Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: State of Grace (Taylor’s Version) — Taylor Swift

“I’m walking fast through the traffic lights / Busy streets and busy lives/ And all we know is touch and go”

This is the perfect fall song, which makes sense because today was my first real day of fall (for real, this time!) I remember listening to this song when the re-recorded album came out, walking around Boston on a rainy fall day.

I was up with my alarm at 6, as planned, but ended up taking longer than expected to pack as Marisa and I got to chatting about life again. By the time I checked my phone I realized it was already almost 7, and my plans to set out before dawn were rapidly getting away from me. After some confusion we got into the main room of the hostel for breakfast — a simple breakfast of bread and jam, plus some cereal. I wolfed it down, said my goodbyes, and headed out.

Yesterday’s fantastic sunset was twinned with one of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen. On my way out of the hostel and heading up the hill to Gambassi, I stopped repeatedly to take photos — something of a theme for today! The sun glowed orange as it emerged behind the hills, and the rest of the sky was lit in cotton candy pink.

I passed through Gambassi itself quickly, but it was a quiet and charming town with amazing views to the hills beyond. After a bit of road walking with morning traffic, I turned onto a gravel road and headed downhill, past a winery that was — shockingly, at 8am — open and offering credential stamps. I went over to poke my head in and see if they had anything more appropriate to consume at that hour, but the owners made it clear they were unhappy I was there if I clearly wasn’t going to buy wine. They did give me a stamp, and I apologized for disturbing them and cleared out.

After some more downhill, then up, then down again into a forested area, I headed up a hill where I was treated to a really remarkable view of the Tuscan countryside. I apologize in advance that the pictures won’t do it justice, but I could see for miles and miles of rolling hills. The cloudy sky was a bluish purple, and I watched as flocks of birds took flight from olive groves and headed across the panorama. I wondered, not for the first time, if birds have any concept of beauty. I have to think that Italian birds have no idea how good they have it.

While I was sitting here looking at the view and thinking about birds (and other things…namely, this journey which is almost over), two German pilgrims I met yesterday walked up. They have a tent and had camped amongst the vines after Gambassi — this made me (almost) wish I had a tent. We chatted for awhile and they headed off before me, though I ended up catching them at one of the few water fountains where they had stopped to refill. After a bit more road walking, I looked up and realized I could see towers in the distance. Yes — I was looking at my destination for the day, San Gimignano. And it was not even 10am! Very lucky to have a short day.

I crested a hill at the Cellole monastery, with its simple and serene church, and then walked the road the rest of the way into San Gimignano, stopping periodically to take photos of the view. The clouds made it difficult to show in pictures, but the view of the sandy stone city, sitting above a carpet of vines and olive groves, was really remarkable.

Walking into the city, on the other hand, was sort of an assault on the senses. If I thought Lucca was touristy, well….this was a whole other world of tourism. The medieval center is beautifully preserved, yes, but even on a Monday in mid-October it was swamped with day-trippers on group tours, wearing their lanyards and ear buds and taking up the whole road. I bobbed and weaved to the Piazza del Duomo, where Manuela was standing on the church steps waving at me. We went to buy tickets for the Duomo (only after waiting in line for 15 minutes behind another tour group — surely the point of these groups is that your tickets are pre-purchased so you don’t have to wait in line??)

The church is captivating, with Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements. Black and white marble arches line the nave, but the real showstoppers are the 15th century frescos that cover the walls. They’ve been very well-restored, with a vibrancy you don’t often see in frescos that old. And, like always, the facial expressions in medieval art always make me chuckle — in some of the tableaux, Jesus seems to be side-eyeing the Romans as he carries the cross for his crucifiction.

Emerging back into the chilly morning, Manuela and I split off for awhile as she went to grab coffee with the German men, who we ran into in the piazza. I went for a walk around town and sat for awhile on one of the town walls, admiring the view. Just before noon I met up with the three other pilgrims and Marisa, who had made it into town, for a cappuccino. I was starting to get hungry so after awhile sitting and chatting I went out in search of a big plate of pasta.

This would prove harder than expected to find — there were a couple super-upscale restaurants, and sandwich places that had precooked pasta, but no real trattorie for a casual meal. I ended up at a wine place that seemed to serve real pasta and got the wild boar ragu I had been craving — admittedly, it was okay but not fantastic, and I paired it with a few sips of a Bolgheri I was not a fan of. But, it was a big meal, which is what I had needed.

After lunch I swung by the famous gelato shop in San Gimignano, which won some sort of international contest for the best gelato. I had not planned on going — I was not going to wait in a long line for gelato — but I managed to sneak in just before a big tour group got in line and barely had to wait. I got the award-winning saffron and pine nut gelato — it was very tasty and very interesting (and good consistency for a gelato), but I struggled to get over my association between saffron and savory dishes like risotto.

The town had begun to fill up even more as additional coach buses pulled up and deposited their contents at the city gates. So, that was my cue to get out of dodge. I stopped at a salumeria to buy some focaccia, meat, and cheese for the next 24 hours and hit the road. After a final goodbye to Marisa, who was waiting for her bus to Colle di Val d’Elsa — I will miss her company and her deep thinking, which leads to profound conversation — I was back on the road alone.

Once again the 20 minute walk stretched longer as I took photos, but I arrived in good time at the campground outside the city, where I had my own little pilgrim bungalow. It was a private room with its own bathroom and AC — what luxury! I relaxed for awhile and then made the 10 minute walk to Tenuta La Calcinaie, where I had scheduled a wine tasting.

I ended up sitting and chatting with Sylvia, the partner of the winemaker, for over an hour and a half. I sampled 6 wines — my favorites were their Vernaccia wines, part of the San Gimignano DOCG. The younger one was fresh and acidic with a lot of minerality — not too surprising as this region used to be a sea! That’s still evident in the very sandy soil (it literally smelled like the beach as I walked) and the fossils and shells that they had found in their fields and displayed in jars in the tasting room. The other Vernaccia was aged a bit in stainless steel and had developed riper fruit flavors, primarily pear. It had a bit more body, but still had high acidity to balance this out. Evidently Vernaccia wines can happily age for many years in the bottle. In the meantime, we had a lovely chat about the Via Francigena, about winemaking and the wine industry, and about life in general. Right before I left I learned Sylvia had grown up in London — I guess a mark of the improvement in my Italian that she didn’t feel the need for us to switch to English. I left contented and made my way back to the campsite, where I called my dad to give him my day’s update.

After some lazy time (read: mindless scrolling), I headed over to the campsite’s pizzeria for dinner: a bufala pizza followed by tiramisu. It was too much food but I have a big day tomorrow (maybe wasn’t the smartest to do a wine tasting the night before another 18 or so mile walk…) so I think it will all work out.

Final mileage: 10.91 mi
Walking time: 3h 46m (excl. the time in San Gimignano)
Elevation gain: 1,696 ft

Accommodation: Pilgrim caravan at the San Gimignano Campground. Highly recommend!