Thursday, September 7. What do you mean I have to shave?
Day 7: A gorgeous ride to the striking hilltop town of Montepulciano.
We ride on small roads that wind their way up, over, around and betwen tiny
villages surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. Our hotel is located
inside the walls of Montepulciano and affords spectacular views to the
south over the Valley of the Orcia and on to Lago di Trasimeno. There
is time to explore the town's labyrinth of narrow medieval streets and
enjoy a cool glass of Prosecco in the main piazza before dinner. We
overnight the next two nights in Montepulciano. Cycling distance
30 miles.
The road to Montepulciano
I'm a bit slow this morning. Even though I don't get hung over, my legs
hurt on the climbs. I figure it's from all the poison I've been shoving
into my system, but David's the same way. We decide that the consecutive
days of riding is catching up with us.
David and I get to the lunch place and wait for the others. Lynda is
immediately behind us. Others arrive quite a bit later. Lora and Liz
tell us a about getting a push up a hill by some local cyclists. Lora's
guy was quite familiar with his touch, and she giggles as she tells the
story.
Nello announces that tonight's dinner will be at the most elegant place
of the week and that we might want to get decked out for the occasion.
Lora offers her opinion that maybe the men should all shave for the
occasion. She's looking right at me as she says this.
By now Cindy is feeling well enough to ride the last 12 Km to Montepulciano.
The approach to Montepulciano is beautiful and refreshing. My legs are still
hurting, but I feel strong for the last leg of the ride. I ride fast and feel
like Lance. Still, I'm beat by the time I get to the hotel.
Montepulciano
Claire makes the suggestion that I go to a traditional barber to get
a shave. I get excited over the idea. If I can't come home with 2
weeks' growth, coming home with a story about getting a shave from
a real Italian barber might be almost as good.
Before dinner, we meet at the plaza at the top of town for wine tasting.
An unwell-looking dog runs around the square, stopping to stalk the pigeons
now and then. He actually stalks them like a trained hunting dog would,
standing stock-still after pointing at the bird.
We head off to le Cantine Contucci for our wine tasting where Adamo
the wine master insists on kissing and flirting with all the women. He is
very passionate about wine and goes on (seemingly) for hours about it. Nello
translates for us but claims that he isn't doing the wine master justice
because he's speaking in very formal Italian.
As promised, dinner is at an extremely elegant restaurant. 5 minutes after
arrival, Lynda says that her shirt is on backwards and rushes off to fix
herself.
Our group is so large that we sit at 4 separate tables. One group elects to
sit outside even though the weather is looking iffy. Not long after sitting
down, a sudden downpour forces them to move inside to finish dinner with the
rest of us.
No grappa today.
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