But it is kinda a special he?

This city is dirty and full of homeless people: a lot of them allegedly emigrated from Africa. I've read that the mafia has a major influence in the town and that here their laws apply. Holes made by bullets in a shop window or in an entrance door are not a rare sight. Just like security or police located close to ATM machines to make sure that your money withdrawal really stays yours. But what I miss the most is that there is no greenery. I haven't seen a single green park where I could go jogging. Every now and then I ask myself: “Where am I wandering?” I’ve surprised myself because I’m not locked in an apartment, all scared and hiding under the blanket. Well, even though nothing happened to me, it's still a horrible feeling. When panic hits me, I just look at Ian. His calmness instantly affects me. We decided to visit a nearby castle, so I could see a nicer side of this city. A view from the top of the castle opened up widely. Silently, I watched this big city and the majestic Mount Vesuvius in the background. He explained to me that Vesuvius is still alive and an eruption considered a threat. That made me think about the connection Naples-Vesuvius and I can say that the city radiates the energy of the volcano. Here, the people live in uncertainty. They don't know if evacuation will happen in their lifetime, or it will be a part of the next generation. It may also never happen. No one knows. Volcano aside, each one of us has an uncertain future: what matters is how you handle the present. What if someone went on a journey and lost everything due to the eruption? How would he accept this fate and the hint of the gods? Would he become angry and devastated or would he realize that he is the lucky one because his life has been spared?

Exploring the streets has become great fun and I’ve got rid of the unjustified fear. What if we somehow influence bad things happening to us just by thinking about them? The best way to comfort my soul when I host my own pity party is a good dessert: it always has been and it always will be. Some things just don't change. There is nothing that a gourmet dessert can't fix. And here, I can choose from a wide variety of sweets. The streets are full of pastry shops: everything looks yummy and it's hard to decide which one to pick. However, what about the famous pizza?

  We were wandering in a small street and looking for a good place, where you get that real Italian pizza. In some restaurants, you can see pictures of famous persons, who were eating there. However, our attention was drawn to a pizza place with a long waiting line. Well, if everybody’s waiting just to get some pizza, it must be good! And it really was. There, I ate the best pizza of my life. The crusty and soft dough, and, at the same time, just a few tasty fresh ingredients on the top. Oh, the place was called Gino Sorbillo. Newt time I will tell you more about this yummy pizza.

Buildings are something special in here

The biggest question is, would I return to Naples? Yes, a million times. I know how our imagination is playing with us and probably some Mafia-influenced movies left something on us as well but I wanna see more and taste it more in detail. Next time we will dive deeper into Napoli flavors and try to know more about the people who are nice, I bet.

Lock on a lock with a lock...

 

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Naples is a Scary Place

But it is kinda a special he? This city is dirty and full of homeless people: a lot of them allegedly emigrated from Africa. I've read...

Naples is a Scary Place

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Another little memory from the last year in Europe... this time from a trip to Italy, in the very pleasant region of Pistoia. We had a last concert of a tour here, and we had stayed in a pleasant villa just outside of the town... which also led to an early morning plane flight that I had written about quite a long time ago.

Anyway, the Teatro Manzoni, a little theatre which has a concert series. You can find many of these places in these Italian towns... little old theatres that have managed to last through the decades and centuries. Oddly enough, many of them look very similar on the inside!

So, this is the theatre as pictured from the stage... box seats on the top and a general seating on the bottom... unfortunately, unraked, so it makes it a bit difficult for audiences to see well. It is more of a speaking theatre than a music one... the difference in acoustic is quite profound for a musician (or an actor). The speaking theatres usually emphasise a dryer acoustic, and one that maximises for clarity... whilst a music place will have a slightly wetter acoustic that is better for blending.

Obviously, as a musician, I do prefer a place that has a wetter acoustic.. the dry ones are a bit harsh and quite difficult to play in. On the other hand, with the dryer acoustics, you can play around more with the softer end of the dynamic range of instruments.

The stage was a bit cramped for a full orchestra and choir... perhaps a chamber ensemble would work better here?

Anyway, I had mentioned that the audience seats weren't raked... but instead, the stage is slightly sloped to help with sightlines for the audience. This is quite a common trick for spoken word theatres... but it is pretty annoying as a musician... especially if you are sitting down!

Still, it was a nice place to play in... even if the acoustic wasn't the best.... at least the sound shell helped a bit! And often, when you are in less than ideal conditions... well, you just step up and make it work! Well... that is probably the better strategy rather than a righteous crank-out!

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Teatro Manzoni: Pistoia, ITALY

Another little memory from the last year in Europe... this time from a trip to Italy, in the very pleasant region of Pistoia. We had a las...

Teatro Manzoni: Pistoia, ITALY

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Where is Montecchio Maggiore

Today I would like to talk to you about the famous castles of Montecchio Maggiore in the province of Vicenza.

The story of Romeo and Juliet is one of the events that are deeply rooted in the collective imagination, also leaving the literary sphere, the story of love between two young people belonging to rival families, the all-encompassing dreamy character of the sentiment, its clash with the harsh adverse reality is on the tragic end.

It has never been possible to understand if this story is true or if it is a legend anyway in Montecchio Maggiore according to the poet Luigi da Porto there were the castles of these two families, which is why today I will tell you about Juliet's while tomorrow I will write an article on that of Romeo.

entrance to the castleentrance to the castle

the bellaguardia castle is called Giulietta's castle and rises at an altitude of about 250 meters, at a distance of about 300 meters from the other castle that we will see in the next article, it is moved towards that part of the village of Montecchio historically called the "cost" is not a large building but a modest building to defend a tower from a previous era which is built in a manner similar to that of the keep.

large entrance courtyardlarge entrance courtyarddrains lead to the panoramic terracedrains lead to the panoramic terrace

As soon as you enter the castle there is a large courtyard which in recent years has been used as an outdoor bar, turning right there is a staircase that takes us to the panoramic terrace above the restaurant because in recent years this castle has become a restaurant where banquets are organized and weddings are celebrated.

panoramic terracepanoramic terraceKeep towerKeep tower

From the panoramic terrace you can have a 360 ° view of the entire Chiampo valley and it is clear from here that the castle had to perform exclusively military functions, but was abandoned when it passed under the Republic of Venice and the castle remained in a state of neglect until to the execution of the first restorations in the 1930s.

Romeo’s castleRomeo's castle

As you can see, you can see Romeo's castle very well Unfortunately I was unable to enter the restaurant because I found it closed but inside you can find the Scenes from the story of Romeo and Juliet painted.

entrance to the restaurantentrance to the restaurant

the advice if you are in those parts that in addition to visiting the castle you go to eat in this restaurant because it is really worth it I have already tested it several times and I must say that it prepares excellent dishes.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my article tomorrow the one about Romeo's castle will come out.

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Juliet's castle in Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza)

Where is Montecchio Maggiore Today I would like to talk to you about the famous castles of Montecchio Maggiore in the province of Vicenza....

Juliet's castle in Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza)

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The Soave Castle is located in the province of Verona and is considered one of the most important castles in the whole of Veneto

Although I live nearby it had been several years since I hadn't visited it, I think my last visit was when I was still 15, now I'm almost 40 so it's been enough time.

courtyard

The castle was built in 1379 by the will of cansignorio della Scala, naturally over the years it passed from hand to various families, when unfortunately in 1500 it was set on fire at the end of the Republic of Venice, but then it was bought by an important noble family of the area and let's say that towards at the end of 1800 it was recovered to bring it to its ancient splendor and still be open to visitors today.

You enter from a small entrance that has been created in the walls because the main entrance is almost always closed and it is the one where we find the drawbridge.

You immediately enter the large courtyard but inside there are two, the first where there are also the remains of a small church, and the second which leads to the main building.

staircase leading to the keep tower

In the second courtyard where there is the staircase to climb the walkway that leads to the keep tower that served as a prison, there is the house of the captain who was the one who directed the castle and took care of the defense of the valley.

Unfortunately, for issues related to covid-19, it is no longer possible to enter this house which housed the original furnishings of the time and the ancient armor that have come down to our days.

keep tower

It is right to say a few words about the use of this keep tower which, in addition to serving as a prison, unfortunately, those condemned to death were thrown down from above.

In fact, under the base of the tower many skeletons of people were found, so its function was not only to offer a sighting point of view, but also an instrument of death.

the visit lasts about an hour is a fairly small building so in a short time you can make this visit I also recommend you to visit the Borgo di Soave which is located at the foot of this castle in fact there is a beautiful walk that starts from Borgo and go up to the castle I leave you below the video I made a few months ago.

As usual I hope that this article has made you discover a new place in my wonderful Italy and that maybe one day you can visit it in person follow me because I will surely let you discover other places.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

I leave you this information to reach Soave by car from Milan take the A4 motorway and there is the Soave exit.

By train, the nearest railway station is San Bonifacio, then it is possible to reach Soave by bus because it is approximately 5 km away.

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Visit to the Soave Castle (Verona) - Italy

The Soave Castle is located in the province of Verona and is considered one of the most important castles in the whole of Veneto Although ...

Visit to the Soave Castle (Verona) - Italy

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The views from this camping are amazing!My home in Toblach for just 14 EURO shower included Capucino 2.3 EUR + apfelstrudel 4.5 EUR

Indeed the coffee helped with the return plan. As I was looking at the map and to that strudel and back to the map I noticed that I actually made it close to the Austrian border, which now explains how good the strudel was.

Day 7 planning

While sipping at my coffee and admiring the scenery a train just passed by and suddenly all made sense to me. I said to myself that is no point of continuing touring into Austria just for a day considering I still need to return to Italy the following day and catch the train back to Verona to return the rented bike, which for sure will take me some time in transit. So instead, I decided to relax, ordered a second coffee and just checked the surrounding area on the map for a while. Doing so I discovered a lake nearby with lots of reviews and another camping near it which all inspired me to change camp and go there to discover the beautiful nature around me for my last day of bike touring on EuroVelo 7 this year.

Camping Olympia was great

Let me show you around.

Mini market on siteClean bathroom and showersIs that a dishwasher? I need one of these back home :) badlyNo excuse to stink while touring (4 EUR washing + 4 EUR drier)

Indeed camping Olympia is a 4* camping considering all the facilities, services offered, cleanliness, prices and location. I liked it here and would recommend it to all my fellow travellers in transit.

Look at them, Dolomites are fantastic

Now let's get closer to them, shall we?

Junction point properly signposted

Here, there is a junction of two routes: EuroVelo 7 (Sun Route) which I followed so far and Munich-Venice route which traverses the Dolomites. Will take the Venice route south towards the Toblacher See which is just couple of km away.

Happy to discover Toblacher See with you, it's so beautiful up here

Camping Toblacher See is perfectly situated near the lake and offers everything you would expect from a modern camping for a fair price of 25 EUR/day, stunning views included.

Camping mapSet up camp quickly and went exploring this amazing placeThe bathroom by the way

I propose a walk around the lake first.

Pristine stream flowing to the lakeInteresting to watch this trout fishermanDolomites...can just stare at them all dayA few happy cowsZen spot

Considering it was still early, around noon when I finished the lake tour and impressed by the beautiful nature around me, I decided to explore the area a bit further upstream towards those magnificent mountains in the back.

No cruising speed today, just slow exploration and enjoymentWe are on Cortina d'Ampezzo bike route, let's go furtherOMGThis is amazing!Look at that!The monumental trio "The Three Peaks" 2857-2999-2973 mInteresting history to read about on these panelsThe once Dolomites Railway is what I'm riding my bike on todayDurrensee (Lago di Landro)Same wheel different times

It started raining soon after I arrived at Lago di Landro, so I began searching for a place to take shelter and noticed a restaurant just across the road that seemed like the perfect spot to be right now.

And it surely was considering I also had a fabulous lunch while waiting for the rain to stop.

Had this local tyrolean dish which was just perfectGot served a rainbow for desert :)Monte Cristallo (3,221 m)

The new refreshed atmosphere and those mountains in the distance kept calling me to get closer which is exactly what I did after lunch when the sun came out.

Here at the border of Trentino-South TyrolI with Veneto I decided to stop my exploration and head back to the camping cause it was getting late. I’ll definitely return to cycle in the Dolomites one day – it's a must-do.

Monte Cristallo in the evening light

Here the scenery is always changing based on the weather and time of the day.

And back, just in time to catch the sunset over the Toblacher SeeD6 map

So, I've got a bit off track the main EV7 route for my last day of touring in the region but it was well worth it. It was by chance that my days of touring ended exactly here close to the border, otherwise I would have simply continued along EuroVelo 7 towards Austria and missing the opportunity to experience these breathtaking lakes and mountains up close and really savor life, which is exactly what Discover EuroVelo is all about.

Until next time,

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A day in Toblach exploring the surroundings

The views from this camping are amazing! My home in Toblach for just 14 EURO shower included Capucino 2.3 EUR + apfelstrudel 4.5 EUR Indee...

A day in Toblach exploring the surroundings

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