![\"6\"](\"https:\/\/travels.wohu.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/6-4.jpg\" "\\"6\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n. . . with Davide. He lives about 40 km away, commute in his car to Milan and has had over 3,500 Uber trips. Yesterday he had sixteen fares and they were all tourists!!<\/p>\n
. . . from Milan it was a 2.5 hour flight to Dublin. We got in 20 minutes early but had to sit on the tarmac for about an hour because a plane in our gate was having mechanical problems. They had to find us another home. Luckily, emJay had almost 3 hours between flights. Once she got to her gate, her plane was delayed for an hour. She finally arrived in Chicago at 9:00pm and caught the 9:51pm VanGalder bus back to Madison, venturing through a hellacious downpour. She was snug in our bed, at home by 1:10am. Tomorrow she picks up the puppy!!<\/p>\n . . . for me, it will be a couple of days in Dublin before I join the Bicycle Adventure Club for an \u2018end to end\u2019 ride of Ireland. What better way to start out, than with a visit to an \u2018authentic Irish pub\u2019. Located off the main drag, Brannigan\u2019s was inhabited by lots of local folks who you could see probably had their own barstools and lounge chairs \u2018reserved\u2019 for their daily visits!!!<\/p>\n I think several were speaking English to me and I hope I answered their questions correctly. With the noise, my hearing\u00a0 and their deep brogues I\u2019m not sure I got their entire message!!\u00a0 Since our last visit to Ireland, smoking has been outlawed inside buildings but \u2018vaping\u2019 is still allowed. Many folks regularly were going outside for the usual smoke break.<\/p>\n Oh . . .\u00a0 a couple of these went down pretty easy and since I had not had lunch . . .<\/p>\n . . . this nightly special of stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon with potatoes (covered with a mushroom cream gravy from the stainless pitcher on the left), and a vegetable medley was quickly consumed. I left stuffed!!<\/p>\n After walking around O’Connell St for a while, I thought a little dessert was in order and had a nice little sweet as I walked back to my hotel. Soon. . . it was zzzzzzzzzzzzz.<\/p>\n Post Trip Comments:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I thought his adventure was FANTASTIC!<\/p>\n We had such a great time traveling with the\u00a0 Marci, Barb, Billy and Tom.\u00a0Lots of memories and fun times! I loved spending so much leisure time with Smoochie, in one stretched.<\/p>\n The scenery of northern Italy was really the star of the trip for me. Seemed to be a great ‘Kodak moment’ around every corner. And, at the top of each hill\/mountain was a great little village, many of which we climbed to visit. If you were on a high point, it was not unusual to do a 360 round the clock view and see 6 or 7 villages, clinging to hillsides and always with the mandatory church located on an even higher point.<\/p>\n The weather was PERFECT. No rain throughout the\u00a0 the week, no headwinds and blue skies every day.\u00a0 Although the temps were in the 90’s everyday, drinking lots of water and taking breaks in the shade made all the difference.<\/p>\n and . . . we had the whole country to ourselves. August is ‘holiday time’ for most Italian’s and they all head to coastal communities for R&R. I’m talking millions of people. Most of the towns we rode though looked like ‘ghost towns’ or movies sets. Beautiful settings with no people!!\u00a0 Car traffic during the trip was minimal. One had to plan lunches and snack break around the normal Italian business hours of 10:00-2:30pm and then 5:00-9:00pm. They still enjoy an afternoon siesta.<\/p>\n It was sort of a yin-yan thing. We had the whole countryside to ourselves, but shopping and even restaurant choices were EXTREMELY limited because of their holiday season, even in Milan and Turino, cites of 800,000 people!!!<\/p>\n If you get a chance to bike in Italy, don’t pass it up. Just make sure you get some miles under your belt before you go. The better shape you are in . . . the more fun!!!!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We slept well during our last night in Milan and after a yummy breakfast, Ubered to the Milan airport . . . . . . with Davide. He lives about 40 km away, commute in his car to Milan and has had over 3,500 Uber trips. Yesterday he had sixteen fares and they were all … Continue reading Day 15, Milan to Dublin<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n