Italy - France 2019 part8

I prepare my breakfast using yesterday's leftovers and while I praise Italian edible products I can't wait to tour around Lago Maggiore, especially since its North end lies in Switzerland. I leave Milano's heat behind and head North to a more cloudy weather, getting chiller as I drive upwards the map. Rather welcome change. First km had nothing exceptional except an Italian driver changing lanes with his phone in one hand and nearly sent me to jam with Jimi Hendrix. As I got closer to the lake around Ispra things got more charming, enough to ignore the heavy traffic and enjoy the little (and not so little) cute towns around the lake. I was already past the most part of the east coast when I enter Switzerland at Zenna. Suddenly I got phone signal since my provider (Cosmote) gave me non all around Italy but I had much more attractive things to focus around than a mobile flooded with missed calls and messages. I drive up to Locarno where I make my first stop. This city is among the biggest in the area and the traffic was unbearable. If I was driving a car I'd still be stuck there. I overtake kms of idling cars, enter the center and stop by the water for a few pictures:

Weather became summerish again which made me follow my friend's advice to try swimming in the lake. In my quest for the most deserted place I continue to the West coast heading South. Problem was that the visible shores were too crowded for my taste and the rest ones were not exactly approachable since the road went high and away from them. I notice though that randomly the barrier had openings with stairways. Some read "privato" though. One of them didn't and there was space on the side for my bike so I stop to give it a try. I cross the street and I see a beach without any sign of civilisation. Perfect! I take my stuff, lock the bike and I find myself alone in front of this:

I drop my stuff, take off my clothes except my swimwear and ... splash! Didn't take long to see a snake swimming with me! I go out to take my phone but it was gone and couldn't picture it. I leave the phone and go back swimming again. Being almost virgin in lake swimming (except one time at Bodensee and another one at Lei da Rims @2000m!) I started wondering how these snakes behave in water? Do they bite? Or they wrap themselves around you? Or they are just more afraid than you are? I guess the latter but even though I haven't convinced myself there was any serious sign of danger I went out to dry myself under the sun. Besides, (almost) no lake can impress me more swim wise than mama Hellas does annually. Almost dry already, I decide to leave. I like taking souvenirs from my trips so this time I took these two stones which impressed me:

The right one for being ultra bright and the left for the tiny bits of "gold".

Going South by the West coast a visitor can see impressive and huge hotels. These glorious buildings with the flowery balconies used to be (in my guess) royal cottages back in the day but didn't go further in cross check to be honest. The same friend who suggested swimming also told me to try some pizza around there. I had no doubts it would be tasty enough to worth it but I found no places of my taste and since I finished the round of the lake earlier than expected I decided to go back and cook. This would help me get rid off my supplies since my trip was almost over.

Here's the video from riding around the lake:

https://d.tube/v/orestistrips/5e6d2xk6llz

Next destination a place outside Modena in order to be not too far from Ancona, the port of my departure from Italy going back home to Greece. Italy was waiting an intense heatwave so I get ready for a tough day with heat and traffic both in heavy doses. Fortunately, heat was not that unbearable and I even saw some rain. I can't recall begging for rain that much ever in my riding career. As I was headed South rain was gone, clouds as well and heatwave was at full thrust. On a straight, I have two bikes ahead turning right towards a pizza house when an old guy waiting on the right to cross the road in his old wreck called car starts doing so making a guess I would turn right too. Squeezing my brakes saved my life. In his Italian he said something like "Well...I thought you'd follow them"...how can you comment this. I am already close to my next destination when I stop at an Osteria (a cross between a tavern and a cafe) in order to have a bite on something. Well, finally time for a pizza I say to myself. I leave the bike under a tree and I reach a table with two guys to ask them in my terrible Italian if they serve food here. Both willing to help, in no English of course, they lead me in. I see the foodies and I ask the owner "Pizza?". He says "No Pizza only this" showing me a piece (not even a slice) of pizza at the size of a stamp. I was too nervous to be glad for the fact that he was speaking some short of English. I see a dish with spinach pie so I order this plus the stamp of pizza hoping to satisfy my tummy like this. I also take a beer and sit under a fan turning lazier than a retired state employee, making those 35C feel like 34,99C. Under such circumstances that beer felt like heaven:

Shortly after the young waitress brings my food and...what do I see? From the whole dish with the spinach pie they cut me a another stamp sized piece of it, place on a tiny plate similar size to a coin. Go figure without speaking Italian...I drink, eat and go. I still have time to kill till my apointment with my next host so I decide to spend it under this rich dense tree:

I make it to the house where I have rented my room, a beautiful place belonging to a rather laid back and hospitable family. Looking at the bathroom only one thing occupies my thoughts and as soon as I unpack my stuff I do it:

I wash my clothes and go to the local supermarket, mainly for breakfast stuff. One more nice store. Since the weather would be even worse tomorrow (37C!) I also take some food cause I would have no mood to go out under laser sun in oven conditions. And yes it was terrible and I stayed inside. The only day of my whole trip that I explored nothing but 4 walls. Unfortunately the day after was no better but I just had to drive up to Ancona and leave it all behind. I wake early, bring down my stuff, go to reach for the bike and...the yard's door was closed. I was sure there should be a button to open it cause I saw a cable on the lock but couldn't find the damn thing in or out the house. Thought about jumping over but this would ruin the vegetation around it. The wall was kinda too high also with lots of vegetation so same problem. I see a wood oven, cnsider stepping on but again, next step would ruin plants etc. Plus it would be no nice image for any neighbour who'd probably call the police. Meanwhile I've sent an AirBnB message to my host but they are all sleeping though I've explained my plans in advance. In my brainstorming of escaping the place with the least casualties I here the sound of a door inside the house - music to my ears. I turn back and I see a guy in his 70s, not fully awake, with a bit of smile and even less clothes telling my "Buongiorno". He presses the button for the door (behind layers of curtains couldn't see it in the dark though I put my hands around) I take my stuff out and say goodbye to the guy who replied "Buon viaggio" with the same smile. He was the uncle of my host. Fortunately the heat was less harsh as I was reaching the East coast of Italy but the massive wankery of drivers was still on. At a traffic jam a car from my right almost cut my through as he was turning left while looking at his right. Even though I melted my horn he gave zero efs. I braked so hard that I stalled my (ABS equiped) bike with 3d gear for the 1st time in 12 years and 130.000 km. I look at him and he is like "I was making space for that truck behind me". I left many nice words in the Italian air and also left the place. Double triple nice words were the ones I should have said to the ferry company (Minoan) announcing us that their ferry will be AGAIN late by a few hours meaning that AGAIN I should wait in the heat without early notice and AGAIN I should drive at night on my way back home. Impossible to comment. The wonders of everything belonging to the Grimaldi group. My nervous system is smoothed by Andreas, a very likeable German guy who was also heading to Greece with his wife Tina. That lady went all the way to Kalamata from Germany back in 1984 on her XT 600! Now they were touring on a 1290KTM. We had some beers on the ship and split way at Igoumenitsa since I was going the whole route up to the port of Patra. Most of the rest of the trip up to Sounio was done at night. As I was reaching Athens my birthplace gave me a hard time (similar to how cats poo all around the house when you are away) with the smell of the burning trees from Evoia. When I finally reach my bed at the South East end of Attika region I see this:

Few days ago I was at 3000m altitude with single digit temperatures around the French Alps, now my lullaby is the sound of the sea caressing the Greek shores. How lucky us Europeans are...how stupid are we when we do not appreciate it...

Sweet France, I thank you for your beauty and your kindness, let me tell you I'll be back on first chance. Dear Italy, better have more pizzas waiting for me next time cause you don't wanna see a Greek guy loosing patience. Lat but not least, put your hands together for Japan cause it's still where the best bikes come from. The ones who keep working no matter what. Like mine:

I hope you also travelled with me somehow while reading this. Take care and thank you!