Firenze to Greve in Chianti

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Blue skies in the morning, and a spin through the famous, awesome Mercato Centrale (Rupert, if you're reading, this Mercato is on the list of places to see, and of course the Uffizi, though I didn't go-line was too long. Also we got out of tourist central and wandered around the U district, which was a little more of actual Florence). In possession of our bread, cheese and wine, we headed to the bike shop, got our gear, and headed out. I was a bit nervous about biking in the actual city, but it was really fine. Flagstone streets are always fun, but soon enough we were on paved streets and puffing up our first hill.

As I was writing this entry, I was doing something I have dreamed about for ten years: sitting on top of a hill in the middle of the Tuscan countryside, eating the simplest of lunches with a good friend. A momentous occasion for me, and also an inspiration to make this sort of thing a part of my regular life. There is the small matter of getting my degree and Trev getting his, and then we're free!

Our route was Firenze - Impruneta - Greve in Chianti. The first leg was the hardest, with quite a few decent hills. Impruneta itself is one of the ubiquitous medieval hill towns, but we didn't stop to see the church or anything. We just noted its strategic position and headed on. The second leg had some awesome downhills and very little traffic. Greve in Chianti was our halfway mark, and we bought some postcards and checked out the square. It is definitely worth a stay if you're planning a trip. Florence by Bike said that this trip was a full day. I, a non-biker that hasn't done any intense physical activity for three months, did it in four hours, so that should give you an idea of how much allowance the bike places give for beginner bikers or hard-core sightseers.

The way back we still went through Impruneta but by different roads, with more private houses and such, and a few hills. The very last bit we got on the wrong road and got the rush hour traffic, but we made it alive back to the bike shop and went out to a great dinner to celebrate. Tomorrow, a shorter trip with a bigger hill - I hope I don't die!

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Photos

Frolic!
A leap after lunch

Nick at Impruneta
Map check

Mercato Centrale
Every possible kind of Italian food, also lots of small bottles of olive oil, wine, etc.

Cypresses
Typical road in Tuscany.

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