Day 7 - To Montalcino

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This day's ride was exactly what I thought/hoped bike riding would be like in Tuscany. Lots of hills (but not too steep) with beautiful scenery all around. We started out by receiving a bit of rain, enough to stop, put my rain jacket on for awhile and then move on. I was thinking to myself, I hope this will not be an "Ireland Day", but it cleared up rather quickly. The highlight for me came towards the end of the ride. 10k outside of Montalcino, is the Abbey of Sant'Antimo. I arrived after a gently sloping downhill in time for the 12:45 Gregorian Chant service, lovely to listen to. I then enjoyed the ride uphill to Montalcino ( so much so, that I contemplated doing it again the following morning, but couldn't because our schedule was a bit tighter). Montalcino is a charming town and I enjoyed wandering around prior to the other highlight of the day - a group wine tasting at the former fortress of Brunello wines. They offered free shipping of cases of wine, but Paul will be happy to know that I did not purchase any.

Ciao!

Ride Stats:

Miles: 46.7

Avg MPH: 10.6

Total Elevation gain:4,170

Food Journal:

Wine tasting - Rosso Brunello and two aged Brunellos (2010 and 2009)

Dinner - Taverna Grappolo Blu: Soup- Chick pea with garlic ??, Pastas- one with cherry tomatoes, the other tagliatelle with porcini and tartufo?, Main - thinly sliced turkey with peppers, veal cheeks with cannellini beans?, dessert - poached pear?

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