Headway Systems: Cycling in Italy

Day 13 . After our last ride we headed back to Le Checche. Punto Bici would be arriving to pick up the bikes and we had to get our bags packed as our bus back to Rome would be arriving at 7 AM the next morning. The best part though, we were being treated with a dinner prepared for by the establishment.

The table itself was impressive. Dining this evening is our group, some folks from another agritourismo, and some friends of the family.	Our Le Checche hosts.

Vic with grampa and Helena, our morning server.


After starters of fresh melons, olives, some sort of veggies, we moved onto the hand made pasta's; spaghetti with tomato and meat sauce and ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese. It was all so tasty.

Do I have to make a choice?

Ian said the pasta was so good he just couldn't stop eating. He hardly had room for anything after that.	We had to stop Sherman from licking his plate but Bob seems disappointed. Maybe he would rather a nice bowl of rice!


	There's a dish!
Next came the wild boar meat, a couple different sausages, steak, and a mixed vegetable dish.
The Dreaded Cold is taking hold of someone.		Here, taste this.



Bill and Jean take time out.	The girls in their new Siena dresses. Talk about fashion stars (and planets)!

And lets not forget about desert. The specialty of the house, tira masu

And last but not least was the grappa.

Sherman announced before dinner that he was going to get blasted and dance on the table top. What a boozer, that guy.




All in all it was a great party, fantastic food, and a wonderful way to wrap up an amazing tour of Italy.


The family doing the dishes at the end of the night.	This was an amazing bathroom squeezed into a low corner of what was once the barn for the animals.
Tour Guide Extraordinaire - Vic Panei It is with great thanks and appreciation to Vic Panei, without whom this trip could never have been as wonderful or memorable as it was. Yes, Italy has much to offer, but when you have someone with the patience of a saint, connections of the mafia, humour to match any comedian, organization skills that were never ending, and just a down to earth nice guy like Vic, well, you can't help but have fun and enjoy. It definitely was a trip of a life time. I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU from the whole group. And may we all meet again.

The bus trip back to Rome. Then, home for some, and new adventures for others. (Almost all of Italy lost power the next day. We were certainly powered down about then too.)
THE END. Thanks for sharing our adventures with us.


Views of the country side in summer taken from a calendar.
Il Cipressino, Pienza	Il Cipressino, Pienza

Val d'Orcia	Val d'Orcia

Val d'Elsa	Vinci

Terrapilli, Pienza	Torrenieri

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Feast