NOT YOUR TYPICAL EASTER

Easter Sunday we had planned to take a bike tour through the Tuscan countryside. We met the David, our tour guide and the owner of the bike company, at a bridge down by the river at ten. He took us about 12 km outside of the Florence to where he stored his bikes. Along the ride we got to know David a little bit. He was from Colorado, went to college in California and moved to Italy after college and has been there ever since. I would say he is mid-thirties pushing forties. He was really interesting and an awesome guide. If my future career plans don’t pan out, I think I will copy David move to Florence and start my own bike tour company in Tuscany. Living in the Tuscan countryside doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, and I could pick up Italian pretty easily since it’s so close to Spanish.

Once we got to where the bikes were stored, (on an old family farm, owned by the church where he rents the basement closet to the keep his bikes) we suited up with helmets and selected our bikes. We pushed our bikes to the top of the hill, which was quite a workout and then David gave us a quick lesson before we set off on the road. Usually I hesitate on bikes, but I was the leader of this pack as we rode through the gently rolling hills and vineyards.

Our first stop was at a vineyard, not just any old vineyard but Machiavelli’s vineyard. David gave us a tour of the vineyard, showing where the wine was aged and stored and telling about the history of Chianti wine in the region. He told us about the Chianti committee that determines if a wine can be considered Chianti. After the tour we had a mini wine tasting where we tried two different varieties of Chianti. I liked the more expensive Chianti surprise, surprise. We were all feeling pretty good after the tasting when it was time to get back on the bikes.

We biked through the town around the vineyard and then through some more vineyards. We were biking on the main roads, but luckily since it was Easter there was not too much traffic. I would have been terrified if there had been a lot of traffic because the roads were very narrow and windy. We biked to an amazing look out point that was surrounded by vineyards. In the distance we could see a castle and endless rolling green fields. After stopping for pictures on the top of the hill, we rode down a steep incline. Thankfully David led us down this winding hill. We biked for a couple more miles and then stopped in a small town for lunch.

I ordered pesto tortellini and we also had salad and some random appetizers, like chicken liver pâté, which was surprisingly good. Dessert was amazing. It was a kind of like a pear pie covered with this rich chocolate sauce that was to die for. After lunch I did not think I would be able to get on bike and ride. My stomach was so full! I did make back on the bike. This time we biked for a while. It was kind of relaxing because I was leading the pack so I got a little bit further ahead. It was really nice to ride and enjoy the incredible scenery in peace.

David had warned of us a big hill that we would encounter at the end of the ride. He was not lying this hill continued for about 3 km and just kept going up and up. I was pretty winded when I got to the top, but I finished a good 10 mines before everyone else. When everyone else got to the top, David rewarded us with a gelato. I was still full from lunch, but I was not about to turn down a gelato.

When our gelato break was over we biked the last part of the tour back to the farm where David keeps the bikes. David took us back to Florence and we thanked him and parted ways. Jeanie, Andrea and Karen walked back to the Ponte Vecchio where we were meeting Victoria. Some how we found ourselves walking back to the leather jackets. Jeanie was dead set on finding a jacket, since she did not buy one the day before. We wound up back in the same leather shop, with the cute Mexican that refused to lower his price for Andrea and I. Once again we spent another hour there. Jeanie was trying to talk down the price, but our dealer would not budge. Finally he went down ten euros and Jeanie decided she had enough haggling so she bought the jacket.

We walked pack to the Piazza Della Signora, right by the Uffizi Museum and sat down to enjoy the view. Since the busses were not running on Easter, we had to find alternative transportation back to the hotel. We ended up just using our legs and walked all the back to the hotel. It was probably three miles away, which is not too bad. Andrea, Jeanie, I all stopped off at a pizzeria by our hotel to get some pizza to go. We ate the pizza in our room while reminiscing about the past 10 wonderful days we had spent in Italy.