Florence to the Dolomites

I am currently sitting beneath the start of the Dolomites. The picture (see twitter!) doesn't quite capture the complete feeling of insignificance one has beneath these awe inspiring mountains. Tomorrow we start climbing, the chamois butt'r cream will definitely come in handy, as would a sneaky motor to make it up the 3200m of climbing - yikes.... The song 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' by Kelly Clarkson springs to mind, as does 'killing me softly' - or to add lib, 'killing me slowly'. 

It definitely makes a change from the Canals of Venice. Apparently the number one thing to do in Venice is get lost - I highly recommend it. It was on one of these adventures that we discovered the best pastries I have ever had (hopefully the coach isn't reading this right now). It was down a tiny little alley way -they had come fresh out of the oven and were a piping hot morsel of pastry that melted in your mouth with an apricot/custard explosion in the the middle. Foodie heaven. Florence and Venice have also provided heaven for all the culture lovers on the trip - Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Chagall, I could go on. We have definitely been spoilt. However, I did have to sneak into the Duomo in Sienna, apparently one legged females aren't allowed - see twitter picture.

The good news is that the cycling tan is coming along and I was feeling a little bit like a pro riding up the Giogo di Scarperia - a ride that the Giro had recently passed through. It has been fantastic riding with the 30 other riders currently on the Bike Dreams Tour. A lovely Dutch couple, Theo and Marjan have adopted me during the rides as my Garmin map reading skills aren't quite up to scratch. Quite fortunate as I would probably be somewhere in Timbuktu otherwise. I haven't told them about my usual style of reading maps upside down - female stereotype of having no direction, tick. 

Other news of course relates to food. Getting lost and finding little Osteria's is definitely the way to go. We stumbled upon a little place in Sienna where the owner provided an Italian feast. It was also during this dinner that I had to correct my lovely Spanish friend that I was not meeting my girlfriend in Barcelona, rather, my friend Marina from work had recommended I go to Spain. I think we are on the same page now. He has been pointing out cute Italian men ever since!

Until next time,
Ride safe, ride happy, ride in the moment

Han