Making Circles

some on-trip shots from the last few weeks…

I still don’t get tired of the Tuscan landscape… This one is in the region around Volterra, which is, as you can see, very dry…

There’s a great view of roman amphitheater ruins in Volterra. I was actually more interested in the wall though…

just kidding! here are the ruins:

Just a little house in Volterra

me somewhere in Tuscany

sorry, couldn’t resist- another Tuscan countryside shot… last one, I promise

The Trek Travel van in all its splendor.

Alvaro is our cooking school chef. He’s actually quite the dirty old man, but don’t tell the guests that. It’s best they don’t understand what he says.

me on my bike, happy

Photo break with some guests on one of my favorite rides in the Chianti–up Monteluco, the highest point in the area

I was so happy they opted to do the whole extended 90 km ride that day. yay for me!

It’s hard work being a guide

lunch time at our friend Fabrizzio’s resto, Bar Dante in Radda in Chianti- We were comparing the color of a Chianti Classico and a Brunello (mmmmm). Really, I was just comparing the color of the wine.

again, hard at work

I wonder if the waiter felt bad for ripping me off for breakfast– €4.30 for a croissant and cappuccino (more than double what I paid the day before)–but I guess you pay for the view…

After a little stroll around the harbor, I headed to a little shop I’d checked out the day before and got a ring I had tried on multiple times. My right hand had been feeling naked.

Got back to my room, packed my things, and went to the station where I bought a ticket for Pisa. I hopped on the train literally a minute later and was on my way. We passed through Carrara where there are marble blocks all over the place, and mountains of the famous stone in the background.

A couple of hours later I got to Pisa, walked 20 minutes to the Piazza dei Miracoli and saw the hilariously crooked tower.

(sorry about the bad lighting–it was noon and the sun was really beating down)

After walking around the Duomo, I headed back down to the station. I thought the baptistry was really beautiful…

After three more trains, I got to Sinalunga, got a gelato (to soothe the sore throat I’d developed that day), and walked about 35 minutes back to the guide house. A half hour later, I was on my bike climbing for 40 minutes to meet Diane and Nate at the second trip hotel, Casabianca. They’d had a picnic that day and had some leftover unopened pecorino, mozzarella, prosciutto, rucola, and tomatoes–definitely worth riding for! 
20 or 30 minutes later I was back at the guide house with my goodies in tow.

Monday, I slept in till almost 8, did some yoga, showered, packed and left my little room to search for some breakfast. Had a cappuccino and croissant and got back on the trail–this time it was much more demanding, and I spent the next couple of hours going up and down on slippery rocks. On my way out of town, I spotted this huge locking mechanism on a church door…

and then made my way through small alleys leading to trail

After about an hour, I arrived to Vernazza where people literally live one on top of one another!

On my way down the narrow steps into town I discovered the secret of delivery men in the Cinque Terre.

I spent about 30 min walking around Vernazza, bought some bread, some goat cheese, and a couple of tomatoes for a picnic, and continuted on the trail to Monterossa, the last town, and the biggest of the five.

On the hike out of town, I learned how the grapes are harvested in the steeply terraced hillsides.

This guy’s little train was stuck.

I overheard him and two others trying to find a solution to the dilemma…

About an hour later I got to Monterossa, walked around town, couldn’t find an available room, and got on a boat back to Vernazza shortly thereafter. There were just way to many tourists there… A ten minute ride, and I was back in the little town. I quickly found a room for rent and was finally able to unload my pack. The room was super cute, with a tiny staircase up to the bathroom…

and I had an interesting view of the alley out my window

nothing is straight in these little villages! After changing out of my sweaty hiking clothes, I took a walk through town. I thought this view of everything hanging outside windows was really cool…

Went back to the room, took a little nap, and went back out for dinner. Found a pizza place, and grabbed a grilled veggie pizza and a beer, which I enjoyed on a rock by the harbor. awesome.

After eating, I hiked straight uphill for at least 20 minutes following some signs for a cemetery–which I never found–and got to a lookout point from where I could see all of Vernazza at sunset. sweet!

On Sunday I finally had some time to chill, so I got up at 5:30, got a ride to Arezzo with Diane and Nate who were starting a trip, and took the train to Florence. I had the intention of spending an hour or two bumming around town with Diane before she met the guests, but it turned out that a train for La Spezia left 30 min later, and there wasn’t an other until a few hours later… Sometime around 11:00 I got to La Spezia, got a ticket to Riomaggiore, the nearest of the Cinque Terre towns, and a few minutes later was on another train headed to the seaside. As soon as we got there, I booked it to the trailhead, got a trailpass, and started walking. I wasn’t the only one there–it seems that everyone and their grandma likes it there too. A few minutes later I got this view of Riomaggiore from “Lovers’ Lane” the mellow walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola, the second town.

About a half hour later and 362 steps uphill I had arrived in Corniglia, the third town. I stopped in the small piazza, and after eating my gorgonzola, tomato, and rucola sandwich I’d brought, meandered down a small alley where I found an organic frozen yogurt shop. I picked up a small cup of yogurt with coffee and chocolate sauce and nuts, and ate it as I continued up the alleyway. After turning a few corners, I found myself on another quiet little street, and saw some signs for rooms for rent. One door was open, and I saw an older woman on the terrace out back. She had a small third floor room available for the night, and I was able to get it for €45, so I was happy. The tile work on the floor was beautiful

and there was even a view

By 3 o’clock I had laid down for a nap, and at 6:40pm I woke up figuring I should get up for a bite to eat (hey, I worked non stop for a few weeks–I was tired!) I found a tiny restaurant, La Cantina di Manana, I think it was called, and had a plate of ravioli filled with some green stuff and covered in a walnut cream sauce, followed by a salad with buffalo mozzarella, then a walnut pie for dessert. It was delicious, and I had good company sitting by me: an anthropologist from Boston and his girlfriend from Alaska who was involved in politics for indigenous cultures as well as culture and language retention programs back home.

It’s been a really dry summer in Tuscany.

The view from the guidehouse terrace near Lucigano (we are actually located on the road between Sinalunga and Lucignano, click here to see a map).

So I met with Nello, the chef/owner of one of the restaurants we bring guests to yesterday. We were discussing the menu on the terrace, when he excused himself and walked over to another patron, an older man. Something happened, the older man got up to leave, Nello followed him to the parking lot, and began yelling every Italian curse word known to man. He walked back to the terrace and kept cursing about French people being nationalists (the older man was French), then went back to the parking lot, where I thought he was going to punch the guy. The guy left, Nello came back and kept going on about how the French travel to other countries and refuse to speak anything but French while abroad. He apparently had asked the man to speak in English, the man refused and was adamant about speaking French, ordered a lemonade, but claimed the lemonade he was served wasn’t lemonade, ordered something else, and the same thing happened. The guy then said he was going to write to Michelin about his experience. Nello was yelling about this on the terrace, said he didn’t care if there were other French people who could hear him, didn’t give a damn about the Michelin guide, and then spewed many more insults toward the French. He then threw in that he loved Americans. I thought it might be ill-timed to tell him that I am half French.
He then reverted back to being a pussycat, apologized with a coy smile, and we went back to talking about the menu. In Nello’s defense, his wife gave birth to a child 48 hours before, and he did seem a little distracted when we first sat down.
I love Italians.

One of the many hilltop towns here. This is Castelmuzio from the road I was riding on today.

I stopped for a snack by the side of the road (Castelmuzio in the background)

My favorite fountain in a tiny village called Petroio.

I refilled my bottles here… The water is crisp and cold!