Nerves tingling, we head off to find food and coffee in Altoposcio and begin our first day which will end in Fucecchio. Second day will end in San Miniato. Suzanne decided to try a cappuccino and she drank the whole thing, however she’s not sure she will have another any time soon. It was fun to watch her drink it!

We noticed some other pilgrims ahead and I was happy to follow them for a bit to get started. They looked seasoned and this was a new trail for us. The funny thing was they did lead us in the right direction but they took a right turn too soon as we could see the Via sign across the street. They were too far ahead at that point; however a couple of them started looking around, I waved and one woman in the group indicated frustration but smiled. They soon were on the right trail and passed us.

Follow those signs!

We went 15 miles that day and the last 5 miles were torture for both of us. For some reason I thought we had 11 miles to walk but it was actually 15. It was a beautiful track of trail along the river but we had full “gale force” wind in our faces. As we arrived on the outskirts of Fuecchio we climbed and hen descended to our hotel. Our apartment was one flight of stairs up and Suzanne slowly made her way inside.

Walking along the beautiful and windy path

A most unusual flower

The never ending path!

Only one more flight of steps before reaching our final destination…

Suzanne showing her sense of humor

The manager was so sweet when she saw how tired Sue was, she asked her if there was anything she needed. Suzanne requested water to soak her feet. The manager had her husband follow behind her with a full foot soaking tub filled with hot water. How special was that?

Piadinis were our dinner. It’s a folded pizza and was pretty good. Mine had cheese tomatoes and arugula. Sue had Parma ham and cheese. They put a lot of ham on it!

Lemon drinks were the theme

Full size piadini, a folded pizza

Next morning we planned a later start because we only had 7 miles to go. That was a mistake because the weather had warmed up again and even though the day was short, so to speak, it was hilly and warm. Oh well. We made it early and our hotel was probably the first stop before hitting the main part of the town. How awesome to be in our room before 3!

Sue rested while I took off to check out the town. It is a hill town and if you wanted to see anything interesting you must climb. I found myself at the Tower of Frederic, paid the 3.50 to climb to the top and did just that. The views were amazing! The tower was built by Frederick II of Sweden in 1220 as part of San Miniato’s defense system, but was destroyed by bombs in WWII and rebuilt later.

One of the views from the top of the tower

Church undergoing construction improvements

The Tower of Fredrick II, and yes I climbed to the top!

For dinner that evening we had the best pasta. At some point something will stand out but this was pretty excellent. I enjoyed a ravioli dish with bacon and leeks and Suzanne enjoyed gnocchi with a creamy sauce. I also liked how each table was set with a bottle of wine and it was sold by the glass or half or whole bottle.

Wine bottles decorated each table. The owner must love racing cars. Lots of Monaco-type photos throughout

It has been challenging, warm, windy, beautiful and peaceful. Even when we walk on a road with cars they seem to be respectful. The wooded tracks are the best. We have walked past miles of vineyards. Italy…

Good night…

#enjoythejourney