The Travel Journal

July 23 2010

Switzerland & France

After several months of being back at work and travelling the weekends throught the alps by motorcycle life on the road is all but at an end. Europe to the european may not be as evocative as Europe to an Australian but there are many hidden surprises in stall and time will be the telling if we stay longer or if we ride on.

Above: Arja and Francois at the top of Col de l'Iseran (2770m) France.
Top: Mont Blanc 4807m as viewed from Aiguille du Midi.

September 18 2010

Venice, the Dolomites and Plitvicka Jezera National Park

This day marks exactly one year since we arrived in Switzerland on our way through to Oslo and it has been a very busy year indeed. Now with both of us in gainful employment we are time-poor. But the up side is that we have more cash yes but also a place for visiting guests. This year we have been kept busy with travelling motorcyclists, from all corners of the world, with family and friends visiting us and it has given us the opportunity to get to know our temporary home even better.

On September 4th we set off once again in search of new roads across the Alps, this time south into Italy we rode through the largest canton of Switzerland, Valais, over the Simplon pass (alt. 2008m) and into Italy. We crossed over Lago Maggore and headed past Como and Verona towards Venice. Just before arriving in Venice we rode through the Riviera del Brenta, a quaint region with Victorian style houses and iron caste gates. All the buildings were painted with either a very tuscan terracotta or a pastel pink stonewash. We joined the hoards of tourists and soaked up what we could of the Italian water born town with it's cafés, churchs, art galleries and narrow streets and canals. With Francois looking forlorn as we left him parked amongst other bikes on entry to Venice we reluctantly made way to our apartment where Nick and Belinda were waiting with ice cold beer. What great friends, they certainly know how to cheer up a weary couple of travellers.

After a few days in venice it was time to say good-bye to our dear friends and regain Francois who had been sitting out in the open for the past three days. It's always the most apprehensive moment just before getting back to Francois after a few days for fear of him being vandalised, or worse stolen. Luckily all was in order and so we repacked the panniers and headed to Trieste and the very short Slovenian coastline.

Well planned by the extraordinary co-pilot, we found a small but beautiful town pearched on a hilltop just over the border into Croatia. The town of Groznjan is a historic village now mostly for Tourism but also sells local produce from the region of Istra including the Istrian grappa flavoured with mistletoe, rose, honey or many more.