Agriturismo and Vinci

The ride into Vinci again fell a little short of the town. After 45 kilometers through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, we found ourselves at the bottom of an impossibly steep hill a few kilometers out of Vinci. Our destination was Agriturismo Il Piastrano, which turned out to be rustic inn on a working farm up a second steep hill (how do the riders in the Tour De France do this?). The woman who ran this inn spoke no English, but that did not stop her from giving Leslie a big welcome hug.
The inn overlooks a valley of grape vineyards, olives, fruit trees and a vegetable garden. They make their own wine and olive oil, and the honey from their bees, almost pure white like true sourwood, is the most delicious I have ever tasted. Dinner was served in large, dark hall at seven PM. Everyone at the inn ate together of traditional Tuscan dishes selected by the chef. In particular, the bread and tomato soup was terrific. The rest of our time there was spent at the pool, reading in the courtyard or walking the grounds. This was the most restful place we had been while on this trip.
I should say at this point that we noticed many signs for Agriturismo stays , and, although I am sure there are different qualities, I would not hesitate to try one again.
After breakfast the next day, we climbed on the bikes for a ride into Vinci. Vinci is a medieval, walled city that is famous as the birthplace of Leonardo. The first stop was the museum where the drawings of his inventions have been rendered in wood and other materials, some scaled down and some full size.  His paddle boat was the most whimsical, but the various cranes and hoists were the most fascinating to me. Now i have a greater understanding how the churches and statues were able to be erected.
Leonardo was the illegitimate son of a nobleman and servant woman, but, more importantly for Leslie and I, his birth house was at the top of the steepest 3 kilometer hill I have ever seen. Walking to and from school must have been a bitch. At the house there was a movie about Leonardo starring Leonardo, projected on a curtain which gave it a holographic quality. It was pretty well done, but it spent entirely too much time talking about people of which I had no knowledge or interest - Cardinale Piggnoli Nutso and Ferdinand II of Udaman or some such. The other highlight was an interactive room where you could navigate via a large computer screen Leonardo's famous Last Supper painting and even insert yourself into the painting at the table with Jesus, which did not work at all the way the instructions said it would. Another dinner party I did not make it to.
We rode back to Agriturismo il Piastrano, put our packs and a couple of bottles of the inn's red wine into the owner's van for a ride to the train station. Our bike ride was over, and we were on our way to Florence!