Hills Above Florence

Today, I rented a nice hybrid bike at Florence-by-Bike and took off for the road network north of the city. My first destination was a Roman and Etruscan settlement at Fiesole. Florence is on the Arno River at about 200 feet elevation. Fiesole is on a hill overlooking the city (see picture) at about 1200 feet. So, any way you take you will be doing some climbing.

The rental bike had gears that were low enough (and I had been bicycling enough) that I did not have to walk. But the ride up was certainly a slow slog and I did not ‘maintain a spinning cadence’ for much of the ride. I missed my clip-in pedals as they allow me to use more muscle groups.

At Fiesole, I paid the admission charge to view the museum of the ruins. I had done this ride in February and read later about this attraction. I vowed to return this time and tour the site. There is a small museum building with Roman and Etruscan artifacts, a well-preserved amphitheater, the excavated remains of a Roman bath, and a combined Etruscan and Roman temple.

The amphitheater was the main attraction, as you could still sit on the seats (hard rock though they may be!) and imagine an ancient Roman watching a Greek play or some other revelry. They had some statues and some unexplained boardwalk structure on the stage, which gave the scene a unique modern look.

After a leisurely lunch of chips, iced tea, and the ubiquitous ham-and-cheese sandwich, I continued North toward the Mugello district. The road to Olmo was a gentle climb to about the 1800 foot level. After Olma, on the way to a Bivigliano, I caught even more views of an even more distant Florence. The rolling orchards and fields were lovely in the sunlight, and the ridge lines faded off in the distant late spring haze with the last just a shade darker than the sky at the horizon. The entrance road to the Monte Senario monastery was the high point at 2300 feet.

The temperature was in the high 70s, and I never really felt hot. There was a gentle breeze so light that I don’t even remember the direction it was coming from. (And that, for a cyclist is light!) I passed lots of Italian cyclists, who greeted with a pleasant ‘Buon Giorno!’. (I had to admire the fun-loving Florentine cyclists who captured this beautiful sunny Tuesday afternoon. I hope they left a pile of paperwork undone!) I also passed the Ristarante Panacea. With its spectacular view of the Tuscan countryside I’m convinced it just might cure anything that ails you.

At the end of the day, I took a shorter, alternate ride down to Florence. I couldn’t really open up on the downhill because the road twisted around and narrowed enough to make oncoming traffic a threat. Much of the ride was along a river, the Torrente Mugnone, that feeds into the Arno West of Florence.

I rewarded myself this evening with a bistecca Fiorentina (or a T-bone steak as we call it). Served with a couple of glasses of Chianti Classico, and some roasted potatoes the meal filled that empty spot caused by 3200’ of climbing. I suspect I passed the my dinner (or its relatives) on the mountains this afternoon. I chose a restaurant that was on a Piazza where I could people-watch from my table. For dessert, I rode my bike down to my secret favorite gelato shop (in a city filled with gelato shops) for some coffee and dark chocolate gelato. Thus, I had a great bicycling day to start my non-bicycling vacation!

Pre-Tour Trip to Florence

My flight to Rome went without too much trouble. A passenger did not make the flight, but his luggage did. So, they had to pull it off and it took some time to find it. As a result, we left a half hour late and arrived about 15 minutes late. I got about four and a half hours sleep, so I was tired but operational when I got to Florence.

I made the 9:27 ‘express’ to Rome and the 11:15 flight to Florence. I arrived here around 12:50.

I felt like I spent my first day in Florence productively. After checking into the hotel, I investigated bike rentals, and then walked down to the Duomo. I got immediately on line (around 2:15) and bounded up to the Cupola by 3:00. I took so many pictures at the top that I drained the camera batteries dry. If I had enough battery power, I would have climbed the bell tower as well. As it was, I walked all around the city. It’s safe to say I’m more fit than the last time we visited Florence!

I had dinner at a sidewalk restaurant at the un-Italian hour of 4:30. I had the restaurant to myself, which was good because the Italians believe every city square is an ashtray. At a ristaurante called “Za Za’s”, I had a delicious salmon on crusty bread appetizer and a shrimp curry risotto. I even skipped the gelato later in the day.

At the end of the day (7PM), I rented a bike for three days. The bike shop was very helpful in giving me maps to the countryside to the North and South of town. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, I plan to ride up to Fiesole again, and then North to Olba. It should be about 26 to 30 miles when I’m done.