I rented a bike in Florence and rode a gorgeous 70 mile loop through chianti on Saturday. I met up with Francesco when he passed me on an uphill and I just about killed myself grabbing and keeping his wheel. After that, I didn't stop and take any pictures of the castles and rolling meadows dotted with grapevines or the adorable 800 year-old towns along the way -- if I could keep up with him, I wouldn't have to continually stop to look at my map. After a few miles, we started picking up other riders and had a little paceline heading back to Florence. It was so much fun! Sadly, they seem to have even fewer women roadies there than we do here. [There was general agreement among the riders that I must be 'deutch' -- do the germans have more women who ride?]

Italy in general was fun and relaxing. I'm embarrassed to say that my Italian consists of 'scuzi,' 'gratzi,' 'il conto,' and 'prego.' The latter having a surprising number of uses. The first two got me through 80% of the trip. Being vegan wasn't a problem as long as you don't mind eschewing all protein. I actually brought Clif product, and ate it daily to supplement all the pasta and pizza. Nothing says 'vacation' like a Builder Bar!

Having sat through quite a few art history classes in my time, I found it bizarre to see paintings from my textbooks all over the museums. Renaissance art isn't really my thing, but walking into a room and seeing how very small the "Madonna by the Sea" actually is, or how luminous Botticelli's "Spring" is . . . is a bit overwhelming. There were many examples of my favorite subject in religious art - the sacred conversation. This is a painting depicting saints from different time periods together, chatting. The virgin Mary, St, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, some pope and some cardinal [I'm not catholic] are usual, but occasionally you'd get St. Elizabeth and even St. Lucia [and her dish of eyeballs] in there too. I wonder what they talk about.

So now I'm back, terribly jet-lagged and with a snuffly cold. I'm hoping to catch up on my sleep, at least, before racing this weekend.