Betty & Jukie's Italian Pilgrimmage - Take 2 (Potentially NSFW Now)

[Betty]

The Bikes

As you know I am a mechanical numpty and my initial attraction to the marque (and bikes in general) probably had more to do with keeping in the good books of ‘she who is my world’ than any particular inclination of my own. But there is now little doubt that I have an affinity with the brand myself so although I may not be the most knowledgeable or accomplished of the Ducatisti/Wankerisiti I am now probably capable of ticking a few boxes off on the application form.

Anyhow it doesn’t stop me from taking a couple of happy snaps of bikes ... I just may not know what I have taken a picture of and in all likelihood will have missed the bikes and/or details that you lot may be after. Of course with thousands of bikes crammed in I was never going to be able to get them all, but if I saw something odd, interesting (to me or the Boss) I tried to get a photo ... a few of which are below.

I will post these up without comment, except for the first few ... I hope you see something to appreciate or ridicule ...

Some things you just don't expect to see at WDW ... such as a pink Harley:


Or Harley's with Ducati stickers:


Of course we all know Multi-stroodle owners were a completely different species, this just proves it:


Some of the other weird, wacky or wonderful:

[rendang]

   Counting from the top down, I love the bike in photo no15, that underseat,tubular open exhaust looks great and the cream/white carbon like colour, what a beautiful bike.

[Raux]

this one? because looking at it closely
that's Texalum (sp?) CF silver fiber
and that's a carbon subframe
and carbon wheels
and magnesium swingarm
holy crap I think that thing went on a freaking supermodel diet

wonder what the dry weight of it is?

[rendang]

 
   Thanks, thats the one allright, it sure looks like its had some time,thought and money put into it.    Any more photos Betty, of that one ?

[Betty]

Sorry no more photos of that one ... its not very often a new-style monster catches my eye like that one did. I like how close the pipes sit (compared to those readily available in the marketplace) ... that was one of the things I wanted with my own pipes.

It's not too outlandish and I probably would have walked straight past if not for the white weave.

[Betty]

Sorry for the delay in broadcasting ... I have been busy with work'n'stuff.

Arezzo

So we are now on the run home and as we leave Misano we stop at a small hilltop walled town/castlely place (whose name escapes me) keen on flogging medieval souvenirs. Then we head on to Urbino for a wander around ... the usual church visits and the essential gelato.

The roads then start to get a bit more interesting again and we make a quick stop at tiny Peglio before heading over the Bocca Trabaria Pass which is over 1000m and it’s time to get serious with the ‘manual’ mode in the little DS3. The road is practically deserted and of the half a dozen vehicles we see, half of them are while we are stopped – a couple are heavy vehicles though.

We make further stops at Sansepolcro and Anghiari on our way down to Arezzo where we are booked into an old Abbey/Monastery/Farmhouse/Abandoned Farmhouse which is now a hotel perched up on the hillside. It is located out of town up a looong, skinny twisty and (in places) steep road – if you could guarantee no oncoming traffic it would be a good road to ‘learn’.

We start to wind down with a very cool swim in the pool (a complete contrast to the air temperature) and have a relaxing dinner overlooking ... well ... overlooking everything in the hotel’s swanky outdoor restaurant.

We visit the town of Arezzo but it is pretty disappointing primarily because our timing is all wrong – again. I am still unable to come to terms with everything in such a big town shutting down through the middle of the day – even the largest tourist attractions and food shops. Frustratingly it proves difficult to find a decent gelato in the centre of town ... but I am not to be denied.

Back to the hotel for another lovely dinner and Jukie’s interactions with the wait staff have her receiving quite generous liquid proportions.

Urbino:


Anghiari:


Arezzo:


Somewhere to stay outside Arezzo:


Unfortunately their indoor restaurant wasn't open:


But the outdoor one wasn't bad:


And the view was better:

[Betty]

Perugia

We have a bit of time to cover a relatively short distance so make a stop at Casteliglione del Tresimino on Lago Tresimini where we climb all over the fort, visit the museum and wander through town.

We don’t actually make it to Perugia itself as once we arrive at our hotel we decide that is enough. We have booked into an old castle on the side of the hill. We wander around the grounds and check out the insides of the castle – a bit different to your usual chain hotel. Many of the books in the library, for example, are hundreds of years old ... it feels a bit like the Antiques Roadshow.

The fort on the lake:


Somewhere different to stay:


With more open air dining:

[Betty]

Rome

We decide to take the fast path back to Rome and see if we can sneak a visit out to Tivoli on the way to the airport. After the ‘crazy pregnant dog’ taking us on a bit of a wild goose chase – which included heading down an abandoned/closed tunnel/road with closed for construction signage and gates – we eventually find Villa d’este. The gardens are pretty impressive with all the water features – unfortunately some are out of action but that is of little consequence. The amount of water that must pump through this place is amazing.

We then head out to Hadrian’s Villa which is now little more than ruins but over a huge area – it was his country estate (apparently larger than contemporary Rome itself). They have a scale model in the info centre and it could be difficult to comprehend the enormity of this joker’s home-away-from-home. Obscene wealth is really only a poor descriptor for such an unfathomable waste of resources.

Anyway the heat is really starting to take its toll and we need to be making our way to the airport so we can drop off the car before they close. In the end we make it with 15 minutes to spare and about 45km left on the ‘till empty gauge’ – finally we got our timing right (but it could have been a disaster). All up we covered about 2,850km in the car.

Water features as far as the eye can see at Villa d'Este:


What Hadrian's was like back in the day:


An indication of how it looks today:

[Betty]

The Trip Home

Of course the airport is an opportunity to purge yourself of any remaining euros. As appears to be usual in these major international airports you are presented with more shopping opportunities once you pass through customs. What I assume to be all the major Italian (and other) fashion labels seem to be represented – conveniently there is a Ducati Store there for the truly red blooded.

We have a few hours in Dubai airport and than an excruciating hour or so in Bangkok airport as we leave the plane travel the length of the terminal, twice, struggle through security and then eventually re-enter the same plane again ... then it is back to Sydney ... and it’s all over.

These are the guys the Italians use to decorate their main International Airport:




So that is kinda the blow-by-blow as Rob had requested, hopefully it was brief enough. I will now revert back to the original plan and write about a few observations we made, challenges we faced, philosophical ramblings and some other shit. I promise that I will maintain a level of drivel so inane that you will be turning back to the Olympics broadcasting.

[FIFO]

The Trip Home


So that is kinda the blow-by-blow as Rob had requested,

Thank you Betty enjoyed every bit,and some very good snaps,  can't wait for the book to be published 
i,m sure if you drop your resume into Getaway  or any other jobs in the travel industry, your in.

only last week on italian gardens on the ABC, was Villa d, Est,and they showed that exact same wall/part of the garden

[monstermick58]

Thanks Mark, that was beaut. 










                                               Mmick

[Betty]

Thanks guys ... now for some of the other crap.

TICKETING - WDW

Once the ticketing information was finally available I checked to see what we needed to do ... and for those outside Europe you could either phone or email. Since my Italian is as good as my mechanical knowledge (practically non-existent) I decided email was the best option. I was assured that English would be fine so sent off the email. Then nothing.

Weeks went by before I thought I should try again – this time with the help of my friendly Google Translator ... and the response was immediate – in an Italian kinda way. I was told I just needed to send some details – exactly what details I have no idea. Anyhow I responded with our basic ID details and asked if there was anything else – there mustn’t have been as there was no response ... at all.

Things were getting desparate in a way that only an obsessive compulsive, anally retentive holiday planner can know ... so I tried the phone. I was having visions of flying to the other side of the world to attend a party only to be turned away at the gate. So on the phone I was connected to an English speaker and they couldn’t help me – the person I needed to talk to was not available. They took my contact details and promised the necessary person would contact me.

And then ... nothing. Again.

I had been in contact with a couple of WDW veterans on the forum and advice ranged from ‘avoid trying to get tickets at the gate at all costs’ to ‘should be pretty painless’. So we figured we would just try our luck when we got there. Besides, my wife consoled me with the fact that we would not be having a Ducati-free existence leading up to the big event so we would have ample opportunity to sort things out.

Whenever we got the chance at a Ducati store, factory or museum we would ask if they could help with tickets or any information on how we could get tickets ... now or at the event. Typically the response was ‘we can’t help’ but ranged from ‘what is World Ducati Week?’ to ‘try the internet’.

So when we finally rocked up to Misano and were directed to the ‘ticket office’ ... it really couldn’t have been much simpler. We asked at the desk and when we were sent down to another part of the desk we were having ‘oh here we go’ thoughts. At the next desk ... we just said we were from Australia to which the guy responded if we were here for one day or four. Of course we responded four so he gave us some passes and wished us well.

That was it, no passports or ID, no forms to fill out and nothing to pay. What the hell was I worried about ... oh that’s right that Italian attitude – in the end that was exactly all that we needed. If it’s too hard, make it easy – the complete opposite to Australian officialdom nowadays.

We're in! ... Well almost:


And we were close to the last ones there on Sunday ... that's the 'ticket office' in the background:

[heatherp]

Thanks Mark.    I enjoyed that.  Would love to get to some of those places myself one day.  Particularly the coastal walks part.

Not too sure about ever attending a WDW though - sounds like too many people for my liking apart from meeting fellow DMFer's of course.  What did you mean when you referred to "barely tolerated non-rider rules" in the bit about meeting the DMFer's?

And I find it very hard to imagine anyone being made uncomfortable by Jukie.  What's wrong with them eh?

[Betty]

Not too sure about ever attending a WDW though - sounds like too many people for my liking apart from meeting fellow DMFer's of course.

To be honest I had similar thoughts ... I am not one for partying and try to avoid crowds (some would say I am an anti-social bastard, but I'm really just shy) ... but it is an enjoyable event. In reality it is no more crowded than the rest of the country but because it is all about the bikes you tend not to notice the number of people so much. You also find yourself forgetting that you are a tourist to some degree.

What did you mean when you referred to "barely tolerated non-rider rules" in the bit about meeting the DMFer's?

Firstly I should say that the 'car' parking area was never stretched in capacity with perhaps dozens of cars ... but the bikes would need to be measured in their thousands ... no real surprise but 'everyone' rides.

With regard to the above comment I can't remember exactly how it came about but pretty sure it was return fire from one of the boys. When I questioned them on something ... the retort was along the lines 'well at least i bothered to bring my bike'. Fair enough too.

And I find it very hard to imagine anyone being made uncomfortable by Jukie.  What's wrong with them eh?

The comfort levels definitely changed throughout ... but for the uninitiated, she may be a little confronting. It's a bit like the event itself ... you just need to get carried along with the enthusiasm - it's been working for me for a while now.

[Betty]

MY WIFE LIVES IN THE MATRIX

When you have the chance to get away from the everyday it may free your mind a little to allow you to see what is really going on ... a forest for the trees type of scenario. Well I had a moment of clarity while we were away and it was bike related.

While we were winding our way through the Tuscan hills it all became very clear. The Boss was in control (yes, yes ... as always) and I was being thrown around the car. Any reprieve is welcome to allow the blood to flow back to my extremities as I loosen my grip on the pack-shit bars and take the tension out of my joints and muscles. I am a bit sore at the end of it all and the passenger side footwell now has impression of my feet permanently stamped into the firewall.

But, as always, I digress ... back to my moment of clarity. It was when I realised why Jukie is a better rider than I am – it’s because she lives in the Matrix. In this digital world, things are on or off (a world of ones and zeroes) ... and this is evident in her steering. I have often joked about the way she controls the ride-on mower – a technique I refer to as brake via steering.

So this explains how she is faster through a twisting rode on the bike than I am – when applied to counter-steering the on-off technique reigns supreme. For me (apparently an aging analogue model) giving the bars a good quick shove is something I have struggled with. Regardless of my attempts to practise, the courses I have done and books I have read there has always been a disconnect between what I need/want to do and what my conservative instincts allow my body to actually do.

Thankfully I can be smooth enough on a road I am intimately familiar with but otherwise you will usually find me cautiously tottering along at the back of the pack ... with analogue steering.

One of the few opportunities to pull over for a break on the 'enjoyable' country roads:


Someone looking a bit bored in the passenger seat: