The Umbria town of Orvieto sits atop a plateau of tufa rock—consolidated volcanic ash that we would call “tuff” in English. The rock was thrown from the large crater that is now Lake Bolsena, which we visited four days ago.
Tuscany Italy by Motorcycle: Crete Senesi and Pienza
Posted on March 27, 2017
There’s nothing like a few days in Italy to turn even a fast-food junkie into a foodie. Italians are proud of their culinary heritage and my tour guide, Enrico Grassi is a goodwill ambassador of all things cultural and gastronomical in the boot-shaped country.
Awake once more at dawn in my 400-year-old room, I’m eager to get into Siena. The shimmering city on three hills that has been enticing us from the infinity pool at Podere la Strega is now on our agenda.
Italy by Motorcycle: Negotiating with a Greve in Chianti Shopkeeper
Posted on March 11, 2017
After leaving San Gimignano we head to Greve in Chianti, the birthplace of Giovanni da Verrazzano. He is famous for being the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and Newfoundland, and for discovering the New York Bay in 1524. This discovery is why the bridge spanning the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island bears his name.
I awake on the third day of my tour in a 17th-century country house and it occurs to me that human beings have been conceived, born, lived, and died in this very room for over 400 years. The walls are freshly-painted plaster, their yellow hue the perfect shade for the faint early morning light.
I never learned to like bluegrass music as a child of the 1970's. After all, we had the Rolling Stones, The Who, and Fleetwood Mac on the AM/FM dial so who needed that old timey stuff?
Appalachian Mountains and Music Motorcycle Tour with Wayne Henderson
Posted on February 6, 2017
There are lots of motorcycle "bucket list rides" in Appalachia, especially the Blue Ridge province. As a matter of fact Motorcycle Roads website ranks 30 of the top 100 motorcycling roads in America in the region.
Driving a Motorcycle in Rome: My Surprising Experience
Posted on January 31, 2017
I’ve been chasing an Italian man riding a BMW GS Wasserboxer motorcycle for the last six days through Lazio, Tuscany, and Umbria. Tomorrow we’ll be back to Rome, where the entire adventure began.