Training (or not) Tuscan Style

Mike and I spent Thanksgiving week in Italy roaming the Tuscan hills and enjoying wonderful Italian cuisine as well as showing my niece Emily our favorite places like Siena, San Gimignano, and Florence. Figuring that we were doing a lot of walking, I assumed the pasta, gelato, tiramisu, Parmesan cheese, etc. couldn't do too much damage. But, yikes, I gained 3lbs and Mike gained 4lbs in one week!

It wasn't for lack of trying to exercise. I did inquire in the Rome airport lounge if there was a gym in the airport where I could spend my 4 hour layover. The skinny, eloquent Italian woman sitting behind the desk looked at me like I was nuts. Our first hotel didn't have a gym as many European hotels do not. And, one hotel I had specifically chosen for its gym had an out of order treadmill and little else.

So we did our best to exercise Tuscan style. We climbed the Tuscan hills to the top of Montecatini Alto -- an ascent that others choose to do via funicular rather than by foot. And, while we did spend the day lounging at a spa in Monsummano Terme, it included a 1000 yard swim in their thermal pool and my 30 minute weight lifting and abdomen routine in their fitness center. Plus, I surely must have sweated some calories off in the Turkish steam bath grotto caves. Our ascent up the steep 414 stairs to the top of the Florence Duomo surely burned some calories.

Many Italians appear to stay in good shape without formal exercise routines and fancy gyms. Our farmhouse hosts, Andrea and Silvia, looked great. We last stayed with them 10 years ago and while they had aged a little, they were still slim and energetic working their agrotourism villa. Andrea celebrated his 71st birthday while we were there and somehow he manages to eat Sylvia's nightly feast without gaining weight like we did.

We did see some Italians out walking and running amongst the Tuscan hills. And, one of our surprise encounters was stumbling upon the Florence marathon -- a great surprise other than the detours and parking hassles which I can't complain about being a participant in races that shut down roads to traffic. What a great route for 7,000 runners through the Florence streets and piazzas! I snapped the photo in this blog in front of the famous Duomo -- the runners were clearly feeling energized as music and the crowd's cheers echoed in the piazza.

Back in the USA, I've promptly returned to my swim, bike, run exercise routines. I just completed a 5 mile run before sitting down to write this. Signing off to go do my weigh-in and see if I've managed to lose the Tuscan three...!