Blackout Caused by Giro d'Italia !

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Another "first"......last night there was a blackout in my building and neighborhood. Today, while reading today's live coverage of Stage 15 on Cyclingnews, I discovered that the blackout was caused by the blimp that follows the Giro d'Italia!

Here's the clip from Cyclingnews:

• "14:24 CEST We have a little confession to make. Last night we took some of the race organisation up for a joyride in the Cyclingnews' blimp Hindenberg VI. A little too much grappa and some low power lines were a really bad combination. Luckily, we shorted out the power with the radio antenna so we avoided being electrocuted. Of course, we also knocked out power to a entire suburb of Florence... The end result is we're not flying high above the race today and it might take us some time to get the names of riders in this break."

Before I discovered the blackout at 1:30AM this morning, I was having dinner with Pat Thompson, an old friend from Brooklyn. Pat is a writer. She was passing through Florence after attending a Slow Food conference in Bologna. Pat and her husband Claudio are also the owners of the prestigious La Dolce Vita Wine Tours. I met Pat in 1993 when we were both members of the New York Cycle Club. Later I met her husband Claudio while riding my bike across Italy in 1996. Two years later, Pat and Claudio were married, and together they created a successful cycling and wine touring company.

After dinner I entered my building, and what a surprise! The lights were out. The whole building was without power. Then I realized that the entire neighborhood was without power. I couldn't enter my building because it was pitch dark.

Fortunately, I Ghibellini was still open! The owner, Franco, found some candles, escorted me up to my apartment and left the candles for me. He saved the day.