One week down and 1 to go

Well that's one week of language school in Firenze finished and only one more to go.  Since it seems to take me a week to get my mouth around speaking Italian, I think in future a longer period is probably better for me.

What to do during the free weekend?  The school has organised a trip to nearby Lucca on Saturday, which we're both going to and on Sunday we separate with my sister going to Fiesole (a part  of Florence about 6km from the centre with ruins of an ancient Etruscan town, Roman baths theatre etc etc) while I will walk miles exploring the part of Florence south of the river....it used to be the wrong side until the Medici family bought a property there. There's only so many ruins i can gaze at before my mind shuts up shop...a result of being bored out of my tiny brain while being dragged, protesting, around Roman walls and ruins while very young...and we have the pix to prove how bored I was!

 Ponte Vecchio...the top part comprised a private walkway for the Medici family so they didn't have to mix with the hoi polloi

One of the many bits of iron scattered all around walls of the city...just incase you need to tie up your horse.....or whatever this particular animal is!!

Firenze

3 days into the 2 weeks of school and  this language school is one I’d highly recommend; it’s is much more efficient and professional than the previous one I went to.  There must be heavy promotion in Japan and Switzerland since there are many students from those countries with many of them staying for up to 6 months.

So my day starts with a 2 km walk to school arriving early enough to be able to swig a quick espresso in the café next to the school followed by a dash up the 91 steps to the classroom in order to beat the rush  of students who clog the WiFi bandwidth to crawl speed..

This is the entrance to the school which is right in the heart of the city

.

 these are the first of the 91 steps I climb to my classroom...I could take the lift of course.

 a slightly out of focus pix of the Swiss/Brazilian/Italian/Australian(missing) morning group

one can only wonder at what happened here!

The first class of the day is dusty dry grammar  and after a 20 min break (down 91 steps, into café, swig espresso, climb back up 91 steps) we have a conversation class til 12.55.  Then we have a 1 hour+ 5 mins break for lunch (down 91 steps, eat lunch while walking/sight-seeing, climb back up 91 steps….my cycling fitness has dropped but walking and stair climbing are keeping total deterioration at bay and I have a sore hamstring and a blister on my toe to prove it!). 

The afternoon class is another conversation class and this one has been a hoot…we are given a scenario eg going into a shop and just wanting to browse....the teacher is the other half of the conversation and  since she is a born actor  the class is a riot and the 2 hours pass very quickly. We fumble our way through the scenario we are given and then she tells us the more colloquial expressions we need to know eg grammatically when asking how much something costs you’d say “Quanto costa?”, but Italians say instead “Quanto viene?” My conversation skills are well below those of my morning and so I’ve opted to change that class into private lessons to allow me the time to converse without stress and at my own level…first one today.

So every day is a full day from 9am to 4pm with time at the end for a bit more sight-seeing followed by a meal, homework and bed.

The school organises tours most days, but we’ve avoided all so far except we are signed up to go to Luca on Saturday; Sunday may well be a day for hiring a car and exploring Tuscany although the Cinque Terra also beckons.

bikes everywhere

yet more padlocks

just gotta love those street names

Manchester to Florence a bit of an epic.

Manchester to Florence a bit of an epic.

I guess if I had decided earlier on that I would freight my bike back rather than the alternative of leaving it a left luggage at Manchester for 2 weeks, I would have booked a flight direct from Manchester to Florence..however…..I didn’t so I didn’t, dammit.

As a result yesterday’s trip was Manchester- London Gatwick-Rome-Florence was somewhat of a long haul trip lasting from 0900 to 2200.  Oddly it was the same plane on both legs and wasn’t the most comfortable or quiet plane I’ve flown on and of course food and service were minimal.  Gatwick was a revelation..I’d expected a smaller meaner airport similar to Stanstead but was pleasantly surprised.  All the Italian cyclists were there too, but weren’t on my flight.

My bag took for ever to arrive on the carousel, but despite that I managed to find the station, buy a ticket (14 euro) and get on the train into Rome that I’d hoped to catch which was the end of the smooth bit!..the walk from that train in Rome to the ticket office, find the ticket office,  buy a ticket (40 euro) and then walk miles to find the train was a long and stressful time to say the least. I was dripping with sweat once the task was completed.  However  once again I caught the train I’d hoped to although it was chock full and  I had to stand.  Getting a taxi to our accommodation once in Firenze was easy peasy (15 euro).

Accommodation

The apartment is alongside the River Arno and is about 2km from the centre of town and our school, the weather is s’posed to be good for the next 3 days so we’ll walk the trip while it is good, and take a bus when it’s raining. 

We’d asked for a family stay with us doing our own cooking plus we didn’t really want a share bathroom.  Well we sorta got that, we got a private toilet, but still have to share the shower….we are staying with a couple whose 3 children are now adults and have moved out.   So we both have the use of 2 of their bedrooms as a bed-sit.  Plain. Bare bones.  A bit like a hotel.

 My sister  arrived much earlier and had gleaned that our lady host used to teach English Literature , her husband finishes work at 2200 and one of her sons hopes to move to Australia but by the time  I arrived I was brain dead and conversation was minimal, I can’t even recall her name.

Nostalgia

An AGA  to cook on...how typically rural  Brit can you get?

except that this is even more so ..milk in a bottle...delivered to your door and paid for at the time of delivery...69p. The bottle is property of the dairy so no recycling required, just leave the washed bottle outside the door when finished...no change  from when I lived here 40 years ago...sighs nostalgically. Sadly I just didn't think of taking a pix at the time of delivery.

ciao..hmmmm can I remember any Italian at all???

Bike packing and tourist bit done and dusted

So far Bonnie, our American house mate, has seen..a fox, pheasants (dead and alive), a squirrel, Roman ruins, a thatched roof or 2, an aquaduct, Roman walls, a very old cathedral, Welsh names about 27 letters long, canals and locks, the Rows (very old 2 storey shopping) in Chester, the W on Westminster houses in Chester, the gate into the Eaton Hall Estate, where I used to live and many, many other things and now I want to stop being a tour guide!!!

The bike is packed
I'm ready to go,
I'm leaving on a jet plane
Dont' know when I' ll be back again..........

World Masters Track Championships done and dusted

To the house's  list of successes we have to add 3 more PB's (Bonnie, Marita, Ray), 2 bronze medals (Donna & Bonnie) and another world best time (Bonnie).  Wow!  what a star studded cast!  Linkie thing here..a better site than the official one

Bonnie and I went into the TT both hoping to get a World Record and Bonnie did a blinder of a first lap to grab the prize.  Her first lap time was  over 1 second faster than mine; she was 2nd fastest in the group, whereas I was 5th fastest and although she faded in the 2nd lap (5th fastest to my 3rd fastest) she'd done the work . Chapeau!

Donna did the biz in her TT, Marita and Ray got PB's and while not a PB, my TT was better than  recent efforts.

When sorting out things for the TT I discovered that I had inadvertently put the 14 cog on the disc wheel which meant I'd been riding a 52/14 instead of a 52/15  ie 100.3 instead of 93.6 gear inches.....which  at least explains the slower than normal first lap ..!  I'd previously discovered that for that same race I'd put my head stem on the wrong way round and so, while still legal, I was less aero than usual hmmmm!  think I need a minder ;-). 

I'm hoping enough (older) women complain to the UCI via their federations about the rules for our classes 'cos I predict that next year unless something is done the oldest lady will be a 54 year old.  however I'm not holding my breath since many people agree at the time but then do nothing. Actually it doesn't have to be just the older women since this situation will perpetuate and will eventually effect those who are currently in W50 and younger. I've already asked CA and will do so again.

So that's it for the cycling leg of this vacation..tourist stuff today and then off to Florence to learn more Italian.   My major events for this track season are:....Metro champs on 26/11, State Masters early Feb and Nationals late Feb. during which I will be attempting to lower both my TT and Pursuit times

Successes at the Stables

Toasting the house's successes:

1 silver medal, 1 PB and 2 World Best Times

and we all have 1 event still to ride