Tuscany

Okay so it has been a few days since my last post...In a nut shell Florence was amazing. I was fortunate with beautiful weather during our 3 days there. We saw the sights at a very leisurely pace while also running into the Jersey Shore crew a few times.ha! One of my favorite adventures in Florence was an evening spent overlooking the city with the company of friends we had met at our previous hostel. Spent a few Euros on some bottles of Chianti wine and took it to the Piazza Michelangelo to see the entire city of Firenze.

On the morning of the 15th, Ian and I were picked up in Florence to begin our bike tour through Tuscany. Just a short thirty minute car ride outside of Florence and we were in the beautiful, green rolling hills of Italy's countryside. The man, Mateo, who picked us up from Florence took us to a garage in Tuscany to pick up our bikes. On the bikes held little panniers to carry our things throughout the day and evening, seeing as the company was going to keep our backpacks for the two days and drop them off at our last destination. So with only a clean pair of underwear and toothbrush on us, we were off on our bike ride! The first 4km or so Mateo rode with us as we made our way to our first winery! Ah! We stopped at a beautiful Chianti winery called Principe Corsini. The 600 acre winery is covered with thousands of olives and grapes! A forty minute tour later we were a little bit more knowledgeable on the process of wine making, as well as olive oil. After the tour of the winery, we had an amazing four course meal (along with wine tasting) inside the lobby area. Our first meal was a capri cheese dish, followed by risotto and zucchini, pasta, and then of course a chocolate souffle. Oh and you can't forget a cafe after! With a full belly, it was time to leave Mateo and begin our bike adventures on our own with only the directions given to us.

The first day consisted of 15 miles (27 km). The 15 miles was not the challenge, but the "gentle" hills of Tuscany. "Gentle" hills, my ass. More like a climb up a massive hill! While changing gears and pushing my little legs as hard as I could, I kept just telling myself" you can do it. you can do it". Mind over matter, right? The 15 mile ride ended in Greve in Chianti. A cute, quaint little town in Tuscany. After a much needed nap, the evening ended with some more wine tasting at a local wine shop in the town.  LeCantine diGreveinChianti was the name of the shop. In my eyes, a candy store for adults :) The store is filled with a 100 different wines. Within the store there are several round stations with wine bottles under these machines. In order to taste the wine, you buy a card with money on it and then you insert it into the machine and place your glass under the drip system where it pours wine into your glass and then deducts money from your card. The tastings ranged from .60euro to 4.00 euro. Seeing as we only had 45minutes before they closed shop, we had to drink fast! I probably tasted over 25 wines...lets just say it was the best 10 Euros spent yet!!

The next morning began with a large breakfast to give us energy for our day 2 of the bike ride, 27 miles (44km). The previous night we had met a married couple from New Zealand in their fifties who we shared our travel stories with. The wise couple had asked if I had cycling shorts for the bike ride, since I was telling them how my bottom was sore from the first day of the ride. I chuckled and then replied with a no, thinking I didn't need them. The two had laughed at me and then had made a comment about my age and being young and dumb. ( Lets just say I should of listened to them old folks...my bottom was  very very tender the next day due to the tiny, hard bike seat. A word from the wise...BUY CYCLING shorts before any long bike ride. It is worth it! ) Anyway, the 27 miles was more than a challenge seeing as there was maybe only 4 miles of it downhill. Each quick descent, was followed with the unbearable image of the next large rolling hill coming my way. It was a love/hate relationship on those hills...loving the experience, the views, and the adventure as I road along these tiny roads with cars zooming around me on the tight corners...but hating the incline! Along the 27 mile ride, we were able to stop at two very cool towns. The first one was Panzano, four miles south of Greve. Panzano was originally a medieval castle. One of the most famous citizens in Panzano is Dario(the most famous butcher), the Michelangelo of meat. The next town we stopped in was Castellina, another medieval village.

The bike ride ended in Siena. Of course the last 3km had to be the most adventurous as we weaved our way on bikes through the narrow,cobble stoned roads crowded with people and tourists trying to find our place. It was quite a site to see ! I tried yelling "Me Scusi" as I finagled my way around the people! Haha this vague blog doesn't even begin to describe the scene! But just try to imagine it!

All in all, the bike ride through Tuscany was worth every penny as well as pain! I am so proud of myself for accomplishing 42 miles through the Tuscany hills and villages! I can definitely check it off the bucket list!! If anyone has the opportunity to visit Tuscany, consider doing a bike ride . I reccommend Charnes Tours( google it)...just invest in some Cycling shorts ;)

xox
ME