Originally Posted by
volosong
Travelers hint: If your Italian is not up to snuff, switch to Spanish. They can't talk back to you in Spanish, but will understand fully what you are trying to say.
Yes. Italian and Spanish are relatively similar in many respects.
And for those of you who haven't ridden there, not everywhere is mad. A few years ago I spent nearly two weeks at a "camp" outside of Bassano del Grappa in the Veneto region, which is the north, not all that far from the Dolemites. The residence was in the shadow of Monte Grappa. Great riding and totally sane. Great grappa (of course) and prosecco. One day we took a ride to a major prosecco vineyard area. Stopped for pastries and coffee at a beautiful villa with photos of Sandra Bullock in a hallway. She apparently likes to stay there. The first day we were there we rode to the start of the final stage of the Giro. The riders rolled out of a pasta factory and up to the starting line.
Rode there during the last week of the Giro back in '95. Pantani was injured and wasn't competing, but a few of saw him out for a spin as we were riding to the day's finish at the Bianchi factory. There was not mistaking those ears. A few days later I got a great shot of Chiappucci as the race started up the Col D'Angelo from Sampeyer.