The Socks and Sandals tour de Chianti...

Dear Friends, it pains me that there is no secure way for us to upload the photos from todays bike ride in Chianti until we get home. Of course for the scenery, but mostly so you could see how rediculously un-bike like Anne and I looked for our super deluxe bike tour of Chianti. We have appropriately named it the Socks and Sandals tour of Chianti as this is what Anne decided to wear today for her foot gear. Neither of us brought tennis shoes so Anne just announced she would be "a big dork" today where her feet were concerned. I wore sandals as well but being 17 years her junior inhibited me enough to leave the socks at the hotel where they belong. I wish I could stop here but I must also confess that the rest of us looked just like trendy middle aged, non-athletic fashionistas as our feet did. (Complete with Anne bringing along her giant floppy hat to keep the sun out of her face. I was crushed when they said she couldn't wear it and instead said we had to wear bike safety helmets. Have you seen those? They rounded out our rediculous get ups quite nicely.)So once we got past the pointing and laughing by the other attendees...which might I add were mostly made up of perfectly sweet 20 year old American girls that eat lettuce twice a day and bake themselves to a pork rhind regularly. In addition to America's Top Model's there was a family consisting Mom, Dad and three teenage girls. To give you and idea of what they looked like: They were all twelve feet tall, weighed right at 110lbs, had perfect teeth, blonde hair and were no doubt filthy rich and all had modeling careers at some point. All of which are perfectly fine attributes but I just wanted you to see the juxtiposition between the rest of our group and Anne and I. This will all make more sense to you when you see the pictures of us. So on with the tour.

So now in all seriousness. If we had only two days in Tuscany, giving up a day of museums and Basillicas to do what we did today, would be more than worth it and I don't say this flipantly. We expected to meet a couple of bike guys, ride on second rate bikes for a bit, end up at a winery and then be on our way. We walked away today being blown away by the experience because it was anything but what we expected. First, the two guys that own this company are from Ireland and Scottland. They have been doing this for two years and love their jobs and it shows. They have worked hard to develop a wonderful experience that enables tourists to get out of the city and see how Florentines really live in the suburbs of town and to see the sites that we only see in movies or read about in books. They drove us up and out of the city to a castle that is occupied by Count and Countess Guinccairdini (see link on the side bar). We were given a knowledgable tour of the winery which also produces some of the finest olive oil either of us have tasted. We traversed the castle tower for a breathtaking view of Tuscany and photo ops. We then went down to be met by a table full of glasses of fine Chianti and bread to dip in their amazing olive oil. Great selling point as we then went in to the winery store and bought vats of the oil to bring back with us. So then we were fitted for bikes and helmets and set out from the castle for the ride. Good news is that while this day did require a bit of fitness, the first leg of the bike ride was mostly coasting downhill from the castle. About 40 minutes into the ride, we stopped at a mom and pop restaurant and our bike guides quickly tranformed to waiters, took our orders and we were off on a three course meal. We all had a great family style salad, bread, pasta and then a lemon desert with cappucino, all included in the price of the tour. Now that we were good and sleepy and stuffed to the gills, what else was there to do but get back on the mountain bikes for the tougher leg of the ride. We set out for about twenty minutes on the bikes, mostly flat and a little uphill, until we reached a small town square where we stopped for water and a short rest. The last leg of the ride was the toughest. It was all mildly uphill until we reached a very steep winding portion of the course. I quickly took up the offer to ride up the hill in the van. Anne, as determined as always, wanted the mountain to defeat her first. So about five minutes in, she hopped in the van as well and rode up, but not until she gave it the old college try. I mean she did have on those socks and sandals, I was so sure she was going to fly up that mountain. So then we got back on bikes and coasted along a cypress tree lined road that led back to the castle winery. You now have an idea of the route but what you should know is that every bit of the way overlooked all of Florence. It was rolling hills of vineyards and villas that were in shades of the yellow sun, green of olives and the reds of chianti. There were palacial estates surrounded by lush gardens and there were poor working people shaking out their rugs behind their modest homes. There were bright red poppies growing wild in the feilds and tall cypress trees that are so indicative of Tuscany, everywhere on the horizon. Like the difference between beautiful artwork by seasoned artists and the masters that stand out amongst them, the sights we saw today are indescribable on many levels. All we can say is that if you are ever in Florence, Italy, it would be a crime not to find these guys for this exact tour and take it. It cost us 60euros (About $75) for a full day and wonderful meal, which is less than it would have cost us to stay in town, and we had an irreplaceable experience. It's a must.

So now we drag ourselves back across town on foot. Socks with sandals, jello for legs, unimaginable helmet head and a smell that is akin to a goat under each arm, we now have complete satisfaction that we have checked every box in Florence. This will be our last post from here as we travel to Venice tomorrow by fast train. We'll arrive some time around 2:00 and will hope to find our hotel and an internet cafe at some point. Please stay tuned until then...the adventures of the fish is next. Please say a small prayer that two old art teachers in Florence will not be crippled with pain and will be able to get up in the morning to depart. Ciaò, Lisa