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Day91 Vetralla to Sutri – Woods and Amphitheaters

With a short day ahead we were really slow in leaving the apartment this morning. The high wind of yesterday had pretty much abated and despite the cool 8degC temperature it felt much warmer.

Right off the bat we ran into Stephanie, an Italian lady walking her dog. She’d lived in Wales for a few years and spoke excellent English. She was one of the few people to come up to us and initiate a conversation.

Morning Updates

After a short climb we walked along a beautiful stretch of hazelnut orchards for a couple hours.

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And then out of nowhere two ancient towers appeared. These were the ruins of an abbey and a Roman cemetery. It was interesting to try and identify portions of these unrestored structures.

By about 10:30 we’d already reached Capranica where, after visiting the church of Madonna del Piano we walked through the ancient gate to the city. The was yet another typical hilltop fortress towns with windy streets and fun narrow throughout.

The weather was cool but when the wind stilled and the sun hit you, you could get hot quickly. We must have donned and doffed our layers 4-5 times during the day.

After the visit to Capranica the trail entered a beautiful wooded trail that was soft underfoot and crisscrossed a small running stream. This section ran for about 8km and reminded me of home.

At the end of this section we were already very near our final destination of Sutri. But being near didn’t mean that we’d be propping our toes up just yet.

Sutri is home to several historic monuments including a “recently” re-discovered Amphitheater that is unique in the Roman world. When I say “recently” I mean in the nineteenth century. Before that it was pastureland.

It is unique as it is excavated entirely from the surrounding rock. Because it was lunch time we decided to park our bodies inside the amphitheater and have a bite to eat.

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The amphitheater is part of an archeological park that also includes Etruscan cemeteries, a Roman graveyard and a former cave used in the cult of Mithras – turned Christian church (Madonna del Parto). A church within a cave is a pretty cool thing. The frescos were interesting.

Finally we made our way to our lodging for the night. Once again we ended up with an entire apartment to ourselves. We showered and washed and then headed out to get dinner supplies and food for tomorrow as well.

Allison whipped a quick dinner.

After that we just decided to veg and enjoy some rest.

Day88 Bolsena to Montefiascone- 1/2 Days worth of a walk

Today was sweet. We had less than 18km between Bolsena and Montefiascone. Although it was uphill the climbs were never that bad. To take advantage of the short day we took a 1km detour right off the bat to get down to the shore of Lake Bolsena.

Morning Update

We did our update and then went to check out these famous volcanic black sands.

And then it was time to get moving…

The walk today was also nice. A large portion of the day was either on farm paths or woodland.

Along the way we met Rafael – American from Baltimore. He is on a multi day package Pilgrimage. That may sound unintentionally disparaging but it is not meant to. Everyone has different time constraints and abilities. Later in the evening we met again and since he’s lived in Rome he has the inside scoop. He has volunteered to show us around Rome when we arrive. So nice.

But the major “event” was the passing of the 100km mark. This marker is placed just inside greater Montificione.

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Despite our reaction….

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One Hundred kms is significant not only because it is a cool number but because the “rules” of pilgrimage require you walk at least 100km to receive a testimonial. Getting one of these is of no real importance to us other than the souvenir it represents. But in the Middle Ages, this was the document required to prove your pilgrimage was completed. In some cases this was in concert with the receipt of indulgences.

Even with our detour we arrived hours too early to gain entry to the monastery of San Pietro. That’s ok, we were hungry for lunch anyway and we’d spotted a trattoria on our way into the old city.

So we arrived at the restaurant. It was wafting wonderful aromas out of the door. The place looked a little too fancy for pilgrims, but the menu actually offered some good prices. Plus the food was excellent. We splurged on deserts knowing that our dinner was to be at the Monastery and that typically means basic fare.

After a long lunch and finally getting into our room we did the shower and laundry thing. Here I’m going to interject a bit of pilgrim inside info.

Bathrooms have to be the most varied of all rooms in the world. I’ve travelled to over 49 countries and the variety of ways to wash, pee/poop, and shower seem to be infinite. Bidets for example still baffle me as do holes with a garden hose attached.

But in this monastery, and in many others on this pilgrimage, we have the unique set up of a toilet-shower. Now remember, this room is set up for four strangers on four cots to occupy. But in the bathroom (that has neither latch nor key) you will find a seat-less, lid-less toilet lined up with a curtain less shower fixture. “Space-efficient”- indeed….”practical” however, not so much. So there ya go.

After this adventure we took a quick stroll up to the fortress, Rocca dei Papi from where we had beautiful views of Lake Bolsena and unbelievably Radicofani. That hilltop has been visible for 3 days. Crazy.

Well, that’s it folks. Dinner was indeed basic, but filling (pasta, hamburger, spinach, and cauliflower with grapes as dessert). As an interesting note, all the food other than the meat was grown within the monastery- including the wine we drank.

Lastly I should note that we only have 6 days of walking left to go, and they are also slowing down in distance and elevation. Wow.

Day82 Siena to Siena – Rest Day

What? Another rest day so soon. Yep.

We’d always planned this one and although we don’t need it physically we will certainly be happy to act as a tourist once again.

JeanYves and Paulo have moved on, so we made them breakfast and said our goodbyes. They both got a key for their companionship and help over the weeks.

Morning Update

The wifi in this place didn’t work well so I struggled posting last night – apologies for the lack of content. Today will be packed with touristy stuff since we plan to visit the Duomo and some other fun places. From tomorrow on however it will be non-stop to Roma (only 12 days more walking….and some of those days are quite short).

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First a bit of background. In the Middle Ages, Siena was the place to be … well, sort of. It was a hugely prosperous town and as such was seemingly always at war with its neighbor Florence.

At its height, it had about 50,000 people. Then in 1348 the Black Death slammed into the city, and it lost as many as 60% of its residents. Florence and Milan recovered, but Siena never did (until recently however).

Back in the day, Siena was all about banking and actually houses the oldest continuously run bank in the world. Being wealthy it also subsidized the arts and was home to dozens of famous Renaissance artists. The Sienese school was arguably the top in the renaissance world.

Siena is also a pilgrimage town being located on the Via Francigena. Hence our visit to this beautiful city.

We started our tour with the pilgrim hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. It was a hospital to serve pilgrims, the sick, and the abandoned until 1970. I can only imagine being sick and cared for with frescoes surrounding me. We are in Italy and the art was already there. The art work was breath taking!

Our next tourist stop was the tour of the stairs to the sky which meant that we were able to climb up into the roof of the cathedral and see it’s construction and some really cool views of the cathedral floor below and the statuary and stained glass up close.

During the climb up, I appreciated how good shape we are in. We felt the climb of course, but it was really nothing to us. Several others however really struggled and had to stop multiple times to catch their breath. Several emerged from the steps panting and sweating with the effort. We hardly noticed. I’m not writing this to brag. This would have been me years ago.

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We then took a break in playing tourist and headed back to our lodging for lunch. We had fun shopping for lunch in a local shop. We settled on meatballs mixed with vegetables and a spinach and cheese patty. And because this is a day of rest a nap followed lunch.

After doing some laundry and making reservations for a couple of days ahead. This is a. necessity for every pilgrim but a frustration too as many places are closed or recently large tourist groups book and places are full. I did not realize that large groups would be allowed to stay in pilgrim facilities. Lodging on the VF in Italy has been challenging. We have had to be creative and have used airbnb several times which means paying more than pilgrim lodging.But we were able to split the cost with others and that eased the pain.

After our rest we went to finish a day of touring by climbing the remains of yet another structure (The Museo) for some glorious views on a structure that seemed to defy “sound” structural design.

This 2.5m wide structure we are on towers over the town …somehow. Hard to describe the of feeling fro on top, but the views were excellent.

As we headed back to our apartment we stopped at a wine bar to play tourist one last time. This place was actually very professional and well informed. I recommend Treflari located at Via Banchi di Sotto near Il Campo.

Well, that’s the day folks. I have 1000 photos but you’ll have to do with these unless you ask for more. It was a beautiful day.

Day79 Castelfiorentino to San Gimignano – just awesome

Woke at 5 after a fitful nights “sleep” due to the heat and a persistent mosquito in the room. In fact I was so uncomfortable being completely inside my sheet to protect from the mosquitoes that I moved my pillow to the marble floor and slept there for a hour just to cool down. Allison says “she slept like a baby”. Not really fair is it? Haha.

Walking under the street lights leaving the sleeping town was nice. No cars and no people; just Allison and I. Not even the birds were awake yet.

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We soon began the climb to rejoin the VF which we’d left yesterday to get to our hostel. It was a pleasant climb through vineyards and rolling hills.

Like in the US, several of the vineyards also serve as wedding venues. We saw this unfortunate result of a wedding reception.

The sunrise was pretty but didn’t compare to yesterday’s sunrise. There was a magical fog in the valleys however that made for some dramatic views.

The climb to Gambasi Termi where Sigeric stayed on his 20th day from Rome was significant. We kept up a serious pace for no reason whatsoever except that we could.

Once in Gambasi Termi we stopped for refreshments which included a pastry each and a coffee. A second breakfast is good for long distance hikers. But as we were eating we chatted about the shock our bodies will have once we return home with our normal diet of little sugar and low carbs.

The rest of the morning is classified as “easy” but we’re not sure how they could come up with that rating because we found it tough. Perhaps it was the 1000’ climb beforehand. Either way it was a lot of ups and downs before we saw our first glimpse of San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is a top tourist destination and by all accounts it is a top spot for pilgrims as well. The town grew because of its location at the intersection of two trade routes and its crop of saffron. In most cities the church or castle is the most prominent structure. In San Gimignano it is the private towers built by its wealthy inhabitants.

At one time there were 70 of them. Today only 13 survive but the town retains its medieval roots. Once the tour busses leave it takes on an ancient feel.

This might make you a bit dizzy. Sorry.

We ended our night with a home cooked dinner in our “tower”. Joining with JeanYves and Paulo helps save some money.

My pasta creation. Not bad using frozen veggies.

Day74 Massa to Camaiore – Forts and Statues

We really struggled to get out of Massa due to a triple take exit of the city.

The walk started with a climb up a steep set of steps. Halfway up I noticed an unusual <click> sound. Looking down at my pole I noticed the rubber stopper that I use on pavement wasn’t attached. This is actually normal – we’re always taking them on and off – but this morning I’d looked to make sure it was on before leaving the Ostello. So….back down the steps I went. I found it at the second to bottom step. Micro-crisis averted.

Morning Updates

When we reached the top of the steps the Via took a right turn. Allison got to the corner first and let out a small groan. The steps were replaced with a long uphill slope that was quite steep. The air was cool but humid, so we both worked up a quick sweat first thing in the morning.

At the top, Allison mentioned something about the keys to the Ostello. “Oh No!” They we’re still in my pocket. So…I told Allison to sit tight and I went back down the slope and then back down the steps, dropped off the keys and then did it all again. What a start!

The day got dramatically better after that. We continued the climb up to Castello Aghinolfi which was incorporated into Hitler’s Gothic Line and paid a heavy price as a result.

The climb also provided some panoramic views of the sea and coastline we’d walked yesterday.

As we descended off of the mountain we entered a heavy industry section where every other business seemed to be part of the marble trade. The huge chunks of pretty marble set my mind to buzzing about how much inventory cost they dealt with. We even saw a yard where they were actively sawing the huge chucks to 1”-2” slabs.

The big town of the day was Pietrasanta. As we entered the village we passed a different kind of marble trade – one that made sense a bit later. This shop clearly carved marble for art and/or statuary. We peeked through the fence and saw a massive marble statue. I sure wish I knew where it was going.

Pietrasanta, as we soon found out, is a hub of art, particularly carving in marble and bronze. There was a school of art and art boutiques and artwork scattered throughout the town.

The main Piazza with its Duomo and bell tower were the site for our gourmet lunch of canned tuna, hard seed crackers and two day old Parmesan. It doesn’t sound wonderful, but honestly when you are hungry everything tastes better.

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Leaving Pietrasanta the trail was normal hills and streets with nothing notable. However coming down a small country road we came upon two gentlemen working on Cable TV lines. They’d stopped work for a bit and were having lunch in the road next to their car. We struck up a conversation that ended up lasting for an hour.

These two guys were astounded with our pilgrimage walk and ended up offering us a taste of the wine they were having for lunch. It was a good Tuscan red. For their generosity they received two keys and we explained their meaning. One of the two was very excited with the gift and it’s significance. The other struggled with language a bit more and I think the details were lost in translation.

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Our Ostello for tonight is a bit disappointing. It has everything you’d need but half of those things are either not working or “closed for Covid. The price of 18E/person is reasonable but expensive for Pilgrims.

The kitchen is one of those items that is “closed for Covid” so we will have to go out to eat at a restaurant. Honestly I prefer what Allison makes. In the end we opted for microwaveable dishes and ate at the Ostello.

At dinner we celebrated JeanYves 70 something birthday. Happy Birthday pilgrim.

Day72 Aulla to Dogana – Shocking!!!

First a bit a note about our maps. I found out today that I has ant been updating. (Someone should have told me!! :). But it is fixed now. Check out the Maps page.

Morning Update:

Despite our attempt to have a short day, there were no lodging opportunities at Sarzana. We grouped together with Paulo (Portugal) and JeanYves (France) and booked an AirB&B at a nearby suburb of Dogana and headed out for the day. Our path took us sharply up.

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Now, you’d think that after tackling the Juras, the Alps, and the Appenines, we be used to it but today was hard. The weather had turned sour and it was both warm and very humid AND rainy.

Having rain gear on really traps in the heat and because the humidity was so high we both struggled. The reward was some picturesque hilltop fortified villages. Their names all blurred together but they all felt old – ancient really.

Our plan was to get to Sarzana and then take an ugly, but direct road route to our B&B. But those plans changed.

As we entered Sarzana the skies opened up. It was a soaking rain – this alone was OK, but since it was lunch we sought out a cafe to get a coffee.

Twice we had to seek shelter from the rain, but we found a coffee shop and sat down. The timing was excellent. Almost as soon as we did, a flash and an instantaneous loud crash of thunder rattled the shop. Over the next hour a lightning storm of epic proportions shook us and we started talking about alternatives to a walk along a busy road in an electrical storm – smart, eh?

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We still needed to get some groceries and made a dash to a local supermarket and then promptly called a cab. Yes, I know – a cab for a pikgrim isn’t really kosher but we had bought supper and breakfast meals for four and the lightening and torrential rain made it an easy decision.

Vecchietto – The feeling of being very very old

It turned out to be a very smart move. Because the lightning and rain only got harder after we arrived. Jean Yves struggled in after 7pm with these words. “Bonjour..do you have room for a pilgrim coming from Hell?” Haha. He’d had a rough evening.

Dinner with Paulo and eventually JeanYves (who decided to walk) was prepared by chef Allison. Man was it good. But somehow it ended like this. Long story…

Trying to find his way to the B&B JeanYves had stumbled on a Belgian family living here. They came by for a visit and we had a funny and fun evening goofing off. JeanYves always lands on his feet.

Oh, a Portuguese saying “a good story never starts with ‘one day I was eating a salad’”.

What a wild day!

Day70 Berceta to Pontremoli – A steep decent into Tuscany

Morning Update

First we promised not to have a long day today…and failed. Today was 29.6km (more than 31 after you add in the grocery shopping excursion). Tomorrow is 31….but then we are done with it….I promise.

The day started with a nice leisurely morning. We slept in until 7:30. Luxury. After a quick grocery store stop we were off to finish up the Appenine crossing at the Cisa Pass (which I kept calling Cibo pass for some reason in the videos).

The place we stayed last night had an amazing collection of memorabilia. Can you recognize these?

It was steep but for some reason, despite yesterday’s efforts I was flying up the hills. Allison normally leaves me in the dust on uphill climbs but today I led the way.

Can anyone identify this track. It’s about 3”dia

Soon we were at the Cisa pass and peered back to see from whence we’d come. Goodbye Parmigiano-Reggiano, hello Tuscany.

Fun on a bridge

At the top we met two Belgian ladies who were on and appenine backpacking/camping adventure. They were on Day1 and were surprised to see us coming all the way from London by foot.

The rest of the day was beautiful but technically challenging. It didn’t help that we’d been told that the day was only 26km. That’s not a small distance by any means, especially on difficult terrain, but when it turned out to be 30 we were hurting. Those last 4 are killers.

Along the way there were several stone bridges. This region held out a long time against the Romans. The entire population was deported to another region as a result. Having a high strategic value guarding the pass to Po Valley, the Middle Ages the region was “owned” by Genoa, Pisa, and others

We made it to the Convento Frati Cappuccini and we’re kindly explained the rules of entry and shown to our room. Normally we’d immediately shower and do our laundry but due to the late hour we thought it wise to stock up with food for tomorrow first.

We ended our night with an overly long walk to the nearest grocery and then finally we were able to sit down for a nice dinner at Trattoria Da Nori. Two pastas and a shared meat dish (pork in a sauce with peas) was just perfect.

By the way, meet JeanYves with whom we e walked on and off for weeks.

Good night all.

Day68 Fidenza to Medesano – Hills have appeared

The morning started early and we were out walking at 7 am. Of course we had to make a couple of stops at bakery and a cafe for breakfast and a lunch too. “Slices of pizza” for a well rounded diet. That is how the saying goes, right?

Morning Update

The big city of Fidenza is quite lively. All walks of life are visible within a few city blocks. It was actually nice to walk amongst the middle-school kids heading off to class, to see the moms dropping off the younger ones at primary school and to walk past the more senior citizens walking or resting in the park. It seemed alive.

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Finally we walked out of the city, off of pavement, and onto soft dirt trails. All my body parts gave a sigh of relief. Plus we began climbing hills and could see the mountains we will be climbing for the next two days. What beauty the mountains provide.

The sunrise was beautiful. And we stumbled across a church dedicated to Thomas Becket, who visited here back-in-the-day. Images of walking in. Canterbury flooded back into our minds. Unfortunately, the church was locked. We had to satisfy ourselves with the information plaque. It was a shame because it sounded interesting.

As we are walking, we try to be present and not always looking at maps on the phone etc, There are times we do glance at the GPS. Sometimes, the map clearly shows an easier route than the one we’ve trodden. It seems pilgrims are chosen to climb the biggest and steepest hill in the village. Some communities must have a meeting to determine where it would be fun to send the pilgrims next. Today one village obviously must have enjoyed watching us practice stretching our climbing muscles as we went straight up a steep hillside and then along a ridge only to come right back down the same hill. Haha…”Fun with Pilgrims”.

Let’s put the path here and see if they’ll climb THIS one…bahahaha!

Oh, by the way….we have a BIG announcement!!!

We climbed the last hill into the town of Medesano where our lodging is for the night and promptly found a bench in the shade to have our late lunch. Cold pizza and an apple was on the menu today. While we were eating, Paolo from Portugal walked into town. It was nice to chat for a few minutes but soon he was off, walking more kilometers before we finished lunch.

Speaking of old friends. We saw Mr and Mrs Longshadow again for the first time in weeks!

The village had all the necessities along the Main Street: a grocery, a cafe and bar, and our place of lodging. After grocery shopping, we headed down the street to our place of lodging. Whil waiting for our hospice to open Paulo from Lisbon walked past. When we walked in the door to check in, Stephen from Belgium was already inside, signing in for the night. It is fun to see familiar faces of fellow pilgrims.

You know your in the mountains when you start seeing these signs!

Day67 Cadeo to Fidenza – Near Death to Near Life

Sorry for the ominous subtitle. Let me explain.

Morning Update – Near Death. This is hard to hear because of all the traffic flying by at 100mph

Life on the highway – still all smiles despite the impending doom of the traffic

Morning Update Part II. – Near Life.

It was only “near” life because the walk today wore us out. It was longer and more pavement-filled that we expected. But we put yet another 20+mi day in the books.

But we did get to visit a real treasure, the 12th century Abbey of Chiaravalle del Colombo. The abbey is nearly in its original condition and operated well after most monasteries had foundered. Napoleon, after his victories in Italy eventually “closed” the Abbey allowing only 2 monks to remain.

The abbey’s foundation and construction is well documented having been built to exacting plans laid out by none other than Saint Bernard himself.

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The cloister is neither the most elaborate or most interesting that I’ve seen but it had a simple beauty in its symmetry.

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The rest of the day was a bit of a slog along country roads until we entered Fidenza itself. Here we met again our friend Jacques from France. We met him at work around day 36. He was working this week in Fidenza and we managed to get together for dinner.

Jacques had received a restaurant tip from a co-worker and it was a good one. We only had a single course but it was excellent pasta and even better company. On our way out we swung by the Cathedral which is famous for its statuary. Jacques had had a tour earlier and shared his knowledge of the images. Thanks again Jacques.

Day64 Pavia to Miradolo Terme – Pain

It was a tough start to a tough day this morning. Last night the sound of traffic well past 4am made sleeping difficult. It didn’t help that I had a really bad headache (likely due to dehydration).

We taped our morning update from the Ponte Coperta (covered bridge) which had been constructed in post war period. The original medieval bridge had been bombed by the allies during WWII.

I was disappointed to have missed touring some of Pavia’s sights (this happens too often due to fatigue and a busy schedule). But today was to be a long day and we didn’t have a place to stay for the evening yet.

Morning Update

Much to our disappointment when we called at 9am, we received the news that our intended place was closed. This left only one viable option – going 20+miles yet again in the hot sun.

Mid day update

As I mentioned, I wasn’t feeling great anyway and this really hurt. My headache continued through the day and the glare and heat made the miles drag on. To make matters worse my back began to ache and for the last 8miles was actually spasming occasionally.

Our only different wildlife sightings were all dead things. Except a very colorful caterpillar. FYI, these are the crawdad guys that I mentioned yesterday.

We stopped to rest at Belgioioso and had a pizza and coke. We ended up only eating half a had the rest for dinner. It was labeled a cheese and wurst pizza. Turns out it was hotdog. So I had my first hotdog pizza. It wasn’t bad at all.

We stumbled into our original destination of Santa Christina (still an hour and and a half short of our final destination) and had a sit for a bit. We had a sports drink and an ice cream and enjoyed listening to all the local men sitting outside playing cards.

An amazing house near Torre del Negri. The color didn’t help my headache- haha

The last 1-1/2hrs seemed to take 3. I was very uncomfortable; but there was nothing to do but plow on. We made it to Miraldo Terme and did our best to do our chores before crashing and attempting a nap. As it happens, Jean Yves and a Belgian pilgrim Steven ended up at the same place, so there was no rest to be had.

About 30min from our final destination. Despite all the issues of the day we still had some fun.

But getting out of the sun and just lying around did wonders. All seems to be better now and I think with a nights sleep we will be ready to go again. Tomorrow is a short day !! Yay. The first we’ve had in a while. However it is predicted to be quite rainy. It’s amazing to think we’ve only had one real full day of rain this entire trip. Time to unpack the rain gear.