We are camped at the lovely Camping Semifonte in Barberino val D’Elsa for a full 2 weeks. The campsite is somewhat hilly in that all of the pitches are laid out in terraces. There is plenty of shade which must be fantastic in the summer but for now we would be happy with a little less shade and a bit more sun.

We picked this campsite because it is family run by a lady and her daughter and is situated mid-way between Firenze (Florence) and Siena allowing easy access to Florence, Pisa and Siena along with all the pretty medieval villages in Tuscany and the Chianti region.

We were very unlucky with the weather in Tuscany and Barberino val D’Elsa. Rain every day and little sunshine. The sun was hot on the rare occasions it decided to escape from behind the clouds. Chill days where we expecting to read our books (or in our high tech age, our Kindles and tablets) in the sun were spent in the caravan and awning thoroughly chilled. The camping area turned into a mud bath and we were fortunate enough to buy a fully waterproof mat to put under the breathable ground sheet. Not exactly the greatest thing to do but the only way we could use the awning.

For this portion of our journey, we will deviate from the daily blog and just highlight items of a local interest and brief comments on the places we have visited. We visited of course visit Pisa, Florence and Siena but our notes will lack the details as there are many more accomplished authors and travellers who have trodden this well-worn path and produced far superior literary works.