10 degrees of separation...

Sunday 28th March was down in the diary as the day to get ourselves over to Reggio Emilia to the annual event organised by C.A.M.E.R. or "Club Auto Moto d'Epoca Reggiano". This is a huge fair where you can go and swap bits of, or whole vintage cars and motorcycles. It covers several pavilions and a vast outdoor space. Being something of a Johnny Cash fan, all I could think of was his song "One Piece at a Time". I swear, if you couldn't find the bit you needed there, you didn't need it. It is the place to go if you are restoring a motorbike or car.
The vintage bikes and cars were amazing, and we even saw a couple of Royal Enfields. As would probably be expected, Vespas had a strong presence. It was generally very interesting, but eventually all the bits got a little tedious, as was carrying our heavy bike jackets, and we had to have a rest for lunch. In a rather pleasant turn up, the weather was really, really hot. At 26 degrees C in the sun, we were sweating in our bike gear, even though I, for once, hadn't dressed like M. Michelin's evil twin sister... After an omelette sandwich and a drink of water we decided to leave the enthusiasts to their bits and pieces and head off.
It was far too nice a day and far too early to go home, so we head off up to Pavullo in the foothills of the Modenese Apennines. It's always a lovely ride up and we always pass loads of bikers. It was a bit quiet up there and some 10 degrees colder than down on the Pianura Padana. After a coffee (well, a rather late in the day cappuccino for Miss Wuss here), we headed back down to the warmth and home.
A lovely taste of rides to come as the days get warmer and longer. I can't wait!

Royal Enfield

We had an interesting trip over to Bologna to visit the Royal Enfield showroom. How lovely to sit on a bike and be able to touch the floor! I wouldn't mind me one of these beasties!

Sunny Sunday, let's head for the coast! (Never mind the snow...)

After much erming and aahing, we decided to head off to the festival of San Giuseppe in Cervia on the Romagnolo east coast. With expectations of a lovely fish lunch, we set off into the gorgeous sunny but chilly morning.
We've had so much snow this winter, but early last week we had the heaviest snowfall not just of this winter, but of many winters, with 50cm falling in little over 24 hours in our area of Modena and nearly a metre in Romagna where we were heading. As we headed towards Bologna, there was still snow lying in the fields, and in spite of the customary many layers, it was a bit chilly up on the back.
Leaving the confines of Bologna, the snow in the fields began to peter out. Interesting, since this was the area that had had more snow. All I can assume was that it was now warmer than around Modena and most of it had melted. There was still evidence of it in the shady bits of fields and the colossal mounds around the edges of service stations. This part of the journey was a bit warmer and was decidedly pleasant as we got nearer to the coast.
We parked up and had a walk before finding somewhere to eat for lunch. The sunny weather and festival had brought in a lot of visitors and restaurants were pretty full. We eventually opted for "La Cambusa", over the road from the lighthouse. We decided to forgo the starter and get straight in with the main course. I opted for a mixed grill of crustaceans, and Claudio went for mixed fried seafood and vegetables. We had this with oven roast potato wedges and grilled vegetables. Completely delicious. I finished off with a yummy mandarin sorbet and Claudio had a coffee.
After lunch we had another walk about and then headed home.
The festival of San Giuseppe largely takes place on the beach and in the evening there are fireworks and a ceremonial bonfire to burn all the sad and old things from the winter. Unfortunately we missed this as we wanted to get home before dark. Nevertheless, we had a great trip out!




km: 300
Buzzards spotted: 4 (one of which was on ground eating something
Grey Herons spotted: 2
Egrets spotted: 2
Grebes spotted: 1
Silly little dogs spotted: Millions. Loads with silly clothes on