Since the Amalifi coast didn’t make the cut for this trip, we cruised to Portofino, then back to Santa Margarita and on to down the coast before heading inland.

Continuing north, SS63 was a ton of fun – the best road we’ve encountered so far! While Stephanie says it lacked the majestic views of previous days, I wouldn’t know, as I was too focused on the miles and miles of sweepers and tight twisties on beautiful smooth pavement. We have no pictures along this route because…twisties!

Lunch was a quick salad and pizza in Castelnovo ne ‘Monti, as I was chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle.  The bit of Italian we learned before we came has helped a ton, and they do seem to appreciate it even if it is not perfect.

We rolled into Bologna an hour earlier than expected and picked up the keys to our downtown apartment for the next few days. After a quick trip to the local grocery store for staples (pastry, coffee, and yogurt for breakfast, and wine for, um, after), we popped in to Pasta Fresca Naldi, a local takeaway pasta shop to order supper. This place is legendary in the area – all the bars let you bring in their food, as long as you purchase a cocktail to go with it. We chose to bring ours home, as we already had a nice bottle of Chianti. The meal was fantastic, and only €20, including wine!

We’ll spend a few days in Bologna with a day trip to Ravenna, a day sightseeing in Bologna and of course, a tour of the Ducati motorcycle factory and museum.

Santa Margherita

Santa Margherita

Portofino

Portofino

Buona sera!