We awoke to a spectacular morning, though only a degree lower on the thermometer from yesterday, the 71 degrees was refreshingly crisp and the sun served only to accentuate the billowing white clouds.

We rolled up and down the hillsides filled with grapevines and Christmas treeswith more riders on the roads and mountains in the distance.It is tough to describe in words or pictures, but there was a fabulous sense of romance and renaissance in the villages and countryside we rode, as if we’d gone back in time.

At 9:00, someone flipped the wind on full blast in our face. Several times we almost came to a stand still and struggled to move forward in the force of the wind.  The scenery was still spectacular, just a little tougher to enjoy or take pictures without stopping.  And of course, there was a grueling climb or twoto keep us grounded,

but the scenery won.Not sure if the wind caused the incredible sky, or the clouds the wind, either way it was mesmerizing. We kept waiting for either the wind or us to change directions.  With a little direction help for some cyclists, a long two and a half hours later a bend in the road provided us just enough change to almost to enjoy a push.  As a sidenote, these cyclist offered to lead us to the correct road, which we declined.

Today offered us some of the most awesome 50 miles of countryside we have seeneven the ditches had a certain appeal., And then we came to the river that borders the city of Firenze/Florence, Amazing!We were a bit tired to tour after our ride, but knew we would make up for it on our day off tomorrow.  We watched the mobs of people from our windowbefore we headed out for dinner.

Maurizia from Lavagna had told us Tuscany was know for it’s fish and beef (and wine, of course); so we set out to find the perfect steak.  Our hotel recommended a place around the corner (from experience, not a good idea) where we enjoyed one of the best if not the best steak we’ve ever had.  Our stroll back from dinner included beautiful music and carousels,

Truly Magical!

It was cold, overcast and windy, a perfect day to ride, but we were eager to see the city.  Firenze (Florence in English) is capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and is Amazing!We understand why ten million people a year would want to visit this city, we just didn’t expect them to all be here on the same day.This is the birthplace of the Renaissance and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages; incredible history everywhere, we just seem to focus mostly on Santa Marie del Fiore

look at this door(and this is a door to an out building).The Florence Cathedral is one of the most incredible we have ever seen.  Covered in marbles and immense; it is the fourth largest church in Europe, 502 feet long and 381 feet high.  The city has statues everywhere, on buildings, in squares and some covered in gold.

There is also the Palazzo della Signoria, better known as the Palazzo Vecchio (English: The Old Palace) and a store filled with everything Pinocchio.Not sure who other than Pinocchio could fit in this car.

Besides all the history, this town is a mecca for sightseeing, all kinds of shopping, especially known for their leather goods, fashion (Gucci is from here) and eating, we cannot begin to describe it!  But would recommend coming here while still gainfully employed and not retired; just so many things to buy!!! We’d also recommend staying at least a week; we barely scratched the surface of this city and never made it to the other side of the river, which also looks interesting.  SO glad we decided on this side trip, well worth it!

All this walking creates quite the appetite.Not loosing weight this trip with all this pasta, but we are SO enjoying it.

Ten degrees warmer this morning and the sun had pushed most of the clouds away. Fortunately, the wind we had battled coming into the city was still blowing, so we had a fabulous push as we headed back towards the coast. With a different road back, we were able to keep the mountains at a distance.We still had hills, just not miles worth.One would think that as many weeks as we’ve been climbing hills, we’d fly up; but we fill the burn with every incline,large or small.   We breezed through small villagescountry roadsand along a beautiful river; conjuring memories of last year’s tripcomplete with a castle on a hilltop.With the wind as strong as it is, the smell of breakfast (butter, sugar, chocolate) from the bakeries lingered for miles as we rode through towns and then changed to grilled meats and garlic in the afternoon.  Needless to say, it was a beautiful and delightful ride.Our first decorated round-about in Italy.Once again, we had a wonderful river entrance to our destination city, Pisa.Anxious to see the tower, we walked into town and through the gates of the wall that surrounds the old city of Pisa.  And then we saw “it”,The Leaning Tower of Pisa is an incredible structure to see in person;mind-boggling that is has not fallen,

maybe it just needs a push (it’s the “Pisa Pose”).

History lesson:  In 1173 the foundation of the Tower was laid.  The foundation was flawed from beginning and the tower began it’s lean by the time they reached the second floor. Construction was halted for a war here and there, but finally completed a century later.  What is missed in all the pictures of Pisa is the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square)

or the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles)

Also missed is the Piazza dei Cavalieriand pretty city streets.Found a restaurant (Bar & Food 62) among the hundreds lining the road and enjoyed the most incredible Calzone, and yes, their dough was better than Regino’s.  There was much more to see of the city, but below is all we can offer.

A warm and humid 75 degrees this morning as we followed the Arno River out of town and to the Mediterranean; not the most direct route, but less traffic and occasional shade from the large birch trees.The newly cut fields glowed in the morning sun and the green trees a fabulous contrast against the crystal blue sky. We enjoyed a flat beach road, but were surprised at the very rocky beach and that people were sunbathing on it.About 10:30 we reached a point where the interstate, commercial port and tracks came together. Somehow trucks, trains, scooters and our heavily laden bikes all got along and managed to all go safely on our individual paths. Once through the industrial area, we rode through the pretty part Livorno.It was obvious, there had been a lot of refurbishing of the city, some projects not quite finished, but the road was good for biking.  Still amazed at the favorite swimming and sunbathing spots they “enjoy” here; Virginia Beach is looking better every day!  There were some beautiful homes,a Roman arch and one very nice looking Italian along this beach road.  The out of nowhere, hills appeared on the horizon and within minutes we were climbing.  From our height, we were reminded of the beautiful bluecrystal clear watersthe Med offered, as well and the coast we had yet to ride.Our up and down/in and out climbing through the coves of the Med only lasted an hour before we were back on flat land to coast to our destination.  Cecina is a small beach town with a quaint boardwalk and quite, small town feel; that and a beautiful sunset….Perfect!

A bright, clear, 75 degree morning as we pedaled away from the Port of Cecina under the cover of huge pines.We kept the mountains on our leftand sea to our right.  With the exception of overpasses and roundabouts, we had a flat, straight road the entire day with a slight tail wind.That was until our street was blocked by a town flea market, so we just biked through the middle of it.  For weeks, we’ve seen fruit and vegetable stands along the road; makes you wish you had a car to take it all with you.  We passed vineyards, olive orchardsand old villages.It was a beautiful ride through sunflower fields and flower lined roads.One right turn towards the sea and we rode the flower lined boardwalk of town.As we were unloading our bikes, this nice young couple struck up a conversation with us, in Italian! They didn’t understand us and we did not understand them, but we happily chatted for about 15 minutes, nonetheless.

Before dinner, we strolled the beach and were once again surprised at the number of people still there (and not at happy hour) at 7:30. Found one of the very few restaurants on the boardwalk and while we enjoyed Antipasti di mare and Antipasti di carne

we had front row seats to the sea and girls in boots…..everywhere in Europe.We have these mountains to climb tomorrow, so time to turn in.

Had a delightful ride down the boardwalk where people were already gathering for a day on the beach. Once out of town, we enjoyed four miles of flat, shaded bliss in a cool 72 degree morning.  Then it was up and inland to climb the hill we had saved for the morning while we were fresh (ha, ha).  Once at the top, we continued to roll up and down the hills, through farmland and a pretty port town.Back into the trees, we enjoyed a ride much like going down Shore Drive (without the fast, inconsiderate drivers), complete with a military base, rather uncanny.

Two hours later we pedaled out of the woods into wide open fields and started to feel the wind in our face; not terriblelly strong, but tough enough to require extra effort to maintain the pace.  Shortly thereafter, the road we had planned to take to avoid a city, never materialized, only dirt farm roads to service the fields.

It was the first time the combination of our road map and computer had let us down, proving that all roads do NOT lead to Rome.  The one advantage of heading into the city is it gave us the opportunity to restock the dwindling water supply, as it had already hit 100 degrees on the bike.  Ran into Tom and Barbara (Augsberg, Germany) at that point, who had intended to follow the same road we had.  We discussed the route from here, as the map was only showing autostrada (interstate), wished each other luck and headed out.  As we approached the autostrada intersection, we were even more confused.  We tried every road that did not put us on the autostrada, but they all turned to dirt.  By this time, Tom and Barbara caught up with us and we jointly decided we had to get on; we were banking on safety in numbers.  Of course, the wind had picked up, making it definitely something to contend with, not something we needed on the highway.  We took the first exit we could which led us on a nice country road

and though we were still fighting the wind, we started to enjoy the ride again. We left Tom and Barbara under the shade of a tree as they took an afternoon break and we moved on.  The dry desert-like heat and wind were taking their toll and we bought water at any place we could find, which was very few and far between.  Had another short ride on the Autostrada until we could find a road (any road) to avoid the highway.  That of course, required more miles and a climb, but it wasn’t the highway.  One last stop for water, beer and rest in the shade before the end of our 5 hour, 59 mile ride…..we were ready!

It’s our last night in Tuscany, so we celebrated with traditional Tuscan fair: grilled vegetables, incredible steak (they really do beef right) and a delicious bottle of Toscana wine.

A deep breath and off we go!

We had aggressive riding conditions today.  Not that we had hard climbs (mostly flat), but the first half of our ride was on the ‘soon to be’ autostrada; fast speeds and no shoulder.Luckily, being Saturday and in the morning, the traffic was not heavy in our direction.

So in between the cars flying by, we enjoyed the rolling countryside

and fields filled with grapes.

It was a hot day though, 100 degrees by ten o’clock.  About 10:30, we stopped for a break from the sun and heat to enjoy chocolate stuffed croissants, cappuccino and ice cold water.  During our short sugar break, we had gained cloud cover

which cooled the morning to a crisp 90 degrees, but the wind had gained momentum, today was just not going to be easy.

After 26 miles, we finally reached the road that would take us off the highway.  It was a small country road in desperate need of paving, but it offered relief from the traffic and occasional spots of shade. But there was no relief from the wind that had turned quite fierce.  We fought to keep our bikes upright and moving forward.  Little did we know (or think) that this road would offer no refreshment stops.  We saw a lot of farms filled with watermelons,fruit trees, lots of Roma tomatoesand a few nice estates, but no water, so for an hour and a half we pushed against the wind and struggled in the heat (cloud cover only lasted a very short time).   Just before 1:00 we found our oasis of food and drink and relaxed from the stress of our forty miles.

But we weren’t there yet!  We biked through the town of Civitavecchia (our hotel was just outside of town) which became popular in the later 1800’s as a beach destination for weekend tourists from Rome.  This is what remains of one of their paths to the sea.Today they offer a boardwalk and the “Unconditional Surrender” Monument that we’ve also seen in San Diego and somewhere in Florida (cannot find any facts on why it is here).

As we checked into our hotel after 47 miles the wind had died completely.   But that was okay, we were ready for a shower and a little air conditioning.  Too tired to go anywhere else, we dined on the terrace of our hotel.  A plentiful cesar salad (preparing ourselves for Rome)

and Frutti de Mare pastashould fuel us enough to get us into Rome tomorrow.