Croatia

[FJRBandit]

My words fall far too short for this RR so I won't even try. I'll just leave it at this :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

 

[rogdeb]

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: Keep 'em coming Nik :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

And I'm slow ??

""And this PYT came to take our order. Her first words were, "Welcome bikers!". She says her parents own big bikes too and frequently go on long rides as well.""

PYT ?

 

[escapefjrtist]

<snippage> :lol:

PYT ?

Pretty Young Thing!



--G

 

[nik.hisham]

LITTLE TOWN CALLED SENJ

As usual, we gathered in front of the hotel to go for dinner. While waiting for the others, I took a couple of shots...

War memorial

Not a fan of cruisers but this looked beautiful under the street light.

Little boats docked at the pier

Friendly ice cream man

The rest of the guys appeared, and we went looking for a nice place to eat.

China shop in Croatia

My wife had to get her fridge magnet

Someone's left a light on..

and a door ajar

Another door ajar, and this time we could see inside

We found a really nice place to eat. Have a look at the video

->



Just some shots from the restaurant..

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. We were looking forward to tomorrow - riding the most popular stretch of road in croatia.

More to come...

 

[SacramentoMike]

The guy pumping the treadle under the table was doing. . . what????

 

[nik.hisham]

THAT FAMOUS CROATIAN ROAD

We woke up bright and early as always. The island across the harbor bathed in the morning sun..

Last look out the balcony before we got on the bikes

We got out of Senj and was immediately greeted with miles and miles of this...

This was the stretch of road that we were looking forward to.. all along the coast of the Adriatic Sea

At times, I was even laughing out loud in my helmet, we were having so much fun! :yahoo:

Never ending curves and bends

Here's a short clip of that ride ->



We reluctantly had a quick stop for coffee

The wife went hunting for a fridge magnet or two while I enjoyed the view

Before long, we were on our way again - more twisty stuff! :yahoo:

Dave even mounted his Go Pro and rode at the back to get some video

Along the way, there were many coves with blue water so clear you could see to the bottom

There was some light traffic and the occasional cyclist

We arrived into Karlobag and it started to rain, so we stopped for lunch even though is was still early.

While we waited for our lunch, I fidgeted with the camera. We were eager to get past lunch as we had to get to Split before 6pm so that we would not miss our cruise ship back to Italy

We hit some straight roads as we headed out of Karlobag

but soon were in the twisty stuff again as we rode across some mountains..

We hit the coast again after about an hour...

and felt it was time for another break before our final run towards Split

I didn't take many pictures until we got to Split as we started getting into city traffic. But we did arrive in time for our cruise.

Coming next: The Adriatic Crossing!

 

[nik.hisham]

The guy pumping the treadle under the table was doing. . . what????

I believe that would be Dave pretending to sew. He and Ian couldn't stop playing with the thing...

 

[Old Michael]

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

(You're going to need a bigger refrigerator.)

 

[nik.hisham]

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

(You're going to need a bigger refrigerator.)

LOL! Yeah, it's so front heavy now, it could tip over anytime. Actually, you'd be surprised how heavy the fridge magnets were. We bought a few at every stop. By the time we reached Pisa, we had to buy a small bag to put it all in...

 

[nik.hisham]

THE ADRIATIC CROSSING

We got to Split with plenty of time to spare before we had to board the ferry. This was our ride as we approached Split..



Split is a big port city. Lots of private yachts..

and huge cruise liners...

While Dave and Sandra sorted our boarding passes, we went for a look see...

Our ship was the one behind Marko Polo. It was a low cost ferry. Fairly inexpensive.

Time to board. But we had to pass through immigrations before we could get on the boat. It's strange how Croatia had immigrations at departure, passport stamping, ID verification and the whole shebang but on arrival at Italy, you just waltzed into their country. No questions asked.

Passports stamped, we wait at the front of the queue to ride into the big boat. Cars, buses and even 18 wheelers would enter the right cargo door, make a U-turn inside the ship and form a queue at the left door. The smaller bikes would just board using the left door and park along the sides.

The wait was not very long.. We were on the ship in no time.

After a shower and short rest, we set out to walk around the deck before dinner

Passengers on foot would board there

Passengers who opted to just pay for a seat. Looks cramped and uncomfortable. Made me dread the 13 hour return flight from Paris to Kuala Lumpur..

Never been on a cruise ship before... well, a big ferry, actually.

Bumped into Ian on deck, and the rest would show up too. We were off to dinner!

Dinner time! Best seats in the house, overlooking the bow.

Trying to figure out what to eat. I can't remember what we ordered but I do recall that it was pretty good.

After dinner, we headed back to our rooms to retire for the night. There was a party out on deck. Not sure if the others went to have a look. The wife and I were eager to have a party of our own in the room :yahoo:

So the overnight crossing was very smooth. We arrived into the port city of Ancona at 8 am.

We took our time, had breakfast and let all the other vehicles get off first before we went below to get the bikes

Just a commuter train crossing as we left the port

We were headed to Fano, only 15 minutes away, where Dave and Sandra first met. We got there in no time and had some coffee before looking for a hotel.

We settled on the Beaurivage. Inexpensive. Cosy place to park the bikes...

..and an awesome view! (this was actually taken the next morning)

More to come....

 

[Bungie]

"At times, I was even laughing out loud in my helmet, we were having so much fun! :yahoo: "

I've done this more than a few times. It's why we ride! Great report and photography Nik!

 

[rogdeb]

<snippage> :lol:

PYT ?

Pretty Young Thing!



--G

Yup !! I'm slow thanks George.

 

[SacramentoMike]

"At times, I was even laughing out loud in my helmet, we were having so much fun! :yahoo: "

I've done this more than a few times. It's why we ride! Great report and photography Nik!

Exactly what I was thinking when I read that. And I'll add your wife did a great job with the video camera. It's unusual--and welcome--to see a riding vid where the perspective can change like that in the same shot, like when she panned back to catch the hills behind you and so on. Coming down that Croatia Road, and looking across the water--is that Italy we're seeing in the first of these last two videos? It's always fun to know. Still hanging on every installment, Nik.

 

[nik.hisham]

REST DAY

We were supposed to have a rest day in Fano... you know, take a break, do laundry, etc. Nah - let's leave the bags at the hotel and head up to San Marino!

San Marino sat atop a hill. Only 30 minutes or so from Fano. It was pretty foggy up there...

Part of the stone wall surrounding San Marino

Doesn't look very steep but it actually is...

This guy will caricature you in just a few minutes

Saw this display in one of the shops..

Lunchtime!

Some hotel in the principality

Town square

Cool arches

This guy saw me taking some shots and decided to pose at the door...

It was afternoon and Dave wanted to show us around Fano. He used to live there for many years and had many friends there. So we headed back to Fano.

View from the balcony. Took this while the wife was in the shower.

Dave took us on a walk around the town and this was some of the stuff we saw..

On the wall surrounding the town

Some historic building at the city gate

Layout of the entire town of Fano

Dave's kids went to school here many years ago

That is a really thick wall protecting the city

Ridiculously photogenic Italian

Fano town square

So we sat here for quite a while, watching people go by as the sun set.

It's pretty cool how Italians congregate at the town square every day. Young or old, they all hang out here. And it's the same in every Italian town we visit.

We head for dinner at a restaurant and bar that Dave used to always hang out at and meet his old friend Leo

Old friendship rekindled..

and new ones formed

A toast to old friends

Another old friend, Constantine (guy with guitar) dropped by

Dinner in Fano

And some fun too!

The night came to an end and we said our goodbyes and hoped our paths would cross again soon

We headed back to the hotel to get some rest. This was the mid-way point of the whole trip and tomorrow would mark the start of the return leg.

More to come. Hope this RR is not becoming too long.

 

[nik.hisham]

<snippage> :lol:

PYT ?

Pretty Young Thing!



--G

Yup !! I'm slow thanks George.

Yup, PYT = pretty young thing. I believe Michael Jackson had a song with that title. Pretty catchy tune too..

 

[Mount Rainier]

More to come. Hope this RR is not becoming too long.

Keep it coming Nik. Absoutly wonderful!

With all the great photos, this is my favorite to date.

Keep Going!

 

[nik.hisham]

GOODBYE FANO. HELLO PISA.

Morning came and the missus sampled the view from the balcony one last time before we left

We got up a bit early this morning so decided to walk around the beach before breakfast

It was not a sandy beach

A bit cloudy today. Hope it doesn't rain.

The guys came down and we headed for a nearby cafe for breakfast

Sandra always orders for all of us

Dave says the road today will be pretty good

So we were off. Mostly highway for the first leg.

Stopped for coffee..

and fuel

..and we were off again

We rode through some small towns..

..along some tree lined roads..

..into a few tunnels

Just a picture of my trusty Sena SMH10. I talk a lot to my wife while we ride. Would not enjoy riding with the wife as much without it.

We eventually came to this place and had to stop for another coffee

Apparently this is a popular stop for bikers

Rested, we set off again

twisting and turning... we were doing this all morning, hence the two coffee stops in stead of the normal one

Our lunch stop

Lunch was quick. Off again in a hurry, as we were getting close to Pisa and couldn't wait to see the place..

Outside the city walls

Finally made it! And with plenty of time to wander around and get some shots of the town. The hotel was immediately to my left - only 100 meters from the tower.

The hotel lobby

The room. Simple and clean.

We cleaned up, had a quick rest, and were back out again to see this guy taking a pic of his BMW

We headed for the tower..

..and got this group shot

Ian trying to get a good angle of the tower

Ian thought this should go on a postcard

Just like at the Louvre, people were doing all kinds of creative "push the tower" shots

Beer o'clock again

You can rent these to get around town

although I think this would be more fun!

We followed Dave and Sandra in search of a nice place to dine..

but got lost - and we weren't even on the bikes this time

Anyway, we did eventually find a place. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the dinner except this one.

Dinner was wonderful, as usual. And as usual, we would head back to the hotel on a full stomach and ready for sleep.

More to come..

 

[SacramentoMike]

That is a really thick wall protecting the city

Great shot of the wall, Nik.

Ridiculously photogenic Italian

Looks like the guy with the man-purse thought so too.

Another great architecture shot, Nik.

 

[Tyler]

You have such a great eye, Nik... whether you realize it or not, you've definitely had an effect on my eye when photographing things!

 

[airboss]

You have such a great eye, Nik... whether you realize it or not, you've definitely had an effect on my eye when photographing things!

As always you are correct Tyler.

Nik has a great eye.