The Bernina pass was a nice ride with again fantastic views. We only discovered this pass after seeing it sign posted in St Moritz and decided to detour our original route as our journey to the next hotel wasnt very long.
After the Bernina Pass we filled up with fuel and headed for the 'Passo de Stelvio' We are fully laden, full tank of fuel and two up and thought we had already done the tightest of bends - how niaive - the Stelvio was a challenge (one that we conquered I might add) The bends were tight and the scenery was a little disappointing on the Switzerland side, the slopes were covered in slate and very dark, not the attractive green that we had expected.
On arrival at the top the sight that met us was a little disappointing too but you still couldnt wipe the smiles from our faces. We were met with tacky souvenir shops and hot dog stands. We were the only Brits up there at that time and bursting to share our ride up but all we got were pushy shop owners trying to get us to buy tat. We went into the cafe and had a coffee and a panini to warm up, after all we were 9000 ft above sea level, there was snow on the ground and there were clouds below us.
When we had warmed up we went back to begin the downward trip on the Italian side (technically still Switzerland). The roads were even more challenging, the bends even tighter with sharp cambers but the scenery was much better. Half way down our photograph was taken and you look up the website written on the photographer's van where you can purchase a quick succession of photographs from the website (8 euros each). The bends are all numbered so you can countdown as you ride along, we rode quite a few bends whilst descending through a cloud - it was like thick fog.
We then entered into italy on route to our next hotel. The hotel was lovely but no one spoke English so we struggled a bit especially with the food, saying that we tasted the most delicious soup 'lemongrass thai curry' - so tasty.
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