The Heart of Italy 4IT1403
11 Sep 2014
Day 5, Urbino - Florence
The last day of this great tour has arrived but, after the rain of yesterday, the weather today was simply great and we enjoyed a great riding! After a quick picture stop on the top of the hill in Urbino, we reached to San Leo, a very important town in the middle ages, where we stopped for a nice coffee break. Then we took the highway for a short stretch and, after lunch, the famous “Passo del Muraglione”, a road that is very well known by italian motorcyclists, took us back to Florence.
Sue, Don, Emily, Mark and Scott... thank you for a great time together, let’s hope to meet again and let’s keep in touch!
The view from the fort of Urbino
Urbino
Sue taking a picture of San Leo
Selfie
The view from San Leo
Muraglione Pass: Don...
... Scott ...
... Sue ...
... Mark & Emily
Motorcyclists meeting on the Muraglione
Back in Florence
Goodbye folks!!! It was a great pleasure to have you on this tour!
Day 4, Urbino - San Marino - Tavullia - Urbino
Rain, rain and more rain! Today, despite the weather, we rode to San Marino, the smallest republic in the world, and then reached the Adriatic coast in Cattolica where we had lunch. Before going back to the hotel, the famous bar of Valentino Rossi (the doctor!) was waiting for us! Everything was ready for the MotoGP race that will take place on sunday in Misano... hopefully they will have chance to celebrate a good performance of their hero! Riding in the rain was very tiring, so we deserved the best food in town and had a delicious dinner together... of course with some good red wine of the region!
The view from San Marino
in Tavullia at Valentino Rossi's bar
Urbino
Day 3, Perugia - Urbino
What a heavy rain when we left Perugia this morning! When we reached Cortona for the first coffee break we were already tired like if it had been a whole riding day... but then fortunately, while we were still in this beautiful town, the sun came out and we could enjoy a very nice ride through the hills before reaching Città di Castello for lunch and then finally the beautiful reinassance town of Urbino!
Coffee break in Cortona
Very cloudy sky when we reach Cortona...
... but then the sun slowly comes out!
Our hotel in Urbino
Day 2, Perugia - Orvieto - Assisi - Perugia
Today, since the weather forecast was a little bit threatening, we decided not to go too much uphill on the Sibillini mountains and instead had a great ride to Orvieto, a nice town situated on the flat summit of a small plateau of volcanic rock. After having lunch there, and of course after seeing the magnificent Cathedral, we went to Assisi, the hometown of St. Francis... and then back to Perugia!
Picture stop before reaching Orvieto
the wiew from Orvieto... and I feel like a pie (up high!)
The Well of St Patrick in Orvieto
Don
Emily
Mark and Emily at the Cathedral of Orvieto
Don and Sue in Assisi after their very first ride in the rain!!!
Emily and Mark
Ready to go!
Leaving Assisi
The view of Perugia from our hotel
Day 1, Florence - Perugia
Leaving Florence is always a pity, this is one of the most beautiful towns in Europe! Riding southwards we soon entered the Chianti area. This area, very well known for its excellent wines, seems like it was made for motorcyclists: beautiful landscapes, good roads… what else could we ask for? We reached Siena just in time for lunch and there we could admire one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, the “Piazza del Campo” where twice per year the famous “Palio” takes place. Another break in Montepulciano and then we were ready to reach Perugia for a tasty dinner in the historical centre.
The Chianti countryside
Scott, Sue, Don, Mark and Emily
A view of San Gimignano
Lunch in Siena in the famous "Piazza del Campo"
Siena
Perugia by night