I’m looking forward to the day when the only place name I need to spell is “Roma”. After several days of dodging thunderstorms, today dawned crisp, clear and soon to be sunny. For the first leg of the day we followed the busy road. The official route was up to the ridge then down into … Continue reading Day seventy-six: Ponte d’Arbia to San Quirico d’Orcia →

What a wonderful day of walking. Spectacular countryside after leaving the low cloud (foggy on Siena’s hill) and sauntering through the Tuscan countryside. We did a quick detour to the Duomo on the way from our apartment rental to the VF path, and were rewarded with a Piazza almost completely devoid of people, and the … Continue reading Day seventy-five: Siena to Ponte D’Arbia →

Leaving Monteriggioni was easy as it was a beautiful morning and there was no breakfast on offer to delay us. Even the cafes were closed. And as a bonus we got to see the first rays of the sun touch the town as we climbed the adjacent hill. A new day dawns on Monteriggioni Much … Continue reading Days seventy three & four: Monteriggioni to Siena →

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 →