Kohsuke Kawaguchi

As I ramp up on Italian history in preparation for a trip, I stumbled upon the bizarre, fateful story of two men who made the unified Italian state a reality in the 19th century: Garibaldi and Cavour.

Last winter, I visited the Tamiya show room in Tokyo with a high school friend.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) In the second week of my bicycle journey through France, I had made my base for the week in Créon, outside Bordeaux.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) In the third week of my bicycle journey through France, I was staying outside Avignon, a city in Provence.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) In the fourth week of my bicycle journey through France, I was based in Grenoble and riding in the Alps.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) I was cooking ratatouille while pan-frying white fish in olive oil.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) Throughout this trip, I was always taking photographs.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) I was holding a leek, and the supermarket cashier was telling me something in French.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) It was the first time grime on a car had ever felt passionately alive.

(If you have not read the prologue, start here) The final morning of my four weeks in France had arrived.