Tuscany & Mugello

---

Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569

We have just spent the last 5 days in Tuscany. We booked a B&B about 5 minutes drive from a village propped on the outskirts of Florence. Where we stayed was a winery and perhaps an olive farm. We had a wonderful view of the Tuscan hills and were surrounded by potted geraniums and quaint farm buildings. It was a lovely room with a loft which gave a nice feeling of spaciousness. The first couple of days were jam packed with attending the races and qualifying at the Mugello circuit. It was much easier to find where we were going compared to Le Mans as the signage on the roads and motorways in Italy is very clear. On the Saturday we joined a large amount of bikes and cars travelling to the circuit for the qualifying and managed to find a perfect spot about two thirds of the way around the track without too much trouble. We also had a view of one of the big screens which was a bonus. The hill slopes around the circuit make for great viewing even if you are not too tall, as the gradients are quite steep. After the qualifying we went for a walk around the circuit and were amazed at the crazy stunts going on all around us by all the Italian fans. Such a great atmosphere! On the Sunday things got a bit more serious as 150,000 die hard Valentino Rossi fans vied for the best view. We went back to the same spot as we chose on the Saturday but had to share it with thousands more punters. The racing was close and exciting and 150,000 Valentino Rossi fans were happy with the result (he won!). Then the crowd went wild and poured out on to the circuit on their scooters and bikes and all hell broke loose. It was a great day. Even if it did take two hours before we could even LEAVE the car park and another two hours to travel the 30km home. We saw about 4 or 5 accidents that day, but I think that's pretty normal for a weekend like that. The next two days after the race, we finally got to do some sightseeing around Tuscany. Visited Montecatini, Pistoria and Siena among others. Strolled around the old towns and enjoyed the stunning scenery along the way. Dined on some fabulous Italian food, lots of pasta, pizza and seafood. We ate more bread and cheese than I care to recall!

---