Tuscany Bike Tour!!

Please read Day of Dilemmas, prior to this post.

Ana recommended a Tuscany Bike tour her sister had done a few years ago while she was in Italy, so we decided to go for it. Plus, I had been training in my boot camp for all the walking and cycling. I mean I could do 13 miles over 4-6 hours. So, I thought.....

We woke up Saturday morning and enjoyed our free continental breakfast. I had a yogurt and a croissant with ham and cheese. Then we walked to the bike tour agency. Ana lead the way with her map. Florence is beautiful. The city is full of older, colorful buildings. I also noticed a ton of designer shops: Gucci, Armani, Ferrari Store, Bvlgari, Louis Vitton, Tiffany's, Dior, Salvatorre Ferragamo, Prada, Dolce & Gabana, etc. We walked around for about 40 minutes when I realized that we were suppose to be at the place in 10 minutes. So of course, we started running. We asked people for directions, but they kept leading us in opposite directions. We finally got accurate directions and found the place. We were late, but thankfully they hadn't left. I was exhausted. Oh well, it was like a warm up for the bike ride. Our professor and faculty advisor were already there as well. They joined us on the bike tour, however only our professor rode a bike. Our faculty advisor rode in a van and cheered us along the way. First, they took everyone in a van to a castle. The Tuscan countryside is gorgegous. I saw so many vineyards and olive trees. It was very hilly. Cristina and I sat in the front seat of the van so we wouldn't get car sick. It was the best seat in the van. The one hour ride was really nice.

Once at the castle, they gave us a tour and explained thier winery to us. We climbed to the top tower and took photos. The view was magnificent. Then we had a wine tasting and olive oil tasting. After the wine tasting, I went to the bathroom before our bike ride began. So bathrooms have been quite interesting in Spain. In Spain, I rarely saw any soap and the bathrooms are mostly unisex. In Italy, they were also unisex, but I did find soap. There was also a button on the floor to turn on the sink. It's really neat! Plus, I think it helps to prevent germs from spreading. Well anywho, after I took care of my business, I tried to open the door to the stall and I couldn't. I kept twisting the know and pressing on the door. I finally starting banging my shoulder into the door and pulling on the knob harder. Finally, a girl opened the door from the other side. Thank goodness.

At the beginning of the bike ride, I was feeling rather nervous because I haven't been on a bike in a while. I decided to go for it anyways. The first part of the bike tour was pretty much downhill all the way. It made for an easy bike ride with a relaxing breeze. However, I was scared of going too fast and falling, so I gripped the brakes and handlebars really hard all the way down. My hands were hurting pretty and I was way behind the group. Thankfully, my professor stayed back with me. After about an hour, we arrived at our lunch spot. We had salad, pasta, wine and dessert. I didn't like the wine so I drank alot of water. After that we went on a 20 minute flat bike ride to a large hill. Some people got tired but I felt good and kept a good pace. I was proud of myself, since I had fallen behind earlier. I even motivated Cristina when she got tired. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we put the bikes on a trailer and got in the van to go up the hill. Some people tried it, but didn't make it up. We had to pick them up along the way. Others jumped off their bikes and walked them up the hill. The last leg of the bike tour was up and down little hills back to the castle. It was fun. The views were amazing. Everything was so green. The vineyards were breathtaking. There was lush vegetation everywhere. At the very end, we went down a hill with tall, green pine trees surrounding us. It was marvelous.

After the bike tour, we rode the van back and walked to our hotel. I went to buy a toothbrush, for some reason I forgot so many things for this trip. I forgot my iphone, my toothbrush, my hairbrush, and hair product. It's very frustrating. Oh well, the only thing I really need is the toothbrush so I bought one.

We walked around that night to find a restaurant to have dinner at. We were looking for one that didn't charge a cover charge, since we had to pay 10 euros the night before. We found a place and ate dinner. I had a salad, it was good! Then we went back to the hotel. Ana opened her bottle of wine so that we could have a glass at the plaza in front of our hotel. I didn't have a glass, since it was red. I think the majority of wine in Spain and Italy has been red. There a very few places that I've found with white wine. I don't care for red wine.

Afterwards, Cristina and I went to Hard Rock Cafe. It was basically the only bar we found with good music, but no dancing :(  Cristina had a loco berry Rita, very tasty. I had a mojito. It was delicious. We met a guy and girl from Texas, so we talked to them for a while. We also met Roberto the bartender. He was a real character. He made the best drinks and had all the "flare" while making them. I bet Hard Rock Cafe makes their bartenders go through some intensive training prior to working the bar. It reminded me of TGIFriday's, especially all the pins on their ID badges. It was an enjoyable night.

Sorry no pics, I have to get them from Cristina.