1st DAY

First meeting with Marino at Padivarma and then with Gianluigi at the roundabout in Chiavari, breakfast and on the motorway until Cagnes sur Mer, on the frontier little adventure with the loss of the ignition key of Gianluigi’s bike, fortunately rediscovered! From Cagnes we took the Route Napoleon and stopped at St. Vallier-de-Thiey to eat, of course at the “Bonaparte” restaurant. Cross the Gorges du Verdon and stop for ice cream in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and away, accompanied by lavender plantations, not yet in bloom, but always beautiful.

Once in Manosque, guided perfectly by the BMW navigator and secured the motorbikes, we took a walk in the city center to have a very frugal dinner in a brasserie and then in bed to regain energy.

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2nd DAY

After a light breakfast in Manosque we took the road towards Auvergne. In the stop just before Simiane-la-Rotonde, we admired large birds circling in the sky in search of food, arrived in the nearby town filled with gasoline and then began to climb towards the 1909 mslm of Mont Ventoux, fantastic panorama thanks to a clear air that allowed us to see the distant arch of the Alps.

In the parking lot near the summit we got to know a group of photographers / journalists who were doing a service on behalf of the French importer of the Royal Enfield Himalayan and Benelli TRK 502. Down from the pleasant mountain stop at Vaison-la-Romaine in a nice plein-air space to eat camembert and charcuterie purchased at a Lidl of a previous country along the way.

Another stop in Suze-la-Rousse to admire the beautiful castle, then back on the road along the majestic Gorges de l’Ardèche and the spectacular rock arch at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. We arrived in Chambon-sur-Lignon late in the evening, tired but satisfied, once we found the B & B La Vigne, we came back to the town to have a nice dinner at the Epicurien; the return to the deserved rest was prolonged by a failure to identify the right intersection so that with a pleasant night jog, where we could appreciate the light of our super craved spotlights, we finally arrived at La Vigne. Good night!

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3rd DAY

Great breakfast in the company of Laurence, the very kind owner of B & B then back on the road, and what a road! Perfect temperature and breathtaking views. Descent from 1200 m asl with castles, lakes, green meadows and blue skies up to Pradelles where we made a rest stop.

Arrived near the big cities, the traffic became challenging and given the long transfer stage we decided to take the highway, we left the parts of Le Castellet, the country of the automobile circuit, to finally reach Solliès-Pont, the country of my childhood vacations. Hôtel almost to forget and good dinner in Solliès-Toucas.
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4th DAY

Breakfast at the hotel and off to Italy, still motorway to Menton, stop in an open bar in Sospel and then inside, towards Colle di Tenda with a cultural stop in La Brigue to admire, unfortunately only from the outside, the Sanctuaire NotreDame des Fontaines, we will be back!

At the start a light rain began that fortunately left us shortly after passing the Italian border. Stop eating Robilant in the excellent restaurant “Magia delle Fate” food very good and very nice and kind staff. Sliding roads with little traffic, highway for Mondovì, stop at the roundabout of Montezemolo for a last break and at Altare we took the highway again. In Chiavari we say goodbye to Gianluigi and then Marino and I continue with a high pace towards home. Greetings and see you soon !!!

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Bikers: GianLuigi DeAndrade, Marino Ricciardone and Leandro Bellani.

They would have been about 2500 km, I had planned the trip with care, preparing emergency equipment and choosing clothing: blues jeans, high neck white sweater, low boots and brown leather jacket, for the rain I had taken the Kway and ski surplus. I also had a helmet that at that time almost nobody wore, ski glasses and to protect my face a red scarf.

At the American market in Livorno I had bought two military bags and had filled them with all my stuff, including a HB stick, my favorite cigarettes. I crossed the Liguria from east to west with the first stop at Borghetto Santo Spirito. On the evening I stopped at Solliès-Pont, a small town near Toulon, where my uncles Luigina and Bruno lived, where I had spent happy vacation periods. I was staying on Easter Sunday and the next morning, after my uncle had given me his precious Michelin map of France, I went to the desired destination by taking the RN7. 

The day was nice and the temperature pleasant, the rumble of the Silentium made itself felt, the bike was marvelous even if the vibrations were lacking, my thoughts traced the way they did and fantasized about the way to go, at stop to eat baguettes and camembert passed the police and greeted me with a “promenez vous bien!”. Over the last 3/400 kilometers I constantly changed position on the saddle by placing my legs to the left and then to the right, I was tired and I was in a hurry to get there, the more I went north and more I went faster, at the beginning I was traveling at 110 kmh, in the end I made long bets on the 130 kmh.

Perfect trip, it was a pity that before the entry into the city broke the changeback spring, at 20.30 I arrived in Paris in front of the Notre Dame cathedral, 821 km.

I introduced myself to Marcel’s home, at 24 Rue de Tanger, in the 19th arrondissement and spent one of the most beautiful weeks of my life, Irene, his mother treated us lovingly and in the evening always prepared us something good to eat, I found out how good the radishes were with the butter dumped in the salt.

I had bought a small guide / map Taride that became almost useless because after the first moments of surprise Marcel, Eric his brother and a friend accompanied me to the city, in places that only the Parisians knew. We walked on foot and with the Metro, and went home with our hot feet, sometimes we went out in the evenings, one of which we went to a small movie theater where I saw the “Les temps modernes” by Charlie Chaplin,

I was thrilled! I remember so many details of those nice days, I tracked the changeover spring from the Ducati dealer that allowed me to use her gear, so I parked the bike on the sidewalk, I mounted the spring and I did some maintenance. One week had passed fast and I had been really good, but the time available was over, the time came for kisses and hugs, then I took the road back. 

The itinerary coincided with that of the departing until Dijon, then turned east to the Alps, France was quite beautiful, after about 300 km of plains began the mountains and began to rain. A hundred kilometres in the rain and I came to Morez, in the Jura, I went into an inn trembling from the cold I almost could not speak, drank a hot chocolate and asked for a room. After setting the bike on the back, I climbed into my room and rubbed myself; except the hair repairing from the helmet I was soaked wet, I wiped, I put everything on the heated stove and slipped under the blankets asleep, even though they were just 7.30 pm.

The next morning I woke up pimping and ready for new adventures, after a nice breakfast with pain au chocolat and cafè au lait, I splashed oil on the chain that was stretched like the strings of a violin, I turned on the engine and departed,the sun shone and the asphalt with yellow markings, like the car lights, wiped quickly. 

I crossed the Alps through the Mont Blanc tunnel, inaugurated only a few years before and with emotion I passed the frontier, I was in Italy. Along the way the thoughts in my head were making strange decisions, from a few days I would have taken a step that would radically change my life, I thought of Gloria, that today is my wife.

After passing Piedmont, I traced a piece of Liguria and in the afternoon arrived in La Spezia doing the Passo del Bracco, but before going down to town I stopped on the hill of Foce to admire the splendid Golfo dei Poeti, they were about 18, in time to meet friends and tell them about the wonderful journey.

I know Irene is gone and who knows what Marcel and Eric did. I’d love to meet them somewhere!