I started the morning with a class in painting with a palette knife with oils. I’ve never done full paintings with palette knives so Florence seems like a good place to learn and practice. In the late afternoon I walked up the Michelangelo pizzazz where it is famous as a place to watch the sunset…

Today I visited the larger garden across the Arno from the main city which had been there for a few thousand years. Artifacts and statues from the Roman’s in bc. In the afternoon I visited the same painting spot as yesterday but focused on the Ponte alle Grazie bridge this time. The long coming heavy…

Today I took all of the various painting kit parts and headed off to find a scene to paint plein air. I had spent the morning walking along the river scoping out potential spots and decided the bridge and river a short ways from my apartment was workable. Some painting and another gelato stop took…

Today I hiked up to the town high above Florence called Fiesole. A narrow and winding steep road is walkers get to this town with a wide view of Florence below. In the evening I took a pasta cooking class where we made three types of pasta and have a pasta dinner with them. I…

Spent a full day walking around Florence visiting various art stores to assemble a plein art painting kit to do some art and painting in the field. Hiked to a hilltop across the river to get a better view of the city and the river and famous bridges.

A long 14 hour travel day to get from Santiago Spain to Florence Italy via some walking to bus to a flight thru Barcelona and Florence and tram and walking across older part of Florence to get my 5th floor older building unit in the central part of town. This city is packed with students…

Today I finished the Camino finisterre hiking the last 16 miles into Finisterre. This last section includes several miles of the coast Atlantic villages rather than just the hilly farm villages of the Camino. These smaller seaside towns had nice beaches and steeper mountains leading to the sea. Once there I took the 3 hour…

Hiked another 18 miles to Logoso Spain and staying in another aubergue tonight. Another early start in the dark until the sun appears after 8:30 am. Hiking tomorrow to Finisterre to catch the bus back Santiago. A nice and warm day but far fewer pilgrims on this section.

Today other trail family members headed off to Rome and other places while I started a three day trek to Finisterre / about 60 miles. This section has its own name of Camino finisterre which many that hike the Camino do this section too. Hiked 18 miles and stayed in the town of Pena.

Today the trail family that has grown to 4, all trekked into Santiago and got our certificate for completing the last 80 miles of the Camino. In the evening we went to the pilgrim mass in the large church.

A shorter 14 mile day to Amenal Spain. Another busy day with hundreds of pilgrims that all start early morning and stop at the various coffee places and bars along the way.

A longer day of 19 miles of Jolon into Arzua Spain. Only two days left before Santiago. An early start with many pilgrims also hiking in the dark for the first hour or two as sun rise isn’t until 8:30 am. A sunny and warmer day with stops for cafe con leche and traditional Spanish…

Another 14 mile trek along the Camino Santiago with only about 50-60 miles left before we reach Santiago. Another busy day of thousands of pilgrims also marching toward Santiago on the route. It appears to be a holiday time as many college aged students are hiking the trail as well now.

A shorter hike today from sarrais to Portomarin, about 14 miles. The whole experience of the trail has completely changed to that huge number of pilgrims hiking the trail which is now packed with hundreds of hikers and a continuous stream of hikers on the trail. A nice day of hiking and chatting with other…

A long hike today of 18 miles with some climbs along paths thru lost and abandoned ancient villages and wandering creeks. Many steep old trails created hundreds of years ago and houses and barns of current and past farmers of the region.

Today I hiked about 14 miles to fondria. This day included one of the most difficult vertical hike day of the Camino with about 3000 feet of verticals over the course of the day. it went into beautiful mountainous farm and scenic views.

A longer day hiking about 18-19 miles to the Camino town of Vega de valcarce. Hiked this morning with a pilgrim who has hiked this Camino 9 times and plans within a few years to buy an oberge and host Camino hikers himself.

After a late start for my body trying to figure out what time zone I’m in, I headed out to the route and started my hike. A warm and sunny day in the 70’s with lots of other pilgrims out on the trail. I hiked a shorter distance than planned but met another hiker from…

It took more than 24 hours of flights and bus rides to get to the starting point on the Camino Santiago hike in Spain. Following up and adding to previous 120 miles of the Camino Santiago I hiked last fall, I will be hiking from here to Santiago in the next two weeks.

A birthday weekend for my daughter Molly was a gathering in McCloud California with friends and family. McCloud is Northern California near Mt Shasta.