Back in October (yes, nearly a year ago), we went on a cycling tour through Tuscany. We took about 400000000000000000 pictures of the trip, which is one of the reasons it took so long to route through them, select some favourites, and upload them, but I had a few days off the other week, and now we’re there.

The trip was absolutely wonderful. We woke up early and started cycling at about 8:30 every day, spent most of the day on our bikes exploring the Tuscan countryside, arrived at our next destination in the afternoon, showered, and headed out for some sightseeing and dinner, only to come home, sleep, and start over again. We went on a self-guided tour, which meant that the tour operator gave us directions at the beginning of the trip and sent us on our way. We had a quick introductory session at the first hotel, at which we were given a pack of information, a glass of champagne, and an extraordinarily ugly black hat with EUROBIKE written on the front in red.

That’s when we met the other self-guided tourists, who we later began to think of in an Amazing Race-type way. We imagined them cycling along with their names and a label on the screen beneath them, but since we didn’t know most of their names, we tended to stick with the labels:

French Canadian Foursome
Rather Bland Canadian Couple
Perky Australian Couple
Montana Man and his Swiss Wife
The Swiss Lesbians
. . . and us, who we later discovered (when the tour operator slipped and called us by our label) were known as “The Tall Americans.” Good to know we weren’t the only ones labeling people!

The cycling was actually pretty tough. Tuscany is beautiful, and it is also very hilly. We went about 30-35 miles each day, which is far on a flat surface and really far up and down hills. We tended to be the first ones out in the morning and the last ones to arrive in the afternoon. We didn’t cycle slowly – in fact we often passed people – but we managed to spend enough time cycling up and down side streets (mostly looking for wineries, olive groves, or any other consumable goods) that we lost that much time. One day we lost even more time:

At km 34.2, we went past a turn that would have been 0.5 km too early. We went another 1.5 km downhill, decided that it must have been our turn and went 1.5 km back UP the hill, only it turns out that it wasn’t our turn. We eventually discovered that we went wrong back at km 28.7 when “straight” meant “straighty-right,” and we took the wrong road. Using the map, we (we = Andy) found a shortcut, which was VERY steep, and we went back and forth up and down hills a bit, trying to figure out if the shortcut would get us to the right road or not. When we finally made it to the correct road (thanks to Andy’s skill and willingness to run down and back up hills to double-check), we learned that we lost about 12-15 km behind. We saw the tour organizer driving by shortly thereafter, and he stopped to ask if we were OK – good sign that we were WAY behind schedule. When we finally arrived at our destination (Greve), we found our fellow guided tourists enjoying a pint at the pub and laughing heartily at our rather long excursion. We had some gelato and suddenly felt all better. (Andy: Melone y Cappucino, Tiff: Caffe y Mousse di Chocolatta)

We actually ate an impressive amount of gelato while we were in Tuscany. That was our tenth gelato break, and we still had another day left. Here are a few more trip details, listed in relation to the gelato we consumed along the way:

1 – Day 1 – Montecatini – On the way from the train to our first hotel - Andy: Chocolate & Vanilla Cherry, Tiff: Chocolate

2 – Day 1 – Montecatini – After dinner – Andy: Frutti di Busco & Cookies, Tiff: Mint & Chocolate Chip (Straciatelli)

3 – Day 2 – Montecatini – After cycle to Vinci (as in Leonardo da) and a trip to the terme, where we “drinka dee water,” which is so cleansing that they have several hundred available toilets. Feeling suitably cleansed . . . – Andy: Strawberry & Chocolate, Tiff: Chocolate & Penna Cotta

4 – Day 3 – Pisa – After a stop in Lucca where we visited the tower with trees on top, between visiting the Cathedral in Pisa and walking along the river, we took lots of pictures of people doing Tai Chi , and we stopped for gelato – Andy: Chocolate & Caramel, Tiff: Chocolate & Coffee

5 – Day 3 – Pisa – After dinner, Andy realized he had ordered chocolate in some form every time and became determined to prove that he was not in a rut, and soooo. . . . – Andy: Pistachio & Licorice (EW!), Tiff: Fruitti di Busco & Straciatelli

6 – Day 4 – Casciana Terme – After a strenuous uphill battle and some time in the thermal pool, also good for healing, . . . Andy: Hazelnut & Teramisu, Tiff: Biscuttino & Cupido Chazelinutti (cookies and different cookies)

7 – Day 5 – San Gimignano – As soon as we arrived, because this was listed in our guidebook as a “world-renowned” gelateria – Andy: Orange chocolate & Tiramisu, Tiff: Chocolate & Tutto Frusco

8 – Day 5 – San Gimignano – Yes, it was THAT good – Andy: Mango & Strawberry & Vanilla Crème (3 scoops!), Tiff: Mint & Special random creamy flavor

9 – Day 6 – Siena – After a visit to the church of San Domenico and before the Palazzo Publico – Andy: Chocolatta & Caffe, Tiff: Kiwi & Vanilla

10 – Day 7 – Greve - You already know about 10.

11 – Day 8 – Florence – After the duomo and before the Iffuzi gallery, where we decided that churches and piazzas were better than art and a 90-minute wait, which were our two options – Andy: Biscotto & Cherry Vanilla, Tiff: Straciatella & Crème Caramel

12 – Day 8 – Florence – After we stumbled upon a random wine-tasting which was even more randomly showcasing Californian wines – We shared: Chocolatto, Stracciatella & Hazelnut and walked back along the river after a wonderful trip.

Here’s a quick taste of some of our funny experiences along the way:

We went to a concert in Montecatini – our first day in Italy. We arrived at about 4:30 for a 4:45 concert. The man looked at us like we were nuts and eventually said, “cinque, cinque media” – that’s 5, 5:30. So in Italy, concerts that start at 4:45 actually start ‘round about 5:30. The concert ended up being almost solely intended for people over the age of 70, several of whom were there looking at us like we were crazy. There was a fella playing piano and another fella singing – mostly Frank Sinatra – and then after about 45 minutes they invited a guy from the audience up. He looked like yoda, but MAN the old fella had pipes. He did some very impressive arias – especially for a random guy in the audience who we decided was perhaps not so random after all when - after much “oh no I couldn’t – it’s YOUR concert,” he brought his own sheet music up with him.

On one of our many side-trips to find wineries, we cycled into the back yard of a house / factory, where we found three old Italian men making wine! We took some pictures of them, which they found absolutely hilarious and perhaps a smidge embarrassing. The fat one held up a big plastic tube which was pouring wine into an enormous jug, and he said, “DA VINNNOOOO!!!!” which we loved because it just sounded so ITALIAN! Then they kept saying “AgritourISSMMMOOOOOoooooo,” which was also funny and obviously so strange to them.

One day we stopped in a random little restaurant for lunch, but we got there at about 11:45. We thought we would be too early, because lunch tended to start after noon and end at 2:00 in Tuscany (incidentally not all that convenient when one is – say – cycling through hills of farmland for most of the day). When we walked in, the young lady there started to explain to us in Italian that they didn’t have any hot food yet, when a voice from another room shouted “PASTA!” Our lady said, “y pasta? Pasta.” We said, “Pasta! OK!” and the deal was done. We also had some excellent wine, which was served in a big ceramic bowl with a ladle.

Looking back through my travel journal, I’m amazed at how much adventure we found along our way and at how much fun we always have. Here are some pictures – see for yourself!

On the 1st of July, London went smoke free!! Andy and I were very excited when the bars and restaurants in New York went smoke free, and NOW we get to do it all over again. It might be an even bigger difference here, where smoking is perhaps a bit more common.

Sunday was the first night of the smoking ban, and we obviously had to go out to celebrate. We went to the pub around the corner, which is a very snug little place that serves excellent food and is frequented by about a dozen very old, very intoxicated smoky men. We have been there many times in the past, but the one downfall was always that it can be very smoky in there.

It was wonderful. All of the old, drunk men were at the outside tables whining (or winging, to be a bit more English) about the smoking ban and smoking away, and we walked right on by to find a table inside. We stayed for about an hour, and we marveled at how much more we could SEE in there! For example, until Sunday, I had never noticed the back door. It’s probably about 15-20 feet away from where we were sitting, and yet the air had previously been so smoke-filled that I never noticed it. We’re wondering what the old, drunk men will do when it gets cold. Will they sit outside and freeze, sit inside and pop out every few minutes to freeze/smoke, or what? I guess we’ll find out. . .

THEN, on Tuesday, I had my leaving party for work. (Newsflash: I’m changing jobs) SO, I went to the best pub near my office with all of my colleagues. Normally, I tend not to go to other people’s leaving parties. If I do go, I tend to leave a bit earlier than most, because I get pretty uncomfortable after a while. I know it was my party, but still, I stayed happily to the end of the evening. It felt so much classier without all the mess and stinky headachiness that one normally finds in a pub. Wonderful, I say - just wonderful.

By the way, we are having the coldest, rainiest summer in the universe over here! England=skitso weather. The good news is that today is the first nice day we have had since about the 1st of June (NOTE: based on my perception only), so I plan to take advantage of it!

Yesterday was the first Saturday of Wimbledon, and as we had such a wonderful time last year, we decided to go again. We queued up at 7:45 for grounds admission tickets. Waiting in the Wimbledon queue is quite an experience. Some people camp out for up to two days to try for tickets to Centre Court and Court No.1 (grounds tickets don’t get you into those), and the rest of us show up and stand around for three hours hoping that we’ll make the cut.

The stewards, who tend to be little old men with matching outfits and hats, hand out queue cards with numbers on them, and a 7:45 arrival got us numbers 1877 and 1888, which is impressively high, considering that there are two queues. Compared to last year, though, it was a bit low, because last year was a beautiful, hot, sunny day, and this year was . . . well . . . not.

When I say that we waited in the queue for three hours, therefore, I mean that we waited in the queue IN THE RAIN for three hours. It didn’t rain the whole time or very hard - just off and on and usually lightly. It was an entertaining experience. We read a bit, had some snacks, listened and watched the hubbub of the folks selling newspapers with “FREE poncho, FREE raincoat, FREE tennis-ball-shaped binoculars.” Hmm . . . Perhaps most entertaining was the group of Australian (Kiwi perhaps?) revelers a few people behind us. There were about 12 of them, all loaded down with party kit, all inappropriately dressed for the occasion (they went a bit too summery and otherwise impractical), and all having a wonderful time. By the time we got to security, they had consumed 4 bottles of champagne (with the obligatory floating strawberries, of course), at least 3 of wine, and goodness knows what else, and they had befriended all of the stewards and vendors who came their way in the mean time. We’re not sure how long they could have lasted at that rate, but they sure had fun in the queue! Maybe they shouldn’t have bothered buying tickets - they could have just hung out nearby all day and had a grand old time!

Anyway, we did get grounds tickets, and we went straight to court 2, where Venus Williams was going to play the first match of the day. Court 2 has a standing room section for the peons like us to watch fairly big matches, and so we stood there - in the rain - until about 10:45, when the man from above announced that play would not start until at least noon.

So we stood there - in the rain - until 11:25, when the man from above announced that play would not start until at least 1230, but good news - looks like there’s a clear patch up ahead. The rain grew a bit more intermittent and we started to have hope. We stood there until about 1145, and then we decided that it was lunch time.

For lunch, we each had a slice of pizza and we shared a Cornish pasty. Then we went back up to court 2 standing room. At about 1:15, the grounds boy came out and started to deflate the court cover. People cheered! They deflated it until it lay flat on the court, when - after a few minutes - the rain picked up again. The grounds boy ran around and closed all the vents and filled that cover right back up. BOOOOooooo.

At about 2:00, with the rain stopped again, the grounds boy came out and started to deflate the cover. HOORAAAYYYY! (one guy near us kept cheering “YAY FOR US!” which we thought was funny) Then - miracle of miracles, they did the classic Wimbledon court reveal, which happens when the grounds boys and girls grab on to ropes and run across the court to role up the cover. AHA! The “yay for us” guy said, “I’ve FINALLY seen a tennis court at Wimbledon!”

One thing you don’t usually see when you’re watching Wimbledon on TV is that all of the covers on the grounds get unrolled at almost exactly the same time. It’s very impressive to look across the courts and see all of those people working so hard to maintain the courts and the Wimbledoniness of the event.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. After about 5 minutes of being uncovered, the straps went back out and the grounds boys and girls rolled that cover right back out. BOOOOOoooooo.

And there we stood. In the rain.

That’s when Andy and I realised that we had been standing in the rain since 7:45 that morning, and that really it was all we had done all day. It was actually pretty exhausting!

At 3:00, the cover got unrolled again. A lady came out to feel the grass (literally. she came out, felt the grass here, felt the grass there, and left), and the grounds boys and girls mopped up some rain with special tennis court maxi-pads (that’s what they looked like to us), and then the NET came out! WOOHOO!!! THEN we started to see ball boys and girls emerging from buildings below and heading off to other courts. Then OUR ball boys and girls came on the court, and they set up chairs and water fridges and such! Very exciting. Then the linespeople came out and all we were missing was the players.

We could see players walking out from between two of the buildings and toward their respective courts. A doubles team here, a singles player there, and so on, and then finally we saw Venus. We knew her by her legs. Holy MOLY that girl has legs. YAY FOR US indeed!

Venus and her opponent - a lady named Morigami from Japan, played some wonderful tennis. Venus won the first set 6-2 and was down 1-2 in the second set when it started to sprinkle. Then 1-3, still sprinkling. Then 1-4, and we see covers getting rolled out on other courts. Oh no. And the chair umpire called it. Watching those folks pack up the court was very impressive. The poor chair umpire got pushed off the court IN HIS CHAIR! HA! Venus had to hop over the cover as it rolled by her. GEESH! They almost unapologetically took out one of the World’s elite tennis players. WOW. Wimbledon=very important.

We decided that it was now officially strawberries & cream time. We were NOT the only ones to decide this, but with nowhere else to go, we waited in the queue. We each ordered TWO helpings and found our way to a bench (A SEAT at long last!) - in the rain - to eat them.

They were absolutely divine. Perhaps the best strawberries I have ever eaten. Even better than last year’s Wimbledon strawberries. It’s almost as if they shoot ‘em up with strawberry flavour.

We found a covered area and read for a while, and we decided that if it continued to rain until 6:00, we would call it a day. At 5:45, my bum hurt from sitting on the concrete wall, and we stopped in the shop before heading back to the tube - in the rain. We were happy to relax on the tube on the way back home, and when we got back, we went directly to the chippy. We walked back from the chippy - in the rain - and settled in for the night.

So at the end of the day, we still thought it was worth the price of admission and food for the experience, but we sure felt bad for the people who camped out the night before! As it turns out, they give refunds when there is less than an hour of play. We had 55 minutes, so looking back, we took the tube to Wimbledon for some pizza, a cornish pasty, some delicious strawberries and a nice long day standing in the rain.

They gave us some stickers . . .

And here are some pictures . . .