The day started with fair weather and a soft downhill bikepath on a former railway line, including many tunnels and underpasses to cross the highway – most of the time far away enough not to molest us with the ceaseless noise of cars and trucks.
For coffee drinkers like me, Italy comes next to Paradise – Espresso available almost everywhere, prices starting from 1€ in the smaller villages, and the lunch stop, Venzone, provided a culinaric highlight in the form of a small restaurant on the central place, serving a small section of Friulian specialties, but of extraordinary quality.
The rest of the distance to the small town of Gemona was eventless, but Gemona itself worth every minute of an extended walk in upcoming rain.
The earthquake of 1976 had brought immense damage, but due to diligent reconstruction – not everywhere of course – the town and especially the old center with the Basilika is really beautiful. One of the churches was rebuilt in modern style, the “Santuario di Sant’Antonio di Padova”. What I found most interesting, and moving in its own way, was the huge collection of “ex voto” paintings.
