Cycling and Italian opera

Well, we awoke to no rain!! After breakfast, we took the bikes out for a trip into the Tuscan countryside. We used google maps to navigate a route recommended by the guys at Siena Bike Shop - they emailed it to me!

Once we got out of the city, the roads were much quieter, and the scenery was amazing - lots of rolling, green hills filled with vineyards, olive groves, and even a castle. We rode past areas, not really towns, like Pieve a Bozzone, Montechiari, and San Giovanni! The roads were somewhat narrow with some occasional gravel, but only local traffic and a few other cyclists and motorcycles. The ebikes made light work of the hill climbing, and we got some great views back to Siena.

We finally found a small town, Ponte a Bozzone, and stopped for a drink and bite to eat at Pizzeria Osteria Bella Napoli. It was a lovely family run affair, and the owners were relaxed and friendly. We ordered some food, arancini and pici with pepper and cheese. The bread that came out was homemade and delicious. There were quite a few other cyclists who stopped for a bite to eat also. We chatted to a nice Canadian couple - they were very keen to make sure we knew they were Canadian and not American😜

There was a little shower whilst we had lunch but no more rain when we rode back into Siena. We came in through the Porta Oville gate and cycled through the old city and back to the apartment.

We freshened up after the day's ride, and at around 3.30pm, we rode the bikes back to Siena bike shop to drop them off. Almost every business shuts up up for an hour or two each day.

In the evening, we had a couple of aperol spritz at 'home' before heading out for dinner before tonight's 9pm Italian opera!

The Opera performance started at 9.15pm in what looked like a converted church; we could see confessionals. There was a soprano and a tenor, plus a pianist, and they played 12 pieces from a range of renowned Italian operas. There was an intermission where we enjoyed a glass of prosecco! I've gotta say, I really enjoyed the evening - more than I expected! We strolled back through the old city and walked home in the cooler air.

It's been a full and fun day!もっと詳しく