Hill top towns in Tuscany and my first puncture, Trieste-Rome on bicycle
- Jasmina Znidarec
- Jan 17, 2018
- 4 min read
Morning was crisp and dewy but the summer rays began soon to warm the day and spread the vital energy upon the Earth’s curves. I set off early in the morning with Leonardo, who hosted me through the warm showers organisation, which is very similar to couchsurfing but used solely by bike tourers. Leonardo was not on duty that day and immediately took the chance for a bike ride. He knew the area very well so I followed him. The destination was Arezzo, we were following the Arno in the opposite direction of its course, first on the SS67 to Pontassieve and then joining the SR69. The route was mostly flat but with many bends. At lunchtime we stopped at San Giovanni Valdarno, had our packed lunch there and Leonardo turned back towards home. He had been very quiet, but ultimately I can understand it: after a few hours of cycling there is truly nothing more to say and silence becomes the sole comrade. Traveling alone for a whole week wasn’t a threat neither a vexation. I actually never felt alone, I had family, friends, and hosts following me, attending news and updates from my journey.
The route was easy to go down to the point the road separated from the Arno valley. After that the first hills started to appear, they were sweating fun, the downhill definitely too short. I was a few miles from Arezzo when I punctured my rear wheel. It was my first puncture experience and I fixed it as better as I could. I changed the inner tube whilst Massimo came to pick me up, since I was just a couple of miles from his home. Massimo was in his thirties, very welcoming and down-to-earth. His house was big and split between the different family members. I took a quick shower and there we go, ready for a stroll in the town.
Arezzo was holding a festival and there were medieval banners all over the town. Piazza Grande was the most noteworthy medieval square, which had a sharp sloping pavement. Walking around I could imagine Guido yelling; Maria, la chiave! Or the same Guido riding his bike without brakes down the square as in the movie La vita è bella (1997), which was shot in Arezzo. Crowds of tourists are drawn here for the frescoes of the Rennaisance artist Piero Della Francesca. I was more interested in the art of food and we stopped in a winery and had wine and nibbles. I soon realised how different it is having a snack in Trieste than here in Tuscany. I had just tasted the best pairing of wine and ham in my life, it was simply divine.
Massimo really enjoyed hosting people, showing around, sharing his knowledge of the area and of good restaurants. He was even so kind to let me stay more days so I could catch up with the following host who wasn’t immediately available. The following day Massimo showed me the hilltop village of Cortona. We parked below the city walls and took the escalator to the top, on Piazza Garibaldi. The views were stunning, overlooking the Val di Chiana. We then went to Trasimeno, had a stroll on the lake front and in the nearby Castiglione.
The day after I was left alone and I decided to visit Orvieto. I took the train and on my way Leire, a Spanish girl who was cycling around Europe, texted me to ask information about Trieste. Incredible though it may seem, she was cycling towards Orvieto. I met her at the funicular, where she parked her bike and together we ascended to the summit of the butte on which the town sits. Leire cycled all from the Basque country to Italy and was wild camping or couchsurfing, whenever there was the chance. I was overjoyed, finally I had met a girl who was cycling! I was a bit fed up of meeting just men. With regret I soon realised that we wouldn’t continue the voyage together since we had different destinations. She was about to leave Tuscany and head north towards Trieste, through Slovenia and Hungary. I invited her to stay in my house once she arrived in Trieste and hoped to meet her again.
A quick walk in Oriveto was enough to get me emotionally attached to it. The town was squeezed to fit on the hill top, with tiny back-streets and medieval buildings attached close one another, built in local volcanic tuff. In the centre the imposing cathedral, which attracted so many visitors. I was impressed by the dramatic, almost vertical setting of Orvieto which I could appreciate in first hand on the ring walk of the town.
I left Orvieto and Leire in the afternoon and met Massimo and his new couchsurfing guests, a couple from Hungary who were couchsurfing in Italy for their honey moon. The next morning I was back on my bicycle, ready to leave. I would head towards Chiusi, unaware of what extraordinary experiences were going to happen.
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