European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Sun rises Over the Hills of Tuscany an area that is Well suited for touring on foot even if the trip does t always go  Tuscany on foot has its ups and Downs by Cathy Curtis los Angeles times the vision offered by the brochure was glorious an 11 Day ramble through the sunny unspoiled towns of Southern Tuscany with a group of 15 other like minded people a and without any of the bother that hiking normally entails. My Luggage would be carried by a Van leaving me free to pack Little More than a camera and a tube of Sun Block in my Light Day pack. By Day the brochure said i d drink in the glories of Quot an open Countryside of vines and olives intersected by deep wooded valleys Quot or explore old churches or provincial museums. At dinner our group would dress up and Dine out on the earthy but Sublime food of the Region a rendered miraculously non fattening thanks to our Mega calorie burning Days. Our walking time would be anywhere from two to seven hours a Day Quot along farm tracks Woodland and mule paths and dirt  every night depending on where we were i d sleep at a Quot comfortable family run hotel Quot a Quot simple inn Quot or Quot a comfortable modern  and at the end of the trip id be rewarded with a free Day to View the incomparable 15th-Century Art of Siena. Talk about Paradise Well i dreamed about this trip a one of several organized by alternative travel group Ltd. Of Oxford England a for nearly a year. The stumbling Block was the Cost $2,350 plus air fare from London to Pisa. Not cheap. But All accommodations and meals were included except for museum admissions and drinks outside of meals ultimately the lure was irresistible and last fall i finally sprang for the trip. Now that i be been there and Back i can see that like most visions this one was accurate in some respects and flawed in others. My first letdown came at the Pisa Airport where we met the Van that would take us Southeast to Mont Pulciano the first town on the trip. I had a sinking feeling when i surveyed our group there were Only six of us. I later Learned that four people had cancelled at the last moment but alternative travel chose to go ahead with the trip. Other trips scheduled by the company were fully booked. Four of the people who would be my Day in Day out companions two British women who had trained As nurses together during world War ii and a retired american couple were my parents age or older and w e proved to have Little in common. The fifth was in her 40s, but her flamboyantly theatrical personality soon grated on my nerves. I was reminded of the Type of italian Renaissance portrait in which the head of a Duke or a Prince looms up against a delicate landscape. Mentally at least the 84s Flo steaming clams will be served with pasta As part of the extensive evening meals. Presence of my uncongenial travel mates was blotting out the View. I was miffed to learn that another Southern Tuscany trip a few weeks earlier had nearly a dozen Young men and women of my generation. I m not saying members of a walking group ought to be the same age rather the group needs to be diverse and Well populated. Last year i went on a similar walking trip in Derbyshire England with the wayfarers a British company that leads walks in England Scotland and Wales. On that journey my nine walking companions aged  sixty something a were a varied Lively and interesting group. The rhythm of these Daylong walks is such that you find yourself gradually falling in and out of step with All the people on the trip picking up snippets of conversation from Many sources in the course of a Day during Dull patches in the scenery a or moments when Rocky footing or Steep Hills were hard to Cope with a i enjoyed hearing people s life stories and discussing politics and culture. So the moral is if you care about the age sex marital status or number of your walking companions Call the tour operator before booking your walk and ask about the group composition for several trips and or departure dates. The tuscan Countryside was every bit As glorious As the pictures in the brochure however. Daily walks often took us through open Fields with Long views toward rounded Hills patterned in soft shades of Gray Brown Lavender and Green. Massed rows of slender Poplar Trees with feathery foliage or a single furled Cypress dropped like an exclamation Point on a Distant Hill became familiar sights. When the Sun beat Down on our backs gluing our backpacks to our shirts i was glad it was october and n july. Summer trips leave earlier in the morning and take longer rest Breaks at lunch time other walks took us through Leafy Glades where the 72 stripes Magazine May 14, 1992