First morning we woke up to rain, glorious liquid sunshine! I’ll take it. I love weather, ever-changing seasons and spicing up our walk with something fresh, like mud! Nothing better than squishy mud underfoot! And slippery slick muck, that you really should use hiking sticks for. We are ready so bring it on.

No big rush out the door this morning as it’s our shortest day of this entire trek. No other day on the horizon that has less than 10 miles. The stages, as they call them, are dictated by the location of towns that serve pilgrims. There are smaller villages sprinkled into a days hike but most do not have hotels, albergues or hostels. So we are limited to the stages that Sigeric journeyed over a thousand years ago.

History of VF

Sigeric’s Journey: In 990 AD, Sigeric the Serious, Archbishop of Canterbury, traveled to Rome to receive his pallium from Pope John XV. He documented his 80 overnight stops on his return journey, providing the most authoritative source for the historical itinerary. To this day, his path has been traveled by thousands of pilgrims. Back in the day, the VF was only one of three pilgrimages after Santiago and Jerusalem.

Nature of the Paths: It was not a single, paved road, but a network of paths used by monks, knights, and tradesmen. Pilgrims walked for months from England, Switzerland, France and Spain to reach Rome, often in groups for added protection. They sought penance and brought, along with faith, stories and trade to the towns along the way.

So now you know a bit of history regarding this path that George and I are traveling. Back to our great adventure. With umbrellas up and rain jackets on, we headed out. Back down the trail we climbed up yesterday. Oh the pointless ups and downs. We made a right turn and proceeded south towards Rome.

I was wondering if the pilgrims would be out in force, with the change of weather. But sure as the sun rises and sets, we were met with other rain slicked pelegrinos! It’s always best when we can all commiserate in these hardships together. Pilgrims are indeed, a hardy bunch.

We had a short road walk before we went out into the mud infested trail. The dirt is a mixture of clay and goo. If you’ve ever been to Calistoga Hot Springs and you soaked in the mud baths, that’s what I’m talking about. Stick to your shoes, goopy messy gunk! The saving grace was within the mud were patches of lumpy clumps of grass that make adhering to the ground easier. Yep, it was fun stuff.

We climbed, which in mud, is much better than heading downhill. At least upward, you can dictate your pace but downhill, it’s not so easy. We came across a group of 20 or so locals, like a Sierra Club of hikers out on their morning stroll. Yep, in Italy the weather doesn’t change the hiking plans. And there was not a soul under the age of 60! No umbrellas, just rain soaked jackets and water logged shoes. These Italians are Stallions!!!

Both George and I were a bit slower this morning. The biggest factor is we are not eating enough. We woke up this morning, no coffee, no tea, no croissants. Well, we did have fresh strawberries with Nutella but not enough to sustain us for a five hour hike. Being Sunday, nothing was open so we ventured out like teenagers. Nothing but brawn yet no brains!

Our one and only mission was to get to San Gimignano and relax. Take a zero and regroup. And that’s what we did. We had a mixture of muddy trails and road walking. It wasn’t terrible and best part of it, was we were in town before 2pm. Happy Mother’s Day to me!

I booked us a hotel for two night, smack dab in the middle of the piazza, Leon Blanco. And to my surprise was the number one most famous Gelato in the world, right out our window! How much does God love me? So much!

We offloaded all our wet gear, took showers to warm our drenched bodies and off we went in search of food. Biggest issue is that now it’s siesta time 2:30-6:00pm, and we were smack in the middle of it. Fortunately, there was one restaurant that serves food all day long. Bless their hearts. We sat down with white linen table clothes. All fine dining as it should be for Mama’s and Pilgrims! I had Zuppi di Verdana with Risotto Fruita di Mare. George had soup with his lasagna and we both were happy pelegrinos. Now for Gelato.

When we first arrived, the piazza was filled with people and there was a line at least a hundred people deep. I had no idea what they were up to until George told me they are waiting for gelato. That must be some yummy cream and sugar! After our meal, we headed over and indulged. Mint and Coconut were my choices, and oh boy, it was finger linkin good. I can’t tell you if it’s the World’s Most Famous Gelato but someone somewhere has already decided that, so who am I do disagree? It’s the darn best tasting gelato to me!

Back to our room we waddled and rested for the night. Zero Day – Tomorrow will be a day of relaxation, touristy events and immersing ourselves with all things Italian. Just what the doctor ordered!