Day 24

After a huge dinner last night (courses just kept coming!!!) we slept well in our 16th century villa.


Then a leisurely breakfast and then meet our other riding guide Julio – who didn’t speak hardly any English but made up for it with hand gestures and enthusiasm.

Part 1 of day (Barrie) – headed out on our brand new road carbon bikes – different gear systems but got to grips with that during the day as well as reminding ourselves constantly to ride on the right hand side of the road. I kept expecting to meet traffic on the sharp right hand blind corners all day!

Fantastic landscape – was chased by big threatening black clouds all day but escaped with no rain. Certainly hilly – if you weren’t going down you were going up and up and up!!!!

But gave some tremendous views of the rolling landscape - olives, crops, vines, ploughed land and large bits in bush. For the cyclists – the roads are neat to ride on very smooth and rolling and part of what we road on will be used for the Giro Italia coming up in a few weeks.

Downhills are well curved and graduated and potential to go very fast, and today at least they weren’t too steep although quite long climbs in places. Did about 75km today, but included a coffee stop and a lunch stop with local food etc in local restaurant – with Julio ordering for us!! Don’t feel too bad since only 2nd ride on 3 weeks.

Went up to the local village for gelato after the ride – but they were all closed!!!!! Tomorrow maybe.

Now resting before another huge tea I am guessing.

Now for Shona who spent the day at our place with cooking lessons with a Dutch “coach”.

I had a great day- Had to follow directions and NO I can’t cook yet!!!

We had fun altogether cooking though. My pasta was not good! The men did better. Then we had wine and ate our food. It was really super.