The cycling from Castelnuovo to Florence was one of the most beautiful and fun days of cycling that we have had on this trip. Lots of long gradual hills which of course are then followed by long gradual desents. For a long stretch we were cycling on the same route as a sanctioned cycling race. Thankfully they were riding in the oposite direction. But it was very excitting to see the pro's cycle by. They were very excitted to see us also and gave us lots of thumbs up and yelled "Allez, Allez" which we think is a good thing.
The Tuscan country side is much more varried than you would see in Napa. It is covered with a mix of vines, olive groves, sunflowers, and cypress trees. And the houses themselves are just as beautiful as the surroundings. The roads throughout Italy have been ideal for cycling! The drivers continue to be very courteous and even on the busy streets they slow down and move over to alow us plenty of room.
Our first view of Florence came as we cycled around a corner and were greeted with the HUGE statue of "DAVID" and there was beautiful Florence stretched out in the valley below. Absolutely amazing, it litterally took our breath away!
We spent much of the day in Florence exploring its wonders but because it is so big we chose not to stay there. We spent a few hours trying to find our way out of the city. If you believe that St. Paul was designed by a drunk Irishman well that is nothing compared to roads we encountered trying to get out of Florence. They must have been designed by a large group of very drunk italians! We were treated to lovely views of the city dump and a few shanty towns as we wove our way up down around and through the maze. It never ceases to amaze me how good Bob's navigational skills are. Just when I am sure we are lost and feeeling very much like a little white mouse in a maze who will never find its way out, wala! we are suddenly on the road we want to be on and headed in the right direction.
Last night we stopped in a small town about 50miles from Pisa. We found a room in a small hotel just as the rain began to POUR down! This morning we are greeted with beautiful clear blue skies and should have no problem making it to Pisa!!
More pictures are downloaded!!!
Bob & Sherry
