Our Italian Soccer Expereince

It all started with the 2010 World Cup.  Like many Americans, Sherry and I did not really follow soccer, especially on the world stage.  Still, our love of traveling in Europe made us start to think a little differently.  I mean, to many Europeans, soccer is everything. So, we tuned in and were hooked from the very first game.

From the moment Spain hoisted the World Cup trophy as the eventual winner, we knew we would have to see a soccer game in Europe.  And, every trip since then we’ve tried.  Boy how we have tried.  Each time we looked into it one of two things would happen.  Either we were between seasons or the home team was on the road.  It seemed the soccer gods were rooting against us.

As the 2014 World Cup came and went, we were still looking for that first game.  On our current trip to Florence we found it.

Florence is home to the Fiorentina’s or Le Viola as they are called locally since their primary color is purple, which also happens to be the color of Florence.  We were able to buy tickets in advance online and were all set to see our first ever European soccer match.

However, we had to do a little shopping first.  I mean, if you’re going to cheer for the home team you had better dress for the part.  As luck would have it, there is an official Fiorentina outlet just a few doors away our apartment.  We went over the day before the game and walked out a few minutes later with enough hats, scarves and t-shirts to show our support.

Finally, it was game day.  After a minor delay concerning our tickets we were in our seats just about 15 minutes before the match began.  Now, we just need to learn the chants and songs as the excitement was building.  The first part was easy.  As the announcer introduced each Le Viola player, he would shout the first name and the crowd would shout his last.  Since the names were also on the scoreboard it was very easy to join in.  This also happened after each goal when we would shout out the scorer’s last name.

Next, came the songs.  I don’t know why but I really wanted to participate in the singing.  After paying very close attention, I discovered the main song went something like this - blah blah blah blah Fiorentina blah blah blah! Yeah, I only managed to learn the Fiorentina part but that was enough to join in each time it came around.

Of course, there was also a game to be played.  We groaned when the visiting team score first.  Then we cheered as we tied the game.  We cheered and then groaned when our go ahead goal was waved off because of an offsides called.  We cheered wildly when the opposing team player was issued a yellow card. 

As the game progress, we found ourselves settling into the rhythm.  We scream when the referee missed a blatant call or called some stupid little penalty against us.  We booed each time the opposing team took an obvious dive to gain a call in his favor.

Mostly, we just enjoyed the experience.  We enjoyed it all from the three 12-year boys behind us (who knew every song), to the espressos at half time, to walking out with the crowd in the glow of a win by the home team.  It was everything we hoped it would be.

We will continue going to games when the opportunity arises.  Hopefully, the soccer gods will now be a little kinder and we will see our next game before the 2018 World Cup.  If not, we’ll just sit at home wrapped up in Fiorentina scarves and try to pretend we’re at the game.

Ciao!

Barista Training

In 2012, Sherry and I spent 3 weeks in Italy and part of that time was in Florence.  The few days we were in Florence left us wanting much more.  Now, we’ve returned with an 11-day visit dedicated to learning the secrets of Florence.  

The goal for this trip was to go beyond the Uffizi, the David, and the Duomo and really get to know the city.  As we were researching things to do we stumbled across something on TripAdvisor that immediately spoke to us both - Cappuccino & Espresso Course & Tour.  

Coffee is more than a hot beverage for us.  We study it.  We are fascinated by ever aspect from growing to roasting to sipping.  So, when we see a course in Italy (delivered in English) that offers to teach us about the plants, how to blend, the perfect espresso technique, coffee tastings, perfect foam and latte art, our only question is how to sign up.

Gabriele showing his technique.

Our class was on Friday night and it was a blast.  As soon as we met our host and teacher, Gabriele, we knew we were in for a great night.  He was that perfect combination of witty and knowledgeable.  And, to make things even better, we were his only students that night.

After making us coffees, the course begins.  We learn about the 2 main types of coffee and why they are typically blended.  We learned about how coffee is priced for purchase on the stock exchange.  We took a tour of the roasting facility where we discovered that even with all of the science available, it is a real person who decides the coffee is roasted perfectly.

Learning how to create latte art.

After the tour it was back to the class where we made espressos from 3 very distinctive coffees.  Tasting the nuances between the coffees reminded us of wine tasting.  Then it was our turn to play.  I must confess I’ve always wanted to make a cappuccino on a real coffee shop size espresso machine.  Well, this was my chance.  Gabriele showed us the perfect technique and then Sherry and I both got to practice.  

In the end, it was a memorable night.  I think Gabriele enjoyed our passion for coffee as much as we enjoyed his knowledge about it.  

This may not be your typical vacation activity but it was a great evening for us.  After all, the purpose of this trip was to go beyond the main attractions.  If our espresso class is any indication, we are off to a successful start.

Ciao!

It's All about the Base

I am writing this post while flying 35,000 feet over Canada on my way to Florence.  As I speed my way towards another great European adventure, you would think my thoughts are focused on long walks with Sherry, good food, great wine, and fine Italian espressos.  While understandable, you’d be wrong.  With 8 hours of flight time still to go I have plenty of time to switch my thoughts to the romance that is Florence.  Right now I am thinking about cycling!!! 

Well, I am actually thinking about not cycling, as in I won’t be riding for the next 14 days.  And, to be honest, I’m not sure buying the cycling magazine at the airport is helping the matter.  The reason for this focus on cycling is that this season is off to a weird start and I’m concerned about my base fitness. 

I rode nearly 4,700 miles last year that included a lot of climbing and jumping in the occasional pace line that was way too fast for me.  The result?  I entered the off season in great shape and I was really looking forward to carrying the base into 2015. It was going to be the foundation for another awesome year.  Instead, I am off to a very slow start and that’s cause for my concern.

It all started going down hill in October.  This is when I usually start to back off just a little and then take some real time off to recover in November.  However, my company started a really cool wellness program last year and we began an 11-week cardio challenge in October.  This meant completing at least 200 in zone minutes per week to qualify for the championship.  So much for taking it easy in October and November.

Long story short, my team was in the final championship so instead of taking time off the first week of December I racked up 1,012 of in zone cardio time.  By they way, 1,012 minutes was only good enough for 7th place as I work with some very competitive people.  The top gun logged 1,316 minutes. However, my team did win the championships so it was all worth it right?

It was time for a new plan. After the championship, I took 2 full weeks off to recover.  The plan was to rejuvenate and then pick things up in January.  That plan died a hideous death when I strained my groin.  This kept me off the bike for another 2 weeks.  In 2014, I finished January with over 400 miles.  This year it was a measly 126 easy miles.  No big  climbs.  No rocket-fast pace lines.  Just me cruising along like I was going to get coffee, which I did on most rides.

Now, just as the strain groined has healed enough to get back on the bike, I will be in Italy.  

What does this all really mean for my base.  Well, to begin with I fully intend to enjoy the hell out of Florence and not really care that I’m not riding.  But, you can bet your bottom euro that when I get home I plan on hitting it hard.  That’s because I have a 75 mile event with over 6,000 feet of climbing to prepare for that is a short 7 weeks after we return.

Still, it’s all good.  I am pretty sure there is still a solid base in me somewhere.  I did manage to ride the Saturday before we left and I felt pretty good all things considered.  I am hopeful it all comes back quickly once I start riding on a regular basis.  If not, it’s going to be a long 75 miles.

Ciao!

A Whole Lot of Nothing

This weekend I did something I haven’t done in many, many years - nothing!!!  No riding.  No household chores.  Nada.  Just a whole of sitting around and resting.  The reason?  A week ago I managed to strain a muscle around my right hip so I spent the better part of the week limping around in pain.  

This was not good and not just because it kept me off the bike on a gorgeous winter weekend.  You see, Sherry and I are off to Italy next week and I really don't want to spend 10-days limping around Florence.  Now, if I have to choose between limping around the Florence or limping around the office you know what wins.  Still, my preference would be full mobility and zero pain so I am babying this injury like no other.

On a quick side note, it’s amazing what a little pain can do to change your daily routine (besides messing up your weekend rides).  In this case, it really hurt to raise my leg without support.  It also hurt to bend over.  Therefore, putting on my socks each day has been quite the comical sight.  Also, did you know you use your hip muscles when you sneeze?  Neither did I until I sneezed one day and sent a shooting pain down my leg.  The human body is amazingly interconnected.

What did I miss?  Well, my cycling team was doing one of our famous social rides.  This was a recovery ride for a teammate. It started at a little B&B he owns and afterwards everyone enjoyed a potluck brunch.  The pictures looked pretty awesome and I'm sure everyone had a great time.  I probably could have made it to the brunch but to be honest I didn’t feel like explaining why I wasn't on the ride over and over.  Plus, getting in and out of the car is one of my most painful activities.  So, I stayed home.

What did I do?  Well, I started a couple of books that I want to read.  That was fun.  I spent time playing Spider Solitaire on the iPad.  I lost a lot so that wasn’t as much fun.  I completed a professional certification (it was online) and it felt good to get that out of the way. 

Mostly, I felt bored and restless.  I’m contemplating retiring in 3-5 years and Sherry was joking that I needed a hobby.  But cycling is my hobby!  My problem wasn’t that I don’t have something that I really love to do.  My issue this weekend was that I wasn’t physically able to do that thing I really love to do.  Perhaps what I need for retirement is a backup hobby.

Fortunately, all this babying is working.  On Friday afternoon I was still in a decent amount of pain and my mobility was pretty limited.  By Monday morning (when I wrote this post), the pain had subsided greatly.  I also have much better mobility and felt like I was returning to normal.  I’m guessing my weekend of nothingness help quite a bit.  At this point, I am not anticipating any problems walking around Florence. 

I can also tell you that there will not be any more weekends of nothingness in the near future.  I have some big events coming up and now my training is behind schedule.  This means I have many big rides with big climbs in my immediate future as I push really hard to get ready.

Of course, all of that hard training means I’ll be moving around the office very slowly on Mondays for a totally different reason.

Ciao!

Fog - My Kryptonite

When will I learn that you can’t post a blog that makes it seem like you’re immune to the effects of Mother Nature?  Every time I do it just makes her up her game and of course, she always wins.  In my last post - Baby It’s Cold Outside - I talked about how much I love riding in the cold and called out a few of team mates for being a bit wimpy.

I may have also inadvertently given Mother Nature the impression that I was impervious to her attempts to keep me off the bike.  And, like always, she responded with a big dose of my kryptonite - fog!!! 

I’ve written about fog before  - Fog!!! (enough said) - so this is nothing new.  While I think fog can be quite beautiful that doesn’t mean I like riding in it.  The chill from a wet fog seems to impact my very soul and while it may not reduce my strength it absolutely destroys my motivation.

Photo by Jonathan Lee (who was

riding in the fog)

So, after riding in 30 degree weather the previous weekend, I am sipping coffee while I look out the front windows at very thick fog.  While I struggle to make out the house across the street I try to convince myself that it won’t be that bad.  After all, the temperature is around 50 degrees so it’s not that cold.  As I finish my last sip I think about my two options - pour another cup and get on the bike and deal with the fog.  The coffee won!

When the fog did burn off later that day I headed out on the bike.  However, the lack of mojo created by the fog is still there.  It’s as if my motivation is in a fog even if the skies have cleared.  I start out on a 40 mile ride that will climb a few moderate hills.  That never happened.

About 7 miles into the ride I was cruising through Oakmont when I kind of gave up on the idea of riding.  I decided that I didn’t have it in me that day so I’ll just finish the big loop and head home.  Then, I remembered the the VJB Winery & Market in Kenwood has espresso.  After a little bit of self talk, I convinced myself to go get a double espresso.

As I sat there sipping even more coffee, I realized that coming to VJB added about 5 miles to the ride.  I can’t believe I tricked myself into a few more miles just to have an espresso.  Hell, I have espresso at home so there was no need to ride any further.  What’s even worse is that I fell for my own trick!  

As I head back home I decide that I’ll make up for today’s puny little ride with a good ride on Sunday.  That didn’t happen either.

Of course, on Sunday the fog was just as thick and I once again waited for it to burn off.  As I rode I quickly realized that this would be another short ride as I was once again lacking in motivation.  I stopped in Sebastopol for a cappuccino where I ran into cycling friend I hadn’t seen in while.  Chatting with him while sipping my coffee was the ultimate cure for bringing me out of my motivational fog and the ride home was fabulous.

So, lesson learned right?  If I write a post about being a bad ass on the bike I need to make damn sure that Mother Nature doesn’t think I’m challenging her.  Because, like I said earlier, she always wins.

Ciao!