goodnight august

the view from my apartment never gets old.  there hasn't been a single night that i haven't peeked out the window at least once before going to bed... can you blame me?

Firenze

Despite being completely exhausted from biking nearly 200 miles (and drinking around 5 gallons of wine, and 2 of limoncello...) in 5 days, Lindsay and I spent two extra nights in Florence after our DuVine Adventure.  Of course our travels are focused on food and wine, so I didn't quite get over to see Michelangelo's David, but we did have some fabulous pizza!  Just the icing on the cake to these fantastic views...

Here's a look at Florence through my lens.

I may or may not have been hanging off of a ledge with Lindsay holding my legs to get this shot...

those blurry ghost-like figures are Chris and Lindsay, as we went for a stroll through town

love the flags peppering this view....

Tuscany, just a little more...

In my own little world, I'm still in Tuscany....

Wine tasting in Vittorio's garden

The gang in Torrenieri after having an espresso

Montalcino

Montalcino

homemade pasta, by Lindsay and the chef-capable half of our group!

this photo just cracks me up...  do you think we're having fun, or what?

Tuscany with DuVine!

So some of you may have heard of this little company whose epic bicycle tours I fell in love with when I went to Rioja last September... DuVine Adventures.  I know, I talk about them a lot.  But I just can't help raving about an experience that changed my life.

Lindsay and I just got back from our tour of Tuscany, and this trip surely did not disappoint.  Far from it.  We had the most blissful experience from start to finish, and met some of the coolest people around.  I've never gotten so close to 13 strangers in such a short period of time, and I think that goes to show there are so many amazing people out there who just love doing, living and loving every single day of their lives.

Don't be afraid to make memories people!

Now... enough of my sappiness for now, this IS my photo blog.  I will check in later to add another page of details about the trip, from start to finish.  For now, here are some of my fav shots from the week... (I tried to limit myself to 10 photos on this post, but clearly I went over... enjoy!)

bicycle pasta spotted in rome prior to our trip

celebrating 15 miles down on day 1, and many more to go!

our amazing guides for the week, Davide and Angelo

this is one of my faves because Bruce and Linda celebrated 40 years of marriage by biking the Tuscan hills on hybrids.  They rode every single mile.  Amazing!

Kristi and Lisa get lost in the views from Vittorio's garden

"it is just my opinion, but it is also true..."

mid morning espresso to kick start our engines for the remaining miles of the day

some old barbed wire keeping me out of private property in Montalcino - my favorite stop on the trip

view from the fortress

sunset after wine tasting

...and sunrise the next morning before heading to the Abbey of Sant' Antimo for Gregorian Chanting

Michelle on a quick break, taking in the views

the beginning of a night we will all remember started with this bottle!