Day 14 – Siena to Lucarelli: Talking Menus, Post-its, and Goodbyes...already?

Our ride sheet today said we’re going “to ‘feel’ Chianti…” which has come to mean there are hills in our immediate future.  In this case, a steady climb at the beginning, some flat in the middle, and more climb at the end (with a surprise—as I didn’t read this far ahead on the ride sheet—5 k downhill towards the end). The ride is roughly 45-50 k depending on the route. Fortunately, a good sleep last night recharged our bodies/minds and we were ready to go.

We checked out of our Siena hotel and immediately headed for McDonalds (eggs!!) where we were a bit….well, bummed to find out that they don't serve breakfast (or at east what we’ve come to know as breakfast back home). So, we stopped by Café Nannini for our usual requisite snacks and bottles of water and we were off.

We started out just the two of us, but caught up with Leslie, Jan, and Brian about a third of the way to Lucarelli and rode with them the rest of the way. Mid-day we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the small town of Monti in Chianti.

We were ready to sit down at a table outside, when a woman approached the table… "Wait....wait...wait…." She said in a slow, deep, raspy  “smoker’s” voice…and proceeded to wipe the rain pooled on the seats and table. “Now…OK.” We then asked for menus… “You are talking to the menu,” she said in her heavily accented (but fairly good) English.

Apparently, we were also talking to the waitress, the cook, and the cashier as we didn’t see/hear anyone else but her the entire time we were there. We ordered the Antipasti and it was delicious…a little pricey (the talking menu neglected to mention the prices) but not outrageous. We paid the bill, which was simply scribbled on a Post-it note, and got up to leave.

Now, someone had asked to use the bathroom when we first got there and all we got was  ”No water…bathroom.”  But since there didn’t seem to be any other options, we asked again before leaving. “No water...no water…” she said.

We just looked at each other, all wondering the same thing regarding running a restaurant without water and hoping it was just the bathroom. Someone in the group (Jan?) pushed the point and our restaurateur finally acquiesced, “OK, but pee pee only...pee pee only.”  (Which of course became our running joke for the day…sorry if this was, ah, TMI :-)

Next stop, the Castello di Brolio.  We added 6 k to the ride to see this castle as it sounded like it would be worth the trip. The structure itself was not open to the public, but a tour of the gardens and chapel (along with a wine tasting) were all included in the 5 Euro entrance fee. This stop was great timing too… as we approached the Castello it started to rain. Fortunately, enormous pine trees flanked the incline to the summit, so the dirt and gravel road was not a muddy mess on the way up.

The views from the castle grounds were spectacular. Just outside the walls of the castle were formal gardens, and beyond were panoramic views of the Tuscan landscape. As we were walking the gardens the skies just opened up, as they say, and suddenly it was pouring rain. We were all huddled under an 'umbrella' of pine trees for about 15-20 minutes (during which there was also a significant drop in temperature). After the tour and some photos of the chapel we headed down the hill for a wine tasting—Chianti Classico…it was tasty (maybe more so because we were cold and still a little bit wet from the rain).

Back on the road for Lucarelli, we encountered some pretty scary skies but seemed to stay ahead of it (by mere minutes) most of the rest of the day. Finally around 4:00 – 4:30 we arrived at Villa Rosa. Wow...another amazing hotel (a la Osteria del Vicario in Certaldo). The hotel is a three-story pink stucco structure along the two-lane road we just took through Lucarelli (and fortunately not another fortress perched atop a mini mountain as we didn’t need on of those today).

We all checked in to our rooms and immediately came back out to sit by the pool and compare the ‘cool’ features each room had.  Ours was a large room (to European standards) with very high ceilings and an amazing view. Brian’s room was across the hall and he had this funky second floor loft-ish bathroom you had to walk up about 8-10 stairs to get to; he also had the high ceilings.

Leslie and Jan, who were separate travelers sharing a room, had the best space of the rooms we saw.  They were on the second floor and had a very large room and what must have been a 15’x 15’ balcony off the old-style French doors. All of the rooms were exceptionally clean and well maintained, and each had a unique feel…more like a quaint Bed & Breakfast than a hotel and definitely worth a stay if you’re ever in the area.

The pool was behind the hotel and up on a hill, so there was also a view from there. We met and talked with a nice family from Texas....always good to be able to brush up on our English while we're away.

Tonight we gathered as a complete group for the last time—including Rick and Zhen who we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with outside of breakfasts and dinners.  The meal here was definitely worthy of being our last suppe…ah, last dinner.  Especially with Leslie leaving first thing in the morning, this was really our last chance (we thought) to see much of the group.

We had a great time tonight and I laughed harder than I have in ages…especially about the photo snapped of Catherine taking a picture of the entire group (with a wall in her way).

We also had a Blue Marble addition to the group for a couple of days.  Marcus (an associate coordinator?) had come down from Paris to assist with the logistics of ending our trip and transitioning the equipment to the next ride. Nice guy and he fit into the craziness of the group very well.

After dinner we said our goodbyes to Leslie, Jeannie, John, Rick, and Zhen (in case we didn’t see them in the morning) and went to bed.  Tomorrow was to be our last ride, from Lucarelli to Florence—well, actually to a train station in Figline and then a train to Florence as the traffic going in to Florence is a bit…ah, dangerous.

Day 14 Stats:

• Ride Sheet - Siena to Lucarelli/Villa Rosa (44+ k)
• Actual Ride - 50 k
• Lunch - Monti in Chianti (talking menu)
• To Remember - Ride out of Siena, homemade antipasti, Sudden rain at the castle, Nice American woman selling tickets, Gecko in the pool, the clouds, outrunning the second storm, laughter at dinner

Comments

[Zhen]

Hey Steven and Damon. I had a great trip with you guys. You guys were hilarious. This blog is awesome. The picture of Catherine up there is classic.

[john hughes]

Hey deuxbiclettylists or something like that-

I was great meeting, eating, drinking and riding with you both. Seems like you had a lively group in Italy. Hotels looked quite nice. Looks like you Provence week really was a good advantage to prepare you for the hills of Tuscany. You should of done a quadracep diameter measurement before and after your trip.I'd do another Blue Marble trip in a heartbeat, with permission from my Visa Card. I'll bet your doggy was happy to see you and experience the new scents you brought back in your suitcase laundry, if it was anything like mine. Shout out to Lyn, Mitch and Hanna if you are reading the blog. Great Blog, by the way. Later, John aka "J-Man"

[Steven]

Hey John! Thanks for checkin' in. Yes, the 'kids' were happy to see us (and we, them). I honestly don't know how we would have done had we started with the Tuscany trip....I'm glad we have Provence first. They were both challenging, but in slightly different ways (and I guess Tuscany a little more so).

We would also like to do another Blue Marble trip....maybe something in Spain or the Italian Lakes. Let us know if you sign up again!

Take care... Steven

[Steven]

Zhen- Thanks for stopping by! Yeah, that photo of Catherine pretty much captured mood of the evening perfectly. That was probably the best (most fun) dinner we had.