Day 16: Pontassieve to Florence

I awoke to thunder, lightning and heavy rain. Thankfully, in line with the forecast, the rain was gone by 7 am. Though, it still looked very dark and menacing in the mountains. I had a very good breakfast before setting off at 8 am where I learned that the other six pilgrims who had stayed over were also on their way to Florence - they had started in La Verna. Other than one very steep climb (and, what's a walk in Italy without at least one steep climb?), the Way (19.98 km) was pretty flat. The last 8 km was alongside the Arno river - very nice. I arrived in Florence around 1 pm, got my final stamp from the Basilica of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce), got into my accommodation, and gave myself a couple of hours rest before heading out to do the laundry. As you can imagine, Florence is crowded, and busy, but lovely. I am so glad to be here as it means I have been able to realise yet another dream. I can't believe how lucky I am to have made it this far, without any serious mishap. The one thing I will say, and, those of you who have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy can relate to this, God, or whomever was assigned the design of Italy, really excelled in it's creation. I have never walked anywhere where the peace and calm of the natural environment is so infectious.Read more