Biking in the Tuscan Sun

I had been told by many friends that Florence was like an Italian Sevilla. When Grace and I arrived and made it to our hostel (an old monastery) just before the dark clouds rolled in, I already got a feeling similar to the one that I always felt walking the streets of Sevilla. Like the lively Andalusian capital, you can feel the passion and the energy just from walking next to the wonderful people who live there. Our time in Florence was full of art museums, great food, crazy cool architecture and the best gelato we found all trip--thanks to the Australians we met in Switzerland!

The Duomo in Florence is one of the most striking and detailed church
that I saw during my time in Europe

This is the dome in the Duomo

Here is the famous Ponte Vecchio 

Here we are with the center of Florence behind us

The highlight of our stop in Florence was hands down our bike tour through the Tuscan countryside. During our trip, Grace and I haven't joined many tour groups, but things like the Harry Potter tour and the Sound of Music tour were well worth sticking out from the native crowd, and the bike tour didn't disappoint either! We found a company run by a Scottish man who came to visit Florence and never left (the story also involves a love interest that kept him from leaving), and it involves a day of biking and a meal at a family-owned restaurant in the middle of the countryside.

First we were taken by van to a castle in the Chianti region that produces olive oil and wine. With our group, full of wonderful fellow travelers, we took a tour and tasted some of the goodness produced there. Next, we were given bikes and helmets and a native to Florence led us around as we looped through the green rolling hills.

Here are some of the barrels where the wine was kept

Me, our guide Keith and Grace at the top of the castle

The Tuscan Countryside  

Here we are with our bikes ready for the ride 

We got to stop and walk through the vineyards

The ride was mostly scenic, and just enough effort to burn off all of the pasta we had been eating. Just after our group lunch, where I had a few classes of wine and a huge plate of pasta, we reached the big bad hill that our guide had been warning us about since the beginning. He said it was part of the Italy's equivalent to the Tour de France. We were given the option to put our bikes in the truck and get bussed to the top of the hill, but Grace and I were determined! We were sweating our butts off while making our way up the hill and decided to stop and walk because we thought we had only made it to the half way point. Turns out we were so close to the top that we could see it, and man were we mad we stopped! All in all it was a lovely day, with perfect weather, fresh air, a little exercise, great company and good food. When they brought us back to Florence, our guides gave us big hugs goodbye and some restaurant recommendations for the rest of our time in Florence.

For our last meal in Florence we went to a restaurant recommended by our guide and got great service from the Italians. The next morning we made our way to the train station to begin the trek to our final stop, Rome!

When the waiter asked if we wanted water, we said that we
 would just stick with wine and this is what he brought us!

Grace's mystery meal--something about truffle pasta, so delicious! 

"In Florence we had yogurt and nutella gelato, fruit pie gelato,  cookie gelato,
tiramisu gelato, cheesecake gelato,  and dark chocolate gelato.
Can you see it on my lips???"