Storm Watch 2009

Remember when I wrote a post about how hardcore I am because I cycled through a huge storm? It happened again!! Only this time it was even more hardcore because it was raining HARDER and we had to go uphill and we thought we were going to die. Actually, I thought it was funny. But I'm pretty sure Ben the law student actually thought he was going to die. I'm pretty sure the words, "I can't see anything! We're going to die!" came out of his mouth. Later he also mentioned the possibility of being kidnapped by trolls in the forest we were riding through... So I'm not sure how reliable his grip on reality is :)

But seriously, it rained every effing day at some point/way during my time cycling through Tuscany. So unlucky! The perfect storm hit on our second to last day while we were cycling through Chianti. It really was so beautiful until we had to ride straight into the dark black clouds and rolling thunder that was just chilling over our destination. Before the storm, we even stopped in a small town and got a picnic of buffala mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, olives, and bread. Sooo yummy! At the end of the ride (more or less on the other side of the storm), we had the choice of cycling up to Radda, a cute hilltop town that had yummy gelato (according to the route sheet). Soaking wet, we decided to make the climb, which was ROUGH. The whole time we were chanting "chocolate!" and "gelato!" as our inspiration to make it up the hill. Luckily, Radda was totally worth it. It had spectacular views of vineyards and farmland all around it (oh! So that's why you make towns on top of hills...haha). It also used to be the seat of Chianti so we did a little wine tasting and walked around town.

That night we stayed at a beautiful inn (pictured) just outside of a small town called Lucarelli. This place was super cute AND comfy. It also had two things I look for in european hotels : a shower with a shower curtain AND its own stall and fluffy towels. These two things (shower and towel situation) are two areas where Europeans can make vast improvements. For one, haven't they figured out that simply leaving a slope in the floor where the shower is will result in the entire bathroom getting wet?! Also, sheets are not as absorbent as towels. Which is why so many people like to dry off with towels and not sheets. Wow, sorry guys... I got really worked up about that. But these are serious issues.

The inn also had a pool (too bad the sky opened up and dumped on us as soon as we arrived) and provided a delicious dinner. The only bad thing about this place was that I'm pretty sure it is haunted by a creepy old lady who watches you while you sleep. I had a nightmare about this the night we slept there and it was totally one of those "is this dream or reality?" moments and I couldn't decide and I freaked out. The next morning, I found out that everyone else in our group slept fitfully and Thai even felt a presence in his bathroom! That place was TOTALLY haunted!

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