Tour of Italy part 3 (to Florence)

Tour of Italy part 3

The next few days are very much focused on the cultural end of the spectrum as we plan to visit Pistoia, Lucca, Pisa and Florence. However to do this the cycling part will be a bit more of a chore than a pleasure. 

Day 7

Fortunately Mrs Crusader’s eye had got a lot better so we decided to push on to Pistoia. It was going to be the toughest ride to date as it was 50 miles going up before 10 going down. The 50 miles up also had some steep bits and a real sting in the tail. There would be no time for cafe stops so we packed a picnic and plenty of water making the bikes even heavier. 

The route out of Bologna had several dirt tracks to go on which made progress painfully slow. We also had some busy roads to contend with. Although still on Eurovelo 7 there were no longer any signs so we now had to rely on the route Komoot had picked for us and it often seemed to throw in a curved ball.

When we did eventually hit some better surfaces they were unfortunately on an upward gradient. It was very pleasant and peaceful as we grinded up through the woods but as we neared the top the gradient went super steep and Mrs Crusader had to end up pushing.

Fortunately the last 10 miles were basically down hill with some great views but we didn’t reach our hotel to gone 6pm with the light fading so agreed no more stages like that should be planned in future.

Pistoia itself was a gem and the city square looked spectacular when lit up at night.

Pistoia facts

1. The word Pistol comes from here because they started manufacturing them in the 16th century 

2. It is now famous for its flower markets

3. Based on the window shapes (see Italy tour part 2) it is a medieval city.

Day 8

We were still tired in the morning but planned to have lunch in another medieval town, Lucca, before heading to Pisa to see the leaning tower and any other attractions it might offer.

It did mean it would be the first time on the trip that we won’t be on any official cycle route and it therefore turned out to be a very dull day on the bike as we went on some fairly big roads as towns merged into each other.

Our speed was therefore good and we arrived in Lucca in time for lunch. We went past the obligatory Cathedral and down narrow streets until we found a suitable lunch stop. 

All these medieval Italy cities seem to becoming rather similar to each other and this felt very much like Venice but without the water.

Lucca facts

1. It has an intact city wall,

2. Lots of famous Italian composers, none of which I’ve heard of, were born here

3. The football team haven’t appeared in Serie A since 1952.

It was now only a few more miles to Pisa where we checked in to our hotel before setting off to explore.

The first thing was to find a good cake shop, which we did and I had the first decent cup of tea since we got here. The cakes were fabulous too and I even forgave them for putting them on serviettes which is clearly an international problem.

Then it was off to see what this 100 mile detour was all about and decide if it was worth the effort. 

First impressions were that the tower was more leaning than expected and I hadn’t realised there was a great big Cathedral built next too it. I was also surprised you could go up it as I thought that had been banned. We couldn’t be bothered as the queue was long and ticket office some way off.

The main activity was to persuade Mrs Crusader to take a hilarious photo of me holding the tower up with one figure. She wasn’t keen, especially as I rejected most of her early attempts, although we got there in the end.

It appeared that lots of other people saw what we had done and before you knew it everyone was at it.

With cake and tower done we searched Google for what else to do in Pisa and basically there wasn’t anything so rather than eat pizza in a piazza in Pisa we went for a curry, which was excellent.

Over a tandoori we debated if it was worth the 100 mile detour and there were very much mixed views. 

Pisa facts

1. It’s famous for its leaning tower

2. Pisa is very much a one trick pony

Day 9

Today was meant to be a straight forward flat ride to Florence for our next rest day. However nothing is simple and it threw up a number of unexpected challenges.

Firstly although flat a lot of the surface was off-road gravel, stone and track. Making it safe but slow going.

Then for no reason there was a very steep hill which took some climbing/walking and half the downhill was off road through an olive grove so we never even got the fast descent a climb normally rewards you with.

Finally just as we were getting near I realised I had left my sunglasses on a bench and had a 4 mile round trip to retrieve them.

The final straw was when we discovered our hotel was up a very steep hill.

In the end it was our latest finish todate and I promised all future stages would be shorter. (Not sure if I’ve said that after other stages too?)

Day 10

It was a day of leisure in Florence but I was keen that Mrs Crusdaer didn’t miss out so I had a packed agenda. 

First stop was the Uffizi gallery which had some famous paintings and artists on show. To make sure Mrs Crusader didn’t just zoom round and head straight for the gift shop I had booked us on a tour so we could learn stuff.

I was also keen to rank my favourite renaissance artists (as defined by Wikipedia), Botecelli, Raphael, Leonardo de Vinchi and Michaeangelo after seeing some of their stuff in the flesh.

I wasn’t that impressed with Raphael as he just seemed to copy the others especially with his Mona Lisa rip off.

Botechilli was good and I recognised his Venus but you can’t trust a man who’s name sounds like a type of food poisoning.

Always loved Leonardo as he invented the bicycle but they only had a couple of his and one wasn’t even finished.

Then we were told Michelangelo only ever did one portable painting as he either did murals or sculptures, but it was very good.

In the afternoon we saw his David in another Museum which was breathtaking (even if his hands looked too big) so I think he is my number 1 renaissance artist. I will send him a certificate.

In between Art we visited a big churchy thing, walked around abit and went to some massively overpriced cafes. 

We finished the day walking up to Michelangelo piazza (named after my number 1 renaissance artist) for fabulous views over the city and then back through a famous park full of more statues.

Florence facts

1. There are too many museums, art galleries and churches to visit in a day but once you’ve been to a couple you get the idea.

2. Only one bridge over the river survived the Second World War. 

3. You are never more than 20 metres away from over priced coffee.

After covering 13 miles Mrs Crusader suggested I hadn’t quite got the hang of a rest day yet as she was now even more tiered than after yesterday’s ride. I promised all future rest days would have more rest.

Tomorrow we start a series of cycling focused days as we head for Rome.

Miles cycled so far 407.

Map by Mrs Crusader