On Monday we were treated (ok, we paid for it) to a wine tasting and to motoring around the beautiful Chianti hills. It was a bit overcast in anticipation of coming rain, but this only served to highlight the variety of colors displayed by olive groves, leaf-changing vineyards, dark clouds, and green hills. These tastings were far more elaborate than those I've experienced in the U.S. when you just sidle into a tasting room and stand at a bar. Here, you sit at a table graced with several impeccable wine glasses. The sever brings each person a plate of small bites -- cheese, cured ham, chocolate -- that are chosen to pair with the various wines to be tasted. Everyone in Italy has emphasized that wine should always be consumed with food. They wag a scolding finger at the American habit of swilling wine outside of a meal or apertivo context (guilty 😞). Each tasting experience lasts at least 45 minu...
Within a day or two of arriving here, I abandoned my idea of renting a bike and cycling around on my own. Although I had come prepared with some routes loaded on my cycling device, I quickly realized that the only way out of the busy part of Florence is up (and up and up) some long hills, sometimes steep. I could probably manage those hills, but the idea of huffing up those very narrow streets with cars trying to pass both ways …. do-able maybe, but not fun. However, I really wanted to get out on two wheels somehow, so I ended up booking a day-tour with a nearby company. It turned out to be really great, though not the exercise experience I was seeking. There were 10 of us signed up for this Saturday excursion under the supervision of Giovanni, our cycle/guide. The tour company convinced us all to use e-bikes and that was definitely the right thing to do. The hills are far less scary and the traffic far less intimidating when you’re not laboring to get up them. I’ve ...