Vai In Bici? Ma Perché?

That was the reaction I got from everyone I told about my trip to Carpi, a small town that is still part of the province of Modena. "Your going to bike there? But why?" They seemed to think it was too far--20 km. It wasn't too bad. If we hadn't gotten lost so many times in the first part of the trip, it might not have taken so long.

The most important part of the trip occurred before the bike riding began, however.

This puppy.

My friend Victoria lives in a flat in the center of Modena. The owner of this puppy lives in the same apartment complex.

I think this is the happiest I've been since I came to Modena. LOOK at that puppy.

Anyways, we finally tore ourselves away from the cuteness and were on our way. After going on the wrong road for a while, we realized we had to cross the train tracks some how to get on the right path.

To do so, we had to go into a creepy underground tunnel that had stairs with little bike lanes attached.

I had significantly more trouble accomplishing this feat than Victoria.

We both had significantly more trouble than the 70-year-old man that swept through that tunnel like, perhaps, a 20-something.

The trip was very beautiful, especially once we were pretty sure we were on the right track (always a good feeling).

Getting so close!

OH MY GOD. Puppies and horsies all in one day.

I couldn't get anywhere near the ponies, but seeing them made me happy nonetheless.

Woohoo!

When we finally made it to town after about three hours of bike riding (my butt was quite sore), we needed to reboot.

We got lunch in the second largest piazza in Europe.

Then we did some site-seeing. Love this statue thing.

Turns out Carpi is pretty quiet, but very cute. Except for these mannequins. Why on earth would you buy clothes at (or even enter) this store after seeing them???

We decided to take the train back. It was a good idea, except when we realized that we actually had to get our bikes on and off the train, and up and down the stairs to get to the right platforms (because god forbid the elevators be working).

-Meri