Covering some 1500kms in the past week has been a dream ride as for a change I used virtually all Autostrada roadways.

While they are not as tourist friendly inthat stopping for photo's is virtually impossible and will only occur at service centres or at toll boths, they offer the opportunity to quickly cover vast distances and still only ride for 2 to 3hrs. This can make for a very holiday orientated late departure and often using my genius status checkout is extended to noon and then arrivial some 300kms away in aroound 21/2hrs ie for check in at 3pm thus leaving a large part of the day to explore the area be that a village or large city close to my accommodation.

Likewise a max 3hr stint at 130-150kms does sufficient tiring to the body for one day and also stetches the mental capacity with constant lane chnging, speed variations between the fiat Panda and the ever present black Audi Q8s .

There is scenery to be seen but eyes need to be focuses whats up ahead, what speed am I closing the gap, are they going to stay in their lane or pull out to pass just as I arrive on the scene are just some of the mental stimuli I am processing outside of physically keeping a 300kg high speed motorcycle in one lane often with a 300m drop just on the other side of that guard rail which in reality is down about knee height.

At highway speeds usually a full tank will not go the distance especially when you have left the highway are are passing through residetial areas searching for that prebooked hotel or apartment so a Service Centre stop becomes a necessity and also a late lunch stop. many of these service centres have quite a variety of food and not just the fried foods we usually in Australia associate with a truck stop. Amenties are clean and free and variety ranges from sandwiches (pannie) to salads to restaurant buffet meals along with coffee & drinks some also have a supermarket for self selection.

This can lead to situations of local travellers purchasing or bring their own noodles & spaghetti and setting up on the tables outside a camp stove and boiling up a meal. These service centres all are pet friendly to the point of dogs wandering the supermarket isles (on a leash) or joining in the cashier line.

Leaving Rimini Italy it wasnt long before I realised I was on the same road I had used in 2015 when going from France to The Black Sea of course I was on the other side of the road then or really the other road. Unlike us all their highways are usually two fully seperate roads with their own tunnels and bridges only coming together at Toll Plazas and the crossovers.

Talking of right and left sides of the road in different countries I was recently redirected at roadworks and riding on the left hand lane felt really strange especially as it was for some 0kms and included bends and hill crests. How quickly one adapts to changed ways!

I recalled this road in particular due to its height above the surrounding countryside often as much as 300m own to the valley floor so its somewhat either a birdseye view or crap hope I dont fall off syndrome, they would never find the pieces down in the valley. Yes they have guard rails but nothing often between the rail and the roadway or above it so one hopes for plain sailing. Up so high the winds can creat havoc especially on a bike or when dealing with overtaking vans and caravans.

Having set that senerio let me say that some 70-80% of this entire coastal stretch from Italy's Eastern border to the bottom of France is either these elevated bridges or tunnels. The trip soon settled down to a windy bridge for some 600m then a 2000-3000m tunnel so I was sure glad I had remembered to take the special photochromatic (light changing) visor off the helmet I used in 2013 and place it on the current helmet or the alternative would have been a hand off the bars often to lift the visor to see or placing a hand between the eyes and the sun.

Down in the valleys one sees many rivers blue in colour reflecting the still melting snows from the surrounding peaks.

The trees coming into spring are a delight to see in full blossom and surrounded by the green new leaves.

One of my hotels was a B&B located in the hills behind La Spezia a large Industrial port on the Mediterranean Sea. I had stayed in the city in 015 so sought out this Boutique B&B, while it wasnt a cheap place it did offer three advantages apart from not staying in the city.

While it was in quiet rural hills it was still only a 15min ride into the city centre which I did one night to have my first Chinese meal of the trip and to check out other commercial businesses including an uneventful Kawasaki dealer.

Secondly the ride out the next day was accessed only some 500m from my B&B to try out a "local's"popular ride down off the hills before joining again the Autostrada some 0mins later.

Thirdly this place had excellent Trip Advisor & Hotel reviews for the home cooking offered at breakfast as well as the opportunity to stay in a 300yr old refurbished house and mix with other travellers something that usually doesnt occur at Hotels & Motels unless as they often do have them wander over to look at my motorbike.

To use the Toll roads you need a permanent tag or pay as you go. We used to be able to buy a 7 or 30 day pass for the Class A or Class 5 (Motorcycles) but that is no longer available so I have to pause grab a ticket and then present that ticket into a machine at the end of each section then depending if I have lots of loose coins which I use frequently to pay tolls and reduce the weight in the pocket and for the larger tolls eg over 25Europe ($35?) i use my prepaid traveller Credit card and no pin is required in these machines so it is almost a non glove off event.

Having some 7 days to do the next stretch to meet up with Greg & Kerrie

I decided upon a change and booked an apartment in a private village compound ie guarded 24/7 access via the guard house and keycard. My unit is fully self containe with a balconey overlooking the private marina. Interesting cameras are banned for security reasons inside the compound but no they dont search your luggage or take your camera just have signage up No Photographs, family photos are permitted. The village has almoost a self contained shopping centre ie supermarket,chemist,newsagent,hairdresser and aat peak times over 40 retaurants with 12 operating all year around. Their are also bars,nightclubs etc or one only has to walk out the gate and another shopping centre adjoins this complex which is a mix of owner occupie and investment based rental units many of which are also timeshare units.

So its going to be a non riding relaxation stay before a quick 900kms North and then some 1500 South again when our group which it will be by then well two bikes and three people pass into Spain