Cycling in Italy II

From Siena we cycled west to Volerra, another hilltop walled town. We went via San G.. (something rather), which was a VERY touristy small, cute town. It rained lightly on and off, so we didn't stop until we got to San G...., 36km later (breaking our rule of stopping every 20km), so when we stopped we were HUNGRY. We went straight to the Coop supermarketo and Byrdie went in for a shop while I waited outside under cover. when she came out, we decided to have our picnic then and there... very scenic spot; graffiti wall, tourists waiting for buses, supermarket shoppers.... we even put on the gas cooker for a hot drink.

After that we had a look through town... stopped to warm up in a cafe with a latte. We saw quite a few tourists with gelato and thought - what suckers on a cold day like this. and then we saw it. A gelateria with award winning signs. the best gelato in the world. we thought we'd just have a peep and before we know it we're buying one to share; three flavours: orange chocolate, cinnamon, and mango and it was the best gelato so far...

After what was very much a food rather than tourist stop we continued to Volterra, which was up a steep climb... just what you feel like at the end of a cycling day (not)... we stayed at a nice campground and the sun came out soon enough to enjoy dinner and wine....

Volterra was one of the nicer hilltop walled towns. The usual cobblestoned streets, shuttered windows, beautiful churches on squares and nice views.... without being really touristy. just normal shops, and of course yummy patisseries.

Yesterday we cycled to Florence... had amazing scenery for first half. and lots of incredible downhill. my computer recorded a massive 68km/hr!

We are staying in a campsite right IN Florence, literally looking over the city... beautiful.... noisy though. Today we have been a little lazy... as it is another public holiday, everything is closed. It is so busy, so queues are huge for any attractions.

Tomorrow we will probably take the train to Rome, via Pisa.