Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cupra Maritima to Misano Adriatico

Monday and Tuesday we had a variety of terrain, flat stretches of beachfront with bike paths and limestone headlands with oak and pine forests. On the beachfront there are legions of umbrellas awaiting the summer throngs.


The two headlands we climbed were the Parco de Conero and the Monte de San Bartolo. The roads had relatively gentle grades and we had spectacular views. There were beaches that could be reached by hiking, by boat, and even by tunnel.


We had to pass through Ancona, a huge port city that is very old. On the waterfront is an arch that the emperor of Rome presented to Ancona in 115 B.C.


On Tuesday we were passed by lots of cyclists on the climb over Monte de San Bartolo. The open areas on the tops of these headlands are intensively farmed.


We are now in Northern Italy and we can tell by the wine. The menus now have prosecco which is a local sparkling white wine that we had on our honeymoon in northeastern Italy. Another food note is on the pizza we've had in southern Italy. The crust is extremely thin and fresh buffalo mozzarella is used. Pizza is served mainly for dinner and we were frustrated several times when we wanted it for lunch.
The curiosity factor has been high the last couple of days. Everyone seems to want to know where we have come from and where we are going. Our attempts at Italian seem to foster this interest. We are mainly mistaken for English or German tourists and everyone seems surprised that we are Americans.
Today, Wednesday, we will pass Rimini, staying on smaller roads along the coast. We are glad to stay off crowded and fast SS16. Tomorrow we will get to Ravenna, where we will take a day off the bikes and do some sightseeing.

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