TUSCANY BY BIKE Photos from a great trip.

Last post of 2019, I was off line while transferring all my photos to a new computer and should be doing posts on a far regular basis in 2020, Buon anno a tutti

 

 

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To really see this ups and downs of Tuscany, do it on a bicycle. Above View from Piazelle de Michelangelo view of Florence 

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Always stunning views.

 

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There were a lot of hills on this ride, but everyone finished.

 

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Monteriggioni

 

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Monteriggioni

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Monteriggioni

 

 

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Easy riding through towns.

 

 

 

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Terre del Mangia, Siena

 

 

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October brought fall colors to the region

 

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Land of Chianti

 

 

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A nice days ride, GPS track from San Gimignano to Siena 

 

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Brunello one fantastic Italian red wine

 

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I was riding by a grove of olive trees when a gentleman offered to take my photo.

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Beautiful Cypress trees line the roads into this BnB in Tuscany.

 

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The freshest tomatoes are from Italy. 

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PIENZA IN THE RAIN 8x10

 

Last day it rained in Pienza, but the ride was over.

What I Loved About Tuscany Part 2

Siena is beautiful. From the towers to the countryside, it is full of beauty. 

Torre del mangia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

 Torre del Mangia towering above of the Palazzo Pubblico
 
Torre del Mangia.
The Torre del Mangia is a tower in Siena, in the Tuscany region of Italy. Built in 1338-1348,[1] it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena’s premier square, adjacent to the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest seculartowers in medieval Italy.[2] At 102 m, it is second tallest after Cremona’s Torrazzo (112 m (367 ft)) the Asinelli tower in Bologna at 97 m being third.

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Piazza del Campo

 

IMG 5336From the top of the Torre. 

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My favorite lunch. 

 

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We found a wonderful BnB just outside of Siena

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The Duomo

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A small salumeria we picked out our lunch. 

DSC03671No crowds on the street at lunch time.

Siena is a good home base for touring around Tuscany. It is definitely car country to access all these beautiful spots. 

To be continued. 

One Hundred Of The Best Things To Do In Italy From Jen Reviews

MAP OF ITALYH

I just received  a copy of Jen Millers 100 Best Things to do in Italy and was fascinated by the diversity of the list. Almost every day we are bombarded with the “10 Things You Must Do” that usually link to a bunch of JUNK. This is not that type of list. 

Of the 100 items on the list, I have only visited 39 that I can recall. That leaves quite a bit to see and do.   Here is the link to Jens site which is entitled  Jen Reviews.  Take a look at it and you may wish to subscribe. This is not just a travel site, she does reviews on various products for he home and other items you may find of interest.  Give it a look.

 

 Here is the link to the list  :

 

https://www.jenreviews.com/best-things-to-do-in-italy/

 

Here is a list of the table of  contents of Jen Reviews The 100 Of The Best Things To Do In Italy

Contents 

1 1. Colosseum (Rome)
2 2. Pompeii (Naples)
3 3. Venice Gondola Trip
4 4. Duomo Milan
5 5. Sistine chapel
6 6. Climb Mt. Vesuvius (Naples)
7 7. Leaning tower of Pisa
8 8. Solfatara (Naples)
9 9. Cinque Terre (La Spezia)
10 10. Vatican City (Rome)
11 11. Blue Grotto (Naples)
12 12. Trentino Winter Sports
13 13. Gardaland Fun Park
14 14. Nuraghi Sardinia
15 15. Murano glass factories (Venice)
16 16. Medici Villas and Gardens (Florence)
17 17. Arona/Lake Maggiore
18 18. Tremiti Islands
19 19. Siena
20 20. Catacombs (Rome)
21 21. Assisi
22 22. Ferrari Museum (Maranello)
23 23. Sicily
24 24. Sibillini National Park
25 25. Bridge of Sighs (Venice)
26 26. Bolzano
27 27. Castellana Caves (Bari, Puglia)
28 28. Museo Nazionale dell’Alto Medioevo (Rome)
29 29. Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (Stadio San Siro, Milan)
30 30. Alberobello
31 31. Aqualandia Jesolo (Venice)
32 32. Napoli Sotterranea (Naples)
33 33. Kite Festival Cervia
34 34. Civita di Bagnoregio- The Dying Town (Orvieto)
35 35. Pantelleria (Sicily)
36 36. Trevi Fountain (Rome)
37 37. Chocolate Festival Perugia
38 38. San Galgano (Siena)
39 39. Valley of the Temples (Agrigento, Sicily)
40 40. Lake Garda
41 41. Rabbit Beach (Lampedusa) and Rabbit Island
42 42. Valcamonica Rock Drawings
43 43. Etnaland (Belpasso, Sicily)
44 44. Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan)
45 45. Gran Paradiso National Park (Aosta)
46 46. Palazzo Reale (Palermo)
47 47. Rainbow Magic Land Valmontone (Rome)
48 48. Acquario di Genova (Genoa)
49 49. Medici Aqueduct (Pitigliano)
50 50. Safari Park Pombia
51 51. Archiginnasio (Bologna)
52 52. Castel Nuovo (Naples)
53 53. Treviso Talking Tree Park (Venice)
54 54. Walk the Via Francigena
55 55. Capri
56 56. Ostia Antica (Rome)
57 57. I Sassi di Matera
58 58. The Pantheon (Rome)
59 59. Venice Carnival
60 60. Abano Terme (Padua)
61 61. Bioparca di Roma
62 62. Byzantine Mosaics Ravenna
63 63. Verona
64 64. Cinecitta Studios (Rome)
65 65. Santa Maria in Trastevere (Rome)
66 66. Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Rome)
67 67. Riserva naturale orientata dello Zingaro
68 68. Porta Palatina (Turin)
69 69. Peggy Guggenheim Museum (Venice)
70 70. Lucca (Pisa)
71 71. Galata Museo del Mare (Genoa)
72 72. Orto Botanico (Padua)
73 73. Castelmezzano
74 74. Castle Moncalieri (Turin)
75 75. Positano (Naples)
76 76. Parma
77 77. Caserta
78 78. Amalfi Coast
79 79. Dozza (Bologna)
80 80. Campo del Ghetto (Venice)
81 81. San Lorenzo Cathedral (Genoa)
82 82. Portofino
83 83.Bergamo
84 84. The Ruins of Paestum
85 85. Rialto Bridge (Venice)
86 86. Nora (Cagliari, Sardinia)
87 87. Punta Prosciutto and Torre Lapillo (Porto Cesareo)
88 88. Anzio (Rome)
89 89. Italia in Miniatura (Rimini)
90 90. San Leo (Rimini)
91 91. Tropea
92 92. Cortina d`Ampezzo
93 93. Museo Stibbert (Florence)
94 94. Zoological Gardens, Pistoia
95 95. Basilicata Adventure Parks
96 96. Frasassi Caves
97 97. Sorrento Ice and Pizza Cooking Course
98 98. La Scala Theatre and Opera House, Milan
99 99. Regata Storica (Venice)
100 100. The Chianti Wine Trail

 

https://www.jenreviews.com/best-things-to-do-in-italy/

 

The introduction from Jen Reviews

“It is difficult – if not impossible – to limit a list of things to do in Italy to 100, and even more difficult to put them in order of descending significance or entertainment value: home to Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Etruscans, Greeks and Romans, with islands as diverse as dour Sicily and African-influenced Pantelleria and cultures as far apart as Renaissance Venice and the prehistoric Trulli in Alberobello, Italy is a vibrant and colorful hotch-potch, a land of stark and passionately defended contrasts.

Famous for its ice-cream and its wine and with such characteristic culinary specialities as pizza and pasta (to name but a few), Italy is a land of lovers, of (often tragic) romance, of beautiful churches, ancient ruins and smoking volcanoes, of vendettas and grand opera. It is very child-friendly – Italians love children – and very relaxed with regard to organization and punctuality, which means there is no point getting upset when your train fails to show up. When in Rome, do as the Romans do; take a siesta and enjoy La Dolce Vita. If you are travelling by car, be aware that this cocktail of attributes shows up in their driving, too. Rules are made to be broken, signalling is haphazard and you will rarely see a car without dents. That said, there are few countries better equipped as a holiday destination for all tastes. Buon viaggio!”

 

 

 

 

Il mio sogno…… My dream was to bike the hills of Tuscany

People that know me know I love bicycling. Add that to my love of Italy and you have my dream vacation. I told my wife about it, but she did not wish to go back to Italy again so soon, especially as our last trip was an 18 hour affair which was diverted from Miami to Freeport in the Bahamas! For several years I was getting brochures from Vermont Bike Tours and the ones in Italy really intrigued me

fullsizeoutput_729.jpegSo I signed up and started practicing  climbing the hills in Vero Beach, Florida. Well not quite, there are no hills here. Best I could do is keep going over the two bridges that the connect the mainland to the barrier island.  Add a  back pack and some weight and it was a start.

Our trip began in San Gimignano and ended in Pienza. Each day we biked 35-45 miles. By the end of our trip we have climbed more than 10,000 feet. fullsizeoutput_529d.jpegThe crowded roads we traveled on!

P1040828.JPGOlives and Grapes

fullsizeoutput_743.jpegQuick stop.P1040846.JPGAlways  beautiful views.

P1040852.JPGEach morning Claudio and Elena would give us a briefing on our ride for the day.

fullsizeoutput_3321.jpegfullsizeoutput_3323.jpegEach day brought new sights and some tough climbs.fullsizeoutput_529e.jpegfullsizeoutput_529f.jpegfullsizeoutput_14a5.jpegSo much beauty. I stopped frequently to take photos.

fullsizeoutput_25c0.jpegfullsizeoutput_52a0.jpegMonteriggioni, a beautiful walled village.P1040915.JPGfullsizeoutput_70d.jpegLoved the shirt Elena was wearing.

fullsizeoutput_702.jpegTorre del  Mangia, Siena

IMG_5341.JPGFrom the top of the tower, this where the Palio is held. P1040921.JPGfullsizeoutput_19f7.jpegOur rides took us through the town and alleys.fullsizeoutput_6f5.jpegAnother amazing duomo.

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One of our rides from  SanGimignano  to Siena.

IMG_5349.JPGIMG_5350.JPGfullsizeoutput_6d4.jpegfullsizeoutput_6d1.jpegAs always when I am in Italy it is the Food. Fresh produce that has not traveled 3000 miles in a refrigerated truck. Always items that are in season. This was the best bruschetta I have ever had. The tomatoes were RIPE!

fullsizeoutput_6d6.jpegI passed by a couple of locals and they volunteered to take my photo. This was on one of those roads where we hardly ever saw another auto.  This trip was really a sogno!! I can not recommend Vermont Bike Tours enough. Every aspect of the trip was perfect. Can not wait to do another ride in Italy.    Continue reading “Il mio sogno…… My dream was to bike the hills of Tuscany”

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