Words seem inadequate to express cycling Italy from Hotel Belvedere. On the bike…boundless vistas – mountains, the sea, small villages, castillos, endless fields of grains, veggies and herbs, the round-a-bouts and traffic…and yes hills, hills and more hills… Hey, only 2K more – the view is better! Four rides daily ranging from 30k – 120k and you can climb until your heart’s content or your legs can do no more.

On the bike the senses are exposed and magnified to the sights, fragrances that swell every kilometer, the sounds and the feel of the salt air and sea breezes.

And the guides…”well done darling”. Now what woman doesn’t like to be called darling by some strapping man in Lycra with a sexy foreign accent, as she’s huffing an sweating up another hill…those boys know how to keep you pedaling! Ya gotta love those boys!

At the Hotel Belvedere life was completely catered and attended – you wake, eat, ride, sip cappuccino, expresso or cafe frido shakalado, ride again, eat, siesta, eat and share wine with your compadres, pick up your laundered bike clothes, sleep, get up and do it again the following day. A cyclist’s nirvana!

The food is exquisite, service cheerful, guests engaging and global. And the food..oh the food…what it’s time to eat again. They know how to fuel the cyclist after a day in the saddle. It is no surprise that the Belvedere was voted the number 1 bike hotel in Europe.

And then there was the pool party…mama Mia – a five course meal, Brazilian dancers, and Cactus Cycling goes wild on the dance floor. The laddies and lassies from Ireland were having as much fun and joy as the Americanos.

It was just loovely!

Ciao
Gwen