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Stuart KilpatrickStuart Kilpatrick
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  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 86

    Postscript

    October 6, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Had a very nice celebratory meal on the last night. Far too much food but gave it my best shot.

    Fairly uneventful trip home except that the airport bus took nearly 2 hours to cover the trip to the airport that was scheduled to take 25 minutes. Made some folk quite upset. The smug ones who were aiming to have 3 hours at the airport before their flight kept their heads down and their mouths shut in the bus as the unfortunates got more and more upset. It was only about 6 miles and a well-honed pilgrim could have covered it on foot in that time. The problem came from the Rome traffic. Just about complete gridlock.

    I had taken a wander back to Saint Peter’s Square for another photo and to admire the queue to get into the Kirk. Based on exhaustive observations, if you are visiting and haven’t got one of those handy pilgrim’s credentials, then you are much better going at 3.30pm than 9.30am.

    Some trip info for those who like a number or two.

    Distance - The 1,313 miles was covered in 84 days walking (15.6 miles per day). The split was
    23 miles in the UK (11.5 miles per day),
    540 miles in France (15.2 miles per day),
    113 miles in Switzerland (11.9 miles per day),
    637 miles in Italy (17.2 miles per day).

    Cost - Total cost was £4,613, or £54 per day for 86 days. If travel costs of £285 are excluded it works out at £50 per day. You can’t much cheaper for an all-inclusive holiday these days, I suspect. My share of the costs in Switzerland with Glynice were £90 per day compared to £47 per day for the rest of the trip. And that was sharing a room. But none of that missing meals nonsense and did include slightly more alcohol than my norm. Last time I spent £2,750 over 70 days, or £39 per day, a very reasonable increase over 10 years, especially when previously I spent half the nights in pilgrim hostels and a quarter camping.

    Shoes - I used Altra Olympus 5 trail running shoes. Found them excellent but pricey, costing nearly £90 a pair on the internet and about £165 in a running shop. Only lasted about 500 miles so I went through 3 pairs of them.

    Proudest achievement- I stayed in 85 different places and never took the key with me when I left or left anything behind of mine (as far as I know).

    Favourite piece of kit - I know it is a slightly odd choice but I really liked my Sea to Summit Lite clothesline! Meant I was always able to dry (more or less) my walking t-shirt and shorts overnight.

    Weight - I think I started with a 9kg rucksack but managed to get it down to about 6kg by the end. Plus any water or food. My weight dropped by about 6kg down to 68kgs but isn’t likely to stay there for too long.

    UK
    1 night hotel and 1 night camping

    FRANCE
    7 nights hotel, 5 nights camping, 13 nights hostel, 12 nights chambre d’hote/B&B/apartment

    SWITZERLAND
    6 nights hotel, 2 nights camping, 2 nights hostel and 1 night B&B

    ITALY
    6 nights hotel, 7 nights hostel and 23 nights B&B/apartment

    COMBINED
    Hotel 20 nights or 23%
    Camping 8 nights or 9%
    Hostel 22 nights or 26%
    Chambre d’hote/B&B/apartment 36 nights , or 42%    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 85

    ROME 22 miles

    October 5, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Awake early. Not over-excitement. Whoever lives upstairs leaves for work at 5.30am. A lot of walking backwards and forwards, initially in bare feet but later in shoes. Not a problem given my planned timetable but might have been annoying to the old me.

    One slight oddity before I left. The owner had given me a wee tour when I arrived which had included the fancy pod-type coffee thingy. But when I tried to use it, using the cup advised, the machine obviously expected a more substantial cup. Coffee everywhere. Hence I was quite awake when I left but more from having to sort the mess than the caffeine that I was hoping for.

    In the main square by 6.25am. 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Found a bar for the required cappuccino/chocolate cornetto (only taken me 6 weeks of daily consumption to twig that in Italy a croissant is a cornetto).

    Sunrise is 7.10am but helped I suspect by some cloud cover it was easily light enough by my 6.40am departure.

    A strange day’s walking. Half of it was beside increasingly busy roads and the other half in sheep pastures, a Nature Reserve and a Park. When in the Italian green belt it felt incredibly countrified, even though it finished within a couple of miles of Saint Peter’s.

    Took advantage of a bar after about 10 miles. Very odd to have completed that much before 10am. Had another Italian sandwich. These are strange things to the British eye. I had avoided them for ages as they were large, white bread dods that I thought would be stale as hell. Thinking a really bad supermarket sandwich. In fact they appear to be made fresh each day by the bar selling them and the filling is actually spread throughout the sandwich, not just at the cut edge as per UK. Mighty fine and a sandwich plus a litre and a half sparkling water can be had for 4€.

    No sign of any other pilgrims until I reached downtown Rome when I came upon a bunch of 5. Didn’t speak to them of course but judging by their gear and their age I very much doubted they had walked from Canterbury. They were nearer a third my age than a half and I doubt had 3 months to waste going for a mighty long walk.

    I had spent ages trying to work out the logistics of arriving in Rome. I wanted to get the Testimonium which you could get from an office which shut at 5pm. I wanted to see round St Peter’s again and it shut at 6.30pm but you couldn’t take backpacks in and you couldn’t wear shorts. My hotel was about a mile and a half away from Saint Peter’s. My plan was to arrive early enough to get the Testimonium, get to the hotel, change and get back to Saint Peter’s. By then the notorious queue should have died down.

    Arrived before 3pm. Told that the system had changed. I now got the Testimonium inside Saint Peter’s. But there was a special entrance for pilgrims and a toilet just beside it where I could change into the required long trousers. So here’s a wee tip for those going to Rome. If you have a pilgrim's credential you can skip the whole of a horrendous queue and just walk in.

    The biggest anti-climax was the actual getting of the Testimonium. Much is made of the requirement for having walked or cycled so many miles, having stamps for every day etc but what it now comes down to is the cloakroom assistant who checks in and out the large bags, coats etc will write anyone’s name on a Testimonium sheet of paper. He isn’t interested in anything. Just tell him your name and you will get a Testimonium. Bit of an anti-climax but I didn’t really need someone gushing about how amazing that I had walked so far.

    And that is about that. Wandered round Saint Peter’s which is just the most incredible building. I can’t think of anywhere which so successfully makes you feel like you are an ant. Just tiny and insignificant. Which I suppose was what was intended.

    Thanks for sticking with me on my journey. It has been amazing and not one I will be in a rush to repeat.

    But you never know…..    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 84

    Formello 21 miles

    October 4, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    My body is a very strange thing to be sure. For most of my life I don’t open my eyes before 8am unless there is a very pressing reason. When I started this Via that still applied and if I wanted to be awake before 8am I needed to set an alarm. I was asleep usually before 10pm. It felt as if my body needed 10 hours to recover. Now I still try for 10pm bed but I’m awake regularly by 6am. Many will find that quite shocking. I am drafting this post at 5.30am for goodness sake. Admittedly it is now a much more comfortable temperature at night which does help with sleeping. I find it so much easier to cope with an extra 10C or even 20C during the day than when trying to sleep.

    Pottered about until nearly 7am because it was still dark and I had some road-walking to do. No sign of any bars open when I left. Tad disappointing. Still there was another village only 6 miles, or 2 hours, down the road which looked more promising. Had a nasty bit of road to cope with before that. Thought that well before 8am it might be quiet. Didn’t reckon on Italian white van man. Plenty of them up and about at that time.

    There are all sorts of corners. My pet hate are the ones that are not so tight that Stirling Moss has to slow down but tight enough that he can’t see very far round the corner so he (and I) get quite a fright when he discovers a cowering pilgrim standing on his preferred racing line. I used to stand my ground and force them to take evasive action while, I hoped, having enough time to take action myself if it didn’t look like happening. Game of chicken really. But that does rely on there being enough time for all that. No such finesse this morning. As soon as I was aware of an approaching vehicle I was into the undergrowth forthwith.

    Another nicely timed lunch stop when a litre and a half of fizzy water and a sandwich fare perked me up for the afternoon. And only cost 3€. Amazing.

    The early departure meant I arrived at tonight’s apartment before 4pm. It is about a third of the size of last night’s one and getting on for twice the price but I needed somewhere in this village as it is within striking distance of Rome. With any luck by this time tomorrow it will all be over. Relief for all of us.

    Took a wander about before dinner to try to find a bar which might be open early tomorrow. As you would expect they are in the opposite direction to my route. If I get up at 6am then I should be at the bar by 6.30am and on my way by 6.45am. Will be beginning to get light by then. The rush is because the place in Rome where I can get my Testimunium to say I completed the Via shuts at 5pm. And I would really like to have another look in St Peter’s. I was quite impressed last time. It shuts at 6.30pm and the queues are legendary. If I don’t make it tomorrow then I could get there for a 7am opening on Friday. Seems a bit serious especially as my hotel is some distance from St Peter's.

    Pasta for dinner. Lovely. On the whole the pasta dishes have been excellent and the pizzas a bit disappointing. Followed by a sort of deconstructed strawberry cheesecake. Served as 3 dollops of cheesecake mixture, lots of biscuit crumbs scattered over them and then strawberry sauce poured over. Tasted fine though.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 83

    Sutri 20 miles

    October 3, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    One of the benefits of being a tad dehydrated is that I didn’t feel the need to go into the other couple’s bedroom to relieve myself during the night. Don’t think it would have helped any of us sleep afterwards.

    Part of the fairly standard routine when arriving at each accommodation is being told how to leave. Where the keys should be put, essentially. Didn’t happen here. Suspect she wanted to leave before I passed out. Wasn’t at my liveliest yesterday. Anyway I didn’t think anything of it as I just left the keys hanging up and left. Or tried to. The apartment’s door just pulled shut behind me. The building’s door locked itself behind me. All very standard. Then I reached the locked gate. Could not see any way to release the lock from the inside. Felt sure there must be a way but I couldn’t for the life of me see how to do it. And of course I now couldn’t go back in to get the keys as the door was locked. It was only 7.15am and I didn’t feel like waking the whole building by banging on the door.

    Just had to break out by climbing over the security gate. Not that difficult as I could climb up on something and then swing a leg over, remembering to make sure my rucksack came with me. Would have been more comfortable with another couple of inches on my inside leg measurement. But no permanent damage done, I think.

    I had been really pleased to have got this far on the Via without resorting to paracetamol and ibuprofen, as they had been my best buddies last time. I probably haven’t taken any ibuprofen at all since then and only a couple of paracetamol each year. But by midnight I had decided that needs must if sleep was to be achieved and, more importantly, if I was going to be able to walk the next day. I know that the advice is to keep moving if you have a sore back but I’m not sure if walking 20 miles carrying a rucksack would be considered overdoing it. Worked a treat as far as sleep was concerned and seemed ok to begin with as I vaulted the gate and walked to the bar for breakfast. But then it seemed to regress. Popped some more pills and that seems to have done the trick. No more than the usual discomfort at the end of the day.

    Today’s walk very much in 2 halves. The morning was walking up a large hill, almost Munro height, mostly in woods. And then the afternoon was walking down the other side. Very straightforward except I got a bit lost in the morning. I wasn’t on the proper route as I was taking a shortcut to save a day. And the path just petered out. No sign anywhere and the ground cover included some quite unpleasant thorned branches. Shorts were not ideal. Or short-sleeved t-shirt. Then I heard voices. First thought was bloody hunters but it wasn’t the weekend and they sounded like the fair sex who surely don’t go round shooting things. Anyway I headed for them and found two ladies thrashing about in the undergrowth, seemingly as lost as I was. Except they were dressed sensibly and were carrying dinky little wicker baskets. Hunting for mushrooms. We had the usual sort of discussion where people have a conversation despite not having any common language. All I got from it was they were firmly convinced that I was nowhere near the Via Francigena. After a while I managed to locate a path of sorts and went on my merry way. Met more mushroom hunters including 2 guys in full camouflage outfits together with standard issue wicker baskets. I suppose they wear the same every day but during the week they have a basket and at weekends a shotgun. And it does mean the mushrooms can’t see them coming.

    Finished the day in a completely different state from yesterday. One of the main differences was simply the timing of lunch. Yesterday I had to eat just before 12 which meant that by 5pm I was empty, very hot and dehydrated. Today I reached somewhere just before 2. So I only had a couple of hours more to do afterwards. Made all the difference but these things aren’t in my control.

    Lunch included a mortadella, Philadelphia and pistachio sandwich. New combination for me but really good.

    In a great apartment tonight. Massive. 2 double bedrooms, large living room/dining room and a bathroom big enough to host a small party (although it would be an odd place to hold a party I’d have to say). Unlike last night there wouldn’t have been a problem if another couple joined me although I’m really pleased not to share.

    Dinner tonight included a starter of assorted things battered and deep-fried. Don’t know what they all were but enjoyed it nevertheless. Followed by the usual pizza.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 82

    Viterbo 23 miles

    October 2, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    The hostess at last night’s B&B had asked if I wanted a salty or sweet breakfast in the morning. Quite happy to have something other than a croissant so went for salty. We negotiated a 7.30am time although I would have preferred earlier. It was worth waiting for. Toasted ham and cheese together with scrambled egg cooked with lardons. Served with freshly squeezed fruit juice and a cappuccino. And when I complimented her, saying it was the best breakfast in Italy, she asked if I wanted something sweet as well. Indeed I did. Headed off with quite a spring in my step and a pleasantly full tummy.

    Lovely morning’s walking. Because it was a double day it meant that at half way there was a village for food but of course it was perched on top of a hill. It did give lovely views of the lake as some compensation.

    In the course of this walk I have met some “characters” but this particular one was in a class of his own. He had put his rucksack onto the wheels of a shopping trolley and had some sort of pole sticking into his back while he had one hand behind his back holding onto the pole. It looked grimly uncomfortable and caused him no end of bother on anything other than smooth tarmac which can’t be more than a quarter of the distance. I assumed that he hadn’t been walking for more than a day or two but I had to ask as I passed. Turned out he has been using it since Lausanne in Switzerland which must be about 6 weeks at least. But the truly gob-smacking bit was the look of pride on his face when he said it was his own invention. Mind you he was wearing jeans for walking on a day which reached 30C so I suspect he can’t have been the full shilling.

    Walking on some original Roman road today. Astounding to think that it was there before Christ was about. And yet it didn’t have any potholes. Maybe our council could learn something here.

    Afternoon was indeed quite hot and seemed to drag on a bit. Was quite bushed when I reached Viterbo, only to realise that my next B&B was another mile on. Uphill. Managed to trip on a kerb as I was walking while checking my route on the phone. No damage to ankle luckily but my back must have got a bit of a jar. Quite sore. And then when I reached the B&B no-one was here. Had to stand about outside for 40 minutes before she turned up. Back didn’t appreciate that. Unusual arrangement inside. There is one bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and a kitchen/dining room. Sounds ok eh? Yes, but there is another couple using the bedroom and I have a bed put in the corner of the kitchen. And to use the bathroom I will have to go through their bedroom. Similarly if they want to get going before me then they will have to come through my “bedroom”. Oh, and the breakfast tomorrow is served in a bar about a mile away.

    The only restaurant within practical walking distance turned out to be closed on Monday. There was a bar that had some cold chicken wings and potatoes that he put in the microwave for me. As dire as it sounds but only cost 4€.

    I fear I am becoming a little grumpy again.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 81

    Bolsena 14 miles

    October 1, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    My plan was to leave early, despite it being a short day, because I wanted to visit the cathedral on my way out of town. Picked up a bar breakfast and got to the cathedral by 7.45am, hoping to avoid any 8.00am mass. Apparently the “beautifully preserved must-see 10C crypt” contained “the reputed drops of the blood of Christ on a stone brought from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem”. Hence it has been a site of pilgrimage for ages and ages. Worth nipping in as I passed I thought. Despite my book stating that the crypt is open early and very much worth a visit it was most certainly shut. No signs of life. Bother. Could have stayed longer in bed then. Frustratingly, if I had, then it might well have been open when I passed. Made a mental note to do so next time.

    What I did see on my way out of town was this very lovely block of flats. I wonder who decided on that colour. Did they get a special deal from B & Q? Did the architect do it to win a bet? Can’t believe the residents put it to a vote at a meeting where Fred stood up and said “How about a lovely shade of pink?” “Won’t that be cheery?”

    Not many walkers out and about but I was caught up by Kevin from Dublin who was going at a fair lick pulling a trailer with his gear. He seemed quite happy with it and had come the full distance but in 3 trips. I was unconvinced that the gains on smooth roads compensated for the harder going at other times. We had a fair blether until we reached a village where he decided to stop for a late breakfast. Might well have been an excuse to get away from that irritating Scotsman of course but to tell the truth I was getting a bit knackered keeping up with him so I wasn’t complaining.

    It is in the nature of walks like the Via that you can meet folk repeatedly for several days, not to speak to, you understand, heaven forbid, and then you don’t see them again. You never know if any particular meeting is the last one or whether there will be many more. But tomorrow I plan to do two “standard” days in the one day. A total of 22 miles. I expect to meet, and ignore, a whole new set of folk after that.

    Bit of a change in scenery today as I reached the Lago do Bolsena, or damned great lake. 7 or 8 miles across.

    End of the stage was on the lake-side. Almost a beach resort. Certainly full of tourists, but quite a nice feel to it. I suspect the tourists were Italian, on a Sunday day trip.

    Early start and short day meant I arrived before 1. Able to get showered and changed and into a restaurant for lunch. The plan was to eat at lunch and not bother with tea, thereby getting an early bed. These late teas are not good for my digestion. Spent a very pleasant afternoon keeping up to date with the Ryder Cup golf while stuffing down pizza and ice cream and wandering about the town. Only slight issue is the pizza was rectangular. What’s that about? Surely there is a law that says it has to be round. If there isn’t then there should be one.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 80

    Acquapendente 21 miles

    September 30, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    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

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 79

    Radicofani 20 miles

    September 29, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Yes, I know I promised the happy face but I’m going to start with a moan. My justification is that the moan is in relation to yesterday, so I think it’s allowed.

    Anyway, last night’s apartment was pricey. 80€. About double the going rate. I didn’t expect it to be twice as good, these things don’t work like that. It was adequate. But you may have noticed I have got used to pilgrim hours. Lights out well before 10pm and up before 7am, on the road by 7.30am. However this “apartment” was really the basement cum ground floor of a house. Absolutely no sound-proofing from upstairs, where the owners lived. I had tiled floors and I assume the upstairs had as well. Every slight noise upstairs was heard loud & clear downstairs. It became apparent that the kids upstairs were going completely feral. Come 10.30pm they were still high as kites, not just noise that can be muffled by ear plugs to some extent but thudding and banging reverberating incredibly. Much against my usual “avoid all confrontation” style, after several futile shouts, I got dressed, went outside and rang their bell. Had an animated discussion and then returned to bed. Things calmed down and once I had calmed down as well I went to sleep. On reflection I suspect that grandparents were babysitting and just let the kids do whatever they wanted. No attempt at control. That’s fine except I wanted to sleep and I had paid quite a lot of money to try and get that. I could have stayed in a dormitory in a hostel for 10€ and not slept.

    Sorry about all that. I feel better now.

    Duly on the go by 7.30am after usual breakfast in a bar.

    Todays destination was a hilltop village visible for miles. It is over 800m high which meant the last 8km was an uphill slog, not really what you want at the end of the day when it’s quite warm. Its tower can just be seen in the distance through the arch photo. Took ages to get even slightly closer. But very pleasant walking. Went past some thermal baths. Then hit a slight problem. Without any advance warning I came to a closed bridge. Big, solid and very high. A detour was possible but involved back-tracking and extra distance. I reckoned my recently depleted frame shouldn’t cause any problems so went over the barriers and crossed it anyway. Got away with it (obviously as I wouldn’t have posted this if I was lying in the bottom of some gully).

    Tonight I am in another apartment. This is more of a house. No noise from anywhere. As soon as I finish this it’s lights out and snoring for me.

    But first, dinner. After much indecision I went for the mixed grill and chips. Very good. Problem was the wine. 3€ for 25 cl or 4€ for 50cl. Although there was no need whatsoever I went for the the half litre. Had to celebrate Europe’s good start to the Ryder Cup. Yes I know that’s a bit contrived but it’s the best I can do. And because I had wine left over after the main course I was forced to have profiteroles.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 78

    San Quirico d’Orcia 17 miles

    September 28, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Quiet room until the birds started playing about on the roof. Luckily they waited for dawn which is about 7am here just now, and I was up at 6.45am anyway. Useless diy breakfast not helped by having one of those pod coffee machines. Leaving aside the ridiculous packaging I have become familiar with some of them now but not this one. Made a lot of noise but got nothing drinkable out of it. Nothing available outside so had to walk for an hour until I could have my cappuccino & chocolate croissant fix.

    Chilly when leaving at 7.30am but was fine within the hour. Bit surprised that other pilgrims were dressed for the temperature when they set out rather than for the temperature it will soon become. Maybe I’m just too lazy to dig out my jumper from the bottom of my bag for the sake of half an hour of being slightly cold.

    I’m fascinated by the use of poles by walkers. Lots of folk have them, often sticking out of their rucksack, or tucked under an arm, or over the shoulders as per this gent today. Even when being used “properly” they seem far more bother than their worth especially as so much of the walking in Italy is on road. I doubt if they would be useful for more than 5 minutes a day. Not a good enough payback for me.

    I have a bit of an issue with some modern technology. My gripe is the clever folk don’t just invent something useful and leave it at that. No, they want to try and “improve” it by second guessing what you might want. So when playing music on my phone I can choose “shuffle” which you would think would take all your music and pick tracks at random. But no, it doesn’t do that, it tries to pick tracks that it thinks you might want. So certain tracks come up time and again and others never get played. Bloody nuisance. Defeats the object. Had to resort to ordering my music alphabetically and playing it in order. Not ideal.

    Out to a restaurant tonight that advertised a “pilgrim’s” menu for 14€. When I checked when the restaurant opened I was told 7.30pm. Why, oh why, don’t they start before 7.30pm? Because by 7.35pm the place was pretty much rammed and everyone expected service straight away. There is clearly a strong demand for eating earlier and they would make life much easier for everyone if they let folk do it. Dinner wasn’t a great experience. Not helped by the waitress running about daft trying to serve everyone at once. Also I’m getting a bit tired of Italian food. Antipasti is really expensive for one. Fine if two of you are sharing. “First course” is just pasta or risotto. Tendency to overdose on the pasta/rice without much sauce or other bits. “Second course” is a dry lump of meat or fish with one accompaniment of potatoes or veg or salad. Nae sauce. Not great. Far too dry every time I have had it. No wonder I choose pizza. Seldom lets me down. But it does get samey.

    Despite evidence to the contrary I do look over these footprints before posting and when looking at this one I seem a little grumpy. Sorry about that. Will try and put a happy face on tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 77

    Ponte d’Arbia 17 miles

    September 27, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This morning was all about getting the timing right. I would like to say that I had arranged months ago for the balloons to be travelling over the Piazza del Campo as I reached it but you know me better than that. All seemed to work well. Suspect it gets rather busier later in the day. Moved on to the Siena Duomo where they had opened the main door which let me get a photo showing the front and through to the stained glass window at the far end. And then I could see the inside of the Duomo, again devoid of all tourists. Those who have been there themselves might appreciate the rarity of these photos. You are saved from seeing my whole collection because Penguin limit me to only 20 photos per footprint. Probably as well. Suffice to say my phone battery had dropped to 77% by the time I left Siena. And all before 8.30am including grabbing breakfast en route. Really don’t know what’s coming over me these days.

    Things calmed down as I got out of town. A lot of ridge walking today. Not the Scottish Munro-style along between mountain tops this was the Tuscan variety. A pleasant track or unpaved road winding along the top of gentle rolling hills, giving lovely views on both sides. Luckily for you they don’t photograph very well but trust me, very easy on the eye.

    Tonight’s village is very small, only two possible accommodations, either a pilgrim’s hostel with dormitories or a 3 bed-roomed B&B. Luckily, because I booked weeks ago, I was in the B&B. 40€ very well spent. Lovely quiet room, big double bed to myself with an en-suite, breakfast supplied in the morning as compared to hell on earth over the road. Smug? Me? Why ever would you think that?

    Only one restaurant and I was told there was no need to book but I didn’t take any chances. Went there half an hour before it opened and asked if I could sit having a drink before the kitchen opened. Got my bum on a seat. True enough those arriving half an hour after opening time had to wait until the first lot had eaten and left. Pleasant enough pizza but nothing special. White chocolate profiteroles to follow were very good though.

    I am having a slight clothes issue that I need to share. I have 2 polo shirts for wearing when not walking. You need 2 because every blue moon one gets washed and you need to wear the other one while it dries. And I have one t-shirt that gets worn every day for walking. On arrival I shower and wash the t-shirt. It always dries by the next day. It is getting very faded but I can happily ignore that. Sartorial elegance never my speciality. But it is also getting worn in places where the rucksack straps have rubbed and this looks like stains and then there are genuine stains from sun tan lotion etc that don’t come out with hand-washing. Getting embarrassing but what can a chap do?    Read more

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