Today we woke up to blue skies and sunny conditions. By 10 am it was already four degrees warmer than the previous afternoon, but 19 degrees is comfortable, not hot.
The tourists that we saw around town appeared to be there because of Gambassi`s location on the Francigena pilgrimage route. There is a key point on the route at the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Chianni, just one kilometre outside of town. As we had a very short ride planned today, we thought we would ride down and have a look at this important church. It was all downhill to Chianni so we left our panniers at our hotel and would return later to load up the bikes. No point in riding uphill loaded if it was not absolutely necessary! Unfortunately, when we arrived at the church we found that it was not open until much later in the day.
We have been riding many sections of the Francigena route. Some of the stage lengths may be 20 Kms with significant hills, so not easy days for the hikers. These bags belong to people on organized walking tours and their baggage is shuttled to the next hotel as part of the package. Then will carry just a day pack during their walk but It seems overall that they are not travelling very light!
This is the main piazza in Gambassi Terme. I was happy to get this shot this morning without any cars parked in the way. There is also a small church at the far end of the square.
Retracing our route back up the hill to our hotel, we retrieved our bags. With everything loaded we were gone by 11 o`clock under much cloudier conditions. After two relatively short miscues we found our road to San Gimignan0. The road started off paved but soon went to gravel and then got progressively worse. The old roman road may be suitable for hikers and mountain bikes but for our loaded touring bikes with small wheels, it was at times just plain tough slogging.
Looking back at Gambassi as we were leaving town. We enjoyed our stay in this small quiet town.
A mural at winery that makes chianti wines. Although there were some customers sampling the wines, we decided it was a bit early into our ride. Good call given what was in store.
We met up at a cross roads with these cyclists to compare notes. We were all quite surprised to find ourselves in these conditions. The lady beside Pat is Isabelle, with whom we had crossed paths previously. She is on a solo tour on her way to Rome.
We can not be sure when this solid rock road was built but the route is suggested to date back to the roman times. It is very well made with a curb line and a gutter. Unfortunately, it is also very tricky to ride.
After five kilometres, the rough road ended at a gate with a chain across it. Signs indicated that it is a bike route, just not a great one for our bikes.
After leaving the track road we had less than ten kilometres to reach our destination of San Gimignano. The road was quiet with very sharp angled inclines often running about 12 degrees up to a ridge. We stopped at a church for a lunch break before the final push up to the historic town.
They sky appeared threatening as we arrived and there was a short shower just as we reached and then passed through the gated walls. San Gimignano is a tourist hotspot with many shopping opportunities. Our timing worked out well as we were early for our check-in. So, we wandered through the town looking into the stores as well as stopping to share a pizza and beer.
Looking over the countryside to the settlement at the top of the hill.
A view from the top of the town. This is a popular place to take a picture of the surrounding area. We are still hoping for sun but at least it is dry.
We are staying at Il Nido di Anna. Scott asked our host if she was Anna. No, Anna was her mother and the house was owned by her grandfather. After checking into our hotel, we went out to further explore San Gimignano. We finished our day at Bazar Dei Sapori, a small shop specializing in local food and wine. Here we enjoyed a lovely glass of local Chianti Classico and a selection of assorted prepared wild boar meat, cheeses and bread. It was a great way to finish off a fun day on the road.
The Cathedral of San Gimignano, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
This cat is high up on an arched wall and is very interested in what is going on in the bush. The high wire act was entertaining for the cat lovers in the crowd below!
