Hello from Siena...

Hello all!

Well, we spent two nights in Florence, racing around to see all the good architecture and art. Whichwas fun. Florence is way way too busy though. Too many American college students there... feltlike I was attending a sorority party! And the locals are so tired of tourists. They are not particularly friendly and don't even bother with your attempts to speak Italian.

I had made reservations at a hotel in Siena... wanted to ride my bike there but they wanted me to arrive by 7:00. And we were getting let loose from the Uffizi Art museum at 1:00 so I knew I couldn't make it. 60+ km and hills. So I was going to take the train down instead but on walking back from the art museum to the motel I decided to go anyway. I had a cell phone that I share with a roommate, so when it got close to 7:00 and I was still quite a ways out I called, told them I was late and they were fine. So I blew through the Chianti wine country as fast as I could on bike with my little suitcase trailer behind! It was fun, though hard. I wish that I'd found someplace to stay in the middle of the Chianti area and then come on into Siena today, live and learn. But Siena is a great place. The main square, 'piazza del campo' is a big brick square where you can hang out and eat pizza and enjoy the sunshine. The people are friendly, there are lots of tourists but they are not all going to college in the US, and the locals are perfectly willing to talk to me in Italian that understand about every 10th word of.

Tomorrow we head for Rome (many of my classmates are here as well) and spend three nights there. Afterward I am planning to get to a town called Norca somehow (I was planning on the train but hear it does not go there) then will bike through the Sibillini Mts back to Macerata. There is a brutal climb on the first day (1000 meters up!) but after that I should be okay. We will see. Will post photos and drawings when I get back to Macerata.

Cheers!

- B -