Autumn while the kids are at school....

Although October typically is when it gets pretty cold in Biella, we were very lucky with mild weather. We managed a few hikes in the mountains outside Biella, at Piedicavallo, Lago della Vecchia, and a bike ride at La Trappa - hills of 10% were no problem for Shane on his racer, meanwhile I threw my heavy city bike down with 50m to go and refused to ride any further (I completely blame this on low blood sugar).

BIKE RIDE AT LA TRAPPA - THE BEST LUNCH EVER!

MADONNA DELLA NEVE WALK

LAGO DELLA VECCHIA - THIS WAS HAAAARRRRDDDD!!

No phone reception, should have told someone where we were going....

We also got out to Lago Maggiore which a lot of people spoke very highly of. Unfortunately in the low season on a rainy day there's not much to see - there was absolutely nothing open on the island we stopped at and we were stuck there with the kids for 2 hours until the next boat. There's something to be said for having an island all to yourself, but the stray cats ruined the romantic illusion just a bit.