Tuscany, Part I

Mostly written from a wine terrace in Siena, and posted from a lovely rooftop terrace in Montalcino: 

Day 1- Travel up to Florence, Initial Recon

Trains are pretty great.  High-speed trains are even better.  This we took from Rome, with remarkably little fuss, and actually before we knew it, there we were in Florence.  Slight hiccup with the realization that the train station we arrived in in Florence was not in fact the train station I thought the B&B was near, but happily, after a little connector train to our new part of town, we walked a short way, and were excited to find our B&B was even better than expected- a huge room with shared kitchen (where a cook makes you breakfast each morning), rooftop deck, and a nice terrace.  

But we still had half a day on our hands, and we knew we were giving Florence short shrift as it was, so we made a big walking loop of the beautiful (if extremely popular) historic area, strolling through a great farmer's market, the Ufizi, the the great Duomo of Florence.  We got a nice late lunch, and dropped by the bike shop where we were going to rent our bikes for the big tour of Tuscany- it was good that we did this, since we found out that the shop was closed on Sunday, when we planned to leave, so we altered the plan to pick the bikes up on Saturday night.  

Kind of a utilitarian day, but that's how it goes.  We spent the early evening actually enjoying our cool new digs, and I finally got around to writing my first blog post about Rome.

Day 2- Duomo and Boboboli Gardens

So the Duomo (Dome) of Florence (actually named the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore) is perhaps it's most famous landmark, other than the Ufizi, which is second only to the Vatican museums in size and popularity.  It's right in the middle of the historic district and is only of the mandatory stops of every one of the thousands of tourists who go there.  Apparently to go up to the top of the actual dome requires a reservation made a month or more in advance, but we were able to get tickets to see all the other features of the admittedly epic structure: the belltower, the baptistry, the inside of the cathedral, and a really interesting exhibit beneath the cathedral that displays all the layers of structure that once occupied the same place- including intricate Roman mosaic floors, the tombs of medieval religious figures, and several temples used as the foundation for the mighty early-Renaissance cathedral that stands there today.  The belltower was also pretty amazing, considering it's nearly 300 feet tall and built in the late Medieval period.  (For all the inlaid marble and elaborate filligre, you'd guess much later.)  You also get for your considerable effort climbing up the middle of the thing, a truly suburb view of Florence.  The baptistery is also amazing for its religious mosaics, though unfortunately most of the ornate ceiling was being restored when we visited.  

That consuming most of the day, we walked more of the historic area of Florence, passing over the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, which was, for hundreds of years crowded with gem merchants' shops perched precariously on the bridge.  Still is, but now there are more bachelorette parties there!  Across the river we visited the equally famous Boboli gardens, which are attached to a gigantic Medici mansion- the Palazzo Pitti.  The gardens themselves are quite impressive, but perhaps the best part about them is the views they give you of Florence on the one side, and the Tuscan hills on the other.  Made us excited about the trip to come!

We finished the day packing up the gear we needed for the bike tour, dropping off the extra gear we didn't need at the the bike shop (which was nice enough to store it for us while we are away- many thanks Florence by Bike), collect the rental e-bikes, and ready the panniers to be compatible with our new steeds.  With quite enough done for the day, we gratefully turned in.

Day 3- Florence to Greve in Chianti 

Big props to "Caslrdro's Rooms"- run by a lovely woman I am pretty sure is named Casaldro.  She put us up for a couple days in her delightful B &B, and cooked us a big hearty breakfast, fortifying us for our big adventure into Tuscany.    Much advice was given about where to go and what to see, and some of it may have been absorbed.  We certainly absorbed the excellent breakfast, and headed off south, fearful of the traffic that might meet us as we headed into the untamed hinterland of Tuscany.  

Here's the thing- Italian drivers have a bad reputation, but does anyone stop to think, "how might they compare to how North Idaho drivers?"  The answer is: better, if anything, and they are driving Fiat Pandas and not Ford F-350 dualies.  Sure, I got brushed once by a guy on a scooter with his girlfriend on the back, and yeah, we both pulled over and were yelling, but then I realized his girlfriend was terrified he had hurt me (he didn't), and he was pouring out his heartfelt apologies.  This might extend to the dire warnings I had about thieves and pickpockets- but do they exist in most American cities?  Answer is definitely "yes", and the precaution to take is simply "don't be an idiot."  So, slip the wallet in the front pocket, and don't wander into bad neighborhoods at night.  Same as basically anywhere.  

Anyway,  the fears of traffic also were greatly mitigated by the bike-only lanes out of the city, and the steady climb into the foothills beyond soon brought us to a hilltop park overlooking Florence on a Sunday morning, where all the ancient bells tolled a call to prayer.  Did I mention Florence is an idyllic city, both from within and without? Did I mention the weather was ideal?  Also, at the park, they seemed to be setting up for a pizza cook-off, which much have been pretty intense, because I believe I had the best pizza of my life the day before in the shadow of the Duomo.  Simple, but every element was perfect: dough- thin yet the perfect amount of chewy; Sauce, from the ripest tomatoes, garlic, and basil, kissed by Copia herself; cheese, the most supple and flavorful in the land, and Parma ham (ah, the Parma ham) just the right amount of cured.  Great 'za is what I'm saying.  

I was thinking before the trip that it would take at least a day to escape the urban blight and truly enter the Tuscan countryside.  In a word: "NOPE!"  Soon after the park, the magical phone routed us to the Holy Grail of all bike tourists- the deserted 1.5 lane road through rustic olive groves and villages.  The laughter of schoolchildren in the breeze as we pedaled by, the friendly farmers waving from their tractors from the olive groves, and we would our way from hamlet to hamlet as I dreamed we might.  Perhaps Jen has a different view of the day: "um, nobody told me Tuscany has hills."  

Do your research, Jen!  It very much does.  But the e-bikes handled them for the most part, and soon we found ourselves near our destination in Greve in Chianti, which you might expect is a hotspot for the "Chianti Classico"- the Chianti wine from actual Chianti.  You'd be right!  We stopped at a couple wineries as we approached Greve,  and boy howdy, is it nice to taste the real  &*^*&ing thing.  Of note particularly was the Montecalvi winery just outside Greve, whose bottle I purchased, then hauled over many passes, only to savor while I write this.  We righteously spent a couple hours in a tasting there overlooking the golden sunlight nourishing the verdant fields- just sayin' great wine.  

The B & B in Greve turned out to be excellent, with a little pool to dive our overheated selves into, and a typically enchanting little piazza downtown to go explore.  It was kind of a strange dinner, if I'm honest, involving apparently famous beef tartare, but by then the excellent wine and better hospitality had me introduced to Somnus before the sun went down.  

Day 4- Greve in Chianti to Siena

After a long restful stay at our B&B in Greve, a long with a nice ample breakfast (the anti-carb revolution has yet to hit Italy, I can tell you), we mounted our fully-charged steeds and headed south again for Siena.  The weather was again perfect- mid 60's when we rolled out, and the scenery again did not disappoint.  It's a long 7 km climb out of Greve, but through sunlight dappled by a lovely forest, with occasional breaks revealing vineyards perched on verdent hillsides.  We climbed to several picturesque hilltop villages, including particularly pleasant one named Castellina (little castle) which sure enough featured a little castle.  Also a gellato stand mentioned particularly by our host at the B&B that morning.  I had the fig and ricotta, which sounds strange until you try it.  Then it's really, really good.  Happily, it's mostly downhill going from Castellina to Siena, and a very enjoyable cruise through olive groves, vineyards, and bands of forest.  

The only possible gripe I might have is the range of my e-bike was not quite as advertised, and I had to husband my assist mode quite a bit in the latter part of the day. (we learned later from a bike tour group we talked to that the e-bike regulations are a little different in Europe, and the class of bike they allow on bike paths and so on is less powerful than the comparable American versions.  Or maybe it's that I don't have 30 extra pounds of stuff strapped to my e-bike at home.  Or both).  The good news is the rental bike is not as much of a disaster in non-assist mode as the ones we have at home, so huffing and puffing up some of the hills wan't as bad as it could have been.  Still, a little worrisome as we have longer days than this coming up.  We did find that the bikes charge fully in a few hours, so perhaps a long lunch break with a restaurant generous with its electricity will get us over the hump.  

Fortunately, we got to Siena around 1:30, so we had time to collect ourselves (read quick shower and a Peroni), and head to the outstanding historic district of Siena.  Now, I know anyone familiar with Tuscany will cry, "Only an afternoon in Siena?!  Blasphemy!  Outrage!"  This hypothetical person would be quite correct.  However, in my defense, the lifespan of a vacation, as our mortal selves, is finite, and something had to give somewhere.  You'd think 6 weeks budgeted for only northern Italy would be ample, but "you" would be wrong, because pretty much any of these cities, or regions, is worth months of arduous study.  I seem to be getting angry at no one, or maybe me, or maybe mortality.  Anyway, the historic district of Siena is super nice.  There is a big square called "Il Campo" with a giant clock and belltower with birds artfully circling it continuously and you should see it because it is super nice and we only had dinner there at sunset and it was a really great moment and that's it, and I don't know, man...  take your judgments, elsewhere, "you."   

We then went back to the hotel and I wrote all of the above.

Day 5- Siena to Montalcino. 

It's a pretty fantastic day when an experience you thought was going to be outstanding was even better.   Sure, it's a long way from Siena to Montalcino by bike (62 km to be exact), but a more stunning day of bike touring one could not expect.  You know those scenes in "Gladiator" when Maximus goes home to his farm, or dreams about his farm, you know, lots of shots of his hands trailing through wheat?  Well, I am pretty sure where they filmed that now because we just rode through it.  Even better, none of our immediate family members were brutally murdered by centurions, and we weren't sold into slavery!  

No, today we began the "hilltop villages" part of the tour, and true to its name, we traversed great open rolling hills of wheat and olive groves, occasionally pedaling through some quaint villages.  The weather again perfect, with brilliant sunlight dappled by occasional clouds, and the temperature just the right side of hot.  

Montalcino itself looks every bit the Renaissance landscape, perched up on top of a foothill with commanding views in every direction.  "The Rock of Montalcino," a very well-preserved medieval castle, towers above the town- which apparently it saved in the 1500s from repeated assaults by foreign enemies and Medici crime lords.    Of course, by the time we got there, we really only had energy to walk the narrow cobblestone streets for a bit, have an excellent dinner, taste the famous Borollo (zesty!) wine, and walk the ramparts of "The Rock."  Happily for all, zero Sean Connery or Nicolas Cage impersonations were uttered.  

About the only complaint might be regarding a self-inflicted error- I really thought my bike might have a range of 60 km if I was conservative with the assist function, and I was right!  Except as I mentioned, the ride today was 62 km and Montalcino is at the top of a 7km hill.  Whoops!   Fortunately, unlike my e-bike at home, the rental isn't completely hopeless as an un-powered bike, so with a lot of grunting and sweating, I got the rig to town.  

Maybe for the best I am getting more exercise- the Italian diet, while as good as everyone says, is certainly at odds with any hope I had of losing weight this trip!   Anyway, the accommodations again were excellent- we enter them through a medieval wall, and into hodgepodge buildings built and rebuilt over the centuries into a sort of MC Escher drawing of odd staircases, terraces, and chambers- all incredibly charming.  So if you are in Montalcino, highly recommend Palazzo di Cardinal!  

Okay, as I write this at 7:30  in the morning on the ideal rooftop terrace (we have been going to bed pretty early due to the days packed with activities ), from which I see the rolling Tuscan countryside shrouded in mist, and a belltower in the nearby cathedral tolling the hour, and the mourning doves cooing and the aroma of pastries wafting up to me, it looks like it might be time to get going.  Looks like another fantastic day ahead!