Nadia suggested that sometime during the trip we Bob and I might like to do some kind of wine tasting tour, while she and Lanie went shopping.  It may have been a ploy to get rid of us for the day, but it was a suggestion that we were on board with.  I found a winery tour of Chianti (the region of Tuscany that we’re in) by e-bike, and we were sold.

Bob’s post yesterday about the roads here neglected to mention the bike factor.  Amongst the crowds of pedestrians and incongruous cars (and golf carts, and scooters, etc.), there is a constant stream of bikes weaving in and out.  There seems to be no consideration given to lanes of any kind — the cars/bikes/people just flow in whatever direction there seems to be space.  We have had bikes zooming by us everywhere we walk — but today we got to experience the other side of the equation.

Our tour started right in the city center, so we had to wind our way through town.  We started out right behind our guide, Iacopo, which is just where I wanted to be.  Much less chance of getting lost or making some kind of traffic mistake.  After about 10 minutes of riding through the city, the landscape pretty quickly changed to quiet streets lined with greenery and stone walls — and hills.  It was extremely satisfying to start struggling on a hill and then just click the magic button that turned up the electricity and let you zoom forward almost effortlessly.

Iacopo was an excellent guide — knowledgeable and funny and friendly — but he was not one to dawdle.  A little way outside town we found we’d lost three members of our group somewhere along the way.  Our route had had several twists and turns, and apparently they hadn’t kept up.  Eventually Iacopo decided that we had to continue on without them.  He sent his friend Simone (who was along for the ride and had no affiliation with the tour company at all) back to try to round them up.  (“He has a map,” Iacopo declared confidently.)

The route was beautiful, winding through the hills with gorgeous views of Tuscany opening up on either side.  We wound through vineyards and olive groves and the occasional town.  Once in a while we’d stop to take in the views.  As we were about to leave one of these stops, Iacopo began to whoop and whistle.  Simone and the errant Italians had appeared in the distance.  (Although Iacopo had sent Simone off to find them and bring them back to us, he was clearly astonished that Simone had actually managed to do so.)

For the rest of the trip, my main goal was to try to avoid getting behind them.  Even after the getting lost incident, they didn’t seem to be in any rush to keep up with the group.  One of them in particular didn’t really seem

This was a sculpture in a town famous for popularizing Italian terra cotta.

to know how to ride a bike, and when nearby I was constantly hearing the grinding of gears.  I kept getting stuck behind them, watching the distance to the rest of the group grow, and then eventually having to pass.  I much preferred being up front with Iacopo and the punctual Germans, where I didn’t have to worry about being left behind in the hopes that Simone would find me.

We stopped at a family winery for lunch and wine tasting.  The food, as always, was delicious.  The winery also makes olive oil, but apparently this is so labor-intensive that it’s not very profitable.  We got to enjoy some with our lunch, though.  On the way back we stopped at a couple of viewpoints with amazing views back over Florence (and very steep downhill descents).  After we returned to the city we went to another bar for some more wine tasting and snacks.  (We declined seconds on the wine, being mindful of the upcoming periously journey back through the city.)  Even though I ended up at the very back of the line and there

Line at Zaza

were a few touch-and-go intersections, we made it back without getting lost or colliding with any pedestrians.  I made ample use of my bell.

After all the excitement it was time to meet back up with the girls.  Our friends the Sullivans are also in town visiting their study-abroad son, and invited us over for apertivi on their terrace.  We picked up the ingredients for limoncello spritzes on the way over, and they were pretty good even though we accidentally bought still water instead of sparkling water.

Nadia had made a dinner reservation for us at her favorite (and apparently, everyone’s favorite) restaurant, Trattoria Zaza.  We were able to swoop in past the long, long lines and enjoy a delicious dinner on their patio.  Afterwards we went to Nadia’s favorite gelato shop, which had a very long line even at 10:30pm.  We can only hope that the miles and miles of walking that we’re doing is burning off some of the many, many calories we’re eating and drinking.