1998 Guzzi Goes Home - The Last Few Days

Have I mentioned the rain at all this holiday? Well today on the way up to Heidelberg it rained so hard that Ian had to pull over onto the hard shoulder of the autobahn. He had been going at 90 miles per hour and couild not see anything, even at this speed he was being overtaken!

We eventually arrived at our destination and found the tourist information centre just before their closing time and booked a hotel near to the main pedestrian area.

There was a small courtyard to park the Guzzi in and as we pulled up the owner was telling her husband to move his car so that we could ride in. The hotel looked like it could have been a factory in the past with rooms up and down several floors.

In a past life Guzzisue had been to Heidelberg several times raving about its virtues, however she was a little dismayed to see that several of the trams had graffiti on them.

For the passing tourist there is a funicular railway that climbs out of the old town to the castle and TV tower and lookout, a textile museum and zoo to name a few places of interest.

We decided to have a wind down day and did very little except window shop. Ian was in his element as there is a very large record shop and he spent a couple of hours there wishing he had a way to get half the shop’s stock home!

Having spent two nights in Heidelberg we were back on the road and reached Béthune, France, about 60 miles from Calais where we stayed for the evening before getting the 10 o’clock ferry next morning for home.

After arriving back in England we headed straight up to Italia Moto in Lincoln and explained how we lost the rear lens. Phil the owner proceeded to take one off from a bike in the showroom and to this day we still have not paid for this. One day Phil, one day.

Things we decided from this holiday include:

• Thanks to Altberg who make the best waterproof motorcycle boots we’ve found.
• We decided never to take the tent on a foreign trip again
• Venice cannot be seen in a day!
• Always be flexable as events can change anytime.
• Carry spare gloves in an easily accessable place.
• When staying at a chain hotel pick up their booklet as you never know when it will be useful.