Thursday, 26 September 2013
We were staying at San Donato which is well-positioned off
the Siena-Florence road. It is a very
small village whose centre is closed to traffic. We stayed in a B&B, Le Terrazze del
Chianti, run by a couple from Naples who have completed the premises in a very
sympathetic way. There were just 5
bedrooms with a lovely terrace and beautiful views of the surrounding Chianti
hills.
 |
| View from our room |
We had forgotten how hilly Tuscany is, so the ride was a
good workout. Some of the descents into
Greve in Chianti were very steep and we were thankful we were not riding in the
opposite direction. The climb up to
Panzano was steady and very pleasant. We
stopped for a simple lunch at the main square before riding down to the river
and up to Piazza back to San Donato.
San Donato-Sambuca-Badia di Passignano-Greve in Chianti-Panzano in Chianti-Piazza-San Donato
The next day, we took a shorter ride just to Castellina in
Chianti, the next village. It is a long
drag up but a great ride back. Then we
went into Florence to watch the Men’s Under-23 Road Race.
Florence is now swamped with tourists eating slices of pizza
and drinking Coke along the streets. The
city cannot take this punishment much longer.
We were recommended a very traditional trattoria in the city
centre. It is frequented by the local
shopkeepers and workers, always a good sign.
The food was excellent and atmosphere chatty and happy. It is not for those who want to linger over a
glass of wine as the management prides itself on feeding their customers
quickly and cheaply. Shhhh…… it is our
secret trattoria!
On Saturday, we were back on our bikes, cycling
another circular route from San Donato to Radda in Chianti, Castellina in
Chianti and back to San Donato. The
route offered a mix of everything, flat roads, gradual climbs, lumpy bits,
scenic countryside and 2 towns where we stopped for coffee. It was a nice ride.
