| Followed by more climbing. Halfway isn't all the way! |
| The baths at Saturnia. It was too hot a day to spend much time in the hot springs, but we enjoyed it for a while! |
Whose legs are whose?
On to Montemerano...bane of the Swiss.
| A picture waiting to happen. Wait no more! |
| Searching for the Agriturismo Gretacci...could it be one of these? |
| At Gretacci they herd their sheep with a tractor. |
| Grapes, destined for wine. |
Here it is! Time to collapse. And do laundry.
Vanessa, looking back towards Montemerano.
Twilight on our penultimate day of biking.
Day 9 - Gretacci Awaits
 | |  |
After a tasty breakfast we bid our Swiss friends farewell and started off. An
enjoyable downhill lead to a quick ride along the valley floor, and then to a steep, 10
kilometer climb. From the top we coasted down to the town of Saturnia, home of the
famous hot springs. We ate lunch and dipped in the hot springs, before heading
back uphill to the town of Montemerano. The Swiss had warned us about the climb
up to town in the direst of terms, but we found it not too hard. From Montemerano
we breezed down towards our destination: the Agriturismo Gretacci. We made a
wrong turn and wound up biking for several miles on gravel and dirt roads (always a
treat on a road bike), but we rectified the situation, and arrived in time to enjoy a
wonderful home made dinner, complete with cheese made at Gretacchi. A
post-prandial stroll to take in the sunset, and then we were off to bed...our last day of
biking lay just hours ahead of us.
enjoyable downhill lead to a quick ride along the valley floor, and then to a steep, 10
kilometer climb. From the top we coasted down to the town of Saturnia, home of the
famous hot springs. We ate lunch and dipped in the hot springs, before heading
back uphill to the town of Montemerano. The Swiss had warned us about the climb
up to town in the direst of terms, but we found it not too hard. From Montemerano
we breezed down towards our destination: the Agriturismo Gretacci. We made a
wrong turn and wound up biking for several miles on gravel and dirt roads (always a
treat on a road bike), but we rectified the situation, and arrived in time to enjoy a
wonderful home made dinner, complete with cheese made at Gretacchi. A
post-prandial stroll to take in the sunset, and then we were off to bed...our last day of
biking lay just hours ahead of us.
Starting up the long climb of the day.
| Halfway up, in the small town of San Martino sul Fiora. A break seems in order. |
A look back down the mountain.
