As Marielle marveled at the beauty of the countryside from our window, Paolo drove Bill, Tony, myself, and Father Terry's bike case to Florence.
Paolo took us to Nencini Sport. There we looked at bicycles, while he emailed Fr. Terry's bicycle case to Rome. The people in this bike store of all bike stores were great. They told us that there have been many incidents of bicycles being stolen. I bought a Scott bicycle for €1400, which Bill assured me was a good deal. Bill bought a Specialzed bike which was used, and Tony bought a used Trek bicycle. The prices were reasonable, and the service great.
Although Bill spoke very little Italian, he jumped in and spoke bicycle maintenance and helped the workers put the bikes together. Being in this wonderful bicycle shop helped salve the pain of having our bicycles stolen.
We returned to the monastery, and set out at 2 o'clock. This late start and losing precious time in Siena can be attributed to the thieves. It was great to be riding again, even though we rode in the rain. Riding through the Tuscan countryside was fabulous, and it soon stopped raining. I had another flat tire, and we did not get to our destination outside of Siena until 5:30.
After showering and celebrating Mass, we hopped into the van and went into Siena, which, in my opinion, is the prettiest town in Italy.
We emerged from a very narrow street to encounter the piazza, which is stunning. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, watching the sunset, promising more sun in the next two days. Some of Paolo's friends joined us at the end of the meal.
After returning to the Piazza, we enjoyed gelato and went past the cathedral.
Today ended as well as yesterday ended badly. After evening prayer, we got some rest. Although we did not have time to visit the shrines of Saint Bernadine, who promoted the Holy Name of Jesus, or Saint Catherine, a Doctor of the Church, we got a taste of Siena, as the city was preparing for the July horse race (the Palio) in the piazza.
Deo Gratias!
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