Day Eighteen - Walking Day Fourteen - Saturday, November 7, 2026

Ponte A Tressa to Buonconvento - Weather- Sunny with puff clouds - High 60, Low 47, On Route 8.03 miles, Total Distance 10.25 miles, 24,831 steps

To Date; OR - 103.13, TD - 124.87

A Delightful Day 

From Ponte A Tressa to Buonconvento was a little farther than we thought we should walk in a day. A short bus hop this morning to Quinciano would trim the miles down to about 7, a little shorter than necessary but that was our only option. As it turned out, the best the bus could do was drop us about a mile off our route at Lucignano d’ Arbia, lengthening the day to about 8.  Still a bit short, but when the route and towns were placed they didn’t consult us about our needs. We will just have to adapt. 

    Our bus (#411) was scheduled for 7:47. We rose at a little after six, went through our morning routine and exited our gated domicile about 7:20. It was a short walk under the railroad tracks to the main highway where the bus stop sat. We were 20 minutes early. The next bus after this one wasn’t until 11:47. We didn’t want to miss this one. The bus was right on time. After a ten minute ride we exited exactly on the spot we wanted and began our one mile trek to connect with the Via Francigena route. Over half that connection required walking a highway with moderate traffic and no shoulders. The motorists were kind and crossed the center line to give us a little breathing room as they sped past. We turned off the highway to a much less frequented side road and were soon back on our route to Rome. 

     The route was different today. Instead of rolling up and down ridge lines all day, we were

on the valley bottom walking muddy farm roads that access huge plowed farm fields. The way was flat and straight, squeezed between newly plowed fields and the railroad tracks. This was true from Quinciano to Ponte d’Arbia, about 4 miles. Yesterday’s heavy rain made the road quite muddy in places and our shoes and lower pant legs were soon a muddy mess. However, we did have a choice. We could walk on the grassy margins inbetween the tire tracks where there was less mud, but then our shoes would soon be saturated with water. We chose a caking of mud on the soles over wet feet. 

    When we arrived at Ponte d’Arbia about 10:30 we found a cafe for a Coke and pastry and settled into an outside table to review our options for the days ahead. Heavy rain is forecast for Tuesday. We are trying to plan around it. After much plotting routes and distances and checking bus schedules and room prices and amenities we changed our previous plans and came up with what seems a good option. It includes two nights at Bagno Vignani in a swanky (by our standards) place that has a pool and hot tub (and heat in the rooms). Rather than bore you with the details of our plans, read these posts in the days ahead to see how they unfold. 

     The second half of the day returned to normal. While the highway stayed to the valley bottom, we climbed the surrounding hills to avoid it. This afforded beautiful views of the surrounding area including back to Siena, 13 miles as the crow flies behind us. 

    I was amazed to see how much of the land was plowed and left without a cover crop for the winter, especially considering how steep much of the ground was. I remember when walking in driving rains on the Camino de Santiago next to sloping farm fields the top soil pouring down the hillside in rivulets and torrents and into the roadside ditches. This bare ground doesn’t seem like a good idea. When we crossed the Arbia River on a bridge back in Ponte d’Arbia just a few minutes ago it was completely cloudy and the color of these fields, evidence to me that erosion is in full force here. 

    Once we reached our high point we descended back down off the ridge and into the town we could see from the top, Buonconvento. It was past one and we realized we hadn’t eaten lunch. Although we were only a few hundred meters from our apartment for the night we stopped in the park for lunch. It was sunny and warm and the bench’s were inviting. We needed something to wash down our dry bread, cheese and meat sandwiches. In the adjoining parking lot a street fair of sorts was packing up. I walked the length of it to find a vendor that sells Cokes and returned to our park bench with two cokes, a plum and a pear. 

    Lunch over we walked into this beautiful, small ancient town and searched for Via Del Sol 80, our place for the night. Took a bit, but we found it on the backside of the street we were on. 

    The building is at least 7 centuries old. The inside has been modernized with paint and plumbing and electricity and windows but the funky room sizes and configurations speak to the origin of the building. It is quaint, yet comfortable. Open, rough hewn, wood beam ceilings, tile floors, white walls. And importantly, heat. 

    We chose not to pay the extra €20 for use of the kitchen, preferring to use that sum plus the money we would spend to buy the food to cook to eat out in town. However, we did need groceries for lunch tomorrow on our route and for breakfast tomorrow morning. We grabbed our nylon bag and headed for the Coop grocery store on the edge of town outside the wall enclosed old city. 

    Yes, the Coop is convenient. It is equivalent to a Safeway in size and layout. Yes, it was the only thing open on this Saturday afternoon. We had passed many mom and pop family groceries on our walk to the Coop, but they were all closed. Yes, the prices are cheaper and the choices exceed the little shops. But, what are these new, big stores going to do to the livelihood of the small shop owners and thereby the culture of these quaint small towns? The small shops are open from 10:00-1:00, then close and reopen about 5:00 until 8 or 9:00. The Coop store is open 8:00-8:00. Things will change in these towns, good or bad-who’s to say? Will more young people settle in if things are more convenient? What employment will there be? Who will occupy these ancient stone and brick buildings? 

    The rest of our day was spent wandering the old town. This is not a tourist town, although it could be. It is a lived in, functioning city full of locals and Italian life goes on without the crush of tourists buses. No trinket shops. Just services by and for the people that live here and the “pilgrims” that pass through. 

    Sally had asked one of the workers at the grocery for a cheap place to eat. A customer suggested the Sala pizzeria. We walked over after exploring the town. Pizza €2.50 a big slice. Dinner came to €12.50 with beer and soda. 

   As we enjoyed our pizza in the small shop a steady stream of people came for food, most to take it home. Sally struck up a “conversation“ with one older gentleman, reminiscent of Bob. He spoke no English. Us no Italian. But, with the few words we each could recognize in the other’s language we bantered back and forth. We learned he was an architect and engineer and had lived here 50 years. He was patient and kind as we struggled to understand each other, his eyes smiling and glinting with an inner joy, as were Sally’s. If not for the language barrier, that encounter could have lasted for hours. As it was, it was a memorable 30 minutes. 

    As we walked back to our place in the dark, about 6:00pm the streets werefilling up with the towns folk. People everywhere, wandering around on the lighted streets, talking, hanging out at outdoor tables or purposefully pursuing groceries or haircuts or hardware. From our bedroom above the street level the chatter and laughter was a pleasant background noise. A comfort, like the sound of a nearby creek burbling down the mountain when camping. 

    Tired, we crawled into bed, finished the DaVinci Code and were soon asleep. 

Day sixteen - Walking Day Twelve - Thursday, November 5, 2026

Another Zero Day in Siena?- Weather-bright sunshine in the morning, clouds rolling in in the afternoon - High 60, Low 44, On Route 9.15 miles, Total Distance 10.32 miles, 24,208 steps

To Date; OR - 95.10, TD - 110.51

Approaching Weather

We woke this morning with plans of another zero in Siena. We lazed in bed, enjoying the election news and reviewing our route and timing decisions.on the midst of our bus routes, walking distances and search for inexpensive places to stay we realized we had left out one important factor, the weather. Our plans had us sitting here another day . . . during perfect weather and then tomorrow walking to Ponte a Tressa while half an inch of rain fell. Something is not right with that picture. About 9:30 we realized walking in the rain didn’t sound inviting (are you as surprised as much as we are that it took us that long to come to that conclusion?) and quickly packed up to do the walk today. We knew there was a bus we could ride back from our destination, Ponte A Tressa, once we got there. The buses run all day, about every half hour. We had to come back to Siena because we had already booked and paid for a room. Then tomorrow we will ride the bus back to Point A Tressa, spend the night there and continue our walk on Saturday. 

    Decision made, we had to gather some food for lunch from the stores in town. We walked back to one we knew, bought sweet bread (almost like fruit cake) and a few other items, then got on route following our gps track. 

    The route was nearly all downhill today as we descended out of Siena. The road ran atop one of the ridges that extends from the city slowly lowering us to the surrounding countryside. While still up in the ridge we passed swanky homes, olive orchards and plowed fields. Once down off the ridge we walked through an industrial area, car junk yard, car lots and light manufacturing. We stopped for lunch in the grass next to a fairly busy road just past a traffic circle. It was not a quiet serene lunch spot, but the Brie cheese on the fruit bread was delicious. 

    We got to Point A Tressa at 3:47, just 10 minutes before the 3:57 bus was scheduled to arrive. It was a few minutes late. We boarded and were off. 

    Once again we were reminded of the wonder of the wheel and modern travel. We had just spent five hours walking 9 miles. We climbed in this metal box and 15 minutes later were dropped off where we had started. Amazing!! I think back to 200 years earlier and realize that other than a horse, walking was the only mode of transport. Also, the people that made this trek in the centuries past got to Rome and then had to walk back home again!  We get to hop on a plane and be home in the equivalent of one days walk, all while sitting in a chair in the sky. Amazing, crazy world we live in. 

    We had a little trouble getting into our new place. The instructions sent were incorrect. We watched the video and it got us in, but then instructed us to open one of the rooms with a code on the keypad. We did. Someone was already in the room. Luckily they were not in the room. We closed it quickly, switched to the written instructions rather than the video and found our room. All good. 

    We had pitched vegetables on our walk through town. I cooked a big pan of stir fry for dinner along with brown rice. More politics, then to sleep. Good decisions today. Rain tomorrow. 

Il Campo in Siena

Gates of Siena on the road to Rome

On route today

Passing a junkyard

Looking back at Siena

Back side of Siena

Day Fifteen - Walking Day Eleven - Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Zero Day in Siena - Weather-mostly cloudy, clouds covering most of the day, winds down - High 60, Low 44, On Route 0.0 miles, Total Distance 3.15 miles, 7,636 steps

To Date; OR - 85.95, TD - 91.37

Celebrating the Election

As is most nights, I wake at about 4 am to visit the bathroom. 4 am here is 7 pm at home and 10 pm east coast time, meaning the poles have closed and election results are being reported. I  debated trying to sleep more, afraid of what the results of the election would be. I tossed and turned for 15 minutes in bed, but I new my mind was not going to let me sleep. It was worried. I grabbed my glasses and phone from the nightstand, braced myself, tied into Andy’s VPN server in Kirkland and launched gnews. 

     That was it. I was done sleeping for the day. The US had gone blue. 250 seats in the house. 7 pickups in the senate. A complete repudiation of Trump, his policies and his corruption. . . . or is it really all tied to just gas prices? Too much at the pump, throw the bums out. Regardless, the results looked great. Hope returns, at least for a few days or hours. 

     What did we do all day?  Planned ahead and walked Siena. There is an upcoming stage that is 32 kilometers long, about 21 miles. Way too far for us to walk in a day. The problem is there are few to no services along the route to break it up. Only small towns with tiny populations. No taxis. No groceries. No cafes. We spent time researching bus routes and schedules, finding hostels and computing walking distances. We think we have a plan for the next week laid out. It entails short bus hops to lower daily mileages and places to stay that are more expensive than we would like, but we think we have a workable solution. We made phone calls to reserve rooms and created a log of our proposed days to try to keep everything straight. 

    With planning complete, we journeyed out into Siena to see the sites. We have been here before, about 9 years ago. The town is familiar to us. We strolled the main avenue through town, then veered right to find a Chinese restaurant for lunch of vegetables. It was really good. No one in the place when we arrived, then a tour bus load of Asian people flooded the place and it was full. We made our way just a few blocks to the Duomo. We had hoped our credentials would get us in for free, but they told us no, pay the €10 each like everyone else. We toured it last time we were here, so we sat outside on the bench opposite it and admired its exterior and reviewed our photos of the interior from last time. The photos reminded us that we didn’t particularly like the interior with its black and white zebra stripes everywhere. 

Granted, there is some amazing art pieces in there, but won’t cool enough to entice to pay to go see them again. 

Leaving the vicinity of the Duomo, we wandered over to the main square, Il Campo, window shopping along the way, buying some bandaids, shampoo, oatmeal and a Italy to American plugin converter. The converter we have has been finicky, needing to be wiggled and massaged in the wall socket to get it to connect. Bluntly, if we can’t charge our phones we are screwed. 

    We joined locals and tourists sitting on the square by plopping down in the afternoon sun on the red bricks. What an amazing space this piazza is. 

    We ended the day back at our place, discovering there was a common room with a microwave and tea pot. We are quite handy at employing these two to cook a variety of foods, but we hadn’t purchased any, not realizing it existed. We settled for my favorite fast food, Donor Kababs, for dinner. The shop was only about 200 m down the street. When we returned we watched more election coverage Before calling it a night. We slept with a new piece of mind. Finally, someone will stop the mad man in the highest office and begin to right the ship of state. Oh, we hope so. 

Lunch today.

Siena’s main square, Il Campo

Siena’s Duomo

Duomo

Day Fourteen - Walking Day Ten - Tuesday, November 3, 2026 -

Monteriggioni to Siena - Weather-sunny & warmer, perfectly clear in the morning with clouds covering in the afternoon, winds down - High 59, Low 44, On Route 12.93 miles, Total Distance 12.27 miles, 28,926 steps

To Date; OR - 85.95, TD - 87.92

Election Day

We are in Italy, but we are meeting people from all over Europe. Germany, England, Netherlands, France, Spain, Czech Republic, and of course Italy. To a person, everyone we meet shakes there head in disbelief and fear about our country. “What is wrong with America?” We apologize and shake our heads too. Sally wrote in a log book at a Francigena rest stop area “Pray for America”.  We won’t know the results until 5 or 6 tomorrow morning over here, but we have our fingers crossed for the best. Checks and balances, it is what our system is built on. Those have been totally absent the past two years. Hopefully a blue victory will reinstall those. We will know tomorrow. 

    Today was our longest day, just short of 13 miles with a fair amount of vertical gain and loss. We decided to leave a little earlier than normal to give us a bigger margin of time. We were up at 6:15 and walking a minute or two after seven. It was cold outside, 44° but thankfully no wind. This was an amazing place to stay. This fortress was built on the outskirts (12 miles) of Siena to protect it against Florence. It fell about 1550 and forced Siena under the domination of Florence. The fortress was useless at this point. Now it is a tourist site. We got to see it late last night after the busses had left and the piazza was quiet and again this morning where not a soul but us walked, the rising sun glinting through the southern portal. 

    Our route lead us down from Monteriggioni’s southern portal and then up the adjacent hill where we got a clear open view of this impressive walled city with its 14 towers built into the walls.

   There was one large climb this morning, then rolling hills to climb and descend the rest of the day. We passed one point of interest that goes way back to 1772. There used to be a lake/swamp here, but the malaria that the mosquitoes breeding in it caused motivated the idea of draining it. A two kilometer tunnel was constructed to allow the water to drain out.  Canals were dug to guide the water out of the lake bed to the tunnel. We spent nearly two hours circling, then crossing this now flat dry area culminating in walking by the entrance to that tunnel. The former lake/swamp is now all level farmland in various stages of production. 

    Just before we dropped down to the former lake area we came upon the only services of any kind we would see today. Marcelo has transformed his home and property into a Via Francigena rest area and food haven. With tables and chairs to seat well over thirty people at a time, we can see that during the busy season he is kept very active. Today it was only Sally and I vying for his attention. We had pound cake, hard boiled eggs and tea. His friend was ladling olive oil into a 5 liter jar. This caught our interest and we asked a thousand questions about home owners making their own oil (all with a translation app). After half an hour we said our goodbyes and moved on. 

    There was about a mile and a half of asphalt road walking. We churned through it, about miles 5.0 to 6.5. Once on to gravel roads again we sat for lunch. As we were finishing up the two kids we had met last night at the hostel caught up with us, Lorenzo and Izae. They were really sweet and amazing kids from Bolsano in the Dolomites of northern Italy, she a middle school language teacher and he a radiologist technician. We took a photo with them before they scooted ahead of us. As it turned out, we would see them again. They would take a wrong turn and end up behind us again.

    We walked into the greater Siena area, about mile 10 for the day. We had hoped to get a bus ride the last two or three miles to shorten our walk especially up the final steep slope to Siena, this hilltop town. Unfortunately, none of the bus routes crossed our route until we were up on top. At the bottom of the climb we requested an Uber, but after ten minutes of waiting we could see that there were no rides available. We climbed the hill. At the top we made it to the main thoroughfare and a bus stop to carry us the final mile and a half through town to our accommodations. 

    We have a history of questionable bus ridership. Getting on the wrong bus or getting on what seems like the right one only to find it is going to a different place, so we were a little trepidatious about our bus. We were looking for bus 31. Bus 52 arrived and we ignored it. Bus 31 appeared around the corner and came to a stop behind 52 still parked at the bus stop. We walked toward #31 to board but the driver didn’t open the front door. Two bus workers jumped out the back door and told us we couldn’t ride this bus. It pulled back out into traffic and disappeared. We showed the workers where we wanted to go using Maps on my phone. They said no problem and told us to get on s37. s37 was approaching and they pointed it out to us. Before it arrived they jumped on another bus and were gone. We boarded bus s37. Watching its progress on my phone it promptly rounded the next block and started going the wrong direction. It was also dropping off the hill Siena sits on, the one we had just climbed to the top of. An uneasiness crept into both of us. The woman across the aisle spoke English and lives in Siena. Sally asked her if this bus would get us to our destination. She assured us it would. It became apparent the bus was dropping down to the train station at the bottom of the hill, and then it climbed back up. Our sweet helpful woman told us where to get off the bus and even walked us 100 feet up the street to point out our way. 

    We were a bit early so we pulled into a Donar Kabab shop for a soda and some warmth while we waited to get a response from our host on booking.com. 

    At 3:45 we called for our access code and key and 5 minutes later we were flat on our backs on a bed in a toasty warm room. We were tired. Didn’t get up for dinner. Just nibbled all the food I had left in my pack, searched bus routes and accommodations for the days past Siena, wrote in the blog a bit and went to sleep. A tiring, but great day. Tomorrow we will go see Siena again (we’re here in 2017). 

Sally drops off the key in hostel in Monteriggioni

Morning sun shines through the southern gate of Monteriggioni

From the outside

Monteriggioni

From the adjacent hill

Nice walking this morning. Clear, cold and peaceful

Gotta love the sunshine and old castles

Lost to Florence in 1555

Marcelo’s Francigena Rest area

Sally tries bread soaked in new fresh squeezed olive oil with Marcello and his friend

Lorenzo and Isie from Bolzano

Picturesque walking

Tunnel to drain the swamp built The 1770’s

Route markers

Coming into the outskirts of Siena

[Autosaved] Day Thirteen - Walking Day Nine - Monday, November 2, 2026 - Colle Di Val d’Elsa to Monteriggioni -

Weather-sunny & cold (3°F below normal) with clouds covering 60% of the sky and strong winds - High 57, Low 46, On Route 9.78 miles, Total Distance 10.85 miles, 26,058 steps

To Date; OR - 73.02, TD - 85.65

Freight Day

In reading the guidebook it became apparent that there was no food to be had at today’s destination, Monteriggioni, nor for most of the way to our next day’s goal, Siena. Sure there were a few coffee cafes and restaurants In Monteriggioni, but not groceries to be had between Colle de Val d’Elsa and Siena. We saw there were cooking facilities in Monteriggioni, but without a place to buy groceries the only way to utilize them is to carry the food for the dinner and breakfast. Normally, carrying two days food for two people would be a non-issue, but I am carrying everything in one pack, Sally’s neck and back can no longer support that strain. So space becomes an issue. Plus, it’s not like we can pick up a Mountain House dinner at the local Conads grocery. We are trying to eat heart healthy in a land of pasta, white bread and pepperoni. 

     So, what do we pack for our 36 hours in the food desert? A loaf of multigrain bread, a wedge of Brea cheese, 6 slices of a bologna type meat, left over salad from Saturday night in a Tupperware we have been carrying since day one, a Donar Kabab we purchased in Colle di Valley d’Elsa, 10 leaves of lettuce, a bag of almonds, a dark chocolate bar, a milk chocolate bar, a cluster of grapes, a bag of fruit museli, and two cans of Coke. Somewhere on that list is two lunches, a dinner and a breakfast. We plan to buy two pastries of some type in Monteriggioni to supplement breakfast Tuesday morning. 

    It was just as cold in the hostel when we woke up at 6:30 as it was when we went to bed last night. Just short of seeing your breath cold. The tea pot still worked so we sipped on tea as we packed up and ate yogurt with Museli for breakfast. We were out the door and back into the biting wind at about 8:15. 

    The first two miles of this morning would be unique. Right behind the hostel the route drops about 100 feet into a river gorge of sorts that goes right through the city. They have left it “wild” down there and the Via Francigena walk for two miles along its flank, crossing it on monstrous stones twice. It was nice to drop down because it got us out of the wind and into tree and riverside brush cover that brought the air to a standstill. The river itself was a turquoise blue in color, alternately spilling over exposed bands of limestone in waterfalls and quietly flowing thru azure pools. It was beautiful. Judging from the width of the path and the large flat areas devoid of vegetation along side the river, this area is widely used by the locals. It was a bit surprising to see no swimming signs at every inviting pool. Was it the steep banks under the water making it difficult to climb out that prompted the no swimming signs?  Or is there some pollutant in the water?  

    After 2 delightful miles we climbed out of the shallow gorge to the highway bridge that crossed the Elsa and backtracked a hundred yards to a cafe for a Coke. Lucky we did, it was the last cafe we would see for about five miles. Speaking of those five miles, the route steadily climbed during that entire length. Not much, but a noticeable uphill grade was maintained as we walked country roads the whole way. 

     At about five miles we stopped in the village of Strove at the only cafe en route today for a frizzante and the use of an outside table to eat our lunch. Even though the tables were enclosed by a six foot high hedge the wind whipped through making it a cold lunch stop. As we ate the dog group we had seen while leaving San Gimignano showed up and stopped for a break. 

    The route from here was fairly level for the next four miles. We passed through the village of Abbdia Isola which Sally like to call Abba Dabba Do. It caters to VF hikers in the high season but is closed now. There was a nice park bench that we employed for 15 minutes while we read some history about the place and rested. 

    Finally, we reached the foot of the hill the fortress of Monteriggioni sits upon. A steep 300 foot climb brought us to the north gate into this walled fortress. Once inside we walked the short distance to the main piazza and located our osteria for the night. We wandered the square for a few minutes until the attendant at the hostel had time to arrive, then we bounded up the stairs to secure our room. The hostel had a working kitchen  once inside we prepared and ate dinner. A quick walk around the town inside the walls once more and we were done for the night. No heat again tonight, but our room was quite warm (65° or warmer). It wasn’t long until we sound asleep. 

The hostel on Colle di Vallr d’Elsa

Common are

Climbing up out of the gorge to street level, the Elsa River behind

Slightly uphill on farm roads all day

Walking through a large olive grove

Monteriggioni only a mile or so away

The steep climb up to Monteriggioni castle where our hostel for the night is

Sally climb up from the surrounding countryside to Monteriggioni

Cool art on hostel wall

Main piazza in Monteriggioni

Our hostel in Monteriggioni

Home for the night