Chianti and Tuscan Regions - Writing

The chianti region.....Wow! That is the best word to describe this portion of our travels. The scenery here is so unique, I can absolutely see why movies have been made about it. We wove our way up and down, left and right through rolling hills of vineyards, small towns and wineries galore. Bunches of picturesque purple and green grapes can be seen from the road, perfectly placed on the vine. The small towns put on festivals to gather the local vineyards, hosted in the "downtown area" with music, ice cream, and aritists. You can buy a wine glass and go around and taste all of the local wines, maybe 20 booths in all. If we had time to actually plan our trip rather than simply go with each day, we would have stayed in a room and taken full advantage of this wine tasting. But drinking wine and riding our bikes through these windy roads is definitely not a good idea. Because of this, we stood on the outside and observed the smiles on peoples faces and watched in amazement as the conversations jumped from person to person with questions being answered and the wine glasses filling like wild fire. I felt like we were watching an older movie about how a wine-maker made their name. The bottles of wine consumed must have been in the thousands.
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Cycling in Tuscany and Chianti - Pictures

Pedaling through the vineyards of Chianti

Venice to Florence to Ferrara - Writing

Just outside of Venice, we heard you couldn't bring your bikes in the city. As neither of us had ever been, we couldn't understand how a city didn't allow bikes. I have never heard such a thing. Staying at a campground that sits along the peninsula across from Venice, we took a 45 minute passanger ferry. Always a fun way to travel for us, especially Ryan as he adores boats. Barely staying on the outskirts of a storm, cuddling in with our fellow passangers to avoid the rain on the boat, the sun was shining and the skies turned blue just as we landed in Venice. A city built on logs and traveled by canal and river boats. What a sight to see. Couples and families took the boats that are rowed by a person standing on the back, intended for tourists and tours of the city. Boats with motors take the locals around town, dropping them off on a few stairs that lead fromt he water directly into a building or sidewalk. It is an incredible city filled with tourists, shops, food, cafes, sidewalks and bridges to easy get lost, which of course we love. If you have a chance to visit Venice, I would in a heartbeat. It's so unique and who wouldn't want to spend some time on a floating city?
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In and around Florence - Pictures

Best expressos ever.

The Duomo

Taking a siesta

In and around Ferrra - Pictures

Waiting on the ferry

Lisa can name all of them

On the ferry heading south

The "cycle path" has a few obstacles

Carrying breakfast out onto the jetty

The floating bridge of boats on the river Po delta

basket of fried seafood goodness

Cycling outside the walls of Ferrara

Ferrara!