Abbadia Isola

We started the day a little earlier today since it was to be closer to 80 degrees. We stopped at a bakery to fuel up and then left the walled city on the other side. The city has a prettier entrance on the side we were leaving.

Today was more about rolling hills. Leaving the city, the fog was lifting from the valley making for our first beautiful scenes. At one point there was a choice to go the original route, or to go a little shorter, suggested route . We chose the suggested route. The first six miles went by quickly once again through vineyards and farms, hilly but not as strenuous as yesterday. We stopped at what we thought would be our halfway point in Colle di Val d'Elsa, a rather large old city and suburban area. While walking through the city we passed a wedding and a baptism.

We left there following the signs and our map app. The signs led us through a beautiful wooded area walking by the river Elsa with several waterfalls. We crossed the river via big boulders several times. It reminded me of the state parks at home. It was a local's favorite for hiking and swimming.

Upon exciting this beautiful area we expected to have about 3 miles to go. But then we saw a map that told us we had about 5 miles to go. Apparently, the trail we took was another variation that we didn't know about. Back on the trail we again followed the signs and the app map only to find out that somehow we ended up on the original trail adding another mile to the trip bringing our total for the day to 17.25 miles.

Just before the end of our day, we stopped at a cafe for a well deserved break. We spoke to two ladies from Paris who were on a pilgrimage to Assisi. They were Monica (86) and Belle (72). They had walked the same trail we did today. Belle spoke French and a little bit of Italian, English and Spanish. Monica spoke French and some English. Somehow we managed to have a wonderful 20 minute conversation.

Eventually we found our way to an old monastery (1001 ad) that has been converted into a museum and hostel. It was a beautiful place and a wedding had just taken place in the church. We were able to eat dinner in the courtyard and relax for the evening.Read more