Grosseto – day 12

13 Jun

Moving day after a 2 night stay on Elba. One could easily stay here for a couple of weeks and cycle or hike the length and breadth of the place but off we go. We ate breakfast quickly because we had a ferry to catch at 09:30 and we had to ride a few km to get there and buy the correct tickets this time. No worries, armed with prior knowledge we negotiated every obstacle and got easily on board on time.
We had a long (for us) ride of about 80km once onto the mainland again with some uphill for a change. Also the weather had really started to turn into summer with today coming out hot at 29 degrees and no clouds once the morning mist had burned off. After grabbing a few lunch groceries in Piombino we headed for Follonica 30km along the route and another seaside lunch spot. We had no trouble getting to Follonica where at last it was hot enough that people were out on the beach and even getting into the swim. Off we went again but about 15km out we stopped because we had a funny feeling the GPS(s) were leading us astray again as we were on a major highway while my plan was for less busy roads. But by that point we would have to backtrack all 15km and the busy road had a nice shoulder by italian standards so we continued. It was really hot by then and we were taking breaks every 10km or so at one of the frequent pullouts out of the way of traffic. At 20km from our destination while taking a break the police pulled in behind us in a nice azzurro Alfa Romeo and told us, using the universal crossing of the wrists sign, that we were all under arrest for riding on this major highway. They were friendly enough though, didn’t haul us away, and gave us an escort off the highway to the next exit. Luckily by this time there was a parallel minor road so no real loss for us.
We found our B&B inside the old fortified and completely intact city walls of Grosseto and then quickly went in search of gelato and birra to try and get something back from the heat. Fortunately these commodities are never far away in Italy.
After a shower and some laundry we were out looking for the highlights of Grosseto with Tara wielding the map. Most of the area inside the old walls is strictly pedestrian so it was another easy walk around with all the residents seemingly also out for the evening stroll and check out of their neighbours.
After a good supper at one of the restaurants our hostess recommended we were ready for bed.