Siena to Ponte D'Arbia

A Parade in Siena

No one snored last night, but there were some late night revelers outside who woke us all up at some point during the night. 0500 came very early it seemed, but we had to get up and get going to beat the heat, or at least try to beat the worst of it... The kind people at the Convento Santa Luisa left us fruit, a thermos of coffee and packaged baked things so at least we had a reasonable start to the day. In fact, it would be 15 km down the path before we were able to have a cappuccino and a bite to eat. We were on the road by 0530, bym0730 I was already perspiring and by 1030 it was just plain hot. And now, at 1600, as I sit at the bar with Gisella and Joel drinking beer and lemonade, it must be 38 or 40 degrees. It seems to be that if you don't move, you don't sweat, but otherwise the heat is stifling!

Dinner at the Convento Santa Luisa
Had it not been so hot today, and had my camera battery not run out, it would have been a good day for photos, but I just kept my head down for the most part. The terrain has changed yet again; now it is rolling hills, covered with wheat and other crops. There isn't a scrap of shade anywhere either, which was another good reason to head out so early. There isn't much here in Ponte D'Arbia either, but at least there is an Albergo, a Bar and a Ristorante. Tomorrow is another longish day of walking and I am hoping we can be on the road by 0500. Being first at the Albergo, we were able get a room on the east side of the building so we wont be baked tonight.

Goodbye Siena

I am a little concerned about Sylvia; she got up with us, but hasn't arrived here in Ponte D'Ariba. Another man just arrived and he says he did not pass her, so perhaps she decided to stay in Siena. Who would blame her for staying out of this crazy heat! In the meantime, one of the locals here has volunteered his bicycle to Joel, so he cold attend mass in the next town - BuonConvento. He took of off like a shot, racing off to church. I could imagine how it good it must feel to be moving so quickly, the wind moving through his hair...

And now, I think I must return to the Albergue for a nap. Later.... Just as I was leaving the bar, Sylvia emerged from the road. She was exhausted and had not had any water for some time. Now that she has had her shower, some water and a lay down, she is feeling better. Tomorrow she will get up early with us and avoid the worst of the heat.

Siena

We said goodbye to Roberto this morning and began our short walk to Siena (20 km)about 700 am. By 1200 we had met Sylvie who is a friend of Gisella's, and were getting a little tour of the city. We stopped briefly at the post office so I could ship some things to Rome, and carried on to the Convento of Santa Luisa, where we are installed in the pelligrini room.

It is officially hot here.... I barreled through all my jwater during the walk and was parched by the time we arrived. After showers, we headed out for lunch at the Skyscraper Deli, an ironically named place because the ceilings are so low. It was recommended by Sylvie, and what a great recommendation it was. A splendid cold lunch of various salads at an outdoor table. Bellissimo!

We have spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets of Siena, very slowly, because it is too hot to move any faster. We sampled gelato and now, beer at an outdoor bar. It is mandatory to do these things... when in Rome...

I must go to the sporting goods store now and see about a pair of sandals for walking. I have two large blisters brewing on my heels and I sense that my shoes are close to being done. The weather isnt going to get any cooler either; full sun and temps in the mid 30s are predicted for the next 10 days. As they say here, Perbacco! (sort of like ai ai ai!)

San Gimignano to Monteriggioni

My Date Was a Little Rusty


And now, Monteriggioni! And wow, what a place! Like San Gimiangno, Monteriggioni is a very old walled town set high on a hill, incredibly well preserved and lovely. I am just into my second beer, I had the opportunity to meet Christina, the woman who has almost singlehandedly way-marked the Via Francigena. I can't tell you you how many times I have looked at the segnales with great appreciation; it was great to be able to meet her tell her how grateful I am for here efforts.

A Woman Washing the Old Fashioned Way!

(As a sidebar, at one point today, we were following a canal. When we stopped to dunk,our tired feet in it, there was a woman at an old washing station, doing the family laundry. At first I thought she was jusr waiting for the repair person to show up - okay it would be a man here - when another woman showed up with her laundry, too. Incredible! )

We were very fortunate to get accommodation here; the town is overrun with people here for the walking festival, which runs all weekend. It isn't my thing to be in big crowds and I am looking forward to walking to Siena tomorrow, the jewel of Tuscany. Roberto will also leave us tomorrow, and then it will just be Joel, Gisella and me. They both walk faster than me, so I may lose them along the way, but I hope not. They are really good company and it would be great to walk together into Rome, if possible. And still, this is the way things go on a walk such as this. People come and go and it is fine; it is an opportunity to learn about developing meaningful relationships with others and then be able to let them go...

The Feet Get a Treat!

On The Way to Beautiful San Gimiagnano

I am so tired that trying to write anything remotely interesting is a challenge, but I will give it a try. We were up at 4:30 am and were making our way out of the frilly B & B and San Miniano by 5:00. The idea was to try and beat the worst of heat; there was at least 9 hours of walking ahead of us along with the requisite stops. At 3:00 pm, we staggered into san Gimmiano and eventually found the Convento d'Agustino where we are spending the night tonight.

I had a pretty good sleep in the rose petal strewn room at Anna's B & B, but Gisella who I was sharing the room with said she had trouble sleeping. Apparently there were cars driving by all night... I had no idea. Still, I was glad to get out of there. Somehow, it seemed contrary to what we were doing to be staying at Anna's Petal Palace. But regardless, we were glad of it considering the situation.

Yes, I am Really Here

The path was pleasant and off road or at least off the main road, for most of the day. An added bonus was the saving cover of cloud, again for most of the day. As the day went by, it became much warmer and the last 8 km or so were on the tarmac. By the time I staggered into the Convento San Augustino, I was spent. After walking 37 km, it was especially surprising to be greeted by a very unpleasant hospitalero, who barked at us rudely for our credenziales. It seemed we had inconvenienced him by arriving at the hostel, but I was too tired to care. We checked into our cells and headed for the showers.

San Gimiagno in the Distance

Its amazing how getting clean can revive a person, at least
for a few hours. We walked through the ancient and beautiful streets of San Gimiagno for an hour and then headed out for dinner. By 9:00 pm I was completely spent and ready for my bunk; Gisella had scheduled another early start for us, in order to make it to Monteriggioni at a decent time.

San Minianato

The librarians at Altopascio had no more success getting us a place at Monteriggioni than Gisella did so it is looking as though we will have to just wing it and hope that San Cristobal (St Christopher) looks after us all.

Last night we had a great meal at the Alimentari Gastronomi in Altopascio (see previous entry entitled The Best Meal Yet). For €7.50 each we had 3 courses of homemade food, wine and water... The very best food I have had since I arrived here, and there really hasn't been a bad meal yet. The most excellent part was an artichoke, hollowed out and stuffed with all kinds of tasty things, then breaded and baked. Divine! Mille Grazie to the proprietor, Rosanna.

Then it was digestifs at a bar, and back home to the sports complex and our rearranged room, now with a clothesline running across it because there was nowhere else to hang the clothes to dry. Several others had arrived, the last being a furry fellow wearing two keys crossed around his neck, who was relegated by the hospitalero to sleep in the hallway.

I didn't sleep a wink. The bed sagged terribly, there was a big fan outside running all night, it was ridiculously hot and I was too stupid to put my earplugs in or take extra blanket off me. Actually, I was ever-so-slightly concerned about the possibility of fleas or bed bugs, given the overall hygiene of the place, and I didn't want to expose any more of myslef,than necessary. When I rose this morning, my back let me know just how unhappy it was for being subjected to a mattress designed to support someone about half my weight,but at least there were no bug bites...

Regardless of my back, the day had arrived and it was time to move on. We were first up and out the door by 0700 in order to get to today's destination, San Miniato, before it was too hot. And what an interesting day it has been...full of surprises.

One of the Many Flags of Tuscany

The first thing I noticed was that the landscape has made a fairly dramatic change; we are in full on Tuscany now! Rolling hills, villas and the signature tall thin decorative pines one sees here. The architecture is a little different too; many square houses with square turret-like tops to the roofs. We walked the main road for a while, and then cut into a trail through scrub-like pine. Gisella was leading the way when a tractor came around the corner, the driver looking intently at a text message from his boss or mother, not paying attention to the woman wildly waving her arms 15 feet in front of him. Fortunately, he saw her in the nick of time and stopped. Then of all things, a horse and jockey in a harness came rolling up behind him. What next?

Arriving in lower San Miniato a couple of hours later, we had a good lunch at a pizzeria run by a nice family, who were anxious to please us, and that they did. Fortunately they served a lot more than just pizza, and by the way, Italians really like their pizza! I see a lot of empty pizza boxes on the recycling...

The Padri Waits for News

After our feed, we made our way for the final two km to San Miniato alto, high up on the hill. We planned to stay at the Convento here, but as we laboured up the final hill I could clearly see smoke coming out of the building and unless the place doubled as a smokehouse, it looked as though the convento might be on fire. And on fire it was.... The poor old Padri sat outside on a bench while the Polizia and Fuegoraros, or whatever Firefighters are called here, ran in and out of the building exchanging Scott Paks, worried glances and wiping sweaty brows. It is a brick building, but the roof is timber and that is very clearly what was on fire. The Fratti (brother) who runs the Convento seemed to think at things would clear up later and that we might still be able to stay, but as I watched the smoke billowing out of the upper windows, it was clear to me the great likelihood was that the building would be condemned.

A bystander at the sfire scene called a bed and breakfast for us and soon we were installed in the unusual and highly decorated abode of Anna, who has a penchant for stenciled walls, victorian clothing, crocheted doilies, angels and scattered rose petals. While I was washing my clothes in her kitchen sink, she happened to mention that another Canadian had stayed there yesterday and showed his business card. It turns out to be a man who works at the (soon to be closed) Agriculture Canada experimental farm in Central Saanich...

Where the other pelligirinis who were planning to stay in the convento will go tonight, I have no idea but at least there a couple of hotels in this pretty place! As I write this three hours later, I can still see and smell the smoke of the fire...

Tomorrow promises to be a long day and we will have to set out very early to get to San Gimmiano, which is 36 km away from here, at a reasonable time and without getting heat exhaustion!

The Best Meal Yet!

A Nice Homemade Italian Meal at the Deli...

Lovely Lucca

The photos of LuccaI was unable to post yesterday....