On Wednesday the forecast and the radar looked ominous.  Our shoes weren’t even dry so cycling activities were pretty much called off due to lack of interest.  I’ll say that although it sprinkled and spit, we didn’t see as much rain on this day as we had while riding on the previous day!

On our Tuscany cycling adventure in 2010 we skirted the medieval hilltop village of Montepulciano but did not climb up to see it.  Since we were pretty near we decided to drive over for a look.

Here is what we found!

The Gran Cavallo is a reproduction of a horse designed by Leonardo da Vinci (in 1482) but never built because of a war.  Centuries later the horse was built from his drawings. It’s about 25 feet tall and weighs in at around 20 tons.

Finally the skies cleared on Thursday and most of us opt for a remote start and a ride around nearby Lake Trasimeno. I am thrilled to report that no one gets wet on this 47-mile ride.

The day started out pretty dark and gloomy, but by ride’s end we actually saw a very exciting sight!   Blue skies and smiles.

And finally, the weather we had been waiting for appeared for our last day of riding in Arezzo.  Here is our group worshipping the arrival of the sun and getting ready for our 45 mile ride to the castle in Civitella.

Unfortunately a bit too much of this ride featured city traffic.  But the climb to the castle was low-traffic and very scenic.

This is the famous bridge that is in the painting of the Mona Lisa (it’s pretty subtle, but it’s in there)

And I can hardly wait to tell you that we finished our ride and the week with a visit to the gelato shop near our villa!

Finally, we interrupted our final four course meal for a look at sunset.

Coming up: we leave our friends and Arezzo and head out on our own.

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