More Rain????

Pitter-pat, pitter-pat….this is NOT the sound you want to hear when on a bike trip. Or, any trip for that matter, but especially one that is focused on being outdoors. We have had rain almost every day in various forms, some sprinkles, some misty and some downright pouring. This was the downright pouring.

So, breakfast was a somber affair of everyone standing by the windows looking wistfully out at some point hoping for a glimmer of sun. Nope, not happening.

We all met for route rap, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that there would be no riding this morning. There was a sad mood, as we all headed back to our rooms, but it was the safer option for everyone. We all did various forms of relaxation. Ken sleeping, me writing this blog, Ashley playing her games, Don reading, Jan working and Katelyn/Shaun hitting the spa.

At 1145a we all reconvened the van to head to lunch. Didn’t we just eat breakfast???? We drove 20 minutes to an Agro Tourismo or a farm that focuses on tourism. There, we had an amazing lunch of fresh vegis, soup, salad and watermelon. Once again, no pasta! When lunch was over, it was time to go to a Parmigiana-Reggiano farm to see how they make cheese.

We were met by Efra, a very stereo-typical Italian mamma. Scolding smiling, animated, verbose…all those things you associate with an

Italian mom. She spoke mostly in Italian with Melissa interpreting as much as she could (with Efra letting her know when she went off script in a very stern way) to explain how they make parmigiana. The cows are milked twice a day, every day of the year (thank goodness for machines) and the milk is processed once a day that starts the production process.

The end result is the amazing parmigiana that we have enjoyed the past few days and of course we all bought some to take home! By the time we ended the tour, Efra had taken a shine to Don and was so impressed (as are we all!) that at 84 years young he is out biking across Italy.

As we walked out of the cheese tour, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. So, I thought what the heck…I am riding! Our trip leaders had

brought the bikes just in case, so Ashley, Katelyn, Shaun and Don decided to join me. Ken and Jan opted out and went back to the hotel.

Since we had missed the entire morning ride and we had two options for the afternoon. One that was 7 miles, with a climb and then another 5 miles with the final climb to our castle. We all decided to do the full 12 miles and were treated to a few sprinkles and awesome views of the rolling hills, valleys and villas along the way. Well worth

the effort and a way to wear off the amazing food we have been eating!

We were welcomed back by our trip leaders and did a round of high-fives. Melissa had ridden with us and admitted she was surprised that we decided to go despite the less than ideal weather and was happy we did, as were we!

We all met up for a short van ride to a beautiful (and I can’t stress the BEAUTIFUL enough) agro tourismo, Alba del Borgo (https://www.albadelborgo.it/en/) where we were going to learn to make pasta and then enjoy it for dinner (we were at least hoping that was the case).

The property is run by Andrea who purchased it in totally disarray 7 years ago. Andrea and his family have worked to restore the farmhouse and the surrounding farmland to pristine condition and the area we were making pasta had an amazing picture window that looked out on the vineyards, gardens and orchards.

We were shown how to make tortelli, a version of a ravioli starting

from just flour and eggs. After being divided into three groups and fueled by some great local wine, we were doing our best to make our dinner edible.

And, it was not only edible it was excellent! We also enjoyed fresh salad from the garden and some of the best chicken with mashed potatoes I have had in a long time. By the time the requisite gelato came out we were all bursting. However, that didn't deter most of the group from devouring that gelato like it was the first course. When in Italy…..

It was finally time to hit our beds and get ready for some better weather tomorrow (hopefully!).