We’ve heard Rome called the Eternal City, and it’s quite apparent why: modern buildings next to Renaissance buildings (1500s) built around Roman ruins (300 BCE–300 AD), and museums containing Egyptian treasures (1300 BCE) and Etruscan artifacts (3500 BCE). It’s shockingly different from Canada, where we don’t have the same physical reminders of the peoples who have lived on the land for the past 5000 years.

Foods of note:

• Gelato: liquorice, pine nut-hazelnut-almond, pineapple and lime, lemon biscotti, zuppa inglese (sponge cake and custard), Sicilian pistachio, mango, and more…
• ​Olive oil tasting with ricotta, bufala mozzarella, homemade tomato antipasti, and four different homemade breads.
• Bread, cheese and meat picnics in the park. This is something we did in Toronto when we first started dating, and it feels right at home here.
• A dinner involving almost-poutine (potato wedges with cheese and pepper) and deep-fried artichokes.
• Fancy lunch: sous-vide egg with parmesan foam, hazelnut and mushroom risotto served in a bowl sealed with onion paper that was then broken with a goat’s cheese cream, and pig snout.

And now we're back in Toronto! It feels both familiar and strange, and definitely surreal to no longer be on bikes and living on the road. We half-joked about putting up the tent in the living room our first night back, to ease the transition… but ​it's good to be back, and we're excited for the next adventures.

We left Florence and headed to San Gimignano, a medieval hill town best known for its towers. Fourteen towers remain out of an original seventy-two towers of one-upsmanship, with each family trying to outdo its neighbours in a skyward show of wealth and prestige. A number of people we had spoken to raved about its beauty, but also cautioned us about the hills we'd have to ride to get there. And sure enough, the ride was filled with glorious swooping downhills where we regretted every metre lost, and painfully slow uphill grinds where we wondered why a road was ever installed at such a dramatic grade. We're very glad we didn't do this trip in reverse by starting in Rome and hitting these hills early, and we are very appreciative of the conditioning we've developed over the past few weeks! The views also made all the uphill worthwhile.

We rolled into San Gimignano and dropped our bags off at our 13th century palazzo accommodations, then headed out to… climb some more, up the tallest tower in town. We also explored the palazzo museum below, and the gelateria of the world gelato champion from 2006-2009 (saffron & pine nuts and Gorgonzola & pear were two standouts). Dinner was at a delicious local restaurant that had artichokes on the walls and bundles of wheat hanging from the ceiling.

The next day we saw 12th century religious art and wandered through the city, before we headed on towards Siena. The route was slightly hilly and very lovely, and we did lunch (local pasta with wild boar) at a restaurant recommended by our host in Florence. We stopped early that afternoon outside Siena to make camp near the road, and had a leisurely evening that included Joel seeing a wild boar or two!

We rolled into Siena early the next day, checked into our hostel, and went to see the city. And there is much to see, especially from high up! We took a tour through the upper galleries inside the zebra-striped cathedral, admired the mosaic floors and illuminated manuscripts inside, then walked down to the cathedral's crypts, then back up several flights of stairs to the viewpoint that would have been the cathedral's new entrance if the planned expansion had been completed in the 15th century (they planned on turning the nave into the transept, aka taking a church shaped like a cross and extending the short section so it became the long section of the cross and the current long section became the short section of the cross). Unfortunately for the renovation planners, the plague that halved the population of the city, war with the Medicis in Florence, and insufficiently-stable foundations (you get a different answer depending on who you ask) ruined their plans and only a few walls were built including the grand front entrance, which now leads into a parking lot.

The last tower we climbed was the bell tower of the Palazzo Pubblico, or the seat of government. The frescoes here were interestingly different, depicting good government in addition to the usual religious iconography. From the tower we drank in the panoramic views of the city square and terra cotta roofs beneath us, and the rolling hills further out as we tried to guess at which route we'd take out of town.

Our cycling time was winding down before we were due in Rome, and we had to choose between turning to the coast and booting it 240 kilometres there, or turning further inland, meandering through the lush hills of Tuscany, and catching a train to Rome. We'd seen a lot of the coast and we love the Tuscan scenery (and wine), so it wasn't a hard choice! The next day, we set our GPS to Montepulciano and began meandering through jaw-dropping view after jaw-dropping view. It's difficult to travel fast across this country by bike because the hills take your literal and metaphorical breath away.

We finally stopped in Asciano for dinner, where it proved to be impossible to find pasta at 6 pm so we settled for meats, cheeses, and various pickled and delicious vegetables. We left a bit too late and found ourselves racing to find somewhere to wild camp before the sun set. We chose a secluded spot in a forest off the highway but after we set up camp, we found out that the neighbouring property had a very irate dog that barked at us, at traffic, and at the world. The night's harmonic counterpoint was provided by what we could only guess was a wild pig being squeezed, so it wasn't the most sleep-inducing animal symphony we've had… but after ten minutes on the road the next morning, we were happy again and delighted by the scenery.

We spent our first night in Montepulciano finishing off some of the food we've been carrying for far too long, and enjoying the wood-burning fireplace in our Airbnb while a storm blew by. The next day we climbed up the volcanic crag to Montepulciano proper, and explored through some of the wineries which let you roam freely through their cellars. We saw a "wine cathedral" built in the 1500s and still in use today (it also served  as a bomb shelter for 100 families durning World War II). We saw enormous barrels aging for the 2-4 years required for the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano denomination; bottles that have been aging since the 1970s; Etruscan tombs from 500 BCE, and sea fossils. This was the steepest town we visited; we would walk into a winery at street level, descend several stories into its vaulted-ceilinged cellar, and walk out of the cellar at another street level. It's humbling to think that this town was once at the bottom of a sea!

We were wandering through the streets when we heard interesting sounds, so went to investigate. We found a third-generation coppersmith at work, and he invited us into his shop after querying us to make sure we had a "grand'amore", or great love (we sure do!). We got to see the raw copper ingots he starts with, the pedal-powered blower forge he uses to heat them, the tools from his father and grandfather that he works with, and learned that he had made the gold-plated copper ornament on top of the cathedral in Siena, which we had seen three days earlier! He finished off the tour by making a copper memento of Montepulciano for us, which marks our anniversary date and predicts that we’ll have four babies — he told us to get “frisky frisky” to make sure of it!

We meandered up and down the streets, then brought fresh pasta and pesto home for dinner. The next day we looked at routes to the train station and decided to skip the route through the valley with 80 metres of elevation gain (me: “Pfft, that’s so simple for us”) in favour of the scenic route through the top of the hills (I certainly ate those words from earlier, as we gained 494 metres before lunch). We flew down from the top of the hills and into the valley, and caught the train for a two-hour trip to Rome, which would have taken us at least two days to ride. Now we run around Rome before returning home!

Foods of note:

• ​Gelato! Saffron and pine nut, ginger raspberry, ricotta and pear, gorgonzola and pear, vernaccia wine, dark chocolate and Grand Marnier, peach, espresso, and more!
• Pasta with wild boar, beet and turnip and parmesan layered and roasted, and limoncello in San Gimignano.
• Several delicious meals of cured meats (notably the local Cinta Senese pork), cheeses (pecorino especially), and vegetables.
• Delicious craft beer and excellent burgers (rare beef, and chicken and pistachio curry) in Siena.

Just as all good things must come to an end, so too did we need to come down from the high that was staying at the castle. Luckily for us, the work we did in cycling up to the castle was handsomely rewarded with a downhill ride to the coast! (With frequent stops to cool off our disc brakes.)

It was slightly surreal cycling through towns we had passed through by train earlier that week, but soon we took a different course and started riding up… and up… and up, with frequent breaks dictated by the amount of sun and hill grade we were experiencing. 2.5 L each of water later, we reached the highest peak we’ve climbed so far: 540 m.

Just after we passed that high point we got a thumbs-up from a guy on a Vespa, which hasn’t been too unusual for us this trip. We waved back, and then cut across the road to get a photo. When we turned back, we saw that he had stopped and was approaching. He turned out to be a friendly Australian who understands cycle tourists and made us a tempting offer: If we rode another 30km we could stay at a villa he is staying in and could have a shower!  It turns out he is part of a crew for a luxury yacht, and they are currently land-based as the boat was being rebuilt in the dockyard nearby. So, they were staying at an incredible villa that belonged to a famous Italian architect. Needless to say, we changed our course and kicked it into high gear at 5pm to make it there that evening!

That motivation carried us down all the uphill we had gained, and into the valley behind the Cinque Terre. We arrived at the villa just before sunset and were invited to share their for a South African braai (like a barbeque, but better).  We had a fantastic evening visiting with everyone, sharing stories and revelling in their generous hospitality.

The next morning we visited some more and then headed out to La Spezia and the Gulf of Poets. La Spezia is a major shipping town, and has the largest naval base in Italy; the Amalfi coast hosts stunning views: sheer cliffs, trees draped over the road, gorgeous blue water.

After a lunch looking out over the sea, late afternoon had us climbing some more at a very steep grade. As we finally crested the hill, we were treated to new scenery ahead: gorgeous marble-streaked mountains rolling into lush cropland plains below, reminiscent of Alberta.

Heather: We are so fortunate to be here!
​Joel: I agree. And I’m so glad you feel fortunate after climbing up that hill!
​
The well-earned downhill was well enjoyed as we made our way down from the winding coast to the narrow plain between the mountains and the sea.

We spent the night in a campground near Carrara, then continued the next morning through towns on the plain between mountains and coast under an overcast sky before heading inland towards Lucca. We’ve been incredibly fortunate in terms of weather so far and had been trying to outrun the rain, but it finally caught us as we stopped for lunch and we rode the final hour into Lucca under a steady drizzle. The rain lasted just long enough for us to check into our B&B, then was kind enough to stop just before we headed iout to see the old city. 

Lucca was a fiercely independent medieval republic which competed with Genoa, Pisa, and Florence for trade and regional dominance. As part of their strategy, they built massive walls which are largely intact today since they were not bombed during World War II. No longer needed for defence, the walls now contain gardens and a 4 km cycling and walking path that circumnavigates the entire old city. We rode our bikes along the top of the wall marvelling at the single-mindedness of the citizens which was required to complete the walls over several generations. The next day we headed in early to climb up the tall tower in town to enjoy the panoramic vista and the trees growing at the top of the tower.

Then we headed further through Tuscany. The scenery is indeed as gorgeous as everyone says, with the rolling hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, interspersed with a few picturesque towns and houses. As dusk set we found a small campsite just off the secondary highway, which was great in every respect except for all the thorns. (It worked well for us anyway, we just got somewhat stabbed as we set up camp.) The next morning headed to Florence to meet parents, but got somewhat delayed when we realized that one of the sides of my front rack had cracked. We cobbled it back together with a hose clamp and figured it could probably limp along to the end of the trip.

We got the Firenze Card, which gives you access to 72 museums in Florence for 72 hours. This also turns out to be access to 72 washrooms in the city, so we did a very speedy run-through of the museum of the work done on the cathedral and Duomo.

Our parents left early the next morning, and we brought my racks to a welder a couple blocks away. He did a speedy repair on my front rack and the rear rack which had cracked on our way into Italy, and we continued on to the Pitti Palace (the palace the Medicis moved into when their old palace was too narrow). We gawked at the beauty and the wealth displayed there, and saw the changing tastes across generations: table tops done entirely in inlaid stone, walls practically collaged with paintings, ceilings entirely frescoed, jewels, velvet walls, intricate furniture, and tapestries. After saturating on that, we lost ourselves in the vast gardens and napped in the sun, near larger-than-life statues and enormous obelisks.

Before coming here, we hadn’t appreciated how deeply the Medicis had shaped Florence and the Western world. Many iconic works of Renaissance art: funded by the Medicis. Florence’s scientific academy founded by Galileo, which predates the Royal Academy in London: funded by the Medicis. The iconic Duomo of the cathedral: funded by the Medicis. They were truly tyrants with taste, and they shaped the world to their liking.

We ran through the Galileo museum and saw many tools he invented in his pursuit of knowledge (funded by the Medicis): telescopes for space, tools to measure the effects of gravity, one tool for military and civilian cartography calculations, and  preliminary devices to measure temperature.

After seeing all the gorgeous stone work in the Medici palace and chapel, we knew we had to visit the museum of stone art (pietre dure) (initially funded by the Medicis). This Florentine art form makes “painting for eternity” using stone inlay, and the results are truly mesmerizing. It was incredible to see the degree of detail at which they worked, as well as the paintings reproduced in stone, and the tools they used to create it all. We also visited a shop and saw a master at work on a stone painting.

Our last two galleries in Florence were the Bargello, which houses sculptures, weapons, and more paintings, and the Palazzo Vecchio. The Palazzo Vecchio was the palace deemed too narrow by the Medicis, but it does have a modest number (compared to the Pitti Palace) of extraordinarily frescoed rooms.

Next, we ride through Tuscany (so hilly! So picturesque!), and then onwards towards Rome!

Foods of note

• Braai: many meats grilled over charcoal. We learned the many rules for the boat that they had been teaching a new crew member, like how you must always have a dop (drink) in hand, and how you must always keep your shammy moist.
• Gatta Ci Cova: our parents went to Lucca a few days before we did, and recommended this place to us based on its quirky decor (one table had swings for seats) and delicious food. We ordered and delighted in the smoked eggplant ravioli, with the entire dish served under a glass dome filled with smoke; bacon-wrapped rabbit stuffed with apple; beef with strawberries and ginger; tender tuna.
• Trattoria Sabatino: Authentic and cheap, with a variety of delicious home-cooked food.
• Pear and gorgonzola ravioli
• Aperol spritz is the drink of choice in Italy, and many bars have an offer where you order a spritz and eat a buffet appetizers dinner.
• Gelato: apricot, dark chocolate, pistachio, cinnamon, Chianti, strawberry-ginger, red orange, cones fresh from the oven.

[Editor's note: an earlier version claimed we went through the Amalfi coast. Sadly, we have not yet mastered instantaneous transportation, and instead we went through the Gulf of Poets. The Amalfi coast will have to be for another visit!]

Because this is Italy and their castles predate their* discovery of North America, they have castles you can rent. Our two families spent the week at Mereta Castle in Leivi, a 15th century castle that had been used for defensive purposes (arrow slits in the building) as well as being the main castle for the Bagna family of Turin. It’s a gorgeous stone building filled with interesting treasures, from family heirlooms to things the current owner’s father picked up during his time as a naval officer. 

​* Genoa lays claim to being the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, and the naval museum we visited there describes their evidence (apparently there are several other places which also lay claim to being his birthplace)

Really, the only downside to the castle was the fact that it was very high up: 8 km and 200 m of altitude gain from our train stop in Chiavari. We rode hard and almost managed to beat the car ride of family arriving on the next train, and arrived to find that the castle was even more interesting than we had hoped. We walked in to see a suit of armour in the entrance hallway, and every room held more interesting things: more dining room tables, more glassware, more beautiful wardrobes. The place has a wood-fired pizza oven and an antique wine press in the downstairs kitchen!

That evening we went out to dinner at a local place where instead of offering a menu, they give you an eleven-course meal: six appetizers, two fish dishes, two meat dishes, and a dessert. For us, the dessert was a surprise honeymoon cake arranged by the parents! We finished off the meal with limoncello and returned to sleep it off in the castle.

Chiavari and the castle are close to the UNESCO world heritage site of the Cinque Terre, or Five Lands, which are five villages on the coast of the eastern Italian Riviera. They’re famous for ekeing out their survival on impossibly steep hills by fishing and terraforming the hills for cultivating olives and grapes. One sign said that the length of the walls created to terrace the olives and grapes was equivalent to the length of the Great Wall of China! The five villages are connected by picturesque walking trails which range from “hilly” to “should have brought my rock climbing shoes”, all in all a good time.

​Monday was the best weather forecasted for the entire week, so that’s when we headed to the Cinque Terre. It turns out we were joined by what felt like the entire rest of Italy, as the Tuesday holiday (The 25 of April, or the day the Italians overthrew the Fascists at the end of WWII) meant that Monday was also a  holiday, and the second town of Vernazza was just packed with people. We had lunch there and started hiking to get away from the press of people, and the crowds did indeed thin out once we started climbing. We had a gorgeous walk to the third town of Corniglia, where we got more gelato and wandered the city with fewer crowds. Unfortunately, the trails to the fourth and fifth towns were closed due to trail damage (whether from the floods of 2011 or the hordes of walkers, we aren’t sure) so we headed home after dinner in Corniglia.

The next afternoon everyone but me hiked through hills near the castle. I’m told that the views were somewhat compromised by the low clouds that they were walking through, but every now and again there was a break in the clouds and they could see all the way down to the coast.

That evening Joel and I prepared dinner, and the Armstrongs introduced the Slonetskys to the most delicious of foods: artichokes. We also showcased things we had learned from earlier in the trip and made salmon a la Gustaf and tian a la Magali.

Wednesday was fully rainy, so Joel and I spent the day at the castle catching up on things like laundry and a blog post, while others went to explore Chiavari. Joel tried his hand with the pizza oven and we ended the day with another delicious home-cooked meal (Minestrone made by our host) and played games late into the night. The next day was spent exploring the weekly market, port, and gelaterias of Rapallo, and a small group of us continued to the beautiful town of Portofino to explore its fine harbour and castle. (We skipped the designer shops.) 

Friday was our last day together, and my birthday, so we fit in as much as possible: we went by train to the other three Cinque Terre towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Monterosso al Mare (and ate as much gelato as possible), then we headed back to Genoa where I was surprised by a birthday wine tasting (and more gelato) and dinner at Le Rune, an exceptional place that opened last year to rave reviews, but is still somehow reasonably priced. If you’re in Genoa, you should go there.

After dinner we said goodbye to Luke and headed back to the castle. The next morning the rest of us parted ways, but we will meet up again with our parents in Florence in just a few days’ time, just long enough for us to cycle there… onwards!

Foods of note:

• The eleven-course meal in Leivi: some favourites were the appetizers of meats and cheese, as well as the mushroom and parmesan salad. Many of us even enjoyed foods we normally pass on (shrimp for me, olives and mushrooms for some of the brothers).
• Limoncello enjoyed by all!
• Pizza made by Joel and Anne.
• Gelato: Cinque Terre honey, Cinque Terre lemon, fig and ricotta, apricot, pear, gelato served inside a brioche…
• Minestrone soup made by our host Angelica.
• Dinner at La Rune: the best octopus we’ve had yet (even the most avid seafood disliker of our group went back for a second taste!), eggplant ravioli, tiny beef ravioli, asparagus tart, the best steak Matt has ever eaten, delicate fennel and truffle steak tartar, and tender tuna.