Category Archives: General

Our room overlooks one of the main piazzas adjacent to the so-called duomo (strictly it is a collegiate church, not a cathedral since there is no bishop or diocese based from it). It is conveniently central and also comfortable. We enjoyed our rest day lie-in this morning despite the cleaning truck coming through very early. […]

Our B&B, the Casa del Principe, tucked away on the south side of the town was very comfortable. From our bedroom window we had a clear view across the landscape to San Gimignano, our destination for the day. Our landlady booked us into a lovely restaurant for supper just a few steps away. So, we […]

Our hotel was comfortable, though we had to share a bath towel as only one set of towels had been provided! Breakfast included scrambled eggs and bacon, cooked by a very nice half-Italian woman from Newcastle, setting us up for today’s long walk. We retraced our steps back through the centre of San Miniato, now […]

According to the guides, the staged walk from Altopascio to San Miniato would have been a ‘challenging’ 29kms with a final steep climb, to be followed by another 24kms of ‘challenging’ walking tomorrow. So we decided to pace ourselves more realistically by stopping short yesterday on the outskirts of Fucecchio. With only about 10kms to […]

Although set in unpromising surroundings our hotel was comfortable, the staff were very friendly, and the restaurant provided a good set menu supper. We had an interesting conversation with the owner before we left, about various things including the widespread use of dogs in Italy for home security. She explained that this is reaction to […]

Today, 2.3.23 (a memorable date!), we finally got going on the last stage of our walk to Rome, fortunately in sunshine after yesterday’s persistent rain. In fact, so warm was it that we were rather wishing we hadn’t left our shorts at home! Deborah, who had made us tasty ham and cheese omelettes for breakfast […]

A rest day you might ask. Well, we think the best way to start a new leg of our pilgrimage is with a rest. Why not? Especially after a long journey. It reminds Tom of a Health Safety and Environment Review he once led of an infamous French subsidiary of Rio Tinto which started with […]

It’s 1145 local time and we’ve just arrived in Italy again. Guess what? It’s snowing. Why? It isn’t April 1st yet! Our train is 17 minutes late. What a surprise! We’ve not yet been on a train on this line which wasn’t late. Never mind, we’ve given ourselves an hour’s transfer time at Turin before […]

There have been many hurdles to get over during this pilgrimage, from COVID to Brexit, which have both delayed us, to weather and injuries, which have made the walking that much harder. By the end of stage four, in November, we had regained a reasonable level of fitness, and shifted some weight, though much of […]

What a magnificent place! Several friends had told us that Lucca is marvellous and well worth spending some time exploring, and it certainly has been. Our B&B, La Boheme (Puccini was born in Lucca) has been very comfortable and conveniently situated in the old city. Breakfasts have been excellent, with cheese omelettes freshly made for […]