Comments:

Karen Magovern: Enjoying your travels….sorry to hear about the fall. Carry on! 2023/10/19 at 8:59 pm

Reply: I’m doing better every day. Rome is still a long way off but we are enjoying the journey. 2023/10/20 at 4:21 am

Dan Hendry: Wow, 13 miles! Good work. Glad you have enjoyed Sienna. We were there for several nights and enjoyed exploring the narrow back streets. Very “Italian,” The problem with this area of Italy is most of the cities were built on hillsides. Not fun to negotiate after walking over 10 miles! 2023/10/20 at 2:38 am

Reply: We expected a lot of elevation since this is the area of charming hillside towns. It’s a hint since so many towns contain the letters “Monte. . .” (Mountain) or Colle (hill). The Via Francigena actually begins in Canterbury and comes into Italy from Switzerland across the St. Bernard pass. We met pilgrims who started in Switzerland and Aosta (the Italian Alps), so we have not faced those challenges. It’s good to keep the heart pumping! 2023/10/20 at 4:19 am