Siena provincial trail 2, day 5: Resta - Montalcino (12 km)

Beautiful clear weather, a cool north wind and temperatures much lower than average for the end of June convinced me to get out walking again... and so I finally picked up Sentiero no. 2 della Provincia di Siena where I left off - two years ago!

Once more I am making it a series of day hikes - or half-day hikes - and relying on public transport to get back to home base at the end of each. Today's leg is the one highlighted in red on the sign - though I didn't pick it up at Castiglion del Bosco, but at Fattoria Resta. Setting off at 7:30 in the morning as a hot-air balloon landed in a wheat field between me and Montalcino - a sight normally seen in September! They come this way early in the morning, on days when the north wind is blowing. And the north wind is what is making it possible to hike at the very end of June, when it would normally be much too hot!

I didn't take many pictures on the way to Montalcino, because this is the third time I have done this hike. The first time was on April 10, 2016, when I first met my hiking friends from Venice! I stopped to ask them if they needed help, since they were looking at a map, and we ended up walking together for the rest of the day; we have since spent three weekends hiking together, and I have been to Venice twice to visit them: a treasured friendship!

Arriving in Montalcino with Venetian friends, April 2016

Well this time I was not so lucky; I didn't meet anybody at all along the way, even though it was a beautiful Sunday morning! 

For the first part of the hike I followed the Via Francigena, up to where it splits: the main route - and most pilgrims - head southeast toward Torrenieri and San Quirico, while a variant splits off southwest toward Montalcino and then the monasteries of Sant'Antimo and San Salvatore. 

Good to be back on the Via Francigena again!

Translation: All roads lead to Rome, Perdincibacco!!!

This time I did not take the detour to Abbadia Ardegna, but headed gently uphill past the vineyards of Casato Prime Donne and Montosoli.

Then came the final ascent to Montalcino: the dreaded "Sferracavallo" road! Rough and steep enough to unshoe any horse, as the name suggests! The very word "Sferracavallo" still sends makes my Venetian friends shudder... being as they are used to hiking in flat places!

And so, keeping a moderate speed as the sign recommended, after a total of three hours walking I came to Montalcino, at an elevation of 550 metres above sea level, with amazing views of the vineyards and wheatfields below. Entering the town at the lower end, through Porta Burello, and immediately coming to a drinking fountain - well-placed for thirsty hikers just finishing the climb up to the town! - I wondered what to do for the next two hours, until it was time to get the bus back to my starting point.

Passing the time turned out not to be a problem at all, as by fortunate coincidence there was a festival in town: a meeting of the Bersaglieri, with not one but two bands playing up and down the streets of town! I followed the sound of music to find the parade assembling outside the church at the highest point in Montalcino, and then ran into them several times in different locations while running errands and shopping in the town. 

Before I knew it, it was time to get the bus back to Buonconvento!

GR653 Via Tolosana: Toulouse

A day exploring the city of Toulouse: the Capitolium, the Basilica of Saint Sernin and the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, Victor Hugo market and the flea market. A Korean lunch with our new friend Jiheun to explain what to order and how to eat it, and some shopping for essential items such as the guidebook to Part Two of the Via Tolosana: Toulouse - Puente la Reina!

GR653 Via Tolosana Day 18: Ayguesvives - Toulouse

Set off from the pilgrim gîte in Ayguesvives under a light but steady rainfall, striding boldly forth - in the wrong direction! A quick check against the gps track and we corrected our mistake: we had to retrace our steps from the evening before in order to get back to the canal. We followed the canal for another twenty kilometres, making better time than usual as we were walking in company with Stephane and Alain, the two pilgrims we met on the previous day, and chatting to pass the time and break up the monotony of the canal. Also, the grass was too wet to sit down to rest and watch life go by in our usual leisurely way.

We did stop for a break in a canal-side café before leaving the Canal du Midi at Ramonville and taking the metro into the centre of Toulouse. I normally walk all the way, even through cities, but I have decided to allow an exception for the first and last city in each of the sections in which I am breaking up the Camino, i.e. I don't have to resume walking in the exact spot where I left off but can start on the other side of the city (as I did in Montpellier). In any case our hospitalier last night had recommended this route, and I wasn't sure whether that was because walking through the outskirts of the city would be merely unpleasant, or downright unsafe. Our fellow pilgrims were taking the metro, so we did the same.

When we emerged from the metro in the city centre we initially felt giddy upon finding ourselves surrounded by so many people - and so much food, after all those tiny villages with their (permanently or temporarily) closed shops and cafés!  

While wandering about the city still in our pilgrim garb, complete with backpacks and sticks, we found ourselves at a wine-tasting event put on by the local tourist office, where we were treated like minor celebrities, offered samples of both wine and beer and interviewed by the event organisers! Unfortunately our French is not worthy of amplification, so we let Stephane do the talking! 

A quick snack and a visit to the Basilica, where we had our pilgrim credentials stamped, and then we said goodbye to our fellow pilgrims and checked into the tiny airbnb studio flat where we will be spending our next two nights.

Ayguesvives - Toulouse (Ramonville)

21.5 km