Bicycling makes me happy.

At the moment I am incredibly frustrated bc
1) I can't seem to be able to book a hostel in Verona for next week.
2) the only opera playing in Verona isn't until next Friday, the 12th, which is longer than I wanted to stay there.
3) There aren't any cheap flights available back to Paris.
4) There isn't a convenient train between Pordenone (where Adam Leigland lives) or Verona for less than a gazillion dollars. And it is more expensive to travel after the opera than before.

Maybe everything will look sunnier tomorrow or something or I will think of some other way to do it. But what I really wanted to tell you about was my wonderful day moutain biking in the Bohinj valley.

This bike I rented was total crap. The front shifter didn't work at all, the crank was totally wobbly and needed replacing, the seat was trying to circumsize me, and the frame was too small for mine. That still being the case, we biked all thru the valley, thru farms and creeks and woods and got all muddy and lost and then found ourselves again, and it totally rocked. It's so green and lush and these mountains rise up abruptly into a state of barren, rocky, snow-covered-ness. I mean, it looked a little like beautiful countryside anywhere in Europe. Geraniums poured out of the window boxes in A-framed-type houses. Trust me, it's pretty. But it was also stunning in its own special way.

After we returned the crap bikes, we took a little swim in the lake, which was really cold, but clear and blue and full of fish, and washed the mud off of our pant legs. Karolina wanted to follow that adventure with some kayaking, but that was a bit too ambitious for me. Anyway, it never happened. Now I am starving and looking forward to a well-earned dinner. Hurray!