Via francigena 2024 - Page 3

Pisa - Lucca - San Miniato - Gambassi Therme

A trip away from the Francigena was planned for today, by train to Pisa. Before that, we had breakfast downstairs in the bar. The trains here are punctual, inexpensive, clean and usually air-conditioned. All the toilets are open, whereas on the central German Regio trains, 4 out of 5 toilets are often locked. I suspect that the Italians have left us behind in terms of infrastructure, which is no great feat 🙂. When we arrived in Pisa, there were a conspicuous number of carabinieri at the station, times have changed.

We took a leisurely stroll through the city center across the Arno and on to the tourist magnets. The beautiful square with the Leaning Tower, the cathedral and the Battistero di San Giovanni was already packed. And of course I had to take photos for Manu of her holding the Leaning Tower, which she thought I didn't do very well 🙂. We stayed for a few hours, me sitting on the large lawn, Manu wandering among the crowds. In the afternoon we took the train to Lucca, back to the Francigena.

We had booked B&B here again, my previous hostel, Ostello San Freddiano, no longer existed. The prices for pilgrim hostels have risen to such an extent that it no longer makes any difference whether it's a pilgrim hostel or a B&B. We paid €35 per person several times, so €70 for 2 people, and you get a good double room in a B&B plus breakfast for the same price. We checked in straight away, into a small attic room in the center. We then walked the beautiful path on the city wall around the small town center.

We visited the Torre Guinigi, up narrow steps and on the roof with the old holm oaks you have a fantastic view over the area. Everything beautiful was close together in the small town: the churches of San Frediano, San Michele in Foro and Lucca Cathedral. The Piazza dell'Anfiteatro was a former Roman amphitheater and is now a circle of buildings with bars and restaurants in front of it. In the afternoon, a musician played wonderful violin pieces. We ended the day full of wonderful impressions in the bar in front of San Michele in Foro.

In the morning, over breakfast where we had left off in the evening, we decided to take the train to Fucecchio and walk the rest of the way to San Miniato from there. I was still dealing with my infection and Manu with her toe. Things weren't going so well this year, maybe we'll be a bit fitter tomorrow. When we arrived in Fucecchio, it felt even hotter and we walked uphill to San Miniato. There is a lower village (Basso) and an upper one (Alto), I had been given a pilgrims' hostel at the top. We dragged ourselves to the bar and then up to the Torre Federico II. Here we had a wonderful view. We stayed for a few hours and had a picnic with our leftovers.

At 3pm we walked past the Palazzo del Seminario to the Ostello San Miniato. A young hospitalero didn't keep us waiting long and we were allowed in. We were the only ones there today, he said when I asked. It was ok here, everything you need. We got some beer reserves from the only Alimentarii here and then went to Manu's request in the evening. San Miniato is famous for its truffles and Manu wanted to try some regional cuisine with truffles. So we sat on a restaurant balcony measuring 2x1 meters and ate handmade pici with truffles with a brilliant view. There's nothing like going out with a bang 🙂. But the evening ended in front of our Ostello, where there was a small, quiet square with an equally good view, ideal for Birra Moretti 🙂.

We took the first bar on the Francigena again early for breakfast, then walked towards Gambassi Therme. It was actually a beautiful route, a quiet path, lots of small hills. But due to the drought and heat in August, it looked more like scorched earth. We were only rarely able to fill up with water and we used every one of the rare shady spots to take a break. We now encountered pilgrim couples more often, including a couple of Italians, whom we met regularly until Siena. It became more strenuous than we had expected and so we were glad to arrive at the wonderful Ostello Sigerico in the late afternoon, 2 km before Gambassi Therme. A lot had changed here compared to 10 years previously. In addition to the higher price, there was a beautiful garden and more accommodation. Breakfast and dinner could be booked, and there was nothing within a 2 km radius.

In the evening, 8 pilgrims sat down to dinner and once again I was annoyed that I hadn't improved my Italian. English was sometimes not enough. So after an hour we withdrew from the Babylonian confusion of languages and ended the evening on the beautiful forecourt.