Spring was finally making it's way into the chilly city of Florence. It was a sunny, warm Saturday before mid-term exam week. The girls and I decided to spend the day relaxing outdoors (for we knew the next week would be spent in the imprisonment of the school library, hunched over our textbooks, class notes and Italian dictionaries).
The Tuscan region is well known for it's beautiful hills and valleys, and tourists from all over the world enjoy bike riding on the hundreds of scenic paths. We rented bicycles at a nearby shop and began our journey in the heart of Florence. Little did we know that Italian traffic laws give no courtesy to bicycle riders - I had a few near-death encounters with Vespas and bus drivers as we headed toward the outskirts of the city.
It was smooth sailing through hills and valleys once we finally left Florence, with amazing scenery and very little traffic. The original plan was to ride our bikes all the way to Chianti, until a friendly shop owner told us, with a big smile on her face, that it was twenty kilometers one way. So we rode aimlessly, with the sole destination being pure enjoyment of this beautiful spring day. We rode for hours, and chose a small village as our turn-around point. On the way back we got to experience the setting of the sun over Tuscan hills - I can confidently say it's beauty could be compared to that of a sunset on a Caribbean beach.
Before returning our bicycles, we stopped at a hidden gelatteria and explored the taste varieties of gelato on the side of the Arno river opposite our apartment's. I am not sure whether it was a day full of outdoor exercise, the finally warm weather or simply being in company of good friends, but the pistachio/chocolate/stracciatella gelato tasted extra good this evening!
The Tuscan region is well known for it's beautiful hills and valleys, and tourists from all over the world enjoy bike riding on the hundreds of scenic paths. We rented bicycles at a nearby shop and began our journey in the heart of Florence. Little did we know that Italian traffic laws give no courtesy to bicycle riders - I had a few near-death encounters with Vespas and bus drivers as we headed toward the outskirts of the city.
It was smooth sailing through hills and valleys once we finally left Florence, with amazing scenery and very little traffic. The original plan was to ride our bikes all the way to Chianti, until a friendly shop owner told us, with a big smile on her face, that it was twenty kilometers one way. So we rode aimlessly, with the sole destination being pure enjoyment of this beautiful spring day. We rode for hours, and chose a small village as our turn-around point. On the way back we got to experience the setting of the sun over Tuscan hills - I can confidently say it's beauty could be compared to that of a sunset on a Caribbean beach.
Before returning our bicycles, we stopped at a hidden gelatteria and explored the taste varieties of gelato on the side of the Arno river opposite our apartment's. I am not sure whether it was a day full of outdoor exercise, the finally warm weather or simply being in company of good friends, but the pistachio/chocolate/stracciatella gelato tasted extra good this evening!
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