| Ancient caves dug into the tufa stone. Respecting antiquity by parking in it. |
More hills? Here we go!
| JW coming and going. |
Pitilgliano...a shining city on a steep little hill.
You don't see this biking through Texas!
| saint of Pitilgiano? |
From atop the hill, at the gates of the city.
| The last climb of the day, leaving Sorano. The cliff face is dotted with caves carved by monks who sought out solitude and delved their own retreats. |
| From Juan Valdez's perch in a piazza you can see several waterfalls. |
| Vanessa sneers at the hill, which is geologically unable to sneer back. Fortified with chocolate, she presses onwards and upwards. |
| Marcus, Robert, Pietro and Rudy...four crazy Swiss bikers on their 6th, 7th or 8th annual tour (results varied). Lots of fun, and hard on the waitress. |
Day 8 - On to Sovana
 | |  |
We left the Agriturismo Castro and headed towards the border of Lazio and Tuscany. We
stopped for a while at the ruins of the town of Castro, given in perpetuity to one
Renaissance Pope, and then later sacked by another. We ate some roast wild boar, and
then headed on into Tuscany. Whereupon we met tourists. Once over the border the
roads become more active with cars, buses and RVs, many of them with German plates.
And then, around the bend...the striking town of Pitigliano, looking like an Anasazi cliff
dwelling. The steep climb up into town rewarded us with stunning walls and towers, and
a great view. We passed on, heading to the town of Sorano, where we snacked on
chocolate and ice cream before the last big climb of the day. From there is was a
too-quick downhill jaunt to our destination of Sovana. Here, in this quiet little town we met
four Swiss bikers, also on tour. A memorable dinner followed, full of much merriment and
inter-linguistic acrobatics (Spanish, German, English and Italian all on display). We retired
after dinner, while the four crazy Swiss went out looking for Grappa, an Italian liquor.
They came back to the hotel later...we think that they found what they were looking for.
stopped for a while at the ruins of the town of Castro, given in perpetuity to one
Renaissance Pope, and then later sacked by another. We ate some roast wild boar, and
then headed on into Tuscany. Whereupon we met tourists. Once over the border the
roads become more active with cars, buses and RVs, many of them with German plates.
And then, around the bend...the striking town of Pitigliano, looking like an Anasazi cliff
dwelling. The steep climb up into town rewarded us with stunning walls and towers, and
a great view. We passed on, heading to the town of Sorano, where we snacked on
chocolate and ice cream before the last big climb of the day. From there is was a
too-quick downhill jaunt to our destination of Sovana. Here, in this quiet little town we met
four Swiss bikers, also on tour. A memorable dinner followed, full of much merriment and
inter-linguistic acrobatics (Spanish, German, English and Italian all on display). We retired
after dinner, while the four crazy Swiss went out looking for Grappa, an Italian liquor.
They came back to the hotel later...we think that they found what they were looking for.
| Taking our leave in Ponte San Pietro...another day, another dog. |
