Biking in Italy!

Rob and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Riccione, Italy (on the Adriatic Coast) where we stayed at a biking hotel on the beach. We left the kids with Mara and spent four days just biking, walking on the beach and eating scrumptious Italian food. We took the train down, which delayed us significantly. While Mussolini may have made the trains run on time, the current government is not doing the same. An eight hour trip ended up taking about 20 hours for us. We spent the night in a wonderful Marriott in Milan, but hopped on a train promptly the next morning, only to wait again in Bologna. Anyhow, when we finally arrived, it was all worth it. The hotel offers bike tours with tourguides for different levels. I did the easier stuff while Rob went with the former cycling pro and did all the really hard climbs. Mine wasn't easy -- we did about 50 km a day -- but it only involved a little bit of climbing. We rode into the tiny country of San Marino one day -- up the mountain to the castletop and then rode back out. Rob and I did a couple bike rides together and that was great fun. Best of all, the food was all-inclusive and absolutely delicious! I think I ate too much of the all-you-can-eat gelato.

Sadly, I broke my camera at the Museum of Transport so I haven't been able to take any pictures since. My bike guide took lots of photos, though, which I'm hoping he'll someday email to me. :)