Near Genga and the Caves

Near Genga, very close to the grottas (caves). Ga-ga gorgeous!

Pics of the grottas, we weren't allowed to take pics inside, isn't this fabulous?! It was the biggest surprise of the trip to me, I was totally blown away by the magnitude of them.

Again, looking from the gift shop at the grottas to the valley below.

This the place where we stayed (near Genga). Sorry for no pool pics, it was a really cool pool, too!

Urbino to a place near Genga (middle of nowhere)

From Urbino, we rode to this little town that was in the middle of nowhere, near Genga. I enjoyed being in the middle of nowhere so after the ride (which was a hammer fest for the extra loop that was a really long climb and the rest of the ride that was rollers) the only thing to do was sit in the cool pool and soak in the very fresh air.

Below are pictures from the ride.

At the end of the very long climb up a mountain.

Pretty woods. This is a hiking path that looks like fun, apparently there are many like these marked clearly all over the hills here.

Fano to Urbino

View from my room in Fano (it faced the railroad tracks, not ocean, but I thought it was still really cool considering the roof tops are gorgeous). Gina and I were there for 3 days in total. It was very nice to have time after getting off the plane to soak in the sea and relax prior to getting on the schedule of the bike trip. (Don't get me wrong: it was great to be on a schedule during the trip, felt great to get up and out early and have a full day every day.)

Nice scenery on the ride from Fano to Urbino.

Rest stop before the extra loop split from the rest of the pack. The loop was a gorgeous climb with great views.

This is the view: (pics don't do any of these vistas justice!)

Somewhere between Fano and Urbino, yeah, gorgeous yet again!

Food in Urbino (this is the dessert, sort of like flan with different toppings). Dessert here was never very heavy and did a nice job of completing dinner.

Urbino was a cool town. Apparently it has a few colleges there, that would explain all of the busling in it.

On a tour with Andrea prior to getting on the bikes and leaving Urbino.

Prior to every bike ride, our leaders would give us maps and tell us about everything we would encounter during the day on the bikes.

The courtyard in the place where we stayed (a converted convent) in Urbino was awesome.

One of the many hilly & brick roads in Urbino.

Going back in Time: Fano

Now that I have some time with the internet, I want to post as much as possible and fill in some of the gaps.

Watching the sunrise from the plane. This was right around 6 am Italy time (I woke up just a few minutes before I took this picture. Can't say I've ever seen a sunrise just like that before!)

Piazza in Fano. Fano is a lot more than just a beach town (though the beach is spectacular).

This is Gianni and Gina as we were walking and he gave us a tour of the town and sea side (Gianni is the one who treated us to gelato).

We went out walking in Fano after dark. This is the church where I attended mass Sunday morning (the bike riding portion of the trip started Sunday afternoon).

Italians love arugula. Therefore, I love Italian food! This pizza was from a restaurant called Florida (I might have mentioned this before in a previous post), it was good food, but did it have to be called Florida?

Dinner on the first night of the bike riding portion of the trip was insanely good. All sorts of wonderful seafood, pasta, you name it. I had to get my stomach conditioned to handle so much heavy food minutes before bedtime.

The first night of the bike riding portion of the trip, Andrea (not sure on spelling) gave us a tour of Fano. Here he was talking about its wall.

More Bevagna pics

The hills that border Bevagna. If I remember correctly, to the left is Assisi and to the right is Spello. I should have other pics to show these towns more clearly. Hey, look at this road: it's flat...very uncommon for Umbria!
Land just outside of Bevagna.

Cute little old men chillin' on the main street in Bevagna. This is a common thing to see: men spending time together during the day in many of these little towns. I never see this back home (guys, take note...I think this is one of the many secrets to happiness).
The wall of Bevagna--I understand some of my ancestors helped bulid this wall!

Antonio (from the Commune) walked me down the street to the museum in order to get someone to help with translation. And since we couldn't communicate too effectively, I was wondering where he was taking me until we got there. Fortunately, I had discovered the museum the previous day so I wasn't a total stranger to the girls working there.


I think this is looking back down at Bevagna/land in that vicinity.

More land of Bevagna (outside of the wall).

This used to be a Virgin Mary, she isn't in there any longer. Just outside the wall of Bevagna, near Leda's home.

Another view of the piazza (where the church is, it just isn't in this picture).

One of My Favorite Experiences from the Bike Trip

I'm in this great little place (sort of a B&B) near the Spanish Steps in Roma tonight. They have a computer and I don't have to pay for it, yippee (finally). I want to get a little caught up in picture posting since I can already predict very little time for this when I get home and I just don't want to lose any of the memories or not share them with you!

This story comes from the second to the last day of the bike trip (we were riding to Sorano from Orvieto, I believe). I took the extra loop option (was always a good thing since I had lots of time to rap with whoever the ride leader was that day...I learned so much extra stuff about Italy, the culture, history, etc., this way since our leaders are so full of info. And, the pace was pretty steadily high so it was good training at the same time. That day I was riding with Frank (oh, random cool info: his girlfriend is related to the Zarlengo family in Denver! I never really thought about it, that they are Italian.)

Anyway, we found this little old bike shop that looked closed up. We were looking in the windows when the happiest, healthiest little old man (83 years old, but looked at least a decade younger) came over and opened the door. He is still so passionate about bikes as he has been throughout his life. He will work in the shop forever, he has no plans to sell.

Outside of the shop.

This bike (the one where you see the front wheel in the left part of the shot) is one he still uses. It has a motor on it, and the mechanism to allow the whole thing to be used as a pedaled bike or motorized one is really neat to see.

Floor mat as you walk in the door:

This is me with the shop owner. I have his info, he wants a copy of this picture. (He doesn't speak a word of English, again, another reason I need to learn Italian. I have a very long list of reasons at this point.) =)

Tiny shop, but tons of bikes!

Now in Rome...

Tiber River in Rome...looking very green, but the stone work is very cool!

We made it to Rome today. This morning was a bit stressful with trying to get train tickets and then trying to get to our seat on the train. It wasn't a big deal, however, and made it without a problem. Now we're in a hip part of the city, where everything is just beginning to open up for dinner (between 3 and 7:30 almost all businesses close in Italy).

My feet are tired from tons of walking, but it's entirely worth it...I found a great pair of Italian boots (made with Italian leather) in Florence that I just don't want to take off.

We're staying near the Vatican so strolled through St. Peter's Square on the way to other sites. The enormity of it is unreal. Everywhere one looks, there is another huge, beautiful statue or building made of beautiful stone.

The drivers and motor scooters are as crazy as everyone says they are.

I'm having yet more problems uploading pictures...and considering I'm not using my computer, there shouldn't be an issue. Hrumph! I am glad to be away from the computer for most of the time, the break has been healthy for me!

Florence was a cool town and enjoyable. Rome is a bit huge and overwhelming, but I am going to try to appreciate it for all of the history, art and church stuff. I really miss the small towns, natural beauty, simplicity of the small towns I biked through during the bike portion of this trip. I feel like that's really living Italy.

I'll post more about the food here later, it deserves a very, very long post. It is so amazingly delicious and overall very good for you (yes, I'm beginning to appreciate wine for the first time, too). I've found that I am digesting this food so much more easily than Italian food as it is served in the US. And I have not been shy in eating the meat, since it comes in small quantities and is always moist and good.

Internet time is up, time to go find dinner (a place a friend in CO recommended since it's not touristy).

Ciao for now!

Florence Pics

Inside the Duomo in Firenze.

Another pic of the river with the sunset.

One of the many, many gelatos I have had the pleasure of enjoying. Not sure what my favorite flavor is yet. Will need to test a few more before making a decision.

A view of the river. Beautiful sunset!

Piazza Michaelangelo night before last in Firenze. It offers a wonderful overlook of the city and a replica of David.

Florence/Firenze

Yawn! I'm tired. I have been wanting to sleep all day today. After riding my bike for 481 miles and having oxygen to consume (I took full advantage of the additional fuel), many of those were really hard ones that tapped my legs for everything they had to give. (In Colorado, my lungs hurt. At low altitude with rollers and tons of climbing, it's my legs that feel it.) I might have to cross race this year (hadn't been planning on it), but it seems like a shame to do the equivalent of training camp and not race until next spring.

After a picture perfect morning in Porto Ercole, Gina and I got on the train early this morning. It took us to Pisa where we got another train to Florence. The train ride was very comfortable and the time flew by (3 hrs total). Our hotel was easy to find and the woman working the front desk was super sweet (Nadia) and very helpful to give us an idea as to how to get around town.

She recommended to us that we go to this local trattoria (where the locals eat) just a couple of blocks away. There, the food was super fresh and the highlight was their oh so wonderful gnocchi--the best I have ever had. Check it out: the meal included a first course, second course, house vino and vegetable dish all for 10 euros. And it was so good! The people eating there were all locals and friendly. We ended up making friends with the older patrons even though none of them spoke a word of English. They are all so friendly. One of the guys asked Gina if all Americans are as friendly as she is (she was the one talking to him, I was not facing him). Gina has been great to travel with. It's hard to believe that we hadn't met prior to the first day of this trip.

After lunch, we zonked with a power nap and then caught a bus that took us to the San Miniato cathedral (and graveyard, you have to see the pics to understand--the graves are sort of sticking out of the ground in the front on the cathedral lawn) and the Piazzale Michelangelo (it's a grand place to see out over all of Florence). The duomo is huge, we'll get there tomorrow at some point. Then we walked back to the hotel, taking the very long way checking out lots of streets and neighborhoods.

So far, I have yet to see two buildings that are the same in Italy. The architecture is so unique and wonderful in its age and design. My time is nearly out on the computer here, so I'd better go.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me emails, I've received them and really appreciate them!!!

Ciao!

Porto Ercole

I am now in Porto Ercole, a beautiful place next to the Mediterranean Sea. We are done with the riding portion of the trip. Internet is free, but I dont think I can stay in this place very long. Today the mood has been a bit different, I think we are all a little sad that this is nearly over (we still have dinner together tonight to celebrate, but it is about time for everyone to part). Gina and I are heading to Florence tomorrow morning and then to Rome until we fly home.

I am SOOOO glad I did this, it was worth so much more than I paid for it. As soon as I get home, I will put up all of the pictures and many of the stories (countless). The problem is that no story is short. Everything here is so wonderful...and I am doing my best to distill what about this experience is cool because we have guides who take care of everything for us versus having everyday tasks, work, chores, etc.

I had better get going, this is far from private and someone could be waiting.

Ciao ciao!!!