If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
On the road, again...
It felt good to get back on the bikes. The first mile or so, we walked them up the cobblestone streets, until we passed through the city gate. The next couple miles, we gained 600 feet on stretches of small, sometimes steep roads. At about mile 3, we turned onto a short gravel stretch to connect with the cycleway to Brescia. After that, it was generally downhill for 20 miles in constantly changing scenery, from little lanes through fields and vineyards, to cobblestone streets and alleyways through tiny hamlets and villages. We were skirting the southern edges of the hills that lead to the Dolomiti, and often caught glimpses of the higher peaks in the distance.
About 10 miles in, we stopped at a bicycle cafe for cappuccini with cornetti. The cafe was fairly quiet this early on a Thursday, so we had time to make friends with the owners' Maltese mix and chat with them about life and running a small business and appreciating the beautiful weather. Such a nice couple.
Halfway through the day, we went through Brescia, a large city with big, sunny piazze and lots of outdoor restaurants, most of them not serving lunch. (We are starting to find limited services as the season winds down, especially midweek.)
Weaving our way through cobblestone streets in an old part of town, we spotted a small restaurant serving a piatto unico (one-plate meal) for 13 euros. We stopped, shared a plate of meatballs with tomato sauce, grilled zucchini and carrots, and roasted potatoes. The perfect lunch. We wanted to eat lightly so that we would be hungry for a big dinner in Pilzone to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary.
Where did all those years go? How did we ever make it to now? We have so many, many memories--some experiences that have challenged us and made us stronger, many that have delighted us and brought us closer. Almost always, we have valued time spent together on adventures. Food for thought and reflection as the pedals went round and round, the miles melted away, and we soaked up a pretty perfect day.
About 2 miles before the end of our journey, we passed an Italmark--our new favorite supermarket. We stopped and stocked up on the basics for our three-night stay in Pilzone, a borgo (hamlet) on the lake with limited food options.
When we reached the gate to our apartment in Pilzone, our host, Stefano, met us and walked us through the property before heading to Iseo for a hospital appointment. Stefano is from Iseo but lived in London for 19 years, working in hospitality management. About five years ago, he realized that he was not happy there, had never really found his place or his people. So he moved back to Iseo and bought the building with our apartment, a 14th-century structure that might have been a monastery. It has two or three apartments. The one we are renting is his home when his wife visits from London. She is originally from Turkey and works in the fashion industry. She found her place and people in London, and doesn't really want to leave permanently. So they have a long-distance marriage.
So many interesting people we meet. So many ways we all have of living life. So many choices we make every day.
Our apartment is two stories, with big windows and views of the lake. There is even a 14th-century fresco of the maddonna and child on the wall in the kitchen. Stefano thinks this room may have been a chapel. The history is sketchy. Italy does not require historical buildings and permanent fixtures to be registered or listed, so people can choose how to renovate and what to preserve.
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| Pausing on the gravel path a few miles from Salo. |
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| As we were thanking the owners of the bike cafe and getting ready to go, they offered to take our photo. So here we are on our bikes, celebrating our 49th wedding anniversary in one of our favorite places, doing one of our favorite things, with our favorite significant other. |
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| Here we are 49 years ago. On a different bike. We didn't own a car. |
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| Sunset from our dinner table in Pilzone, on Lake Iseo. |
