Via Francigena - part 2

I left Tuscany today. Although its incredible charm took a little while to be fully revealed, once it was, after Altopascio, the spectacular countryside exceeded all of my expectations. I have realised another of my life dreams, and I feel truly blessed. The best thing about being in a tourist town is that the shops open early, so I was able to get something to eat on a Sunday, before I left town. The day started with an 8 km descent, then turned into a lot of roadside walking, which ended with the now familiar climb into town (total walk 25.98 km). It rained for most of the day. It was a light but persistent rain, and so the Great Pumpkin was brought into play - I see it as a real asset on the road as I have a very high profile LOL. There was an alternative walk to the section today, but it added an extra 8 km to the length. I'd been warned not to walk along the regular route along the road by Claire (the French pilgrim) as it has a reputation amongst the French as being particularly dangerous. I reasoned that as it was Sunday, there wouldn't be any trucks, and there would be less traffic - that proved to be correct. I had a late lunch with Anna and Gabriel, the Swiss pilgrims, and we are both at the same accommodation tonight. One final thing; I'm seeing a lot of road signs for Rome and am beginning to feel like I'm getting close!Les mer