Altopascio to San Miniato

Today was a long day. We hiked 18.5 miles. The day started with a light drizzle on and off. It wasn't too bad and kept the morning cool for hiking. Our day took us through a little bit of highway, but mostly through farmland, vineyards and over dykes. And then, after 17.5 miles, straight uphill. We should get used to it since most of these towns were built during the medieval time frame and were built on hills for protection. Most days will end with an uphill climb. The scenery today was calm, peaceful, and beautiful, even though it is fall and the crops are about finished.

One of the fun things about doing a trip like this is meeting people along the way. Yesterday we saw two pilgrims but didn't have a chance to talk to them. Today we met a lady from Italy who was hiking alone for four days. She was able to get four days away from her family and child (aged 6). Many Italians walk this trail in stages. I'm sure she will come back another time and do another section. We also met a group of people from Australia and Scotland who were hiking together. In that group was a mother and daughter. Later we met a husband and wife who are hiking a different trail. They started in France and are hiking to Assisi. They have been hiking for 50+ days and have only seen other hikers for the last 2-3 days. Many days they hiked through areas with no places to stop for food or shelter so they had to carry everything to eat and sleep! They have about two weeks left until they finish their trip. Once we reached San Miniato, we showered and then went in search of a new plug adapter. Europeans use different plugs. The adapter we have used has worked on other trips and in Florence and Lucca. But in these smaller towns, they have different plugs. Since we use our phones for directions and pics we had to find a new adapter. We found a store where they spoke no English and we couldn't ask for what we wanted in Italian so, yeah google translate. We typed it in our phone, in English, the guy read it Italian and we got what we needed! The conveniences we have today.

Next we had a very nice dinner of pasta with mushrooms and truffles - something the area is known for. For dessert we had tarimisu and tarts. Czytaj więcej