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On our last day in Florence/Italy

• We’d scheduled an in-town bike tour.  Only Lou and Brenda rode.
• We’d also scheduled a cooking class: pizza and gelato.  Photos from that event are shown below:

So the tour is ending and not too soon.  We’ve been on over 60 tours with Bicycle Adventure Club and others with the Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts, but we’ve never had one in which so much has gone wrong:  lost luggage, rain and wind, an accident and illness (which we’re still not over).  So we’ll forget about this event and look forward to the next one – in Crete next April.

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We have advance tickets for the Uffizi Museum and The Academia.  If you don’t have these advanced tickets, you’ll stand in line for hours.  It matters little which month you’re here or the time of day.  There is always a long line. With the special tickets, it’s usually only a 15 to 20 minute wait.  The special tickets are 4 Euro.  So here are some selected photos from the Uffizi.

   

Above, Aristotle and Socrates plus the “only painting” that Michelangelo finished.  Well that can’t be true; he finished the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, didn’t he?

See the panel on the right; there is a blank on the bottom row. “Must be waiting for me to die!

See painting to the  left; when you try to take a picture, there’s always someone in the way. Usually Chinese.

Then we went to the Academia to see the  16 foot David, mankind’s greatest piece of art.  If you’re going to see it – and everyone should try – first read Michelangelo's biography, The Agony and The Ecstasy.  When we were there 7 years ago photographs weren’t allowed but I took a couple anyway – until the guard warned me not  to.  But I got an image good enough to be hanging in our bedroom in Frisco.  But now, photographs are allowed so here are  mine.  Best guess is that David is sizing up his opponent.  This statue spent over 300 years outdoors before this space was built.  Not really showing his age.   In 1991 a deranged visitor attacked the statue and damaged his right foot.  Now this Plexiglas surrounds all the art in this museum.

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Today we leave Marina di Categneto; most us are are taking a chartered bus to the Pisa airport and then going in all directions. Lou and Elaine and Brenda and I are  going to Florence.  Others are  also but not with us. This is pretty easy since there is a commercial bus from the Pisa airport to the Florence train station.  We only have to wait 20 minutes for the bus.

In Florence, the  bus driver is very helpful and calls two taxi’s for us.  We have a bi-lingual driver (His grandmother taught him English.) and he is also helpful in planning the  return trip.

We’re reserved an “apartment” in Florence.  If is directly across from the entrance to the Academia; couldn’t be closer to the action.  The apartment turns out to be super large with a kitchen and large living room. Although a 16th century building, it is air-conditioned and has wi-fi.  There  is a coffee shop a couple of doors away.

We don’t make the best decision for lunch and end up at a Chinese restaurant.  Although this is not what you expect in Florence, the  food turns out to be pretty good.

We started on Rick Steve's’ Renaissance Walking Tour but somehow get diverted and head toward Santa Marie church.  This is after shopping in a Leather shop.  The super-salesman Italian shop owner claims he went  to high school at South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas.  This is where Lamar Tech originally played their football games.

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This is the last riding day and once again we’re not riding.  Brenda’s cough is deep in her chest.  I’m in fairly good condition but the only helmet I have is cracked.  This is our 65th tour with Bicycle Adventure Club and never before have we ridden so little.  Usually, we ride every day.  So this is a “bad luck” tour for us.

But another off day gave me time to edit our photo gallery.  So far we have 109 photos.  And we went to lunch at Santa Lucia.  It appears that most clients are regular and have their “reserved” table.  We were there early and got one of the open tables. Brenda had muscles and French fries. I had “il burger” which is probably 4 times as large as a BIG Mac.

 

Tonight is the last dinner at the hotel and the Chef tries to outdo himself.  I had a picture of him and his large cake but lost it.  Here is the menu (I couldn’t eat all courses.)

Shrimp Pie

Orecchiette pasta with clams, zucchini and calamari

Sea bass medallion with tomato composition

Mixed salad buffet

Sponge cake with Chantilly cream.

Of course we had white and red wine. But tonight also a dessert wine with the cake.  I’ve told you several times how much we liked the hotel.  But they liked us also, saying we were one of the best groups to stay there.

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Today another treat: we ride to an olive grove for lunch.  The grove is down a long narrow road.  Or more correctly, UP a long narrow road.  The olive farm is owned by the same family as owns the hotel we’re staying in.   As we arrive, one of the sons is waiting with pitchers of ice-cold orange juice.  I had a couple of glasses, even though I arrived in a car.  Tables were arranged in the olive grove and were moved as the sun moved to provide maximum shade.  Several blankets and pillows were also laid on the ground and a couple of riders missed the tour of the olive farm and took naps.  But you can’t blame them; this was after a 4-course lunch with wine.  The entire hotel family was there, the chef , the waitress, the family and other staff.  As I’ve indicated previously these are very friendly and hospitable people.  Tonight we’re going to take up a collection at happy-hour so we can give additional gratuities to the hotel staff.

As the 85 year old father walked along the olive trees – up and down steep hills, the son translated.  There are 500 trees of five different varieties on the farm.  All of these little olives are grown for olive oil.  Larger olives for eating, other types, are not grown on this farm.  While still in the states I saw a news feature about the hot summer in Europe and the shortage of water in Italy.  The program showed an olive farmed with ruined crops.  That isn’t a problem here; they have a very deep well and drip irrigation on the entire farm.  At the end of the tour the old guy donned a contraption where he strapped on a battery pack and held what resembled a pitch fork.  When turned on this device was used to shake the tree limbs to harvest the olives.  That would be a lot of work for 500 trees!

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Today we visit the Petra Winery designed by the famous Swiss architect Mario Botta.  Among his many commissions is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PETRA WINERY.

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THW SWISS ARCHITECT BOTTA.

Today’s route takes us through Donoratico,San Vincenzo, Cafaggio, San Lorenzo, Suvereto, Sassetta and Castagneto Carducci.

The winery visit was pre-crash.  This an amazing place.  The high-end architecture continues through the galleries, sculpture, custom furniture and total operation.  In the theater images of the owners and the architect are projected on the screen. The hostess swipes her had across an image and he or she starts to talk. When the slide show is over, curtains across the  hall automatically raise showing us the workings of the winery. Here are photos from the Petre Winery.  The wooden furniture piece is made of a type of African wood.  The back side is pretty non-descript, but from the front you see why it is named ‘Flower’. The petals peal back to reveal the most precious of the Petra offerings, with glasses presumable for tasting.  Also there is a photo of our guide, Alena.  She is a chemist and does daily analysis of the samples taken from barrels.  This information is used to assist the wine makers in blending from various barrels of the same varietal before bottling.   Quite a science.  -- Also shown is a “day  after” photo.  Most of the bandages have been removed an I’m feeling pretty good.

   

Back in the room, with the patio door cracked a bit we hear the continuous pounding of the waves.  Yesterday, with high winds, the waves were high and the pounding intense.  Today, it’s much calmer.

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SPECIAL EDITION

Leaving the winery, I’m following Brenda downhill, going maybe 15 or 20 mph.  All of a sudden, I’m on the pavement.

There are two ways to fall off a bicycle, and you never have a choice of which it is.

• In the first situation, you observe yourself falling, almost in slow motion,  You know what caused the fall and maybe know how you’re going to land.  You might even be able to put your hand down and brace the fall.  This is one of the reasons, cyclists wear gloves.
• In the second situation, it’s instantaneous.  One minute you’re riding the bike, the next minute you’re on the ground.   You don’t observe the fall. You know of no reason why.  This was my fall today.  Did my wheel hit something?  Did I brake too fast?  Who knows?

   

I’ve been riding seriously for 46 years.  In that time I’ve fallen maybe 5 times.  I don’t think any of these required me to have stiches. (Although falling on a railroad rack on the tandem  in the  rain in 2010 (also in Italy)  required Brenda to have a few stiches.)  And this is the first  time in over 70 years that I’ve ridden in an ambulance.

When I was 5, I ran across the street chasing a ball and was hit by a car – driven by a doctor.  I was taken to the hospital for observation (in an ambulance?). The next day  the doctor brought me a pair of Roy Rodgers cap pistols with holsters!  (Guess he didn’t want  to be sued.)

The ambulance attendants, wearing Red Cross badges, were efficient.  It was probably 35 kilometers to the hospital.  I also thought  the hospital people were efficient, even if it seemed to sometimes move very slowly.  My wounds were dressed and a doctor applied 5 stiches.  He also ordered an ultrasound inspection of my abdomen and a CT scan of my head. The CT scan operator looked me, smiled and asked “Bichlette?”. I had to answer “Si.”

So I had a long ride in an ambulance,  was treated by emergency care staff, had some stiches by the doctor, had an ultrasound and a CTC scan – and our bill was $218 Euro ($259).  Tell me that single payer insurance doesn’t work. (and their health is much better than ours as measured by several health factors.!

Our tour leader Stephen and friend Lou picked us up at the hospital.  The hotel personnel were waiting with late dinners for us.  After a couple of Advil and a couple of  glasses of wine. I’m feeling pretty good.  Let’s see how I am tomorrow.

Thanks for Brenda for riding with me in the  ambulance, staying at the hospital and taking care of me. True love.

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The chef made Pizzas for us last night; everyone appreciated this and we ate all he could bring.

We’ve missed a lot of riding because of the lost luggage and the rain.  Today is a rest day  and we’d hoped to ride.  However, Brenda has been coughing continuously since 6 am (it’s now 8:30) and it’s pretty windy; someone said we have 25 mph wind.   I was the only one with riding clothes at breakfast and I’ve since changes into street clothes.  So we’ll see what  the day holds.

We’ve never before been on a ride with 40 people.  How do you get to know this many people in such a short time? It’s particularly difficult when the ride leader omits the normal first-day introductions.  But we’re doing pretty good; Brenda in particular already knows many names.  And I’m well known as the  photo editor.  I already have 50 or so images in our album.  The first sunset photo below is from one of the other riders’ the last one is mine.

We’re really enjoying the view from our new balcony.  With a glass of wine we watch each night’s sunset.