San Gimignano is a "tourist town" in southern Tuscany, known for its towers which can be seen for miles around. We went there to do some hiking in the Tuscan hills. So soon after settling into our room, we set out at 2pm for a 10 kilometer afternoon walk NORTH towards Pancole and back. The next day we walked a 20 kilometer loop to the SOUTH. Tip of the hat: for both walks we mainly followed routes described in Lonely Planet Hiking in Italy by Brendan Sainsbury. Thanks!
The route to Pancole is mostly uphill but one is rewarded with a long ridge walk with great views to the valley and back to San Gimignano (to the far RIGHT in this first photo).
ASanctuario in Pancole; ie a place for pilgrims to sleep/eat. San Gimi has long been on the pilgrim trail.
Farmhouse.
Approaching San Gimi from the SOUTH.
Our room had a shared kitchen to we picked up some supplies at the local COOP market.
SL carries our "supplies" home through the mostly quiet streets of San Gimi after the daytrippers have left.
View of several towers on our after dinner stroll through town.
Setting out the next morning we had to walk upstream for a few minutes through arriving tour groups, but were soon out of town and walking for 3 or 4 kilometers on the well-marked Via Francigena, the ancient road and pilgrim route from France to Rome; still traveled by pilgrims and walkers like ourselves.
Spotted more than a few wild hyacinths by the road/trail.
Wheat fields with shades of green.
Stopped to take a selfie. ;-)
Good walking on some of the old mule tracks.
And through olive groves. Saw many farmers pruning trees and plowing weeds under, but did not get a good shot.
The cloudy day turned into a light drizzle for a few hours in the afternoon.
It seems that every farmhouse in the area has been turned into a hotel and/or a factory of some sort with wine and olive oil for sale.
The last few uphills kms with great views to San Gimi.
The San Gimignano Duomo.
Some sunset pics from one of the smaller towers.
Towers at night.
Sun-Ling and John have been traveling the earth since 2008 while blogging, eating vegetarian and vegan, and riding public transportation. We love uphill day hikes, 20th-century architecture, Roman ruins, all bodies of water, local markets, shopping for groceries, aqueducts, miradors, trip planning, blablacar, and more.
Search This Blog
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Most Recent Post
Philippines: Palawan
From Manila we flew to the island of Palawan, then another 5 hours of minivan to reach El Nido. The place reminded us of Halong Long Bay, Vi...
Most Popular Posts of Last 30 Days
-
Doorway decorations: at entry ways of many establishments and homes, there were greenery decorations, very Japanese looking. I'm inspir...
-
We arrived in Tokyo just 36 hours ago. It's the first stop of our next long trip that will take us to the Philippines, Borneo, New Zeala...
-
Last year, we rather enjoyed having little walks and looking at some lights. We returned to some sites and visited a few new places. I came ...
-
New Years are a big deal in these parts of the world and it is celebrated on the Lunar New Year. However, during the Meiji Restoration, in a...
-
We arrived in Manila on 1/8 in order to catch the Black Nazarene Festival on 1/9. Black Nazarene from the Quiapo Church is a much venerated ...
-
In addition to visiting major temples and shrines in the new year, people also make pilgrimages to multiple temples and shrines in a neighbo...
-
Another tradition in Tokyo is the royal family's New Year greeting that takes place 5 times during the day at the Imperial Palace on Jan...
2 comments:
Great sunset shots.
You guys are so energetic - I take you're both healthy again?
I love the pictures at dusk.
Post a Comment