Monday we biked from our hotel to San Gimignano. Even though it is only about 1.5 miles away we took the long route...40-45miles (intentionally). Great town but it is a tourist trap. Try not to spend too much $ there.
Tuesday, we biked from San Gimignano to Siena. We stopped at many little towns along the way but the weather SUCKED! rained the entire way with just a variation from drizzle to downpours. On top of that, the bike ride was just over 50 miles (I think...I will have to look at the route map).
Wednesday, about 1/2 the group opted to not go on the loop ride around Siena today in order to see the GORGEOUS town. This is a place I would come back to...Awesome! We saw the Duomo, "The Tower of the Man who Liked to Eat" (huge!), & a few other sites plus did some shopping. Oh and gorgeous weather...sunny and high 70s.
Thursday, Today we bike to Piensa. I don't know the exact distance. we have our route orientation in about 5 mins. I heard it is hilly and long so here's hoping that it goes fast.
I'll update later. Have a great day!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
More to come...
I'll type out our adventures from San Gimignano tonight and post at some point tomorrow after we travel to Siene (biking there) tomorrow afternoon or evening.
We are alive and the rest of the biking trip looks like it will be fantastic! Blog ya later...
Hope all is well at home and we will see you soon. Have a great week without me. I will see you on the 27th or 28th...depending on how special you are to me.
Adios,
TWB
We are alive and the rest of the biking trip looks like it will be fantastic! Blog ya later...
Hope all is well at home and we will see you soon. Have a great week without me. I will see you on the 27th or 28th...depending on how special you are to me.
Adios,
TWB
May 17th - Florence
Saturday, May 17th
ADVENTURES IN FLORENCE
Italy wouldn’t stand in the way of my CrossFit workouts so I went out for some running & the "Cindy" workout around 7am. Check out the website if you need more info: http://www.crossfitcleveland.com/
8am Frank & I headed out to the Duomo (huge domed cathedral in the center of Florence). It is nothing short of incredible! We walked to the top of the dome & got a great panoramic view of the city and nearby mountains. That took a good hour (maybe 2) out of our day. We highly suggest going to these major tourist attractions (also the Academic Gallery a.k.a. "Galleria dell Accademia") first thing in the morning. Both open at 8:15am.
Next on the agenda, we headed to the Piazza Santa Croce where there is a beautiful church & behind the church is The School of Leather with a gallery of their works for sale to the public. Originally the school was first run by Franciscan Monks. This is very hard to find if you are not looking specifically for it. Some tour books may reference it; this is how I found it. Many celebrities, politicians and royalty have shopped there in the past.
Following Santa Croce, Frank and I walked over one of the many bridges in Florence crossing the Arno River. On the other side we walked in to the Santo Spirito neighborhood which has a ton of great yuppie areas to partake in…coffee shops, book stores, etc. That brought us to the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). This is the only bridge that was not destroyed by the Nazis in WWII by special order of Hitler due to his admiration for it.
Our walk then took us by the Gucci international headquarters (just so we could say we saw it) which is actually just a typical store, downstairs. Lunch followed at a restaurant in Mercato Centrale (Name is escaping me at the time of production). We also saw the Cappelle Medicee. After a short trip back to the hotel we headed back out around 6pm. We went back on the far side of the river, then discovered the Piazzale Michelangelo. This Michelangelo plaza has the most amazing and awe-inspiring vantage point of any major city that I have ever seen in my life! I am sure our pictures will not do justice to the beauty of the views from this location. Frank and I walked up the hill to the main viewing area then continued up the hill (extremely steep) to a hillside church (where a wedding was in process. Behind the church is a cemetery & wooded gardens dedicated to WW I & WW II Red Cross veterans as well as those who died in one of those wars.
Following the trip to Piazzale Michelangelo, we walked down to the Plazza San Spirito for dinner. Café Ricchi won from the available options. I had fettuccini with vegetables and a white wine sauce. Frank had the tuna steak, seasoned and covered in a sesame seed blend. Let me tell you that this was our best meal to date among our adventures since leaving Cleveland on Wednesday. Post dinner we walked down to check out Hemingway (yes like the writer/poet/etc). It is a great eclectic café in Piazza del Carmine. The have a ton of interesting beverage and reading options to choose. Following Hemingway, Frank chose to go home to sleep since he has been recovering from being sick (a cold) ever since we left. I chose to go out to Moyo...my brother, Todd, suggested it. It is an extremely popular nightclub in the Santo Croce neighborhood. Unfortunately I had to walk there (roughly 1.5 miles from the hotel) since the bus line we are on stops running after 10pm and it was already after 11pm.
At Moyo, I met a slew of different people: a girl from Sweden, a pair of girls from Norway (Eva & don’t recall her friends name) who were with 2 guys from Brazil (Anderson & Filipe who are now living in Florence) who were also with 2 girls (Amelia & Maria) from Latino decent but lived in Italy now who knew. Oh and I can’t forget a great bartender, Alberto. I then walked back to the hotel and got in just before 3am after stopping for pizza along the way.
May 16th - VENICE
Friday, May 16th
ADVENTURES AROUND VENICE
Woke up around 7am & ate breakfast at the hotel (mostly cereal, yogurt, coffee, juice & rolls). We then went to Piazza San Marco. Met 2 girls from Australia on our way walking there (they were in from Switzerland where they are nannies for the year). Frank found The Disney Store on the way and had to do some shopping. The girls stayed to shop at the Rialto Markets.
Upon reaching San Marco Plaza, we went up into the bell tower, Campanile. There we met a group of cousins in town from South Carolina (no Tim, they are not from Charleston but I did ask). We also met a girl from New Jersey and a girl from Washington D.C. (No I never got their actual names). Following that, we strolled around the plaza and found the most remarkable Salvador Dali art gallery. Continuing on we walked the waterfront of the Grand Canal and turned on a street to find Harry’s Bar. This is the first American to open an establishment in Venice. Very high end but the bartenders were awesome! They even give a 20% discount to Americans due to the mortgage crisis if you eat dinner there. Frank & I just stopped for a Bellini (champaign and strawberry puree mix). They are phenomenal!
Besides that we saw a ton of canals…I know I know big surprise…It’s Venice!
A late lunch happened at Riva Del Vin. I got some mixed fish dish that was okay but not exactly what I thought I ordered. That I’m sure will be a running theme of this trip. Frank…well he is not here while I am typing this so you will have to ask him later. We did meet a great couple from just south of London, England. We discussed weather, travel, currency exchange and a few other things that I am forgetting at this moment. Stimulating trust me, however we were on a beautiful stretch of the Grand Canal.
That was it for Venice, we headed back to the hotel around 3:30pm, grabbed our bags and headed to the Venice-Santa Lucia train station to travel to Mestre Train Station to get a train to get us to Florence. That sounds easier than what actually occurred…
First, we were obviously not thinking when we got on the train to Mestre because Frank & I sat in the middle of one of the train cars with our 3 suitcases plus our backpacks. As a result, when the train came to a stop at Mestre (1st stop, not 2nd as one of the so-called locals told us). By the time we got our bags down and proceeded to the exit the train had filled with people and the doors closed as the train began to leave for the next station. So we ended up having to get off the next stop and then turnaround and go back to Mestre. That caused us to miss our 5:20pm train to Florence. We then had to get tickets for the 6:38pm train where we were not guaranteed a seat due to the train being over booked.
On the train to Florence, since we did not have guaranteed seats, I got moved 4 times by people with the seat number where I was sitting. Frank never moved. The final move placed me next to 2 groups of people: 5 from Northern Virginia and 2 girls from Boston College (one originally from San Francisco, CA). They spoke English, so we chatted the remainder of the train ride.
Once in Florence, we went to the bus stop and boarded the #14 bus. After asking a number of people if they speak English to no avail, we found a local that spoke with the bus driver on our behalf, only to find out that we were on the bus line but going in the wrong direction. We got off at the next exit then went to the correct bus stop and proceeded on to our hotel, after I had to use hand gestures in order to have the new bus driver signal us when we got to the correct bus stop. The entire ordeal took at least 2 hours in a city just about 3 miles wide.
Tired & hungry from our travels, we checked into Hotel Grifone (in an alley) at 11:30pm then went to our room and then headed back down to reception in order to have the front desk clerk give us directions to a bar where we could get some food. That bar ended up being "Jes Pub". It’s a great little bar with good kitchen but no one spoke a lick of English. In those cases, you resort to pointing at the menu to place your food order. Post dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep (1am). Frank had previously left the window open due to how hot the room was when we arrived, so when we returned we went to sleep with the window remaining open. Not did we realize until the next morning that a thousand or so mosquitoes came into our room to feast on the two of us. I counted well over 20 bites between my face, both my arms and my hands. Let me tell you how much I love looking like I am 14 again with emerging zits in conspicuous places all over my face. NOT!
Woke up around 7am & ate breakfast at the hotel (mostly cereal, yogurt, coffee, juice & rolls). We then went to Piazza San Marco. Met 2 girls from Australia on our way walking there (they were in from Switzerland where they are nannies for the year). Frank found The Disney Store on the way and had to do some shopping. The girls stayed to shop at the Rialto Markets.
Upon reaching San Marco Plaza, we went up into the bell tower, Campanile. There we met a group of cousins in town from South Carolina (no Tim, they are not from Charleston but I did ask). We also met a girl from New Jersey and a girl from Washington D.C. (No I never got their actual names). Following that, we strolled around the plaza and found the most remarkable Salvador Dali art gallery. Continuing on we walked the waterfront of the Grand Canal and turned on a street to find Harry’s Bar. This is the first American to open an establishment in Venice. Very high end but the bartenders were awesome! They even give a 20% discount to Americans due to the mortgage crisis if you eat dinner there. Frank & I just stopped for a Bellini (champaign and strawberry puree mix). They are phenomenal!
Besides that we saw a ton of canals…I know I know big surprise…It’s Venice!
A late lunch happened at Riva Del Vin. I got some mixed fish dish that was okay but not exactly what I thought I ordered. That I’m sure will be a running theme of this trip. Frank…well he is not here while I am typing this so you will have to ask him later. We did meet a great couple from just south of London, England. We discussed weather, travel, currency exchange and a few other things that I am forgetting at this moment. Stimulating trust me, however we were on a beautiful stretch of the Grand Canal.
That was it for Venice, we headed back to the hotel around 3:30pm, grabbed our bags and headed to the Venice-Santa Lucia train station to travel to Mestre Train Station to get a train to get us to Florence. That sounds easier than what actually occurred…
First, we were obviously not thinking when we got on the train to Mestre because Frank & I sat in the middle of one of the train cars with our 3 suitcases plus our backpacks. As a result, when the train came to a stop at Mestre (1st stop, not 2nd as one of the so-called locals told us). By the time we got our bags down and proceeded to the exit the train had filled with people and the doors closed as the train began to leave for the next station. So we ended up having to get off the next stop and then turnaround and go back to Mestre. That caused us to miss our 5:20pm train to Florence. We then had to get tickets for the 6:38pm train where we were not guaranteed a seat due to the train being over booked.
On the train to Florence, since we did not have guaranteed seats, I got moved 4 times by people with the seat number where I was sitting. Frank never moved. The final move placed me next to 2 groups of people: 5 from Northern Virginia and 2 girls from Boston College (one originally from San Francisco, CA). They spoke English, so we chatted the remainder of the train ride.
Once in Florence, we went to the bus stop and boarded the #14 bus. After asking a number of people if they speak English to no avail, we found a local that spoke with the bus driver on our behalf, only to find out that we were on the bus line but going in the wrong direction. We got off at the next exit then went to the correct bus stop and proceeded on to our hotel, after I had to use hand gestures in order to have the new bus driver signal us when we got to the correct bus stop. The entire ordeal took at least 2 hours in a city just about 3 miles wide.
Tired & hungry from our travels, we checked into Hotel Grifone (in an alley) at 11:30pm then went to our room and then headed back down to reception in order to have the front desk clerk give us directions to a bar where we could get some food. That bar ended up being "Jes Pub". It’s a great little bar with good kitchen but no one spoke a lick of English. In those cases, you resort to pointing at the menu to place your food order. Post dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep (1am). Frank had previously left the window open due to how hot the room was when we arrived, so when we returned we went to sleep with the window remaining open. Not did we realize until the next morning that a thousand or so mosquitoes came into our room to feast on the two of us. I counted well over 20 bites between my face, both my arms and my hands. Let me tell you how much I love looking like I am 14 again with emerging zits in conspicuous places all over my face. NOT!
May 14, 2008 - FLIGHT
Wednesday, May 14th and Thursday, May 15th
FLIGHT TO ITALY FROM CLEVELAND
Original flight to Philadelphia got cancelled so we flew out 7 hours early, and then had 4 hour layover before flying to Frankfurt, Germany (8 hr flight – 6 hrs ahead of Cleveland, OH). When in Frankfurt, Frank & I took a 45 minute bus to our connecting flight out of Frankfurt Hahn Airport. There we had a 10 hr layover. When checking into our flight, we realize we were over weight and only allowed 1 carry-on bag (15kilos max = 32lbs). My bag was 17K & Frank’s was 19K plus he had to pay for the 2nd bag. That came out to be $108 Euro that we had to pay to get our luggage to Venice ($150 U.S dollars). In other words, DO NOT FLY RyanAir in Europe!
When we got to Venice-Trevisto airport, the drug-sniffing dog tagged my suitcase and security tore everything out of it. Then told me I could put it back after they realized that my body wash was what threw off the dog. I think that dog is as smart as my dog Champ. By the time security let me go, we were the last 2 to get onto the bus into downtown Venice. We got to stand up the entire time since they over sold the bus. It is a 45 minute bus ride.
In Venice we took our suitcases up and over all the canals. Each canal bridge had upwards of 100 stairs. We get to Hotel Cendon & are told the internet is down (7pm). After freshening up, we got our first Italian meal at a restaurant called Griego (sp?). Frank got Sea Bass & I got gnocchi (small round potato dumplings) with a salmon-based sauce & roasted chicken (Both were delicious, Halle). Met a couple from Winnepeg, who envied our Then walked to Campo Santa Margherita (a plaza) & had a drink at Café Orange. There we met a group of students from Montreal. Then turned in for the night (12am).
FLIGHT TO ITALY FROM CLEVELAND
Original flight to Philadelphia got cancelled so we flew out 7 hours early, and then had 4 hour layover before flying to Frankfurt, Germany (8 hr flight – 6 hrs ahead of Cleveland, OH). When in Frankfurt, Frank & I took a 45 minute bus to our connecting flight out of Frankfurt Hahn Airport. There we had a 10 hr layover. When checking into our flight, we realize we were over weight and only allowed 1 carry-on bag (15kilos max = 32lbs). My bag was 17K & Frank’s was 19K plus he had to pay for the 2nd bag. That came out to be $108 Euro that we had to pay to get our luggage to Venice ($150 U.S dollars). In other words, DO NOT FLY RyanAir in Europe!
When we got to Venice-Trevisto airport, the drug-sniffing dog tagged my suitcase and security tore everything out of it. Then told me I could put it back after they realized that my body wash was what threw off the dog. I think that dog is as smart as my dog Champ. By the time security let me go, we were the last 2 to get onto the bus into downtown Venice. We got to stand up the entire time since they over sold the bus. It is a 45 minute bus ride.
In Venice we took our suitcases up and over all the canals. Each canal bridge had upwards of 100 stairs. We get to Hotel Cendon & are told the internet is down (7pm). After freshening up, we got our first Italian meal at a restaurant called Griego (sp?). Frank got Sea Bass & I got gnocchi (small round potato dumplings) with a salmon-based sauce & roasted chicken (Both were delicious, Halle). Met a couple from Winnepeg, who envied our Then walked to Campo Santa Margherita (a plaza) & had a drink at Café Orange. There we met a group of students from Montreal. Then turned in for the night (12am).
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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