Dogs all came to visit as soon as they heard me stirring. All three tried to get on my yoga mat at the same time and compete for my attention. Big one shed fur all over, then left for a bit, but all returned while I sat on the bench and made, then ate my breakfast. Little one has become very brave and comes around now all on his own without mama Maya.

Stopped at another larger hardware store on my way into town – also do not carry my kind of fuel canister. They had some stoves of the same brand, but wouldn’t work for me. Oh well, Colin will be here in 2 days so I’ll be able to cook again. I miss my hot tea while I do yoga, but it’s a sacrifice I must make – ha ha.

Had just crossed the only traffic light in town when I noticed a large group of folks standing on one side of the road just ahead, and some more on the other side in front of a building – also large bunches of flowers. Figured they were getting ready for a funeral, so took an alternate route to the cafe. A short while later a policeman was stopping traffic on the small side road nearby, and a hearse covered with flowers and followed by the folks came up right past the cafe. There was a prayer playing on a speaker in the car, and all of the followers repeated it together as they walked to the church (that is right behind the fountain that is about 25 feet away from the cafe).

Speaking of the church – they don’t have mosques here like they did in Bosnia and Herzegovina so there’s no wailing from the minaret five times a day, but the church by the fountain rings its bells twice for every hour – 10 rings at 10:00, then another 10 at three minutes past (just in case you missed the first 10?). Also one ring on the half-hour.

Rode a tiny bit west then north from town towards Garzigliana and Osasco – first part was on very quiet roads, even turned to dirt/rocks, but then met a busier road so I turned back.

Wanted to get to a store before mid-day closing at 12:30. Stocked up on a bit more food then went back to camp and coloured my mop-top purple again – got to be ready for the Tour! No frilly tutu, but the hair will be there.

Made my lunch and was just about to start eating when I saw baby dog Preet trotting along with something in his mouth – he was about to make off with my deck of cards! Retrieved the cards, and ate my lunch, then went next door to the restaurant for tea – but they’re closed on Monday’s – rats! The lady inside understood what I asked for, and I understood her telling me they were closed today but would be open tomorrow. No wi-fi anywhere close so rode back into town to the cafe.

The church bell is having a bit of a problem – it’s 4:06 and it’s ringing and ringing – seems stuck upside down at times, and then starts ringing again. And it’s not in tune. Six minutes of clanging and clanging but finally peace – at least until 4:30 then we’ll see.

Facetimed Dom, then left for ‘home’. Stopped at a store to get a bit of wine – asked for ‘rosso vino – local’ and instead of showing me a bottle she showed me two big metal vats – one ‘dolce’ and one ‘secco’ – chose the latter (dry). She indicated that if I had a bottle she would just fill it for me, so I went out to my bike and grabbed my metal water bottle. She weighed it, then gave it a squirt from a vat – not full yet, so another small squirt – 1 euro!

Rode home for dinner – all doggies joined me around my mat. Little ones ate more cheese – big old guy was content to lay nearby. Baby Preet let me pick him up and hold him, then he cuddled contentedly next to my leg – he’s just so sweet!

I’m sure this place is closed for the summer, but the folks are hardly ever here and when they are it never seems like the appropriate moment to converse with them. I think they are just letting me stay here because I arrived in June and they won’t ask me to leave. I hope they’ll let Colin stay on Wednesday if he wants to when he arrives.

Was actually sleeping in a bit until the weed blower started up – 7:45 is rather late for me anyway.

After my usual routine at camp and then at the cafe in Cavour, rode west until the ‘cycle only’ path I’d passed yesterday. Headed north until I came across the river, then turned around south a bit then east on another ‘cycle only’ path – it’s so nice not to have to contend with traffic, although most of the roads I rode on were really very quiet.

Passed lots of farms – orchards, the ever present corn, dairy cows – all very beautiful with the Alps in the background.

Got back to camp after a couple of hours – only rode about 25 km today, but that’s ok. Did laundry, ate lunch – dogs don’t even bark at me any more once they realize it’s me and not some ‘stranger’.

Went next door again and sat outside on their patio and had a cup of tea. Facetimed Dom, drank more tea. Asked what they had for soup today, but it’s far too early for dinner here. The cook did come out and tell the young English-speaking waitress what kind of sandwiches she could make for me though. Ordered the ham and cheese with zucchini, which wasn’t bad. The white cheese was nice and creamy but the ham was processed and the zucchini was a bit on the mushy side. However when you’re sitting on a patio looking over a kiwi orchard towards the Alps, it’s ok.

Very special day – the Tour de France starts today! Oh – yes – also it’s Canada’s 150th Birthday! Although I must say that with many things over here being several hundred (if not thousands) of years old, 150 doesn’t really seem like that much.

Was awake at 6:30 – might as well get up as the menagerie is also awake, and plus it’s a beautiful looking day out – all blue sky except for one fluffy white cloud over one of the northern mountains. Big dog came for a visit while I was doing yoga – got a few dirty footprints on my yoga mat, but didn’t have the heart to shoo him away.

Got on my way into town by 9:15 – went, of course, to my usual cafe by the fountain. It seems to have two names – Caffe Vergnano 1882, and Caffe della Fontana – it is right by the fountain, and on Via Fontana, so not sure which is correct, except that the wi-fi does come up under Fontana.

The propane/butane fuel I got in Bevagna finally ran out, so tried to get some more – bit of a frustrating experience. The fellow at the cafe had a map and marked where we were and where the store was that I could get another canister at – but nope – they didn’t have it. Rode around and asked at least 5 more folks, including at the market, and they all told me to go to the same place that doesn’t have it. Finally gave up and just started riding west.

Took the road to Bibiana – nice quiet road with hardly any traffic. The town is smaller than Cavour, and also didn’t seem to have any store that sold canister fuel. Passed an interesting looking cyclepath (no cars) that went both north and south from the road I was on – was going to follow it but clouds had gathered overhead and suddenly looked threatening. Decided to head back to the cafe rather than going on a longer ride – plus I’m fairly tired and a bit sore from the last couple of days riding. I know that 40 km a day isn’t much, but for ‘little ole me’ it’s quite a bit!

Back at the cafe for another cup of tea, and to eat the lunch I’d brought – facetimed Dom, even though it was only 4 in the morning at home.

Headed back to campground – doggies all waiting. Walked next door to the place I had dinner at with the Germans the other night. Took a bit of a tour around their orchards and gardens – they grow kiwis here!

All of the dogs are now my good friends. Even little one lies down on my ground cover and tries to eat my food. Mama Maya likes cheese, and little Preeta loves tuna.

Walked next door again because there were so many cars going there – wondered if there was a wedding or some other kind of party happening. No – just a regular Saturday night. Sat down at an outside table – hooked up to the internet and waited about an hour for my tea – a nice herbal selection. Can hear some music from somewhere – maybe a bar or something a mile or two away.

Slightly overcast looking this morning, but that can and likely will change. My usual routine – do yoga, eat, ride to Cavour, drink tea at Caffe Vergnano while updating blog and catching up on news, ride for a couple of hours, back to cafe.

I’ve ridden over 37 km today so far – yesterday was 43 in all. Made it east to a little past Villa Franca on very small back roads, then returned to Cavour on main roads, after taking a little detour north towards Vigone. It started to rain a bit at one point, but I didn’t have to stop and put on my jacket.

It’s very rural around here – lots of orchards, and corn-fields – some of the corn is at least 8 or 9 feet tall. Also dairy farms – you can tell when you’re getting near one as they have their own special ‘aroma’.

Got back to the cafe and didn’t even have to ask for wi-fi – as soon as the waiter saw me he said ‘I’ll get the wi-fi on for you’. I sat outside for quite a while (eating the lunch I’d brought) before I realized he wasn’t even going to bring me tea – I could have sat here for 2 hours using their internet and not even ordered anything. I did go inside, however, and asked for some tea. He brought out a nice wooden box and inside were about 15 different kinds of tea – just in case I really wanted something other than black.

Blue sky is back – bit of a breeze but very pleasant Friday afternoon. Rode back to camp against a bit of a headwind – stopped at the market to stock up again. I’ve been getting a lot of things I normally wouldn’t because Colin is coming with his van and I won’t have to carry the stuff on my bike.

Had a nice shower to wash the road-dirt off, did two loads of laundry and had a really nice dinner on a bench in the playground. A lady I hadn’t seen before came to ask me how long I was staying, as apparently they are not open tomorrow. I told her I was meeting a friend on Wednesday, but would probably be here until Thursday (in Italian and she understood me!).

Went to do my dinner dishes – even baby puppy doesn’t bark at me anymore, and actually let me touch him – I’m becoming like family now! Grandpa of the place told me that mama’s name is Maya and baby is Preet (not sure of spelling).

Took another little walk around the barn area – there’s also a shetland-type pony and a couple of younger horses – they must have been resting inside the barn when I looked a couple of days ago.

Donkey seemed especially unhappy this morning – was braying like crazy at around 6:30 so no more sleep. Bright blue sky and sun shining brightly on my tent. At least I got to do yoga for the first time since Saturday – it’s been years since I went 4 days in a row without, so it felt extra good.

Had a lovely breakfast – trying to use up the cheese I got yesterday so it doesn’t go bad if the weather actually stays warm. The package says ‘dutch’ but I would call it ‘swiss’ – whatever it is it’s delicious and I don’t like wasting good things!

Said goodbye to Angelika and Jochen and their dog Kalle (extremely well-behaved dog) – they issued another invitation to please visit them anytime in Germany. I would love to – perhaps Colin and I could arrange it, although it’s probably a little out of our planned route. Maybe next time!

Went for a ride – first stop was Cavour, where I asked a man on a bike where the bike routes around here are. He didn’t speak English, so I showed him one of the ‘useful phrases’ I had put in notes on the ipad. He nodded and led me to the ‘info’ centre where, together with the young boy on duty, got me a map of the area’s cycling routes and told me – it Italian with hand motions thrown in for good measure – how to find the nearest easy one.

Had a really good ride – first and last parts on ‘main’ roads without much traffic, and the middle part on very small side roads with almost no traffic. Rode southwest to Bagnolo, then took a very small road north to Campiglione Fenile, then back east to Cavour. It was very relaxing, except there is now a clicking noise on the front wheel that was annoying – will have to find out what’s making it.

Ended up at the same cafe as yesterday for another cup of tea, and to use their wi-fi. Facetimed Dom even though it’s 2 in the morning there. Had a nice chat but the reception wasn’t great and kept cutting out. Ate the cheese and veggies I brought as a snack while I caught up on news, etc.

Took a ride down a couple of roads with bike signs – I think I was heading south. Very pleasant and few cars, but didn’t go too far, as it might make a nice longer ride tomorrow. Headed back towards the campground and planned to stop at the market to get a few more things – but – closed for lunch – for 3 hours!

Decided to ride around a bit more to kill some time as they do seem to have a lot of bike trails – even some that don’t have any cars. Found a really nice pedestrian/bike path that winds almost all the way around the little mountain at the south end of town. The hill is called ‘Rocca di Cavour’ and looks like a very small Alp that’s all by itself on the plain 12-15 km away from all the big Alps. It’s a protected park and I believe there is a path up but I’d never make it on the bike.

Back at the main piazza in town I treated myself to some gelato – two flavours in a small cup. One was chocolate, with no milk so it was super strong flavour, and the other was creme – both very tasty and refreshing, but not too sweet.

Picked up a couple more things at the market on my way ‘home’ and made dinner. Little dogs came by on their ‘rounds’, big dog came not much later and visited for a bit. He sat on the ground cover I had out and demanded pats and scratches. Every time I stopped petting for more than a moment he was tapping my arm or leg with his paw to get some more.
The wind picked up suddenly and it started raining things from the trees above. I had to cover up my food and ended up moving to a bench in the playground that was under a different kind of tree. At least there’s no lightening, thunder or rain (yet).

Went and saw the menagerie – Mr. Donkey, two pens of sheep with little ones, one pen of goats, also with little ones, and a horse.

Despite how exhausted I was I slept pretty well. The storm had stopped, thank god – I think it’s the worst storm I’ve ever been in. Donkey was braying, dogs were barking – time to get up. They have 3 dogs here (at least that I’ve seen) – two of the smallest chihuahuas that I’ve ever seen – mother and baby, I think, both black with very large ears – and a golden lab that’s very gentle and wants all of the attention – he comes between me and the littles ones when I trying to pat them.

Took all of my gear out of the tent in the garage and set it to dry – hung two lines for wet clothes, did two ‘loads’ of laundry – hope it drys as it’s very cloudy out and my camping neighbours advised that there was another storm forecast for this afternoon.

The neighbours are leaving today and I’m going to take their spot which is much better. They are Margot and Russell, living now in London but originally from Australia (I knew they didn’t have British accents!). They gave me a really nice cup of coffee (my first in about 3 years) while we chatted. Russell had a look at my bike and agreed with Lutz – something wrong with the front wheel, probably to do with the bearings.

Putting dry feet and socks into my still-wet riding shoes wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The socks are doubled layered and kind of dry themselves from the inside – at least my feet weren’t freezing. Peddled into Cavour and asked directions to the bike shop (in Italian!) and was actually understood. Found the shop no problem – waited about 5 minutes then watched as the front tire was removed, and couple of things done, and voila – fixed. Took less than 5 minutes, and cost 3 euros.

Came to a cafe with wi-fi, but they don’t have food and I’m starving. Had a cup of tea, though. Asked the waitress where a nice restaurant was, and kind of understood her instructions. Took the ‘scenic route’ to get there with a couple of wrong turns, but did find it as she had told me the name. Walked in and decided it looked too fancy – besides the sky was looking a bit threatening again and I needed to stop for food supplies on the way back to camp. It started raining lightly as I rode towards camp, but I really had to get some food. Stopped at a market I’d seen on the way into Cavour – it had just about everything. Stocked up on stuff, including a perfect looking avocado. By the time I exited the store the rain had stopped and the sky was mostly blue. Rode back and brought my tent and all the bags to the camping spot that Margo and Russell had been at. Set everything out to dry a bit more, then made my lunch. The first ‘real’ food I’ve had in days – a huge salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, ham, carrots and the avocado (that was perfect – sometimes you can’t tell for sure until you open it up).

Just as I started to eat I noticed the sky was very overcast again. I figured I better setup my site before the rain came and was that ever a good decision. By the time I’d thrown all my bags in and brought all the clothes off the lines it was starting to rain. Grabbed my lunch from the bench I’d been eating on and fled into the tent just as the real downpour started. Sorted the clothes into ‘almost dry’ and ‘needs more time’ piles at each end of the tent and ate my salad.

Rain just poured and even though it was just past 1 in the afternoon the lightening lit up the tent – thunder only seconds behind almost shaking the ground. I tried not to freak out again, although it took a bit of nerve. Hoped it would pass over quickly – for now I was snug and safe, with a full belly and a cup of local red wine – I think I’m ok!

The major part of the storm passed over in about an hour, then I hung my still wet clothes out to dry – just a moment later it started to rain again. This time it was lots of rain, and only a bit of far-off lightening and thunder. It finally cleared up again after another hour or so.

Took a bit of a walk thru the orchards – lots of rows of pears followed by rows of apples and ending in a field of corn. I’m sure they have more but not on the path I took today – will have to explore more in a day or two.

I got some new neighbours this afternoon – Angelika and Jochen from Germany. They invited me over for a glass of wine – did I say no?? It still amazes me that I have not met one single person over here that likes Donald Trump or any of his retarded ideas or policies. They are all as amazed as I that not only did he get elected, but hardly any Republicans have said anything against his insane ideas or ramblings. It is just crazy.

Went to the Agritourismo next door and had dinner with Angelika and Jochen – they are so nice. We talked about so many things, and also the food was absolutely delicious – probably the best I’ve had so far. They grow most of their own food, or get it from neighbours – and it’s all organic! Started out with appies of cheese with some kind of cured meat and bread on one plate, and three veggie things on another, then went into the dining room for steak tartare with parmesan cheese, and chicken pate with blueberry sauce and excellent bread, as well as marinaded zucchini and two other things I wasn’t sure of but were also tasty. The main course was risotto with blueberries and was so good – it wasn’t actually sweet and I just loved it, and Angelika asked the cook for the recipe. Jochen had some grappa after dinner and I had a sip – hard stuff! It was such a nice dinner, and Jochen ended up paying for it all – don’t even know what the total was. I got their phone, address and email number and they said they would love for me to come visit them in Germany – maybe I will!

The bus was supposed to leave Zagreb at 2 am but was almost an hour late arriving. I think it was going all the way from Belgrade to Firenza. There was room for the bike after the driver moved a couple of suitcases around, but he made sure to tell me (through a kind interpreter that had helped me locate the right platform earlier) that the bus company was not responsible if any damage was done to the bike and that the bus wasn’t really equipped to carry it. Then he only charged me an extra 5 euros (about $7.50) for he bike and all of the bags.

The person in the seat behind me was fairly ‘entertaining’ – I don’t think I’ve ever heard more bodily noises from one person in my life. He started out by ripping a very long fart, then coughed, blew his nose, horked something up from his throat – it just went on and on the whole time. He had shoulder length grey hair and it sounded like he was trying to cough up a hairball or something. And then every once in a while he would start talking loudly to no one in particular, then mutter to himself under his breath.

Stopped at the Slovenian border – everyone had to get off the bus to file into a building and present passports/ID to the Croatian guard, then back on the bus, drove about 100 meters to the Slovenian building and same thing – off bus, into building, present to guard (got another stamp) then back on bus.

Beautiful sunrise – considering how late we left Zagreb we were only about 15 minutes late getting to Trieste. Loaded up the bike to walk across the street to the train station – mister entertainment saw the bike and started talking with me – he wanted to have a cup of coffee before I got the train, but I didn’t know how much time I would have, and I was a little wary of him (and his noises).

The first of the five trains I need to take to get to Pinerolo didn’t leave for almost 2 hours, so sat in a cafe and had some tea and re-charged the ipad and my back bike light. Got a pannini to go so I won’t starve on the train. One of the train changes I need to make only gives me six minutes, and another only nine – not sure how I’ll make it with all my gear, as some of the stations are huge with dozens of platforms.

Exchanged my Croatian kunas for euros – they wouldn’t take the Bosnian money at all. Went to wait at the platform and saw a fellow with a travelling bike – only his has a motor. His name is Karl-Heinz and he’s from Germany. He did tell me that the airlines won’t take bikes with motors, so it wouldn’t have worked for me to get one, although whenever I ride up a hill I wish I had one. Karl-Heinz only stayed on until the first stop so he can hit the road in a slightly safer place to ride – apparently drivers in Trieste are especially bad.

Ate a bit of the pannini – not too bad, it had some nice sun-dried tomatoes and lots of creamy white cheese of some sort, as well as the mushiest broccolini ever – had to put most of it out. At least it was on a whole-grain bun.

A couple more cyclists got on – Lutz from Germany and Suzanna from Sweden. We all got off to change trains in Mestre, which was great fun. My bike wouldn’t fit in the elevator so two very kind young girls helped me get it down the stairs and under the tracks to the right one, but getting it up the stairs to the right track wasn’t so easy. Some apparently kind fellows grabbed my bike and one other guy helped Suzanna then when we got to the top of the stairs they asked for money – shouldn’t surprise me. I didn’t give them any – so tired of people acting like they are nice and offering kindness, then finding out all they want is money I don’t have. The girls didn’t ask for anything and they tried to be just as helpful.

The train to Verona arrived and Lutz, Suzanna and I got on the first car – no hangers for bikes, but a nice wide flat space so we just stood there with them. Along comes the ticket-checking lady and tells us we have to get off at the next stop – there is a bike car and the other end of the train but it is full. She said there’s another train to Milano on the same track in 10 minutes and it may or may not have a bike car, that may or may not be full – she didn’t care that the bikes all had their own tickets, or that I was going to miss my connecting train.

Got off at the next stop, then headed to the far end of the platform. Suzanna and I headed to the WC – not easy following the signs, but made it back in time for the next train. Luckily there was a bike car and it was empty – room to hang 4 bikes. Lutz noticed that a couple of things are going wrong on my front wheel, so I need to take it to a bike shop asap. They finished their train trip in Verona, so I went on alone to Milano. The train station was absolutely huge, but I actually found my train with no problem. I went to put my bike in the first car I came to that had a wide flat area, but a train guy stopped me and said no – other end – and it was such a long train. Turns out he’s the conductor, and didn’t mind if I didn’t hang it from a hook like you’re supposed to. One other guy got on with a bike and off we went. By the time we got to our next destination of Chivasso there were four more bikes, but because mine was taking up all of one side of the bike carriage no one else could hang theirs – everyone was very nice about it though and two black guys helped me get it down the very large step when we arrived at my station. Final train to Pinerolo – the end of the line. Got here an hour later than I should have because of being bumped from the one train, but I likely wouldn’t have made the six minute change anyway.

Rode out of Pinerolo following directions from some folks on the street – eventually found the place with the help of a fellow working on the grounds of a church – he hardly spoke English but got his point across. Arrived at the campground right before the rain started – got the tent up just in time.

Had a really welcome shower and asked about wi-fi. The hosts kind of laughed and said ‘not when its cloudy’. The lightening is brighter than the light in my tent and the thunder is right over my head. They’ve offered to let me move my tent under cover if the rain gets too bad, but its kind of like a garage and I likely won’t like the smell. I’m starting to think about it though as the rain is pounding and the lightening and thunder are so very close.

OK – I did end up moving to the covered space. I was so exhausted and the lightening was so close I was sure it was going to hit the tree above me and I’d be squashed flat. I was actually praying out loud to my guardian angels to save me. I grabbed everything I could and splashed my way to the garage thru a flood on the driveway to cover – took five or six trips, the last one with the tent still fully intact upside down over my head. By the time I was done I was so soaked it was like I just got out of the shower again. And I probably shouldn’t have bothered because, of course, shortly later the storm moved a bit – I could still see faint flashes of lightening and hear thunder but it was much further away. Then the wind picked up and the tent fly was flapping like mad but I was so tired I didn’t care. Sleep was wonderful, even though I was on a cement floor in a garage and all of my clothes were either wet or dirty or both. I had been travelling a total of 34 hours by the time I got here, and all I really cared about was sleep.

Said goodbye to Mirza and Saed right around 10 and rode to the bus station. A little old man at the bus station recognized the maple leaf on my pannier – I couldn’t understand anything he said other than ‘Canada’ so he pulled out his wallet and showed my an address label for someone he knows in Burnaby! Checked out the train station next door – no trains from Sarajevo to Italy, so back to the bus station.

No problem with my bike this time, although the two drivers were about to remove the front wheel when I stopped them just in time. They decided to use the larger bay instead and bike and bags all fit nicely. The trip was long and the bus, which started out with only 4 of us on board, was almost full by the time we got half-way to Zagreb.

The first part of the trip was thru lots of mountains, then about half-way the mountains ended and it got very flat, although you could see hills in the distance.

A little lady sat down beside me and fed me crackers (very salty) and chocolate mints. She didn’t speak any English, but was very sweet. About six hours into the trip we passed about a mile of semi-trucks all sitting on the highway, and even on the on-ramps from other roads. I wondered if there was an accident or something, but cars and even our bus were passing them very slowly and carefully using half of the oncoming lane. Turns out there was no accident – all the trucks were in line to go across the border to Croatia. Our bus stopped and a Bosnian guard got on and took all of our ID’s away – got them back in 15 or 20 minutes. We then drove across a bridge and stopped again, this time all disembarking and going one at a time to a guard’s window where they took the ID and scanned it (I think – that’s what it looked like from outside the guard shack) – got a stamp on it too.

After the border crossing we drove about 1/2 mile and stopped at a cafe so the drivers could have some coffee. Time at least to buy some water and a sandwich (chewiest bread ever!) and use the WC.

Finally arrived in Zagreb just about on time – around 9 at night. I immediately went to the ticket place and asked about buses to Italy – next one is at 2 am to Trieste. Since I had time I then rode to the train station – eventually found it after stopping several times to ask people for directions. The ticket window for international trains was closed until 6 tomorrow morning, and the bus I asked about will be in Trieste by 6:40 so decided to take the bus.

There was a concert in the large park across from the train station – some opera, I believe, and hundreds, if not thousands of people watching for free.

I didn’t watch too long as I was worried that the bus ticket window would close so went back and bot my ticket. As usual they couldn’t tell me if my bike would get on, or how much it would be – seems completely up to the drivers. I hope that since it’s a night bus it won’t be so full and getting the bike on won’t be an issue.

Got a cup of tea at an all-night cafe at the bus station – pedestrian ‘walk’ light has a bell that doesn’t stop beeping – it’s driving me nuts, but also keeping me awake so I’ve been sitting here for an hour and a half so far.

Got up in time to see the last of the Czechs off, ate breakfast of left-overs from yesterday’s lunch. Packed up all my stuff again and did a pile of laundry. My laundry bag has sprung a second leak – I’ll try to fix it with my tire-repair glue, otherwise it’s going to get chucked.

Walked down to the sports cafe again that has the good wi-fi. Spent 2 hours there and drank one cup of tea, but did get a chicken pita sandwich to take home. Looked into buses and/or trains to Italy – it’s one thing to think I know a route but my experience here has been that it’s another thing to actually go to the station and get what I want. I’m not planning to be in a hurry tomorrow to get myself to the bus/train station (they are in the same place here). I’m just going to get there whenever is convenient for me and see what happens. I know that there are many buses a day from Sarajevo to Zagreb, which is a large hub for transit to/from Italy and will be able to continue on from there one way or another.

The old city is very different on Sunday than the other days I’ve been here. Mostly only the cafes and a few shops are open, and there’s only a fraction of the people (ie: tourists – not me!!) milling about and taking pictures.

Went into the courtyard of one of the larger mosques (the Gazi Huzrev Bey’s Mosque) since it wasn’t so crowded as it was on the other days – they wouldn’t let me into the mosque itself, though, as I was wearing shorts, but I did get some good pic’s.

It’s another very hot and sunny day here – I can’t imagine what July will be like. My hosts are busy cleaning all of the rooms for the next bunch of guests – 17 or 18 Hungarians are arriving later today on their way to the coast.

I’ve been moved to a different room – a nice private ‘double’ room with my own shower and toilet just outside, so no strangers coming and going thru my room to get to theirs.

Did a patch job on my laundry bag – we’ll see how it works next time I use it. Tightened my bike seat up, and checked the tires, etc in preparation for riding to the bus/train station tomorrow.

I could hear live Arabic music coming from the old city – apparently it’s the end of Ramadan today and there will be large celebrations.

Had a short nap, then joined Sead for his daily walk up the hill. And what a ‘hill’ it was! – the incline at times must have been almost 45%. Walked to a lookout point that had cafes and lots of people, then walked down the other side. It’s apparently part of a national park now, and the ‘back side’ of the mountain was very peaceful and quiet. You could see where the Serbian army was on all of the hilltops around during the last war, and now they have their own area inside Bosnia and Herzegovina on parts of the hills.


Got back to the hotel later than I had expected, so ate a very late dinner and decided not to go down to the old city after all, even though I can still hear music and celebrations. The Hungarians did arrive, but were later than expected because they had vehicle problems of some sort.

The Hungarians didn’t arrive back at the hotel until about 1 minute to midnight, but were very quiet as they tiptoed thru my room to get to theirs (I just happened to be awake). There was a terrific storm at some point – lightening was so close it lit up the room, and the thunder shook the bed. Rain just poured, but I don’t think it lasted too long – glad I wasn’t in my tent.

The party of 55 Czechs arrived two hours early – I was still packing my stuff up when they arrived and filled the courtyard. I put my bags in the corner under the arbour for now as it would be nice if the ground dried out a bit before I pitch my tent for the night. The Czechs are leaving tomorrow so it’s only for one night, then I can have the room back.

Walked down to the old city again, stopped at the large graveyard and had a better look around. Most of the markers are for folks that died in the siege/war – death dates seem to be mostly 1994-95. Such a stupid, stupid waste of lives.

Got more cash from a machine, then found a cafe that doesn’t mind me just getting a cup of tea and using their wi-fi (which is very good – not like at the hotel). Stayed there for almost 2 hours, then got some food to go – the local speciality of ‘meatballs’ (more like sausages) with meat pattie in a huge pita-like bread with tomatoes and chopped cabbage (or something). Got some more fresh veggies at the store on the way ‘home’.

Ate lunch as usual under the arbour then the Czechs started arriving from their various outings a few at a time. One unlucky fellow had his wallet stolen out of his pocket – what a drag. Pitched my tent under the cherry trees in the back yard. Heard back from Colin – plan to meet in Pinerolo Italy on or about July 6. I should be able to get there by Tuesday or Wednesday, so will be there for a week or so before Colin arrives.

I had another long chat with Mirza’s brother Sead – they, along with their father own the hotel/hostel/campground. They seem to like talking with me – we’ve had many long conversations. I think that they think I’m kind of strange – no woman they know would ever dream of doing what I’m doing (or be allowed to by their husband!).

Had a nice visit with a couple of the young Czechs – Chantal and Marketa. They had a really nice outlook on politics and life in general. Maybe there is hope for the next generation after all.

Went for another walk to the old city shortly after sundown so I could face-time Dom, then came back and visited with Mirza, Sead and 3 different young Czechs. The chaperone came and advised the girls not to stay up too late as they’re heading out at 8 in the morning.