer about the parts of Italy we like
now (there's a reason why everybody moves to Tuscany and the hundreds
of thousands who have bought holiday homes there are not wrong).

Italy is big, much bigger than we thought it was. We've done over
2000 miles getting to Sicily and it could be a country all by itself.
We rode all day to get from Messina to Agrigento (of course part of
that was heading in the wrong direction) and will ride 2-3 hours to
get from here to Palermo - where we pick up an overnight ferry and
head to Genoa and cooler climes.

Wet T-Shirt Contest

35 degrees celcius yesterday and we're applying all sorts of
techniques to deal with the heat - mostly by trying to keep things wet
which then keep us cool when the bike is moving. Today we're going
beyond wetting the neckerchiefs to a full on wet t-shirt contest!

Yesterday was our last day in Calabria. We've come as far as Reggio
Calabria and spent three days exploring the region. Steve says that
was two days too long. The mountains and the roads through the
mountains are spectacular and being on the edge of a cliff looking
straight down to the sea was amazing. The mountainous part of the
coastline is lovely and would be great to sail to.

Lunch in outlying areas is tricky to find so we've been warding off
starvation with gelato and cornettos!

Boil in the Bag People

Italy is the Ape' center of the world, according to Steve. Apes look like a truck (see picture), but are actually a scooter wearing a truck costume. Tonka builds bigger trucks. Top speed uphill is 3 miles per hour, downhill is 60. They are either driven completely empty or with more stuff than a three ton transit could carry. They are only designed to carry one person, but often carry many more. Steve desperately wants one.

Southern Italy in July is hot. Southern Italy in July in motorbike leathers is REALLY hot! All the Italians are zipping by on their motorbikes and scoots in shorts and tshirts and we're in 30 pounds of hot leathers. It's like being boiled in a bag!

We're 1800 miles into this trip and all the way down almost to the bottom of Italy in the Calabria region. We've gone from pouring rain in Belgium / Germany to total sunshine once we got south of the Alps. This trip has been almost exclusively non-motorway roads so it hasn't been a fast blast down the highway, bit rather a slow wind up and and through the hills, mountains and valleys all the way.

We had a lovely breakfast on the patio overlooking Amalfi and the Med yesterday morning, after a slowish get up and then headed further south. Made it from Campania down to Calabria last night and guess where our Italian dinner waiters have worked? At their uncle's restaurant in ... Preston! Very small world. And they miss it very much!

Today continued the journey through Calabria and tonight's stop is at the 'instep' of the Italian boot, close to as far south as you can get. Calabria has been very interesting, the geography is great, loads of mountains, tons of seaside, but unfortunately the 'ugly architects' had a field day down here! Ugly architects are what Steve and I call the designers of cheap, cinderblock, boring, square buildings with no features of any architectural interest at all. There is mile after mile of tenament apartments. Only once in a great while do you glimpse an old stone Italian building. It's been very interesting and a worthwhile exploration, but cheap house prices aside, Calabria is not for us.

However, I think agritourismos are! Tonight's stop is a working farm which has been converted into a B&B / restaurant. Old stone building, high ceiling'd rooms and (after today's heat) a very welcome pool!

Under the Tuscan, Umbrian and Neapolitan Sun

Big, big, big day today - from Siena all the way down to Amalfi. All
interesting country, except for the flat bits and the area around
Naples. Part of this trip is to scope out the different regions and
start to narrow down the areas we like and the ones we don't.

Areas currently in the running are Tuscany and Umbria, and of course
the Amalfi coast. Selection criteria, something in the mountains, as
far south as it is reasonable to go, without it turning into a third
world country (i.e. some parts of Calabria). Can be a house in a
town, hilltop towns are particularly appealing, must have shade and a
view (shady terrace) and room to grow stuff ideally.

The run over the mountains to Amalfi was gorgeous, terrifying and
rather tiring for poor Steve. The road heads up into the mountains
climbing higher and higher over the city of Naples until you are are
so high your heart is in your mouth every time you look over the
edge. Traffic is interesting with mopeds and scoots passing on
hairpin bends. Finally you reach the top and get to do it all over
again but going down. The view is even more incredible on the Amalfi
side with the Meditteranean spread out before you and lemon groves
competing with the grape vines for space on the hillside terraces.

We stayed at Hotel Grand Excelsior, where Jess and I went a couple
years ago. It was still fabulous. Dinner on the patio at the Tato
restaurant was great, the band was fantastic (especially the sax
player), the singer we wanted to pitch over the balcony and down the
mountain into the sea. Steve wants to come back for a week.

Temporarily Uncertain of Our Present Position

We don't get lost, says Steve, we're just temporarily uncertain of our
present position. We had a dose of that yesterday while trying to
find our B&B in Sienna. Twisting stone streets winding through narrow
archways meandering around this hilltop town - and very few street
signs!

We're changed the navigation process this trip, instead of Steve
driving the bike and trying to read the map, I take the map when we
get into town to navigate from the back (and he promises not to shout
if we have to turn the big, heavy bike around if we go the wrong way
repeatedly (actually Steve never shouts, but he's not allowed to
grumble either!)). This works exceedingly well when there are signs
to navigate by, it works less well when there are none. After about
an hour and a half, we eventually found our place.

At dinner, I commented to Steve, "I wish we'd had more time so we
could see Sienna." "You've already seen it all," he replied.

In Italian, domami means tomorrow. We tried to buy two waters when we
got here, but had nothing smaller than a 50 in Steve's wallet. The
shopkeeper gave us the waters saying,"Domani", bring the money
tomorrow. Can't think of too many places where that happens.

Started out the day with a 25 mile run down the side of Lake Garda,
and we didn't even make it to the bottom. That would be a great place
to bring the tandem.

Then a short blast down the autostrada to get us through the flat part
of Italy. "This bit's boring", said Steve, "like Begium with sun".
Then off the highway at Modena, a dose of position uncertainty, and
after a restorative cappocino and a map check we headed off into the
Tuscan hills. At least we think they were Tuscan hills, they had the
great stone houses and pointy Tuscan trees! No matter where we were
it was beautiful!

Hopped on the motorway again to avoid the traffic around Florence and
had a great run through more Tuscan hills, vineyards and beautiful
houses to the hilltop town of Sienna. After the navigational
challenges, a restorative shower and beer / glass of wine were in
order. I felt bad about taking so long to find the B&B, Steve wasn't
bothered at all, he was just glad he didn't have to do it!

Dinner was delicious and fun. We went to L'Osteria on Via del Rossi
where they serve great steak and pour red wine into your carafe from
two gallon jugs. We shared a table and stories with a younger couple
from Canada. They had been on all kinds of adventures and told us all
about visiting Peru and Manchu Pechu (sp?).

We managed not to get lost getting back to our room, mostly because it
was just steps away from the restaurant. We watched the people out
for the evening, young and old, chatting and having a stroll. Might
be one of our favourite things about Italy, the nightly promanade, the
mingle of people of all ages every evening, the cool teenage boy
helping his grandmother, no one particular age 'owns' the street and
all enjoy it together. Tthe streets are almost like a front porch
where people catch up at the end of the day, where they see, talk to
and know their neighbors, how nice.

Across the Alps

Some places in this world are jaw-droppingly beautiful and the Alps,
Austrian, French, Italian, are one of those places. Words like
majestic, awe-inspiring, gargantuan come to mind. Rather than the
quietly beautiful, rolling green, patchworked landscape of Lancashire
which I never tire of, the Alpine views are so big and so bold, so
enormous, you almost can't take them all in. Words don't do it and
pictures provide only the merest glimpse.

We rode over three mountain passes yesterday, the Fern Pass,
Timmeljoch, and the Gampenjoch. These aren't passes between
mountains, they are roads over mountains, with the Timmel being the
highest at approximately 8000 feet. There was still snow up there,
taller than the motorbike in some places!

We had lunch on the Italian side of the Timmel, after we dropped down
far enough to get warm again. The down into the 'apple basket of
Italy' with more apple farming than I have ever seen, surrounded by
the Dolomite mountains.

After a bit of a road challenge around Trento (it was closed - 'But we
only know one road!'), we found our way to Lake Garda, a huge lake,
again surrounded by the Dolomites. Monster day, but gorgeous!

Thank Goodness for Wet Weather Gear!

Although I look like the Michelan Woman in them, when it's pouring buckets in Germany I am so happy to be sitting warm and dry on the back of the bike. Steve and I spent the morning chatting away during a torrential downpour while crossing Germany yesterday.

Germany, like Belgium, is very tidy. Steve likes it here. Mercedes littered everywhere. It is also the only place we've been so far where Steve is a slow driver! We were doing 90 down the motorway yesterday and we were the slowest vehicle there!

We took a different route avoiding the autobahn this trip and it was much nicer - less boring roads!

Big day today, three alpine passes to cross and then on to Italy!

Italy Bound

We left yesterday for Steve's annual long motorbike trip and my annual pilgrimage to Italy. This trip combined things we both really enjoy, the twisting roads across Europe and through the Alps for Steve and everything Italian for me!

The overnight ferry from Hull is a great start - even if we do have to sleep in bunk beds! There's a nice restaurant on board that we always go to and this trip they had dancing in the lounge afterward which was tons of fun. We love to go dancing and don't get to go very often - usually because the music doesn't start until 10:30 or 11:00 and I'm in bed at 9:00! We took full advantage, were on the floor for every dance and closed the place down.

After a slightly sluggish start, we breakfasted, togged up in our 30 pounds of leathers and headed off into wildest Belgium. Actually, there may not be any wilds in Belgium, it is the nearest, tidiest country I've seen, even the roads are straight. We had a leisurely day and
after a tootle down the winding road through the Not-Mosel Valley we arrived at our Hotel Karlsmuhle (for 5 years we thought we were going through the Mosel Valley and Steve discovered we weren't. It's not the Mosel Valley. We don't know where it is now, but we do know where it's not!).

Good solid German dinner, pork, cream sauce, locally picked mushrooms and locally produced wines - you can see the vineyards from the hotel windows. More music after dinner! A German band playing all American songs, and they were very good at it. We had a fun listen and
singalong with all the folks in the room, but managed to get to bed before any dancing ensued.

More Germany today.

Ireland Photos

All the Way Around...

...Ireland, that is! 1700 miles into a 1200 mile trip, we arrived back home after travelling all the way around Ireland. We thought it was going to be a bit shorter than it was, but what a fantastic trip! Both Northern and Southern Ireland are beautiful, just as green and picturesque as we've read about. The Irish people are lovely, with all the hospitality that's written about too.

We started out by packing up the bike (how can I forget how to do this in such a short time!) with enough stuff to last for 9 days in three 12x15x5 inch panniers (motorbike boxes). This is always a feat of engineering and we know we're done packing when nothing else fits! Then it was a quick trip down the motorway to Wales.

We've done a motorbike trip in Wales through the Snowdonia region and that was very nice, but this time we went through the middle of Wales and enjoyed it even more. The roads were great, the hills, mountains and foliage were at their summer's best, and the cottages, houses, stately homes and castles were everywhere you looked. Steve at one point remarked, "It's been 20
minutes since we've seen a castle, what's wrong?!" It was a nice mix of sweeping roads through leafy forests and then climbing over the hills. The towns were unspoiled in the main with little evidence of chain store invasion. It's amazing what a difference it makes to the look of a town to
have the old hand painted signs versus neon.

We stayed at B&B's for all of the trip except for Dublin and it worked out so well that it's something we'll do in the future. They ran the gamut from posh to plain, but were good value and quite interesting. Staying at B&Bs also allowed us to have conversations with the people who lived there which was a really nice change. Usually the conversations we have when we travel
are limited to check in / check out and ordering meals - hardly a view into local personalities! While our conversations weren't anything earth-shattering on this trip, it was nice to get people's thoughts on good places to go in the towns, little know scenic routes to travel and views of things happening in Ireland. It was also nice to see the differences in the B&Bs, these are people's homes after all even if they are run as businesses. All served some form of the traditional Irish breakfast which seems to be a three course meal beginning with muesli / yogurt / fruit followed by toast and then eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding and white pudding (don't ask, you don't want to know!), potato cakes and fried bread (we are eating lots of fruits and veg this week!), but there were distinct differences in the quality and preparation from extremely cheap and basic to everything organic / homemade - including fruit preserves and yogurt. I had a lightly smoked haddock omelette that was one of the best breakfast meals I've ever had!

Our night in Wales was spent at the Highland Moors Guest House in Llandrindod Wells, run by an Irish / English couple who had chucked it all and moved to the country to raise their children (we think there were three, but there may have been four) and run a B&B. They are slowly renovating this big old spa hotel which is the last one standing in Wales. We searched the town for a restaurant and ended up at a Chinese, which we were a bit unsure of - the appetiser menu only had 5 things on it and two were ribs. But our options were limited, the Indian was closed and the all-you-can-eat buffet was busily serving leftover lunch food, so we gave it a go. We went with the set menu for three ("But you are only two!" "We don't care.") and had a fantastic, if very big, meal. So if you're ever in Llandrindod Wells, try the set menu for three at the only Chinese in town!

We took the car ferry from Pembrooke Dock to Rosslare, Ireland. It was a four hour trip across a flat calm Irish Sea. These car ferries are like small cruise ships, with cabins if you want them, restaurants, lounges, and the ever-present duty free shop. We lounged and read for the four hours and then hopped back on the bike for the 15 mile trip to our first Irish B&B in Wexford. This was the nicest of the B&Bs we stayed at and a great way to start the trip. McMenamin's Town House was the epitome of what I would consider the classic B&B, antique furniture, flowers, and an array of gourmet, homemade foods - just lovely!

Then across the southern part of Southern Ireland to Killarney, positioning us to ride around the Kerry Ring the next day. We stayed at a simple and basic B&B there called Rathmore House, run by Pat and Mary. Pat was full of information about the area, where to go and what to see. Killarney was where I had my first Guinness, something that we continued to enjoy throughout the trip and we had an excellent fresh seafood dinner. Killarney was a nice town, a bigger one with lots of shops and restaurants - and Jaunt Carts! We couldn't figure out what they were when we saw the sign, but as we were leaving the next morning and saw all the horses and carts lined up we figured it out - something for next time. We cruised out of Killarney past the lake and into the forest which starts the beginning of the clockwise trip around the Kerry Ring (most people have to go clockwise around the narrow roads because there are many places where you cannot pass the tour buses, but it didn't matter on the bike - and we didn't have to follow the tour buses!). It is one of the most scenic and famous routes in all of Ireland, and it lived up to its reputation. Winding through the woods, past lakes and streams and over hills and through mountains, the view as we whizzed by ranged from cottages nestled in sheltered valleys to mountain slopes covered with fields of rhododendrons, a mass of purple against hills covered with hedgerow-lined pastures and stone walls.

Throughout the trip the scenery was beautiful, so much so that I arrived at home having taken 452 pictures!

After the Kerry Ring, our next night was in Galway at a basic, basic B&B! It was a good walk to the town and the restaurant, which we needed because the Irish breakfasts were already beginning to add up. We had our Guinness at O'Connors Famous Pub and decided to come back for the music after dinner. Dinner, on the barman's recommendation, was just down the street at Da Roberta, an excellent Italian. After dinner, we came back for the music, a duo on guitar and piano. Now the Irish music I have been exposed to in the past, I have not really been a fan of listening to for a whole evening, nice for a few minutes though. This was excellent, a mix of what I would call honky-tonk piano and classical guitar - wonderful, could have listened to it for days! Unfortunately they didn't have a CD or it would have been an immediate addition to our music collection (my American money making gene had also indignantly raised its head, 'But, but, but they could be making money at this!' 'Steve's response, 'Perhaps they don't want to' took me a
while to get my head around). Breakfast was 'interesting' and then we were off to Donegal.

We went to Donegal via a loop around the northwestern part of Southern Ireland, another gorgeous scenic drive along the sea and through the mountains. It was pretty barren up there and you could see where people had been cutting and stacking peat to burn in their stoves over the winter. The rhoddys were still in bloom all over along with entire hedges of fushia! Donegal was quaint with a tiny castle and an excellent Thai restaurant. It was pretty funny as we were sitting there eating this amazing Thai food and people from a coach tour at the table next to us were being served mass-produced mash, steamed veg and some form of meat / gravy - same restaurant, totally different food experience!

After Donegal, we headed up across the border into Northern Ireland. Unlike Southern Ireland, Northern Ireland is still part of the UK and there are distinct differences between the two countries. The scenery in Northern Ireland is just as spectacular, but the houses are different. They did not go through the housing boom that the southerners did and houses are of the older and cottage-y variety, more architecturally interesting, I think. We continued along the coast and stopped for a hike and a peek at the Giant's Causeway . Then on up to Ballycastle, way up on the north coast, just above the Glens of Antrim and stayed at Clare House overlooking the town of Ballycastle, the sea and Torr Head in the distance. It was a good hike into and out of town for dinner, but again we needed it after all the Irish breakfasts!

The man at Clare House suggested that as we were on the bike we should take the lessor used coastal road by Torr Head. You can't go on it on coach buses or with caravans, but it's fine for a bike. It's twisting, winding and slowly navigating up, down and along the cliffs by the sea. It's one of those places where you want to take it slowly and not make any mistakes, because as you look over the edge of the road just to your right it's a 500 foot drop right down to the rocks and crashing surf! There were sheep and cows wandering in their pastures right at the edge of the cliffs (Steve wonders how many fall off) with the most amazing views right across to Scotland. As we dropped down from the cliffs, the road got better (less steep, less cliff edge-like) and meandered for miles along the shore. It was sunny and cold with a brisk wind. We saw a couple of sailboats and decided that would not be us - too cold! The whole Glens of Antrim area was
gorgeous and I'd like to spend more time exploring it - perhaps another time do a motorbike / hike trip.

It was a fairly quick trip from there into Dublin and after a tour of the one-way road system, we managed to find our hotel, Trinity Lodge. It's a little boutique hotel in the heart of Dublin, right next to the shopping district and the Temple Bar area. After a double-decker bus tour of the city, we headed over to Temple Bar to find dinner. When Julie and Andrew talked about going to Temple Bar, I thought they meant 'a' bar and I pictured in my mind a fairly modern chrome and wood type place. I couldn't have been more off! Temple Bar is a street district of restaurants and pubs, streets and streets of them! As you walk along, there are musicians playing streetside and music pours out from the open doors of the pubs. One pub had a sign out front with its music schedule, 12-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 with different musicians for every set. We had a pre-dinner Guinness accompanied by Irish music (not as good as the guys at O'Connor's Famous Pub!) and then found a place for our first 'Irish' dinner of the entire trip at Gallagher's Boxty House. We had a boxty starter, potato pancakes served with sauces (they are also served stuffed). Steve had steak and Murphy's (a Guinness alternative, gasp!) stew and I had bacon, cabbage and colcannon (mashed potatoes with onion and cabbage, quite similar to the English bubble and squeak). The waiter warned me that the bacon (ham) was a large portion, but I figured Steve could help if he was still hungry. I didn't realise they would bring a whole ham out! It was enormous and more than enough for three people, never mind one!

Colcannon (from the BBC recipe website)

500g/1lb2oz mealy potatoes, cooked
250g/9oz cabbage, shredded and lightly steamed
2 tbsp cream
salt and black pepper
1 large or 2 small onions, sliced thinly
a little bacon fat, beef dripping or other frying oil

(I think the colcannon I had also had cheese in it)

1. Sieve or mash the potatoes and mix with the cabbage and cream. Season well with salt and pepper.
2. Fry the onion in the fat over a moderate heat until it is soft and beginning to brown.
3. Using a spatula, press half the potato and cabbage mixture in an even layer on to the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes until it is well browned and crispy underneath.
4. Cut the mixture into 4 quarters with the spatula or palette knife and turn them over carefully so that the crispy bit is uppermost. Press the remaining potato and cabbage mixture on to the first layer and after a few more minutes, cut and turn again.
5. When the bottom is again browned, you will have a crispy top too, a crispy bottom, and a crispy layer in the middle.

After Dublin, we headed over the Wicklow Mountains. It was misty, wild and desolate up there. We drove for miles and we only saw a bit of fencing, no sheep, no cows, no houses. Winters must be very quiet up there, we wondered if the roads would even be passable once snow came. We did see a few wild deer and it felt like we'd reached the top part of the world as we went over the mountains. I would like to go back and see it in the sunshine!

it was back to Rosslare for an overnight before catching the morning ferry (8:45 sail) back to Wales. Had a great evening walk along the cliffs there, the wind was whipping! Good thing it was blowing onshore or it could have blown us over the cliffs if we weren't careful. We were accompanied in spots by a very nice herd of cows. Another good B&B, St. Martins, and a Chinese dinner. We probably didn't eat as much Irish food as we should have and after we recovered from Dublin, we would have like to try more. I'm not a big fan of stews, but after Dublin found a variety of things I would like to try, including champ again. Often the selections in the towns were basic pub grub (which was posing for Irish), seafood, or Chinese / Thai. Basic pub grub, we're not really huge fans of so we stuck with the rest. Next time, we'd enquire further to find the really good Irish restaurants.

A nice four-hour trip back. Steve took a slightly different but equally scenic route back through Wales and we were back at home within about 5 hours of riding off the ferry. At some points we weren't sure of Ireland, mainly because the condition of the roads made motorbiking a bit strenuous, but it turned out to be a fun and beautiful trip. It's definitely on our list of places to visit again and one of the nicest things about the whole trip - we didn't get rained on once!!!

At the Top of Ireland

We're in Ballycastle on the northern coast of Ireland overlooking the
sea and Scotland beyond. Many things seem to be named Bally up here,
Ballymena, Ballymoney and other Bally-towns, and my personal
favourite, Ballybogy Road.

The hills are softer and more rounded here, with big hills / small
mountains in the distance. There's one that looks like a big version
of Pendle Hill, overlooking the sea rather than the Ribble Valley.
Many cottages still line the roads here in Northern Ireland and the
hedges are often grown from fushia, something that I always thought of
as a little house plant, not something which grows into miles of
hedgerows!

We have been staying in B&Bs this trip. We've always stayed in hotels
before this trip, but when you stay in a hotel you seldom talk to the
people who live there. Either they're too busy or we are. When you
stay in someone's home, it's tough not to have a conversation!

We've stayed in seven so far and they've run the full gamut from five
star award winning to something a couple steps above a youth hostel.
We've enjoyed each, either for the amenities, for the experience or
for the conversation it generated the next day ('can you
believe...')! We have definitely enjoyed this mode of travel and will
do it again (should be very interesting in Italy!) - although we're
going to have to spend a lot of time on the tandem when we get back to
work off the Irish breakfasts!

And speaking of food, it's been very good here. We have yet to have
the traditional Irish stew and Guinness pie, but the seafood is
excellent. We've also had a surprisingly good Chinese and an
excellent Thai. I've been eying the local lobsters (which have a blue
tinge to their legs rather than the orange of the Maine lobsters), but
I'll wait until we get home to try one. I like lobster eaten at home
better than in a restaurant.

Yesterday's high points were a visit to the Giants Causeway and the
route along the north coast - both just gorgeous! We had to walk two
kilometers to see the Giants Causeway (try that in leathers and
motorbike boots!), but it was worth every step. We turned the corner
around a hill and there were these amazing naturally formed, yet quite
symetrical steps heading down into the sea. Supposedly there is
another set across the sea in Scotland, we'll have to check that out!

Today we're taking a trip through the Glens of Antrim on the northeast
coast as we make our way down to Dublin where we'll spend the night.
Both Julie and Andrew have assured us that Dublin is an excellent
place for a night out - perhaps for some more Guinness and Irish music?!

We Found It!

We're way over in western Ireland now, having done about 800 miles to
get here. It's a beautiful part of the country with twisty little
roads running by the coast and then up over the moors. Ireland is
dotted with small mountain ranges and we've been through several of
those. The scenery goes from stark, almost barren rocky grassy hills
to tree lined valleys and shady lanes.

Over here, we've also seen a bit more of the old Ireland, slate roofed
little cottages nestled in a glen or overlooking the sea. The housing
boom here has had such an impact, not just on the economy, but also on
the way the country looks. Here are so many new houses, but to be
fair we've realized that the Irish keep their houses so well that even
the older houses look new. The houses are all freshly painted, the
gardens are imaculate - like new everywhere!

We've enjoyed the Guiness that everyone told us we must have, as a
matter of fact we've enjoyed a glass every night! I don't know if
it's something I'll continue to drink, but a half before dinner seems
to be very nice here!

What are two Guiness, Guinii?

A Country of New Homes

The countryside in Ireland is just as beautiful as all the postcards
and stories make it out to be - rolling hills, green mountains, gentle
coastline with both cliffs and long sandy beaches. The people that
we've spoken with have that lilting Irish accent, sometimes so thick I
can't understand what they're saying.

But there's a puzzle here. The houses are all new! Steve said,
"Third world country roads, first world country houses" and he's right
- virtually every house we've seen in southern Ireland is brand new.
They're not just wee houses either, some of them are massive.
American housing looks backward when compared to this place!

Looks like everybody in Ireland has had a new house, where has it all
come from? Were they giving them away with Cornflakes?

Middle Wales

First day on the motorbike trip to Ireland - 9 days loop around the
whole coast of Ireland, North and South.

Of course, first we have to get there so Steve planned a scenic drive
through middle Wales for the first day. It turned out to be one of
our best motorbiking days ever! Best days consist of two things,
great roads for Steve and great scenery for me - we had an abundance
of both!

The part of Wales that we went through was some of the most beautiful
country we'd ever been through - very 'Middle Earth' (although I am
informed it's like Mordoor in the rain). As beautiful as the Alps,
but in a greener, rolling hills way.

We stayed the night at the Highland Moors B&B in Llandrindod Wells, an
old Welsh spa town and had a surprisingly good Chinese for dinner and
an excellent (excellent!) breakfast.