Today was 10 miles and a 1,000′ of climbing. Our total now stands at 73 miles walked.

Yesterday’s stay in Colle di Val d’Elsa was enjoyable, but quiet,  with only a few restaurants open to support a limited number of tourists. Such a change from San Gimignano, where 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of tourists congregated!

We explored our options for dinner and settled on a nice restaurant with a terrace view.  Our B&B had a sister restaurant,  but we decided to pass on it. It was a 2 star Michelin restaurant with courses starting at 120€, and up. Not today …

Our B&B proprietor suggested a variant walk to our alternate that we were already walking. There was a river that flowed out of Colle di Val d’Elsa and had a trail next to it. You could take that for a couple of miles,  then rejoin the alternative route, then rejoin the main trail. Simple enough, eh?

It was a great suggestion! He are some photos of the walk:

The rest of the walk was enjoyable, but not overly noteworthy, with the exception of the final 200 meters of walking. At nearly 25% grade,  it was a workout to get to the top. Photos rarely show the steepness, but notice how wide Diane’s feet are apart to keep her balanced!

Okay,  we’re staying in a small, walled village (Monteriggioni), in a restored 13th century building. Quaint,  right? Except for the shower! I’ve been looking for a way to get out of the 60’s music scene and today’s shower jolted us into the 70’s and the disco scene!

Yes siree! Your typical medieval disco shower head! Cue the Bee Gee’s and “Staying Alive”!

Ciao!