After breakfast I go along with Ian ( as interpreter ) to a computer shop nearby as Ian had been having some problems connecting with the internet. Arrive there to find that the shop only opens at 3.30 pm for a few hours which seems to be taking the siesta culture a bit far.
Pack our backs and await the arrival of the mini-bus to take us to Klostar, the starting point for our 7 day bike tour of Croatia.
The bus eventually arrives at 11.30 after the driver, a Serb called Mira, had had some problems in locating
our hotel.
About a 2 hour drive which takes us out of Italy into Slovenia and then into Croatia. A minor delay at the Slovenia/Croatia border when the official notices that Cath and Ian did not have their passport stamped when entering Italy ( due to a lax official who had become embroiled in an argument with another traveller)
Gail and I both agreed that if they were detained they were on their own! This gesture of antipodean solidarity was much appreciated by the Smiths.
Arrive at our agriturismo in Klostar to be met by Milka Makosevic, the owner and a very pleasant lady.
Alan from the cycling tour operators calls in mid-afternoon to provide with a briefing, maps and introduce us to our bikes. I have decided to call mine Pippa as it is a Swedish word for f..... and that is probably how I will feel by the end of the trip!
After much testing we decide on our 4 bikes from a selection of 6. Predictably, Smithy gets some hi-tech
beast with adjustable handlebars, an ejector seat and a vibrator which massages his rear end as he cycles along. The rest of us have the equivalent of 2 wheel penny farthings.
Milka serves us with her own local white wine which is truly terrible but the lady means well.
Dinner in the evening at Milka's restaurant is a veritable 4 course feast and her red wine is a marked improvement on the earlier white offering.
We waddle off to bed for a good night's sleep in preparation for the next day's baptism of fire on the bikes.
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