Sept 27 -- Castiglione Della Pescaia

The following day we biked to the fishing town of Castiglione della Pescaia. Christian informed us that the water between Corsica and Italy are to be referred to as The Tyrrhenian Sea, not the Mediterranean.

Castiglione della Pescaia

We biked to the resort and fishing town--30 miles. Harry, ER doctor from Vermont, decided to do a side route up-hill so his wife, Ann and I casually meandered to the coast alongside a Hungarian woman who works in a hotel. She guided us to our destination parking lot. We locked the bikes and, meeting up with Suzy and Dawn, whose husbands wanted to sample the beer at sea level, the four of us women continued on foot up steep cobblestone roads with lavender, rosemary, and bouganvilla draping over the walls and entrance-ways.

Suzy and Dawn

Ann and Dawn at the 10th century castle

At the top, another spectacular view across to the Tuscan Islands.

We met at a pizzeria for lunch--one of the few that make pizza for lunch. I have a four-cheese pizza which makes all previous Italian pizzas taste bland.
After the ride back We all said goodbye to our bicycles.

I congratulated myself on surviving the trip with no broken bones or skinned knees.  I climbed into the pool-size hot tub, took a sauna, and returned to the hot tub. In love with Montebelli, we discussed the three places we'd stayed  and decided that the five-star hotel was the worst part of the trip. We could have been at any resort in the world and there was no congenial and informative host to welcome us with wine tasting and hors d'oeuvres. They even charged extra for a bucket of ice.
Before dinner I made the twenty minute climb up to the 300 year old cork tree.
Later, over appetizers in the dining room, our host told us how his father had made the sign and had placed it in front of the tree at the top of the hill on September 9, 2001.
The sign reads, "We Can't Understand Why."