What a day!

Finished my blog of day ‘0’ at 220am – I know I should have started it before 10pm …. So I set the alarm for 0700. Morning consisted of a mad session of packing before dropping my main bag off for tranship at 0830. Should have packed up my 35 litre daypack beforehand and lifted it!

Breakfast was pretty good, Café Late machine, orange juice, great muesli and a tasty croissant. Relearning lessons after 8 years of 5 star – Lesson 1 – Simple can be good.

Before I left there were a few things I wanted to do:-
1. Get 4 litres of water (crazy yes I know but I am an Aussie block and we are indestructible and strong (until we are not).
2. Visit the central food markets – love this place.

3. Get a photo of one of those signs saying no alcohol sales after 9pm (Italian elections have been lost on smaller issues than this)

I then headed off to the Basilica Santa Croce the spiritual home of St Francis, the largest Franciscan Church in the world and the start of the walk. The site was marshland outside the city walls before the church was built. It is the burial place of many immortals and is known as the ‘Temple of Italian Glories :-
• Michelangelo was first an architect, then a sculptor, a then a poet and a painter. There is no doubt he exerted an unparalleled influence on western art. The story of his first painting – the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican almost defies belief – the painting his first major work took him 4 years – he did it all himself painting over 500m2.
• Galileo known as the father of modern physics (one of my better subjects at school), the father of scientific method and more broader the father of science. His work studied speed, gravity, inertia and relativity. He science was seen as challenging Christian beliefs and initially he could not get his works published in Italy.
• Machiavelli is seen as the father of modern political science (oh so is this the bloke we should blame?) but best known as a Renaissance philosopher.
• Rossilini the famous Italian Opera singer. His best-known operas include the Italian comedies Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Despite this significance, the Church feels understated and intimate; in my view the first to visit in Florence before the more famous Duomo.

And Then My Walk Began

The St Francis Way starts officially from the Basilica of Santa Croce. Walking along the busy streets of Florence with Tourist, Locals and Students cluttering the streets as I pass the Galleria with the famous statue of David.

I headed towards the foot of the Fiesole hill and into the rim of green hills hovering over the Arno River passing local markets full of fresh local produce. After about 6km’s I leave Florence and start to walk along quaint local roads as I climb through hillsides planted with mature olive trees and festooned with grand Villas.

After about 8km I reach Settignano and catch the last glimpse of the Brunelleschi’s Dome, before descending to river level in Compiobbi and continuing along the river bank.

The walk is a continuous series of ups and downs mainly through picturesque Olive groves.

It was quite warm today reaching 25 degrees and I walked all up 40km’s and I quickly realised I was carrying far too much gear in my day pack. I was kitted up for every option and the pack was the best part of 20kg. I started to think, must lighten the pack, must lighten the pack, must lighten the pack …. aka Jack Nicholson). Lesson 2 – You don’t need what you think you think you need! First thing I did when I picked myself up from the floor in Pontassive.

Pontassieve is an ancient walled territory by the Arno’s tributary Sieve. The book has it an ‘easy day’ …. ‘must lighten the pack, must lighten the pack, must lighten the pack’. The actual core walk for me today was 25.1km. I ascended 571m and descended 527m walking at about 5km per hour. The track summary and a link to see it is below.

Name:	Florence to Pontassieve
Date:	2 Oct 2017 10:18 am
Map:  (valid until Mar 31, 2018)	View on Map
Distance:	25.1 kilometers
Elapsed Time:	5:47:35
Avg Speed:	4.3 km/h
Max Speed:	11.2 km/h
Avg Pace:	13′ 50″ per km
Min Altitude:	46 m
Max Altitude:	255 m

Pontassieve  is a lovely little town and although pretty quiet has a lot of character. Its famous for its bridge.

I stayed at the Albergo I Villani on the river, basic but all I need. I had a great meal at a local restaurant (Ham and the freshest melon I have tasted in years, ricotta and spinach tortellini and Sea Bass with Italian Salad, 2 glasses of Chianti and a Moretti for $30!) Yummy

Tomorrow is a harder day as I walk too Consuma – 1000m of climbing. Help!

And Don’t Forget The Good Cause

In honour of the great work Black Dog institute are doing in helping many families, corporate organisations and communities create awareness and support to deal with the pressures of life, I am raising money for this important cause. I am close to my $3,000 target – no amount is too small – only $400 to go.

https://teamblackdog.everydayhero.com/au/walking-the-st-francis-way

If interested, you can read a daily debrief of my walk and see some pics on my blog: www.youcanlive2.com  Its still work in progress and you can subscribe at the bottom.

Ciao till tomorrow.