The staff were very grumpy at the hotel at breakfast today so I was glad to move one. I got the 9.30 train from Venice to Siena via Florence. Danielle and Rowan were on a later train. There was the statutory thunderstorm as the train tunnelled through the Apennines, but by the time we got to Florence the storms were all gone. The trundle-train to Siena is a bit of a delight [as long as you are not in a hurry] and the relative peace and serenity of Siena after the bustle of Venice is heaven. I have to wait till 3pm when the shop that holds my bike re-opens [I hope]. So I have hooked up to a wifi in the market square and write this. I chat with an American guy who is setting up a "fitness" business in London with his Chinese business partner - sign of the times.
3.15 Fiorella arrives and I take my bike and prepare for riding again, after so long off it [three days] it is a pleasure to pedal away from the city and hit the hills of Chianti. The ride to villa should mean I arrive just after everyone else. In fact I get drenched in the last 3km as the thunder returns - so I roll up at the villa and stagger in dripping and bedraggled uttering "is this the villa?" to two immaculate ladies. Without batting a perfect eyelid they assured me it was, and carried my bags to a room where I could shower. By the time I emerged clean and dry, it dawned on me that I had arrived not last but first. As the others turned up with various car-related tales of woe [traffic on the autostrada, hire car chaos]
we decided to order a meal at the villa for the first night. So there are 15 of us in total, ages ranging from 9 to 56, and it looks like it should be a good week. Here is the obligatory group photo taken by Anna from the villa.
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