geeteetravels

We headed out of Siena on a downhill run which is always a great start to give the legs a chance to wake up and to make you feel like progress is being made. We were well caloried and caffeinated from our quite decent hotel in Siena (despite the aforementioned restaurant issue). Just another seriously beautiful day weather wise, expecting mid 30s again.
After the initial downhill we climbed to Castellina in Chianti where Rob announced their third flat tire of the trip. Just as we were smugly thinking that’s 3 to zero in our favour, our front tire went pffft. No problem, except we were running out of spare tubes and CO2 cartridges so a bike shop became a priority. Nothing in Castellina in Chianti though, but people told us there were shops in Poggibonsi. We met several tourists that were Brits today, some cycling on organized tours and some regular tourists. The tandems always attract the curious.
Then began the second best, or perhaps the best 15km of cycling road in Italy as we headed downhill for Poggibonsi. Just the right downhill grade, a good road surface, light traffic and spectacular hill top scenery make it so. Tara took another video but I haven’t had luck with uploading those to the blog yet.
Poggibonsi was just a stopover for us with nothing particularly attracting to us, but a couple of things made it interesting. One was this night was the “white night” festival which promised (and delivered) music and crowds in the street until 2am. The second was a restaurant we found on tripadvisor. We showed up at 7:35 to an empty restaurant where they weren’t initially sure they could fit us in without a reservation(!) After deciding we could be seated a lovely maitre’d lady came and explained our food choices for the different courses for the evening. We never saw a menu. We just ate what was brought to us, including her wine recommendation. We had a view of the kitchen and the head chef and crew so we could see how the restaurant worked as the place completely filled up. These people were extremely competent in every way and we somewhat paid for it too, but left very satisfied with the experience.
The white night experience was fun because there was so much life in the streets but I can’t say we enjoyed the pounding electronnica beat at 2 in the morning when we had long before gone to bed.

Leaving Siena through one of the old gates ; caught in a bit of traffic

Close to on top of the day's climb, enjoying the spectacular views of the chianti hills

Crowds started starting to form

Music everywhere, here in the form of a jazz trio

Nighttime fun in the streets

Today was a rest day, which we appreciated and needed after a couple of rigorous ones in scorching heat. Wandering around Siena is a good way to revive though, and hide from the sun due to the tall buildings and narrow walkways. Except of course if you step out into the glorious piazza del campo where the sun will scorch you until you crawl back into the shadows and order another cold moretti (the big one, 66cl per favore).
We shopped for small presents, ate a nice lunch, and retraced our steps to the air conditioned hotel room to actually take part in the afternoon siesta for a change. In the late afternoon we explored a bit more and I climbed a tower while the rest of the team had a look inside the magnificent duomo.
As the sun sank and the light turned golden we found a place to eat with a memorably cheerful and fun waiter. That was in contrast to an arrogant type who messed up my meal (ok, I make mistakes too) last evening but would not admit it. He became the evil Jaffar (Disney… Aladdin…) since he resembled him greatly. Tomorrow back on the bikes for a ride deep into chianti territory.

Look at all the new La Pavoni machines!

Piazza del Campo in the morning sunshine, one of my favorite places

We went looking for the important water sources for Siena, mysteriously coming from a below ground river called La Diana

We had lunch at a restaurant so tilted they needed to alter the furniture

It doesn't get any more ornate than the duomo in Siena

A view from atop the half built wall attached to the duomo

Today started with a delicious breakfast at our hotel then a thrilling downhill ride for about 10kms. We really needed that after yesterday’s climbing. We stopped at the Abbia St. Antimo to see the 11th century church and hopefully hear some gregorian chanting. We visited here once before 9 years ago and then as today only heard a recording of the monks who reside there chanting, not a live performance.
Then off to another hilltop town, Montalcino, also very picturesque but again a bit tough to get to. After locating the local Coop store (italian version of Calgary Co op) we refueled and refreshed water supplies before heading back into the hot day. We rode downhill out of there and headed for Siena, a rolling route, but no more big clmbs. However the temperature was around 35 degrees with very little shade to be found, so we were struggling. George was remembering a song by Noel Coward that talks about only mad dogs and Englishmen going out in the noon day sun. About 5 km from our destination we had to stop and rehydrate, cool down, and rest as I was starting to feel quite poorly from the heat. We eventually pulled in to our hotel, again tired and very hot. We still managed to climb almost 900 meters and ride for almost 9 hrs. But we must not complain, we did choose to visit Tuscany, a hilly and warm destination.

Loading up at our upcountry stop at the Terre D'orcia

The Abbia St Antimo, 1000 year old thick stone walls make it a cool respite from the heat

Interior of the Abbia

Almost at Montalcino, home to Brunello fine wines

We're smiling after a couple of rounds of cold drinks

Piagge is hardly a place, but it’s purely a bit** to get to from our start in Pitigliano. 33 degree heat, 2 flat tires, questionable GPS navigation that put us on washed out roads, running close to zero water and having to beg for same at homes along the route, 60km, 9 hrs of cycling and 1388m of ascent. Absolutely spectacular scenery. Such was the adventure today. When we finally arrived at our destination it was a relief.

Since our B&B turned out to be only a B it doesn't get a great rating from us. Here we are foraging for breakfast.

Hot and dry all day.

The GPS led us down closed roads so I played at gatekeeper.

Grimacing at one of two flats today

Seggiano, seen from the back side.

The ride to Pitigliano marked our turn away from the coast for good this trip, and away from the relatively flat riding we had been enjoying. It’s all hills and hill towns from here on. It was a good climb but nothing unmanageable for us. Pitigliano is ancient with history back to the etruscans. It is a town built on top of volcanic rock called tufa. First sight of it is a treat as it comes up on you suddenly. Super impressive to see, a real wow moment. Unfortunately Tara had a real un-wow moment after finding the first squat toilet of the trip. The act of squatting released her prescription sunglasses from the front of her shirt and right down the hole. Ouch! I cannot believe how bad we are being for losing important possessions.
We stayed at a B&B, the second one we have come across which did not offer breakfast so only a B in my books. We wandered around taking photos of the picturesque old city, and stumbled upon a wine tasting event which was open to the public. It focused on the wine growing areas in close proximity to volcanos which actually covers a lot of land in Italy. Have a look.

On our way off the coast and into serious wine country.

Around a hairpin turn and you're met with Pitigliano.

One of many beautiful Fiat 500s to be found. It's a close relative to the 850 I once owned.

Pitigliano is full of alleyways and tiny interesting streets.

... and lots of cats.

Gorgeous with the lights on.

This day in particular I had been relishing as we were going to sail to the island of Giglio to see how salvage operations were going with the Costa Concordia. Rob first pointed out how close we were and wouldn’t it be very cool to see it refloated. So we did. It was great to visit Giglio which is beautiful, and you wish they didn’t have to deal with the monstrosity on their doorstep. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Traffic out the causeway on the way to Porto Santo Stefano by bus to catch the ferry

A fantastic day for a sail or anything else you could imagine outdoors. Lots of racing going on.

A bit creepy considering the deaths involved. The ship and all the works are right next to the harbour.

A view overlooking the main port on Giglio.

The ship and all the work involved.

This guy hung out on the back deck the whole way back, looking for and receiving handouts.

This may be a bit short because we are on a ferry over to Isola del Giglio and I don’t want to miss too much of the action.
We stayed last night in Grosseto at the B&B Ricasole run by a lovely woman named Fulvia who was a super hostess and really worked at making her B&B numero uno. She put on a great breakfast including of course coffee of your choosing but also homemade nutella tarts (not so good for Tara). Yummy, and great calories for burning on the bike. After all the kissing and hugging with Fulvia we were off headed back towards the sea and our last chance for topless sunbathing. After our little dialogue with the friendly Polizia yesterday we checked the preplanned route carefully to assure we would be travelling on legal roads for bicycles. As a result we were in for some climbing on the small roads which generally have many rewards like the best views, the least traffic, and making great big muscles. Montiano was the literal high point today, its name being a clue to its altitude.  A lot of water was consumed throughout the day as 30 degrees is now becoming the norm for temperature.  Lunch was a simple roadside stop under trees for shade as the seaside was still 20km away.  Apart from the mountain, the ride through the country was quite relaxed and beautiful, scooting by olive groves, grapes, and a lot of tomato plants. Our destination is an interesting bit of geography, consisting of the island of Argentario but connected to the mainland by three narrow isthmus(es), one of which has the town of Orbetello, and our hotel. We walked into the old part of town for the requisite gelato and beer after a hot and pseudo-demanding day’s ride. First impression was it wasn’t that pretty and not what we expected for a seaside stop, but the beer was still cold.  Supper turned out to be a treat as we hunted down tripadvisor’s no.1 rated Orbetello restaurant. More than the typical italian fare, it had splashes of international flavours such as curry.   I had some grilled tuna which the owner and I had a very enthusiastic conversation about. It was as if he knew the fish personally as it was caught and flash frozen recently off of Sicily. Great fun.

Sometimes our bikes are parked with us, and may need to go up and down spiral stairs

Traditionally Tara receives a temporary chain tattoo every day. This one shows particularly excellent link definition

Hot lunch in Tuscany

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.

Arriverderci Elba

Summer has truly begun in Italy

Our tour guide

The passegiata is the evening stroll in Italy

Beautiful details on the office of civil engineering (really)

At the well of the buffalo where there was a blood donor clinic in progress. We wanted a donation but were refused

In the main piazza just a few steps from our B&B

Today was a day as it should be. It started with a good breakfast of fruit, cereal and yoghurt followed by an italian breakfast featuring capucchino and pastry, this time filled with Nutella. Tara can’t have the bread before riding but she can have chocolate, but not Nutella since it is made of hazelnuts. Bummer ’cause it is good!
We had a straight forward ride south to catch the ferry to Elba except for one excellent diversion. When I started planning this trip one of the first bits I put on the list was a ride between Sassetta and Suverito, reportedly to be the most fun and scenic ride in all of Italy. So… we diverted from our flat coastal riding to climb 350m to Sassetta. The views were great but the road and route were unbelievable! 15km of the most fun you will ever have on a bicycle. Gently flowing downhill over the entire distance and never going longer than 50m without another hairpin turn, and and No traffic! Magnifico!
Ok, enough with the exclamations already. After that disneylandish stretch we booted to the ferry. It runs very frequently with 2 different companies vying for your business. I bought the tickets for all of us from a pseudo english speaking ticket lady who I thought had understood what I wanted, but… It ended up ok but instead of getting round trip tickets for 4 people and 2 bikes I only purchased one way tickets for 2 people and 2bikes. Between the purchase and the”ok” bit the captain seized my precious passport as ransom to assure we bought the other 2 tickets needed. Yikes.
It’s a quick ferry trip to Elba and the weather was completely gorgeous for us. In fact the forecast looks brilliant for the rest of the cycling now.
Our hotel is more like a resort with a great pool but it’s a ways out of town. We had to search a bit to find supper and ended up with a 1/2m long pizza from a hole in the wall takeout place and a bottle of wine from the hotel bar. What a fabuloso gionata.

Breakfast capucchini and brioche in Marina di Cecina

We get to take pictures of the other half of the team

Severito is the backdrop of this shot

Here comes the Moby ferry to Elba

.. And our friends can take pictures of us

Supper was your basic half a metre of pizza and a bottle of wine