In Ravenna, we conducted our search for a suitable dining place in the usual diligent way and eventually ended up at 'Antica Trattoria al Gallo 1909' on Via Maggiore. This was not on our guide notes recommendations but was in the Michelin Guide recs online. We gather that the 1909 references the year the Trattoria was established but under a different name. The name was changed to the current one in 1944. Walking in there was a strange experience. From the street the only indication that there is a Trattoria is the large sign on the frontage. The main entrance door gives nothing away. Walking in is like stepping back in time (Let's do the Time Warp Again). The decor is very much 'Arts and Crafts' with many figurines of females with animals. I'm not sure if they were supposed to be portraying Diana the Huntress or Diana the Temptress. The lighting fixtures inside have obviously been converted from gas lamps too.
We had an excellent meal. For entree we again shared a pasta course of Capellini Ravenna al Ragu. Then Garth had sliced fillet of beef with herbs while I had Polpettine (meat balls) of beef in a tomato sauce. A very pleasant Montefalco Rosso washed it down and then Garth had a Ricotta Torte for dessert. Ah - another successful foray into Italian cuisine.
This morning was goodbye to Ravenna to head for our last stopping place before Florence - Brisighella. While the first part of the course was across flat farmland, this time we were heading west away from the coast and towards the Apennines. Until today we have had light winds from the south and east as we rode. Today, for a change, the wind was coming mostly from the west, and it was quite fresh at times too. Ho hum! We alternated being in front so as to share the load and still managed to spin along at a good pace. We were passed a couple of times by one of the couples doing the same tour. We had thought that they were German but they are actually Belgian.
Heading out of Ravenna on some reasonably busy roads we came across a bike shop so stopped and bought and fitted a bottle cage each. This was one of the major things missing from the bikes that were supplied (apart from front suspension forks that is). This means that we can now make sure to keep up our hydration which is very important as it is quite warm and we are losing a lot of moisture.
There have been many 'No Hunting' signs along the routes we have ridden and today was just the same. We wondered what there would be to hunt here when a pheasant ran across the road. Unfortunately, not close enough to catch with the front wheel - bugger!
Apart from Brisighella, the largest place along today's route was Faenza. We reached there just before midday and stopped for a coffee. We had to cycle through two Piazzas and there were a lot of market stalls and people around so it must have been a regular market day. I have been getting a lot of stress in my shoulders, arms and back due to the different configuration of the bike to my own bike. The handlebars were considerably higher than my usual position so, counterintuitively, while we were in Faenza I decided to drop the stem a couple of centimetres to see if that would help. My reasoning was that, in my normal riding position, the load is shared between the butt, back, and arms/shoulders, so dropping the handlebar stem should achieve a similar balance. Although my arms and shoulders were aching from the morning's riding, it did seem to help during the rest of the day's ride - tomorrow will tell.
From Faenza we headed away from the main highway to take a quieter back road for the 13km to Brisighella. Since we are now heading up into the foothills of the Apennines we encountered our first small uphills on this stretch. These were not big but not helped by the headwind either. On approaching Brisighella we were instructed in our guide notes to take the first road to the left and there was our hotel only 50 metres away.
Since it was about 1:30pm we cooled off for a while, had a shower, and then headed up into the town for some light refreshment. We had a bit of a wander around the interesting town, which is overlooked by three historic monuments, before going down to check out the railway station where our journey starts tomorrow. Also checking out restaurants along the way for tonight's repast. One of the things we looked at was "The Street of the Donkeys" which was used in the transportation of chalk in medieval times.
After that, as it was quite warm, we headed back to the hotel and working out our easiest route to get from the hotel to the railway station.
