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Via @ 70

luglio - ottobre 2023
  • Stuart Kilpatrick
Walking from Canterbury to Rome Leggi altro
  • Stuart Kilpatrick

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  • Città del Vaticano Città del Vaticano
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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Camaiore 16 miles

    20 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    As suspected 10pm isn’t when the youngsters go to bed around here. But in truth, once the double glazed windows were firmly shut and the ear plugs were in place they were not a problem.

    Coolest day so far in Italy. No need for that expensive suntan lotion. I will be upset if it doesn’t get used as I only have hand luggage on the flight back so it will need to get binned. And the forecast for tomorrow is thunderstorms. Really wish the lotion could protect me from lightning strikes.

    Had a bit of fun today with the pedestrian crossings. It’s a bit like playing Russian roulette I suppose. You think it is going well but there is always the chance it won’t. The trick is understanding the Italian driver. He/She is not going to give way unless they absolutely have to. There is no point in waiting for the traffic to stop before you venture out. Because it won’t. You have to wait until there is enough of a gap for you to step out firmly and the oncoming car is able to make an emergency stop. Obviously if it doesn’t have time to stop it isn’t going to end well. But once the driver realises that if he/she doesn’t stop there is going to be a pilgrim sized dent in the car then they seem happy enough to make that drastic stop. So that is half the road controlled. The other half should be easier because they get more warning of your intention. Don’t expect them to stop just because you are crossing. They will only stop if they calculate that at your rate of progress across the road they will knock you down if avoiding action is not taken. I suspect that if they get their nose in front so that you walk into the side of the speeding car then it is simply more fool you. I haven’t put that one to test yet.

    Arrived at the BnB about 2.30pm so plenty of time to do some more booking. Think I only have 4 nights left to arrange. And tomorrow night should be my last dormitory night. Can’t wait.

    Out to a recommended place for dinner. Tried the mixed antipasti. Mighty good although I don’t know what everything was. And then pasta. Had a bit of trouble with communication. Waiter asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside. I said inside ( to avoid the dreaded smokers), he repeated “inside” but then led me outside. Later I requested white wine, he repeated “white wine” but then brought me red.

    On my way back I passed an open gelateria. There was absolutely no need. I was well stuffed already but it just felt wrong to ignore it.

    Anyway, I was quite short of photos. As if I have ever needed an excuse to buy ice cream.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Lucca 15 miles

    21 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Leisurely start as a short day. Woken by thunder and lightning during the night but it had all cleared away by morning leaving some cloud. Lovely temperature.

    Had a fair bit of road walking today which gave me more chance to study the Italian driver. Compared to the UK there seems to be a much higher proportion of them who just want to drive quickly. All the time. If there are 2 cars driving along you can bet the one behind is tail-gating and will overtake as soon as there is half a chance. Quite happy to do that in a built up area. I stopped briefly in a park in a small village with a primary school the other side of the road connected to the park by a pedestrian crossing. Didn’t stop folk overtaking right on the crossing I noticed. I’ve never seen so much overtaking in built up areas before. Yesterday the traffic was briefly stopped as a lorry was reversing across the carriageway. 4 or 5 cars were stationary. The next car decided to overtake them all and pull in between the first car and the lorry. This wasn’t some peak capped ned in a souped up Astra, no, this was an old bufty looking not unlike myself. The other odd thing was no one blew their horn or made any sign of disapproval. In the UK there would have been bloodshed at the very least.

    In the interests of speed they want to take the racing line at corners. All very well but if there happens to be a wee chubby pilgrim coming the other way as the car comes round a blind corner then we both get quite a fright. There may be just no way I can get off the road so they need to rather quickly take avoiding action. Going back to the Russian roulette it has been ok so far but it doesn’t feel the safest activity.

    Had some grapes today. Why has the continent not cottoned on to seedless grapes? Is it only the UK that has noticed that seeds are annoying? Won’t buy them again.

    Staying in Lucca tonight. Like arriving on a different planet. Tourists everywhere. A huge proportion being Americans. Not sure what they come here for but come here they sure do. But they don’t seem to be staying in this pilgrim’s hostel thank goodness. Bunks for 10 but only 4 folk. Strangely someone appears to have brought their own camp bed. A stonking aluminium frame effort (see photo). Now when they were packing their rucksack, making sure it was as light as possible, only taking essentials, how on earth did a camp bed get included? Unfortunately it appears to be young Italian couple so my chances of making polite enquiries seems limited.

    Managed to get a meal at 6pm for once. It did mean I was stuck with a tourist place in the middle of Piazza Angiteatro and you don’t get more touristy than that here. And it was a pizza again but being able to eat my fill for 8.50€ is awfully tempting.

    Managed to get back to the hostel and get this written before lights out is a major plus. No sign of the others yet so I will get to bed first. Almost certainly will get up last so the etiquette should be they have to crawl about in semi-darkness going to bed and then again in the morning. We shall see. And I get 10 or 11 hours in my kip. Can’t be bad.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Altopascio 11 miles

    22 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    My companions were reasonably quiet when they got in. Can’t really complain. In the morning the solo guy left early, not without waking me by persistent coughing. When I deigned to take the eye mask off and greet the day I noticed that only one of the Italian couple was still there. Very odd. Had they fallen out? Had one nipped out to get the croissants in? With a chocolate one for me? I pottered about, as I do, including putting in my contact lenses, when I noticed that they were in fact both there, just sharing one bunk bed. Silly old fart that I am because that never occurred to me. At least they had the decency not to try that nonsense on the camp bed, or worse still, on the upper bunk. Which makes the question of why bring the camp bed even more intriguing but, even for a social inept like myself, going over and asking them about it was maybe a step too far.

    I left before I had second thoughts. Really looked forward to seeing them overtake me later in the day with one of them lugging the camp bed but it didn’t happen.

    I have noticed 2 distinct types of tourist cyclist in this area. Firstly there are the groups of 20 or so Lycra-clad folk on road bikes, no luggage, staying altogether in Best Western type hotels, on some sort of Exodus or similar organised and led “Tuscany by bike” trips. Secondly there are the rather older couples on big heavy e-bikes, lots of panniers, and rucksacks, who don’t look like they cycle much at home. They don’t really know where to go, keep stopping to fidget, didn’t realise beforehand that light is good on a bike, especially when it comes to avoiding anything on your back. The signs showing the way on the Via for cyclists are now much more frequent than for the poor foot soldiers. Come to think of it I haven’t seen any pilgrims on the route for a few days now. My relatively late departures help with that, of course.

    Got caught by my heaviest rain by far at lunchtime, full-on thunderstorm, but luckily I was able to dive into a large supermarket just in time. Stayed under cover for nearly a hour as it passed. No rush to get wet. Noticed a couple of these groups of cyclists looking pretty miserable going past. Didn’t fancy that much. My only disappointment was that in the UK that size of supermarket would have had a cafe where I could have got a comfy seat, a coffee and a trip to the loo. Not in Italy unfortunately. None of the above.

    Despite the delay it was such a short day I was checked in before 2pm, leaving me all afternoon to get more accommodation sorted. Now fully booked all the way to Rome. Even worked out how to get to the airport in Rome. Brings that quite close now. Will be home in 2 weeks and you can stop having to read this damn thing every day. Relief for all.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    San Miniato 18 miles

    23 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Nice breakfast which included the owner’s mother’s apple tart. Excellent.

    And a good morning’s walk. Back into woods which makes a pleasant change from the very suburban feel recently. And should have made my morning constitutional somewhat easier. But it was a Saturday wasn’t it. So what you ask. Well in these parts the local fellas, who aren’t out in Lycra or chewing the fat in some bar with their cronies, like to commune with nature. This takes the form of putting on camouflage fatigues, grabbing a large rifle or shotgun and heading to the woods to blast anything that moves. I have no idea what particular bird or animal could remotely look anything like my bare backside but I didn’t want some short-sighted cowboy taking a potshot.
    What amused me greatly was, on stopping in the first bar for sustenance and an angst-free visit, all 5 pilgrims who happened to stop there too went for a visit as well. There is nothing quite like the occasional shot ringing out in the woods to encourage you to stay on the path and go in bars instead.

    It appears that horse-riders have joined the walkers, cyclists and motorists in heading for Rome. Wonder who is next. Skateboarders?

    Afternoon’s walking was more out in the open, along on top of dykes, beside canals, finishing up in a climb to a tourist-trap village on top of a hill that they go in for in these parts. I was just nearing the top when I got a phone call from the owner of the place I’m staying in to say that there was a plumber working in my room and I wouldn’t be able to get in for another hour. Bit annoying.

    Now I don’t consider myself a violent person as a general rule but I am having a little trouble with an unfortunate habit I’ve noticed. I am often asked if I was tired because I don’t jog up a couple of floors with whoever is letting me in to my room. I have probably walked up to 20 miles carrying a rucksack in considerable heat, not to mention being at least twice their age, so what exactly do they expect?

    Tonight’s room is another one of these ‘in the attic’ numbers where I am banging my head every time I move. It isn’t nearly as nice as it looks in my photo. But at least I am on my own.

    Out for dinner and started to struggle. Plenty of expensive restaurants preying on gullible tourists. Chose one at random, got shown to a seat, given a menu, and then promptly ignored. After 10 minutes I just left. But that didn’t help me get fed. Finally found somewhere fabulous. They were fully booked but if I could be out in an hour and a half they could squeeze me in. Not a problem. Lovely pasta dish for 7.50€. Less than half of the cheapest item on the menu of the first place. That will do nicely.

    Now just got to get through the night without concussion.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Gambassi Terme 15 miles

    24 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    While putting my socks on this morning I noticed I have been using my feet to clean the mangy floor. Required washing asap. Choice was shower - no good as just an overhead shower head and it seemed silly to shower when only my feet were dirty, bidet - if the floor was that dirty I wasn’t putting anything near that, which left the basin. Despite not being at my Stretch & Mobilise classes for a few months that was no problem. Never mind standing on one leg while brushing your teeth I think I could recommend regular washing your feet in the basin to help maitain your balancing ability. Stephen, you are excused that one, no-one wants to see your hernia yet again.

    It is a sure sign of a tourist trap of a village when I passed numerous restaurants on my way out but not a single useful shop. No food for today. Still it’s only 15 miles so not too much of a problem. I was also out of water but there were fountains apparently somewhere on route.

    Lovely walking today. Tuscany looking good although late in the year so not nearly as green as it would have been earlier. Don’t know what crops were there but they are long gone, leaving brown earth.

    No end of other walkers about. I must have passed at least 15. Almost all in 2’s or more. Not that I am walking faster than them all, I think, I just don’t stop to fidget as much. For example lots of folk need to stop to have a drink. Basic mistake. You really need to be able to take your bottle out of, and back into, your rucksack side pocket while walking, especially if in a group of 3 or 4. No idea where they are all going, or started from, I didn’t say more than hello to any of them. I’m not here to chat. Tomorrow I will start earlier and avoid this nonsense hopefully. At least 3 couples were American judging by their voices. Common factor is they were all just carrying what looked like day bags. They must be using a baggage transfer service.

    Passed a small memorial for the first batch of 150 Swiss troops that rested here on their way to Rome to become the Swiss Guards at the Vatican ever since. It is things like that that are reminders that the Via was the main route North to South for an awful long time.

    Arrived about 2.30pm but couldn’t get into my room until after 3pm. Plenty of time for a welcome ice cream. I asked in the local bar what time they served food tonight and got the reply 8pm. Bit late. No wifi in the b&b and no signal so I needed to head back to the bar to buy some water and use their wifi. It was pay-day at the playgroup and I had work to do. It’s amazing how long a Scot can drag out a bottle of water. While there I noticed that some folk seemed to be ordering food at 6.30pm. I moved fast. It seems that if you want something that they have already prepared, like lasagne, they were happy to heat and serve it straight away but if it needed actual cooking then you would have to wait. Excellent. Ordered and eaten before 7pm. Interestingly it is now about 8pm and there isn’t any sign of any cooking or anyone interested in food. Really don’t understand this country sometimes. Been forced to have a couple of pints while following the rugby and writing this epistle. Better get to bed now rather than hang about which would need another.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Colle Val d’Elsa 17 miles

    25 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Thanks to my early dinner last night and the absence of wi-fi or phone signal in my room I had the lights out my 9pm. Accordingly I was wide awake by 6.30am, well at least my eyes were sort of open. Usual breakfast and on the road by 7.15am. Lovely morning but the locals were treating it like winter. Well wrapped up and moaning. I was in the same skimpy shorts and t-shirt that I have worn every day for the last 75 days, rain or shine. It felt a little chilly to begin with but it soon heated up when the sun came up.

    Much amused to note later a similarity between here and home. On some of the busier roads the local council had decided to protect wayward pilgrims by erecting wooden barriers at the side of the road and make a rudimentary path behind the barrier. But as soon as the road got a bit narrower so that it was more difficult to fit the barriers they just didn’t bother. Not unlike the provision of cycle lanes at home. Put in when there is no need but not when there is a need.

    Mid-morning I came to a place called San Gimignano that I remembered from last time. It was much the same but not quite so traumatic because I knew what to expect. I think the local tourist board have decided that it is better to concentrate tourists in certain key places so that it is easier to target them with expensive restaurants and shops. And keeps them from wandering about the countryside getting in the way of the locals. This was one of those places. They came by bike (mostly e-bikes, travelling in convoys), by car and by coach. Big packs of them led by an enthusiastic leader with some sort of flag. There was a pile of towers, built years ago but as far as I could tell folk were just interested in the restaurants and shops although they also took photos of everything including themselves. Chaos. Couldn’t wait to make my way through the throng and get back to peaceful isolation. But it would have been foolish not to take advantage of a cafe and toilet in passing.

    Within a mile of the teeming masses I was alone again. Indeed I don’t think I saw anyone after that for well over an hour.

    My ploy to avoid other walkers by starting stupidly early worked reasonably well. I refuse to call them pilgrims just because they happen to be walking some of a pilgrim route. I only saw 2 others. Both single guys, about half my age, and judging by their kit I suspect they aren’t walking that far. I have got quite smug and superior when checking out the gear used by others, especially their choice of footwear. One of the guys was wearing sandals. Wouldn’t be my first choice.

    Can’t start very early tomorrow as breakfast is included but not available until 7.30am. I’m too mean to not bother with it and leave earlier and hope to find a bar on the way out of town.

    Got a little excited tonight when I discovered that a pizzeria just round the corner from the hotel was rated as one of the top pizzerias in Italy, had great reviews and was open already. Headed there straight away only to find it was shut and didn’t look like it was going to open any time soon. Had to hang about waiting for somewhere else to open. Had fusilli with ragu. Incredibly filling. Don’t understand how anyone can manage a second course after having that as a first course. Almost couldn’t manage the half bar of Ritter Sport Fondente chocolate that was in my room. But coped just.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Siena 21 miles

    26 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    As some compensation for having to wait until 7.30am for breakfast they did put on quite a spread. Must be the best in Italy so far I’m sure. I did my best but was completely outclassed by a weedy looking guy in a very old Arsenal track suit top who was just going back time and again and loading his plate up each time. I think he must have been sent by his mates to make the sandwiches for everyone’s lunches. The poor girls had no sooner brought another plate of cold meats through than Fred had whipped the lot. As far as I could tell most folk there were in walking groups of some kind. Seemed my age or older and generally carrying a little more holiday weight. Apart from Fred. Maybe he doesn’t get to eat any himself.

    Rolled out of the hotel and on my way. Splendid morning for walking and no sign of all those that troubled me a couple of days ago. I suspect that they are now a day behind me, at least, and I would be surprised if any of them caught me up. I average nearly 20 miles a day from now to Rome.

    I passed through another pretty hilltop village today. This one called Monteriggioni. Managed to pick up some food before entering the tourist trap so it only cost just over 6€ for much the same as cost over 14€ yesterday. Italy really seems to go in for huge mark ups based on location.

    The village was much smaller, and very much quieter than yesterday’s one. Most of the tourists were sitting in restaurants or trying to decide where to eat.

    Some cool shade in woods in the afternoon. Doesn’t help the views over the Tuscan landscape but welcome nevertheless.

    Staying tonight in Siena. Big place. Lots to see including a fancy tower to climb up and a cathedral that looks amazing. Unfortunately neither of them are exactly geared towards a pilgrim hurrying towards Rome. I was too late tonight to see them and tomorrow they don’t open until 10am and would take some time to see. The tower only takes limited numbers and you get given a time slot. The cathedral has got all sorts of add-ons that “must be seen”. Even if you don’t have time they charge you over 20€ for a comprehensive ticket. At least when I swing past before 8am the outside of both should be fairly quiet.

    When I headed out for dinner I could only see fancy restaurants or kebab houses. Was trying to decide which kebab joint to risk when I came upon an Oriental takeaway place called Nui Mix Poke. You choose a size of container, what type of rice, protein, veg, topping, sauce etc. Gave it a try as I didn’t fancy a kebab and couldn’t be bothered with a restaurant. Quite enjoyed it. Cold, which I wasn’t expecting, but worth repeating if the chance arises.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Ponte d’Arbia 17 miles

    27 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 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?    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    San Quirico d’Orcia 17 miles

    28 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Leggi altro

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  • Stuart KilpatrickViaggiatoreVia @ 70

    Radicofani 20 miles

    29 settembre 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 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.    Leggi altro

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