Day Six - Round trip and Farewell

Last day of the tour and we all wanted to cram in as much riding as possible, we did as little stopping as possible to as to be able to revisit certain spots. Unfortunately everything comes to an end, and though it saddens me, we had to say goodbye. We laughed together and enjoyed some beautifully chiselled roads, passes and views.

Radda Medieval tunnels under the city on our stop for a Frappé!

Charles and a very expensive polo shirt! As you can see, the size might be slightly small, but hey! We enjoy a LIVE show!

Bill, Pablo, Mark and Charles

Thank you guys for such an enjoyable week. This was my favourite group photo.

Day Five - Florence to Arezzo

Early bird gets the worm, all looking forward to the riding. We left slightly earlier than usual as we were all ready to go and looking forward to the road and town to visit, also, so far the weather forecasts we had been using had been spot on right and we wanted to make it before the thunder storm!!

Mark overlooking the city of Firenze from a couple of miles down (or up even) from the hotel.

We came across a celebration of the battle of Campaldino "ubi nos arretium est"

Bill walking away for the viewing spot, where we found Charles

And what a view.

Day Four - Florence to Siena

A beautiful and easy ride to Siena awaited and the guys were ready and eager to ride and enjoy the beautiful sunny day. A light breeze welcomed us as we did our morning breafing outside. We all remembered the heavy rain from the previous day and so we sorted ourselves out so as to have the rain gear close by, just in case.

Not a cloud in the sky and a clean tarmac from the storm the day before, could we ask for anything more? Well, yes, gelato, but we got it on our first stop before we got to Siena.

Carlo Romeo! Organising his top case before the briefing.

Mark comming out of a turn. These things might be small, but, they hold better than you can imagine!

You want gelato? We needed to replenish our energy. Bill enjoying his gelato di cioccolata

No matter how far you are from home, you will find someone that knows you. Mark found neighbours from Calistoga...in Siena! Only half way across the world!

Tuck in! Calamarata.

Siena's Duomo. The expressions from people and their faces of awe are as priceless as they get. It's certainly a must see.

On our way back, we came across this beauty of an empty road

A nice risotto to finish the day.

Day Three - Florence to Mugello

Although it was the second riding day, the guys had the choice of a very special trip or have a rest day. As Bill said very wisely... "I didn't come half way across the world for a rest"... we rode!

Certainly the hardest day of the lot as the distance was long and we rode part of the old circuit. Unfortunately, not many pictures as we were eager to ride. Certainly will do that again though, so, worth coming over and seeing it!

Group picture in front of the new circuit

Via del latte

with it's cows

We had all types of weather, and these guys wanted to ride whatever came our way!

As we were heading back to Florence, we had a storm pass over us, so bad, we had to stop as it was hard to see.

Day Two - Florence to San Gimignano

The first day of riding would be all the way to San Gimignano through the Chianti region, great wines that go amazingly with the outstanding local cuisine.

The scorching sun followed us right through the day, and we took care to wear the right protection.

The road that lies ahead, a landscape that's a piece of art.

Triangular plazza of Greve in Chianti

The "Manhattan of the middle ages" San Gimignano. Mark and Bill looking up at the beautiful towers

The main square

What an outstanding view of the whole city from Piazzale Michelangelo.

Day One - City Tour and Arrival

Welcome to the birthpace of Renaissance, no matter what corner you look at, this town is beautiful in every sense and Charles and I, we were ready to discover it all and share knowledge. We walked under the Tuscan sun absorbing the beauty of this very unique city that certainly left us in awe.

Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore or Duomo di Firenze 

Charles with the beautiful view of Ponte Vecchio and the Vasari corridor.

"La Santa Croce" with the pitch being built for the "Calcio Storico"!

On our way back, we enjoyed a nice cold gelato made "Frappé di Cioccolata" .... or 2, each!

Back at the Hotel

Bikes waiting to ride the roads of Tuscany

Motorcycle handover