Kalymnos!

Turns out we couldn't stay away.  This time though, the kids were with us (Dramatic music).  Chloe and I were both a little worried about this, considering how lazy the kids are about walking.  What would they say about walking uphill to the crag?  Only one way to find out!  It was the usual long day of travel:  Drive to Milan, park car at long term parking, bus to Bergamo airport, hope our scales are calibrated, check in, flight to Kos, bus to Mastixari, hope that the wait for the boat isn't too long, boat from Mastixari to Pothia, rent a car, drive to apartment.  It turned out that Bergamo airport had some new restaurants, and we happened upon *the best airport food ever*.  I guess they had updated the airport for the big expo in Milan.  I Think it was called Panino Giusto, but I'm not sure.  All I know is that we had zucchini flower sandwiches!  Getting to Mastixari was pretty smooth.  Strange to see gunboats in the harbor, though.

Then, across the channel to Kalymnos!

Where we met up with our favorite car/scooter rental place guy, Noufris.

Normally, we rent a cooter, but this was obviously not going to be possible this time, not even with a sidecar.  Instead, we went with a Suzuki Alto.  Only three cylinders!  I have to say that I was a little worried about this car.  However, during the trip, I came to love it (and only 20E per day).  First nice thing:  airbags everywhere.  Second nice thing:  no bugs in your mouth and nostrils.  Third nice thing: amazing turning radius!  Fourth nice thing: plenty of pep, even with all of us jammed in the car.  Fifth nice thing:  excellent fuel efficiency:  we only filled the tank once the entire time.  That's one thing that really annoyed me about the bikes -- constantly having to drive back up the hill to refill the tank.  From now on it's Alto all the way.

Now comes the sad part of our travel story.  I have arranged to stay at the Olive Apartments.  Previously, with other places I discovered that radio silence was not uncommon, but the owner would always be there and things would be ready.  So I was not too worried that she had not responded to me in the past few days.  Once we were on the island however, there was no responce from email or telephone.  Long story short, we had to check into the *horrible* hotel Continental.  They put us under the pool.  It was dirty (hairball on the shower drain, delaminating door, cherry stems on the floor?) and really expensive by island standards at 65 euros/night.  Eventually we got in contact with the Olive person who was very apologetic and gave us one free night in her studio.  However, it quickly became obvious that she had double booked and we were staying in another studio rather than Olive Studio.  This place was nice enough, with a decent terrace and view, but I am pretty sure we won't be going back there, and will certainly not be recommending it.  It was a really long day for us and the kids.

Florence

In Florence, we hit the usual places, but it was obviously very crowded.  Stephanie had found a really nice, and centrally located apartment on via Zanobi. Highlights for me were finding a new place to ride in the hills, buying a leather jacket from David Cerasi, and discovering a fabulous new (to us) restaurant called Fuoco Matto.  I could eat there every day for the rest of my life, very happily.  Then, the sort of long trip home!

Last day in the villa

Volterra

After my bike recon, we all went to Volterra.  I had the best sandwich ever.  

from this place

and saw this interesting bike jersey

then back to the villa

I found another cool ride with some nice graded gravel

A longish bike ride to Volterra

It was a pretty hot day, but some nice riding.  Large sections were on major roads though, which was not quite as nice.  Volterra is a touristy but nice town

Here is chloe's new running outfit.  

We made pizzas on the grill

San Miniato

We drove to San Miniato for lunch.  This time it was pappardelle with wild boar ragu.

 One pasta shape you see a lot of in this area is "Pici", which I really like.  Definitely one of my favorites.  We also climbed the tower (which we can see from the villa, many miles away)



and visited a truffle-emporium.


 The area as a whole is known for truffles.  There is even a statue of a guy holding what looks like a rock with which he is about to club his dog with, but is actually a gigantic truffle:

And found the local slow food outpost, which is ALWAYS CLOSED

Hanging out in the villa salon

Playing chess, as one does.

WINE

We went to a wine tasting with Stephanie.  I had found the winery on tripadvisor:  Agricole, SSA.  The people were very nice, and the wine was really good.  Stephanie bought us some wine!

Tuscany

The basement

This was in the basement of the villa:

Meanwhile, above: