Acquapendente 21 miles

Very quiet at night. Sleep would have been even better with a little less red wine and meat beforehand but that’s life.

Usual brekkie in a bar and bought a couple of bananas for lunch as there was nowhere to get food on the road today. Decision required. Either stay on the official route which included 6 kilometres walking along a main road or a more scenic alternative which was hillier and 8 kilometres longer but no main road. Went for the latter. Suspect only one couple of walkers did the same. Everyone else opted for the shorter route. Because I am not staying in the hostels I don’t really know how many walkers there are now. I did bump into some this morning who were leaving at the same time as me but I only saw another 4 on the road. 2 of them were just in front of me for several miles and I was able to watch when they used their poles. Only going up relatively steep hills was the answer. All the rest of the time they were just being held. Pointless.

A lot of today was on road, either gravel or the usual tarmac type with traffic. As I spent quite a lot of time reading about the Ryder Cup progress I got familiar with the issues with each. If you don’t look where you are putting your feet on gravel roads then your feet get sore from the sharp edges of the stones sticking through your soft walking shoes while if you don’t look where you are going on roads with traffic then you run the risk of wandering into the way of traffic. Neither ideal but I did enjoy reading about the golf. Made the day pass quicker.

I have now left Tuscany and entered Lazio. Not so pretty and even browner. But a pleasant day’s walking. Quite hilly. And the end of each day always seems to be at the top of a hill. Bit of a bind. Another apartment. Nicest so far I think.

Went to the recommended restaurant but, being a Saturday night, the only table was outside. In the street. Did feel a little strange sitting at a table in the roadway with cars going past. The restaurant was a sort of add-on to a butchers. Quite bizarre.Read more