29 July 2025 (warm , becoming warmer, odd spits of rain) 65km

Julia can sleep through an ice age. We all know this. So, imagine my surprise, when having pulled over on a main road and crept down a track, into the woods, set up tent and settled in, she says....... 

"I don't think I can do this anymore Pete." I looked around to see if there was another Pete in the tent.

To give her credit, the road should have been classed as a motorway. I don't think I've ever heard as many trucks on the road all night. There were so many.

Then there were the mosquitos. "I'm getting bitten alive here" she says. Meanwhile, I'm not getting bitten at all, at least not then.

Finally, I succumbed to slumber on my new sleeping mat. Maybe someday all my sleeps will be this way....(not on the ground). 

The middle of the night noises were many. The crawling slimy slugs climbing all through Julia's sandals and over the tent, leaving big long trails. There was also a cricket- like insect inside the tent, pissing me off, but I couldn't find him. 

Eventually, we both slept, until at 5.30am we began packing up after a pretty broken night's sleep. The bloody trucks were still alive and well and living in our bedroom.

On the road at 6.30am, a little dicey, due to lack of daylight and the fact that our rear lights have no charge left. 

Onto the main road and into Codroipo, where we had morning coffee at a little cafe, where we watched others set up for a market. Great coffee.

Riding today, a lot of main road. There are some incredibly stupid people driving, who have no regard for human life at all.

Took a bloody awful track to Udine. This was a Mapy special....promise so much and deliver so little.

"Reminds me of something" says Julia.

It was full of water in places and bouncing around in others. It was a pleasure to get back on tarmac and cruise toward Udine.

In Pasian di Prato we found a supermarket, then a park, where we sat at a closed outdoor café and enjoyed our first meal of the day. 

Now, we have to say, we didn't hold high hopes for Udine.

From the beginning when Julia went to use a public toilet in the park and I watched two guys doing drugs in the one loo next door, it really didn't ring my bells.

Plus all the needless graffiti around and litter everywhere. 

Pete particularly liked this clock as he thought the two guys up the top were pissing on the clock tower. They were actually striking the bell on top with their golf clubs/croquet mallets.

However, it appears that even the biggest shitholes, contain memorable features.

This particular one, was definitely in the town centre, where there were loads of tourists wandering the inner sanctum, with no idea that, the outer reaches contained more than their fair share of dropkicks. 

The town centre turned out to be a lovely experience and we enjoyed some great photographic opportunities.

It was on a bench in a park on the other side of Udine (but much like the first side) that we ate lunch, whilst the sun poked his head through the clouds, in an effort to show that he did still reside in the sky. 

The afternoon's riding was mainly on main road, with the odd venture onto a smaller country road.

Reached Cividale at 2pm and cycled to the camp. But it wasn't a camp.

Even though their web page shows a tent sign and we, as people who place our trust in others to tell the truth, had cycled over 60kms to stay there, were soon informed 

" No....thou shall not stay here"

" Be gone traveller on two wheels and reside in some crumby low life camp, elsewhere, not in our "top of the line luxury retreat." And with that we were gone. 

The skant information we had on this place was it did camping and glamping. When we turned up, it was actually a central hotel with very nice pods scattered across the hillside. And so they should be for 250 euro per night. Why they were listed as a campsite is anyone's guess. Not a shred of canvas to be found. But they did let us use their WiFi.

Julia looked up a room in town at "Antica Dimora al merlo bianco" for Euro 97.

We thought well, we needed to charge everything, we needed to wash a number of things, (including ourselves) and by freecamping last night, we'd earned ourselves a bit of a treat so we booked it. 

So glad we did or we would never have come to this part of Cividale, which was quite spectacular.

Went in search of said "house of rest". Couldn't find it.

Only when we followed a group of six tourists, wheeled suitcases bouncing off cobbles, and asked them where they were headed, that we found the front door. 

As we were admitted to this beautiful room in a very old building, we didn't know what to do first. Use the toilet? The shower? Make a cup of coffee? Fall asleep on the beautiful big bed?

Being ever practical, the first thing we did was wash as many things as we could, so that they could dry before we set off in the morning.

Then we both grabbed showers before cycling to the nearest supermarket and buying as much food as possible, including roast chicken, roast potatoes, sausages, cooked kale and broccoli.

It was bloody delicious.

With a Stella Artois and a Merlot to wash it down, we were like pigs in muck, which is exactly what the place looked like after we'd unpacked and strung our washing round the place.

Then, dear readers, we settled in to bring you an up to date account.

Ju here: the hotel has a great supply of jams, sugar, tea and coffee sachets which all went into our supplies. I mentioned to Pete they also had Nutella.

“Don't bother bringing that rubbish,” says Pete. “Never eaten it, not about to start now.”

I refrained from mentioning the copious amounts of pastries, ice cream and chocolate Mr ‘My body is a temple’ had ingested on this trip so far and quietly tucked the Nutella into the kitchen bag.

I'd just finished making our after dinner coffee when I noticed the small loaf of bread Pete had carefully chosen to go with his dinner.

“Oh drats”, he says, “I forgot I had that. Got nothing to go on it now. Ooh where's that Nutella?”

A man of principles is our Pete.

After dinner we were pleased to hear the rain start, knowing we were safe and dry in this lovely hotel for the night.