In the South of Italy

You will find:

Seaside villages perched on mountains.

Cliffs, caves and rock formations that will blow your mind.

Hikes that will challenge you but reward you greatly.

Volcanoes you can climb.

Ruins you can hike up to and explore.

Yes, I do believe the south is a marvelous place.

I'm 1/4 Dutch so that makes me a Winner

I was able to make it to today's Giro stage in Orvieto.  Such a contrast to Parma, especially now that a rider has passed away.

Orvieto was organized differently as it was more of a summit finish than Parma.  The team buses were in a different part of the city and quite a walk from where I was (700m from the finish).  The atmosphere was a bit more energetic as the confines of this small city bottled up all the energy.

The pictures aren't that great but I wasn't exactly trying.  Instead, I wanted to shout and scream at the riders to get their asses up the hill.  So that's what I did.

Comedic relief brought to you today by Liquigas.  I watched for about 20 minutes as the Liquigas bus tried to fit down a narrow road to leave Orvieto.

Angry Italian men thought they could help the situation by waving their arms frantically.

A day at the races

I have been out in the sun all. day. long.

I am tired, sunburnt and sore, but I saw a stage of the Giro d'Italia for the first time ever, so all is right.

We set off at 9 a.m. from Florence, made a quick stop at IKEA for a dish and some picture frames, then parked up in Parma for some Giro goodness.

We decided to change into our cycling kits and go for a ride to check out the scene.

There was no crowd when we were riding.  Was nice to cruise around without traffic.

Another wardrobe change and we were soaking up the atmosphere on foot.

At about 4:45 p.m., Ged and I found a TV and watched as the riders approached the final kilometers.  This was the soigneurs tent.

Mario Cipollini was watching too.

A few minutes later, the riders rolled in.  They looked dead tired.

Ged got a picture of Petacchi before he was pulled in to pee for doping.

We stayed a bit longer to watch riders get interviewed and to take pictures of their bikes.

Tried to wait around for Cav but his driver was too sneaky and kept moving the car around.

Took pics of his bike though.

Going to another stage in two weeks.  Can't wait.