We left for this amazing little journey on July, 2 from Aspen. There were little signs of recession in this mountain town as we waited 45 minutes to take off due to all of the traffic from private jets. Just goes to show you, some people are doing just fine... at least on the surface. I slept and thought and drank a gorgeous glass of Musigny Burgundy at 10,000 feet chased down by Brunos pizza. Before I knew it, I was back in my homeland, Italia.
This trip was a long time coming. I hadn't been back to Italy since 1987 when I traveled to Europe with my parents and my older sister in the back of a VW camper that we bought in Germany. That was an adventure, but it was also a long time (four months) to be riding in a van with the family. Even at 11-years-old, I needed some space!
So now, at 32, I am comfortably traveling with a man old enough to be my father but who treats me like nothing more than a lover. It is a warm and cozy place to be, one filled with many fine wines and decadent hotels and flavors of all kinds. It is a world so much different than my life one year ago, and even more so, two years ago when I was traveling with my two dogs in an old Forest Service mini van. Each and every experience, valuable and cherished.
Back to Italy, well, it turns out I know some Italian, and I do look Italian, so I felt right at home. We spend eight days riding through the gentle rolling hills of the Tuscan wine country with our guides Marco and Guiliana.
At one point, and to my surprise, I said to myself while biking, "This is the most fun thing ever!" There were fields of sunflowers whizzing past my eyes, my friends racing just ahead or behind me, the little castle-like villages that defy time in the distance, the Tuscan sun beating down, the smooth pavement gripping my tires as I tore down the road. It was indeed, A Thrill in Spandex!!
