20100614 – Florence

Breakfast on the terrace again. It was slightly cloudy and a little cooler than the last two mornings. We are going to miss our dolce vita morning.

We walked across the Arno in the direction of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. Ann toured the church while I went to the post office to pay a parking ticket that we got in Riccione. It seems that the post office in Italy does more than handle letters and packages. Unlike our post office branch at home, they have several clerks who are friendly and helpful. When my number came up, I handed the clerk my parking ticket. She read some instructions on the back. Then she filled out a form for me that I filled in my name and address, signed and gave back to her. I paid the fine and got a receipt. This was much easier and less stressful than I anticipated.

I met Ann back at the church and we walked over to the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy where Ann picked up some gifts. Then we walked to Piazza San Lorenzo and strolled through both the outdoor and indoor markets. We got more gifts and an apple for me.

Bags were getting heavy and noon was approaching, so we went back to the hotel and dropped off our load. Pizza and gelato were around the corner for lunch.

The temperature in Florence has cooled off compared to other days. This will give us a chance to wander around and go to places we have not visited before.

That happened on our afternoon walk. I told Ann that she had to lead even if we got lost. She took us up a zigzag route to the top of the hill behind our hotel. Our route was farther west the the one yesterday. We went through the Porto San Giorgio and found one of the upper entrances to Boboli Gardens. I had no interest in paying the 10 Euro per person entry fee, so we continued up the hill and found ourselves on a narrow country road. It was level ground now and it was easy to walk although we had to flatten ourselves on the roadside wall to let cars go by. We were walking on rough cobblestones which were beginning to make an impression on our feet.

At the end of the country lane, we came upon the main road going back down the hill to the Porta Romana and the Pitti Palace. The sidewalk was wide and roughly paved with large cobblestones. Large trees grew overhead to shade us from the sun. We saw many villas and some fancy hotels so we figured that this was the high-rent district of Florence.

We reached familiar territory and dragged ourselves back to the hotel. I took a shower and put my feet up while Ann went back to peruse a linen shop. She didn’t buy anything but she reported that it was all beautiful hand made Tuscan linen.

Our last supper was around the corner at Osteria Antico San Niccolo. For starters we had antipasti with cheese. Mine was pecorino with sun-dried tomatoes (I though they were going to be fresh). Ann had Pears and brie on arugula. We switched plates when we were half finished. For our main dish, I had fettuccini with asparagus. Ann had Italian veal curry. The food was good but not great. The interior of the osteria wood-paneled and lined with wine bottles. The kitchen staff looked Asian.

It’s closing in on 9:00 and I’m watching the World Cup match between Italy and Paraguay. I’m leaving my packing until tomorrow morning.

This is the last blog of our trip. We will be traveling home tomorrow.

20100613 – Florence

It was overcast but warm this morning when we had breakfast on the terrace of our hotel. We had nothing planned after breakfast so we took our time relaxing at the table.

After a while, we decided to hike up the streets and stairs behind the hotel to Piazzale Michelangelo. The view of the city was outstanding. It seems to be a destination of the locals, because there were lots of people there including several bicycle groups. Our objective was to find San Miniato Church. According to the Rick Steeves’ guide book, legend has it that St Minias was beheaded on the banks of the Arno in 250 AD. He picked up his head and walked here (this was before the #12 bus) where he died and was buried in what became the first Christian cemetery in Florence. It took us a while to find the church. We walked into another one first and knew that it wasn’t the correct one. We had to climb another couple staircases before we found it.

When we went into the church, organ music was playing and people were coming in and sitting on the pews. We realized that this was Sunday mass, so we made a quick exit when the priest started the ceremony. This gave Ann a chance to wander around the cemetery and look at all of the crypts.

We then went downhill to river level, checked out Porto S Nicolo (one of the city gates) and went back to the hotel.

Our Uffizi reservation was at 2:00 so we decided to have an early lunch to make sure that we got there in time. We ate at The Golden View Open Bar at an inside table right next to a large window where we could look out at the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio. The view was outstanding and the food was good, too. I had taglialinni noodles with a tomato, chinghiali sauce. Ann had a house salad with perfectly ripe tomatoes and avocado. We had the chef’s special dessert which was a vanilla mousse with raspberry sauce and quartered figs.

After lunch, we toured the Uffizi using Rick Steves’ audio guide. I like the guide because it gives just enough history of the schools of painting and covers only the most important works. There were lots of people in the gallery and they gathered in front of the major paintings. Ann and I quickly learned how to get around the bunches or stay far enough behind them. The Uffizi is always a wonderful experience.

When we got out, we walked a few short blocks to the Bargello, a museum of sculptures. There were works by Michelangelo, Donatello and many others. We were fading, so we looked at most of the statues and left.

It was around 4:30 and I was getting hungry. My mission was to find some good gelato. I led us to Grom which using organic products and fresh ingredients. Ann had chocolate and raspberry. I had raspberry, strawberry and mint.

As we were walking back to the hotel, we heard some rhythmic drumming. Then we saw a parade of people dressed in period costumes marching in formation down the main pedestrian street. There were nobles, ladies, drummers, trumpeters, soldiers, flag bearers, etc. I took a video which I will post on our website later.

It started to sprinkle while we were watching the marchers. We made a beeline for the hotel.

Dinner was at Borgo Antico on Piazza Santo Spirito. This was another good recommendation from Rick Steves. We opted to sit inside because we anticipated more rain. I had a Tuscan salad which is made from old bread, onions, tomatoes, etc. I also had penne with tomatoes and basil. Ann had risotto with smoky cheese and zucchini.

We are back at the hotel and it’s closing in on 10:00.

20100612 – Florence

Breakfast was on the hotel’s terrace. Strawberries, bananas, oranges, yogurt, soft boiled eggs, toast with jam, croissant, cheese, cold meat, juice, coffee and cereal were all available. tried most of the choices. Ann did too. The weather was sunny and the temperature was in the low 70’s. That, the planters with colorful flowers and the fragrant jasmine set a dolce vita atmosphere. The waitress who was less then friendly last year when I was here was full of smiles and softly singing to herself.

The morning continued to get better as Ann and I walked across Ponte S. Trinita and the Arno, found the pedestrian street, strolled up to the Piazza di S. Giovanni and climbed to the top of the Duomo with hardly any other tourists. The views of Florence were magnificent although it was slightly hazy. As we walked down the narrow, steep, dark passageway we ran into the couple that we shared a table with at dinner last night. Part of the fun of the climb and descent was to get a close-up view of the garish paintings on the inside of the dome. The scenes were Hades on the lowest circle, Purgatory on the next higher level and Heaven on the top.

When we reached the surface, we plugged our earphones into our iPhones and followed Rick Steves’ audio tour of the Renaissance walk. He talked about the Duomo, Giotto’s Tower and the Baptistery with Ghiberti’s bronze doors. Then he led us down the pedestrian street (via de’ Calzaiuoli) past Orsanmichele Church and its famous statues stepping out of niches on the outside walls. We ended the tour at Piazza Della Signoria with its copy of David, Perseus and other statues, Ammanati – Neptune Fountain, Savonarola Plaque, Palazzo Vecchio the entry to the Uffizi Gallery and a view of Ponte Vecchio.

We put away our iPhones and walked over to Santa Croce Church. The church has many famous painting and tombs of famous people including Michelangelo and Galileo. We were a little disappointed because some of the main attraction were being renovated and we could see them. However, we were able to see the church’s leather school and shop as well as its museum that features Cimabue’s Crucifixion and Gaddi’s Tree of the Cross and Last Supper.

Getting hungry, we decided to try nearby Trattoria Anita which was recommended by Rick Steves. The trattoria was on small side streets and a little hard to find. This was good because there were few early diners and we were seated right away. I had bruschetta and pasta al Anita. Ann had Tuscan white beans and flat noodles with tomatoes. It was all good.

After lunch we walked back to our hotel to escape the afternoon heat and to rest.

Our rest lasted until dinner time when we walked down the Arno and went to Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco. This is a very friendly restaurant that specializes in Tuscan cuisine especially wild boar. Ann and I finally learned to order a meal without going to bed bloated. We split antipasto of cheese and cold cuts including cinghiale. Then we shared a plate of fried codfish and mixed vegetables prepared similar to tempura. For dessert, we split a plate of mixed dolce – mini creampuffs with chocolate sauce, marzipan and tiramisu. We also had white wine and fizzy water. I had a camera with me, but I forgot to take photos.

We took the long way back to the hotel passing Piazza Espirito and the Pitti Palace. It’s now closing in on 10:00. I’m watching the USA England World Cup match It’s 1-1 into the second half.

20100611 – Riccione to Florence

After the hundreds of motorcyclists drove north past our hotel revving their engines and producing a surreal atmosphere, we thought that the parade was over. WRONG. They all slowly filtered back either solo or in small groups until the wee hours of the morning. At 1:30, I got up, closed the windows, pulled the metal shades tightly closed and tried to turn on the air conditioner to cool off the room and to lower the humidity. This was all in the dark. This was a mistake because I tipped over Ann’s water glass and drenched her bedside table. It took us a while to clean up the mess. Afterwards, I slept really well because the outside sound was mostly closed off. What was still semi-noisy was drowned out by the hum of the air conditioner.

We got up at 7:00 and went down to the breakfast buffet. Most of our group were still there eating and waiting to go to the train depot. We said our final farewells, loaded our rental car, turned on our GPS and headed out to Florence.

Tom Leever suggested a scenic route to get us to Florence. It went north to Forli and then southwest on ss67 which took us into the hills on twisty, narrow roads through small villages and tree-covered terrain. It was a very scenic route and very worthwhile to take.

We got to Florence and Hotel Silla a little after 1:00 We checked into our room. Then we turned in our rental car on the other side of the Arno. Walking back to our hotel, we stopped for a pizza. Then we strolled through the historic part of the city, over Ponte Vecchio and along “the other side of the river” to the hotel stopping to buy bananas and peanuts.

It’s now 5:00 and we are relaxing in our room. We’ll go out again this evening when the temperature goes down a little. It’s over 90 now.

We had a wonderful dinner at Trattoria 4 Leoni. This is a very popular restaurant so we got there around 7:00 to see if we could get in. We were lucky. There were a couple of tables in the outdoor terrace that were set aside for drop-ins. We shared a table with a young couple from Boston who were on a short tour of Italy to celebrate her new PHD form MIT. We had a great conversation with them throughout our dinner. Our waiter was fun, too. He was young and loved to tease us by correcting our Italian pronunciation. He started us out with a small glass of sparkling wine. We ordered a half-liter of wine and he brought us a huge bottle that was in a basket like the old Chianti bottles. We were on our honor to drink the amount that we ordered. For our meal, I started with asparagus baked with slices of parmesan cheese and wrapped with prosciutto. Mt main course was rici pasta in a sauce with sausage. Ann had a salad with tomatoes and Fiocchetti di pera in salsa di taleggio e asparagi – a ravioli-like pasta stuffed with pears with a sauce of taleggio chese and asparagus.

We walked slowly back to the hotel.

20100610 – Urbino to Riccione

We had no Happy Hour last night, but we did take a group photo. Here it is:

Front row: Julie Leever, Bob Peterson, Susan Smith, Peter Krichman, Kathy Patrick-Bass, Dave Smith, Tom Leever.

Second row: Bob Lynn, Ann Lynn, Carol Patnoe, Hal Bass, Ron Cohen, Bob Warfield, Margie Kirk, Sally McKinney.

Top row: Tim Presar, Harold Ashby, Ellen Cohen, Richard Pellerin, Carolyn Roth, Joe Galvagna, Judy Ashby, Richard Patnoe, Rod Harman, Bill Alkire, Don Martin.

We split up for dinner. We went to Restaurant Le 3 Piante with Don, Tom, Julie, Sally and Margie. When we got there we saw Harold, Judy, Carol, Richard, Joe, Bob and Bob. We sat on the terrace with a view of the valley below. The food was good, but not exceptional. I had pasta with shrimp in a lemon sauce. Ann had veal in a lemon sauce. We split grilled eggplant and zucchini. I ordered zabaglione for dessert. I expected a traditional one, but this one was frozen with chocolate sauce.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the town’s main piazza to watch all of the students mingling. There was a small group waving a Che banner and chanting slogans. Someone said the students were communists from Belarus.

We got to bed before 10:00.

Today’s ride was the easiest of the tour. There was very little climbing and lots of downhills. The weather was warm again with a slight overcast. Our route led us to Gradara – a town that has a castle dating back to the 15th century. Many of us stopped there even though it was a climb to get up to the historic area and the castle. Ann was there when I arrived. She took the castle tour while I wandered around for a few minutes and then took off.

The final part of our route went directly to the sea. Our cue sheets told us to turn left when we got to Gabicce Mara and follow the water to the hotel. So I did. And I was glad I did. I followed bicycle paths, board walks and local roads riding past beachside hotels, shops, restaurants, fishing boats, pleasure boats, beaches and much more. I little like Southern California but with an Italian twist.

Here is a link to today's route.

I got to the hotel the same time as Ann. She checked us in while I took my bicycle apart and packed it. After showering, I hopped in the rental car and drove one of our tour mates back to Urbino to pick up his luggage which he forget to load into the van in the morning.

Back at the hotel, we all went to the cyclist’s lunch. Then Ann and I took a walk on the beach. Being a warm day, a lot of people were out sunning and wading in the surf. I discovered that the Italians must really like their pasta. There were no hard-bodies at all. Most of the beach-goers were older and over-weight. It was a bazaar sight.

We had a Happy hour tonight. We gave Tom and Julie a card that everyone signed. Julie gave Ann a nice scarf in appreciation for helping transport people when they couldn’t do part of the ride.

Dinner was the Hotel Sarti antipasti buffet. For the main meal, I had pasta with shrimp and rabbit while Ann had pasta with tomato sauce with bacon and monk fish. She had a chocolate and pear torte for dessert while I had marzipan cake. We also had lots of wine. We had a great conversation at our table with Harold and Judy Ashby, Carol and Richard Patnoe and Bob Peterson.

Back at our room, we heard a roar of motorcycles on the street outside of our room. We went out on our balcony and watch hundreds of motorcycles go by. We don’t know what the event was, but the certainly made an impression.

It’s now 9:45 and we are ready to go to bed. I know that I broke the daily blog pattern, but circumstances were different today.

20100609 – Urbino

We took over an osteria for our Happy Hour last night. It wasn’t open yet, so it was extra income for them. Ann and I are planning to eat dinner there tonight.

Speaking of dinner, we ate at Trattoria del Leone last night. It was a small two-room restaurant in a very old building (they all are old in Urbino). We shared a table with Julie and Tom while our Maryland friends occupied another one. I had tagliatelle in a red sauce with ground meat and roast pork in a rosemary sauce. Ann had gnocchi in a pesto sauce and a salad with rocket lettuce with mushrooms and pecorino cheese. Everything was good and reasonably priced. We got there a little past 7:00 and were out by 8:30. This is early by Italian standards.

Our path back to the hotel passed the main square. There was a loud buzz at the piazza with dozens of college age students milling around for their social hours.

This morning we had breakfast at 7:30. It was one of the best buffets so far. There were hard-boiled eggs, prosciutto, cheese, yogurt, cereal, eight kinds of rolls, etc. The feature that I liked the best was the pot of strong coffee where we could serve ourselves. In all of the previous hotels, we had to wait for individual servings. Ann and I ate outside on the terrace with Don and Peter. It was a little cool, but very pleasant.

At 8:30, we met in the lobby for a guided tour of the city. Sylvia, our guide, spoke excellent English and knew the history of Urbino. The city is a renaissance town famous for its Palazzo Ducale and as the birthplace of Raphael. We wandered up and down the steep streets and alleys learning about the major attractions. Our tour ended at the palazzo after two hours.

After the tour, Ann and I went to a sidewalk cafe for a cold drink and a rest. We paid six euros for two soft drinks, but it was worth it to sit and watch the world go by.

We then went into the Palazzo Ducale. Our senior ticket was free so we paid three euros each for an audio guide. It was worth having the guides because there was lots to see – the architecture, the art, the history of the various rooms, etc. It was very interesting and worth seeing.

It took us two hours to visit the palazzo. Afterwards we walked back down the hill to the main piazza and had lunch at the same outdoor cafe where we ate yesterday. This time I had flat noodles with a mushroom sauce. Ann had the house salad.

It’s now 2:30. We are back in our room resting.

Later, we walked out into the heat and visited the Oratorio San Giovanni. This is a small church turned into a museum. There were frescos on the walls that were painted by the brothers who once ran the church. They depicted many scenes from the New Testament.

After that, we had gelato and ran some errands.

20100608 – San Lorenzo to Urbino

You might have noticed that the chronology of this blog changed yesterday. I decided that writing about dinner caused us to stay up too late.

Last night we had a wine tasting party. It started at Happy Hour when the hotel served us a sparkling wine similar to prosecco but produced in this region instead of the Veneto region of Italy. We were not sophisticated enough to tell the difference. It was nice, though, to drink it in one of the hotel’s outdoor terraces.

After Happy Hour, we assembled in a covered area for dinner and more wine tasting. Hotel Ristorante Giardino is known for its food and wine. We can attest to the quality of their meals. For a first course Ann and I had grilled eggplant that was wrapped around really tasty ricotta cheese and covered by a slightly sweet brown sauce. For a main dish, I had baked rabbit while Ann had lasagna. We were served both white and red wine. Between our main course and dessert, we had a lecture on how to taste wine. The hotel’s owner gave the demonstration in Italian while his Canadian-born wife and Italian-born son interpreted for us. We tried two reds during the talk. Then we had cake with crumbled macaroons on top.

We got to bed pretty late.

Breakfast this morning was at 7:00. The good food continued. For the first time on this tour, we had fresh fruit – melon, pineapple, apples, grapes and cherries just picked from the hotel’s trees. Mixed with home-made yogurt, this was a real treat. We also had several pastries and cakes that were made by the pastry chef. Cereals, breads and excellent coffee rounded out the meal.

I started the day’s ride a little after 8:00. I was the last to leave. Ann had Ron and Ellen Cohen as passengers in our car.

The ride had lots of short climbs until the last long one. There were some steep pitches. I managed to use all of my low gears and spent several walls in my lowest. The weather was very warm and sunny. We didn’t have as much ridge riding as in previous days but we still had outstanding views.

I managed to pass most of the group – some on the climbs and some when they were stopped at the side of the road making sure that they made the right turn. I stopped at a supermarket in Gallo where I bought an apple and a liter of water for .81 Euros. I ate the apple right away and poured the water into my water bottles. I had finished 1 1/2 bottles and needed a refill.

When I left Gallo, I encountered the longest climb of the trip so far. It was 6 miles with 1300 feet of elevation gain. There were a few steep pitches, but most of the climb was gradual – similar to riding up the lower part of Mt Diablo.

When I went over the top of the climb and started down the other side of the ridge, I got a wonderful view of Urbino.

I continued down the hill after taking a photo and calling Ann to wait for me to go to lunch. Then I climbed into Urbino and pedaled on very rough cobblestones to our hotel.

Here is a link to today's route.

After I cleaned up, Ann and I walked over to the nearby piazza and had lunch at an outdoor cafe. She had a Greek salad while I had lasagna. Prices here are much cheaper than in the other towns on our route. It might be because of the large student population. Urbino has the largest private university in Italy and the students outnumber the locals.

Ann and I went shopping for fruit after resting in the hotel for a while. I soon petered out after we had gelato and went back to the hotel for a nap. It didn’t happen because the air conditioner kept turning on and waking me up. It’s off now and the window is open to let in the breeze. We can hear the birds singing, too.

20100607 - San Severino to San Lorenzo

We slept in this morning until 6:30. Breakfast was at 7:30 – later than usual. Logistics were the key in starting our ride. Many of our riders were wary of the initial 1000 foot climb. So Tom arranged to transport their bicycles to the top of the hill. He and Ann, in our rental car, made three trips up the hill carrying passengers. To complicate things, we had one sick, one injured and one with a broken bicycle. Tom turned the van over to Carol. Her passengers to the next hotel were Judy and Sue. Ann carried Julie (sick) and Rod (broken bicycle).

The weather started out warm and became hot. This made the climbs seem harder. Most of the climbs in this part of Italy are relatively short – less than 10 km. Several have steep pitches of 7 %– 13%. Today was no exception. I used all of my gears and I am glad that I had low ones.

We again rode on some ridges giving us wonderful views on each side. Several of us stopped in Mergo at the top of a hard climb. We used a small grocery store to buy cold drinks. The store had a meat and cheese counter. I asked one of the clerks to make me a pinino – a hard roll with pecorino cheese and a fresh tomato. I also bought two bananas, a Fresca and a bottle of water. It was getting hot and I needed to drink a lot. We sat under the shade on benches outside of the store to eat and drink. The photo above is the GPC contingent – Sally McKinney, Margie Kirk and me.

I was able to ride the whole route today without getting lost until the end when I didn’t see the hotel sign and overshot it by 1/2 mile. I stopped and called Ann who got me turned around and even met me at the side of the road so that I would make the right turn into the hotel’s parking lot.

I left at 8:35 and got in at 1:30. Here is a link to today's route.

After I got in, Ann joined some others at a near-by pizzeria for lunch. I had eaten enough with my bananas and pinino. Later, she went swimming in the hotel’s large pool while I sat poolside chatting with Dave, Sue, Kathy and Hal.

20100606 – Montegiorgio to San Severino

We finally got some protein this morning. There were fresh eggs at the buffet. We put them into a fondue-like pan and took them out when the were soft boiled and hard boiled. With so many people cooking, it was hard to tell whose eggs belonged to whom. So it was pot luck. I got lucky and found a soft egg. I cracked it over something that looked like toast. It turned out to be a sweet bread. The combination was not very good. I ate the egg and bread separately. We also had really good coffee which was made in individual servings from a huge espresso machine.

I was very disorganized this morning. I finally got packed and toted my bags with Ann’s help out to our rental car. Everyone had left on their bikes ahead of me. It was 8:40 when I left the hotel. I began with an easy pace to let my legs warm up. After about 1km, a group of Italian Sunday riders crept up on me and passed. I grabbed on and they pulled me for the next 3 km when they went straight and I turned right. It felt good to get a pull early in the ride. I eventually caught most of the group and rode a little bit with them.

Today’s ride continued to provide us with wonderful scenery. We had lots of short climbs with a few semi-steep sections. We rode along ridges again and we could see views on each side of the road. The sun was out and it got very warm late in the morning.

The highlight of my ride occurred when I was riding with some of the group and we entered the town of Ginesio. We rode up narrow cobblestone streets (sometimes the wrong way on one-way streets) until we reached the main piazza. It was a large square with a church on one end and a few cafes lining the sides. A few locals were there celebrating the Festival of Corpus Christi. The surface of the piazza was decorated with several religious displays made out of flowers, flower petals, greens, colored pebbles, etc.

After Ginesio, I continued on solo until I reached out hotel in San Sverino. Following the route through town, I had to dismount and walk through the Sunday market where vendors were selling clothing, kitchenware and other items for home use.

Here is a link to today's ride.

Ann was at the hotel and checked in when I arrived at 12:20. The luggage van had not arrived yet so I was lucky that I packed my things in our rental car. I showered, changed into my shorts and a short sleeved shirt, and then left with Ann to find lunch. We ran into Tom, Rod, Peter and Bill. The six of us walked to a small cafe where we had panini, sparkling water and gelato. While we were there, several others in our group showed up.

After eating, Ann and I walked around town visiting the market again and a small shady park next to the market.

After our Happy Hour, we went to dinner at a pizzeria. You probably know that Italian pizzerias serve other food besides pizza. So and had pasta and salad while I had a four flavor pizza in quadrants – olives, mushrooms, artichokes and ham. We both had beer.

It’s now after 10:00 and we are ready for bed.

20100605 – Ascoli Piceno to Montegiorgio

By the time Ann and I got our act together this morning, everyone had left and it was only 8:40. Because I was the last rider, I had to pay very close attention to the route sheet and my GPS so I wouldn’t get lost. The ride out of town was very tame – little traffic and no confusing turns. The sun was out, the skies were clear and blue, and it was warm.

We had several short climbs and none of them were steep or difficult. We had lots of ridge top riding where the views were spectacular on each side. We could see old towns with their fortressed walls. We passed several vineyards. Off in the distance were the Sibylline Mountains with snow-capped peaks.

I was poking along at a moderate pace all morning. Still, I caught and passes most of the group. My ride was mostly solo, although I did slow down and talk to everyone that I met.

Here’s a link to today's ride.

I arrived at our hotel around noon. Ann was in the dining area ordering lunch with two of her new friends – Carol and Judy. After I showered, I joined them. We had a Mediterranean salad and a cheese/meat platter. Soon others from our group arrived. There was a wedding reception beginning so service was sparse. The staff was very accommodating, though. Because of the outdoors reception near the pool, swimming was very limited. It’s 3:15 and Ann and several other were able to enjoy the pool.

Dinner was at the hotel. We went as a group and pre-ordered. I had risotto with asparagus and mushrooms followed by thinly sliced veal in gravy. Ann had tri-corner ravioli followed by grilled vegetables. We all had cake fro dessert.

It’s now 9:30 and we are ready for bed.

20100604 – Ascoli Piceno

We spent the day walking around Ascoli Piceno. Good weather, nice sights, good food….

More later.

20100603 – Montegiorgio to Ascoli Piceno

Our breakfast was very skimpy – no fruit and no cereal. We had to get by with croissants and cakes from last night. The coffee was very strong so I only had one cup. My stomach thanked me.

I was on the road around 8:15 riding solo. The skies were very dark and rain was threatening. It was also a little cool – in the 50’s so I wore arm warmers with my light jacket. I managed to catch the main group after a couple of kms and went out ahead with Richard and Carolyn on their tandem.

The route had two major climbs with a bunch of little ones in between. Some of the riding was on ridges where we would have gotten great views if it weren’t for the clouds. It was fairly cool at 2400 feet but it warmed up when we got lower.

I stopped at Case Nuove di Castellano for cappuccino and a chocolate croissant with the tandem pair after a great downhill. Then we forged on for the last 10 km to Ascoli Piceno. As we traversed to town to find our hotel, my GPS led us onto some very narrow cobblestone streets. We got to the hotel around noon beating the luggage van by at least 1/2 hour.

Here is the link to today's route.

After I cleaned up, Ann and I went to lunch at Gallo Doro. It is a mid-sized restaurant with gold table cloths and nice crystal. There was one other table filled when we arrived, but a couple of others soon had diners. I had linguine with ham, radicchio, pine nuts and onions. Ann had lasagnatta (small lasagna). Both were very good.

I not only talk about food, I can take photos of it, too.

Happy Hour was at a cafe near the main town piazza. We went around the circle and introduced each other using all of the information we gathered about each other in previous meetings.

We had dinner with six other people at Ristoranti La Locandiera. It is a medium-sized restaurant with a fixed menu. We heard about it from friends that had been on a previous tour. The meal included several courses with wine. We started out with several antipasti – salami with strawberries and cheese, stuffed fried olives with another fried ball of something sweet, some stuffed pastries and white beans with bacon.

Our first course was linguini with a tomato and mushroom sauce.

Our main course was chicken in a salty vinaigrette sauce along with roasted potatoes.

We finished the meal with biscotti and vinsanto. It was a memorable meal. We are going back tomorrow.

It’s nearly 11:00 – the latest we have been up on this trip. It’s time for bed. We sleep in tomorrow. It’s a rest day from cycling.

20100602 – Jesi to Piane Di Montegiorgio

The group was nervous about today’s ride. It was advertised as being 53 miles with 5200 feet of climbing. This meant and early breakfast (6:30) for some and an early departure (7:30 for some). Because the ride’s difficulty was just slightly higher than some of my Bay Area rides, I was not worried until I saw the threatening clouds. We can’t get consistent weather reports. The predictions change every few hours.

I left the hotel around 8:00. It was warm enough for me to take off my jacket on the first climb of the day. I was riding solo. I caught the front group after about 18 miles. We then played leapfrogged for several miles including a stop I made in Chiesanuova for water. I continued with the group until steep downhills and uphills split us up.

When I reached Pollenza, our route was blocked by a barrier. I was routed around the town in a different direction. This became a magic moment because I heard music behind the walls of the town. I went through a town gate and rode down the main cobblestone street to the main square where a band, dressed in dark blue uniforms were playing for the locals.

I left the town at the barriers. Dave and Sue were there deciding what to do. We convinced ourselves to ignore the road closed sign and to continue on our cue sheet route. We did this, but I lead them on a wrong turn going down a steep hill. I realized my mistake quickly and we trudged back up the hill to the correct course. We had a decent downhill which I took advantage of. I lost my companions who were more conservative than I.

I crossed the autostrada and soon hit one of our steepest climbs of the day. It was short and steep (12% or more). It was here where I caught up to Hal, Kathy and Margie. We rode together for a while as we looked for a pace to eat lunch. We soon passed a huge park with lots of Italian families doing their park thing. I noticed a bar/restaurant sign so we went into the park past the park police who were keeping cars away from the walking paths. We circled the entire park until we saw a sign for the bar. I had a panino with cheese and salami and a lemon granita. We sat on chairs outside the bar’s door eating our meal and watching the people while we felt a few light sprinkles.

The three of them left before I did but I followed them shortly. When I got back to the main road, I was retracing my steps when Dave and Sue rode by in the opposite direction. Because I was going the wrong way, I turned around and caught up to them on the next hill. They stopped on the hill so I was riding solo for several kilometers until I reached Margie, Kathy and Hal. This was right after another 12% or more short climb.

We rode together for a few kms, but soon it was Margie and me. The two of us pedaled the rest of the way to the hotel.

The ride was spectacular. It was challenging but very doable. The hilltop towns were fortified with thick town walls. All of them had at least one church and one main piazza. The ridge tops gave us panoramic views of the hills and valleys on each side. We could see mountains in the distance with snow on their peaks.

Here is a link to today's ride.

Hotel San Paolo is nice. Ann likes its swimming pool, although the water is cold (which she likes) and the weather is not cooperating. It’s 5:00 and the rain has been coming down for the last hour. We have a large corner room. We can look out one window and see several horse stables and gardens. The other window has a view of the hills across the main road.

Happy Hour was at 6:00. Dinner was at 7:30 in the hotel’s restaurant. We pre-ordered our meal. I had penne pasta in a tomato sauce with shrimp as a first course. Ann had risotto with zucchini. We both had fried fish as a main course. We also had a salad with tomato and ice cream for dessert.

It’s now 9:20 and we are getting ready for bed.

20100601 – Senigallia to Jesi

After a sparse breakfast buffet (lots of carbs and no protein) I left the hotel at 8:30 with Tom Leever. We cycled through town with reasonable commuter traffic. Then we reached the countryside. There was some light industry beside the road, but we eventually were riding through farm land.

Our first stop was in the town of Corinaldo. Tom and I got off of our bicycles and walked through the town gates up a steep road into the main part of this very old fortified town. We wandered around the streets for a while and stopped at an outdoor cafe where we met some other people in our group. While we took a break, I drank a good, authentic Italian cappuccino.

 

Leaving Corinaldo, we retraced our route down the hill, across the valley and up a moderate hill to Ostra. This is another fortified town. I rode my bicycle up the main, narrow cobblestoned street to the top where there is a main town square that presents the old town hall. I looked around briefly and then took off down the hill where I had left Tom. He had continued on already, so I took off with Rod and Peter in my wake.

I reached Morro d’Alba just before noon. Several people from our group had taken a short cut and had reached our suggested lunch restaurant. They were able to get some cold cuts and cheese before opening time. They left while I stayed with a few others and ordered pasta. I had gnocchi with duck sauce. Others had an assortment of very interesting and very good pasta dishes. I tried to reach Ann on here cell phone to ask her to meet us there, but her phone had run out of juice.

From Morro, I road on mostly with Tom until we got to our hotel in Jesi. Our room is Spartan, but clean and functional. Wifi is free and reachable from out room.

Here is a link to today's route.

After cleaning up, Ann and I took a walk in the old part of town. We stopped for some really tasty gelato. I got tired of walking a went back to the hotel.

At Happy Hour, we talked about our non-cycling hobbies. Then we went to dinner. Nine of us ate at the Gato Moto (Crazy Cat). It’s a pizzeria but it also serves other food (this is typical in Italy). Ann and I shared a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and olives. We also split a thin-crust pizza with spinach and cherry tomatoes.

It’s now after 10:00 and we are ready to go to bed.