Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: Heroes — David Bowie

“And I, I will be king / And you, you will be queen / And nothing will drive them away / We can be heroes, just for one day”

This song started playing in my head as I emerged suddenly to wind, beautiful views today. In fact, I even started singing it — not even to warn hunters, this time!

I was feeling more worn down from yesterday than I had expected, so decided to let myself sleep in until the late hour of 6:45. I had a slow morning, taping up the new blisters that had emerged over the last few days (I blame that wet day going into Siena…) and watching the highlights of the F1 qualifying. Finally at around 7:30 I was packed and ready to go, and made my way across the square to the bar, where I had a donut and cappuccino for breakfast. I continue to miss the simple French croissant.

The forecast had suggested rain all morning — all day, really — so I was surprised to find a clear day as I made my way through the outskirts of Buonconvento. The air was crisp and fresh in the way that it can be just after a rainstorm (it had rained overnight), and it was still overcast. Once out of Buonconvento, the road meandered parallel to a strada statale, before diverting to a hilly trail with more of the same scenery from yesterday: rolling hills of green and brown.

But, I was starting to see signs for more and more wineries. My mind was wandering this morning, starting to think ahead to life beyond the pilgrimage: seeing friends in the States, Thanksgiving, maybe a trip to Colorado… Before I realized it I had climbed up a hill following a winery sign and made my way down a cypress-lined road. And, suddenly, I was met with gorgeous, sweeping vistas of vine-covered hills. Ahead of me was a lovely hilltop town, the kind guidebooks like to call “crown jewels.” A quick check of the map confirmed it was Montalcino, the town that gives one of Italy’s most famous wines its names.

As I meandered along a gravel track, captivated by the views in all directions, suddenly my phone crashed and completely bricked. Highly cognizant that this was my main navigating device, I nervously tried to restart it, absentmindedly wandering off the road and toward the vines for a better view while I waited to see if it would turn on. Luckily, the phone turned on no problem. Unluckily, I realized too late that my feet had sunk into deep mud. I tried to pull up one foot and it emerged — weighing about a pound more than it had a few moments prior. Ah, shit. I stumbled out of the mud and over to a pile of rocks, where I tried in vain to scrape the inches-thick layer of mud off my soles.

Finally admitting defeat, I continued to squelch my way along the path, past a winery offering a “pilgrim special” of a glass of wine, a sandwich, and a bottle of water for 8 euro. Not bad, but not particularly appealing at 8:30 am, so I continued onward. Heading up a hill I was once again greeted with stunning views of Montalcino, and green hills as far as the eye could see in one direction. in the other, were the rolling brown fields more typical of the Val d’Orcia, like I had seen yesterday. All of this was captured under a bright blue sky and picture-perfect puffy white clouds. I couldn’t believe my luck.

From here I followed the gravel track as it traced the wobbly ridge of a hill, before finally descending into the town of Torrinieri, where I stopped for a second breakfast: some pastries, a cappuccino, and an orange juice. Heading out of town I now followed a quiet strada provinciale past more vines, up a hill and then switchbacking down. As I turned to see where I had come from, I was once again struck by the look of these brown hills — they look almost like sand dunes. It’s hard to believe they are actually solid ground. As it turns out, I just barely missed the famous (and by that I mean oft-photographed) stand of cypresses that make up 90% of “Tuscany” stock images. You know, the ones on the homepage of my blog. Ah well — better luck next time. I certainly have seen plenty of other cypresses today.

Ahead of me I could see San Quirico above me at the crest of the hill, yet my phone was somehow saying I had over an hour still to reach it. This ended up proving to be true, as the path wound to and fro slowly up this hill — through an olive grove, past an agriturismo manned by an elderly couple, through backyards. The rain which had begun to threaten earlier suddenly appeared and I stopped to cover my pack — by which time it had ceased.

After some huffing and puffing up the final hill and set of stairs, I made my way into San Quirico’s charming historical center. Almost immediately, I was captivated by the town. I don’t have a real explanation as to why I liked this place so much more than any of the other perfectly lovely towns I have stayed in — but that’s what happened. After checking into the hostel — just barely getting in before they closed for lunch at 1pm — I went out in search of lunch.

Earlier on the trail I had texted Nathan: “I am so hungry. All I want is a piece of bread toasted in olive oil, with some stracciatella and fresh shaved truffle on top. Is that so much to ask?” This craving had been nagging me for days — ever since San Miniato, actually, so maybe more like a week. So when I happened upon a bar that advertised bruschetta and fresh truffle, I knew I had to give it a try. After some pleading with the waiter, he consented, and I was brought an absolutely gigantic piece of bread covered in cheese and truffle. It was delicious (though they let the stracciatella heat up a bit too much, so it wasn’t perfect — but it very much satisfied the craving). Following it up with a panzanella for a bit of veg, I set off for a walk through the absolutely stunning streets of stone buildings, full of residences, B&Bs, and shops selling wine, cheese, and olive oil. After climbing up on some of the historical walls and wandering through the manicured gardens, I grabbed a gelato and headed back for a nap.

Once I was awake I had some errands to do — tomorrow is a long day (over 20 miles) with limited services. So, I figured it was best to make sure I at least had some food to take with me. Plus, some breakfast, since I planned to leave before the bakeries opened. So I headed to the grocery store, picking up some bananas, an apple, a donut (the croissants looked terrible), and some bread and meat for lunch. there is also an agriturismo en route so I am hoping I can maybe made it a two-lunch day.

This done I stopped by a wine bar for a glass of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (trying to enjoy Tuscan wine while I am still in Tuscany…) and did my writing. I ran into Jan and Richard again, who invited me to dinner with them, though I needed to finish writing first. By the time I was done it had started to rain outside and I needed to get back to the hostel to make sure my things were far enough away from the window to avoid any disaster. As I left the bar into the dark, a bolt of lightning sliced through the sky ahead of me, just to the right of the church’s clock tower. I gasped in wonder and jogged to the hostel door as the thunder boomed.

In the hostel I saw that my roommate must have arrived, though I did not meet her. I also ran into Sergio, another Italian pilgrim I met in Lucca through Marisa, who had caught up to me through my multiple rest days. He was sharing the men’s dorm with Domenico form Liguria, who I had met earlier. As we chatted the lightening must have struck somewhere in town, as the building seemed to shake as the thunder rolled through. Finally I excused myself to find dinner, jogging down the Main Street until I found a place serving pasta.

Final mileage: 13.68 mi
Walking time: 4h 55m
Elevation gain: 1,646 ft

Accomodation: The ostello comunale in San Quirico: Palazzo del Pellegrino. No kitchen (not an issue for me) — well located and solid.