Goodbye Siena, Hello Grosseto

Back peddling again. I rode from Siena to Grosseto yesterday, about 50kms further than I intended but I couldn't find a place to stay anywhere. Eventually settled for a room overlooking a carpark in Grosseto. Heading to an island called Giglio today for some camping and then off to Rome for a few days.

It's been brought to my attention that some followers of this blog think that there is not enough photos of my bike included. I will try and rectify this in forthcoming weeks.

Goodluck to the Fitzroy amateur footy club this weekend in the D1 Grand Final.

The Constant Tuscan Gardener - Part 2

I fall asleep in my warm caravan to the sounds of Wild Boar grunting and snorting in the forests around me. The 4 dogs have grown to accept me as their new master and sleep under my caravan every night, responding to the Wild Boar with bouts of aggressive barking. I awake to the sound of donkeys calling for their morning feed of mixed grain. Once the animals have been fed I eat some breakfast and recommence my duties for the day, usually consisting of raking up fallen leaves and watering the garden. After a lunch of pasta and vegetables, I rest in the hammock surrounded by tall evergreens, do some reading and fight off mosquitos. Sometimes I fall asleep. The break after lunch is about 2 hours and I normally just rest as the sun here is relentless. Still no rain. Sometimes I take a trip into the local gelateria and indulge in a cone with 3 flavours of gelato. I have read 2 Hemingway books here, Fiesta and A Farewell To Arms. I feel less guilty sipping on a Cinzano and tonic at the end of the day after reading these books. Enjoyed a Reiki session the other day and also joined a meditative dance session which involved standing up and spinning around in circles for 30 minutes staring at the palm of my hand. The leaves fall from the trees with the slightest of breezes and I await with rake in hand to fill my barrow. I finish here on Sunday and ride into Siena where I will look forward to a long sleep in. The time on the farm has been fantastic though, I have met many lovely, gentle people, some of whom I will remain in contact.

I have included some more photos from a few weeks ago...

The constant Tuscan gardener

Found a farm to work on for a couple of weeks. It is called Ebbio, a meditation and yoga retreat with vineyards, olive groves and surrounded by forests. The farmhouse here was built in the 1200's. I am the gardener here. I also feed the donkeys, horses, ponies, chooks, dogs and cats. Spend a lot of time watering the garden, as it never rains. The meals are strictly vegetarian and taste amazing. My host Nirdosh is a very good cook. I live in a caravan that overlooks the vineyards and olive trees. The farm is located on an ancient volcano site, so everywhere I look I see mountains of trees. Heaps of rocks here too, the soil is dry and red and you wonder how anything can grow. My local village is a 5 minute drive away called Monteriggioni. The village is within the walls of an ancient castle. Siena is about 10kms away, I hope to visit it very soon, once I get a break from raking up leaves.

Florence, Split, Korcula, Chianti

Florence brought me welcome rest and some time to keep in the shade of it's many beautiful buildings. I stayed 3 nights in a small room before catching a train to Ancona, on the east coast of Italy. I was on my way to Croatia. Stayed in Ancona for 1 night in a room overlooking the train station and caught the ferry across to Split the following morning. 9 hours later I was in Croatia trying to find a bed in one of it's busiest cities in summer, Split. Aussies galore in Split, I was wondering if it may have been Europe's answer to Bali. Even saw a bloke wearing an Essendon football jumper. Hmmm. Finally found a campsite outside of Split at 11pm with fellow cyclist Ebru from Turkey. Caught a 3 hour ferry the next day to the island Korcula, where I had 5 wonderful days with great friends Chris, Jo, Sam and Nadia. It was hot so spent most of the time in the cool water near our apartment, a short walk from the village. The time in Korcula flew past and I found myself back on the ferry to Ancona and then back on the train to Florence, where I had left my bike.

Jumped on the bike and headed into the hills of Tuscany from Florence in 35 degree heat at 2pm. Not the smartest move, as I found myself very exhausted riding around the hills trying to find a place to sleep at 7pm. Found a room eventually and then camped the following 2 nights in Chianti country. Rode onto Radda in Chianti where I stayed 2 more nights, in the heart of Tuscany and the best wine growing region in the country, probably. Chianti Classico flowed and I slept well. The riding through Tuscany was very difficult. The hills were relentless and always seemed to be going up, not down. The views were magnificent though, lots of olive trees, vineyards, forests. I needed to find work on a farm though, this heat was not good for cycling. Still barely seen a drop of rain in Italy or France all summer.