Total distance travelled: 24.8 km
Starting out on my own today, but I hoped to catch up to the WCW down the trail. It was a quiet walk out of Siena, once I found my way to the Porta Roma, the main gate on the south side of the old town.
The country roads I followed provided views of farmlands, olive groves and vineyards. At this time of the year, most of the crops had been harvested so the change of the soil from the rich red dirt to Crete Senesi, gray clay-like soil was noticable.
After about 7 kms, the path went past an auto-wrecking yard, then it followed beside a busy highway and through and industrial area…mostly car dealerships. I found a small cafe and stopped for a mid-morning cappuccino.
After following the road for a short time, the path veered off to a quieter environment of fields. I was on the look-out for my walking buddies, knowing that they would likely be joining the path around this area. Soon, I could see four walkers ahead of me…and I hurried to catch up!
We stopped by a small village, La Grancia di Cuna, built in the 12th c. One of the buildings was formerly a pilgrim hospital and the villiage itself is an fortified farm where which once held the reserves of wheat destined to the Republic of Siena. There was a lovely cafe, where we stopped for cold drinks and snacks. It turns out that it had only opened the day before. We hope they get lots of traffic. Their pastries looked amazing (and tasted great). Some of the local cats came by to say hi.
We continued along the path, among the harvested fields up and down the rolling hills. There was some confusion on how to get to our accommodation in Lucignano d’Ariba, but we figured it out! Our accommodation: Hotel Borgo Antico.
After a short rest, we convened on the upper patio for some cold beers and to watch the sunset. Dinner was served in the dining room which boasted an amazing curved brick ceiling. This night we celebrated the arrival of Dagmar’s new grandson.
A great day…time for rest.
