10 km
Monteriggioni - buzzing with tourists in the daytime, empty at dawn!
Sara leaving Monteriggioni
Monteriggioni in the distance
Walking with Rudolf, the first pilgrim I met on the Via Francigena way back in Luni!
Fertile tilled fields
Castello della Chiocciola - is there a princess locked up in that tower?
La Villa: the best-equipped rest stop on the Via Francigena!
There's a first aid kit, a number to call to ask for coffee or sandwiches, fresh water, benches and a table, a stamp for your pilgrim passport.... even a mirror!
Pilgrims of various nationalities enjoying the rest stop
A little farther down the path we missed a turn-off - which must have been unmarked, as everyone seems to miss it unless they are following a GPS track! We ended up on the road, and as I had walked this stretch before and knew it was a dangerous and unpleasant road to walk, I advised everyone to take the bus the rest of the way into the historic centre of Siena rather than walk through the modern outskirts on a busy road with no sidewalks. As it was threatening to rain, they were all happy to take my advice - all except Alain, a lone Frenchman who set off in search of the correct path into Siena on foot. The rest of us made an inglorious entrance into the city of Siena, not through the majestic Porta Camollia but by bus to Piazza del Sale. Sara and I were able to point everyone in the right direction to find their accommodations for the day before it started raining. Then Sara and I took Domenico, Marie-Helene to our favourite lunch spot in Siena before spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing and waiting for the rain to pass.
In Siena at last!
Happy after lunch and a flask of Chianti
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