Italy: Bikes, wine, and the Tuscan countryside

Bri and I thought it would be fun to see the Tuscan countryside and get out of the city for a change. Friday, we attempted to accomplish this but instead of going on the bike tour (which had a max. of 10 people) that we had hoped we were postponed until Saturday since we didn't make reservations. So saturday, after being talked to by an Italian man who didn't know English that was trying to hit on Bri and I although we didn't understand (they are very forward here), we headed out to the country to start the tour. It wasn't the sunniest of days, but it was nice since we were outside all day long to have a few clouds. We started riding for about 10 minutes and then stopped at a vineyard which happened to be Machiavelli's old house (he was the famous politician that wrote "The Prince"). His house and property were also a vineyard and so we got to see where they stored the wine down in the basement. The tour guide gave us some history and facts about wine and such, so now of course we think we are wine experts. =) it was pretty good stuff though! Then after tasting a bottle of wine with the group, we headed out for another 20 minutes and then came to a small town where we stopped and had lunch. i thought that there was going to be more biking involved, but it was still fun. The lunch was so good! we had this spicy spaghetti for the first course with red or white wine, then salad, then we got to choose our desert which i chose strawberries with ice cream which was delicious. then we got to have coffee! which was the first time since i have left the u.s.a. that i have had coffee, so that would be a month! i was afraid to have coffee over here because i didn't know what to order because they come in these really small tea cups and are pretty much espresso shots. but i tried a cappucino and it was SO good!!!!!!!! and then bri got a latte machiato and she didn't want the rest so i had that too and it was also delicious! they were amazing and a little bit better than starbucks, so i might have to start getting coffee over here, which could be my downfall! Lunch lasted two hours which is how they do it over here, which i have to say is kind of nice and relaxing. from there we headed out for the tough part of our bike ride. at first we went down this huge hill which i thought my tires were going to go bare, but we were going so fast and it was really fun. then we started the uphill climb which was SO hard! i'm surprised that my quads don't hurt more today, but it was so hard! i had my bike set on the easiest gear the whole time and it was still hard! and it wasn't like a big hill, it almost looked like it was flat, but instead it was a steady slight incline. so that sucked. but it felt good after we finished it. The best part of the bike tour was that we got to meet people from all over. There was a group of about 10 of us and in the group there were three other girls studying in florence from Quebec, Canada, then there was a couple from Windsor, England, and then a newlywed couple on their honeymoon from Austin, Texas. We had a good time sharing stories of where we had been and all that good stuff. And don't worry, there weren't any naked people on this bike tour!

The rolling vineyard...
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