Via Francigena – Siena to Lucca

We wanted to end up in Lucca, so went against the crowd. Although there were hardly crowds.  We saw about 6 other ‘pilgrims’ coming towards us over the week. Via Francigena, a bit like the Camino de Santiago, is a route that can be walked from Canterbury to Rome.  We chose a small part of it –  a week walking from Siena to Lucca. This way also meant it was a bit less up hill.

First night in Siena – lots of excitement. We agreed to set off at 7.30am and after much faffing at hotel reception we set off. The five us were keen to get going, a little trepidatious about the heat and distance to travel. Siena is a lovely town within city walls – and busy with tourists.

The first day’s walk was gorgeous through fields and forests so not too hot. We could see wonderful Montereggioni in the distance on the hill.

Arriving into a town on foot is very special – it’s such a great way to explore.

Monteriggioni

We were staying in an albergo on the small and beautiful square, called Rooms and Wine al Castello. After a lunch of a variety of purees with bread and wine (pumpkin, chickpea etc) we found our gorgeous rooms with a view of the piazza. Very simple and just perfect. Included was a wine tasting, as the hosts are part of a wine making family.  Fabulous wine, but not available in the UK, sadly.  And delicious as it was, we were not up for carrying it in our rucksacks. Must come clean here before you think we were carrying everything, we used a company that took our luggage on to the next place, which made everything so much easier.

We ate at Restaurant Remo, which was lovely (usual range of pastas including the local speciality, pici pasta).

We agreed to meet at 6am the next morning for a 33km walk. Ugh. Not completely my idea of a holiday. To cheer me up, the hotel had given us a packed lunch the night before – a ciabatta roll, piece of homemade cake and a ginormous apple.  Very happy.

We were walking to San Gimignano, briefly stopping in Colle di Val D’Elsa on the way – so beautiful and deserted. This town is relatively little known and I would definitely recommend returning.

The walking was actually ok. What made it hard was the heat and the fact we ran out of water for the final hour.  There had been lots of drinking water taps along the way but for some reason no more.  And it was hilly as San Gimignano is on the top of a pretty high hill. We descended desperately upon a tiny B&B which looked closed but on ringing the buzzer and pleading as pilgrims for water, the kind owner came out and let us buy a couple of bottles. Our San Gimignano hotel was very seventies (wood chip painted with glossy yellow paint), but had a bed, which is all we needed to rest our legs.

San Gimignano

Supper – so many restaurants in San Gimignano.  So many tourists. Asking for tables (in Italian), many of the staff responded curtly or wearily.  Think they possibly are a bit tired of tourists. Found a lovely restaurant which was pretty quiet.  Superb wine, low key friendly service and pretty good food.  Cantucci and vin santo to finish which pleased Mike.

Gabassi

Then Gambassi. A very small town, not at all touristy, probably not one on the tourist trail. We were so excited to find a place that offered pizzas when we arrived after our 7 hour walk and early start.  Only to find the pizzas weren’t happening.  No problem. We had good pasta before going to the family run hotel, Villa Bianca, which had a small pool. Bliss. Their restaurant was closed, but they offered to take us to their sister restaurant deep in the countryside.  A beautiful drive through hills and cypress trees with the odd deer in the woods. A very smart restaurant with fine food (a bit formal for me, but ok). Usual fayre of pasta and steak / fish. Incredible views of rolling hills.

San Miniato

Another early start heading for San Miniato.  Hot day – hitting 36 degrees. The first three hours of each day was stunning. Mist on the vineyards and gentle hills with classic Tuscan villas in the distance surrounded by the neat lines of cypress. And then then the heat would build quickly. I’d never been to San Miniato before – it felt very lived in. We stayed in the seminario on the square – a really beautiful cream and terracotta façade with portraits of not sure who, but very beautiful.  It was a bit like a hostel (I think monks and nuns are trained here?). We saw a number of nuns and priests on the square.  Rooms were lovely but no air con so we were actually glad to leave the next morning at 6am.

Lots of lovely bars and trattoria here.  We chose one that specialised in wine (always local, which is brilliant). Fiorile, owner run, was a delight. We started with ‘tappini’ which were super fluffy chunks of brioche type bread with a variety of toppings – finocchiona salami, smoked salmon etc. Delicious! Then Simon had his best dish yet – spaghetti with truffles (this is truffle country) and I loved my spaghetti nero with my favourite, bottarga. Then onto a gelateria, a daily habit.  I don’t love ice cream, but happy faces and silence suggested it was good.

I’ve probably skipped somewhere – we did stay on a dual carriageway in a conference centre type hotel near Altopascio.  This was another long 33-35km day and the chicas and I decided to stop at a bar at around 27km and get a taxi.  Simon and Mike bravely soldiered on. After a cooling panache, I ordered an Uber. 45 minutes later and nothing, I asked the bar owner. ‘There are no taxis here!’ he said. And offered to take us one at a time in his car that only had two seats.  Very kind, but we decided to phone the hotel, who said their grandad could come after he’d had lunch. Fabulous.

On to Lucca

Our final day, Carrie and I snuck into a bakery and got takeaway coffee (this was a holiday afterall). We were all extremely excited to be heading for Lucca, one of my favourites. It was a beautiful, mostly flat walk through fields and small villages.  With Mike’s expert guidance, we reached the walls of Lucca by lunchtime and found Cibus, one of the loveliest pizzerias / restaurants you can find. Slightly out of the more touristy centre, it’s run by a couple who’ve been in the food business for years.  The pizzas were just as I like them – thin and crispy base.  The menu had so many tasty dishes from seafood salads to excellent pasta.  We ordered a bottle of champagne to start the ‘festa’.  The owners congratulated us and sat and chatted.  It was all so good! We went back her the next day too, as we had a few days in Lucca to chill and rest our legs.

We ate nearer the centre in the evenings – much busier and restaurants were generally good but a bit generic.  We’d been recommended a restaurant by a friend Kate, so Simon and I on our third evening there visited.  A short walk outside the city walls, it was again, a family run restaurant., Gosto e Mea. The food was brilliant and a bit more creative – lots of fish options, stunningly plated.  Definitely recommend. We had a drink in a small bar where locals popped in for a coffee or beer, kids helped nonnas and it was all a welcome change from touristy cafes (I recognise the irony of this being a tourist myself!).

We had lunch in Lucca on our final day – stumbling across a low key cafe called In Pasta.  Pasta was made fresh, with a small but delicious selection.  And a plate of superb bruschette with pea puree, grated carrots etc. Colourful and tasty. Worth straying off the main streets to find. The ravioli was so good.  I think it’s a vegetarian, if not vegan restaurant.  The owners were wonderful.

Time for home after a wonderful time in Lucca and our experience of Via Francigena.

We had a late flight to decided to spend the afternoon in Pisa.  I love Italian trains – all so easy, on time and cheap! I lived in Pisa many years ago, so it was so good to return.  We found a brilliant wine bar, sat and drank local rose (we brought a bottle back it was so good). The tower and Piazza dei Miracoli hasn’t changed although there are many more visitors and you can’t walk across the grass any more.  There are so many restaurants in the surrounding streets, I’d recommend walking a little further away to escape the crowds.

I’d do it all again, definitely and am up for doing more of the walk (I’d like to go from Siena to Rome maybe).  Amazing scenery, gorgeous food.  I love the rhythm of walking every morning, then arriving somewhere for a late lunch and exploring, finding lovely restaurants and then moving on the next day.  Walking with friends, you can chat, enjoy silence, listen to podcasts – it’s perfect. The only thing I would change is the heat! I’d go March/April or September/October. Tuscany is glorious and all the people we encountered lovely.

And lots of inspiration for the deli and cookery school!

A huge thank you to Mike for organising and grazie chicas for the laughs 🙂