Northern Greece and Tuscany, I

May 2025

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7 days in Greece starting in Athens and then 7 days on a wine/bike trip in Tuscany Read more

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Italy
Greece
United States

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11.8kkilometers traveled

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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 21, 2025, 3:00pm
- ☁️ 66 °F
- Altitude: 366 m
- Italy Tignano 43.552353, 11.18784743°33’8” N 11°11’16” E
Day 13
Como Castella del Nero
Yesterday in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Left Fontanelle estate and headed to our next hotel. Rode 12 miles to a bathroom break at a ceramics shop-beautiful pieces but $$$. No buyers in the group. Rode 20 miles to Castellina-ATT(another Tuscan town). Cool little market with some excellent cured meats and cheeses which we would eat at our picnic lunch. Once again a bountiful buffet and regional wines. Weather cooperated even though it threatened to rain a few times. Then a short 12 miles and we were at our next hotel. Best hot tub I have ever experienced which was great after 4 days riding bikes. One more biking day and then we head towards Florence and then home. There is a picture of the device we use to navigate the roads-it's called a Wahoo and is priceless. The map of the day is loaded and it will beep and indicate which way to turn so we don't have to follow anyone. Super!Read more
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 20, 2025, 7:14pm
- 🌧 63 °F
- Altitude: 339 m
- Italy Siena 43.321306, 11.3314143°19’17” N 11°19’53” E
Day 12
Fontanelle Resort
May 20 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 63 °F
Day 2 at Fontanelle resort. Another full day of biking. Rode 21 miles to a town called Asciano where we had a snack/coffee break. ( so much food on this trip). Then rode 27 miles to Pereto to have lunch at Il Pereto a totally organic farm and brewery. They grow everything they serve and it was delicious. Rode back to the hotel past so many vineyards and beautiful scenery. Was shuttle to Siena for a tour of a Contrada which are the neighborhoods inside the walled city. Learned about a crazy horse race called the Palio which occurs twice a year since the medieval times. It was fascinating. Dinner on our own. Unfortunately we had some heavy rain but we found a nice place to eat and keep dryRead more
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 19, 2025, 10:18pm
- ☁️ 59 °F
- Altitude: 354 m
- Italy Pianella 43.385357, 11.40083743°23’7” N 11°24’3” E
Day 11
Fontanelle Estate, Tuscany
May 19 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
First full day biking Tuscany. The first picture is our guide describing our route using straps and bike helmets. The helmets are the hills. Very clever! After a bountiful buffet breakfast, rode about 10 miles to stop for a coffee/bathroom break. Then another 8 miles to village called Gaiole where every year they have a non competitive bike race called Eroica. It is 135 kilometers long and you have to ride a vintage bike made before 1987. No gears. You can also dress vintage. 9000 people converge on this tiny village. On the rolling "hills" of Tuscany, this would be a challenge. So glad I am on an E bike. The hills here are long, winding. Scenery and weather was perfect today. Had lunch at a monastery turned BNB. Beautiful garden and delicious lunch. Dinner was at the estate vineyard. It was fancy but not that memorable.Read more
TravelerThat’s quite a spread for lunch! More gorgeous scenery!
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 18, 2025, 3:00pm
- ⛅ 66 °F
- Altitude: 354 m
- Italy Pianella 43.385397, 11.40078643°23’7” N 11°24’3” E
Day 10
Tuscany-Fontanelle Estate
May 18 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
First full day in Tuscany. Met up with our Backroads group and drove an hour to our lunch and first bike ride of the trip. Had lunch at a traditional Tuscan restaurant and learned about olive oil. Had an incredible lunch with 6 appetizers and an amazing ravioli! Rode bikes up and down Tuscan hills. Got soaking wet from a rainstorm and then ended at our hotel on the top of a hill overlooking the countryside. Of course, we had a delicious dinner-canteloupe here is so sweet. So far, Tuscany lives up to the hypeRead more
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 17, 2025, 10:00pm
- 🌙 55 °F
- Altitude: 264 m
- Italy Arezzo 43.462764, 11.87756943°27’46” N 11°52’39” E
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Day 9
Florence, Italy
May 17 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 55 °F
Travel day! Flew from Ioannina (pronounced E-o-nnina) to Athens. 4 hour layover in a mediocre airport. David had a sub par Gyro. Somewhat chaotic with truly last minute gate changes but people say that is how it is in Greece. Flew to Florence and had to figure out the tram/train stations. With the help of a very nice man who gave us his tram tickets since my credit card didn't work at the machine, we made it to the train station. Hung out for an hour people/beggar watching. Easily got our train to Arezzo and arrived at 10PM. Walked to our hotel which was acceptable/basic-bathroom was pretty retro with a very strange leaky shower. Ready to meet up with Backroads in the morningRead more
Traveler Fancy
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 16, 2025, 1:00pm
- 🌧 57 °F
- Altitude: 629 m
- Greece Αρίστη 39.936682, 20.67255439°56’12” N 20°40’21” E
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Day 8
Aristi Mountain Resort
May 16 in Greece ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
Due to the weather, we had a day to relax. Rainy and cool so leisurely morning and breakfast. Walked around in the village, had a beverage at a local tavern, enjoyed the spa facilities. The village dogs are interesting. We saw this dog when we were hiking in the gorge 8 miles away. She hangs around the resort and is the sweetest pupRead more
Traveler Classy Americans
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 15, 2025, 9:48pm
- ☁️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 687 m
- Greece Αρίστη 39.933386, 20.67003939°56’0” N 20°40’12” E
Day 7
Asti Mountain Resort
May 15 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Another amazing day! Drove from Ioannina to Asti Mountain Resort. Did a 10 kilometer hike in the Vikos-Aoos National Park-the Grand Canyon of Europe which looked more like Zion Canyon to us. The hike was a bit strenuous but we did fine. Stunning scenery! The wild flowers were at their peak. Hiked down to the river and yes, it was that clear a d blue. Since the forecast was for 100% rain on Friday, we did our white water rafting down the Voidomatis River. So glad we did. The water is the cleanest in Greece and probably the coldest. The river was Class 1-2 so we had a few rapids. Dinner was at the resort restaurant and was delicious. I had trout from the river we rafted-quite tasty. Our last day will be spent watching it rainRead more
TravelerBeautiful! Looks like a great adventure day!
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TravelerWow!!!
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 14, 2025, 2:06pm
- ⛅ 66 °F
- Altitude: 475 m
- Greece Ioannina 39.670172, 20.85717239°40’13” N 20°51’26” E
Day 6
Ioannina
May 14 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
After another outstanding breakfast Argyro Guesthouse, we were transported to Ioannina the second largest city in Greece. Staying at a quaint boutique hotel in Old Town, we walked around the lake and toured the walled city. Had a tasting menu at a nearby restaurant featuring local fresh food and Greek heritage recipes. We are leaving tomorrow for the mountains but this city has a lot to be discoveredRead more
TravelerThat food looked amazing
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 13, 2025, 10:41pm
- ☁️ 48 °F
- Altitude: 1,387 m
- Greece Nymfeo 40.646624, 21.49349440°38’48” N 21°29’37” E
Day 5
Nymfaio
May 13 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F
Started the day with an incredible breakfast prepared by our hostess. The food was all local-strawberries and tomatoes were amazing. Way too much food!! Walked to a bear sanctuary and learned about Greek bears-this was a sanctuary for the dancing bears which were a popular attraction for Greece and Bulgaria. Then went truffle hunting in a nearby forest with the help of a specially trained black lab named Naomi. She found us at least 5 truffles but then it started raining. A delicious lunch was prepared using the truffles-quite an experience!!! Walked around this quaint village and then drove to dinner by a lake. Quite a memorable dayRead more
TravelerWow! Looks like a great day. Love the truffle hunting pup!
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TravelerGood thing your hiking and biking, these meals look like good eating
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Traveler Northern Greece and Tuscany, I
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- May 12, 2025, 2:25pm
- ☀️ 64 °F
- Altitude: 557 m
- Greece Λεβαία 40.659154, 21.70681540°39’33” N 21°42’25” E
Day 4
Nymfaio, greece
May 12 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Left Athens and drove to Vergina to see the museum of the tombs of Phillip the 2nd father to Alexander The Great. I was not too thrilled about this but like the Vasa in Stockholm, it was very interesting. It included treasures found when the tombs were opened-gold,silver, ivory-all items that didn't deteriorate in 2000 years. Drove to local winery Domaine Karanika which specialized in sparkling wines (not a favorite of mine, but these were exceptional) They had some very nice red wines. Then on to our lodge-Argyro Manor. So quaint! Had dinner in town- very local food. Just to add-our wine tasting took place in the owner's kitchen! So intimate and casualRead more
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