Leaving Venice- this post re appeared

Yup  i wrotr a post it got delteted so this is my rewrite which seemed to have been deleted. Then, just now, it reappeared. It was unfinished but here it is. 

 As I rode on the bus to the airport from Venice I wrote a little entry. It disappeared so I write the same thing with memory of how I was feeling. 

I'm trying to be good at knowing how I feel about something and talk about it at that point. I had some difficulty with this communication this past year and I'm working on getting much better at it. 

There is a long strip of land leaving Venice. Surrounded by water on both sides.  It is used for transit in and out of the city by land. 

Just train track and road side by side. Water all around. 

I feel like life in Venice isn't totally real. Leaving on this strip makes me feel like I am headed to real life. 

Venice 1/1 and 1/2

Venice: ridiculously touristy and amazing at the same time. Quiet and beautiful, picturesque and charming. 

Ashlyn and found a hotel on booking.com. We had no idea what we were in for and we found quite a treat. 

It turns out it was a quirky little place in a great location. Around the corner from the Guggenheim gallery and near cute artsy little shops, our place was on a quiet little street. It was close to la academia, making it easy to find with signs throughout town, but far enough from the busy parts of town that it wasn't a mob scene. 

Beyond all the cool things in Venice: st marks square and basilica, the amazing Guggenheim collection, and wonderful gelato, just getting lost in the streets is quite entertaining. 

Here are some photos that I snapped along the way with this smaatphone. 

From the Guggenheim gallery. 

Ashlyn getting entangled with a Chillida sculpture. It's tough for her to stay away from those basque men. 

A fruit stand on a boat. 

Low light blurry pic but worth keeping. 

More chillida

, views from the Guggenheim gallery, and more shoes.

 Sadly, this store was closed, otherwise I might have been so very tempted to get these. 

1/1 happy new year! 2014

Up early, Ashlyn and I went running to get ourselves into town. All hotels were pricey so we stayed at one outside of town. We made up for the low cost in cab rides to get there :(

It made for a great reason to go for a new years day run. 

Arriving the center of town, we were awestruck by the main cathedral. It was beautiful with the new years day service and the beautiful organ music in the cathedral in Padua. 

A big breakfast and from there we were off to the train station to head to Venice. Whirlwind travel to scratch just the surface. 

No Internet in Venice so here are just some photos. 

12-31 return bikes and off to Padua with a layover in Florence

I went to

Bed too late to wake up so early. But, alas, the alarm went off and it's time to move. 

We have a limited time to explore Florence. 

Up and ready for breakfast, my still damp clothes into the pannier as we bike into Siena to return our bicicletas. 

Another exciting ride except less thrilling during the day. Carlo escorted us to the bike shop and then to the bus. What a treat to not have to navigate having to find our way around. Shortly after, we were waving good bye to Carlo and in our way to Florence. 

Once off the bus we both were so thankful for the quiet days in the small towns. Time to weave our way through streets full of people. 

It was so cool to be here. The buildings in Florence are different than I had imagined. Beautiful and stunning. Overwhelmed by the people ash and I were more worried about eating and peeing before seeing the sights. Each cafe restaurant and gelateria was just as crowded as the one before. Success! We found a place and stuck with it!

From there we explored: the duomo, palacio Medici, the vechio bridge. We saw a cool art installation based around the bicycle. 

Vacation days seem to last for weeks 65 km volterra to San Rocco a pilli

Today we were treated to a great breakfast in our hotel in volterra. 

With full bellies we set out on our way to head back to Siena. Well, that was the plan. Our first 25 km were hilly. Lots of down hill but some ups all the same. It was fun, though cold and tiring. 

When we finally got to Valle de col de else we stopped for a coffe/hot chocolate to warm up. 

Thus ensued the funniest conversation of italian-English-Spanish-pantomime-pigeon language to figure out which road we needed to find. 

Turns out, we were 100 meters from the roundabout with all the info we needed just before we stopped. 

It's was a great stop anyway to warm our fingers and toes. 

On towards Siena on the 541 orange color highway: the lo g way around. 

A whole different story here. 

Flat terrain and smooth riding: lots of other cyclists along the way. 

We traveled another 40 km in a short period of time and ended up close to our friend Carlo who connected with via warmshowers. 

We had planned to stay with him a few nights before but couldn't get out to his small town. This time, with bikes, we would at least stop by on our way. 

After we met Carlo, our whole plan changed. What an Interesting and kind man. 

We arrived, did laundry, discussed so many interesting topics from politics to history to food preferences. 

 We went on a thrilling evening ride from his house to sienna to some of the best shops around town. 

It was great to speed around on a bike without having to find our way. Carlo led to way as we followed using his powerful bike lights to illuminate our way. 

Up around and down and up and up into the walled old town of Siena. Off to the natural food store, a stop for gelato, and zooming back out of town. Little stops to meet his friends along the way. 

Ashlyn and I laugh as we meet his friend, Alessandro,at a local specialty store. "he smelled good" I say in my no hesitations mode- ash adds on "better than us" as we unzip our jackets, we torture ourselves with the stink. 

Hhaha, always having a good time on these adventures. 

Thanks to Carlo, we get to shower and wash clothes and feel clean again!!!

More to add on this incredible day but getting so tired !!!

Re posting for 12-28

Wow. Today was a big day. We took off walking 3 km to the bike shop outside f the walled town of siena. By the time we were outfitted with our bikes, it was 12:30.  The bike shop was awesome and has bikes ready to go including water bottles, bike locks, panniers, and even a bike computer.

After a quick lunch, we climbed uphill out of town. It was slow and painful, but we made it. 

So as to not get lost, we stopped often to check the map. 

A nice Italian man stopped to see if we needed help with directions. 

"grazie!" we say with a smile. Then we say "englese? Espagnol?"

No he says "italianisimo"

Uh oh. Here we go... So we figured out on our own and with his help that we were going the right way. 

Then, as I asked him to take a picture of us as we were finally starting our cycling trip. I knew it would be a stretch to have him use the phone to take a photo. 

And... I asked him anyway. 

He was so cute trying to figure out how to take a photo but failing miserably and of course making me laugh while watching him stare at the phone like it might explode. Photo included. 

So we rode on to Monteriggioni, an impressive walled city up a steep hill. 

Then onto San Gimignano. 

Man, what an uphill trek to a super touristy town. 

We ended up staying in a room at a monastery towards the edge of the walled city. 

Riding around Tuscany  is quite wonderful. Nice rolling hills, pretty views, signs along the way telling you where to go. Yeah, sometimes you get closer to a town and somehow the sign says it is further. But that's okay... The kilometers go by quickly. 

Rainy day bike ride 30 km to volte era

After sleeping for 10 hours, ash and I motivated to get up and get outside to bike in the rain. 

We had our yogurt and cured meat for breakfast and said goodbye to Magdalena, our mother nun for the night. 

As she watched us get our bikes ready to go, she continued to be surprised by our will to bike up and down the hills in the area. What better expression than "mama Mia" from our friend, the nun. 

I was sure that we did more climbing and more kilometers than the bike computer is willing to admit. We aspired to go 90 kms and instead, finished our day doing 30 kms. Cold wet feet were my reason for stopping and ash felt the same. 

Happy to relax and stay in volterra we shopped for a place to stay for the night. Prices were high in this little town and the seminary appeared closed. Well, maybe the monks were off praying somewhere. It is Sunday, after all.