Day 2, Via Francigena: to San Quirico d'Orcia

“At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling.” Unknown

The sparkle didn’t come until after the cold shower but the rest is pretty accurate. 🥵

Ponte d’Arbia to San Quirico

Guidebook mileage: 26.1km (16.2 miles)

Emily’s Garmin mileage: 32.99km (20.5 miles) I don’t know. Don’t ask me. I could have completely walked off the trail and didn’t know it.

Remember that one time I went hiking in Italy and about died? Oh, don’t mind me, just “admiring the view.” 😳https://youtube.com/shorts/_jdYaDHigAM?feature=share

Mamma Mia, it was blazing hot today. I used sunscreen, wore a hat and STILL got sunburned. Son-of-a….🤌

I was out the door by 6:27 am which is waaaay too late for hot days like today but I was sleepy and lolly-gagging around my spacious single room at the B&B. I saw Daniel from the Czech Republic on my way out. I didn’t know we were at the same place. Missed opportunity to hang out. Bummer.

Took a bunch of cobwebs to the face this morning. That is never fun.

Thank goodness the first town, Buonconvento was only five kilometers down the road so I could stop for a coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a pastry (no chocolate croissants) early in the day. This is where I met Cindy & Joel from California. They are also in my hostel tonight.

Buonconvento is an adorable town. I would love to go back. Just look at these photos. They were hosting a bike race. Thankfully, it wasn’t starting until after I was out of town.

It was already steamy hot by the time I left the cafe at about 7:30 am and it only got hotter and sunnier as the day progressed. Today called for mental stamina to push the body through wanting to quit. Walking in hot weather, noticeably slows me down to a snail’s pace.

But not to worry, by 9:45 am I was at a wine tasting and got a little pep back in my step. I love my life. 🍷❤️🇮🇹 The place was beautiful and the wine was delicious…see for yourself.

Every time I would summit a hill and look at the scenery, I’d think, it doesn’t get better than this…and then I’d crest another and it would prove me wrong. Tuscany is absolutely gorgeous and no photo will do justice to the real thing. So get your tushy to Italy, ASAP!

Besides the wine tasting, not many interesting things happened on today’s hike so I had to entertain myself. I did another timer-selfie photo shoot while taking a break in the shade next to this humongous pile of hay. Can’t take the country out of the girl.

I ran into Daniel from CZ at a cafe along the way. I sat with him for a little bit, drank a Coca-Cola, and then went on my merry way. When I saw him again at the pilgrim hostel, he said he drank five (5!) beers on that break. Hahaha! I lived in the Czech Republic 21 years ago and I remember hearing from the locals when they found out I was from the US, “You stole our beer recipe. Budweiser (pronounced Bud-visor) are thieves!” Oh, the drama. Look it up for yourself. Pilsner Urquell is the original, apparently. In my opinion (which means nothing), the Czech men can drink almost any nation of men under the table…including the Germans. Don’t hate the player, hate the game, as they say. Na zdravi! 🍻

Later we went for drinks, then dinner and more drinks. Because we are in wine country, they serve the beer in wine bottles…and he drank all of it. Impressive.

Just to keep a good balance (and avoid Catholic hell for all eternity for all the booze that was consumed today), between Aperitivo and dinner, we stopped in a church, lit candles and wrote messages for the prayer box.