Archives: July 2008
In Which I Have A Happy Birthday
July 26, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Venice Happy birthday to yoooooooooooooooou Happy birthday to yoooooooooooooooou Happy birthday dear BesideTheSeaside Happy birthday toooooooooooooooo you Yes, it was two years ago today that I set out for Murmansk. Bloody nora! And here I am, in Venice. Bloody nora! I stood, this afternoon, on a bridge overlooking a dirty...
In Which I'm All Shook Up
July 21, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Norwich Hello. Just interrupting my break back in the UK to point out that, at 15,561 days old, I am, today, exactly the same age that Elvis was when he died. I've been wearing a panel shirt all day and curling my upper lip. My hair is greasy. I ate...
In Which The Mystery Deepens
July 11, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Somewhere In Italy I've left lovely San Marino behind, a country that I seriously considered sticking in one of my panniers and taking with me for the rest of the trip. It's pretty; it's also so unnecessary and implausible and.. and.. all the better for it. Also, 24 hours away...
In Which I Flounce Out Of Italy
July 10, 2008 by Mike in Diary
San Marino Route: Numana - Ancona - Rimini (Italy) - San Marino I have absolutely nothing good to say about Numana or the Conero Azzurro campsite. I'm not going to manage to avoid pointing out that the owner of the campsite claims to be the nephew of yesterday's hero, Padre...
In Which My Soul Remains Unsaved
July 8, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Numana Route: Lido del Sole - Pescara - Civitanova - Numana I could have turned inland today to visit the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. San Giovanni Rotondo is home to what's left of Padre Pio, the only man whose face is more ubiquitous in this country than Berlusconi's....
In Which Things Heat Up
July 7, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Lido del Sole Route: Giovinazzo - Manfredonia - Pugnochiuso - Lido del Sole Today would have been about the two bikers I met in Manfredonia from... Norwich. Yes! Well, Old Catton, actually, which is all of 5.8 miles from the house where I grew up. They've just come over on...
In Which I Have A Real Sunday Lunch
July 6, 2008 by Mike in Diary
The Town With No Name Route: Otranto - Turchi - Casalabate - Brindisi - Monopoli - Bari - The Town With No Name A genuine news article in the newspaper: local firemen have solved a serious problem. Whenever fire engines in a nearby town were called out in an emergency,...
In Which I Forget To Write Thousands Of Words About My Day
July 5, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Otranto A day spent topping up the tan. I'm much to busy to type. After this, I have to head north: I have a date 1000 kilometres and more away. More in the next couple of days ;-) -- Here's one of the gate-keepers at the campsite. Over the din...
In Which It All Gets Worryingly Zen
July 4, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Route: Marina de Ginosa - Marina di Castellaneta - Taranto - Gallipoli - San Maria di Leuca - Otranto Yesterday's entry turned out something like a photo-story from "Jackie" magazine, and today starts the same way. On 3 August 2006 I got the Bonnie as far north and east of...
In Which Christ Did Indeed Stop At Eboli
July 3, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Marina de Ginosa Route: Scanzano Jonico - Aliano - Scanzano - Marina di Castellaneta - Marina de Ginosa I may have been slightly cryptic last night when I revealed how excited I was about coming to Aliano. Nobody in the real world should have heard of Aliano. Relatively few people...
In Which I Hope Neil Young Will Remember
July 2, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Scanzano Jonico Route: Calounia Marina - Crotone - Scanzano Jonico It was time to pay up and leave Camping Afrodite. Bruno, who had been really interested to hear about the journey and how long I've been on the road, was concerned. "Mike, if you haven't got any money, you stay...
In Which I Realise I Forgot To Pack A Clothes Iron
July 1, 2008 by Mike in Diary
Marina di Calounia Marina Happy birthday to yoooooooooooou Happy birthday to yoooooooooooou Happy birthday dear Frankieeeeee Happy birthday toooooooooooo you x -- Three days in Marina di Calounia to recharge the batteries. It's not somewhere you'd necessarily think to stop, especially after rattling through the glories of Sicily, but in...