Today was 12 miles.  Our total, to date is: 85 miles walked and about 8,000′ of climbing. During this time, we also logged an additional 35 miles of tourist and errand walking.  That’s a lot of time in the feet!

We will stay two nights in Siena to rest our feet, etc. for the next stretch.

Yesterday evening we stayed within the walled village of Monteriggioni. We are learning that not all walled villages are the same! Lucca (our first walled city in Italy) would require about 30 minutes to walk from one side to the other. San Gimignano, about 25 minutes. Monteriggioni, on the other hand, took about 3 minutes … If that was a casually paced 3 minutes!

The view in the outside gives some perspective:

But the real perspective comes from looking at a panoramic shot of the interior:

Yep, that’s about it.  Why this was important was that it was Sunday afternoon (businesses close) and we needed to buy breakfast and lunch supplies for the next day (we needed to start early to avoid much of the Monday heat).

As you can see, our options were limited. We settled for bread and some cheese and considered ourselves blessed🙂!

Of note:  While walking, we were warned of dangerous animals. Here’s that sign:

We took appropriate caution!

Tomorrow is a rest day in Siena. For now,  we’re in a park awaiting the reception hours (4:00pm). It is a difficult life we lead, us transient pilgrims!

Today was a rest day. No journey miles walked, though about 5 miles of tourist walking. Today was a day of rest, eating too much, restocking mosquito repellent, and seeing the sights!

Siena, like Florence, has a phenomenal cathedral.

It stands about 250′ high and is about 300′ in length.

Like the Florentine cathedral, it is built with alternating layers of granite and marble to give it that remarkable layered appearance. It was started in 1215 and completed around 1300.

So, how did they do it? Imagine, building a huge building on the top of a hill. You are using several hundred pound blocks of granite … tens of thousands of them,  and you are laying them out over 300′, IN A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE!  If I laid a 5′ brick wall in the garden, it would wobble like a drunken sailor! These lines are perfect!  How did they do it?

Next, how did they inventory all the granite and marble they needed? Imagine being 2/3rds done with the building and running out if one color of marble? The top 1/3 would look different from the bottom!  You could fire the contractor, but since this project took 80 years, you’d probably be firing the grandson/ granddaughter of the contractor!

Imagine trying to lay the granite blocks 250′ in the air? Again, the lines have to be perfect, but moving around an 800 lb. block that high up is no easy feat!

Imagine finishing the stone ceiling, again some 250′ in the air. The engineering and stone cutting had to be perfect!

Now, imagine doing this before calculators, computers, laser levels, cranes, tractors, etc.

This is fascinating to me,  and a bit humbling. When we get overly enamored with our current intelligence/ technology,  it is good to step back and see the profound ingenuity our predecessors demonstrated, nearly a millennia ago.

That’s all for this day off. Ciao!

Today was 13 miles, bringing our total to 98 miles walked. It was a bit of a scorcher, with early afternoon temperatures in the mid-90’s, and not much in the way of shade on our walk today.

After a day’s rest, we left Siena, heading southward towards Rome.

(The view of Siena from our “rear view mirror”).

The walk was rolling, but generally downhill, passing dried wheat field after dried wheat field. Still beautiful, but in a different sense than forest land.

So, what happens when the Chamber of Commerce writes the guide book? First, let me provide a couple of photos of much of the walk:

What you can see here is an enjoyable, but sparse landscape, with not a lot of trees to offer shade. Enjoyable, but barren.

On  the Camino Frances (Spain), the primary guide book (Brierley) would describe the Meseta (very similar to this countryside) as:  “another dry walk along the soulless senda (trail)”.

Here in Italy, this type of terrain is described as: “Among the most charming stretches of the Tuscan route … offering a different landscape in every season, even the extraordinary uniformity of these hills, nearly without trees and almost entirely cultivated with wheat: green in spring, bread crust in summer, in autumn after ploughing they reveal… the greys of the clay earth. The settlements are few …”

So, lets put this paragraph through a Google translator filter to translate from “chamber-of-commerce-ese” to English:

“The landscape is boring and dry. It is treeless and without villages to get a cold drink. This is true in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Don’t even try this route in Winter! ”

As you can see, the pen is truly powerful when wielded by a Chamber of Commerce writer!

Ciao, for now!

Today was 8 miles (7.55, but that rounds up to 8!), bringing our total to 106 miles hiked, to date.

Our stay last night was off the beaten Francigena path, but it gave us a chance to break up a 20 mile stage into something more comfortable.

(The hotel Borgo Antico as seen on our departure)

The walk was pleasant, following a rail line in one side and a field of sunflowers on the other, for several miles.

The last few miles, the trail began the more serious up and down we’d seen on earlier days, and anticipating the climb up to about 3,000′ in a couple more days.

Ultimately, the village was in view and our days hike, finished.

Flexibility: August is vacation time in Italy, as it is in much of Europe. For Italy, that means that many businesses are closed for much of the month, or at least have reduced hours. You need to be flexible when shopping for needed items during this time. Add to that, the week of the 10th – 16th was a festival week. More businesses close during that time. Now, the 16th was the primo holiday day, and you had to be lucky to find a shop or restaurant open! It all works out. Just be flexible.

Flexible, the trail: Okay, yesterday we knew we would have to jump off the trail at some point, to get to our hotel. We planned that. However, about 1.5 miles before that plan, the trail zigged, and Bill zagged!

(The blue line is the actual trail. The red line is the “lost walk”. The green line is making a new course to the hotel. 🤔)

Shortly after our errant zag, we were staring at the back gate of home/small farm that appeared abandoned. Well, Bill figured that since we were sort of heading in the right direction for the hotel, why not use this as our off-trail launching point? What could go wrong?

Diane was a bit more skeptical and waited while Bill traipsed through the seemingly abandoned farm/ home. It seemed clear so he called Diane and soon they were both happily trespassing across this home! Ignoring the “video surveillance” signs, they found the other side without encountering polizia! Flexibility!  A 2.5 mile walk through town streets led them to their goal and all was well.

The side lesson here is: don’t believe Bill if he ever says “I never get lost!”

We’re now in our hotel room in Bounconvento, listening to thunder. Gotta be flexible!

Very poor (no) internet. We walked 14 miles today, bringing our total to 120 miles.

Tomorrow will also be bad. Lots of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We beat today’s by about 10 minutes

10 miles walked, bringing the total to 130 miles,  overall.  There is no wifi here, and the cell signal is very poor. Net, no pictures and very limited text.

Yesterday we arrived to thunderstorms which lasted to about 8 PM. This morning the skies lit up with lightning and thunder at 7 am. We delayed our start until almost 9 am to minimize risk. For thr first 2 hours, we had a bunch of rain. For the remaining time,  we dealt with the resultant mud. It’s all an adventure!

We arrived to a very quaint B&B, with sparse accommodations (no A/C), but very gracious hosts. With temps in the mid-70’s instead of the mid-90’s, we’re going to be just fine.

Tomorrow is a long steady climb so we should get a good workout. The rain tomorrow is projected to startt at 2 pm, so we’ll try to be done by then.

That’s all we’ve got for today. God bless you. We are enjoying our blessings each day.

Ciao

11 miles walked, bringing the total to 141 miles. Once again, no wifi and a weak wireless signal  –> short post.

Today was a steady climb, with a few downhill sections to help ensure that we had enough climbing. Here’s the profile:

We had no rain during the walk. As we arrived, the thunder started rumbling and the rain is due in an hour or so. All good.

Tomorrow is an easier day; downhill and short. That’s okay.

Hopefully, the internet will allow me to post. Ciao.

Today was 6 miles,  mostly all downhill. Our total is now 147 miles walked.

Radicofani was really beautiful, with stunning 360 degree views. Even our flat had an amazing view:

And the fortress at the top was visible for a very long distance away:

So what made Radicofani special wasn’t just the view, it was the people! Everyone we met was very friendly. In the restaurant, everyone seemed to know everyone else, but still all took time to say “hi” to us (in Italian). The proprietress of the small store we visited this morning figured that we were purchasing lunch supplies, then offered to make our lunches AND seal them for our walk. Locals on the street all greeted us … just very enjoyable.

We had a very short day today, which is good.  Bill has been dealing with flu- like symptoms for the last few days, so a short segment is a good  thing for recovery.

Since we’ve been without internet for the last several days, we’ll post a few of the photos from along the way today, as we have a fair wifi signal:

(The “classic” Tuscany photo).

(We had some rain! )

(Our very quaint place in Gallina )

All for now. Ciao!