Italia 2009
Tuscany
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Here's Terri with our F650GS tour bike getting ready for the first day's ride.

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Prepping all the bikes, support van in the background.

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Our first lunch stop - a biker friendly hangout.

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These Motard riders were scorching the local mountain roads.

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In Italian cities (this is Florence) scooters are the number one form of transporttion.

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Tuscany is full of statues, there's one in every plaza.

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The River Arno separates the old town (left) and the new.

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One of the two statues found on the bridge over the Arno.

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Further upstream is the 14th century Ponte Vechio. Florence's goldsmithing industry is located here.

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Without GPS's our group was sometimes directionally challenged.

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Another Florentine statue.

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Street musicians put on a great show.

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Every town needs a Ferrari store.

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There's little logic in Florence's street layout as witness this five way intersection.

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First dinner out on tour, a fine (and very expensive) restaurant..

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After getting fuel Neil's V-Strom refused to start. The clutch safety switch wire had slipped off.

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Florist shop display in Bologna.

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We spent the afternoon on a walking tour with Angela as our guide.

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The Church of Santa Maria Novela, built by the Dominicans in the 13th century..

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Dome of the Medici chapel. The Medici's were the most prominent of Florence's patrons.

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This statue memorializes the last of the Medicis, Anna.

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There are street markets everywnere selling goods, most of them knockoffs.

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Genuine Italian silk scarves (made in China).

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Hot roasted chestnuts on a rainy day.

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The main entrance to the Duomo of Florence, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

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What time is it?

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The painting inside of the dome tells the history of mankind.

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Another shot of the exterior of this enormous edifice.

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Just a bit of the marblework that makes up the entire facade.

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One of the spires on the Duomo of Florence.

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And finally, one of the Duomo's towers.

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The Palazzo Vecchio was completed in 1302 and still serves as Florence"s town hall.

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Neptune's fountain in the Piazza della Signor.

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The Rape of the Sabine Women by 16th century sculptor Giambologna.

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Legend has it that rif one rubs the boar's nose they will return someday to Florence.

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A vegetable vendor's sidewalk display.

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Jewelry shop on the Via Tounabuoni, Florence's high-end shopping district.

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Now for something a little different, evening window shopping.

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Piazza della Repubblica marks the site of the forum, the center of the old Roman city.

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A round of drinks at the local pub while waiting for dinner.

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A shrine of a different sort in the pub.

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Expectant diners, look at the size of those plates.

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Florence from across the river.

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Tuscan view from atop the wall surrounding the castle at the village of Poppi..

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Roadside landscape, olive trees in the Chianti wine region of Tuscany.

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Statue of Garibaldi in Siena's La Lizzo park directly across from our hotel.

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Shops line the old town's narrow, winding streets.

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Gelateria's window display (before opening for the evening).

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Piazza del Campo. The Torre del Mangia is the bell tower of Siena's town hall.

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Still at the Piazza del Campo. This fountain is popular with tourists for the obvious reasons.

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This well is in the courtyard of the Palazzo Chigi-Saracini.

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She-wolf suckling the infants Romulus and Remus. According to legend, Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus.

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First view of the Siena Duomo's dome.

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Here's the duomo from the front showing the main entrance and the ornate marble facade.

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Mural, stained glass and friezes above the entrance.

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Amazing marble carvings cover the entire cathedral.

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The central nave of the cathedral. Note the marble floor art.

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This duomo is considered to have the most beautiful floors in the world.

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Consider this etching in the marble.

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This inlaid etching again features the suckling twins.

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The ceilings aren't too bad either. This is in the Piccolomini Library.

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These are also in the library.

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The library houses precious illuminated choir books dating to the 14th century.

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Back in the cathedral, this Saint Peter is one of four Michelangelo sculptures surrounding the alter.

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One of a pair of golden organs in the cathedral.

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Our Oregonian friend David Allen shot this porttrait at the votive candles.

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Here's David and his lovely bride Cherlyne after our visit to the duomo.

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Back to the secular world. Antipasta for lunch, yummy.

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Street art. Trusting artist later walked away leaving his collection trays behind.

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Sculpture of Cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, he eventually became Pope Pius II.

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On our way to Livorno the following day we briefly stopped at Monteriggioni.

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It's considered the most original medieval town in Italy.

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Later in the morning we spent a bit more time in the small city of San Gimignano.

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There were a number of shops offering beautiful locally made ceramics.

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Some detail on the ceramic vessels.

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Art students take advatage of the higher levels of the city to produce classwork sketches.

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Small market's window display. Not for vegetarians.

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These turrets are interspersed along the ancient walls that protect the city.

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Late afternoon we boarded the overnight ferry from Livorno to Golfo Arangi, Sardinia.

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Just had time to grab a quick sunset shot before we sailed.

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A week later we returned at sundown. You might recognize this landmark.

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But have you seen this view? The tower is just a part of a much larger complex.

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Our last day on tour we visited the Ducati factory museum.

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Did you know that Ducati made radios and cameras before turning to motorcycles?

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After the war Ducati began making conversions to power bicycles.

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The Cucciolo became a big seller and saved the company.

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Very quickly afterward Ducati began building entire motorcycles, and of course, racing them.

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By 1956 they were firmly established as a racing company.

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Through the 60's and 70's Ducati continued to improve their desmo powered race bikes.

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One of the two most famous Ducatis, the Paul Smart Imola racer introduced Ducati's famous L-Twin motor.

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The Mike Hailwood Isle of Man winner, the other historic Ducati, cemented the company's reputation.

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A huge failure. Floyd Clymer wanted Ducati to offer a Harley challenger. Only a couple were built.

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Through the 80's into the 90's Ducati built a series of Superbikes for racing around the world.

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While the 916 is iconic, the 851 was the progenitor of the entire Superbike line.

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A diversion from their traditional twins was the gorgeous Supermono, only 100 or so were built.

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Troy Bayliss rode this 1098R to the 2008 World Superbike championship.

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Casey Stoner won the world MotoGP championship on this Desmosedici.

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The original Ducati factory across from the current one. Note the Rossi fan's flag.

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A quick shot of the Ducati factory store located adjacent to the factory. Lots of bling available here.