Operation Cycle Tuscany: Day 4 - Florence to Cecina

We had a long, full, day today.  We started our last day in Florence by walking to the Duomo.  Then Mimi & I caught a cab to the NYU Florence "campus."  My niece, Gabriella, will be spending her first year of college there, beginning in August, so we decided to check out her digs.  I was expecting to arrive at a single, nondescript building on the outskirts of town, but was amazed to find the campus is more than 50 acres, with 5 beautiful, large villas, formal gardens, statuary, and art pieces.  After a little problem with language and security (apparently, guests are not allowed on campus, and are only admitted with an appointment.  The gate we drove through was supposed to be locked, and as soon as our cab drove away, an Italian security guard came out yelling!), we toured the grounds and met the Head of Student Affairs.  Lovely woman, lovely school.  I'm so excited for Gabriella to get started.  She'll love it!

Gabriella's new school

View through the gardens to Florence below

Then we began packing up for our farewell to Florence.  The VBT (Vermont Bike Tours) motor coach picked us up at noon, and we were off to the next phase of our adventure!

We drove about 2 hours to Cecina, near the coast of the Mediterranean.  We checked into AgriHotel Elisabetta, a beautiful inn with a view of the sea in the distance, surrounded by acres and acres of vineyards and olive orchards.  After a briefing and bike fitting with our tour guides, Paolo and Timothy, we were off!  Today was just a "brief warm-up ride" to get used to our bikes (easy, because we bought the same ones at home) and the terrain.  The ride was beautiful, and I channeled my inner Lucy, riding through the Italian countryside!  I even greeted a farmer with, "Buona Sera!" but did not stop to hear about his molti bambini, or milk a cow (If you're not a Lucy fan, don't worry about this, but her bicycle ride in Italy and France is priceless -- "Show me your pass-a-port!").  

Cycling the back roads of Italy

A perfect day for a bike ride!

The warm-up ride was 8.68 miles, with a 280 foot elevation change.  The real riding begins tomorrow.

After the ride, we returned to the hotel to change and have a briefing, wine tasting, and dinner.  All of the people in our group (18) seem really nice, and the leaders are funny and warm and very helpful.  We went downstairs to meet the wacky, entertaining, and hilarious Luigi, the owner of the agraturisma, chief wine maker, and hotelier.  He told us a complete history of wine-making in Italy (using our guide Timothy as a translator) while he poured wines.  Very entertaining!

Finally, we had a 3 hour long dining experience with more food than I've ever seen (salads, appetizers, pasta, fish, veal parmesan, desserts, wines, ...).  It was delicious, and I don't think I'll ever be hungry again!

Tomorrow, we're off on a "real" ride.  It's kind of crazy that we're actually riding after all the anticipation, preparation, and shopping we've done!  Trying to take in every minute.