Pictures from Day 4 (May 30)

On Day 4 we bicycled from Murlo to Montalcino. Since Montalcino is on the top of a mountain, it was uphill most of the way. I won the "Marco Pantani" award for my bicycling (and my bicycling costume!) this day, because Giuseppe (one of the tour leaders) and I were the only ones to do the additional "optional ride" from Montalcino to the Banfi winery. This is the first time I can remember that I've gotten an award for athletic achievement!

Click on each small image to see a larger image.

Coming into Montalcino
Terraced landscape in Montalcino

Janet, Dave, and Ally, entering Montalcino and trying to decide which way to go
Janet, John, and Robin, waiting for lunch

Lynne showing off for the camera. Lynne is a musician; her husband Dave is a glass blower.
Claudia and Christy, who first became friends in college. Unfortunately their faces are shadowed, but I like the background of this photo -- it reminds me of a da Vinci painting.

Karen, a CS professor from Minnesota. When we got to talking, we discovered that I know the woman who mentored her as a grad student.
A view of the valley

Another view of the valley
Christy, Claudia, Ally, and Robin

Giuseppe preparing one of our great picnic lunches
Claudia, Ruth, me, and Christy. Frank called this my "Marco Pantani" costume -- the jersey came from an Italian bike shop where Guillaume had taken several of us the day before.

The optional ride to the Banfi winery was actually rather easy, because it was downhill most of the way. Here's a washout in the road on the way there: rather than repairing it, they simply re-routed the road to go around it.
A sign in front of one of the Banfi winery's vineyards

A cactus beside the road heading up to the Villa Banfi. Down here in the valley, it was much hotter and drier than it was up on the top of the mountain in Montalcino.
One of the streets of Montalcino. The flags are for the particular neighborhood we're in. Several of these Italian towns seem to have some fierce rivalries among their different neighborhoods.

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	Coming into Montalcino		Terraced landscape in Montalcino
	Janet, Dave, and Ally, entering Montalcino and trying to decide which way to go		Janet, John, and Robin, waiting for lunch
	Lynne showing off for the camera. Lynne is a musician; her husband Dave is a glass blower.		Claudia and Christy, who first became friends in college. Unfortunately their faces are shadowed, but I like the background of this photo -- it reminds me of a da Vinci painting.
	Karen, a CS professor from Minnesota. When we got to talking, we discovered that I know the woman who mentored her as a grad student.		A view of the valley
	Another view of the valley		Christy, Claudia, Ally, and Robin
	Giuseppe preparing one of our great picnic lunches		Claudia, Ruth, me, and Christy. Frank called this my "Marco Pantani" costume -- the jersey came from an Italian bike shop where Guillaume had taken several of us the day before.
	The optional ride to the Banfi winery was actually rather easy, because it was downhill most of the way. Here's a washout in the road on the way there: rather than repairing it, they simply re-routed the road to go around it.		A sign in front of one of the Banfi winery's vineyards
	A cactus beside the road heading up to the Villa Banfi. Down here in the valley, it was much hotter and drier than it was up on the top of the mountain in Montalcino.		One of the streets of Montalcino. The flags are for the particular neighborhood we're in. Several of these Italian towns seem to have some fierce rivalries among their different neighborhoods.