Hike Day 1: SIENA – COLLE MALAMERENDA

And so it begins

Today we start our trek to Rome. We leave Siena from the gate of Porta Romana and head into the hills of Tuscany.

Where we stayed

Tonight & tomorrow we will be staying at an Agriturismo in San Giorgio.

Where we walked

In AllTrails, I pre-made where I think we will be hiking (link to map). Here is the actual:


Photo dump

Where I am there’s no wifi and I have 2 or sometimes 3 bars. It takes a minute per image, so we’ll get what we get. 

This signage tells us the route

Porta Roma

Views along the way 

Parts of the trail

Our stay 

Tom is first in the pool, i join him soon
and so does a local frog 

Our room has a sitting area, kitchen,
bedroom, bathroom, and loft

The group of hikers is large – 20! There’s a group of 6 from Calgary, our group of 8 making up the bulk. I have learned the names of only a couple of the people. It will be a few days before I know who’s who!

Today’s hike was on the easier side. Rolling hills and good weather. We met a light sprinkle as we arrived to our agriturismo. After a swim, we wandered around and looked at the rabbit hutch (two rabbits), then met up with two sheep who were eating all the roses. They started to follow Tom around as if he were their de facto leader. Further up are chickens and geese. And 2 peacocks!

Tom, leader of sheep

Chickens & Geese

More photos shared by the group
Heading out 

Group picture 

Dinner pictures