Genoa

Surprisingly arduous day on the bike today. Underestimated the hills north of Genoa and ended up taking the quieter country roads (SR). These took me to a max altitude of 850m, but it was the constant ascending and descending which made it feel like a long day. Pretty and quiet though.
The climate on this side of the Genovese mountains is in stark contrast to Milan. The wind is more noticible and it feels cooler. Once again battling to enter a major city by bike was a chore and not a pleasant endeavour.
However, once inside the city traffic becomes more diluted and I make my way to the old part of town. The narrow streets are charming, more than claustrophobic, but even here, cars and mopeds miraculously squeeze through and pedestrians must yield to their metal superiors.
My host Xavi welcomes me into his apartment and immediately gives me the keys, as he already had plans for the evening. Such trust at first glance, with help from the CouchSurfing  platform, still bowls me over. The evening is spent shopping for food and cooking, later taking with Xavi until near midnight.
I have planned to stay two nights with Xavi, which means that I go exploring Genoa the next day. For all the modern attractions at Porto Antico (old port) and pretty seafront boulevards, the charm of the narrow lanes and small shops in the old part of the city are what makes this city special.

It's difficult to know whether to admire this city warts and all, or just get hung up on its flaws. For every tacky attraction, there is an example of Italian architecture at its finest, for every street where cars trump all, there is a quaint tailor shop making jeans from scratch. On a discussion about the traffic rules in Italy, Xavi summed it best... "There may be nobody obeying traffic rules in some of Italy, but they stop before hurting anyone".  My repost was that in Germany it feels like some car drivers would hit you to make a point, if you neglected to observe any rule. Which system is better, I've so to decide, but I do now experience that what Xavi said was true and it makes me feel a whole lot safer here.

Cerreto Grue - que bellisima!

Carlo recommends me to cycle to my next stop following the "canali", a network of canals once used to bring water into Milan. For 30km there is a beautiful cycling path, on which your only obstacles are pedestrians and fellow bike riders. The remaining 70km of today's journey is spent on SP (strade provinciale): these are country roads with little traffic. Although this part of Italy is flat, I feel physically demanding at the end of the day. I guess this is to be expected on my first long ride of the year. 

I am staying in the small village of Cerreto True, near Tortona, where Francesco has volunteered his parents to host me... well not really, he acts more like a liaison between his parents (Giulia & Americo) and potential guests, as his parents speak only Italian. With my limited Italian and their limited English, our conversations are basic, but I never feel awkward. They show me around their wonderfully authentic country house and then invite me to eat with them.  It is exactly what I needed to recoup my strength - a delicious meal, with such variety and numerous courses. I am shown photos of Francesco and his brother and told about all the other CS guests they have delighted in hosting since 2015.
It is difficult to leave such a panorama, tranquility and lovely people after just one night.

The brighter side of Milan

It's a 16 hour direct, overnight bus ride from Berlin to Milan, which lends itself to uncomfortable sleeping positions and but being able to see the wonderful scenery of Germany, Austria and Italy for most of the journey. I do note that cycling Tirol would be challenging, especially as there is still snow on the peaks. 

It is unseasonably warm in Milan on my arrival (20C) and not a cloud in the sky. I stay with my friend Carlo near the centre of Milan and we spend the first evening at "the farm". It's a community dinner around a campfire, where the wine and coversation flow freely, interspersed with bouts of singing. The perfect setting to ease myself into the quieter, less commercial side of this city. 

The next day I help out a community project in their quest to plant 1000 trees over the weekend. It is all very well organised and yet playful. Breaks are plentiful, the food delicious and the banter full of smiles. We work well into the evening and retire home as the sun is setting.

Mediterranean island hopping

This will be my first spring departure and i am heading south to get summer a little earlier. The plan is very loose, but I will travel to Milan by bus, then island hop between Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. After which the decision will be either to head east to Albania or west to France.
Preparation begins a few weeks prior to departure, making sure the bike is ready, tickets booked, planning route and CouchSurfing/ Warm Showers hosts organised. This stage is actually exciting to me, especially finding out how easy it is to find hosts in new countries. For example,  in spite of previous difficulty in finding hosts in Italy, this time I sometimes have too many invitations and need to refuse some. 

Modifications to the bike are minimal; new brake blocks, brake cables, chain and cassette - best not to mess with a system that has already been reliable for 20,000+ km.
Flixbus offers a very good service for bike touring, as most of their buses are fitted to accept at least four bikes. Travel by ferry is much cheaper as a foot passenger and,  naturally, allows the transport of a bicycle for a minimal fee.
Route planning is made easy using openstreetmaps and you can even see the end profile of the routes you choose. This is very desirable in more mountainous terrain.