Mantua to Zelo

The Ave Maria set sail at 0700 and negotiated 2 locks before breakfast at 0800. We moored and unloaded the bikes then started riding the 47 km towards Zelo.
Morning tea was at the village, Ostiglia and then we stopped at the village, Ballotiara for lunch and 2 x tours.
Ballotiara is a village in the middle of nowhere, but it is famous for 2 things. Firstly, there is the Museo Storico della Giostra (a museum of fair / circus rides. This community started building these rides and now employs 2,000 people. They supply rides all over the world.
The second tour was at a massive cheese factory called Caseificio Sociale Ballotiara. This factory makes only Grand Padano cheese. We enjoyed a sampling of the cheese which is used by Italians for their pasta dishes. We now know the secret to delicious pasta and it's not matured cheese!
The ride today, while not very long, was hot and on some gravel tracks, but still fun!
We arrived at the Barge and had a magnificent meal - BBQ meats and salads and vegetables followed by cheesecake. The day finished with a hot drink on the top deck in the cool breeze. Another wonderful day where, once again, relationships onboard are developing and people are really starting to get to know each other.Read more