Around 10 in the morning we opened our eyes and instantly we were thinking what we would do if the weather was bad. We sat at the hotel’s entrance to drink our morning coffees and after a while Nikos and Ploutonas rode with one of the bikes to the known motorcyclist’s shop Market2Ruote, in order to see what time was it opening. Ploutonas was thinking on buying a Cordura pants from there, if the prices were right. Bad luck continues as they came back with empty hands, since they were informed that the shop was opening at 15:00 (!!). This had a result of a 4 hour delay until our final departure. The weather on one hand, the shop on the other, our disappointment and nervousness were great. Around 13:00 we decided to eat something for lunch at the same restaurant that we ate the previous day. We found out that the restaurant was closed during midday. We accidentally found another restaurant, right next to the hotel ‘Best Western’, while still on the central square. Dinner was mediocre, costing for 3 people 52€ (in total).
Around 14:30 we started our preparation for departure. We reached the Market2Ruote shop around 14:45, waiting for them to open at 15:00. It opened exactly at 15:00 and we ran inside like small children running for the playgrounds. After 20 minutes of staring around, Ploutonas did finally buy a Dainese Cordura (IKO) at a very competitive price.
As soon as we finished shopping, we started immediate and brief procedures for a fast departure, since we had already delayed, and at about 15:30 we were already en route, heading for Feltre. According to the signs, Feltre was only 48 kilometers away from our starting point (Market2Ruote). The road was very good, but with lots of trucks in our way. Later on, the huge mountains of the Italian Alps, also known as Dolomites, started to reveal themselves. 28 Kilometers later, passing the junction for Montebelluna, the route was getting better and more exciting, since we found ourselves driving in between the huge cliffs of the green mountains, while a big river was right next to us.
We were so excited with the whole landscape that we had completely forgotten the huge thick clouds that were surrounding us in threat.
Reaching the small town of Feltre, we decided to move towards SS51, to reach the small lake ‘Lago Di Carezza’, that according to Vangelis was worth visiting. The distance from Feltre till the lake was approximately 100km. Of course, we didn’t count the weather, where 8 kilometers after Feltre, the earth and the sky were one piece! We couldn’t understand what we were seeing in front of us, since the villages ahead, the clouds and the mountains had become one dark gray solid mass. We decided rapidly to get back to Feltre, the town we just passed, for our staying, since the clouds that were coming towards us were really frightening.
Reaching Feltre, we started asking for rooms to stay in the city’s hotels, though getting negative answers, since all of them appeared to be full due to the storm that was coming. After 2-3 rounds around, we finally discovered a 3-star hotel, named ‘Nuovo De Cesero’ were fortunately enough, it had a free 3-bed room, while the rain outside was getting worst. Without even asking the price, we booked the room and unloaded our luggage in a matter of seconds. We sat in the room to rest for about an hour and after that, we prepared for our standard evening walk in the town, since the rain had stopped by that time (…it was taking a break). First stop was the tourist information center, where we got a tourist map for the town, along with information for the closest restaurants. They all opened at 19:30.
Having a whole 1 hour gap, we decided to drink another evening coffee. We entered at the first open cafeteria that we saw, since the rain had started again. Isabella, a 15-years old girl was holding the shop completely by herself. Ploutonas asked her which are the good restaurants in the town. She was willing to show them to us by herself, while outside it was still raining.
So, she closed the cafeteria and started walking along with us through the town, while the rain had started again. In front there was Isabella with Ploutonas, holding the one and only umbrella that existed and in the back, Vangelis and Nikos, running and stopping under the almost non-existent building’s balconies. Unfortunately, no restaurants were open, since most of the owners were on vacations. We thanked Isabella for the effort and headed back to our hotel, where we asked for help from the owner’s grand-daughter (she was speaking English),in turn, she advised us to go to a restaurant-pizzeria close to the hotel, where we ate as much as we could and in a very appropriate price, of 25€ for all the three of us. After lunch we got back to the hotel to sleep, wishing that it would be sunny, the next day…