We were out at a reasonable time, leaving our woefully heavy baggage to collect later, and stopping only for a quick breakfast, so hitting full sightseeing mode. Il Duomo was our target, and the crypt (where we had never been before, perhaps because it only opened to the public some time in the mid-2000s - after they discovered a whole new gallery with new frescos whose surviving portions are amazingly well preserved - see attached photo (not mine).
We'll post a fuller entry on the Duomo once our own pictures are available, but with the crypt, main body of the church and part of the museum under our belt, we returned to il campo for take-away pizza and pigeon-chasing, followed by baggage pick-up, and a tramp down to the impressive Porta Ovile to pick up a bus for points south. I'd forgotten how many levels Siena is built on, or maybe I never noticed till wandering around with 15kg of luggage on my back!
Being on the bus felt brilliant, as we whizzed by - both Katherine and I were very aware of the physical cost those miles would have exacted. As we were about to descend from the bus at Ponte d'Arbia, two things happened: Tim fell asleep, and it came on to rain. Following a cat nap and waterproofs both applied in a bus shelter, the rain lifted, and Timmy's spirits also when we found a playground.
Crossing the Arbia, we headed up for Serravalle. As usual for our afternoon's walking, and in view of the clouds above, we skipped the interesting-sounding-but-detouristic church at Serravalle, and left the Via Francigena per se to head up a steep 2k for our night's accommodation at Pieve da Sprenna, our pace accelerating with the rain. Pieve da Sprenna is a large agriturismo perched on a ridge, complete with boules court, swimming pool (not open, as the dead frog made fairly clear), wooded area and generally sense of a great summer refuge.
After a rest in our huge apartment - this was our one night of luxe - and yet more clothes-drying, we slipped out for a blissfully-backpack-free stroll, to make sure of the next day's route, and to enjoy the marvellous 360 degree views over the Arbia valley.
Returning to the Agriturismo, we were served the most enormous dinner - four courses, with terrific pasta, and excellent home-produced wine (a happy feature of our agriturismo stays). One of the tricky aspects to returning home will be knowing that we're no longer (even with Tim and Moray's running exploits) using up the calories to justify such impressive acts of indulgence at the table. And so, somewhat bloatily (Katherine says not her!), to sleep.
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