I’m sat in a square in Venice and I’m reminded of how Heinz described the place last night. It is indeed odd being in the middle of a city and hearing footsteps on stone, people chatting, hustle and bustle but no cars, trucks or busses. And he was right in describing Venice as having an air of Disney Land about it. It’s nice though, sat with a coffee and doing a bit of people-watching. With my unkempt hair and bike gear donned, I’m the scruffiest tourist here by far.
My UK rolling tobacco has finally run out. Oh dear – I’m now on Lucky Strike Rosso. Sorry lungs, please forgive me.
I’m enjoying Italy immensely. Yesterday’s riding through regular Italian towns on the back roads, the fine climate, relaxed pace and fashoinistas everywhere, and I’m finally getting used to drinking coffee (although I can’t wait to have a proper cup of tea again). I’m curious as to what to expect in Slovenia tomorrow, and whether things will actually be that different from Italy. I guess that’s why I’m on this adventure in the first place.
The immensity of the journey is starting to sink in. I’ve touched on it before but Europe feels much more vast at 60mph on the Yamaha than it ever did on the Suzuki. I’m becoming concerned about the Russian leg of the trip and keeping up the daily mileage. On that note though, Yuri (in Vladivostok) has come good. This morning’s email from him stated that there will be three groups of bikers leaving Russia at the end of July and they each want me with them to lower the cost of their Pacific transit. This is a ‘win’ situation for me!
