4-27-10 Ameglia to La Spezia -day 23

day 23-Ameglia to La Spezia 4-27-10

having slept a little more, definitely helped. Check out seems to be earlier, 10am. Weather was sunny and it gets humid hot which hits me midday hard. I walked through several villages and the colors of houses in this area really struck me, rose, orange, salmon, gold...warm fruit sherbet colors.

Around Romito I saw a man with a back-pack hiking the other way. He yelled from across the street asking if I was a pilgrim, I said yes, he came over to my side. He was a young french man traveling very light. He was totally the image of a modern pilgrim, felt hat with feather in it, big wood bead rosary across his chest. His name was Oliver. He was doing the journey reverse from me, he'd started in Santiago and was headed towards Rome. He had only two months off so it sounds like he was covering prob over twice the distance a day that I was. He was super nice and supportive and assured me the french part was going to be fine. His energy was complete opposite of the older french man I had met in San Miniato, that man had been brooding and saw hardship in things, Oliver made everything sound really simple and not to worry about. He insisted I should not have to pay for food or lodging at all being that I was a pilgrim. I did not have the heart to tell him that I did not have the energy to hike of 30kms or a day yet, just to reach a place were there was free lodging.. also often churches and tourist info were empty and I could not get the required info. Basically he was a hardier lower budget pilgrim than I. But he was really wonderful totally lifted my spirits. He had this very open 'no problem' attitude.. he had nothing to loose so he had no chip on his shoulder and he was generous with giving me time and information. After we said our fare wells I was buoyed by having met him.

I arrived the outskirts of La Spezia around 2ish but I knew I had a good hour or so to hit center of town. The entry was on the shipping harbor side of things so not very pretty, which made the walk seem longer... once I got into the city I could not figure out 'town center' I felt like I was approaching the wrong side so all the tourist signs were coming from other direction. I found a tourist info but it was closed. Then the sky opened up and it was a pour down. I did not have my rain gear super accessible so I waited it out in a cafe... it was quickly over... I decided to climb up the city since I could not find anything. I was near a castle ruins took the lift up but it was closed. I went to the church up on the hill and there was no one around, It was a pretty church and the feel of it was quite different. A lot of wood carving, the walls were plainer and the contrast of white against dark wood was strong. The main altar had a 'living' Christ standing with arms outstretched not the usual christ on a cross.... the stain glass windows had a nautical theme with sail ships in it. So these were sea faring people....perhaps that has to do with the shift of energy... no longer the earthy Umbria or Tuscany, now it was people who for generations made there living off the ocean...Then I found a very posh hotel near there and they were really nice and helped me find really cheap (not free) lodging by doing a search on the internet. Once I descended from there, I was in the hub of the more attractive part of town, now... nice little shops and restaurants, well dressed italians and the usual smattering of tourists. After a while I found the hotel. It was a simple affair but affordable. The man running it gave me lots of info..one of the issues I had had coming in the back way, was I could not even get a town map because there was no tourist business that way, which made finding things that much harder. ...and after showering and resting a bit I had a pizza and salad dinner...then back to my room for mantra-journaling-updating photos.

4-26-10 Carrara to Ameglia -day 22

day 22- Carrara to Ameglia 4-26-10

I woke not feeling one hundred, my feet were quite tender again... I packed up my gear which had surprisingly spread itself throughout the room..then down to breakfast..an elderly woman at front desk directed me down another level. An elderly man was running the breakfast buffet, he eyed me suspiciously as he asked my caffeine choice.. cappuccino? Si!.. I tried to find the rare non sweet breakfast treats and sat down.. the other clientèle were all very elderly so perhaps I was the wrong age group for this place? By the time I was done with breakfast the old man had warmed to me. Perhaps my slight limp made him soften? Anyway as I left he handed me one of the paper bags and told me 'traditional picnic' I was surprised and thanked him. Later I found it contained a juice, water, a banana and a mozzarella tomato sandwich..lunch! I checked out a little before ten and started walking towards the ocean again. I think it was another 4km. I definitely was not feeling strong. Something was off. So I gave myself permission to stop where-ever I needed to for the day. Once on the ocean which again I could not since it is blocked from view by buildings and fences. This is probably more pleasant for the beach goer, who does not to have road traffic to look at and hear, but sad for me the walker. I definitely stopped hourly: water or coffee or both. I had side walk almost the whole way which was nice. I passed more industrial harbors and ship yards. Near a river that was feeding into the sea the beach finally opened up, there were some camp sites and some beaches that looked like you had to pay to use. I decided I wanted to get to Ameglia for the night. I stopped at the town Fiumaretta for my picnic lunch.

While sitting on a park bench over-looking an inlet, an elderly lady shuffled by and wished me 'bon apetito'- now why does that not happen when I eat my lunch on park benches at home? Lol.. it was a charming little harbor town.. Ameglia was only a few kms from here it was more inland when I arrived it was only two thirty I had maybe walked 13kms that day, but I was just bushed. I found the nearest albergo to crash..nothing special but in my budget. I went to the room and after settling I passed out for about two hours.. I woke around 5.30... and decided to look around a bit... I walked slowly towards the tiny old village up in the hill. I followed the trail but then it was blocked.. I could have done a bit of trail blazing and possibly hit another barricade but decided that this little town did not want to be seen by me this day.. and I was fine with that. I returned in time for dinner.. and after went back to my room futzing then asleep again... a low adventure day..

4-25-10 Forte Dei Marmi-Massa-Carrara-day 21

day 21- Forte Dei Marmi-Massa-Carrara

fools errand?

I was slow to leave the hotel..it had really good wifi and free... also I would be moving away from the beach back inland..and i kinda liked the beach... I walked along the coastal street for an hour or so.. there was a nice wide sidewalk. It was quite humid though out in the sun... this and the fact that I wanted to not miss my turn off, made me go to a parallel street several blocks inland.. under the trees it was cooler. I walked along a green street with well screened off houses for another hour.. then I found a major street going east away from the water and I took it to wind into Massa. A man on a bicycle came by saying 'bonjourno Piligrina', he said more in italian but I did not understand, he then said in german ' ich wunsche ihnen eine gute reise' (I wish you a good journey) I laughed and thanked him. I've noticed more and more in this part of italy, that if I meet an italian who speaks a few words of another language it is always german not english. Near Massa I guessed my way in through a small village.. then I had to ask. I had only over shot the turn off by a block so it was good guess work... I walked into Massa which was another 3kms.

It was sunday and noon time so the town seemed empty... well there was a brief excitement as streets were closed down and a bicycle race came through, with support vehicles after..then the streets were clear again...I found the grand main square with it's church. I went in to the church partially to cool off and also cuz that's what pilgrims do. I was alone for a while..but then from behind the altar I heard movement and a loud clanging. A slightly off dressed little man emerged also with a pack. I realized he was smoking in church. He decided to settle in the pews across from me..grunting and such as he ate and drank soda and hacking as he continued to smoke his cigarette. I knew it was only a matter of time before he minded my business. Sure enough in italian he needed to know where I was from.. and if I also was a pilgrim. He came over to me and showed me his shirt. With marker he had written piligrino and francigena. I had to laugh inside. He then returned to his things... turned the cigarette out on the floor and was off. Massa also has a castle up in the hill, I decided to forgo it. When I returned outside. It seemed still early and the next town Carrara was five kms away. So I decided to head there. I crossed a narrow bridge and it was clear i'd be going up hill and so it did. I realized I did not have a lot of steam in me. And took breaks. There was light traffic on the road. But this one old man had gotten too close to me. I dont even think he saw me... I was very watchful of cars after that. I swear cars were extra careful by italian standards with me after that, maybe I had that 'deer in the headlights' look. Actually the scenery was nice. Teared gardens to my left and dark pines to my right..

the road was winding...then as it descended it had those crazy sharp zigzags again..meaning a lot of blind turns. But again cars seemed more careful then I would expect and I was safe.. Once in Carrara I felt I could not quite figure out where town center was suppose to be. I saw one church but did not go in because it appeared to have a funeral or some such going on. I stopped at the saddest little cafe-bar yet. I was not sure if it was the old man's gay club around here. But everyone seemed to have seen better days. Usually these places have appetizing little treats in glass cases, but nothing looked safe here. I just had a coke and water and rested my feet. I moved on hoping to find signage and town center.. the same bike race seemed to whip through and was gone again...Carrara had seemed big enough on the map but I soon found out it had no lodging. There as a bed and breakfast but the owner was away and a young italian man outside it, with cell phone could not get in touch with her either... so I decided I had to head towards the ocean again. I had seen a sign cave di marmo and hoped it was not really important.. because I had lost steam to go explore. Later I looked at a booklet at stand and realized it was caves where they excavate marble for carving or architecture. Carrara is a major hub for marble apparently. I imagined villagers since ancient times quarrying the mountains for the rest of italy's needs of marbel.. i might be making this up..but imagin since romans or before they've been carving the hills for 1000's of statues, floors, pillars...etc.....I noticed as I descended into town, marble was generously used even in the sidewalks, here. After having circled town I left again passing the same little cafe-bar..two of the gentlemen had fallen asleep on the chairs outside the shop... I had to smile..i walked past a stadium where cops were beginning to appear. I am guessing there was a soccer match and they were there to control the crowd. I asked a group of them and one spoke english. I had another three kms to go to find the rail line and along it was a hotel.. my feet did not like that answer. ...but off I went.. when I arrived there was a crazy busy multi-block street fair going on, with food vendors and other mobile shops... at other times it might have been fun but I was not in the right frame of mind to deal. the streets were crowded and it was a struggle to get through the crowd or to see the hotel if there was one... finally I had to ask local shop keepers and I did find it. To my dismay it was not that cheap but I took it. I was tired... I had a bit of internet and rest then I went to a restaurant by the train station... by the time I was finished there I was more tired... I slept fairly well even though for some reason I still wake up in the middle of the night. And sometimes I lay there for up to an hour. Not so bad this time.. but I woke up the next day wishing I could sleep in..but this place had a fairly early check out of 10am.

my dad (he was there in the early 70s) just emailed me this info about Carrara: FYI: The Romans quarried there beginning in the 2nd Cenmtury BC and used its stone to build the Parthenon in Rome among other edificies. The cathedral in Siena also is built of Carrara marble.  Michelangelo used the marble for his giant David sculture etc.

4-24-10 Massarosa via Pietrasanta to Forte dei Marmi-day 20

4-24-10 day 20 Massarosa via Pietrasanta to Forte dei Marmi


as I checked out, the lady at front desk was much friendlier. She did have a good birthday party the night before but it did not involve going to the disco unfortunately. She was worried about me walking alone as a woman through italy. But then she told me about her friends who had road bikes through patagonia ..for the satisfaction of it... she wished me well and I was off... I walked in grey, slightly drizzly morning... a little bit heavy feeling.. it was again along a car road..but manageable ..not my favorite... what made the walk interesting was the hills turning into more mountainous peeks on the east side... I knew I was only a few kms from the ocean at the west but I would not see it till the end of the day. The plants changed a bit too, I saw an increase of citrus trees. By midday I hit the outskirts of Pietrasanta I had real lunch ..ricotta ravioli with a lemon creme sauce and salad with side of veggies.. then two more kms and I was in pietrasanta... sun had fully emerged and the pastel town was pretty. It was middle of lunch breaks even the churches were locked.

So I sat at a cafe and hydrated while waiting. Then by 2.30 churches opened I went to the main one. Grand as is usual, I listened to a woman trying to convince her german speaking audience just how special this place was. I think I have seen so many grant cathedrals that I am loosing some of the appreciation of individual specialness.. though I still enjoy sitting in these ornate art feasts... next door was a former convent now turned art museum.. there were copies in plaster of famous sculptures from what I could gather. I did not get it. Then I realized that this whole region is stone quarry land. You could see the mountains in the back with obvious signs of human cut ins. I passed many a marble slab sales places and funerary sculptures specialists along the roads. So I gather famous artists came to this area for the marble. I am totally guessing but it would make sense. I saw what looked like art collective sculpture yards later. It seemed too early to stop..so I decided to check out this camping ground near Querceta. Then amongst the italian flags down a street I saw a tibetan flag.. I gravitated towards it, then I saw a little weathered looking man with a striking straw hat, little pompoms attached. He waved me towards him.

He is Teddy, he said he was originally from Freiburg Germany. But his german did not seem native. But who knows if he's not lived there for twenty or more years? He claims he lived in Tibet for ten years, until the chinese permanently kicked him out. He had a bicycle with trailer. He had pictures of himself and the local major, apparently the mayor has given him the rights to live and camp in a local park. Even though he had a lot buddhist accoutrement he said he was not buddhist. He was a self proclaimed vagabond. He was soon off to a french music festival and maybe later in the year nepal or india. He gave me good luck beads which were suppose to be the bodhi seeds of the tree in bodgia india. I thanked him. Then he insisted on walking me to house were people like me could stay for a night or two free. He left me there. Somehow I would not be surprised if I ran across Teddy again some time. I tried ringing the bell a couple of times at the house and no one answered. Then this woman cop who spoke no english but had a busy body quality about her...told me 'no piligrina, boy scouts'...since no one answered I gave up and decided to move on the the camp ground perhaps five kms from here. On the way out of town I found tourist info. She too insisted that house was a nuns house and they took pilgrims. She tried to call, turns out they were busy for over an hour... so in the mean time I could get another bit of road under me and prob cheap accommodations camping..so I took her directions... I walked along a road with the rail to one side...eventually I would see the sign for camping.. I took that road...it went further east than I expected towards the ocean... finally I found the campsite. It was closed... in fact it looked like it had deteriorated into a squatters camp ….now remains of old fridges, trailers and other piles of garbage all that was left... resigned I decided to walk all the way to the coast... this was a slight digression from the path again...but now the idea of seeing ocean propelled my now tired feet forward... I was very delighted to finally see signs for accommodation... not too cheap but I had lost steam and the woman there was just really nice and I had to speak german with her because it was her stronger second language. I showered dumped my stuff and walked to the beach now six thirty... it took me a bit to find a place were I could enter the beach..it is walled off by chains of beach businesses.. you cant even see the ocean from the street... they control the beach during the on season but renting beach space.. you can walk the beach for free but if you want to sunbath it costs...or so I was told...clearly it was still too early in the year since I was one of three people on the beach...but I can imagine this place in the heat of summer.. unpleasantly crowded... despite hunger and some chores calling... I stayed on the beach for an hour.. I dipped my feet in the water still chilly for swimming.. but coming from NW USA I am used to staying on beaches where water is too cold to swim.. this place truly is stunning: lovely beach and ocean on one side and interesting mountain range on the other... then pizza and back to room...

4-23-10 Lucca to Massarosa day 19 Rain!

4-23-10 Lucca to Massarosa day 19 Rain!

I woke up to rain, I had been warned by some german news channel the night before. It looked pretty bad. I also had some more internet minutes to use up...so it took more than the usual while to leave my room... I am more or less doing a little bit of hand washed laundry per night... it takes a bloody three days for socks to dry...i thought 'smart wool' would be smarter than that...Breakfast I talked to my friend again. I asked him about the maze on the walls outside the main duomo, he went and looked it up for me. Apparently there was reference to the cretian maze and how only one person was ever successful at finding their way out of the maze. But no explanation why a prechristian pagan maze was on a mideaval church. He tried to help me find a walking path more foot friendly but did not know he referred me to the tourist info on my way out of town. He agreed that there was no road in italy really good for walking. I had told him about the walk to Lucca and how the beginning had been so aweful. He immediately sighted Pisa again, saying that the surrounding areas around Pisa were really bad. I laughed again. He said 'no no... I do like pisa, well I do like the tower, but the areas around pisa not good and the further I would get from pisa the better. He wished me luck on my journey and asked that when I return home to my family and friends I would tell them the important difference between Lucca and Pisa and how Pisa's tower is not strong... I assured him I had mentioned it on face book and would document it in my blog. We both laughed, and I was on my way. He had been so helpful explaining history and sights so much it was a surprise that he thought he was not good in history, his favorite period in history was the last two hundred years, WW1 and WW2 because they did so much to shape the way italy is today. As per instructions I walked along the wall till I found the tourist info, there the people were also not of much help they did not have any walking maps. I had checked the book stores the day before and had no luck there. They also had no info on the 'franciscan pilgrimage walk' either. I was told also that the signs for that path were infrequent which has been my experience. I have found out that the official franciscan pilgrimage walk starts in Canterbury and ends in Rome, i've been walking parts of it on and off in reverse for a while. They did try and get me to more arterial roads and armed me with a slightly more detailed regional map. Though I suspect that the scale is off. I left town and reached the river which was suppose to walk along for an hour and half I did so, I did walk on the other side from what had been suggested but it was a non-car road meant for bicyles mostly, judging from the sinage. This always makes me happy...It was pleasant but also raining. I worried about my shoes soaking through, if I stepped in one puddle too many.... but over all they held up till the end of the day. The rain had been a drizzel it, eventually would get worse. Having walked on the other side of what had been recommended to me, I overshot one of the branch off roads. But I could still hook up with my desired goal on another road. I asked a pharmacist and she let me know once I moved northwards from the river I was on the right road. Again I struggeled with narrow roads and oncomming traffic. I stopped at a cafe for a little bit of refuge, rain was picking up. Then onwards again. I saw signs for turn offs and asked someone.. he made it seem I had to stay on the main road. This turned out to be wrong. some car stopped and two people were saying things in italian to me, i was not sure of the motive, then i realized they were encouring me on as a Pilgrim, i smiled and waved at them..I was walking again along a minor highway and as time went on, I realized I would not be meeting up with my chosen town, unless I went out of my way... since my general route was now towards the coast and north, I was not going in the wrong direction but this was the first time that I was off the mark from the premapped path i'd been following since I started the walk. I was again winding first up a hill and six kms later back down... tight zigzag turns down, i could not believe how tight they design turns here..

at a modanna shrine obviously known for it's power of fertility(judging from all the left behind birth announcment markers) a couple tried to offer me a ride, I declined politly the woman was really surprised. I am not really thinking when I say no and I really did not take any vows perventing me from taking rides. But I think I am just in this singel minded space where it is just easier to keep it pure and walk from place to place.. easier mentally not neccesarly on my feet. The hill felt almost jungel-like, I think it was mostly the rain, but everything seemed so lush... also moving more towards summer and the coast... I stopped at another cafe..this seemed like the local 'men's club' ..the place was full of mostly old men playing cards and being boisterous with each other. Only the woman behind the counter and I were female bodied. I kind of enjoyed it. I had a sandwich and a creamy hot chocolate, to recover a bit from the constant rain....short while later, some old italian man on the side of the road, was yelling about rain in german at me and kinda let me know that i was crazy for walking in it... after that I started looking for accommodations. I had to walk another hour, I wound up in Massarosa and found a place. The lady who was running the place was young and fashionable, she seemed grumpy but was quite chatty as well. She'd been to Miami and NY quite a few times. Today was suppose to be the birthday celebrations with her friends but it was raining meaning the places they would be going would be crowded since everyone would be indoors. She seemed bummed about that. I walked to the nearby superstore and enjoyed my shopping experience, bought food but also things that seem to be overpriced at pharmacies, like skin lotion and deodorant. Even got some liner socks to hopefully help reduce blisters...went back to my room had a picnic and watched italian dubbed american shows... still not learning the language through osmosis, apparently it requires a bit more effort than that.

4-22-10 Lucca (day of rest, sort of) day 18

4-22-10 day 18 Lucca (day of rest, sort of)so this is suppose to be my day of rest. I woke up multiple times but did sleep finally till about 9ish. I went down to breakfast and spoke with friendly hotel guy. Again this was a family run business. The father runs the night desk and the sun is there through the day. Later I met the mom and daughter who were the house keepers.. everyone was giddy-friendly it was totally charming. Anyway the son proceeded to prep me for Lucca. He gave me a map and told me the route I should take.. walk along the along outer wall, it's not very special since it's new from the 1500's but you can see the city from there and its nice view. I asked what the wall protected against. 'Pisa' he said half sneering. He showed me on an old drawing, with great enthusiasm he explained how there used to be a mote and they flooded it with water when there was thread of attack, making it virtually impossible for anyone to invade. He said italy is still a new country (unified) a lot of neighborhood towns still have centuries old rivalries, these days they are mostly expressed on the soccer field. He made the Lucca-Pisa games sound kind of blood thirsty. He explained Pisa had only one important monument and that was not very strong so it leaned. He assured me it was just a joke. Then he said Lucca by contrast had not only many important monuments it also had a tower, it was straight, and it even had trees on top (clearly better than Pisa's) he told me which churches were a must see. The two towers including a clock tower and the tower with trees. Also of the oval of houses that were built on top of an ancient roman collusium. Apparently this was a one of a kind architectural event in history. He showed me the original roman out lines of the town, then the mideavel and then the more modern 1500's expanded town. He said in italy anything that happened after 1500 is not really considered old.. I had to laugh. I felt more than well prepared to enter the core of Lucca. I followed the directions first walking the wall for a while, and it was wide enough on top to support a single lane, fortunately it appeared to be pedestrian zone only. It looked like people used the wall as a place to exercise and to walk their dogs. Apparently it's four kms round. By the main church I descended and found its front. There were hoards of school children in groups and other tourists. I went inside the huge church. I found a cantankerous card sales man who also had the credentials stamp for my pilgrimage booklet. This church, I am sure housed many important things but it was also under some renovations so it was not a peaceful place.. hammering and such were going on. There was a giant jesus on a wood cross, well protected by a cage. It apparently was a true depiction of jesus as carved by one of his disciples Nicolos? According to the plaque it had been hidden initially during the persecution of christians and found it's way to this church some time in the middle ages. I thought the it was naïve art but it also had strong personality and was quite sweet. No photos allowed. I found museums attached which housed amongst other things various jewel ornaments that this wood christ used to be adorned with. These were incredibly elaborate and included crowns. There was a church turned museum that was the sight of the nightly Puchini concert ( apparently he is from this area) and it's foundation had been excavated and one could walk beneath the floors of the church, wherein were the remains of roman rooms as well as proto christian and eventually mideavel architecture, on top of which finally the basilica was built. It's kind of amazing how this is history is so richly layered and all in one location.

Then I lost myself in the town... I found things like the clock tower. I climbed the tower with the olive trees on top, with amazing views of the town.. I got vertigo, cuz I am height phobic so I did not get too close to the edge.. I was eager to get back down to earth... I found the oval of houses that had three or maybe more arches one could go under to get within, if I had not known that this used to be a roman amphitheater I would never have guessed. Little tourist shops and restaurants were on the inside. I had a veggie pizza and inhaled the whole thing. I knew I was suppose to spare my feet... so I went in search of the final big cathedral. I found two... one was closed for another half hour for lunch times so I hung out at a cafe then went in I had only a few minutes. I coffin was being wheeled in and people were filling in for a funeral and tourists were being ushered out. I feel compared to my experience back home I seem to come across car funeral processions and funerals at churches kind of frequently here in Italy. That and all the markers I see along streets dedicated in memory of some accident makes me feel that an awareness of mortality is definitely a very important part of this pilgrimage. I found the final big church, it had a skeleton remains of a woman saint, name escapes me, but the contrast of the flower headdress and the skeletal remains was striking. The outside of the church was beautiful .. after that I returned to the wall and walked along it till I saw the landmarks that would guide me home. I picked up some cured veggies, bread and cheese for dinner in my room since I knew I was running out of steam. I knew prob walked more than I should have on tender feet but lucca was worth it. When I returned to the hotel my host asked me how my day went. When I told him that thanks to him I had an easy time finding really cool stuff. He was totally delighted. I tried to go to bed at reasonable hour and more or less succeeded.

4-21-10 day 17-Pontedera to Lucca

I knew it would be a long day...but I did not know it would be such a long day... I had simple breakfast at the artist's albergo the daughter had put on tv for me, there is a channel dedicated to all things Tuscan... cooking, history, art etc.. it switches from italian to english and back. She tried to explain how Pontedera is home of Vespa (honestly I was not sure if she was referring to an artist by this name or the little scooters? )and that it is a city that has everything one could need. Regional pride was strong in her. She was equally proud of her father, the artist. The house was pretty amazing, not used to seeing so much art outside a gallery or museum. I get the sense her dad taught traditional technique but did modern art privately, there were many paintings and drawings that could have been his wife, in her younger years. I started my walk again around 9;30... the road I had to walk... apparently romantically referred to an old roman road (this means too narrow for today's traffic) by my hostess, was narrow and congested. I think it might be rush hour traffic. It had no curb to speak of. It changed from narrow tree rimmed street to a more industrial highway still no curb. Then a section of strip malls and still no real space for me to walk.. I had very little space as giant trucks hurled by and impatient italian drivers... after an hour I found sanctuary at a road side cafe... I had 26 to 30 kms to Lucca on this highway .. I would have a psychic meltdown if the road did not change soon.. I looked at the map to see if there was any other way to get there. It seemed like there wasn't. And I had not been able to find walking maps in days now. So, I on I went... to my relief slowly the road changed. I got wider and newer... I should mention too, the last two days the first two hours it's grey and hazy and the air pollution from the car just gets trapped so I am inhalling that too... also both days by 11am it seems traffic decreased.. the landscape got greener.. hazy distant hills.. but I was not into the landscape.. I struggled with walking. I was definitely not as fit or into it today and as said it was a long march... slowly the path moved back into winding hill roads.. and once again little charming towns propped up... I stopped frequently just to rest, drink water or coffee or both.. then around three I was ready to find lodging..and food.. but alas as I wound down the hill again all the cafes and restaurants seemed closed it looked like due to lack of business. I did not find an open place till five...i was really foot sore and out of it... the guy there was really nice. He did not have much in food..but I drank a lot of water and he tried to tell me how much further to lodging and also what land marks to look for. He told me I had four more Kms to Lucca and where the lodging would be. Uhg. At my current rate that would be an hour... so... off I went.. I passed his landmarks and had to wait twice for trains to pass and then compete with cars again on narrow roads to get into town... then finally not just one hotel appeared but a cluster... I went for one that looked in my budget, I made a good choice. The young man at the counter was exceptionally chatty and helpful. I realize I have really spoken very little in the last twenty days... he showed me the minutia of the room and pointed out with pride the ''large'' shower... so by usa standards it's large enough to turn around in without bruising your elbows... I showered and looked at the disaster that was my feet... for some reason my little left toe is now having it's issues can not figure out why..i put on sandals and was told were to find dinner... I barely made it through dinner from being tired, than back to room for eve... I had probs falling asleep I think I was kind of wound up from the day... but I had already promised myself I would stay in Lucca for two nights.. so I could sleep in.. I think I walked 30kms, I think, but they were not fun ones at all...

4-20-10 day 16 S Miniato to Pontedera

4-20-10 day 16 S Miniato to Pontedera

When I went down to breakfast I came too early but the older man, the french pilgrim, was there. I spoke with him a little. He told me that the french part of the pilgrimage had gotten too popular. And some of the pilgrims are getting disrespectful with the local farmers, taking fruits and vegetables from their gardens without asking. So, he made it clear I would expect some tension. It sounds like too many pilgrims and no one has got a infrastructure in place to handle them, so the local people are suffering and I am sure, so are the pilgrims...He also warned that unlike italy food would not be as plentiful. He said I would run across towns only every 30kms or so, so I should always carry enough to eat. He did say I would not find it hard to do camping, so that is good news.  So he made me a bit dubious about the french portion. He warned me not to tell people I was american because I would just get riped off since americans are notorious for paying too much for things. Also the french dont like americans, I let him know I was well aware of that. He said by the time I will arrive on the actual Santiago pilgrimage it will be quite crowded but fun. He said it would only take a month to do the actual path. (if I am hiking 30kms a day or more, if I am doing math right) so he made me feel both happy and worried... not an uncommon combo for me. The breakfast was a quick affair no ritual or prayer... I went off to pack and hit the road by 9.30. at first I had this feeling I could not leave town..signs starting and stopping..then finally a road that did lead down hill into the valley... today's walk was not the visual feast i've come to expect. I was walking a long a car road, again not too intense.. but yeah i'd rather walk a country road instead of the side of a car road.. I am surprised that I see a lot of cyclists... I even saw a group of same clad cyclists with a team car following them. So I wonder how many of these guys are training professionally for races. My walking gate seems to be strongest after the first hour... then I am strong for two or so...by afternoon things change again. And I have to take breaks more... as I arrived Pontedera around three I knew I was not going to walk much more that day.. I thought the town was pretty ugly... or just boring modern... but then I realized I was entering the more industrial side of things.. as I kept walking and asking for hotels or albergos I finally found the town center ...it too was an old town smoothly transitioned into modern shopping experience. People here, like all bigger places it seems, were into fashion. And all it's accessories.. I still could not find lodging...it seemed there were many modern sculptures including by a church and fountains.. I think I was too tired to really give this town my usual attention. I finally found a hotel it had four stars and the lobby was full of amazingly tacky but in its way wealthy looking furniture. I was  kindly referred by a handsome queer, to an Albergo down the street that I could afford.. it turned out to be the home of a former art teacher at a Florentine art academy so the walls were decked with his art and collections he'd acquired including indian art. The mother and daughter were running the albergo. I got a small room showered and tried to find food. It was way too early for restaurants to be open and the gyro place was out of falafel so pizza again.. I had some for lunch as well. I was not thrilled since my diet is too much cheese and bread because it's always easy and available.. I had a danish beer called 'Strong beer' and it sure was. I went back to room feeling quiet buzzed. It seems lately I have to buy internet cards which have limited use time and are not that cheap..but I need my fix... I slept fairly well but woke too early because someone upstairs went to work early...clippity clop clippity clop...

4-19-10 Castelfiorentino to S. Miniato-day 15

4-19-10 day 15 Castelfiorentino to S. Miniato

Left the hotel after not very restfully slept at around 9.30. I had this feeling the night before that this place would not be restful..not sure if I am jinxing my sleep or whether I just know my subconscious... but some places I have an easy feeling and some I dont... and my sleep seems to be impacted by it.
So off I went... I stopped at a place to get coffee and pizza for lack of savory breakfast...i had gotten my bearings from the info the day before. I had to walk along, again, a street but it was not too busy. Went through a lot of mini towns, meaning, cars had to reduce their speed... and then the road seemed to get less and less used as the morning progressed. But also it was not passing much of anything this included businesses where I might get a snack or water...the road was not scenic till later.. it was flat running along a river for a while...then it climbed steeply and kept doing so in spurts but the scenery got sweeter.... it included an increase in evergreens... I am also begining to see new little wild flowers pop up on the side of the road not sure if its the terrain slowly changing or spring moving to summer... about an hour outside S.Miniato the signs failed me again... further towns were listed but not mine. Also my map is less detailed now and I could not even find some of the towns on it which meant I could not tell if it was in the same direction I needed to go to. I started walking but my gut said it was wrong so I back tracked to the signs... finally a car drove by, I flagged him down... yeah, my gut was right, the town was in opposite direction on an unmarked road so I followed it. I stopped for lunch at a simple and cheaper restaurant which had a panoramic view of valley bellow... I hardly appreciate anymore that I climbed all the way up here...

then Minota proved a little confusing too..since it seemed to start and stop and had several layers. I had stopped at Franciscan cathedral, it was a pilgrims stop...then I thought I was moving away from town but instead I was walking into town center, the second part of the town... the road...it went down then up again... and then an elevator to the top of the town this was slightly west of where i'd been ...they had two information centers. I decided that I was not going to be of much use soon so might as well look for accommodations. One info place was not so helpful..the second one, the woman told me I could stay at the convenato, gave me directions back to the Franciscan church and also how to get on to my next leg of the journey. She did not even ask if I had credentials. Because I think I did need them to proof I could stay.. I finally found my way back..this was a building next to the church. I had seen the sign earlier but did not think it was a place i could stay. two grumpy men answered door and it was as if they did not know what I was doing there... than this very nice women herded me. She asked if I had reservations. I did not … I lucked out though from what I gather apparently they do usually require those....she had to make a room ready for me... she explained that for 30 euro I got room and dinner and breakfast... sounded like a good deal to me. She even got that I dont eat meat...it does not seem like a big deal here. People get it and quickly..i find telling people i dont eat meat does not seem a big deal in italy, it must not be that rare..

after my shower, I decided to explore the town without pack...much better... I saw a hill to a tower.. so of course I had to climb it.. nice views, so, worth it...and a cooling breeze..

more and more I have had humid walks... I dont always do well with that kind of heat... then back into town stopped at another church...there was a service going on...interestingly another African descend priest was leading the service. Only a handful of elderly people where there, it was monday night. I had a cafe latte on the way back to my place and walked right into the service there. It was held in small side chapel and not in the impressive main church.. I recognized the men from earlier now wearing black monks robes. A prayer book was thrust at me and there was another service. Then I had about twenty minutes till dinner... I found the place for dinner eventually and I got to see the rather small group of monks who reside in these massive halls. Only five. They were all in their fifties and one perhaps in his seventies. An older french couple where the other pilgrim guests. My meal was simple since I did not eat the four sorts of meat available. I had a minestrone type soup, salad, bread and cheese. I tried the monastic wine... but one needs an iron stomach from it. It was assumed I was somehow connected with the french couple so only italian and french was spoken. The monks seem to really get along with each other and they seemed to enjoy their food..and in contrast to buddhist monks they also enjoyed a little wine with dinner.. . there were a few more prayers after dinner in italian...then by 8.45 I was up in my room.. no tv no internet..so I was sound asleep by 9.30 and slept a good ten hours..

4-18-10 San Gimignano to Castelfiorentino-day 14

4-18-10 day 14 San Gimignano to Castelfiorentino

woke before 8 having slept close to ten hours. Got my stuff together had breakfast. Two other couples were staying at the agritourismo, it seemed only the man was running both farm and guesthouse. Had simple breakfast and hit the road by 9.30. after about 40 or so minutes of walking the slow winding descend a car pulled over. It was the mid-age german couple I had briefly spoke to at guest house. They were trying to offer me a ride, they where going to Pisa.. generally that was the direction i was going.. but I told them I was into walking and thanked them.. they bid me fair journey... the walk was again along the street...traffic, over all, was pretty mellow with the occasional speed demon giving me a start... lots of weekend bicyclists..mostly men in bright spandex... most seemed quite skilled at riding these hills...but occasionally there was some inexperienced rider struggling up the hills..funny that the inexperienced walker would notice such things!!.

I reached Certaldo around noon, I stopped at a cafe and had pizza and got my barrings from the man working there, he was trying to tell me about a more scenic route to my destination but unfortunately my map did not show it, and when I walked to were I thought he meant, all I saw was private driveways...also the man running the newspaper stand near there knew no other way than the main road, a minor highway. I was a bit torn because the old part of town was up in the hills and I was not going up to explore it...instead I was on my way.. to Castelfiorentino. I had to walk along what appeared to be an industrial park... one side was farm land the other company lots... so not as aesthetic... fortunately perhaps because it was sunday the traffic was pretty low... eventually the road started going through small towns with green spaces between... road narrowed but still fairly safe feeling.. there was a tiny strip I could walk in without fully being in the road... again prob an hour from my goal an elderly italian gentleman pulled over and tried to give me a ride... I thanked him ...we were both impeded by language barriers...

and then I almost passed the town, I meant to stay in, because all the signs were indicating other places and not the name of this town... I dont think it is a tourist destination at all... so maybe that's why the signs did not even mention it. I had to back track a bit to get to it... it was similar in some ways to other small towns.. the road went into the hill and there were narrow steep streets but it had a more forlorn look, like it had seen better days. Judging from the residence it had a large immigrant population for it's size and maybe people were a little poorer here than I've seen. A lot of businesses were closed, first because it was sunday and second because it was before four pm... this place had only one hotel from what I could gather... and did not get best price ..my hotel too looked like it had lost some of its' polish.. the woman running it was friendly enough... it was only three. I was suppose to have walked 20 kms today but it did not seem that much... though my feet still get plenty foot sore and are always glad of rest... I walked my rounds through town... there seemed to be several stations set up for children's activities.. a maze made of sheets with a pan like figure putting white tunics on willing children who were then lead through a maze with activities inside...

it seemed like it had vague vestige pagan initiate cermonies... another place kids could face paint and paint on scrolls of giant paper... and under yet another canopy there was a reading circle...
I found out internet cafes were all closed sunday... I did go into a small museum and found I could surf the net at one of it's terminals ...then found a little restaurant actually open before eight..and had dinner... same same.. .cheese ravioli with walnut sauce, mixed herb greens salad, white beans in oil, and fried veggie plate side. I circled the town a bit more.. now the whole town seemed to be out... surprisingly large crowds were doing nothing other than walking around town... I think it is the sunday social ...people come out to take the air, see and be seen and run into neighbors and friends to have conversation with...perhaps stop for ice cream or a drink... it seemed that this was a long standing tradition probably going back into the mists of time... but as an outsider, it was novel thing to see..

then back to my room...to laundry and rest...italian MIB on tv...

4-17-10 Colle di Val d'Elsa to San Gimignano-day 13

4-17-10 day 13-Colle di Val d'Elsa to San Gimignano

woke up an hour earlier than I would have liked.. my window was facing the main square, and I was accosted with early morning deliveries at shops as things were opened and unloaded loudly.. I went to breakfast and then packed. I got on the road a bit earlier too.. again I prob hoped to walk more than I did today..but got to listen to body... the entire walk was along car roads today...but just within my tolerance... the first three kms wound past the long old town and up hill then off to flatter terrain..every time so far that I thought I would prob take less photos since the landscape could not really be that much different and the next old town I go through will prob be more of the same... I am mistaken... the landscape got more and more interesting..sure still farms..but rolling hills greater panorama... it was muggy humid then cooler and breezier... I started seeing glimpses of San Gimignano prob three hours before I got there... from what I could tell it looked surreal, it could be the perfect setting for sci-fi fantasy novel or film... it had these long slender towers ...so, from a distance I would almost say it was mideaval sky scrapers... I really noticed a shift in car drivers. It occurred to me, it was saturday so these were people out for pleasure... also I saw an increase in foreign plates, mostly french, some german, a few swiss and a few eastern european which I cant distinguish as well. Also not just road racing bicycles but also some who were packing gear..so, also doing longer trips...and gangs of sporty euro-gangs on motorcycles.. I got to San Gimignano close to two, I was enthrawled... it was horribly touristy ...that it was saturday...intensified this... italian teens seem to like going in groups to these places, too, on weekends... so little romantic couples everywhere... I heard americans too... everyone shopping!! ceramics, leather goods, wine... etc... again I side stepped the museums … I was gawking at the strange probably military towers, when someone approached me chatting... it was my Australian friend again.. we were both delighted to see each other ... he is traveling with wife by car... they had seen Voltaire and Sienna in the time that it took me to say goodbye to them yesterday morning and walk here... kind of ironic. He wanted to know my next destination..so I pulled out my tuscanny map which I marked for prob at least a week or more of walking.. .he was very pleased... again we said our farewells and I went to check out the main church. There was a cover... but also they were able to stamp my credentials. The one girl seemed impressed I had walked from Assisi... I guess the more distance I cover the more impressive it seems... even if it is tiny little baby steps... the church itself was wonderful ..muted and dark... old frescos... I feel I should know the artist..but I dont.. it had the stages of the cross on one wall with some of the jesus miracles on top.. the other wall had old testament stuff. ..i felt the tone more mideaval since it had a slightly more fire and brimestone feel to it. But the faces of figures were soft and sweet... then out again I found another two churches one was totally simple...hardly any decor at all so it felt more like a meditation hall... the other more grand, again no photos ... I knew I was looking at historically valuable art but I drew a blank, it was however, pretty...
I had what would be lunch and dinner... penne pomadoro, and a mixed salad that included corn olives, endive, cheese...so filling..

. then I tried to make some more time so that I would get a few more km's under my belt before the end of the day.. it was a little after three when I left town... the road was very windy here... I walked for a while.. and the landscape still beautiful... there had been clouds all day and sun breaks... now I notice a darker mass forming behind my back...i thought I heard very distant thunder... then something else occurred to me..again thankfully not too busy a car road..but something had shifted...then I realized that after a day in the tuscanny countryside what does one do here other than sight see? Drink wine! I was dealing with drivers who might not be too sober.. I just saw a couple of hair-brain moves that made me suspect so... it was only a little after four...but the cloud stalking me and potential drunk drivers was all I needed to start looking for accommodations.. I turned in at the first sign of one of those Agritourismo places... and got an okay priced room... I took a shower and just as I got out... it started pouring hard rain outside... it lasted for less than an hour and then the sun came out again...but I felt I had made a good call. Hoping again to plug a lot of good sleep hours... it is quiet here and only italian on tv...two good reasons I will sleep long and well!

4-16-10 Monteriggioni to Colle Di Val D'Elsa day 12

4-16-10 day 12 Monteriggioni to Colle Di Val D'Elsa

slept a little bit more hours last night.. got my gear together. Left the key on a hook downstairs and checked out, which of the four possible places in town, was open for coffee.. the tourist buro was still closed so I could not get bearings for getting to next destination.

I went to the same place I had dinner, it was women servers in the morning. For some reason the main lady pulled attitude, which I made worse by ordering a non traditional coffee drink.. I was also put out by her snobbishness and let her know.. had coffee..could not see anything savory for breakfast ..just sweet cakes.. and I cant eat sugar first thing... After that kind of ickiness, I went into the church just to settle and set my motivation and clear my head for the day ahead... then out I went looking for a friendlier place to get something in my stomach and water for the walk... a new place had opened I went in and was about to order when this man spoke to his wife with a german accent refering to me as a Piligrino... I smiled. He asked me where I was from and I asked him in turn.. he was from Austria. We got to talking. He had walked from the french start of the pilgrimage to santiago in one month. He told me he regretted doing it so fast and would do it different if he did it again. He also told me that he was surprised at how many americans he met who were doing it. He had no answer for that nor did I. Every time I had mentioned the pilgrimage to my american friends no one knew what I was talking about. He also said that he met people who were doing it for all sorts of reasons. Some just for the sport some for spiritual reasons. He met totally atheists who did it. But he said, his eyes watering, “No one who does the walk, is not transformed by the experience-regardless of why they started”... my eyes welled up too, upon hearing this..part of me half joking in my head...'you mean the blisters will be worth it?' He told me 'perhaps you can already sense some of this?!” as I got teary, I nodded.... seriously, I was very moved by what he said. I think I needed to hear and I needed to hear it that day... it really gave me renewed resolve. He took a picture of me to show his friend who he wants to cox to the the Franciscan walk that I was in part on right now.. we wished each other well ..

I went into the Albergo to get my barrings since tourist office still not open.. then out onto the road.. I descended the town slowly since my feet still dont like the down hills... I connected with a dirt road and clear signage. I believe I was taking the slightly longer way to my next destination but it was more peaceful since it will be on walking trails and minor roads for the most part. There was even pilgrim route signs here. I was doing fine for the first 40 min but then the signs confused me since the main sign pointed in direction I was dubious of, I followed... I realized again around 20 min in I was approaching a highway, this was wrong.. so back again.. as I came back to the fork, I saw the tiny sign I had missed before for the 'my' pilgrimage route.. .that was the only miss-turn that day, fortunately...
I notice I dont see as much life stock as I would expect..considering that I see plenty of dairy and meat at eating establishments. I ve seen mostly sheep but today a few pigs... the route was flat... and one side was farm the other side was a hill covered in still fallow trees... I stopped at a tiny village called Abbadia Isola, it was part of the Franciscan pilgrimage walk there was a cute sign in italian and english describing all the types of people one would meet on the road in the days of old...including farmers and of course pilgrims.. took a little photo for the narrative.

I had another coffee and gave in and had a fruit tart...then across the street to inside the old town to pay my respects at the little church. It looked like much of the town was sealed off from wanderers and renovation was taking place... then I hit the road again... as the day progressed I still took breaks about hourly ..the small dirt road turned into a two lane road which eventually turned into a local highway... traffic was not as horrendous and seemed a little more gentle than the Sienna area... I still dont have stamina to go as long as what I would like... as I approached Colle di Val d'Elsa, I was yet again seduced by the allure of an ancient town, I knew I would spend the night there. Via the main road I had only gone 11kms but since I took the long way I think it was more like 14kms... I got a room in a slightly old hotel.. the bright auburn haired woman running the place... gave me a discount from her own account.. I dumped my stuff in my room... rested for maybe an hour then headed out again to explore the old town. The town was split in two..the lower half had giant piazza and also was a bit more modern or so it the seems... it had a nice grand church as well. Apparently this region specializes in crystal wears judging from the shops. .. I had gotten instructions on how to get to the higher up village.. one takes an elevator! I dont know how many stories but thought that it was a rather posh addition... the old town was as promised slightly less touristy then some places I've been... also if you arrive during the long lunch break things are shut down and quiet which helps that feel of un-touristy. It's a long narrow town.. it housed maybe two plus churches on top and two maybe three museums. I could only get into one of the churches dark and cool... and I decided to not do the museum. Not thinking I was in the right mood to appreciate. I had some pizza and sat outside enjoying the ambiance... found a pharmacy too and new dr scholl foot inserts.. yey...

then back down to the lower part of town.. I spend a lot of time in the hotel lobby, the only place where the wifi reached ...updating blogs and posting sillyness on facebook. Outside was a spectacular pour down of rain..., I hoped I did not have to walk in something like that the next day... I tried the restaurant bellow the hotel but I was not getting service at all, it was late so I gave up, I think I hit it totally at the wrong time, they were too busy..... so I went to a near by pizzaria and grabbed slices to go.. I picked ones covered in veggies. Since I feel I am eating mostly bread and cheese here. Then back to my room..bushed... I notice that this town is a bit more ethnically diverse than some of the other towns.. I think once a town has a population above a certain number and also has more modern sections then it seems towns get greater population of immigrants. Also, and I am not sure how scientific this finding is... the women seem a little bit more self possessed here, a little tougher, friendly but also sure of themselves... not hiding behind the over-feminized ditsy facade i've run across among the younger women.

Oh and on the news of course, the icelandic volcano, spewing what sounds like mostly invisible ash that is grounding planes in most of northern europe and making alternative travel by train or bus very frustrating.. I think my parents are still in germany, wonder if they will be able to leave? Funny how unaffected I feel by all this...because of the walking thing... it's nice not to stress about things like that.
also saw some news blur about young people who will 'run' across Tunisian dessert with heavy looking backpacks in ten or so days covering 50 to 60 kms a day...boy do i feel like a light weight compared to that.

4-15-10 Siena to Monteriggioni (day 11)

4-15-10 I can tell I am not yet of sorts... something is a bit off... so I did not want to push very hard today... as I suspected it would take a while to orient and leave Siena... I had to ask directions... and still got turned around in side the city at least once...on the way out of the city I stopped at another big cathedral La Basiclica Cateriniana di San Domenico (it contains her head relic) the man at the gift shopped asked if I was a pilgrim and if I needed a stamp... wow.. I look like one of those now? Do I?
here is the interesting tale of,
Directions: help was not as helpful today..but was made up for by being funny....my destination only maybe 13kms away: Monteriggioni.. I wanted to make sure that I would be sent the less car trafficy way so I pointed out the land marks on the map of my intended route... one man said 'your not in Monteriggioni now, your in Siena...' he really thought that I thought I was somewhere else... I thanked him for that advise... then later a man let me know 'that it was far away'... 'yes, thank you I know that'...'at least three hours!!'.... 'great thanks... but can you tell me the direction?' answer: 'it is very complicated'.... again I thanked him and I tried to find someone less obtuse...i did... news paper stand man... got me on track...then a while later another news paper man almost got me off track again... it felt wrong so I asked construction worker guys and yes, off again to right direction... just to be clear I was trying to avoid walking on hwy 2 which makes asking directions more complicated...everyone here like in the usa seems to only know how to get places by car...i am actually a bit surprised as to what a car culture italy is …. I had early lunch still with in the shadow of Sienna... the man at the bar-cafe was very clear and helpful with his directions... and I really did get on to a quiet road..it was still a car road but nothing compared to what i'd dealt with for the last two days... all was mellow.. I passed through two towns that looked like the suburbs of sienna...modern homes.. and signs of further expansion soon to come...

then the road turned one lane and went through thin woods... giving me shade... it was a sunny day...then finally already nearing four..cuz I had a lot of breaks.. I see what looks like castle walls... I miss-guess thinking that "oh, this is just a castle that is probably next to the town I want to go to" ...but no...sure enough the town was the castle... on top a not so steep hill...surrounded by a giant wall of fortification with lookout towers (perhaps had i dont, oh a bit of homework i might have known that..but would that not spoil the fun of discovery?)....was the smallest town I had yet gone to stay in... I was concerned about lodging... since it was a tiny town.. I bet it has less than thirty houses... all the businesses were just for tourists..wine shops, restaurants, ice-cream pallor, cafe..

there was one small church and next to it tourist information and museum... I went in asking for lodging...well this is the Franciscan way pilgrims route and I actually got a dorm room because I am a pilgrim... got my fourth stamp too...i should say the hostel was totally self serve, in that it must still be early in the season, i was the only overnight guest.. in a room with five beds..and i had to get the keys from tourist office lady...everything was clean and safe feeling... this town was totally my speed, for how i was feeling..... a town that I could explore, including climbing the castle wall and visiting the small church in half hour... showered and had a nice meal.. which I should have photoed but I was so hungry I had inhaled before I thought of it..ricotta manicotti with a pumpkin and walnut sauce... mixed salad with diff salad herbs from those blends now popular in usa..so nice to have diff taste.. and artichoke salad.. delicious and in my belly... I was in my room by eight and in bed by nine thirty... hoping to sleep a gazillion hours!(not tv for a change!) and i di sleep at least nine hours

4-14-10 Monteroni d'Arbia to Sienna (10 day)

4-14-10 Monteroni d'Arbia to Sienna ...i mere thirteen km's not including the other 3.5kms needed once you get to outer edge of city limit and to walk into the center.... in the morning, I said good bye to friendly hotel guy. He did not speak much english but was curious about me and open about himself. He was a grandfather and ran two businesses a furniture shop and the hotel.. he worked easily eleven hours a day and weekends... he had not slept well the night before because he had a slight allergic reaction to some medicine he had to take.. I, on the other hand, slept very well in his hotel..unlike the night before... he assured me that although I had to walk on hwy two, the portion i'd be on was not so bad for walking...for this part of the journey I really did not have a choice..so off I went... I had not really seen Monteroni d'Arbia because I had gotten a room at the very beginning outskirts of it. Even though it was a flat town, which I now equate with more modern towns, there was and old section of it and it had a nice castle like wall, I took a few photos but did not explore it's historic sections later looking at map I think I might of missed something worth seeing... I had decided that for now walking will take president over touristic sight seeing...so I would not explore everything I passed..it turns out that there was a series of little towns pretty much linked together... I figured out that the cars had to reduce speed every time they entered towns so there was only intervals were the cars whipped past me at hair raising speeds. The day had started foggy but cleared quickly into a slightly humid but not super hot sunny day.....… I could tell ever since the yesterday my mood was a bit off... I think this walking along fast car roads was getting to me..the landscape was still charming.. and the frequent towns with their partial side walks helped ease the path...even though it was not a long walking day.. I felt the need to stop more frequently than usual. I also think the stress of this kind of walking made me more tired. The path started rising I could see Siena's impressiveness from at least three hours walking distance away..so compared to what i'd been dealing with Siena seemed really big... I was just noting another cross on the road commemorating a deceased person probably due to car accident when a yard or so in front of me...

I see a moppet seem to loose it's pieces in all directions and the rider flipping over it...i gasped... and of course there was a line of tail gating cars right behind... I could not tell if he had been hit by a car or what...fortunately he did not seem to be hurt...as I approached cars started whipping past him again as he gathered some of the spilled things from the road...it looked like his bike rack had broken off in the back and groceries where what had flown into all directions.. I was not thinking when I approached and spoke to him in english 'are you okay?' he spoke very good english...he told me his moppet had just locked up mid-driving for no apparent reason..so he'd not been hit...and that he was fine... he checked his body symbolically... I wished him a better rest of day, with relief, and was off... cars whipping by as ever...i expected the approach into the center of sienna to be long and drawn out...even though sidewalks became more and more reliable...often they were used by cars for parking... it is a shame that these ancient narrow road towns allow car traffic at all...
Siena was full of youth... college students from the looks of it... and once I got to the main piazza it was hoards upon hoards of school age children apparently here on school trips... there were of course the gatherings of adult foreign tourist groups as well..i was in Siena in 2002..and went and saw almost everything of note...so I did not feel a great urgency to repeat all that... I eventually found a room in a very small albergo...top of rather steep three stories... nothing exciting..showered and dumped my stuff...sign:strong warnings that any attempt to do laundry in room would cost five euro extra..no laundry today then... so off I went to the Duomo, the black and white striped beautiful church.. it had a cover charge ..not too high.. I went in and it was full of tourists but beautiful and charming as ever...

I was able to get my pilgrims stamp here too...it's only been my second attempt to get..usually the gate keepers or ticket takers have the stamps, I am learning... I went in, payed my respects to the bodhisattvas and explored all the alcoves...the striped columns are stunning..the stone inlay narratives on the floors are amazing... each alcove had enough paintings and statuary for a whole modern church..took photos..since I dont know how to describe... but I love this church ..it's beautiful... then back into the streets..i picked up basically food for my room and some wine...then I felt like I was forever circulating to find the internet place i'd found before... I realized the awesome maps put out by Kompass were coming to an end, these maps show walking trails... soon I would have to switch to a road map for cars..sad..hope I am not doomed to walk italian highways for rest of italy piece. I checked internet mostly for map route so I knew which map to buy next... I should mention ...

Siena is very fashionable...and I felt more stared-at here than in the small towns i'd been in... there was also a certain impatience and mistrust that I had not felt in the smaller towns.. people are still helpful but definitely more reserved..and eager to move you along....back in my room I had a picnic and watched german tv and english news...hearing about scary election candidates in Ungarn-Hungary..apparently one of the candidates encourages hate crimes against the gypsies and jews of that country...there was actually a man with a hitler mustache in the crowd...wow...then the typhoon in s india and earth quake in tibet... unlike in the usa, there was several minutes worth of coverage and pretty grafic film footage...so I got a much greater sense of the plight of these various people... I bring this up because it frustrates me how little in depth news coverage one gets in the usa about what effects people other than americans on this planet..
I am not really a news hound but I realized I was sucking it all up because of the novelty of the type of coverage. plus it was kinda cool to switch from american CNN, BBC and then german to see what they thought important

4-13-10 Montalcino via Buonconvento to Monteroni d' Arbia (day 9)

Today was tough in a diff way. I had insomnia last night... ..my mood was off, the real thing is that I was tired ... then I had to also deal with heavier car traffic that seemed a little dangerous and unnerved me today... luckly I did find the alternate route...but it took a while to get to that point.
it started as a rainy foggy day..much like my very first day..maybe more fog..it was that fine drizzle that has this ability to saturate everything.. this time my pack was covered correctly my rain coat is more a wind breaker since it does not really water proof completely but also it's the kind of wetness that dries quick if your moving and the day lightens which it did...

The first part was steep down hill which I walked very slowly … the first 8kms were slow slow..and not on main road..the town Buonconvento seemed to take for ever in arriving..the man at hotel had made it seem like 7kms but I think it was more like 9 or actually 10-11 once I got into the town proper..i had to walk on busy highways again... I think for at least a few km's I dont remember clearly now... oh yeah that is right ..the road was really winding with lots of blind spots and mercilessly fast traffic... I had to keep changing the sides ...it was bad...also the map showed this section as straighter than it appeared and I still some how doubt myself, as far as going right way, even though the off road trail had lots more room for error and I did not get lost on that even though the markings were non-exsistant...anyway lunch at Buonconvento, sweet little hippster restaurant ...though dude got me gnocchi with pork in it.. I dug it out and ate it anyway...artichoke side dish and white bean side dish amazing...the girl gave me a little piece of cake as well, free..at the end they all did bad math but it got sorted..

the sun came out and it was a bit humid.. so I had walked three hours, it was ten when I left, lunch around one..and back walking on the road... the town looked like it had a quaint old section, it was all flat here...i took a few photos from outside and went past...-waring interests... am I walking or am I exploring old towns.. right now it's one or other as far as time and energy...for now I decided that walking is the more important... so I had to now walk on highway 2 and hated hated it... cars not very kind..i felt more unsafe than previous times..

around Arbia-something-or-other(there were two subtowns with the same name in it as the main town)... out of desparation... even though I saw no clear signs and I knew I was past where the trail start was suppose to be … I saw in the distance what looked like railroad tracks along which the trail was suppose to go.. I followed this road to farm road and found my trail..mostly tractor grooves sometimes hard to walk on... I had to take breaks every hour and would have loved to have taken a nap..but the sanity of not walking along the highway was blessing.. and I was in walking past freshly plowed fields so a slightly different land scape... and today other than the morning down hill no other hills! But I felt foot sore and tired and running out of water.. I did not plug in today(my ipod)... finally by fivish I had to get back on the road and deal with on-coming traffic.. I got feeling a little emotional about it...fortunatly I found a hotel right at the begining of the Monterroni d'Arbia.. the peeps running were sweet (a family with little ones running around)... and I lay and rested for over an hour after my shower... then, downstairs to retreave my passport and find out about a place I could get food. The man wanted money right away cuz he might not be there in morning... no probs, I got receipt in case i needed to proof it to who ever was on the counter the next day..... then he actually insisted after i inquired about places to eat.. that he drive me to a pizzaria  about I km down the road at first i felt like it was too nice, but i am glad i took the offer..it started pouring rain, like nothing i've had to walk in yet....., I got pizza slices, water, ice tea, beer........ I was wondering if I was cheating by being in a car...but it's not like it got me any closer to Sienna so I am sure I am still pure...then german tv again... and dinnerin my room and laundry ...bed.. oh the tv had a german version of 'America's most wanted' ...interesting to see what kind of crimes they show and how it is covered. .. there was a case of a murdered prostitute and i could tell by the way they talked about the case, that she was alotted more humanity than perhaps at home where there is the sense that people in sex industry still have less human worth than other murders. at least the way its covered in the media..