8FO2403 Through southern Tuscany

We arrived with the bikes and waiting for our guests.

Sunshine, no traffic, beautiful Tuscan countryside. What more do you need? A shuttle takes us out of Florence and we start our journey through the beautiful Chianti region. We buy our first olive oil at Riseccoli. At the market in Greve, we stop for a coffee and to admire the Macelleria Falorni. Then we climb quite a few meters up to Lamole - it was worth the effort for this delicious lunch. A few kilometers on one of the “strade bianche” and we are in Volpaia, a real gem, far away from the tourist routes. Villa Godenano in Castellina is our final destination. A perfect day - you can see it in the smiles on their faces. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

The heraldic animal of the Toscany wakes us up and is a good reason to make our first photo stop. The following route shows us that in Chianti you can ride downhill with your e-bike for 25 km. Along the quiet road there are vinyards to the left and right and we get our first lesson in grape harvesting. After our coffee break in Poggibonsi we climb up with a 20% gradient and arrive to Certaldo Alt. A nice surprise for everybody – not too many tourists with a fine and quiet atmosphere. The paintings on the wall and the old castle present an interesting coexistence without any disturbances, the honoured Giacomo Puccini with a different style. The highlight of the day is San Gimignano with its variety of shops and many tourists – complete opposite to Certaldo. Luckily - just in time we reach our hotel before a strong thunderstorm with heavy rain starts.

All had a good breakfast? We're about to head uphill to Castel San Gimignano. We are rewarded with one last view of the towers of San Gimignano. In Colle Val d'Elsa, we almost couldn't tear ourselves away from the cozy, tourist-free old town. Men sit in the piazza and have all the time in the world, the coffee tastes incredible, as do the cornetti. We continue along the Via Francigena, the old Roman trade route, to Monteriggioni. Another 15 km to Siena. A quick shower and the next highlights follow.

We started this long day with great expectations. Planned about 90 km and a lot to see. Following the city walls of Siena and entering into Via Franchigenia heading southwards. In Murlo we explore the Etruscan Museum before diving into the land of Brunello. Montalcino welcomes us! Along countless wineries, we follow the grape harvest during the journey. The next highlight is reached via gravel roads: Bagno Vignoni, an Etruscan bath with impressive hot springs. Tired but very happy and proud we reach Pienza

What a fantastic day! Or rather... another super beautiful day! After an exceptional dinner (thanks Melli or Sarah) at Beccofino, a leisurely breakfast and a short film about the differences between Germany and Italy, we roll through the old town of Pienza down into the Val d`Orcia - so beautiful. In Bagno San Filippo we bathe like the ancient Etruscans. Then we head up towards Radicofani. What's waiting for us there? Joe with a great picnic. We roll to San Casciano dei Bagni for a cappuccino high above the Rigo valley. Nobody wants to leave, the view is so beautiful, the coffee so good. But we still have a few kilometers to Citta della Pieve

How quickly time flies! But the last day of cycling is also wonderful. We leave Villa Vannucci, our nobel hotel, and roll down into the valley. On the other side, the road climbs steeply uphill again into the Monte Rufeno National Park. You can already see Orvieto from afar, high on the tuff plateau. The group is fit, the climb to Orvieto is steep. We arrive happily at the cathedral. We spend a few hours in Orvieto before checking in to our “Albergo Diffuso” the Misia Resort. Thank you very much - it has been a wonderful week.