Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano

We had the small breakfast room to ourselves, but not the attention of the Italian waitress, who had just dropped an enormous glass platter. No DIY coffee, and croissants in cellophane, but otherwise good.

Today was a shorter stretch - around 14km. That was a relief in many ways: shins and heels are a little sore after spending so much time on roads. We left around 8:45, walked back through town, through some woods and then perhaps 12km on an unsealed road with non-stop postcard views of Tuscany. It was cool and overcast at first, but then the sun came out and it was T-shirt weather. We passed a church and grotto dedicated to a saint who healed a deaf-mute 400 years ago, then a monastery, and numerous grand farmhouses selling home-grown wine and olive oil.

San Gimignano is a storybook/movie-set town: an old walled town with numerous squares and multiple churches, and all the building exteriors kept as they may have been 500 years ago. The downside was that it was packed with marauding tour guides and tourists. One oddity is the 14 towers: family rivalries in the 1400s lead to people outdoing each other by building stone tower homes. There were once 72, but the rest have fallen down or been reduced in size. A few drops of rain as we walked around in the afternoon.

Our hotel is outside the city walls, but quieter for that, and nice enough. A reasonable-sized shower for a change, and a fridge to help with Pandora, but no tea/coffee.

The hotel restaurant is closed on Mondays, and it gad sprinkled, so we went in to the first open restaurant we saw. Papadella with saffron and pancetta/mixed salad/ pizza with olives and artichoke. Good meals, and a very attentive waiter as we were half his customers.

32,020 steps/24.2 km and 81 floors. Tomorrow is our second of three long days: 32km to the town (Monteriggioni). It is said to be a similar track to today, but tomorrow it might also rain. 334 km to Rome.Read more