Deux Biciclette and a French-Italian Whine

Day 16 – Rome to home…and a final goodbye

2008-06-21T01:08:19-04:00

The Alarm went off and woke me from a deep sleep (not easy on these beds….how do you say “get some memory foam!” in Italian?). I opened my eyes….dark room, still a slight smell of cleaning supplies and an unnatural “fresh” scent….the hotel.

OK, now which hotel and which city…it’s gotta be in Italy….not Siena….Lucarelli was the other night….Florence… Florence? No, Rome…no, wait……..Florence…I think. I sit up and look around….yep, still in Florence.

After the mental calisthenics required to manually ‘GPS’ ourselves, we headed down to breakfast. No one. Wow, we felt a tinge of separation anxiety…no bikes, no group, no coordinator. We sat down and a very pleasant woman took our drink order--we said in unison “Bon giorno!….si, si, si….cafe….grazie!” and flashed our “see? we’re trying…” smiles. We expected (and got) the usual 10w-40 weight we had become accustomed used to.

It was about 8:00 am and we had a 9:28 train to catch…the train station was literally a couple of blocks away so had time to enjoy the croissants w/ honey and peach yogurt (again). “Hi boys!” we turned (again, in unison) and there was Catherine. Excellent, we continued to be weaned off this Blue Marble addiction slowly (I’ve always been one for pulling the Band-Aid off in tiny increments….).

We were chatting away and another familiar voice bounced around the corner... "I know you’re missin’ me already….!?" It’s Jan, and yes, she was part of the separation challenges we were having a while ago. All we needed was Brian and we would have had half of our original group back. We chatted about what was next, flights, the Italian Lakes trip (not fair!), missing our kids/puppies/kittens/Blu-Ray players at home…knowing this would definitely be the last time we saw each other this trip (unless of course we ran into Jan in Rome, which at that point seemed almost a given...but alas it was not to happen).

Time for the train…we did the goodbye hug thing we had practiced so many times over the past couple of days and turned to go, fully expecting to bump into Brian on the way out. [Brian: didn’t see you on the way out, so hope you’re having a good time on your ride].

Elevator…street….station….train….on our way to roam Rome for the day. Less than two hours later we were walking down Via Marsala looking for lunch. We decided to head over to the Villa Medici. It’s one place we hadn’t seen on our last trip, so we thought we would head over there.

At some point we took a wrong turn….we were at the park where the Villa Medici is located, but somehow we’ve ended up on the wrong side of freeway-like street. As we cut through the park to find a way over to the Villa we saw an odd sight. In the middle of an open park area--not all that far from the road we were trying to cross--a woman was sitting on a stool, getting a haircut.

After a couple more wrong turns and a stop at a an overpriced park restaurant for lunch we found the Villa….but no public entrance. Great….of course it was a private residence, why else would they have had it highlighted on the map of tourist spots we had picked up in the hotel (the gardens I guess). Well, when all else fails in Rome, head to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Odd, but there weren’t a lot of people at St. Peter’s…we were through the metal detectors in under five minutes and headed straight for the trip to the top of the Duomo. No line all the way to the ticket booth…paid the extra 2 Euros to take the elevator up (yeah, yeah, I know, but our legs were tired by then).

Went to the top—the Cupola—which was still a couple of hundred steps beyond where the elevator drops you, and we were treated to the most amazing view(s) of the city (yes, the getting high reference in Day 15's post). Of course, as you’re walking hunched over in the spiral walkway to the top it’s hard not to recall the frequent news stories about possibility of earthquakes in Italy, but clearly we were fine.

That night was our final Italian dinner and gelato. We then headed back to the hotel…this was it…the end of the journey! What started as a random read of an article in a travel magazine a year earlier has brought us full circle. We’ve just completed a two-week, life-changing cycle trip through some of the most beautiful lands in the world—and lived to blog about it. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[A special thanks to the folks at Blue Marble…the trip was better than we ever would have dreamed. Your experience and guidance, travel philosophy, and (especially!) your people—Nicolas and Lesley in coordinating pre-trip and our two ride coordinators: Lyn in Provence and Catherine in Tuscany…we can’t imagine having done these trips guided by anyone other than you two. Thank you… for everything!]

Day 15: Lucarelli to Florence: More Views and More Goodbyes

2008-06-19T22:35:31-04:00

Woke up this morning and headed down to breakfast. We had already packed last night so we could eat, say our (almost) final goodbyes, and still get an early start on the ride. We were all riding to Figline where we would then drop off our bikes and take a train into Florence.

We saw John, Brain, Jan, Rick, Zhen, Catherine, and Marcus, who had just dropped Leslie off at the train station as she had an early flight out. Unfortunately, we missed Jeannie and didn’t get a chance to tell her how great it was to have met her and how much we enjoyed spending time with her and John. Said goodbye to Rick and Zhen and wished them all the best. Catherine, Jan, and Brian we were going to see in Florence as we were all staying in the same hotel there.

Before riding off we had one more pic by John and said ciao. So now we’re four as we teamed up with Jan and Brian for the very last leg of the journey. It was a relatively short ride, but a good one…6 k uphill and most of the rest downhill and we practically coasted into Figline.

So, here we are nearing the top of the 6 k hill and I’m just beat…I’m ahead of Jan and Damon, and Brian is in front of me. I get to the 6 k marker and the road is still going up...it was one of those “I only have enough in me to make it to 6 k….not 7 k, or 6.5 k….it’s the last day and I’ve got nothing to prove…I’m going to stop and take a break…”

Just as I’m about to pull over and hop off the bike, I looked over my left shoulder and saw someone across the road jogging up the hill—at about twice the speed I was pedaling up it. OK, so apparently I did have something to prove…I wasn’t going to let some jogger pass me up. I haven’t been busting my butt up hills for two weeks to let some jogger leave me in the dust… I’m a cyclist now….I’m in better shape now….I’m…I’m… tired…I think my chest is going to explode. I’ll just wait till the jogger gets around the corner…

When I realized the road is still going up and I now really have nothing to prove, I hopped off my bike for a water break. Jan and Damon came riding up behind me and stopped. I immediately asked, “Did you guys, ah, see the jogger pass me?” Damon said, “Yeah, he passed us…twice.” Twice? Hmmm, I felt a little better.

At this point Marcus joined us for the last leg of the ride into Figline. What a great way to end our last ride—downhill for lots of k’s. We rode to the train station in Figline and saw the Blue Marble van. This was it…this was where we got off our bikes for the last time. We kind of got a little sad.

The four of us went for a quick pizza lunch while Catherine and Marcus prepped the bikes for the next trip (the Italian Lakes!). An hour later we were on a train heading to Florence. Catherine joined us as she was staying there a night before her train to the next ride.

Ahhhhhhh, Florence….what a great city. We dumped our stuff in the hotel room and went right back out to see more touristy stuff and find a restaurant for our—definitely this time—last meal with the rest of the group.

After a rediculously overpriced cappuccino and snack at the Ponte Vecchio, we headed to the Piazza Michelangelo across the Arno and up the hill (more hills!). The views from there were spectac...ah, used that word a lot...amazin….hmmm, that one too....breathtaking, yeah...the views were breathtaking (and spectacular and amazing).

For dinner we met Brian and Jan at a fantastic restaurant Damon and I found there two years ago…a place called Golden View / Open Bar. It’s right along the Arno just off the Ponte Vecchio. We had reserved the table in the afternoon, so we had window seats…the views were perfect and the food was just as good (maybe even better) than we remembered.

Icing on the cake…Catherine stopped by and sat with us for a bit. It was a fitting way to end the trip. But wait! We have one more day/night on our own…in the morning we were taking the train to Rome for a whirlwind tour of the City of Ruins (or something like that)...we even get really high—details in tomorrow’s post :-)

Day 15 Stats:

Ride Sheet - Lucarelli to Florence/Figline (23 - 29 k)
Actual Ride - 29 k
Lunch - Figline
To Remember - last hill up, coasting to Figline, Views from Piazza Michelangelo, perfect last dinner, sunset on the Arno

Day 14 – Siena to Lucarelli: Talking Menus, Post-its, and Goodbyes...already?

2008-06-17T21:46:26-04:00

Our ride sheet today said we’re going “to ‘feel’ Chianti…” which has come to mean there are hills in our immediate future. In this case, a steady climb at the beginning, some flat in the middle, and more climb at the end (with a surprise—as I didn’t read this far ahead on the ride sheet—5 k downhill towards the end). The ride is roughly 45-50 k depending on the route. Fortunately, a good sleep last night recharged our bodies/minds and we were ready to go.

We checked out of our Siena hotel and immediately headed for McDonalds (eggs!!) where we were a bit….well, bummed to find out that they don't serve breakfast (or at east what we’ve come to know as breakfast back home). So, we stopped by Café Nannini for our usual requisite snacks and bottles of water and we were off.

We started out just the two of us, but caught up with Leslie, Jan, and Brian about a third of the way to Lucarelli and rode with them the rest of the way. Mid-day we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the small town of Monti in Chianti.

We were ready to sit down at a table outside, when a woman approached the table… "Wait....wait...wait…." She said in a slow, deep, raspy “smoker’s” voice…and proceeded to wipe the rain pooled on the seats and table. “Now…OK.” We then asked for menus… “You are talking to the menu,” she said in her heavily accented (but fairly good) English.

Apparently, we were also talking to the waitress, the cook, and the cashier as we didn’t see/hear anyone else but her the entire time we were there. We ordered the Antipasti and it was delicious…a little pricey (the talking menu neglected to mention the prices) but not outrageous. We paid the bill, which was simply scribbled on a Post-it note, and got up to leave.

Now, someone had asked to use the bathroom when we first got there and all we got was ”No water…bathroom.” But since there didn’t seem to be any other options, we asked again before leaving. “No water...no water…” she said.

We just looked at each other, all wondering the same thing regarding running a restaurant without water and hoping it was just the bathroom. Someone in the group (Jan?) pushed the point and our restaurateur finally acquiesced, “OK, but pee pee only...pee pee only.” (Which of course became our running joke for the day…sorry if this was, ah, TMI :-)

Next stop, the Castello di Brolio. We added 6 k to the ride to see this castle as it sounded like it would be worth the trip. The structure itself was not open to the public, but a tour of the gardens and chapel (along with a wine tasting) were all included in the 5 Euro entrance fee. This stop was great timing too… as we approached the Castello it started to rain. Fortunately, enormous pine trees flanked the incline to the summit, so the dirt and gravel road was not a muddy mess on the way up.

The views from the castle grounds were spectacular. Just outside the walls of the castle were formal gardens, and beyond were panoramic views of the Tuscan landscape. As we were walking the gardens the skies just opened up, as they say, and suddenly it was pouring rain. We were all huddled under an 'umbrella' of pine trees for about 15-20 minutes (during which there was also a significant drop in temperature). After the tour and some photos of the chapel we headed down the hill for a wine tasting—Chianti Classico…it was tasty (maybe more so because we were cold and still a little bit wet from the rain).

Back on the road for Lucarelli, we encountered some pretty scary skies but seemed to stay ahead of it (by mere minutes) most of the rest of the day. Finally around 4:00 – 4:30 we arrived at Villa Rosa. Wow...another amazing hotel (a la Osteria del Vicario in Certaldo). The hotel is a three-story pink stucco structure along the two-lane road we just took through Lucarelli (and fortunately not another fortress perched atop a mini mountain as we didn’t need on of those today).

We all checked in to our rooms and immediately came back out to sit by the pool and compare the ‘cool’ features each room had. Ours was a large room (to European standards) with very high ceilings and an amazing view. Brian’s room was across the hall and he had this funky second floor loft-ish bathroom you had to walk up about 8-10 stairs to get to; he also had the high ceilings.

Leslie and Jan, who were separate travelers sharing a room, had the best space of the rooms we saw. They were on the second floor and had a very large room and what must have been a 15’x 15’ balcony off the old-style French doors. All of the rooms were exceptionally clean and well maintained, and each had a unique feel…more like a quaint Bed & Breakfast than a hotel and definitely worth a stay if you’re ever in the area.

The pool was behind the hotel and up on a hill, so there was also a view from there. We met and talked with a nice family from Texas....always good to be able to brush up on our English while we're away.

Tonight we gathered as a complete group for the last time—including Rick and Zhen who we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with outside of breakfasts and dinners. The meal here was definitely worthy of being our last suppe…ah, last dinner. Especially with Leslie leaving first thing in the morning, this was really our last chance (we thought) to see much of the group.

We had a great time tonight and I laughed harder than I have in ages…especially about the photo snapped of Catherine taking a picture of the entire group (with a wall in her way).

We also had a Blue Marble addition to the group for a couple of days. Marcus (an associate coordinator?) had come down from Paris to assist with the logistics of ending our trip and transitioning the equipment to the next ride. Nice guy and he fit into the craziness of the group very well.

After dinner we said our goodbyes to Leslie, Jeannie, John, Rick, and Zhen (in case we didn’t see them in the morning) and went to bed. Tomorrow was to be our last ride, from Lucarelli to Florence—well, actually to a train station in Figline and then a train to Florence as the traffic going in to Florence is a bit…ah, dangerous.

Day 14 Stats:

Ride Sheet - Siena to Lucarelli/Villa Rosa (44+ k)
Actual Ride - 50 k
Lunch - Monti in Chianti (talking menu)
To Remember - Ride out of Siena, homemade antipasti, Sudden rain at the castle, Nice American woman selling tickets, Gecko in the pool, the clouds, outrunning the second storm, laughter at dinner

Day 13 – More Siena: 30 k (twice!), a Kitty, and Rain

2008-06-17T14:55:17-04:00

Today was our turn for the tough Asciano ride Brian did yesterday (and he decided that once was not enough, so he came with us today). The group this day was Jan, Leslie, Brian, Damon and me. While it did sound like a crazy ride, there was an option to take the train back from Asciano to Siena and keep it a 30 k one-way ride (remember this was an option when I get to the part where we don’t take the train back).

The weather was a bit chilly and overcast…ideal for the kind of riding we’re doing. After a short downhill out of the city we started going up (but, of course). We went through some residential areas and then came to a part of the route sheet that seemed to have changed due to brand new highway work. After determining the route now needed to go along someone’s driveway for a couple of hundred meters, we were on our way.

OK, here’s where I throw out a new, more impressive % grade…as we finished climbing a long, curvy uphill stretch, we turned to see that the sign indicated a 20% grade for the hill we just climbed.

Hey...we doubled the 10% we found tough the first week. The rest of the ride to our destination was relatively hilly (both up and down in our direction) and very much out in the ‘boonies’ so to speak (though there’s something about Tuscan boonies I would take over New Jersey boonies anytime).

About ½ way into this ride I spotted a little black kitten meowing and poking his little head out of the grass under the guardrail to the road we were on. Afraid he was going to run out and get hit by a zippy little Smart car, I stopped my bike and went in his direction, of course scaring him into the brush not to be seen again—at least that morning.

About three hours after we left Siena we arrived in Asciano. It was a sleepy little town, but nice nonetheless. We locked the bikes and sat down for lunch at a restaurant on the main street. Jan, who is absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun to ride with, decided she would stop by the somewhat upscale store we had passed earlier. She and Leslie disappeared across the street...a couple of minutes later Leslie came back alone. We asked if Jan was making a purchase… “Yes," Leslie said, "she moved something and a little ‘thingy’ fell on the floor and broke…they’re making her pay for it.”

When Jan came back to the table we hypothesized that’s how they made their money…booby-trapping little thingies that tourists have to pay for. If you’re ever in Asciano at the store across from the restaurant and something falls and breaks, just run.

So, we had every intention of taking the train back to Siena before we sat for lunch…I’m not sure what changed (maybe it was getting close to the end of our riding days…for this trip at least) but I really wanted to ride back instead. Leslie, Jan, and Brian were having none of that and were taking the train. Damon, possibly during a lapse in judgment, said, “Sure.” It did look a little like rain, but Leslie (bless her heart :-) assured us they were NOT rain clouds…they weren’t heavy like rain clouds... "you guys will be fine." (remember this)

Back we go…those glorious downhill patches from earlier are now….yep, you’re following…uphills. It’s funny how it seems there is always more uphill in your direction regardless of which direction you’re traveling…doesn’t make sense to me (must be a Tuscan thing).

We’re about ½ way back and Damon stops suddenly—on a downhill. I figure something is wrong, and then he says, “the kitten…” and points to the same curve I stopped at earlier. There’s the little guy…head sticking through the grass and meowing like crazy. We go over to him and, again, he runs away, but not too far away. We get off our bikes and try for 30 minutes to coax him out to us...even feeding him a VitaSnella bar we had with us.

Now we're not really cat people (Damon is allergic), but we are animal people. We weren’t sure what we would do with him if he did come to us, but we didn’t see/hear any other cats and the nearest house was quite a ways away. We figured we’d either take him to the closest house or maybe bring him to Siena. He was just hanging out a bit too close to the road for our (and his) comfort.

Once it was clear he wasn’t getting within more than a couple meters of us (and it started to rain) we tossed the last of the bar in his direction and said, “Ciao.” [Sorry, wish I could have ended this with something like “we heard some hikers found him later in the day and took him to the house where everyone lived happily ever after” but that wouldn’t be completely accurate.]

For the rest of the 30 k home it rained off and on (mostly on) and we were cold and tired when we got to the hotel. It was a great/challenging(!) 60 kilometers today….we were feeling pretty good about that at the end of the day (at least once we were able to stand and walk without assistance).

Dinner this night was with the whole group. I had the opportunity to sit with Leslie and Jeannie. Leslie is very smart and funny and Damon and I enjoyed the time we spent with her. She’s a math teacher (but I didn’t hold that against her :-) in Canada and majored in foreign languages (French) and European History, so she was quite interesting to talk to.

And it was always a treat to spend time with Jeannie. She’s very bright…her interests were diverse and ranged from dance to psychology and personality types…also quite interesting to talk with. She also lives in Aspen, so our discussions of home brought back fond memories of my years in Colorado. She and John had spent much of the time in Siena with their daughter Katie, who was visiting the area with her husband, so we didn’t see a lot of them these three days.

No after dinner drinks or cafes or gelato or anything that involved an activity other than sleep…we had pretty much “hit the wall” by the end of this day’s ride.

Day 13 Stats:

Ride Sheet - Loop Day (52 - 107 k)
Actual Ride - 60 k
Lunch - Asciano
To Remember - Little black kitten, Broken objects, Riding in rain, German tourists, dinner with group

Day 12 – Siena: What to do Without the Biciclette(?!)

2008-06-16T21:00:13-04:00

Today was a “free” day in Siena…we had options for cycling, but decided to explore the city instead. We started with a trip through the market at La Lizza, which was packed with people and 80% women’s clothing, shoes, and fabrics. This took up about 10 minutes of our day...next!

Of course there is plenty to see in Siena, so that was not the problem as much as where do we start. From the market we hit the many of the touristy spots…Piazza Madre Teresa di Calcutta, the Duomo di Siena, and of course an overpriced lunch and some gelato in Piazza del Campo. I included some photos just for the heck of it, but won’t bore you with the details of our day.

Dinner this night was wonderful. It was an ‘on-our-own’ dinner night, but some of us decided to dine together anyway. The restaurant where we were supposed to meet was closed, so we went to one up the street (it's so hard to find a restaurant in Siena…well…ok, no it’s not—just turn the corner, any corner).

Damon and I were with Leslie, Jan, and Brian for most of the dinner. Brian, who was probably the stronger of the cyclists in our group (excluding Catherine our coordinator of course) had made the > 30 k ride to Asciano (and maybe the 50 k to Montalcino, I don’t recall) by himself and warned us how tough it was. Hmmm, that got us thinking…maybe we needed to see more of the city—on foot—tomorrow and ah….rest up a bit, yeah….another free day. Ok, ok, of course we’re riding tomorrow…especially since it’s kind of a yawner to post our free day activities (or lack thereof) to this blog.

Towards the end of dinner, Catherine stopped by the restaurant and we all decided to go out for a drinks and/or coffee after eating. Now, this was one of those great random moments that make life so interesting. We weren’t sure where to go, so Catherine stopped and asked a group of people standing in a small piazza. After a couple of minutes of back and forth, Catherine was “grazie’ing” her way back to us…she had our destination.

Making our way through the streets of Siena, we were following Catherine (who was on the phone) like baby ducks behind their mother. After a couple of 'uncertain' turns we (she) asked again for directions. It turns out we were right there...it was one of those funky down the steps and next to/under the bridge clubs you wouldn’t find unless you were looking for it.

As soon as we went in I felt like I had been transported to something out of a 50's/60’s movie (Funny Face?) and some beatnik poetry bar in NYC…except everyone was speaking Italian, people were smoking outside (city ordinance), and there was no poetry. But you get the idea….

What was going to be a quick drink turned into an evening at this little club. The night was complete with amazing tea blends, top-notch Limoncello from Naples, fresh and tasty deserts, and a fantastic singer named Angela de Nardis, who did a better-than-the-original cover of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” (it made me really like the song). I can safely say we all had a great time.

Day 12 Stats:

Ride Sheet - Loop Day (52 - 107 k)
Actual Ride - 0 k
Lunch - Siena at the Piazza del Campo
To Remember - Random club find and Angela de Nardis singing, Duomo tour, Dinner, Flaming desserts