Monteriggioni to Siena

The two bags had to be left at reception at 8am, as happens every day (although they would not be collected til later), but then a long breakfast. The hotel's shuttle down the kilometre or so of main road to Monteriggioni went at 9am. We had done a little of that road yesterday, and saving a km on bitumen seemed a good idea to us and two American couples, especially in the drizzle.

Monteriggioni was the first stop... maybe ten minutes walking uphill. It was smaller than it seemed from the distance, and very simple. It was unique for being an oval, preserved fortress, and otherwise a little, old village. Back downhill and across the fields and woods in light drizzle. No towns or famous buildings, but two very old towers of unknown provenance and purpose, a horseman on a frisky young horse, one of the American couples (who to our surprise had walked around in most countries in Europe), lots of peace and quiet, and mud only where the soil was red. One smsll distraction was that we had left an airtag behind in San Gimignano - it slipped out of the slot in my backpack. Most people lose their luggage...the app says where it is, but the hotel could not find it, and it was too far away to activate. The people delivering the luggage would have collected it (were it found) and delivered it for the standard fee....E44.

We had a break a few kms from Siena: a few biscuits as we sat on a flat stretch of grass to admire the countryside. Then a trudge along roads into Siena and our hotel, which is just inside the old wall. Unlike the last few towns, Siena did was not a mirage on the horizon for hours beforehand. We went through small farms, under an autostrade, through streets of old and new apartments, and then there was a big, stone gate, which everyone walked through or around.

The hotel started badly with perhaps the snootiest receptionists either of us have experienced since the Ritz in London (and when you have only 3 stars?). But they told us with noses pinched where to find a laundromat, and the long way around to reach it. It was, however, right beside an enormous old church - the Basilica of St Francis (started around 1228) and a university that started in 1240, so while the machine was cycling away we walked around them.

Dinner in a restaurant on the main street in the old town (maybe a 400m walk), which was good. Still on carbohydrate loading: spaghetti with pigs jowls and egg (carbonara when made basic), gnocchi with Gorgonzola and walnuts, and a pizza with local sausage, mozzarella and red onion. We took umbrellas, but the rain had stopped so afterwards we walked into the heart of the town... impressive.

38,100 steps, 28.87km, 60 flights, and 286km to go. Much further than we expected for a standard day... but we walked a bit around the town. That and the roads explain the dead-tired feet and weary shins.Read more