After our breakfast fit for the nobles that once inhabited the Palazzo Renieri, we explored the alleys of the upper town enroute to the elevator to take us to the lower town, then the inevitable slog alongside a busy road during morning rush hour until we hit the countryside- and keep in mind that rush … Continue reading Day seventy-two: Colle di Val d’Elsa to Monteriggioni →

I hope I got all that spelt correctly! Our day got off to a very inauspicious start. We had a less than satisfactory night’s sleep as the monastery is on the primary road in and out of the town, and while traffic is minimal, the old city gat is only one car wide, and the … Continue reading Day seventy-one: San Gimignano to Colle di Val d’Elsa →

As it was a comparatively short day in terms of kilometres, we felt no urgency to head out at first light - unlike some of our fellow hostel dwellers. We even found a hotel enroute that served us a mid-morning coffee, and while the waiter was very much a clone of Manuel from Fawlty Towers, … Continue reading Day seventy: Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano →

Today we felt like extras in “Under the Tuscan Sun”, although we had to keep a weather eye out for those pesky thunderstorms. These were skillfully avoided by making a pit stop to repack everything in dry bags. What wasn't avoided was the roller coaster walk up and down the ridges and valleys of Tuscany. … Continue reading Day sixty-nine: San Miniato to Gambassi Terme →

A day of trails which was a welcome change from the endless roads. Lots of forest until we made the climb up to San Miniato, another hilltop town. The best thing about hilltop towns is that they are on the top of hills. The worst thing, is that they are on the top of hills, … Continue reading Day sixty-eight: Galleno to San Miniato →

Day one of the Tuscan 400 - for me the home stretch to Rome, and for Susan a stretch of numerous muscles that haven’t been required to walk for six hours in a day for a while. Our thoughts of a day’s walk through picture postcard Tuscan scenery were clearly the stuff of dreams, as … Continue reading Day sixty-seven: Lucca to Galleno →

I hustled away from Camaiore with frequent glances skyward at the dark and threatening skies. The first shower had me duck into a five star trailside shelter: an old house listed for sale had a magnificent pilgrim refuge - a covered patio complete with cast iron table and chairs. I put my feet up and … Continue reading Days sixty-five & -six: Camaiore to Lucca →

Another day that required the rain gear to be deployed, but as the path began to head up, and the volume of rain heading down was inconsequential, it was soon stowed once again. Wearing rain gear in light rain usually results in you geting wet from the inside out. Once past the town of Massa … Continue reading Day sixty-four: Massa to Camaiore →

This is written from the end first: the Ostello run by the Capuchins no longer hosts pilgrims, and rather that back track, I resorted to booking.com. After some trials and tribulations - including a dying phone for reasons that will soon be revealed - I found myself in an Airbnb type lodging. When heading out … Continue reading Day sixty-three: Sarzana to Massa →

Actually I'm in a town a few km past Sarzana, figuring that adding a few extra km to a shorter day will ease the burden on the following, longer day. Come to think of it, I'm not even in a town, just that curious outcome of planning that leaves huge swathes of the countryside not … Continue reading Day sixty-two: Aulla to Sarzana →